The Post Sky Tipping Era
Chapter 331 - 227 Death Begins

Chapter 331: Chapter 227 Death Begins

Zhang Xun, as a powerhouse of the Soul Realm, could feel that a number of people had died on this floor at some point in the past. The emotions of fear from these deceased still lingered, but what was strange was that despite searching for so long, not a single body had been found. If it were true that this place was haunted and a ghost had indeed killed people, then there should have been corpses left behind.

From the situation of the lockdown outside, it simply wasn’t possible that someone had come specifically to deal with the bodies.

Following his intuition, Zhang Xun made his way to the door of a room on this floor.

The door was not locked but ajar.

However, many scratches were left on the wall next to the door, traces of blood were on those scratches, looking like someone had grabbed the wall and left them there during the process of being dragged. It was evident that something existed inside that room.

"Something’s not right."

Zhang Xun frowned at the sight of those scratches and instinctively felt unsettled.

This feeling was very abnormal.

He was a powerhouse of the Soul Realm, and dangers that ordinary people couldn’t handle were not worth mentioning in his eyes, but what was this unease in his heart?

With some doubts, Zhang Xun pushed open the half-closed door and walked in.

Upon entering, he immediately felt a cold breath envelop his entire body. Even as a Cultivator, he couldn’t help but shudder. He quickly realized that this chill was not in the physical sense, as the temperature in the room was not low—the coldness was like an intrusion of the soul.

It was similar to an energy field that emitted something invisible to normal people but could indirectly affect them, like the complete Mysterious Object, the Luanyang Feather, during a Cross Border phase.

However, there was no energy field in this room.

Rather, it was enveloped by an extremely evil force. If he had to describe this power accurately, it would be... supernatural power.

Zhang Xun’s eyes glowed; the pitch-black environment had no effect on him. He had only taken a few steps into the room when he abruptly halted his footsteps. Not far in front of him stood a clothes rack with an old garment hung upon it. The garment was in a dark shade of red, looking like a costume with its wide sleeves swinging slightly. At first glance, it seemed as if someone was waving at him.

"An old costume?"

He looked around but didn’t notice anything unusual. The only thing amiss was this old costume.

And in Zhang Xun’s perception, the source of all unease seemed to come from this costume.

However, he didn’t see any trace of a fierce ghost.

Zhang Xun thought for a moment, then still approached the costume. At first, he was cautious, but even as he got close, he didn’t find any danger. The closer he got to the dark red costume, the colder the surrounding atmosphere felt. He also caught the faintest whiff of the stench of rot.

His sense of unease grew.

After circling the costume a few times, Zhang Xun still couldn’t figure it out, "No fierce ghost has possessed it, no Cosmic Energy being emitted, just..."

He then looked towards the vast sleeves of the garment.

Inside the sleeve was darkness.

Even he, an Evolver of his level, couldn’t see through that darkness,

This was the only inconsistency.

In the end, driven by curiosity, Zhang Xun reached out to touch it, wanting to confirm the material of the old costume. To him, the fabric of this garment was special and didn’t seem like ordinary cloth.

He touched the sleeve.

The feel was cold, the material indeed mystical. With a bit more force, he rubbed his fingers; he could deform metals with his fingertips and peel off a layer of iron forcefully, yet this garment only deformed without showing any signs of damage.

A Mysterious Object?

This idea immediately sprang to Zhang Xun’s mind.

Because only Mysterious Objects were so indestructible.

However, he quickly dismissed this idea since the garment didn’t emit an energy field and denied the possibility of it being a Mysterious Object fundamentally.

But in that instant,

Suddenly,

from the depths of the wide sleeves, a bluish, blackened, and extremely cold hand thrust out abruptly, grabbing Zhang Xun’s wrist with great force. Though the power was immense, to a Cultivator, this level of strength was insignificant. It was the suddenness of the action that was terrifying.

Hm?

Zhang Xun’s face changed drastically, and he instantly reacted, realizing that the ghost in the building was most likely hiding in this old costume.

What was astounding was that not just one hand emerged but following it came a second, third, and fourth hand. These cold, bluish hands kept crawling and stacking on top of each other, spreading over Zhang Xun’s arm, while a terrifying pulling force came through, attempting to drag him into the depths of the sleeve.

"Merely some evil spirits, ignorant of their own insignificance," Zhang Xun roared, his energy surging as he shone with dazzling light. This light was like the burst of energy from a Mysterious Object that could instantly repel any living thing in its vicinity, including fierce ghosts.

However, as his energy erupted, the eerie hands that grasped him were unaffected, instead continuously eroding his arm. In just a moment, one of his arms was pulled into the sleeve of the costume, and even more bizarrely, the costume, originally hanging on the rack, rose slowly like a tall living person. It spread open its collar and loomed towards Zhang Xun.

Inside those theatrical robes was an abyss so vast and dark it seemed bottomless, now enveloping him as if to devour him wholly.

Zhang Xun’s face changed dramatically, his Soul Realm powerhouse energy suddenly erupting forth.

In this moment, the firm ground thundered, deep cracks forming beneath his feet. His body shone with light as he tried to use his formidable power to break free from the bondage, to tear apart the old costume, and to shatter the evil spirit before him.

However, no matter how strong his power was or how much energy poured out from within him, he couldn’t destroy the old costume or break free from its hold.

And until now, his soul perception hadn’t given him any warning.

"How can this be?" Zhang Xun cried out in shock and anger, for he couldn’t comprehend this scene.

Why couldn’t he, a Soul Realm powerhouse, defeat a piece of clothing?

Who would believe this if he told them?

Yet as the towering costume wrapped around him, he couldn’t resist; he could only watch helplessly as darkness shrouded him. Moreover, within that darkness, he felt countless hands tugging at him, seemingly trying to pull him deeper into the abyss.

Even without great intelligence, he understood that if he were to fall into that darkness, he would never be able to return alive.

Now Zhang Xun also realized why this place had been sealed off, why no corpses of the dead were found after the hauntings... It turned out that the people who died had all been consumed by the old theatrical costume.

"Am I going to die here? No..." Zhang Xun roared in defiance,radiating an unmatched brilliance. His body’s cosmic energy burst forth again, and amidst the light, a ghostly figure of Zhang Xun surged out.

That was his soul.

Soul Realm powerhouses had coalesced their souls which could leave their bodies and move independently in times of crisis; they could even cross through tiny wormholes to other worlds.

The risk of soul crossing was great, though, with a careless move turning one into one of the Silent Ones. Moreover, the soul becomes vulnerable to erosion after crossing, and eventual death is a likely outcome.

But at this point, Zhang Xun could no longer worry about those risks.

He fully understood now; the ghosts of this world were special, completely different from the fierce ghosts they knew and seemingly impossible to kill, since not even his full might as a Soul Realm powerhouse could cause the slightest harm to the ghosts here. In such a case, not fleeing would mean certain death.

However, as Zhang Xun’s soul rushed out, it was ensnared by the sleeve of the old costume, and the tugging force felt like it could tear his soul apart.

"What kind of joke is this? It can even capture the soul? What in the world is this place..." Zhang Xun’s soul was now terrified.

Nevertheless, the old costume did not allow any struggle; the dark crimson sleeve pulled at him, and his soul was dragged into a pitch-black void.

A Soul Realm powerhouse thus vanished without a trace, leaving not a single mark behind.

And then, the room returned to its silence.

But the strange thing was, none of the others outside noticed anything had happened.

This was highly unusual.

You see, Cultivators of the Spiritual Realm had astonishing hearing and perceptive abilities, able to detect any slight disturbance. Yet none of them came to check despite the commotion Zhang Xun caused in the room.

It wasn’t until a moment later, after they had finished scouring the floor, that they realized something was amiss.

Zhang Xun was missing?

It might seem laughable, but it appeared to be true.

Zhang Xun, the captain of the team, had simply disappeared.

"No way, this floor is so small, we could hear each other speak. How can someone just vanish like that?" Qin Bing said, incredulous.

"Indeed, we have found no trace of the captain," Zhang Jing said. She called out a few times, her voice echoing, but there was no response.

Tao Yuan frowned at this moment and said, "Something must have happened, but I saw Captain Zhang Xun head that way just now."

He then pointed.

It led to a corridor, at the end of which seemed to be a room with a door ajar, darkness within.

"Should we go check it out?" Zhang Jing asked tentatively.

"Okay," the others had no objections.

But Li Yi, for some reason, felt as if a voice was telling him not to go, not to be curious.

Suddenly.

A piercing pain shot through his head, causing his body to sway slightly, his pupils inadvertently turning black.

But just as quickly.

The stabbing pain disappeared, and Li Yi was back to normal, as if nothing had happened at all.