Chapter 520: Killing Through the Pawnshop
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Ring! Ring!"
Silhouettes of all sorts of shapes appeared around Lu Bingqi but all of them were motionless.
He held his breath as he waited for the human form of the pawnshop to appear.
One minute had passed, two minutes had passed... The expected punishment never came. Instead, the space around him shook as though it was chasing him away,
"What's happening? Had the pawnshop given up on punishing me?"
Lu Bingqi was in shock.
"Have you realised it? It is easy for you to get me here, but it's going to be hard if you want to chase me away! Since I'm here now, it is not going to be easy to get rid of me!"
A loud voice was heard coming from Lu Bingqi.
"Are you... Mister Fang Yuan?!"
Lu Bingqi was at lost. He knew that if Fang Yuan were to help him, he could still survive this ordeal.
However, there was something even more shocking.
His right eye was previously dug out. In his eye socket, blood started to gush out and a black silhouette emerged from it. It was a ghost!
"Is this the Paranormal Pawnshop?"
The ghost was scanning the building as Fang Yuan's voice came out from it. "It is indeed hidden very well... Even my physical body is unable to detect this place!"
Fang Yuan was merely a split entity!
After sealing a ghost, he would be able to use its abilities.
The previous Murderous Level ghost which Fang Yuan had just sealed had the abilities to alter memories, create split entities of itself and pull others into an alternate dimension.
Before they had arrived at the Paranormal Pawnshop, Fang Yuan had secretly created a split entity of himself and entered Lu Bingqi's body while he dealt the humongous female ghost by himself, therefore, putting the bait out.
The Paranormal Pawnshop was indeed inflexible enough to have pulled Lu Bingqi straight into its own dimension to punish him.
"Ring! Ring!"
After realising that they were not able to chase Fang Yuan away, alarms started to shrill in the entire pawnshop. Instruments of torture flew in mid-air towards Fang Yuan.
These instruments of torture were all cast with powerful curses which would allow them to deal with both humans and ghosts.
A mere split entity at the Spirit Level could do little in the pawnshop against the powerful ghosts here. In an instant, Fang Yuan was forced to the corner.
However, Fang Yuan left the split entity in Lu Bingqi not just to see the pawnshop. More importantly, it was to locate it.
Although this was his last resort, he was still not desperate enough to go to such lengths.
"It's important to know that... the split entity of a Murderous Level ghost is only at the Spirit Level. However, this split entity is able to appear at will and always has the upper hand. This is because these split entities have a delicate connection to the actual body itself. It is even able to swap locations with the actual body in an instant!"
"Buzz!"
In the next moment, the original black ghost had disappeared and was replaced by Fang Yuan's actual self!
In the outside world, Jiese the Monk was utterly shocked at Fang Yuan turning into a ghost. However, Fang Yuan who was now in the pawnshop started to examine his surroundings in detail before nodding his head. "This place is indeed an alternate dimension! I can sense that... the source is here!"
This was the source of a Strange Level paranormal presence! It was significant!
In an instant, Fang Yuan turned into the most powerful form he could turn into. The abilities of two powerful ghosts stacked against each other and even his hands were partially ice and fire.
"Kacha!"
In the blink of an eye, the brutal instruments of torture were hit to the ground and turned into a pile of bent metal.
At the same time, Fang Yuan could feel a huge pressure growing on him.
It was the collective power of the paranormal presence here!
The Strange Level curse had an area-wide effect which would last for thousands of years. It would mean a desolate world if placed upon the outside realm!
How scary would it be for such a curse to explode to its full potential in this alternate dimension?
At least Fang Yuan knew that if he did not release the abilities of the ghosts in him, his normal human body would not be able to withstand the curse for even a moment. He would have died in an instant!
"The compressing void, the control of information, the vengeful curses... everything is collectively targeted at me now."
The purple and black streaks on Fang Yuan's body formed a unique pattern which started to expand all over his body.
It was never a safe thing to release ghosts in the first place!
If Fang Yuan previously only released 30% of the ghost's abilities, now would be roughly 50%! It was close to the limit!
If he really crossed the limit, there would only be two consequences.
He could either force both ghosts out entirely and hope that they would go head-on with the Paranormal Pawnshop, resulting in both parties getting destroying each other leaving Fang Yuan alive to seal both of them back afterwards.
Another option would be to allow the ghosts to completely take over his body to transform himself into a true evil ghost! There would be no turning back!
Of course, considering Fang Yuan's physical conditions, the limit in which he could release the ghost was relatively high!
If he was a normal exorcist, he would already be close to his limit at 50%.
"My physical condition exceeds the limitation the realm imposes on humans. Together with my True Spirit and strong willpower, I am not afraid of being overwhelmed by the ghosts. Therefore, for me, the limit of releasing the ghosts is 99%!"
Fang Yuan quickly estimated his own limit by leveraging on his experience as a True Divine. With this, he was able to have so much confidence and delicate control.
Against the pressure from the entire Paranormal Pawnshop, Fang Yuan had already released the ghosts' abilities to 60%!
"In fact... This is a competition to see who is better at controlling their abilities... This is a true fight among ghosts of the Strange Level, which involved the limits of control!"
Fang Yuan's face became increasingly ferocious and one of his eyes had already turned red. Together with his other gold eye, he looked extremely evil.
"However... My opponent is ultimately a curse of the Strange Level... These two things which I have sealed might not be able to hold up for long!"
A curse at the Strange Level was entirely more powerful than ghosts at the Murderous Level!
Fang Yuan could only last so long because of his heightened physical conditions and the fact that the Paranormal Pawnshop was too inflexible in dealing with threats.
Even so, without a strong foundation to resist the increasing pressure, Fang Yuan felt that his resistance was meaningless.
"The only solution is to release the ghosts up to my limit. With that, I will be able to severely injure the curse of the pawnshop and quickly locate its source to seal it!"
Fang Yuan's eyes glistened with excitement. "Release!"
"Rumble!"
Unknowingly, Lu Bingqi who was watching the fight the whole time started to shiver even more violently.
All he could see was two unknown evils appeared behind Fang Yuan, revealing their illusionary silhouettes.
One of them was a charred corpse with bloodshot eyes.
The other one was greenish-purple and gave of chilly vibes. A light blue glow was continuously pulsating from it!
"Eh? Something's not right..."
The chilly vibes suddenly disappeared and Fang Yuan shuddered. "It's the ghost at the beginning! It has regained all of its Strange Level abilities!"
The first ghost which he had sealed was created a curse created by the collective effort of the Tantai Family. It was initially at the level of 'Strange' but was injured by the 'Door', sustaining an injury which lasted more than 10 years.
However, in recent years, due to the fact that Fang Yuan had released it partially multiple times or the fact that it might be triggered by the pawnshop, it had restored its partial ability!
"Strange Level curses have their own quirks but all of them are troublesome. However, I am fortunate. The curse of the pawnshop seems to be more of the preparatory type. If given time to prepare, it will be able to create ghost swarms and humongous ghosts which will then pose problems for me. However, my surprise invasion this time will allow me to kill my way to its source!"
Fang Yuan focused and a streak of ice appeared before him which stretched into the sky.
"Warping space? I know that too!"
A tunnel was opened, revealing the other buildings within the pawnshop
"Pa!"
Fang Yuan stomped his feet on the ground. Like a cannonball, the wall in front crumbled, revealing the depths of the pawnshop.
Lu Bingqi was utterly stunned and dumbfounded.
"Ferocious! A ferocious being of the world! How could he forcefully tear down the pawnshop..."
Lu Bingqi's mouth was wide open but secretly, he was happy.
If Fang Yuan succeeded, would he have a better chance of survival?
"Wuuuu..."
A sense of fear suddenly filled his heart and a green glow started to form words before him:
"Emergency trade announcement!"
"Kill the invader and gain the rights to redeem your soul! This trade is open to all!"
...
All around the world, traders of the Paranormal Pawnshop twitched their eyebrows. Some of them were jubilant while others were deep in thought.
"It's panicking!"
As a trader, Lu Bingqi knew what was happening now. "The pawnshop is panicking! This means that Mister Fang Yuan really has the ability to destroy the pawnshop!"
At the same time, numerous traders started to appear before Fang Yuan. Some of them avoided him as soon as they arrived while others had a ferocious smile on their faces. "After killing you, I will be free!"
"Idiots!"
Without paying too much attention to them, Fang Yuan effortlessly wiped out all forms of resistance, turning them into a pile of bloodied mess.
"A single trade is enough for me to redeem my soul?"
In a flash, a pair of westerners appeared on the corridors of the pawnshop.
The female had skin as white as milk and she seemed focused. "If I use my black magic, I might succeed!"
"No, I wouldn't recommend you to do so!"
The big burly westerner pulled her to a corner.
"Thomas, why are you getting in my way?"
"I don't want to see you die for nothing! You must know that... this person is the enemy of the pawnshop!"
Thomas swallowed his saliva. "You know that I have the blood of a psychic. My predictions are always spot on. Be careful, he's here!"
In the blink of an eye, the female witch noticed a reckless silhouette coming towards them.
Before Fang Yuan, another black magician appeared. The black magician quickly chanted a mantra and a black hexagram array formed a protection around the black magician.
"It's President of Darkness's curse! Eh..."
As soon as the female witch became excited, the easterner waved his hands as though he was swatting a fly. In an instant, the protective curse was disabled and the president was being flung towards the wall, turning into a pile of blood and flesh. She did not even have the time or opportunity to retaliate.
"Thomas... You're right. This person is not someone we can afford to anger..."