Chapter 268: Chapter 187: Deceitful Painting? What Nonsense—Why Not Call It Human Skin Parchment? (5)

"The fog in this space not only disrupts vision and psychic ability but also possesses a strong corrosive nature, and there’s an unknown organism that affects mental levels. It’s truly extraordinary."

As Ning An spoke, Zhang Xingmin was relaying the information back to headquarters in real time. If they were all to perish, this would be the most valuable knowledge.

Even though Ning An was regarded as almost god-like within their circles, he dared not be complacent.

The dam of a thousand miles could be destroyed by an ant hole. In the face of the unknown, the slightest mistake could lead to great disaster, bringing catastrophe to the nearby residents. He must be extremely cautious!

As all the information was being transmitted, before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Ning An discussing with Lin Yanke: "I’ll go in to take a look, you provide cover for me from outside. You can’t see clearly from out here."

"Alright, I’ve brought plenty of charms this time, hehe, let’s brave the docks!"

"What? Absolutely not! How can you put yourselves at risk like this? This is madness."

Zhang Xingmin panicked and hastily advised, "If anyone is going in, let it be us. Once we’ve prepared, you can go in."

After all, these two were invited by the main bureau, both their status and the importance of the Spiritual Land Divination were self-evident.

If anything were to go wrong, even death would not atone for it.

"Haha, in my book, there’s no such thing as letting the weak sacrifice themselves to pave the way. Moreover, this thing isn’t too strong—I might be able to handle it."

"Daoist Ning!"

"Daoist Ning!"

Watching the squad members around him tear up, Lin Yanke muttered quietly:

"If I had known, I would’ve gone in instead. Every time, he shows off and doesn’t let me go. Stupid senior brother, lousy senior brother!"

...

The fog was dense, obscuring vision.

Before entering this airspace, Ning An had already affixed the Golden Light Talisman to himself. Yet, despite this, after just a few steps, he began to feel itching and pain on his skin, as if countless venomous ants were gnawing at him.

Even with the Golden Light Talisman and his extraordinary physique, he was still affected this way, showing the severity of the fog.

Immediately, he exerted all his inner Qi, enveloping his entire body as if covered in a translucent membrane within the golden light, similar to wearing external armor and internal soft armor, directly isolating the mist.

He activated his Divine Sense, scanning the surroundings. The visibility remained low, roughly around three meters.

The pervasive fog obscured directions, silenced sounds, and eliminated scents, thoroughly suppressing the functions of the senses.

In such a state, it almost felt like returning to the womb, making one only want to sleep.

Even with the Golden Light Spell, an ordinary person entering here would likely collapse.

"Such elementary tricks."

Ning An smiled faintly and pulled a black token from his pocket—none other than the Thunder Strike Token he had used on the set before.

"Break!"

A Thunder Dragon flashed by, crackling sounds filled the air, and in an instant, the fog in front of him dissipated completely, revealing the room’s true appearance.

Everything in the studio was exactly as Xiaohu described.

The painting was hung up, facing the door. From outside, the indistinct figures seen were exactly like that.

The walls inside the room were soaked with black dog’s blood, emitting a pungent odor, and the design on the floor was inexplicably eerie, special, with the middle lower and the sides higher.

Moreover, there was only one non-existent door.

No ventilation was designed to keep the studio dry.

After surveying the surroundings, Ning An then looked up to find the Pear Wood Box.

According to Xiaohu, the anomalous painting was stored inside it.

"Hiss!"

Ning An halted in his steps, surprised.

As the Thunder Strike Token cleared the path, a Thunder Dragon flashed by, painting the studio a ghastly white.

It also illuminated the front of the room, where a woman’s painting hung incongruously. Perhaps it was a hallucination, but the woman’s image seemed to have eyes filled with spring water, covering her mouth and smiling at him.

For some reason, though the figure in the painting was clearly an inanimate object, it sent a shiver down his spine, as if that inanimate object was staring straight at him.

The decrepit studio at this moment.

Creepy!

Strange!

Chilling!

Every detail on the woman’s body in the painting was incredibly lifelike.

It was as if it wasn’t a painting at all.

But rather a person standing there.

The fog began to enshroud again, the space becoming obscure once more.

Ning An remained silent, his hand shook slightly, and a glint of cold light arrived first.

About three feet long and two inches wide, occasionally flickering with a bronze hue, it was raised in the air, parting the fog.

"Elementary tricks!"

In the blink of an eye, the bronze hue dissipated, reappearing some seven to eight meters away.

Speed like lightning, person and sword were ghost-like, heading straight for the painting on the side.

It wasn’t that Ning An didn’t want to use the Thunder Strike Token. But when he controlled the lighting to strike the painting earlier, some inexplicable force kept interfering, like raindrops falling on an umbrella, unable to hit the people underneath.

He controlled the Seven-Star Copper Coin Sword, darting around, moving from one end of the studio to the other.

"Tear! Tear!"

A few paintings were pierced by the sword consecutively. Then, Ning An stopped and observed the painting ahead, but there was no reaction.

According to his hypothesis, this image of the woman was very similar to the Person in the Painting from Strange Tales, using the scroll as a medium to seal the three souls and seven spirits within. As long as the scroll was damaged, the person drawn into it could awaken.

And the paintings he had just pierced were all modern, popular pencil sketches.

"Hmm?"

The moment Ning An sighed in relief, it tightened again instantly.

Destroying the scroll, regarding the deceitful painting before him, was akin to destroying someone’s foundation and severing their immortal path in novels.

Ning An was already on full alert, the Five Ghosts were vaguely flickering behind him, and the Thunder Strike Token had long been replaced by the Divine Invitation Incense, ensuring that even if he couldn’t handle the painting ahead, he could still save his life.

Unexpectedly, however, there was no reaction at all; instead, the sinister gaze softened a lot, faintly showing a touch of warmth.

The feeling was like an elder kindly watching their rebellious junior at home.

Damn it!

Who wants to become kin with some unknown thing in a painting!