The Lord of Void and Real

Chapter 242: Chapter 240: Ghost Wailing Ring

After leaving Lishui River, Shen Luo went to Red Leaf Town first, informed Old Sun that the ghosts had been driven away, and then, despite Old Sun’s eager invitation to stay, immediately headed towards Jianye City.

To avoid any problems, he left the town immediately, putting his Slanting Moon Steps into swift motion. He hadn’t run very far when suddenly someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Shen Luo was taken aback. The white moonlight under his feet shone brightly, and his figure blurred into obscurity. His body, accompanied by several afterimages, sidestepped away.

The next moment, dozens of metres away, his figure appeared out of nowhere, a Thunderfall Talisman already in his hand, ready to be activated. But suddenly, he froze.

Where he had originally stood, a white-faced scholar appeared, a faint smile on his face.

“It turns out to be Senior Horse Face. You scared me,” Shen Luo said, feeling a sense of relief, putting down the Thunderfall Talisman in his hand.

...

“No wonder you dared to face the ghosts of the Grain Avoidance Stage head on. This is your ace in the hole. This footwork is also quite interesting,” Soul Hook Horse Face glanced at the Thunderfall Talisman in Shen Luo’s hand, chuckled, and a profound expression appeared on his face.

“I see that you arrived first, Elder. Did you also come to exorcise the ghosts here?” Shen Luo gave a dry laugh and discreetly put away the Thunderfall Talisman.

“It is part of my duty, but since you have helped, I didn’t need to show my hand,” Soul Hook Horse Face said leisurely.

“It is my honor to help you, Elder. But why have ghost incidents around Jianye City been happening so frequently lately?” Shen Luo said with a slight smile, swiftly changing the topic.

“I am not sure either. I have reported it honestly, and it’s currently under investigation. The most important thing now is to drive away these ghosts and maintain Jianye City’s tranquility. Young Master Shen, would you like to lend me a hand?” Soul Hook Horse Face became serious, shook his head, then looked into Shen Luo’s eyes and asked.

“Killing ghosts benefits the city and the people alike. I am willing to do it. However, my Small Thunder Talismans can only kill ordinary ghosts. These kinds of ghosts can be eliminated with a wave of Elder’s hand. Do you really need me?” Shen Luo said.

“Don’t play dumb with me! The Thunder talisman I’m referring to is not the small thunder talisman you just used to kill the drowned ghost, but the one you wanted to use against me just now.” Soul Hook Horse Face gave Shen Luo a look and said.

Shen Luo smiled awkwardly and did not reply.

“If I’m not mistaken, that talisman of yours should be a high-grade Thunder talisman, right? The power of thunder and lightning is the nemesis of ghosts. This talisman can certainly help me,” Soul Hook Horse Face continued.

“To tell the truth, this Thunderfall talisman is indeed quite powerful, but I only have two of them. I’m afraid I can’t help Elder much,” Shen Luo sighed, not mentioning that he could draw Thunderfall talismans himself.

“Good kid, you dare to fleece a Yin God! What benefit do you want to agree to help? Just say it,” Soul Hook Horse Face laughed and teased when he saw the look on Shen Luo’s face.

“Elder, you are a wealthy Yin god of the Underworld, with many treasures. I am not greedy. Just one item would suffice,” Shen Luo replied somewhat ambiguously with a chuckle.

“What a cunning boy, always looking out for his interests! Now that I look you over, aside from a few talismans, you don’t have any talismanic instruments. Let me reward you with this Ghost Wailing Ring,” Soul Hook Horse Face scrutinized Shen Luo, then flipped his hand to bring out a palm-sized black ring and tossed it to Shen Luo.

Shen Luo quickly caught it. This ring, however, was surprisingly heavy — much more than its size would suggest, and his hand immediately dipped under its weight. He grappled to steady it.

But instead of being startled, he examined the black ring with delight.

The ring was pitch black and had a very simple style. There was a row of tiny runes engraved on it, which were emitting strands of black light. But there was no talisman paper to be seen.

“This Ghost Wailing Ring is a magical tool that I happened upon many years ago. Calling it a magic tool isn’t quite accurate, strictly speaking; this item should be considered half-artifact,” Soul Hook Horse Face began.

“A half-artifact?” Shen Luo raised his eyebrows.

“Do you know what an artifact is?” Soul Hook Horse Face asked.

“I’ve heard people say that it’s a talismanic instrument that contains prohibitions,” Shen Luo flashed back to what Granny Ma had said in Dreamland, and replied.

“That’s not wrong. Essentially, there isn’t much difference between an artifact and a talismanic instrument. It’s just that the materials used for talismanic instruments are too poor to withstand the power of prohibitions, so various talismans have to be attached, and they rely on the power of the talismans to fight the enemy. This Ghost Wailing Ring is made from the bones of an earth rotting ghost at the Grain Avoidance Stage, more than enough to form an artifact. Therefore, the artifact refiner transformed the talisman into runes, engraved them on the Ghost Wailing Ring, and created this semi-artifact,” Soul Hook Horse Face nodded and explained.

“I see, so it can be done like this!” Shen Luo murmured in surprise after listening to this.

“Artifact refining is a truly magical path; there are many things you don’t know! This Ghost Wailing Ring has the runes engraved on it, so it can be stimulated directly with mana like an artifact, and its power is far beyond ordinary talismanic instruments. But it does have its drawbacks, this ring requires a large amount of mana injected to activate it, thus the consumption is much greater than ordinary talismanic instruments. You can give it a try,” Soul Hook Horse Face continued.

At these words, Shen Luo’s face lit up with delight, then immediately he revealed a worried expression. He gripped the Ghost Wailing Ring, running mana into it.

A layer of black light appeared on the surface of the Ghost Wailing Ring, but that was all.

He increased the injection of mana, and the black light on the ring started to brighten and the originally heavy Ghost Wailing Ring suddenly became light.

With a hum, the black light on the Ghost Wailing Ring converged, condensing into a basin-sized, pitch-black ghost head.

“Go!”

Shen Luo, his eyes shining with an unusual light, swung the Ghost Wailing Ring and struck it towards a large maple tree in the void in front of him.

The ghost head immediately opened its mouth wide, issuing a piercing wailing sound, and a black sound wave, like dense fog, was sprayed out from its mouth, shooting forwards.

The black sound wave, seemingly immaterial yet containing a wave of sharp energy, left a deep mark on the ground as it passed, covering several meters instantly and hit the large maple tree.

The large maple tree shook violently with a loud rumble. Within the range of the black sound wave, the small branches and leaves instantly exploded and turned into tiny specks of dust.

The thick trunk was not shattered, but its bark split open, revealing the pale trunk within which countless fine cracks appeared.

The entire tree trembled for a good while before finally coming to a stop.

Seeing this, Shen Luo was both shocked and thrilled.

This Ghost Wailing Ring indeed consumed quite a bit of mana, almost several times more than his previous small gray fork, but the attack effect made him feel it was worth the expense.