Mysterious Revival

"That file is most likely problematic, or it contains only half of the important intelligence, intended as bait to hook me in. If I had looked at that information, I would have been subject to false data interference, which could have affected my own judgment."

"In that case, it's better not to look at all. That person named Wang Ye came with an agenda, not with real sincerity. I don't have the time to haggle with them. Since he doesn't meet my requirements, just kill him off. Next time, they'll understand the importance of sincerity."

Yang Jian returned to Villa No. 8, not dwelling on what had just happened. The death of Wang Ye was a mere trifle to him, and he felt no ripple in his heart.

Although he didn't recklessly harm ordinary people, it was only a restraint he placed upon himself. Yang Jian didn't want to become devoid of humanity, turning into a numb executioner, but this didn't mean that ordinary people could freely play their tricks in front of him.

In other words, when ordinary people stood before Yang Jian with ulterior motives, they had to be prepared to die.

Besides, the intelligence on The World of Ghost Drawing wasn't that important to Yang Jian.

With the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box, he could be bold and take risks even in the presence of The World of Ghost Drawing.

Moreover, his purpose this time wasn't to imprison The World of Ghost Drawing but to find the real Source Ghost within it.

"Well then, let's take a good look and see what's wrong with this painting."

Yang Jian brought the ghost painting into a small room resembling a safe house.

He closed the door.

This place was probably able to isolate the Ghost Domain, as long as the nearby walls weren't subjected to some severe damage.

He stood the ghost painting before the wall and directly unveiled the white cloth that covered it.

It was an old oil painting, reminiscent of Western artworks, revealed once again before his eyes.

"No reaction, no abnormality whatsoever."

Yang Jian stood in front of this large oil painting, lost in thought.

"Am I not yet meeting the murder rules now, or has the ghost painting not yet revived?"

Yang Jian recalled the scene when the ghost painting had killed before—during the last visit to a complex with Li Yao, where someone knelt before the ghost painting with their head submerged into the frame... It seemed under certain circumstances, one could actually enter the painting.

As for what would happen after entering the ghost painting, that he didn't know.

But to find the Source Ghost, he needed to go inside the painting.

Because it was suspected that the ghost paintings were interlinked; through one of the paintings, he could find that one truly possessed by a fierce ghost.

Yang Jian thought for a moment, then reached out to touch the ghost painting.

His hand didn't go through; it merely touched the surface of the oil painting. The kind of supernatural occurrence he had imagined did not happen. If his Ghost Eye had not quieted down now, he might even doubt this was a forgery lacking any peculiar and special characteristics.

"It must be that I don't meet the conditions."

Yang Jian's expression shifted slightly as he thought of the Ghost Mirror in Dachang City.

Ordinary people won't see their reflection the first time they look into the mirror, but as time goes by, a ghost would gradually approach from the depths of the mirror, slowly transforming to look just like them. Once their movements matched those outside the mirror, the Ghost Mirror would lock the person inside, and the ghost from the mirror would appear.

So, the conditions for the Ghost Mirror were the duration of looking and matching movements.

It was similar for The World of Ghost Drawing, only the conditions seemed to be a bit more unique. Yang Jian actively trying to trigger these conditions to enter the painting was proving to be a challenge.

"Not by looking, nor by touching... but why do ordinary people easily fall prey to the attacks of The World of Ghost Drawing? And the appearances of ghost paintings are also utterly unpredictable." Yang Jian frowned.

It was extremely difficult to analyze the murder rules of The World of Ghost Drawing with no clues at hand.

Yang Jian felt that if he still couldn't touch upon the murder rules, the remaining method was to look for another ghost painting.

A ghost painting that had already generated a Ghost Domain.

Because to some extent, a Ghost Domain is a derivative of The World of Ghost Drawing.

"The painting I encountered at Miao Xiaoshan's school last time had already formed a Ghost Domain. It was small, covering only two floors, but it's a good target for me—it's not too dangerous, and I can enter the painting quickly."

Just at that time, he had no such intention, and the ghost painting had been imprisoned.

Once imprisoned, releasing it again was almost impossible.

"Do I need to look for another ghost painting?" Yang Jian withdrew his gaze, thinking about wandering the city again.

With his efficiency, finding a second or third ghost painting would be easy.

But this efficiency was limited to him alone; for other ghost manipulators to use a Ghost Domain on such a large scale was practically suicidal. They all faced the issue of ghost revival, and would only use their powers against ghosts.

After some thought, Yang Jian didn't want to waste more time here.

But just when he was about to open the door and leave,

suddenly, the room's lights dimmed, and an indescribable eerie feeling appeared behind him.

"Hmm?"

Yang Jian's expression changed slightly, and he immediately halted, his gaze sharply fixed on the oil painting standing next to the wall.

However, the painting on the wall had disappeared, leaving behind only a frame that hung like a doorway. Through the aperture, he could even see another scene.

It was a dim and oppressive urban landscape with grey-white things floating in the sky above the city resembling paper ash or a kind of gloom.

"It appeared?"

Yang Jian felt very astonished at this moment.

Just moments ago, the ghost painting was intact, showing no signs of activity; he even thought about kicking it a few times. However, the moment he considered leaving, the painting underwent this unbelievable, eerie change.

"Not right, something's missing? The woman in the painting."

Yang Jian immediately looked around. The ghost from the painting had vanished and had not appeared in front of him, nor in the room.

"Is it still inside?"

He stared at the frame of the painting. If the ghost had not changed its position, then it should still be in the world within the painting, in the residential area Su Qing lived, which he had visited before.

"I have moved the ghost painting in the real world, but the background within the painting hasn't had time to change yet, hence the ghost doesn't recognize the way out and hasn't exited from this entrance. However, as time passes, if this exit continues to exist, the ghost will surely invade the real world again."

"Therefore, to maintain a relatively safe state for the ghost painting, it needs to be constantly moved."

Suddenly.

Yang Jian recalled the first time he saw the ghost painting in Dachang City.

Back then, the ghost painting had already formed a Ghost Domain, but the ghost was attracted by the Ghost Candle, wandering non-stop.

Now he seemed to understand why the ghost painting had to be kept in motion – only by doing so, the ghost posed the least threat. If it stopped, the issues with the ghost painting would explode.

"Should I go in and take a look?"

Yang Jian stood before the painting. He could see a vast cityscape inside, identical to the city he was in, but some places were flawed, seemingly shrouded in darkness, unconnected to the other areas.

But it was nearly complete.

The ghost painting's invasion of this city had progressed more than halfway.

In other words, just a few more days and the background in the ghost painting would change again, and it wouldn't just be a street or a residential area, but the backdrop of an entire large city.

Whatever would happen then, Yang Jian did not know, but he was sure it would turn into a nightmare.

Now, his hesitation to enter the world of the ghost painting was not out of fear of death, but out of concern that while entry was easy, exiting would be difficult. If he got too deeply trapped and wasted two or three days, he would die from the curse of the Eight-Tone Music Box.

But after brief consideration, Yang Jian decided to go in and try.

Once he had confirmed that the room was temporarily safe, he bent down, stepped over the frame, and directly entered the World of Ghost Drawing.

After stepping inside, Yang Jian found himself surrounded by dimness, able only to see the vague cityscape in the distance. The painting's frame was behind him, but there was nothing else around him, not even a path to follow.

He was unable to comprehend this imagery; it felt as though he had been cut off from everything.

"I must not forget the location of the exit."

Yang Jian dropped a golden bullet as a marker. Made of Gold, it wouldn't be affected by the surroundings and would stay in place no matter what happened around it.

He tried walking toward the large city shrouded in dimness in the distance, the heart of the ghost painting.

Many backgrounds of ghost paintings were already on display.

Yang Jian had barely taken a few steps forward when a path eerily appeared under his feet, leading to a city boulevard in the distance, as if beckoning him into that silent and deserted city.

The emerging path was twisted and irregular, as if drawn by a random stroke of a brush.

His gaze shifted, but he was not afraid and set foot on the path, moving forward.

"That city is very dangerous... because the World of Ghost Drawing is not only inhabited by one ghost, and ghost controllers who have died may also be trapped in the painting, making their ghosts possibly stranded within as well."

Yang Jian continued ahead and found that although the world of the ghost painting seemed large, in reality, the distant city would quickly appear before him while walking. This situation was unreasonable; the sense of distance seemed to be altered.

He knew this was the power of the Ghost Domain.

Distance within the Ghost Domain was incomparable to that of the real world.

Perhaps a spot that looks distant could be reached in just a few steps, or a place that seems close might never be reached no matter how far you walk.

"If I stay here for a long time, will the Ghost Eye be suppressed to a state of 'deadlock'?" Yang Jian touched the back of his hand.

The Ghost Eye could no longer be felt at all; it was as though the ghost had left his body.

But the Ghost Shadow and the Ghost Hand still existed, unimpacted.

Soon.

He finished walking the path and arrived on the city's main artery.

Looking left and right.

The surrounding scene was identical to that of the city, with many details manifested—shops, cars, and even some items in the supermarkets, indistinguishable from reality.

"The Ghost Domain of the ghost painting can now influence reality, no, it's even more special." Yang Jian tried kicking a car parked by the roadside.

Apart from not triggering an alarm, the feedback from the kick felt just like the real thing, even the spot where he kicked dented realistically.

"Hmm?"

Walking down the eerily silent streets where no one else was present, he suddenly came to a halt and looked into a shop by the roadside.

He was not sure if it was an illusion but he felt as though someone was watching him.