Chapter 302: The Dragon Lady and the Nightmare
In a hotel room, Zhao Mingyue was busy sorting through the information provided by various believers. Over the past few days, Bai Yu had recruited a few more followers of the Tianfa Sect, bringing the total up to eight. Each of these eight individuals was responsible for different matters, leading to a variety of intel being collected.
However, these eight were now at risk of exposure; the Tianfa Sect had started to suspect that there might be Black Sun followers among them, and an internal investigation had begun.
“Come to think of it, it makes sense. When organizations run into Evil Gods, their first reaction is definitely to band together and take them down.”
“There’s no other way around it.”
Zhao Mingyue rubbed her chin and clicked on another follower’s chat log. This one was from the Gatekeeper’s side and could provide some insights into their activities.
“Bai Yu, do you think the Gatekeepers will recognize us? After all, we’re probably at the top of their blacklist.”
“Who cares?” Bai Yu replied as she stood up and headed to the bedroom balcony, closing her eyes and bathing in the sunshine.
Recently, she had discovered that sunlight could help k*ll off the negative thoughts lurking inside her, although it wasn’t exactly friendly to her body. But the benefits outweighed the costs; compared to ridding herself of evil thoughts, the minor side effects were more than acceptable.
Seeing Bai Yu sitting in a chair on the balcony, Zhao Mingyue set down her tablet and walked over to stand behind her. She reached out, gently tousling one of Bai Yu’s silky long strands of hair, deftly grabbing a comb to tidy it up.
“Your body seems to be getting more and more human-like. If I didn’t know you, I would definitely mistake you for an adorable little sister of just fifteen.”
Bai Yu used to resemble a human, especially when she was deliberately disguising herself.
However, upon closer inspection back then, there was still something off about her. She had an unworldly quality, almost ethereal.
“Is it the influence of faith?”
Bai Yu raised a hand, trying to clench a fist and then relax it, a plume of dark mist evaporating from her skin, which still remained as pale as ever. “Must be.”
“So, are you still considered a ghost?”
“Sure.”
“Well, I actually kind of fear you turning into the Thousand Eyes Godmother. We could still chat, but then we wouldn’t be able to shower together or hug you!”
The girl’s voice was soft, and an unbidden smile brushed her face like a gentle breeze. Her long, slender fingers wove through Bai Yu’s hair, expertly styling it into a scorpion-tail braid that cascaded down her back.
As she had told Bai Yu last night, these past few days had been incredibly relaxing for her, resembling a blissful escape from everything—like a honeymoon for two.
No Ghost Domain, no Nightmare guy, and no Dark Moon God.
They spoke about how to deal with the Tianfa Sect, but in truth, they weren’t really taking it seriously. It felt more like a fun distraction. They were like gamers teaming up to battle a boss; the Tianfa Sect was simply the current boss.
Sometimes, she even considered just staying here and not going back.
That way, she wouldn’t have to stress about all the junk, and no one would come to stir up trouble.
But alas, that was just a daydream.
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“How’s it looking?” A middle-aged man stepped into an abandoned dormitory building, frowning at the damaged array on the floor, his heart sinking a bit.
The array, composed of runes, was initially created to suppress this batch of Evil Ghosts. The runes drew upon the power of an Evil God, and the special materials used to write them had kept them safe over the years.
What was hard to believe was that the enemy hadn’t destroyed the runes directly. Instead, they had somehow made the array endure overwhelming impacts in a short time, akin to an electrical overload.
What kind of force would it take to achieve such an effect in such a short timespan?
“Deputy Sect Master Zhou, the situation here isn’t looking good. All forty-one Evil Ghosts have been brainwashed, and the curse has seeped into their bodies. We can’t lift the curse without killing them first.”
Seeing the middle-aged man approach, a Tianfa Sect member in a black coat stepped forward, signaling to those around them. Soon, they dragged out a drooping-eyed Evil Ghost murmuring something.
This particular Evil Ghost left a lasting impression on all the Tianfa Sect members present. They had never seen an Evil Ghost completely devoid of negative emotions—this one seemed to exist solely as a believer.
The transformation from a creature of slaughter and d*ath to a docile little lamb constantly whispering the Evil God’s name was indeed staggering, almost unbelievable.
“And their current state is quite concerning,” the Tianfa Sect member lowered her voice, “They’ll attack any creature that disrespects the deity. As long as we don’t provoke them and avoid discussing the deity, we should be fine.”
“We’ve already tested it; this batch of ghosts has become completely useless. However, due to the curse, they’ve established a connection with one another. If we attack one, all the others will go on the offensive.”
“Normal methods are ineffective. It’s very likely that the curse is affecting them from the shadows.”
The implication was clear. All the Evil Ghosts in this dormitory had lost their intended value, and if they didn’t clear them out, the Ghost Gate couldn’t be used. However, clearing them meant facing the enormous costs due to their unprecedented teamwork.
Attempting to deal with the curse seemed impossible as well, what with the ruined array and the curse-inflicted ghosts. It was a nightmarishly complex scenario.
Humans turning into believers was old hat, but entire batches of Evil Ghosts brainwashed into believers? The strength of this Evil God was hard to fathom.
After his words, silence blanketed the abandoned dormitory.
Over twenty Tianfa Sect members turned to look at the Deputy Sect Master Zhou.
The title of Sect Master was equivalent to that of the Gatekeeper’s chairman; in such critical matters, they needed to take charge.
Surveying the crowd, Zhou Tianyun said grimly, “I’ve gathered enough information on this Evil God. Their name is Black Sun, and their curse ability releases a beam of cursed light. Anyone exposed to it becomes cursed.”
At this proclamation, the crowd erupted in chatter.
The strength of an Evil God is often gauged by their cursing ability—simply put, the more direct and brutal the curse, the stronger the Evil God. After all, curses are the very essence of an Evil God. Without malevolent thoughts and curses, an Evil God might as well be just Red Clothes.
Thus, they found it a bit shocking. Was that curse too simple and straightforward?
Considering the current situation, this Evil God didn’t seem to require any rituals or sacrifices to amplify their curses. So, this Black Sun Godmother effectively just beamed cursed light around and transformed the Evil Ghosts like that?
It’s no wonder Tianfa Sect members were panicking; they’d never seen or heard of anything like this before.
Eternal Life Village isn’t your average neighborhood, and just one of the four sisters could stand toe to toe with any top-tier Evil God elsewhere. Not to mention the Burning Heart Goddess, who could ensnare you in a curse without you even realizing it just by thinking about her!
“Deputy Sect Master Zhou, why has this Evil God suddenly appeared here? We’ve never heard of them before; if they had recently come into existence, we’d have sensed something!”
“That’s still unknown, but there’s no need to worry,” Deputy Sect Master Zhou said as he stepped into the dormitory.
He didn’t elaborate; he had two strategies in mind. First, they could attempt to negotiate or even collaborate with the Black Sun. Their power, joined with the strength of the Black Sun, made for a formidable alliance. With the Gatekeeper severely injured and one vice president dead, it was the perfect opportunity to snatch some territory.
If that plan fell through, they could reach out to the Gatekeepers, collaborating to eliminate the Black Sun Godmother.
The latter option offered little reward; it was a backup plan for emergencies—one they hoped to avoid.
The former was the ideal outcome and a golden opportunity for the Tianfa Sect.
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Meanwhile, Gatekeeper Chairman Chen tossed a few documents onto the side, one of which detailed recent changes in Hejiang City.
Rubbing his temples, he felt a headache every time he saw those papers.
Ever since An Que’s incident, the internal disputes among the Gatekeepers had increased, and the gaps left unfilled were only growing. Faced with the largest crisis yet, if they overcame it, they’d slowly regain strength; if they didn’t, the Gatekeepers might truly fall apart.
He never imagined the stirrer of chaos would be Li Tianan.
Li Tianan didn’t look like much; he seemed like a slacker, indifferent to most things—except when it came to his daughter, he was practically semi-retired, watching over his perennially losing convenience store.
Who would’ve guessed that this unassuming fellow would be one of the sources of chaos?
“Knock knock knock.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
Just as Chairman Chen finished speaking, a female Gatekeeper rushed in with an old-fashioned cellphone in hand.
“Chairman, it’s a call from ‘Dragon’.”
The mention of “Dragon” made Chairman Chen sit up straight.
He gestured for the Gatekeeper to step out and picked up the phone.
“The Evil God you mentioned? I took care of it for you; you should’ve received the message,” came the voice of the Dragon Lady from the other end.
“Yes, I know.”
“Now, about the identity of this new Gatekeeper in the Ghost Domain, have you investigated it? I can’t find her, but I can find you. You get what I mean?”
Facing the Dragon Lady’s veiled threat, Chairman Chen frowned but still provided a coded address.
This was the nature of his deal with the Dragon Lady.
She’d help him take down an Evil God, and in return, he’d assist her in locating the exact whereabouts of the Ghost Domain’s leader. During the operation to eliminate the Ghost Domain, the Gatekeepers would also cooperate with the Dragon Lady.
After hearing Chairman Chen’s words, the Dragon Lady slowly hung up, turning to look at a house behind her.
That was the home of Jiang Yutong, the little girl she had been substituting for recently.
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