27: Chapter 27 further develops, with 250,000 believers.

"My Buddha!!"

"It's the Buddha! The Buddha has manifested!"

The moment they saw the Evil Buddha Phantom, Qin Yao and Zhou Kai trembled with excitement, their eyes filled with fanaticism.

The unease in their hearts vanished into thin air in that instant.

In the nearby New Federation Base City, the trembling and terrified survivors also looked up one after another.

"What is... that?"

"It looks like... a Buddha statue?"

"Has a god really come to save us?"

"Do gods and buddhas really exist in this world?"

"But why... is that Buddha emitting a bloody light?"

Some Believers who had been fooled by Qin Yao and Zhou Kai into joining the 'Rebirth Cult' now looked as if they had seen their savior, their faces showing surprise, awe, and deep piety.

"Please, Buddha, protect us!!"

"Save us!!"

Numerous Believers knelt on the ground and began to pray fervently.

As these people prostrated and prayed, notification messages immediately popped up on the panel deep in Lin Chuan's consciousness:

[Obtained Power Of Will +100!]

[Obtained Power Of Will +500!]

[Obtained Power Of Will +10,000!]

[...]

Seeing the steadily increasing Power Of Will, Lin Chuan's mood instantly brightened.

"Nan... Ma... Ni..."

To harvest more Power Of Will, Lin Chuan mobilized his Rule Ability and created an even grander spectacle!

At this moment, the Evil Buddha Phantom sitting cross-legged in mid-air, as massive as a mountain, solidified further. Around the Buddha statue, Buddhist Chants faintly echoed, and bloody light swirled.

At first glance, the scene looked like an Evil Buddha descending upon the world, incredibly shocking!!

Of course, Lin Chuan knew very well that this seemingly divine Evil Buddha Phantom was merely a wisp of his rule projected using Qin Yao as a medium.

The Rule Ability this Evil Buddha Phantom could actually exert was, at most, equivalent to a C-Class Abomination.

"It seems that once the matters here are settled, I'll need to properly improve the strength of Qin Yao and the others."

"Otherwise, the Believer medium is too weak, and I'll be severely restricted when projecting my own Rule Ability..."

Lin Chuan thought to himself.

As his Believers, Qin Yao and Zhou Kai... were simply too weak; they couldn't even serve as decent vessels.

While Lin Chuan was deep in thought, Northern Evil from the 'Redemption Society' nearby was staring at the Evil Buddha Phantom in the sky with a face full of shock.

"Is this... a buddhas shadow?"

"So majestic, so grand..."

"To think such an existence exists in this world!"

Northern Evil's mind raced, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

At the same time, the 'night locust taboo' enshrined by the Redemption Society involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

He subconsciously compared that statue to the buddhas shadow.

The 'night locust taboo' worshipped by the Redemption Society was said to be the Lord of Rules from the Dark Void Realm, possessing incomprehensible wisdom and truth.

But in reality, the feeling that statue gave Northern Evil was more of an unspeakable disgust and chaos.

The image of that so-called 'night locust taboo' was hard to describe.

It looked like a mass of viscous black grease, with twisted horns and bat-like wings.

It had no facial features, only a blank face of skin.

Every time he saw that statue, Northern Evil felt a wave of inexplicable irritability and nausea.

But this Black Buddha before him... although equally eerie and evil...

It carried an indescribable majesty and holiness.

It was like... a true deity fallen into the mortal realm.

"Damn! What am I thinking?!"

Northern Evil suddenly snapped back to his senses and shook his head violently, suppressing the various thoughts in his mind.

But deep in his eyes, that trace of fanaticism and reverence for the Black Buddha could not be wiped away.

"Hmph, playing god."

Just then.

A disdainful cold snort interrupted Northern Evil's thoughts.

The leader of the Redemption Society, the Blood-Eyed Demoness, was holding a tattered rag doll and slowly floating to the opposite side of the Evil Buddha Phantom.

She tilted her head back, looking at the massive Buddha statue with no emotion in her eyes.

She saw through Lin Chuan's Evil Buddha Phantom at a glance, realizing it was merely constructed from a fragile wisp of rule.

Before her A-rank Abnormality, this wisp of rule was not even worth mentioning.

If she wanted to, a single thought could make the Evil Buddha Phantom before her completely dissipate.

"However, the aberration behind this wisp of rule seems somewhat special."

"Perhaps this will be a good sacrifice!!"

As she spoke, the Blood-Eyed Demoness licked her lips, a sickly madness welling up in her eyes.

"If I can capture the aberration behind this and offer it to the great 'Night Locust' taboo, he will surely be very pleased."

"Perhaps the great 'Night Locust' taboo might even wake up directly and guide my Redemption Society toward a brighter, more brilliant direction..."

At this thought, the Blood-Eyed Demoness's expression grew more and more excited. Her delicate body couldn't help but tremble violently, as if she were experiencing some unspeakable stimulation.

"Giggle, giggle!!"

"You Buddha-Shadow Ghoul, if you can become a sacrifice for Lord 'Night Locust', it can be considered your supreme honor."

The Blood-Eyed Demoness muttered, her every word about turning Lin Chuan into a sacrifice to offer to the so-called 'Night Locust' taboo she spoke of.

Hearing this, Lin Chuan did not get angry.

His phantom simply floated quietly in mid-air, indifferently watching the mentally unstable Blood-Eyed Demoness.

"Poor Lost Soul, you are sinking in the five turbidities of this evil world, desecrating the True Buddha, your True Life is lost..."

"You should prostrate at every step until you reach my Lotus Pedestal, take refuge in My Dao, and only then find liberation!"

Lin Chuan mobilized his Rule Ability and sent two voices toward the Blood-Eyed Demoness.

He was in no hurry to act.

Because he was waiting.

Waiting for the arrival of the Coughing Ghoul and the Crying Ghost.

After all, with only this phantom projected through Qin Yao as a medium, he had no way to confront the Blood-Eyed Demoness.

So, what he needed to do now was stall for time.

"Lost Soul?"

"Haha!!!"

Hearing Lin Chuan's voice, the Blood-Eyed Demoness was first slightly surprised, then disdainful.

"A mere sacrifice dares to talk about 'True Life' with this President? Utterly ridiculous!!"

As she spoke, the bloody light in the Blood-Eyed Demoness's eyes intensified.

She slowly extended her right hand, palm facing upward.

In her palm, there were no palm lines; instead, an azure eye was embedded there!

The eye was only the size of a thumb, with a weirdly vertical pupil and bloodshot surroundings.

It looked like a fish eye that had been gouged out.

But the moment this eye appeared...

The surrounding space immediately began to distort.

A chaotic, disordered, yet strangely patterned Rule Ability instantly enveloped the area.

Clearly, the eyeball was an abnormality!

And an A-rank Abnormality at that!!

As the Blood-Eyed Demoness summoned the abnormality, information prompts instantly popped up on the panel deep in Lin Chuan's consciousness:

[A-rank Abnormality: Blood Eye! Fully revived state! But suppressed by a certain power, completely controlled by the human girl before you!]

[The Blood Eye's killing rule: Any existence gazed upon by this eye will be continuously eroded and assimilated by the rules!! And will ultimately become a part of the countless scenes within this eye.]

[Note: The eye is the window to the soul, but it can also be a terrifying cage!!]

"My eye... shall encompass all!!"

The moment the azure eyeball snapped open, the Blood-Eyed Demoness's voice became ethereal and eerie, as if coming from all directions.

In mid-air, the Evil Buddha Phantom Lin Chuan had constructed with his rules trembled slightly.

He felt a powerful suction trying to pull his consciousness into that blue eye.

"Blood Eye?"

Lin Chuan was secretly alarmed.

The Rule Ability emitted by this abnormal eyeball was indeed not to be underestimated.

The Evil Buddha Phantom he had constructed with rules was clearly unable to contend with it.

But fortunately.

The coughing ghoul clone and the Crying Ghost had already arrived.

Cough, cough... Not far away, a series of violent coughs abruptly sounded behind the Blood-Eyed Demoness.

Immediately following.

Wuwuwu... A series of shrill cries also echoed.

Under the influence of the Rule Ability contained within these two sounds, the surrounding space rippled faintly.

"Hmm?!"

The Blood-Eyed Demoness's expression changed slightly as she suddenly turned her head.

The moment she saw the Coughing Ghoul and the Crying Ghost, her brow furrowed tightly.

In that instant, Lin Chuan controlled the Coughing Ghoul and directly unleashed its Rule Ability!

Using the coughing ghoul clone as a medium, the Rule Ability he could release was basically close to 70% of his main body's power!

"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!!"

Under Lin Chuan's Control, the Coughing Ghoul trembled violently, like an old man plagued by chronic illness. The sound of its coughing was weak, eerie, yet hair-raising... The rule of the certain-death curse spread along with the sound of the coughing, turning into tangible black ripples that fiercely assailed the Blood-Eyed Demoness.

At the same time.

"Na... mo..."

A grand, distorted, metallic Buddhist sound vibrated outwards!

Immediately after, another blood-colored handprint condensed between heaven and earth!

Then, an eerie crimson Buddha's light, interspersed with strands of gold, spread out... Life-Reaping Sanskrit Sound!

Buddha Kingdom in the Palm!

Blood-Tear Illusionary Realm!

Universal Illumination of Buddhas Light!

Using the Coughing Ghoul as a medium, Lin Chuan released all the Rule Ability powers he controlled.

Rumble!!

As the killing rules descended one after another, the void seemed to be twisted and folded... the entire base city shook violently.

"What?!"

The Blood-Eyed Demoness's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

At this moment, facing the several killing rules Lin Chuan had unleashed, she was clearly feeling overwhelmed.

Although the Blood-Eyed Ghoul she controlled was powerful, its Rule Ability was only a single one!

What she found even more troublesome was... she discovered she was gradually falling into some kind of illusionary world!!

Around her, the scenery was undergoing a drastic change.

The city scene collapsed, and the sky deformed... Soon, a boundless sea of blood appeared.

Countless severed limbs and broken arms floated in the sea of blood.

And in the center of the sea of blood.

A giant black Buddha statue, weeping tears of blood, was staring coldly at her.

"Hmph! Just a mere illusion?!"

Despite realizing her situation was dire, the Blood-Eyed Demoness forced herself to remain calm.

She let out a roar, and the doll in her hand suddenly opened its mouth and emitted a scream.

Ah!!!

That scream pierced through the illusion like a sharp sword.

The Blood-Eyed Demoness snapped her eyes open and returned to the real world.

But her face turned deathly pale, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.

The doll in her hand was a powerful taboo item!!

This item was a gift from that 'night locust taboo'.

But every time she used this item, she would pay a heavy price!

"Pfft, cough..."

The Blood-Eyed Demoness's chest heaved, and along with the muffled groans coming from her mouth, her whole being instantly became much weaker.

"Northern Evil! What are you standing there for?! Help me!!"

Seeing that she couldn't suppress the Coughing Ghoul and had even suffered a great loss, the Blood-Eyed Demoness immediately shouted at the dazed Northern Evil beside her.

However.

Northern Evil acted as if he hadn't heard her.

He stared blankly at the evil buddha phantom in the void, the fervor in his eyes growing more intense.

"Sacred, cold, evil, solemn..."

"This is... a true god..."

He murmured to himself in his heart, his body trembling slightly.

The urge to kneel and submit almost broke through his line of reason.

"You bastard!!"

"What are you still spacing out for?"

Seeing that Northern Evil dared to ignore her, the Blood-Eyed Demoness gritted her teeth in rage.

However, before she could speak again, Lin Chuan's rule power struck once more!

And this time, the Coughing Ghoul's paper-like body seemed as if it were about to ignite! A more terrifying, more obscure and sinister rule... using it as a medium, began to surge and spread!!

"This won't do..."

"If I keep fighting, I'm afraid I'll meet my end here."

"Forget it! The green hills remain, and the clear waters flow on!"

"I'll remember this debt!"

Sensing the restless Blood-Eyed Ghoul inside her, the Blood-Eyed Demoness dropped a harsh word and then grabbed the still-dazed Northern Evil.

Buzz!!

A flash of blood-light.

The figures of the two instantly vanished from the spot.

The Blood-Eyed Demoness moved so fast that even Lin Chuan didn't have time to react before she fled.

"My Buddha is immeasurable!!"

"Thank you, Buddha, for saving our lives!!"

Seeing the Blood-Eyed Demoness leave, Qin Yao and Zhou Kai knelt on the ground, frantically kowtowing toward Lin Chuan's buddha phantom.

After the Blood-Eyed Girl departed, Lin Chuan immediately sent a will to Qin Yao and Zhou Kai, letting them quickly take over the entire base city.

Subsequently, under their organization, all the survivors gathered their supplies and began a grand migration toward Rebirth City.

After the ghoul mirror incident, this base city was basically on the verge of destruction.

Fortunately, the ghoul mirror incident hadn't caused too many casualties.

The fifty thousand-plus survivors were mostly still there.

For the current Lin Chuan, the value of living Believers was greater than anything else!

...After a week of migration.

The fifty thousand-plus survivors all arrived smoothly at Rebirth City.

With the integration of this population, along with the occasional addition of scattered survivors, the population of Rebirth City officially broke through to two hundred and fifty thousand!!

As the population increased, the scale of Rebirth City also continued to expand.

Zhao Linfeng, as the actual administrator of Rebirth City, was thus busy beyond belief.

Lin Chuan wasn't idle either; he controlled the coughing ghoul clone and the Crying Ghost to begin a frantic sweep around Rebirth City.

In just one short month.

Lin Chuan imprisoned seven B-Ranked Anomalys, thirteen C-Class Abominations, twenty-five D-Class Abominations, and over a hundred E-Class Anomalies.

For these abnormalities, Lin Chuan did not choose to devour them.

Because he found that devouring abnormalities with a Terror Level lower than his own did not enhance his rule strength, nor did it reduce the evolution points required for leveling up.

Thus.

Lin Chuan simply fused all these low-level abnormalities into the bodies of some Fanatic Believers!

Under Lin Chuan's Control, new Ghost Controllers were born one after another within Rebirth City!

At the same time, Lin Chuan was also helping Zhao Linfeng, Qin Yao, and the others... improve their strength!!

Finally, after another half a month had passed.

Zhao Linfeng successfully controlled his fourth abnormality, becoming the first to be promoted to a B-Rank Ghost Controller!

Qin Yao and Zhou Kai also successively controlled their third abnormalities, likewise becoming B-Rank Ghost Controllers!!

Besides the three of them.

Rebirth City also saw the birth of thirteen new C-rank Ghost Controllers, twenty-five D-Class Ghost Controllers, and over three hundred E-Class Ghost Controllers!

Even in this era of Great Horror Resurgence, this force was quite considerable!!

Lin Chuan dispatched all the newly trained Ghost Controller Believers.

Lin Chuan's plan was to build a safe zone within a hundred-mile radius centered on Rebirth City.

Within this area, he wanted his Believers to restore human industry and agriculture, and gradually recover the population.

After all, the larger the population, the more Power Of Will they could provide to Lin Chuan!

...Just as Rebirth City was developing rapidly, the scene shifted.

New Federation Base City.

Deep within the dark underground Laboratory.

Inside a giant glass container, that Weeping Blood Head, of which only half remained, was floating quietly.

Although it was now incomplete and its taboo sequence number had even dropped, it was still dangerous and still terrifying!!

And outside the container.

Guardian was bare-chested, with tubes plugged into his entire body.

Dark red, eerie liquid flowed through those tubes.

This liquid was exactly the... Taboo Blood, extracted from the bodies of civilians contaminated by the rules of the Weeping Blood Head!

"Soon..."

"Very soon..."

Guardian's eyes were blood-red, and his face bore a sickly madness.

"As long as I can completely fuse with this head..."

"I can transform from a Ghost Controller... into a Taboo Master!!"

"When that time comes..."

"The entire Qinglong Prefecture, and even the entire Yanmang Province... will be bathed in my divine radiance!"

As drop after drop of Taboo Blood was injected into his body, Guardian's body began to twitch violently.

But the fervor in his eyes grew increasingly intense.

"I feel it, this is it!"

"Haha! Hahahaha!!!"

"Is this... the power of a taboo..."

"It's wonderful..."

"It's working, I'm about to succeed!"

"The gates of the taboo sequence... are opening to me..."

"I'm about to succeed!!"

He laughed wildly, his voice becoming hoarse and strange.

Just like... the crying of that infant's head.