I become a god in another world

Chapter 781 Wang's Painting Bureau
Chapter 781

‘Dong-dong-dong. ’

'Thump, thump-thump.'

Just then, several muffled, disordered sounds rang out.

The tower was originally gloomy, with only a small window at the top of each floor. In this deserted ghost realm, even the slightest sound would be amplified.

Once the group from Wan'an County entered the tower, everyone instinctively kept quiet, even taking careful steps when lifting or lowering their feet, for fear of making a sound.

But then, as soon as those few 'thumping' sounds rang out, everyone realized that something had infiltrated the tower.

"in spite of."

Zhao Fusheng said calmly:
"It's normal for ghosts to exist in the ghost realm. Just be careful and don't fall into their traps. If they want to follow us, let them."

That being said, the fact that a ghost was traveling with them was still chilling.

Liu Yizhen and the others all became more vigilant, and even Liu Yizhen, who was walking at the back, had a golden glint in his eyes.

As the group ascended to the third level of the tower, the footsteps behind them grew louder, indicating that there were more 'ghosts' following them than before.

As people climbed higher, the tower's area decreased, and the people of Wan'an County even felt a sense of crampedness and confinement.

The footsteps behind him were heavy, and the chilling atmosphere inside the tower grew stronger.

More and more ghosts followed.

By the time they reached the eighth floor, Zhao Fusheng could feel the tower starting to shake.

“The last step,” she said, standing in front of the stairs.

The stairs here are narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time.

She pulled Kuai Manzhou behind her and slowly walked upstairs with a lantern in hand.

Unlike the eight stone steps below that were filled with molten copper, the steps here are golden, as if they were made of pure gold.

As Zhao Fusheng stepped forward, the footsteps following behind him disappeared—as if a powerful source of danger lay ahead, deterring the ghosts from following any further.

As everyone climbed to the ninth floor, they couldn't help but look back, only to see that the direction of the eighth floor was shrouded in shadow.

The shadows were pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and there were no ghostly figures, but they gave off an extremely oppressive feeling.

Zhao Fusheng turned to look at the ninth floor.

The last time she came, her purpose was not to go to the top of the nine-story pagoda, but to go through the motions—at that time, Cao Gu only mentioned that the ninth floor had been closed for a long time.

The lighthouse is shaped like an "A", wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, with limited space at the top.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, a locked bronze door came into view.

The door was a slightly dark color and very heavy, completely concealing its interior.

People downstairs could still see the lights, but here the door was tightly closed, and not a single ray of light could be seen.

The fact that the vengeful ghost didn't dare go upstairs proves that there must be something on the top floor that can subdue ghosts and enemies—and the existence of this place is also the goal of Zhao Fusheng and his group's trip. Perhaps the success or failure of breaking the mystery of the ghost domain in Tongshan County depends on this one move.

With that thought in mind, she approached the bronze door.

Only after getting closer did Zhao Fusheng discover the strangeness.

"The door is sealed."

Zhao Fusheng said.

After she finished speaking, she tapped her fingers again.

'Ding-ding-ding.'

A heavy knocking sound came.

There was more to this bronze door than met the eye, yet the door itself was unusually heavy.

Just then, wisps of smoke suddenly rose from the door.

"Be careful, sir."

Chen Duozi gave a reminder.

Zhao Fusheng immediately looked at the gate and saw that the door panel began to change color.

It turned from its initial bronze color to a deep red, as if someone had set off a raging fire inside that could destroy everything.

A terrible heat wave began to emanate from within.

The flames spread across the bronze door at an incredible speed. In the raging fire, the door panels began to melt at a visible rate, turning into molten gold and iron that slowly dripped down.

'Pat-pat, pat.'

Amidst the flames, the bronze gate melted into a terrifying liquid that cascaded down. Zhao Fusheng acted decisively, unleashing Hell.

The shadow of hell retreated to the top of the nine-story pagoda, where she struck it with her God-Slaying Whip, and the top of the pagoda cracked in response.

The moment the top of the tower cracked open, the bronze door melted completely, revealing a humble room of about four square meters inside.

The room contained a table and chairs, as well as household items such as a manure bucket.

A gaunt ghost dressed in a scholar's robe sat behind a chair, his hand in the shape of holding a pen, as if he were writing on a desk.

In front of it was a thick stack of human skin, which transformed into a lifelike vengeful ghost with each stroke of the pen.

Ghosts danced gracefully before it, yet it remained completely unaware.

As he wrote, he got up and pushed the lamp on the table away.

The lamp fell onto the table, and the oil inside gushed out, instantly igniting the human skin paper spread on the table.

'boom! ’

The fire shot into the sky in an instant.

Flames burned through the iron and bronze interior, and under the high temperature, both iron and bronze melted, turning into hot liquid that fell to the ground.

The vengeful ghost stood up, and the molten gold and iron quickly enveloped it, instantly transforming it into a 'golden ghost' with its entire body gleaming gold.

Molten copper and iron, glowing red-hot, flowed down the nine-story ghost tower.

Zhao Fusheng led the group from a high vantage point and saw that the ghosts who had followed them up to the eighth floor of the Ghost Tower were being surrounded and transformed into golden ghost statues.

The vengeful ghost was sealed by the golden body, then turned around and went downstairs with a thud.

The ghost tower trembled, and then, as soon as the ghosts left, the incredibly sturdy tower body instantly became brittle and rotten.

The tower began to crack from the ninth floor, and large sections of the city wall collapsed to the ground.

Before long, the golden eagle ghost statue walked into the street.

When they reached a village house, they immediately took down the lanterns hanging at the door and stuffed them into their mouths.

Once these lanterns entered the mouth of the golden eagle demon, they made a crisp sound, like chewing on a soft soybean.

With each ghost lantern it eats, the golden eagle ghost statue grows stronger.

As they grew, the houses in Tongshan County began to shrink, becoming like rows of neatly arranged 'boxes'.

The terrifying giant ghost roamed through the neatly arranged 'boxes', swallowing all the ghost lanterns.

……

This scene was bizarre and fantastical, almost too real to be real.

Liu Yizhen said:

"Are we in the realm of ghosts, or in a dream?"

In his memory, only during the case of the ghost at Shili Slope, when everyone went deep into Qiao Yuesheng's dream, did such a bizarre scene occur.

Just then, the golden eagle ghost statue finished eating all the 'lamps' in Tongshan County.

For a moment, the entire county government fell into a deathly silence.

All the lights in the county went out, but for some reason, there was still light in the county.

"Light?"

Zhao Fusheng felt a chill and looked up at the sky again—he saw that a thin mist had appeared in the sky, and a silver moon hung in the sky, its light shining through the pink mist and onto the earth.

...The scene was exactly the same as when everyone first entered Tongshan County.

"We've fallen into a trap," Zhao Fusheng immediately realized.

"The Painting Bureau?" Xie Jingsheng was taken aback. Zhao Fusheng said:

"It is Wang Puyi."

No one knew much about the ghost case in Tongshan County—even Xie Jingsheng, who knew the most, did not know about Wang Puyi from back then.

He was born to control ghosts, a high-ranking painter and scholar who was famous throughout the capital at some unknown time.

This young man was born in the wrong era; his talent became the root of his misfortune.

He was like a fleeting flower, briefly gaining fame in the capital, but was ultimately arrested for his reputation and imprisoned for life.

In the Tongshan County case, Zhao Fusheng had initially noticed Liang Yu's misdeeds, but later became preoccupied with the lawsuits between the Qin and Hao families, and for a moment neglected the existence of this talented painter from decades ago.

"We've been trapped in an illusion."

Zhao Fusheng said.

"If Magistrate Pang were still alive, he would surely know—"

She was deeply moved as she spoke.

The man is gone.

Zhao Fusheng forced himself to calm down.

She recalled that when she and Magistrate Pang and others entered the Tongshan County government, they were led into the Sage's Hall by a bailiff surnamed Zhang. On the way, they passed through the courtyard and saw several lamps that were said to have been made by Wang Puyi himself.

As soon as the lamp was lit, light and shadow shone through, and the beauty on the paper seemed to come alive, dancing gracefully.

Now that they were trapped in the situation, if viewed from the outside, were the figures of everyone the same as the dancing ghosts that they and Magistrate Pang had seen before?
The illusions within the Ghost Realm must not be allowed to repeat.

As the golden-lacquered ghost statue devoured all the evil spirits of Tongshan County, the blood mist in the air darkened, and the moon began to sink again.

When the blood moon sets, the vanished nine-story lighthouse will reappear in the world, and everyone will enter a new cycle of reincarnation.

Another team of 'Zhao Fusheng' will appear in the Ghost Realm. They will knock on the locked tower door, and then you will hear scratching sounds coming from inside the tower.

……

Upon thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng looked down at the ghost lantern he was holding.

The lights inside flickered twice, and the halo of light quickly expanded.

The paper doll Zhang's sigh rang in her ears:

"You're really clever; you actually discovered Wang Yipu's scheme."

As soon as he spoke, the entire Tongshan County began to twist and deform rapidly. In an instant, the ground collapsed, and the ghostly mist from all directions, soft as a cloth, was slowly drawn away, forming a lantern-shaped formation.

In the very center of the head is a huge exit.

The blood-red light that enveloped everyone's eyes was the afterglow of the firelight swirling with blood mist.

At the massive exit, accompanied by the voice of Paper Man Zhang, a giant eye suddenly appeared.

"Back then, Wang Puyi was trapped in the nine-story pagoda and eventually went mad. After his death, his vengeful ghost revived and used his own skin as a lamp, forming a unique 'painting'."

Paper Man Zhang laughed:
"Those who enter the painting feel as if they are in a dream, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion."

A sinister glint flashed in that eye:

"This weak and useless scholar, who was easily manipulated in life, unleashed tremendous power after his death."

He sneered:
"What is there to fear about Liang Yu?"

"The purpose of living is to see many interesting things." The paper figure's eyes left, and then a large hand fell from above, shaking the lamp.

He was like a god; with a gentle wave of his hand, the ghost realm shook violently, and everyone seemed unable to maintain their balance.

All the houses in Tongshan County were reduced to ashes with a gentle shake, and every speck of dust instantly turned into flames, transforming into a 'living person' the moment it landed.

The plot repeats itself endlessly.

Zhao Fusheng was unaware that they had been trapped, but having discovered the exit, she immediately said:
"Let's leave this place."

As soon as she finished speaking, Kuai Manzhou immediately made way for her.

A ghostly thread swayed and flew upwards, extending several feet before, just as it approached the top of the lantern—the top of the lantern, like the previous nine-story pagoda, began to liquefy rapidly.

A large amount of melted gold paint fell like a silver river, instantly incinerating this wisp of ghostly silk.

Kuai Manzhou, seeing this scene, did not believe in superstitions. She turned her head to the side, and Zhuang Si Niangzi appeared behind her.

The vengeful ghost's hand pierced through the child's back, drilled into her chest and abdomen, and emerged from her chest, tightly embracing the child in its arms.

Long, ghostly hair swirled with malevolent energy, several strands intertwined, like floating seaweed, drifting in mid-air.

But the gold paint kept rolling and never stopped.

The moment it came into contact with Zhuang Si Niangzi's ghost hair, it immediately enveloped and solidified it.

The two faced off, and after only a brief stalemate, Zhuang Si Niangzi's hair clumped together into a hard, wavy strand, then silently crumbled.

Countless golden dust particles flew in the air, then landed and transformed into vengeful ghosts, slowly approaching the crowd.

"Once you enter the ghost painting, you can't get out."

Paper Doll Zhang Dao:

"This is Wang Puyi's painting studio."

“Back then, when I went deep into Tongshan County, my greatest gain was not the skinning technique, but the human skin of Wang Puyi.”

He stitched human skin to himself, which is why he later devoured the 'fire' of Tongshan County and forged that unparalleled ghost lamp.

"So what if that little magistrate surnamed Pang can become a lantern? He's not someone who's blessed by heaven. I also have a ghost lantern," said Zhang the paper figure. "And today I will trap you inside the lantern."

After he finished speaking triumphantly, Zhao Fusheng immediately took up the God-Slaying Whip and, with the help of the power of Erlang Shen, performed the Heaven and Earth Transformation Technique.

Her body swelled up rapidly, reaching the top of the lantern in an instant.

But just as it approached the top of the lantern, the top of the lantern suddenly stretched out by more than ten feet.

When she looked back, she realized that she seemed to be still in the same place, without having moved at all.

"Don't waste your time. Even if you have all sorts of supernatural powers, you are still trapped in this painting. If you don't break the painting, all your rules are just minor changes in my painting."

Paper Man Zhang was beaming with pride:
"It's like if I draw an old man fishing on my belly. The old man in the picture thinks he has caught something and happily puts the fish in, but to me, it's just like watching a fleeting play."

In the blink of an eye, he changed the subject:
"Have you seen those gilded ghost statues in the Sage's Hall in Tongshan County?"

"This is one of the specialties of Tongshan County." Tongshan County is rich in various kinds of minerals.

Cao Gu, who was in the ghost realm, said many things—he was a fierce ghost, and his ghostly words could not be entirely trusted, but he was right about one thing: the Jiang brothers, Wen and Wu, did indeed love gold.

Their laws regarding evil spirits are related to gold, so when Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu were in charge of Jinzhou, the Demon Suppression Division of Tongshan County would send a large amount of gold ore to Jinzhou City every year.

The Jiang brothers consumed gold during their lives, and after death, they were able to use gold to 'devour' evil spirits.

……

The ghostly calamities in Tongshan County are numerous and complex, with each element interacting with and restraining the others, forming a unique microcosm.

As soon as the paper figure Zhang finished speaking, the top of the lantern above suddenly turned black.

Two gleaming golden ghosts emerged from the darkness.

The ghost was initially only the size of a palm, but once it entered the lantern world, it quickly grew to hundreds or thousands of times its original size.

The 'fire' inside the lantern contained gold, silver, copper, and iron. Under the burning flames, the two fierce ghosts were quickly refined and melted into boiling gold liquid, which poured down from above like a waterfall.

The two ghosts were previously enormous, and their fusion almost completely blocked the world inside the lantern, meaning that the paper figure Zhang wanted to extinguish everyone's chance of survival.

"Consider yourself lucky. When you were devouring the ghost fire, you encountered a man surnamed Pang. Now that you're bound by the Golden Ghost, let's see how you escape."

Under the scalding hot molten gold, anyone who came into contact with it would instantly turn into a golden ghost and be devoured by the vengeful ghosts of the Jiang brothers.

"Hahaha--"

The paper figure burst into arrogant laughter.

(End of this chapter)