24: First Encounter with the Scroll Artist

Chapter 24: First Encounter with a Scroll Master

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Some desperate people began to attack the barrier of light, but it was useless.

The barrier of light was like a solid fortress, extinguishing the last glimmer of hope in people's hearts.

Soon, strange fluctuations began to appear one after another, constantly gathering within the crowd.

“Is it really related to emotions?”

Wu Xian took a deep breath and quickly spoke to stabilize the situation.

“Everyone, don't be afraid. The invasion method of this Dimensional Mirage is related to our emotions. The more frightened and anxious we are, the easier it is to attract them.”

As the only Spirit Master present, Wu Xian's words were quite influential.

Many low-level Cultivators in the crowd responded, calming the team's emotions.

But the problem was that emotions are not something that can be controlled just by saying so.

Soon, cold winds began to howl all around, the scenery changed abruptly, and shrill ghost cries drifted over the crowd, further amplifying their fear and despair.

Then, many people began to experience hallucinations of being disturbed by strange monsters, and screams rose one after another.

The crowd instantly descended into chaos.

Wu Xian was speechless and weary, his brows tightly furrowed as he sensed the strange auras swirling around.

A panicked man in the crowd suddenly screamed in pain, convulsed, and fell to the ground. Ghostly hands ripped open his abdomen, tearing out his intestines.

It was a grotesque monster covered in bloody ghost hands. Except for a pair of pale legs, its entire upper body was made of arms, a sight that made one's scalp tingle.

The surrounding crowd scattered in panic, and many faint-hearted individuals fainted on the spot.

“A First-Order Elite strange monster?”

Wu Xian was startled. Generally speaking, the more Advanced the level, the more likely elite monsters would appear. It was truly rare for elite monsters to “evolve” even among First-Order monsters.

Seeing the grotesque monster charging menacingly towards the crowd, Wu Xian immediately threw out a scroll.

The scroll unfurled in the air, transforming into a majestic Divine Tiger with yellow and black stripes, its roar echoing loudly.

The Home Guardian Divine Tiger pounced on the elite monster covered in ghost hands like a fierce tiger unleashed from its cage, biting it to the ground. With one bite, it easily tore off two ghostly arms.

The roars of the Divine Tiger caused the power of the Mysterious Abyss within the grotesque monster to become restless, leaving it utterly powerless to retaliate.

The surrounding crowd cried out in alarm and moved closer to Wu Xian, seeking protection.

However, just as this First-Order Elite monster was dealt with, another disturbance came from the crowd on the other side.

A piercing, shrill ghost cry was exceptionally ear-splitting. Numerous strange fluctuations condensed into a pale ghostly shadow, which flew towards Wu Xian.

Bang!

The attacking ghostly shadow heavily impacted the God of Wealth's auspicious light, letting out unwilling shrieks.

“Something's wrong!”

The consumption of auspicious Qi was clearly a bit high; it was definitely not an ordinary strange monster.

Upon closer inspection, it was a female ghost with long, straight black hair. Beneath her terrifying black hair, a pale ghostly face emerged. Her bleeding eye sockets contained no eyeballs, but rather swirling black hair.

“A Third-Order Elite strange monster!”

It was another Elite strange monster, and a Third-Order Elite strange monster at that.

The God of Wealth painting spirit's gaze also became serious, and lightning gathered in His steel whip.

Boom!

The lightning strike hit the female ghost, causing a puff of white smoke.

The female ghost retreated in pain, letting out shrill screams, and a scorched mark from the lightning appeared on her shoulder.

This was the first time Wu Xian had encountered such a formidable opponent. After enduring the God of Wealth's lightning, she only suffered minor injuries.

One must know that he had fed the God of Wealth many lightning-attribute materials. An ordinary Third-Order strange monster would at least lose half its life after a lightning strike.

It could only be said that this female ghost, as a Third-Order Elite strange monster, had somewhat outrageous attributes.

And the God of Wealth, as a painting spirit, was ultimately limited by the scroll's performance. This was simply not the power a two-and-a-half-star God of Wealth painting spirit should possess, much less the true strength of the God of Wealth himself.

If the God of Wealth's true form were to descend, He wouldn't even need lightning. His mere presence would be enough to crush this thing to death, or even directly repel this so-called Dimensional Mirage.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The female ghost was clearly wary of the God of Wealth. After a series of strange cries and shrieks, strands of black hair shot out from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, stabbing towards the God of Wealth in different directions, full of power.

Unfortunately, they could not break through the God of Wealth's massive auspicious Qi protection.

The next second, the Home Guardian Divine Tiger launched a surprise attack from behind, pouncing on the female ghost and bringing her down from mid-air.

The rapidly moving black hair instantly entangled the Home Guardian Divine Tiger, causing its spiritual body to quickly dim.

Fortunately, several lightning strikes from the God of Wealth destroyed a large amount of black hair, which alleviated the Home Guardian Divine Tiger's pressure.

Under Wu Xian's mental control, the biting Divine Tiger bit the female ghost's head, then swung around and threw her into the air.

“A Third-Order Elite strange monster, huh?”

Wu Xian sneered, while the God of Wealth's invincible golden ingots in His hand were ready to strike.

However, just as he was about to deliver a fatal blow, he suddenly saw a red wooden coffin covered in talismans flying from a distance.

“Holy crap, there's another expert!”

He initially thought it was another strange monster providing support, but then saw the red wooden coffin directly smash into the female ghost in the air, forcefully slamming her to the ground and creating a deep pit.

Talismans fluttered around the coffin, surrounded by golden light, firmly suppressing the female ghost.

“Hehe, what a big meal! Time for an extra snack~!”

A clear, yet somewhat eerie, bell-like laugh followed from behind.

Wu Xian was not foolish; he immediately understood that another Spirit Master had intervened and curiously turned to look.

He saw a woman in her twenties, with sickly pale skin and a ghostly, underworld-style appearance and makeup, flying over the crowd, a sinister, strange smile playing on her lips.

The next second, terrifying Mental Energy surged from the woman's body.

Above her back, a giant scroll phantom then appeared. The scroll phantom slowly unfurled, revealing a projection of an eerie and sinister painting: seven ghost gods of various forms, surrounding a slightly plump ghost god with fangs in its mouth.

“A Scroll Master?!” Wu Xian's heart pounded.

Such powerful Mental Energy was definitely not from an ordinary Spirit Master, but a Scroll Master.

Seeing a true Scroll Master for the first time, Wu Xian stared intently, various doubts and curiosities surging in his heart, especially regarding the scroll phantom behind the underworld-style woman, which seemed to be condensed from Mental Energy.

It was clearly not a commonly understood [Extraordinary scroll], as it didn't even have a physical form.

It was somewhat similar to the scroll imprint in his Sea of Consciousness, yet not quite the same.

Amidst his shock and curiosity, the woman raised her hand to signal, and the fanged ghost god in the center of the painting behind her rushed out of the painting, transforming into a five to six-meter-tall, burly and muscular ghost painting spirit with a ferocious face, fangs in its mouth, and a dirt-green skin.

Aow—!

The fanged grotesque monster opened its huge mouth. The female ghost, suppressed under the coffin, wailed mournfully, her body twisting as she was swallowed by the fanged grotesque monster. The red wooden coffin also flew towards the woman.

Xue Lingling landed steadily on the coffin lid, nodding with satisfaction.

With a raise of her hand, the painting behind her retracted, taking the gigantic fanged grotesque monster back into it.

“Little guy, was it you who injured that Third-Order resentful hair monster just now?” The underworld-style girl, Xue Lingling, completely ignored the surrounding crowd, her eerie and sinister gaze curiously fixed on Wu Xian. “Quite impressive.”

Wu Xian nodded slightly, “Thank you, Senior, for your help.”

“Your scroll is quite novel,” Xue Lingling curiously observed the God of Wealth. “It looks like it's only a two-and-a-half-star bronze scroll, yet it could inflict considerable damage on that Third-Order leader-level strange monster. Interesting.”

Wu Xian smiled humbly, feeling secretly nervous.

Good heavens, that female ghost just now was actually a [Leader-level] big monster, no wonder she was so powerful.

But the truly terrifying one was clearly this woman exuding an underworld aura.

Aside from anything else, that giant fanged grotesque monster from earlier was at least a five-star painting spirit, and its grade and spirituality definitely weren't low.