Chapter 491: Chapter 491: Compounding Power

His jaw tightened.

’This ghost... it has to be at least 150 years old... maybe more.’

And then, a single name surfaced in his thoughts.

’Lana...’

He quickly reached for his phone, but the screen remained lifeless. No signal. Nothing.

His brows furrowed. ’Damn it... of course...’

For a brief moment, he even considered activating a talisman that could transport him away, but the thought stopped him cold.

’If I leave... Gwen will be trapped here alone. She doesn’t have a pact with the talisman... it won’t take her with me.’

To protect him, Lana had made sure that the talismans could only be used by him.

He clenched his teeth. ’I can’t abandon her.’

Meanwhile, Gwen’s gaze flickered between the cracking barrier and the monstrous silhouette outside. Her mind raced desperately.

’There has to be a way... I need to get him out of here...’

James suddenly froze.

Then, as if remembering something, he quickly pulled out a pen, an ordinary-looking pen, yet its surface faintly glowed.

"This... this might work," he muttered.

Without hesitation, he began writing on his palm, the ink glowing faintly as it appeared.

"Lana... help me. I’m trapped in a ghost zone."

His writing grew faster as he described their location and situation in as much detail as he could.

..................

Far away, Lana suddenly paused.

A strange itching sensation spread across her hand.

Her brows furrowed slightly as she picked up a pen almost instinctively.

The moment the tip touched her skin, words began to appear on their own.

Her eyes widened. "James...?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

As she read the message, her expression darkened instantly.

"He’s in danger," she murmured under her breath.

There was no hesitation. Her instincts kicked in immediately.

Within moments, she had already made her decision.

"I’m going," she said firmly.

She activated a teleportation talisman, and in the blink of an eye, her surroundings distorted.

The next moment, she reappeared near the outskirts of a forest, close to a train station.

As she stepped onto the platform, a faint drizzle greeted her, the scent of wet earth filling the air. Lana exhaled softly.

"I almost forgot how this feels," she muttered.

The trains here were heavily protected by talismans and enchantments, making them one of the safest means of transportation near ghost zones.

As she boarded, she noticed a group of youngsters gathered nearby, laughing and whispering excitedly.

One of them pulled out an Ouija board, placing it between them.

"Let’s try it," one of them whispered dramatically.

Lana glanced briefly at them, her gaze calm.

’No evil energy... just a cheap imitation,’ she thought dismissively.

One of the girls suddenly pretended her hand was moving on its own.

"I... I can’t control it!" she exclaimed, feigning fear.

The others gasped, playing along.

Lana let out a quiet snort before leaning back, closing her eyes.

’Ridiculous.’

As she rested, she remained unaware of a pair of eyes watching her from across the compartment.

A college student named Ross leaned toward his friend Pablo, his voice low and crude.

"That woman... she’s got a really nice figure," he whispered.

Pablo glanced over, his gaze lingering before he nodded slightly.

Ross smirked. "What if we take advantage of the darkness when the train passes through a tunnel?"

Pablo hesitated for a second... then nodded.

Moments later, as the train plunged into darkness, Pablo slowly extended his hand toward Lana.

But just as his fingers were about to touch her, he froze. Something invisible blocked him.

He frowned, pressing forward slightly... but it was useless.

Ross tried as well, only to meet the same resistance.

"What...?" Ross whispered, confusion flashing across his face.

A strange unease crept into both of them.

’Did she... know?’

Shame slowly replaced their earlier intentions.

Pablo let out an awkward chuckle. "What were we even thinking...? This is wrong."

Ross nodded quickly. "Yeah... yeah, it was."

They both leaned back, avoiding looking at her.

What they did not know was that it wasn’t Lana who had set up the barrier.

It was Lucian.

Even in his absence, he had ensured that she remained protected.

When Lana woke up, the train was still hours away from its destination.

She sighed softly.

"The only downside of ghost zones..." she murmured.

There were hardly any reliable transportation methods.

Air travel was nearly impossible; ghost zones interfered heavily with aircraft systems. Several attempts had been made in the past, but all had failed disastrously.

Shipping routes faced similar issues.

In the end, trains remained the safest option.

Eventually, she arrived.

The moment she stepped off, she didn’t waste a second. She immediately rushed toward the ghost zone.

As she entered deeper, the atmosphere changed drastically.

The air turned cold. She closed her eyes briefly.

"Mr. Crow," she murmured, "analyze this place."

After a few moments, Mr. Crow’s voice echoed, grim and serious.

"This ghost zone... contains a presence that is at least 250 years old."

Lana opened her eyes, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"That’s not a problem," she replied calmly. "With my current cultivation, I can handle even a 400-year-old ghost."

There was a pause.

Then Mr. Crow spoke again, his tone heavier.

"You misunderstand," he said slowly. "The entity I am referring to... is not a human ghost."

Lana’s smile faded. "It’s a mutated beast ghost."

For the first time since arriving, Lana frowned.

"...That changes things," she said quietly.

Her gaze sharpened as she looked deeper into the forest.

Ghost beasts were far stronger than ordinary ghosts, terrifyingly so.

Even encountering one was rare, as if the world itself avoided letting such creatures exist openly. And yet, their rarity only made them more valuable.

Their ghost essence... was incomparable.

Even a ghost with twenty thousand years of cultivation could not match the raw potency contained within a mutated beast ghost’s essence.

’Their cultivation doesn’t just disappear after death... it condenses,’ Lana thought.

Unlike ordinary ghosts, these beasts stored their accumulated cultivation directly inside their ghost essence.

Over time, that essence would continue to unlock itself, growing denser and more potent. It was as if their power refused to fade, instead compounding silently in death.