Volume One: The Spiral Engraving Chapter Eleven: The Demon-Subduing Talismans, Part Two

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As time passed, the heavy rain grew fiercer, thick misty rain drifting in from outside, enveloping their bodies. Even though they stood inside the house, the rain columns pounding under the eaves splashed droplets that soaked their shoes once more.

Glancing at the monster’s corpse in the courtyard, Chen Fan exhaled a breath of foul air and looked toward Long Wu, reminding him, “Brother Long, there’s also a beautiful woman in town, but actually she is...”

Long Wu slapped his own head, interrupting him, “I almost forgot. Brother, don’t get confused—she’s no beautiful woman. She’s a fierce ghost! One of the monsters created by the Black Rock Organization, extremely difficult to deal with!”

Then he pulled out a talisman from his backpack and handed it to Chen Fan. “Brother Chen, keep this demon-subduing talisman safe. With it, that thing won’t dare come near you!”

Chen Fan felt a warmth in his heart. Looking at Long Wu with a complex expression, he said, "No need, I already have one!" Then he asked, "Could you explain in detail what exactly a fierce ghost is?"

Seeing his curiosity, Long Wu nodded to signal him to wait a moment, then glanced toward Sun Meng sitting farther away. “Brother, do you want the demon-subduing talisman or not? Just take it!”

Sun Meng shook his head and, for reasons unknown, seemed somewhat afraid of the talisman in Long Wu’s hand, instinctively stepping back half a pace.

“Are you serious about stepping back?” Long Wu frowned deeply. He hated to see this brotherly bond break, but if Sun Meng insisted, there was nothing he could do.

Retracting the talisman, he sighed heavily, composed himself, and turned to Chen Fan. “The Black Rock Organization has created tens of thousands of monsters through various experiments. The so-called fierce ghosts are one category among them.”

“Every fierce ghost is tough to handle, each with its own special powers—some control water, some breathe fire, some burrow underground.”

“Each fierce ghost can master up to two special abilities. Additionally, all of them inherently possess the power to affect human senses and manipulate cognition.”

Thinking of how terrifying fierce ghosts were, Long Wu hurriedly took the pouch from his neck, parted the opening with two fingers to confirm the talisman was still inside, then put it back into his clothes, clearly deeply afraid of that white-clad fierce ghost.

“Is there any fierce ghost that can control more than three special abilities?” Chen Fan asked, recalling the red-clad fierce ghost.

His expression changed. “That’s impossible! Absolutely not!”

Seeing his caution, Chen Fan smiled wryly. “If you’re that timid, why did you even come here?”

“Brother...” Long Wu looked around cautiously and said, “Do you know what a Demon Source Stone is? And I’m not talking about the Mutant Demon Stone!”

Chen Fan blinked, indicating he didn’t understand.

He sighed like a venerable elder, stretched out his large hand, and patted Chen Fan’s shoulder firmly. “You’re so naive, like a blank sheet of paper. I really don’t know how you’ve lived till now. Never mind, let me tell you.”

“Is it me who’s naive, or you?” Chen Fan rolled his eyes but kept the words to himself.

He cleared his throat. “There are twenty-seven types of strange stones in the world, each with its own special function. The Mutant Demon Stone is what we use to increase mutation levels. Every time you level up your mutation, you gain a mutation skill. In short, it’s the lowest grade of strange stones.”

“I thought it meant turning into a monster. Otherwise, why call yourself a mutant?” Chen Fan laughed, finally understanding the concept after all this time here.

Long Wu sized Chen Fan up, rolled his eyes, and resolved to protect him from now on before continuing, “The Demon Source Stone is extremely strange. The Black Rock Organization uses this stone to create countless monsters. I suspect there may be Demon Source Stones here. Even if there aren’t any, finding anything else would be good.”

Chen Fan glanced sideways at Sun Meng, who occasionally looked at the two of them. Though his gaze was dark, he didn’t reveal his anger, instead smiling from time to time.

Having observed his reaction, Chen Fan slapped Long Wu on the shoulder. “Brother Long, when finding teammates, you have to find reliable ones. Enough talk, let’s go explore!” He stood and looked at the ancestral hall.

Long Wu nodded, then looked at Chen Fan. “Brother, step aside!” With a fierce shout, he gripped his wolf tooth club and struck the ancestral hall’s wall hard.

Boom!

Sharp dust hung thick in the air, swirling around them. When the dust settled, a pitch-black passage appeared before them.

One by one, incandescent lights automatically lit up, illuminating the entire corridor.

Looking ahead, they couldn’t see the end anywhere.

After nodding at Long Wu, Chen Fan stepped into the passage.

Long Wu glanced at Sun Meng in the distance. “Brother, wait for me outside. I’ll come out as soon as I can!”

“All right, be careful!” Sun Meng’s eyes flickered with strange light as he nodded to him.

Long Wu said nothing, unable to understand why Sun Meng had changed so much. He sighed and strode into the passage.

The corridor’s floor was tiled and spotless—not even a speck of dust—raising Chen Fan’s suspicions.

Strange things began happening: as they lifted their feet and stepped down, the lights above flickered on and off in sync.

When their feet rose, the lights lit up; when their feet touched the ground, the lights went out!

The repeated flashing was uncomfortable to their eyes, as if their vision was blurring from presbyopia.

“Someone must be playing tricks!” Chen Fan’s eyes gleamed coldly as he quickened his pace.

Ding ding ding!

Suddenly, a sharp, urgent ringtone sounded in their ears, like a knife stabbing into the heart, startling them immensely!

“Whose phone is that?” Chen Fan looked at Long Wu, who was just as frightened, gazing at him with innocence.

Chen Fan looked toward the wall and saw a hole in it, inside which was embedded an old-fashioned button phone.

Chen Fan sneered and slashed with his long blade, instantly destroying the phone in the hole.

The battery exploded, sparks flew, and thick smoke billowed!

Chen Fan proceeded cautiously, determined to find and eliminate the prankster!

Fifteen minutes later, the passage changed—the incandescent bulbs turned warm, and a young boy’s figure appeared ahead.

Back turned to them, about fourteen or fifteen years old, dressed in blue, his face unseen.

“Leave immediately! Trespassers die!” His voice was youthful but filled with deadly intent.

Chen Fan frowned tightly. That boy’s voice was familiar, as if heard before, but he couldn’t recall where.

Regardless, this boy was definitely not someone to be taken lightly!

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He pulled out half a leftover baked flatbread and threw it at him.

It hit the boy’s head precisely.

The boy raised his left hand, touched his head, and finally turned around.

“How is this possible?” Chen Fan was shocked and took a step back—the boy’s face was exactly the same as his own when he was young.

He had been wondering why the voice was so familiar, and now he knew.

“You know him?” Long Wu asked Chen Fan curiously.

Chen Fan didn’t answer. Clutching the talisman in his left hand and gripping his long blade with his right, he looked at the boy. Without a doubt, this boy was a... monster!

He had to kill him quickly!

Perhaps sensing Chen Fan’s killing intent or for some other reason, the boy stepped back half a pace, a trac