Chapter 398 Holy Water and Sacred Fire

Chapter 398: Holy Water and Holy Fire

After all the players had just about finished reading the game rules, the eerie entities that had remained seated in the lobby due to breakfast suddenly burst into a chorus of strange, unsettling laughter.

Some of these laughs were low and grating, as if rising from the depths of hell. Others cackled sharply and piercingly, like rusty nails scraping across a blackboard. Still others emitted low, muffled chuckles, as if foreseeing what was to come.

These sounds intertwined, forming chilling notes that, to the players, felt like countless icy hands gently stroking their spines, making everyone's hair stand on end.

The entire lobby was enveloped in a sinister atmosphere, the air still thick with the suffocating stench of decay.

At this moment, Tan Ying and Li Feiwen exchanged a glance, both seemingly having sensed the hidden dangers within the treasure hunt rules.

Li Feiwen silently mouthed a few words to Tan Ying, who gave a slight nod in response.

The two had cooperated in other games before, understood each other's abilities, and shared more rapport than other unfamiliar players.

After reaching some sort of agreement on action, Tan Ying calmly smoothed her red-dyed bangs and took a few steps toward the staircase. Making sure the stairwell was directly behind her, she chose to activate her ability.

Shadow!

The shadow beneath Tan Ying's feet, cast by the lobby lights, suddenly spread outward in all directions like a pool of black liquid, rapidly connecting with the shadows of the surrounding players. However, when Tan Ying's shadow attempted to connect with Su Bai's, it was completely unable to link with his. Even the shadow of Wu Hang, standing beside Su Bai, had been connected by Tan Ying, yet Su Bai's shadow seemed to possess some special barrier, making it utterly impossible to approach.

Tan Ying looked at Su Bai in surprise. After a few more attempts, she frowned and chose to abandon connecting with Su Bai's shadow, nodding again to Li Feiwen.

"Everyone, be careful." Tan Ying's sudden warning rang out like a thunderclap. The next second, she herself retreated to the staircase as fast as she could.

Simultaneously, all players connected by Tan Ying's shadow felt their bodies instantly lose control, as if they had boarded a plummeting roller coaster, and were yanked behind Tan Ying in the blink of an eye. The speed was so fast that even the eerie entities sitting beside the players failed to react.

From Su Bai's perspective, those players gathered behind Tan Ying as if teleporting, each face etched with shock and confusion.

At this moment, the closest entity to the players was Tan Ying's "family member"—the eerie entity with two faces was advancing. One of its faces was sinister and terrifying, while the other wore a bizarre smile, its eyes gleaming with malice and craving.

But before Tan Ying's "family member" could get close, Li Feiwen had already produced a porcelain bottle from seemingly nowhere and swiftly sprinkled its contents around them. Without hesitation, he tossed a lit match into the transparent liquid spilled from the bottle. Instantly, blazing golden flames erupted as if encountering fuel. The flames, tinged with gold, carried a sacred radiance, a power that seemed to purify everything.

Upon seeing the flames, the eerie entities that had intended to approach the players actually retreated a couple of steps, their faces showing fear.

"Wh-what... what just happened..." Liu Yongzhi couldn't process it at all, his face pale, voice trembling.

"This is like the holy water and holy fire from Western legends in the real world, right?" Li Feiwen looked at the blazing golden flames before him, letting out a slight sigh of relief. "I found this item in a place resembling a church before."

"That's not the point! Was that your ability just now, Sister Tan Ying? Why did you pull us over without any warning?" Liang Yuyan, who had lost too much blood yesterday, stumbled and sat down heavily on the staircase steps, her face pale, breathing ragged.

"I thought you were quite clever." Li Feiwen's words to Liang Yuyan were as pointed as her initial remarks toward him. "Doing this was obviously to separate us from those eerie entities."

"But the game hasn't started yet," Ai Qing asked, puzzled, as he squeezed next to Li Feiwen, his face full of confusion. "Doesn't the game only start after the bell is rung?"

"It might be too late by then." Tan Ying, clearly confident in the holy fire Li Feiwen had ignited, spoke without much urgency.

However, Tan Ying wasn't in the mood to explain too much now. Instead, she looked toward Su Bai, who remained in the lobby. The tall, slender young man stood quietly amidst a group of eerie entities that had lost their targets. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, revealing a section of pale wrist, his fingers long yet strong. Though his hair was tied back with a key hair tie, strands were slightly disheveled, appearing natural and relaxed.

The young man named Su Bai had refined features, his gaze calm and unruffled. Simply standing there, he seemed utterly out of place amidst the surrounding terrifying scene, he carried an unusual aura about him.

"Did your ability fail? Why is someone still in the lobby?" Perhaps because Li Feiwen still harbored some interest in the young man named Su Bai, his tone and expression grew somewhat anxious upon seeing Su Bai still in the lobby.

"For some reason, my shadow couldn't control his shadow." Tan Ying glanced at Wu Hang, who was now standing nearby. Compared to Su Bai, who was good-looking but seemed rather ordinary as a player, Tan Ying had initially thought Wu Hang was the more mysterious and abnormal one.

But Tan Ying and Li Feiwen's feelings were momentary. Su Bai wasn't foolish enough to remain standing there indefinitely. Realizing what Tan Ying and the others intended to do, Su Bai stepped forward, walking past the eerie entities toward the location where the holy fire burned.

The eerie entities were all fixated on their own "family members," paying no attention to Su Bai's movements. The small eerie entity that had been guarding Su Bai, though its face showed clear reluctance, could only watch Su Bai leave without daring to make any extra moves, as Su Bai had left a small cluster of blue flame within its clothing.

"The holy fire is ineffective against the living, so don't be afraid to just—"

Before Li Feiwen could finish, Su Bai had already stepped through the golden flames. Some of the flames lingered on the hem of his clothes for a moment before quietly dissipating.

Su Bai was somewhat familiar with holy water and holy fire, but he hadn't expected Li Feiwen to encounter such powerful items targeting ordinary eerie entities so early. While such things had little effect on more powerful eerie entities, in later generations, they had served as potent items to resolve several ghost tides. Thus, Su Bai knew well that these blazing flames, more than ordinary fire, resembled the blue flames around him—devouring filth, eradicating eerie entities, yet unable to even singe a piece of clothing.

Only their intensity was far weaker than the blue flames Su Bai was familiar with.

But for the current situation, they were sufficient.

"Let me explain in detail what might happen next." Once assured everyone was behind the holy fire, Tan Ying's expression turned very serious.