Each bottle of lamp oil can keep the soul lamp burning for 20 minutes under illumination within a radius of five meters, and for half an hour under illumination within a radius of three meters.
The three took turns using their own soul lamps for illumination, which meant that the lamp oil did not need to be supplied to all three at the same time. The 26 bottles of lamp oil could last for a full 13 hours. If they encountered other bounty posts along the way, this number would double.
"Gentlemen, we meet again." The Soul Merchant floated up to the group with a grin, his ghostly figure floating in the air. "I'm truly astonished that you didn't die under the Black Rain."
"As a businessman, is it appropriate to curse your customers to death right off the bat?"
"Haha, I have no trouble selling my stuff. Do you think I won't buy it because of my attitude?" The soul merchant didn't take these words to heart. Instead, he raised his right hand, and 22 bottles of lamp oil floated in the air.
"This number is wrong, shouldn't it be 26 bottles?"
"I'm very sorry—I'm out of stock. This is all the lamp oil I have left." The soul merchant said unhurriedly, as if he wasn't in a hurry. "These 22 bottles of lamp oil are all I have. Even if you want more, I won't have any more."
The 22 bottles of lamp oil represent their countdown to death, which is not enough to keep them alive until the next day. So they either pass the level today or die here!
"Don't be so pessimistic. Maybe you won't even need that much lamp oil." The Soul Merchant chuckled. "Let me do the math. I still owe you four bottles of lamp oil, right? Then let's use this to make up for it."
The Soul Merchant tossed four compasses to Jiang Ran: "Each compass corresponds to the location of a Soul-Suppressing Nail. Now, these are the only things that are useful to you. Don't call me a swindler; at least I didn't try to fob you off with cabbage leaves."
Then, before the group could ask any more questions, the Soul Merchant vanished before their eyes.
"This guy is really strange, but at least with this thing, we don't have to worry about finding the Soul-Suppressing Nails anymore!"
As Ye Ye said this, Jiang Ran nodded and, relying on one of the compasses, decided to find the nearest Soul-Suppressing Nail first!
Guided by the compass, the group quickly arrived at the nearest Soul-Suppressing Nail. The Soul-Suppressing Nail was a miniature structure over three meters tall, with a black and green crystal half-inserted into the ground. Four chains extended from the center of the crystal, connecting to the four black pillars.
Behind the Soul-Suppressing Nail lies the now-empty riverbed, devoid of even a drop of Styx water.
Jiang Ran walked a few steps closer before he could barely see the Soul-Suppressing Nail in its entirety. He placed his hand on the Soul-Suppressing Nail and felt a force that was constantly rising. If he could break the four chains, the Soul-Suppressing Nail would be freed from the earth.
This must be the method to remove the Soul-Suppressing Nails, but isn't it a bit too simple? These chains are already rusty, and putting aside the terrifying configuration of their team, even if someone else came here and used a holy weapon to cut them, I'm afraid the chains wouldn't be able to hold on.
"No, this force is getting stronger and stronger!"
The upward force of the Soul-Suppressing Nail gradually increased. If it continued to increase at this rate, the Soul-Suppressing Nail would probably break free of its restraints and fly into the sky in less than an hour!
Therefore, their task is most likely to guard the Soul-Suppressing Nails, and the next step is to find a way to stabilize them.
The four pillars are engraved with crooked runes. These runes are different but follow a certain pattern. Each pillar has seven different runes, but there is a blank space on each pillar. The position of the blank space is also different on each pillar.
Jiang Ran reached out and touched the black pillar. The pillar was a little damp, and even the paint seemed to be peeling off. When Jiang Ran withdrew his hand, half of his palm was stained black.
"The material of this pillar seems suitable for carving words?"
So that's how it is. Is it a pattern-finding game? Each pillar should have eight runes engraved on it. The four pillars are missing four runes in total. Only by filling in these four runes can the rising Soul-Suppressing Nails be suppressed!
These runes are unlike any other script on Earth. The only way to deduce the appearance of the blank runes is to refer to the other 28 runes. This is a very difficult task. There is only one chance to carve a rune, and once a mistake is made, it cannot be corrected.
Jiang Ran kept circling around the Soul-Suppressing Nail, memorizing the appearance of the runes. Memory is the most important thing for a ghost storyteller, since most rules only appear once, and if you forget them, there's no way to recover them.
Being able to remember all the rules after just one encounter is considered a basic skill for most ghost story writers. If you go to a C-level or D-level world to see those novice ghost story writers, you will see a group of bewildered kids who can't even remember the rules.
"If that's the case, then this position should be—"
Jiang Ran used a short knife to carve the shape of another rune onto the blank space of the first pillar.
As the runes were inscribed, the entire pillar emitted a ghostly green light and instantly sank. If it hadn't been restrained by the other three pillars, it would have immediately sunk into the ground.
Once all four pillars are sunk into the ground, the Soul-Suppressing Nails will also be sealed here under the influence of the chains!
At the same time, the Soul-Suppressing Nail shook out an invisible gust of wind, dispelling all the black mist within a ten-meter radius. Jiang Ran immediately turned the Soul Lamp to the lowest setting, saving as much as possible, it couldn't hurt.
"I think I'm starting to figure it out too."
The big black dog watched as Jiang Ran carved the first rune, which was exactly what he had guessed. So he joined the rune-deciphering team, and the two of them spent two minutes deciphering the rune on the second pillar.
"Following this pattern, it doesn't seem as difficult as I imagined. Hmm, add me to the list too."
"Oh! I see. This is somewhat similar to the RX-78 Fusion Reversal Technique. You should have said so earlier!"
Aransta and Gwen joined in, and with the efforts of the four of them, the decoding speed increased again. Ye Ye looked at the pile of runes and chuckled, covering his head with his hand.
"Everyone has their own expertise. Call me whenever you need to fight."
Soon, the runes on all four pillars were deciphered, and the last pillar, along with all the others, sank into the ground. The Soul-Suppressing Nail was firmly suppressed and had no chance of flying into the sky again.
A large area free of black mist also formed around it. Considering the rule that "black mist seals the souls of sinners," it is likely that the Soul-Suppressing Nail absorbed the nearby black mist to suppress the souls beneath it.
“We can’t work together anymore,” Jiang Ran said. “Time is too tight. The other three Soul-Suppressing Nails are ready to be activated. If we search for them one by one, I’m afraid we won’t have enough time!”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
