Chapter 16 "Get back here!

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The figure that burst through the door was similar in size and shape to a human, but its entire body was severely burned and charred, showing no unblemished flesh. It was hunched and skeletal, with only a pair of cloudy white eyes.

No matter how you looked at it, it appeared to be a burnt corpse, yet "its" movements seemed unaffected, unusually agile, as it dashed down the corridor with nimble steps.

That was the Core Ghost of Xiaokang Building.

Cen Dongsheng felt no fear, as he was prepared to confront the entity head-on.

However, the burnt corpse evil spirit didn't look toward the closer target, him. Instead, it ran straight to the other end of the corridor.

"Aah, aah, aah—"

The evil spirit let out a wailing scream unlike any human sound, with its charred body continually shedding, leaving a trail of blackened footprints on the cement floor.

Beneath its skin, there were flickering flames bursting forth, like a moving, impending volcanic eruption.

As it reached the end of the corridor, the blazing fire within seemed to break free at last, with fierce tongues of flame licking towards the shadows in the corner.

A figure emerged from the shadows, flipping over the railing.

Upon hearing the panicked shout from the person being targeted by the burnt corpse, the female Curse Forbidden Master named Kong Yulin, Cen Dongsheng quickly understood the reason.

"Yu Wentao! You're dead after all...! The items are with you, aren't they?... Damn it, you're already without reason... Still causing trouble in death, you bastard!"

Beetles and Flying Centipedes appeared simultaneously, attempting to entangle the movements of the burnt corpse.

Scorching streams of flame erupted from the corpse's surface, enveloping the two "Gu Worms," making their outlines instantly blurry.

Taking this opportunity, Kong Yulin flipped to the second level, once again hiding in the shadows.

The burnt corpse evil spirit looked around blankly, as if realizing it had lost its target, and only then did it focus its attention on Cen Dongsheng.

...So that's how it is.

It seemed that "it" was someone Kong Yulin knew in life, the very culprit of Xiaokang Building's ghost house transformation, who mysteriously disappeared, Yu Wentao.

Ordinary people would never recognize the appearance of this burnt corpse. Even if it were a former companion, they would likely have guessed by its pyrokinesis abilities...

It seemed that Yu Wentao was truly dead, along with the Forbidden Items he carried, becoming the core of the ghost house.

"What on earth happened to this guy? Could it be that another passing Curse Forbidden Master killed him? Or, perhaps he died at the hands of ordinary people, or in an accident..."

While Cen Dongsheng was contemplating, the burnt corpse evil spirit lunged at him, its steps staggering, running like a beast, yet its movements were extraordinarily quick.

"Aah, aah, aah..."

The burnt corpse's mouth opened wide when it was close enough, emitting a chilling, pained roar, its entire body exuding an odor of charred flesh.

With sharp eyes, Cen Dongsheng noticed that beneath the cheerless blackened surface, pink new flesh was sprouting like buds, while carbonized husks continuously fell away, sputtering with flames... Its bodily tissues repeatedly cycled between growing anew and being scorched by high heat, enduring unimaginable pain.

"...!"

Cen Dongsheng turned his head, dodging the flames emitted from the evil spirit's mouth, while adroitly seizing its hand.

"Ha!"

The True Qi swelled, and his palm exerted force!

He easily twisted off one of the burnt corpse's arms, then lifted a foot to stomp heavily on it, simultaneously pulling with force in opposite directions—

"Boom!"

Cen Dongsheng tore off an arm from the burnt corpse.

What gushed from the wound was not streaming blood, but flames mixed with charcoal ash.

The burnt corpse wobbled slightly upon having an arm torn away; transformed into a ghost, it seemed completely devoid of pain, unhesitatingly pouncing at him again.

Cen Dongsheng tossed the now spontaneously combusting charred arm aside, retreating quickly.

As he evaded the evil spirit's attacks, he checked his hand.

Cen Dongsheng looked at his palm—the area where he had grabbed the evil spirit's arm bore a blackened mark. Below the carbonized skin lay bright red muscle, emanating a burning pain.

A certain residual negative energy was quietly smoldering.

He looked down and found that his right shoe had already burned away, with an unpleasant smell of heated rubber.

Indeed... Even though he had merely kicked the opponent, just a moment of contact allowed this power to spread onto him.

If an ordinary person dared touch the burnt corpse evil spirit, they would likely catch fire on the spot, experiencing the same full-body charring pain as the evil spirit; as a Curse Forbidden Master, he could dissolve it with True Qi...

But it would take time.

If the Forbidden Masters' power originated from "Cursing Prohibition," then that of the ghosts was sheer "Curse," incredibly malevolent, standing in inherent opposition to the living.

Cen Dongsheng slightly clenched his fist, then released it.

He had battled with ghosts of this level more than once or twice, so he was experienced.

Unless possessing some detection ability, there was no universal rule such as "knowing the strength level at first glance" in battles among Forbidden Masters or among ghosts. It often required personal experience and knowledge to make judgments.

For instance, a ghost capable of using "Space Manipulation" inside a ghost house would be classified as Class A; similarly, by observing the time it took a Curse to be dissolved with "True Qi," one could roughly gauge a ghost's level.

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