Chapter 2698: The Formidable Girl in the Painting

The toxin takes time to act, and after Xu Huo tangled with the giant monster for a while, this colossal being finally became listless and fell to one side. It wasn’t dead, and the toxins were not enough to completely restrict its mobility; it just sensed that the situation was unfavorable and began to entertain the idea of retreat.

The giant monster pushed through the woods and ran a few kilometers before hitting an invisible barrier. After being obstructed, it frantically hammered its fists on the barrier, and after half a minute, cracks appeared. With one final headbutt, the barrier shattered completely, revealing a completely black space before it.

The giant monster hesitated and then suddenly perked up its ears to listen inside, only to turn and run without hesitation, completely disregarding Xu Huo, who was on its head.

Standing among the rolling head, Xu Huo’s gaze remained fixed on the black space. In just one minute, a colossal wave surged forth from it, overwhelming the forest where the giant monster dwelled.

Not to mention Xu Huo, even the giant monster of such mass couldn’t stand firm, and as the torrent rushed through the forest, a multitude of sea beasts emerged!

Xu Huo was repeatedly hit by several giant sharks, and it was only after cutting off the octopus tentacle wrapped around the defensive barrier that he passed through the mental portal to reach the surface.

Having finally risen from the water, he suddenly felt a strong pulling force grabbing him, propelling him towards the sky. Just a few dozen meters from the surface, gravity abruptly reversed, and he found himself falling towards the sky!

At this moment, the sky became the ground, and the forest submerged by the black sea became the sky. As Xu Huo fell, he glanced up at the suspended seawater, trying to stabilize his form while looking down.

He was falling rapidly, but the space seemed endless. The blue background floated with wisps of white clouds, devoid of any surfaces to grasp, and without a landing point, he appeared to be continuously descending in an empty environment.

Not seeing an end, Xu Huo manipulated his psychic power to halt his descent.

He stood suspended in mid-air and looked up again to find the black ocean above had disappeared.

This pieced-together environment felt more like the space surrounding the Dimension Train’s tracks, rather than Suitcase Man’s castle connecting to other dimensional spaces?

As he attempted to break through the space, a huge "shadow" suddenly stretched from above his head. The shadow continued to fall, and after a moment, he realized it was a hoof.

Xu Huo’s brows slightly moved as he immediately moved upward and grabbed a corner of the shadow.

Sure enough, upon contact, the shadow stopped sinking and abruptly shot upwards!

Xu Huo was pulled out by the Girl in the painting, and as he turned back, he found the place he emerged from was indeed a painting – the vast sky, and a black ocean drawn like a single line.

"How did you find me?" he asked the Girl in the painting.

"I was playing in the painting," the Girl in the painting pointed to another landscape painting nearby, "I came out from inside and suddenly saw you falling from the sky."

"I also saw those two birds in the painting; they’re splashing in the water, looking very happy."

Xu Huo remained silent for a moment, then said, "Did you encounter Shitou and Yan Jiayu?"

The Girl in the painting nodded, indicating Yan Jiayu was upstairs, trapped in a room within the corner space, beside which a painting had fallen, one that also contained a person.

"Have you found the exit?" Xu Huo inquired eagerly.

The Girl in the painting shook her head, though she hadn’t entirely lacked progress. Unlike last time when she escaped on her own, she managed to find an exit despite the lack of certainty, thanks to an upright puppet that told her she could exit from its belly.

She was searching for this upright puppet, which wasn’t in its room, hence her haphazard exploration through each room, each space, and though she hadn’t found the upright puppet, she did find Xu Huo and the others.

This is an advantage as a prop, and as a super prop, the Girl in the painting was nearly equivalent to other living props here, as long as she wasn’t clearly targeted.

"Let’s get Yan Jiayu out first." Whether it’s the space or container props, Xu Huo no longer intended to enter them again. He donned the puppet suit and headed upstairs with the Girl in the painting.

The puppets in the corridor were much fewer than before, making their ascent easy.

However, getting Yan Jiayu out was challenging. Though the Girl in the painting knew there was a corner space in the wall, she didn’t know how to enter or retrieve Yan Jiayu.

Xu Huo could only knock and tap outside, attempting to attract Yan Jiayu’s attention.

But with a spatial barrier, he couldn’t discern the situation inside.

The painting that trapped Qi Cong and Zhu Bo was carried away by Yan Jiayu and now rested with the Girl in the painting. It wasn’t difficult to extract them; she extended her hand inside and quickly pulled everyone out.

Unexpectedly, both Zhu Bo and Hongxi, who entered later, had parts of their bodies assimilated by the painting. Their arms and shoulders turned into stone-like materials, and as the Girl in the painting pulled them out, their arms broke and shattered.

Seeing this, Qi Cong quickly searched himself to confirm he wasn’t petrified and then reassured them, "Luckily no vital areas were harmed."

Zhu Bo and the others were indeed fortunate. If the Girl in the painting hadn’t found them, they would have died in the painting.

"Yan Jiayu is trapped in the wall space." Since everyone was out, Xu Huo called them to assist.

Zhu Bo, being a spatial evolver, attempted to manipulate the spatial power above. Though not without effect, the result was minimal; if he had to deconstruct the space layer by layer, he lacked the ability.

Xu Huo took out the "Sealing Door." "This instrument can to some degree destroy similar instruments; it is effective against spatial power, though its usage is limited and must be directed effectively."

"Can you sense where Yan Jiayu is?" he asked the Girl in the painting.

The Girl in the painting touched the wall and pointed to a spot, replicating Yan Jiayu’s standing posture.

After looking around at everyone, Xu Huo raised the "Sealing Door" and struck the spot next to Yan Jiayu’s hand.

With a crisp "ding," a hole appeared in the wall, causing the spatial barrier within the wall space to ripple. The previously impenetrable space wall developed a gap, allowing Zhu Bo to further widen it. He indeed saw a kangaroo’s leg lying across the space.

Black materialized items flowed into the space wall and pulled hard on the leg to extract it.

The person was pulled out, but not from the spot the Girl in the painting had illustrated. Yan Jiayu stood vertically within the wall, with Xu Huo and the others on her right side. They saw her right hand, and due to her incorrect hand placement, the "Sealing Door" penetrated her abdomen.

Looking at the two holes piercing through the puppet suit from left to right, and unable to wake the person, Xu Huo and the others turned their heads towards the Girl in the painting.