3: Chapter 3: The Coughing Mystery – The Mysterious Domain of Qingquan Village is Spreading

As the chaotic footsteps drew nearer.

Soon, two figures stumbled out from the woods.

"Damn it... did we finally shake it off?"

Walking in front was a middle-aged man wearing a grease-stained jacket.

He was clutching a pen tightly in his hand.

The pen was an eerie, profound black, and its nib was still dripping ink.

The middle-aged man was named Zhou Kai, a Civilian Abomination Controller.

At this moment, his face was deathly pale, covered in cold sweat, his eyes filled with terror as he kept glancing back at the pitch-black woods behind him.

"Don't look back!"

Seeing Zhou Kai slow down, the young man following closely behind him growled a warning.

The young man was around twenty years old, his face cold and stern, but a trace of black blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth.

His name was Qin Yao, also a Civilian Abomination Controller.

His right hand hung unnaturally at his side, displaying a bluish-black color only seen on corpses, the fingers stiffly curled, emitting layers of crimson baleful aura.

"There's a temple ahead."

Hearing Qin Yao's words, Zhou Kai panted heavily, looked up, and suddenly saw the "Rebirth Temple" ahead.

Dilapidated.

Desolate.

That was his first impression of this temple.

"Qin... Qin Yao, can we go inside to hide?"

Zhou Kai's voice trembled: "My 'ghost pen' has been restless, showing signs of losing Control. I can barely suppress it anymore."

"Let's go. We'll rest and suppress the restless anomaly first!" Qin Yao glanced coldly at the Desolate Temple and nodded.

Supporting each other, the two limped across the collapsed half of the temple gate.

Entering the main hall.

A wave of cold, damp, musty smell hit them.

Qin Yao warily scanned the surroundings.

There were several puddles of un-dried blood on the ground.

And drag marks.

The air here seemed to carry the lingering scent of blood that had just dispersed.

"Someone's been here?"

Qin Yao frowned deeply, his gaze finally settling on the Lotus Pedestal.

There sat a dilapidated Buddha statue.

The statue had no golden body, only a gray, weathered stone core.

Half of its shoulder had collapsed, its facial features blurred.

Most eerily, this statue didn't feel like it was meant to deliver all beings.

It felt more like... it was waiting to devour someone.

"This is just an abandoned, broken-down temple. It shouldn't be dangerous."

Zhou Kai was truly exhausted; he slumped onto a pile of dry straw on the floor.

"Qin Yao, do you think... we can make it back alive to Changyang City?"

Zhou Kai shakily pulled a cigarette from his pocket, trying to light it, but couldn't get the lighter to work.

Qin Yao leaned against the doorframe, his gaze never leaving the night outside.

"Probably."

Qin Yao uttered two words, his voice hoarse.

Hearing this, Zhou Kai smiled bitterly, his heart filled with regret, and sighed:

"Sigh, the Qingquan Village incident this time is completely out of Control."

"The intel was wrong. That was no D-Class Supernatural Event."

Mentioning "Qingquan Village," Zhou Kai's hand shook, and the lighter fell to the ground.

A flash of deep fear passed through his eyes.

"Old Wang, Blind Li, and those two captains from the Ghost Suppression Department..."

At this point, Zhou Kai held his head, his voice choked with sobs: "They were veteran captains who controlled two ghosts! They went in and were swallowed instantly, without even making a splash."

"Eight Civilian Abomination Controllers, two captains... in the end, only the two of us managed to run out."

Qin Yao fell silent.

He glanced at his blackened right hand.

The hand was twitching slightly, as if something was squirming beneath the skin of his palm, trying to break out.

That was the Fierce Ghost he controlled—the Ghost Hand.

Its ability was to suppress any anomaly it touched.

But precisely because he had overused it in Qingquan Village this time, the restless revival of the Ghost Hand was growing increasingly intense.

Qin Yao took a deep breath, forcefully calming the surging cold energy within him.

"The anomaly in Qingquan Village... definitely reached C-Class, or even higher."

"Escaping alive was already immense luck!"

After speaking, Qin Yao said no more.

The dim main hall once again fell into a deathly, oppressive silence.

In the air, only the sound of their heavy breathing echoed.

Lin Chuan sat on the Lotus Pedestal, quietly "watching" these two uninvited guests.

From their conversation, Lin Chuan extracted a lot of key information.

Qingquan Village.

C-Class, or higher, anomaly.

And, it had formed a Ghost Domain!!

"It seems the progress of the Terror Resurgence has accelerated again."

Lin Chuan thought to himself.

Just as he was considering whether to eliminate these two intruders.

Suddenly.

A strange sound came from the woods outside the Desolate Temple.

"Cough... cough-cough..."

A dry, hoarse coughing sound abruptly rang out in the silent night.

The sound wasn't loud.

But in the empty mountain forest, it was particularly piercing.

The two men in the temple instantly stiffened.

Zhou Kai's hand, which had been reaching for the lighter, froze mid-air.

His pupils contracted violently, his entire face instantly drained of color, turning as pale as paper.

"It's... it's coming again..."

Zhou Kai's teeth chattered, making a clattering sound.

Qin Yao's expression also changed drastically. He straightened up abruptly, staring fixedly at the darkness beyond the temple door.

"Damn it! It actually followed us here again!"

Qin Yao's voice carried an unprecedented gravity.

"Cough-cough... cough..."

The coughing sounded again.

This time, it was closer than before.

It was as if a consumptive old man was coughing right behind your head, trying to hack out his lungs.

That was the "Coughing Ghoul".

One of the terrifying entities roaming within Qingquan Village.

Its level was infinitely close to D-Class!

Its killing rules were simple and brutal... if you heard its coughing for more than ten seconds.

You would inevitably be attacked by it!

Moreover, once its sound began.

Even if you plugged your ears or pierced your eardrums, as long as you were within the range of its sound, its killing rule would take effect.

The only way to survive was to interrupt its coughing, or escape beyond three hundred meters within ten seconds!

"Run!!"

Qin Yao roared in a low voice, turning to run towards the back hall.

But the next second, he stopped.

Because the coughing seemed to be coming from all directions.

Echoing throughout the entire ruined temple.

"Cough-cough-cough!!"

The sound became urgent.

A faint, drifting shadow slowly floated in through the temple entrance.

The shadow was as thin as a sheet of paper.

Swaying unsteadily, weightless.

But under the moonlight, it cast a long, pitch-black shadow that projected directly into the center of the main hall.

Zhou Kai had completely broken down.

The ghost pen in his hand began to scribble frantically on the ground, writing one distorted character for "death" after another.

This was the ghost pen's warning.

A slim chance of survival!

"It's over... we can't escape..."

"Daughter... wife... I'm sorry..."

Zhou Kai slumped to the ground in despair.

Qin Yao bit the tip of his tongue, trying to use the sharp pain to keep himself conscious.

Staring at the distant ghostly shadow, he raised his blackened right hand, wanting to charge forward and interrupt its coughing.

But soon, he stopped again.

Because the anomaly within him was on the verge of fully reviving.

If he used the Ghost Hand's ability, he would still be doomed afterward!

As time passed, five or six seconds later, the ghostly shadow's coughing grew more and moredense, like a death knell pounding heavily on their hearts.

Qin Yao felt a tightness in his chest, and his throat began to itch.

He also wanted to cough.

This was a terrifying omen.

Once he started coughing, his life force would instantly drain away.

At this moment.

Lin Chuan was also carefully observing the Coughing Ghoul.

"An E-Class Anomaly..."

"This indiscriminate attack rule is truly overbearing."

Lin Chuan clearly perceived that as the coughing spread, a chilling rule power was also eroding his phantom body.

If he didn't stop it, he would be devoured by this Coughing Ghoul!

And the two humans before him would undoubtedly die as well.

Lin Chuan didn't care about the lives of the two humans.

But if they died, the anomalies within them would immediately fully revive.

By then, this very Desolate Temple where Lin Chuan resided might turn into a nest of ghosts!

"Enough. I just happen to need a bit of nourishment for evolution."

Lin Chuan hesitated no longer and directly activated his own Rule Ability!

The next moment.

The air inside the dilapidated temple abruptly solidified.

An aura more chilling and more sinister than the coughing erupted from the shattered Buddha statue.

HMM!!

Without warning.

A low, heavy, metallic-toned chant exploded into existence within the main hall.

"Na... Mo..."

The sound was bizarre and twisted, as if whispered by an evil god.

As this sound emerged.

The coughing that had filled the air was instantly suppressed.

It was like a sharp whistle being completely drowned out by the deep toll of a massive bell!

"Cough...!!"

The Coughing Ghoul, which was about to approach the temple, suddenly halted its movement.

Its coughing was interrupted.

Two rules were now clashing!

"Ah!!"

Inside the hall, Zhou Kai, who had been waiting for death in despair, suddenly let out a shrill scream.

Clutching his head, he writhed in agony on the floor under the onslaught of the Sanskrit chant.

"What... what is this sound?!"

"My head... my head is going to explode!"

Qin Yao on the other side also had his expression drastically change.

He felt as if a rusty saw had been forcibly shoved into his mind, madly tearing at his nerves.

He looked up in horror.

His gaze fell upon the Lotus Pedestal.

He saw that the originally lifeless, broken statue was now faintly trembling.

A line of crimson blood tears was sliding down the statue's cheek.

And behind the statue, a dense, impenetrable black mist churned, vaguely forming a colossal demonic shadow.

"It's... it's that statue?!"

Qin Yao's heart nearly stopped.

A wolf in front, a tiger behind!

This dilapidated temple actually harbored something even more terrifying than the Coughing Ghoul!

Right at this moment.

Zhou Kai, who had been writhing and screaming on the floor, suddenly stopped moving.

His eyes began to lose focus.

His pupils, once filled with terror, now slowly revealed a strange, dazed look.

Clearly, this was a sign of being "Enlightened" by the Sanskrit chant.

Zhou Kai was only an F-Class Ghost Controller; his willpower was weak to begin with, and having just been scared witless, his mental defenses had long since crumbled.

Under the impact of the Life-Reaping Sanskrit Sound, he gradually lost himself.

Replaced by... a fanatical devotion to the source of that sound.

"Buddha..."

Zhou Kai knelt on the ground, no longer clutching his head.

He raised his face, gazing obsessively at the statue on the Lotus Pedestal.

His expression was a mix of weeping and laughter, drool dripped from the corner of his mouth, and the ghost pen in his hand fell to the ground.

"I hear it... that is salvation..."

"I am sinful... I am too cowardly..."

"I beg the Buddha... Enlighten me..."

Zhou Kai kowtowed heavily.

Once, twice, thrice.

His forehead split open, blood flowing freely, yet he seemed utterly unaware, instead showing a blissful smile of deliverance.

[Notification: Intense faith detected.]

[Successfully enlightened one Believer.]

[Gained Power Of Will: +30. (Converted to 30 evolution points)]

Information scrolled across the panel deep within Lin Chuan's consciousness.

He felt rather pleased about this.

Another Believer acquired.

Witnessing this scene, Qin Yao felt his scalp go numb and his entire body turn cold.

Madness!

Zhou Kai had gone mad!

Just from hearing that eerie chant a few times, he directly knelt down, kowtowed, and turned into this ghostly state?

"What the hell is this thing?"

"It can forcibly twist a person's will!"

"Run! I must run now!"

Qin Yao's face darkened.

Compared to the Coughing Ghoul at the entrance that only knew how to kill, this statue before him that could turn people into mad Believers was clearly more terrifying, more sinister!

He no longer cared about Zhou Kai, turning around to dash out.

However.

Just as his foot moved.

The statue's originally downcast stone eyes seemed to lift ever so slightly.

Instantly, it felt as if countless bloody gazes fell from all directions, locking onto him from afar.

"Since you're here, why rush to leave?"

A cold voice exploded directly within his mind.

Immediately after.

The world before Qin Yao changed.

The dilapidated temple hall vanished in an instant.

Replaced by a boundless sea of blood.

The sky was dark red, with countless dismembered limbs floating and sinking in the crimson waves.

And in the center of the blood sea.

A pitch-black demonic buddha, a hundred zhang tall, sat upon a Lotus Pedestal piled high with white bones, looking down at him with indifference.

The face of that demonic buddha was Lin Chuan's!

This was the Rule Ability he controlled—the Blood-Tear Illusionary Realm!

"An illusion?"

"Break it!!"

Roaring, Qin Yao disregarded his own condition, raised his blackened Ghost Hand, and fiercely clawed at the void before him.

His E-Class Ghost Hand could suppress supernatural phenomena.

If it were an ordinary illusion, it might truly be torn apart by him.

But at this moment.

Lin Chuan wasn't just using the illusion.

More importantly, the Life-Reaping Sanskrit Sound was still ongoing!

Double suppression!

Coupled with Qin Yao himself being on the verge of Fierce Ghost revival, his mental state was extremely poor.

Thump!

Qin Yao felt his knees go weak. That tremor originating from the depths of his soul made it impossible for him to stand steady.

The hundred-zhang demonic buddha slowly extended a hand.

That hand blotted out the sky, carrying an irresistible pressure as it slowly pressed down.

"Kneel."

The mighty demonic voice shattered Qin Yao's last psychological defenses.

"Ah!!"

Qin Yao howled in agony, his eyes bloodshot, desperately trying to resist the will commanding his submission.

But the Ghost Hand within him actually cowered when faced with the aura of this demonic buddha.

It shut down.

As if even the Fierce Ghost was afraid.

Finally.

Qin Yao's legs crashed heavily onto the ground.

His spine bent.

His head lowered.

The rebellious thoughts receded like a tide, replaced by a deep reverence and a strange sense of... belonging.

"Disciple... Qin Yao..."

"Pays homage to... My Buddha."

Qin Yao's voice was hoarse, carrying a slight tremor, but more so a brainwashed numbness and piety.

[Notification: Successfully enlightened one Believer (E-Class Ghost Controller).]

[Gained Power Of Will: +30. (Converted to 30 evolution points)]

Looking at the two kneeling figures, Lin Chuan felt no ripple of emotion within.