Chapter 25: The Instantly Burning Ghost Candle

It was another high-stakes gamble—but fortunately, he won.

Relying on the success of transforming the ghost visage into his own, Shen Lin saw through the very existence of this world.

This was a realm utterly inverted, where everything seemed like flowers reflected in water or the moon's image in a well—completely opposite to the real world.

What moved left in reality veered right here; what rose upward there sank downward here.

For the first time, Shen Lin began to understand the rules governing that ghost.

Having passed through the ghost’s body, he once supposed it was a transparent or penetrating spirit, its laws unknown, only certain that it could pass through anything.

Reality shattered all his assumptions.

This ghost could invert everything.

That explained the strange phenomena encountered along the way.

In the villa, those people clearly moved toward opposite balconies but ultimately entered darkness.

From the perspective of an inverted world, everyone thought they rushed toward the balcony, but in fact, they charged straight into the shadowed, mottled stone steps.

What you deem the right direction, under the ghost’s influence, is actually the opposite.

More terrifyingly, this control was selective.

What you think is the wrong way, it is also made to be the wrong way.

The ghost always guides you down the path it desires—you cannot avoid it.

Perhaps that was why he could pass through the hologram-like ghost; in that instant, the ghost inverted everything, shifted its position and all else, and just as it was about to strangle him, restored everything to normal.

The mutated ghost visage brought forth a brand-new ghost territory. Shen Lin speculated on its uniqueness; if the ghost realm were to be classified, it would likely belong to the second or third tier of Yang Jian’s hierarchy.

Seizing this opportunity, he barely saw through it all—but only barely. It was still insufficient to break through the ghost domain and return to the outside world.

After a moment’s contemplation, Shen Lin searched for a way out, trying to recall everything until his thoughts settled on what Dai Heming had said.

Donghua Plaza!

If everything truly began at Donghua Plaza, then surely he could find the key to breaking the cycle there.

To Donghua Plaza!

Made up his mind, Shen Lin set off immediately.

The layout of Longhu Villa was not complex. Despite multiple overlays of the ghost realm causing perceptual distortions, Shen Lin was intimately familiar with the terrain.

As one of the largest plazas in the community, with roads leading from all directions, there were many ways to reach Donghua Plaza.

He chose the most direct route. In this inverted environment, fewer judgments meant fewer mistakes.

His first task was to cross a flowerbed.

The path was far from peaceful. Shen Lin noticed marks resembling charred coal; bringing them close, a foul odor of burnt flesh lingered.

They had been separated for too long—clearly someone had been attacked.

The traces were chaotic, like a headless fly, but careful observation revealed something: after repeatedly traversing this road, that person intended to reach Donghua Plaza.

Shen Lin smiled—a clever fellow. It seemed he was not the only one who had thought of this.

If Donghua Plaza was the origin, then it was also the only place where this all could end.

The exquisite Su-style garden architecture, coupled with a mountain and water backdrop and exquisitely artistic fountains, made Longhu Villa fulfill almost every young person's dream of a home.

It was tasteful, alluring but not vulgar; even if it was for show, it was a show of status and prestige.

At the far end of the flowerbed, Shen Lin spotted a figure—cracked and blackened all over, obviously attacked. The flesh, still glowing scarlet like burning embers, flickered like flames, tormenting him with unbearable pain.

It was Dai Henian!

“Anything you want to say?” Shen Lin asked.

The other seemed to see him, surprised, about to speak but thick blood dribbled from his mouth, the stench of iron filling the air.

“Your time is short. I cannot help you. Unless by accident, the pain you endure will last long. But if you wish, I can grant you a merciful end,” Shen Lin stated truthfully.

The hope in Dai Henian’s eyes froze, then gave way to despair, and finally twisted into madness.

Pressure shattered him utterly; mingled with pain, he became a complete lunatic.

Shen Lin’s gaze was calm, his ghostly domain cloaked in dark red. With a swipe of his hands at the man’s neck, he severed it cleanly.

He granted Dai Henian the death and dignity due a human.

Before leaving, Shen Lin closed his eyes and used the ghost domain to find a random spot for burial, fulfilling the last shred of humanitarian spirit.

Dai Henian’s death rang a loud alarm for Shen Lin. He began vigilantly observing everything around him, his ghost domain of dark red spreading, guarding against further accidents.

He did not yet know the extent of his mutated ghost visage’s powers and was unsure if he could contend with the inverted ghost.

Better safe than sorry.

With the mutated ghost visage and one and a half ghost candles, he could repel most supernatural phenomena without fear.

The eerie journey continued. Shen Lin’s footsteps crunched on withered leaves, the brittle cracks creating a strange rhythm in the surroundings.

“Ding~ ding~”

Like wind chimes ringing from an unknown distance, irregular and elusive, even with the sudden expansion of his ghost domain, he could not pinpoint the source.

“Something’s approaching!” Shen Lin was certain.

As he neared Donghua Plaza, the chime-like sounds intensified, as if some mysterious force forbade his approach.

This was a warning from the vengeful ghost.

When Shen Lin passed a particular cluster of bushes, the chimes reached their loudest. He focused on the thicket.

“The sound comes from here.”

His expression was vigilant, eyes and stance bristling with aggression. Whatever emerged from the bushes next, he would strike without hesitation.

To hide one’s location within a ghost domain was no trivial feat. This was no ordinary disturbance.

“Ding ding ding~ ding ding ding~”

The sound grew stronger, yet the source showed no intention of revealing itself.

“If you won’t come out, then I’ll go in.”

Shen Lin’s gaze hardened. He stepped back slightly, the ghostly eyes of his chest flaring with dark red light.

At this stage, his ghost visage could even resist the inverted world’s strangeness, giving him some confidence.

The dark red ghost domain pierced the bushes like a sharp blade, heading straight for the sound’s origin. Shen Lin was confident that when he got close, he could trap the entity within his domain, making imprisonment much easier.

But in the next moment, the sound ceased abruptly. Shen Lin’s face darkened.

Failure.

The ghost domain seemed swallowed by a bottomless abyss, vanishing without a trace.

Run!

Without hesitation, Shen Lin’s legs surged forward. Simultaneously, he drew the half-remaining ghost candle from his chest pocket.

As he ignited it, the candle burned down a third instantly.

Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying!

At this moment, Shen Lin wanted to curse. How could such an entity appear now? A ghost able to cause ghost candles to burn so rapidly was no ordinary foe—each one possessed the power to kill him instantly.

Fortunately, after the initial flare, the candle’s flame stabilized.

Had the ghost chosen not to strike? Or was its rule untriggered?

Holding the ghost candle, its eerie green flame casting light, Shen Lin glanced nervously at the bushes. The strange wind-chime sound rang again.

The adversary seemed not intent on annihilation, which brought him some relief. In his current state, facing such terror would be a death sentence.

Shen Lin had no doubt about this.

Retracting part of his ghost domain, he noticed strange green traces.

A faint stench lingered—like clusters of fireflies on a summer night, clinging to the ghost domain.

Then, they began to devour it!

Shen Lin was dumbfounded. In the blink of an eye, the pale green light consumed one-eighth of his existing ghost domain.

What kind of ghost was this?

Unheard of, unseen.

Without hesitation, Shen Lin severed and discarded the devoured portion of his ghost domain. Although restoration would take time, he had no choice.

The ghost domain was his strongest shield at this stage; if it was completely devoured, he could not imagine the horror that would follow.

After consuming the cut portion, the green glow vanished again, widening Shen Lin’s eyes.

Strictly speaking, a ghost domain’s layers are spatial in nature—a space created atop reality belonging to the ghost master.

This thing was visible but intangible.

Apart from some supernatural artifacts and exceptionally powerful spirits, others attempting to harm a ghost domain were merely chasing fantasies.

In the original story, Xiao Yang’s ghost domain had been suppressed, shattered, even crushed by a starving ghost during an S-class incident.

But nothing like this had ever occurred—a ghost capable of devouring ghost domains. That thought alone was chilling.

Get away. Quickly.

Shen Lin didn’t even want to investigate further. Probing would mean certain death.

The ghost candle’s protection made the path to Donghua Plaza smoother. Along the way, Shen Lin witnessed many reduced to ash—but no sign of Li Meng, which made him exhale deeply.

The inverted ghost could invert everything. A likely trigger of its rule was trying to do something normal in this reversed world.

The best solution was to do nothing—if you do nothing, you won’t err, nor will you trigger its rule.

Invert everything, he thought, eyes narrowing. The fear behind him faded for the moment, allowing him to focus.

Approaching Donghua Plaza, Shen Lin saw a stark desolation unlike the way he had come.

Though near spring, everything here seemed barren.

The closer he drew to the plaza, the stronger the sense of desolation became. Evergreen pines and cypresses stood withered to mere dead wood—hardly explainable without some external influence.

The ghost candle still burned normally, indicating no fierce ghost was nearby.

At the plaza’s end, Shen Lin saw a mottled stone staircase, just like the one he and his companions had once climbed in the villa’s darkness.

The difference was that here, the steps clearly ended, and the turquoise moss had vanished.

In its place was a streak of vivid, eerie red—like blood poured down, the staircase radiating an ominous, unnatural dread.