41: Chapter 41 Nightmare Evil Buddha, bestowing vengeful spirits, cultivating forbidden believers

Half an hour later.

The plaza of the Black Snake Society headquarters.

Zhang Yang had brought several of his trusted subordinates and was already hiding beneath that hundred-meter-tall taboo sculpture.

"Whew... it should be safe now."

Zhang Yang leaned against the cold stone base, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Looking up, the stone carving of the giant snake coiled around the pillar had blood-red eyes, emitting a heart-palpitating sense of pressure.

"Captain, why do I feel... a bit cold?"

One of his subordinates shrunk his neck, his voice trembling slightly.

"Nonsense! Everyone is cold in the winter!"

"Stop being so paranoid!"

Zhang Yang snapped irritably and pulled out a cigarette from his chest to light it.

But as soon as the lighter's flame flickered to life, it turned into an eerie ghostly green.

"Eh?"

Zhang Yang was stunned.

Before he could react.

The surrounding scenery suddenly changed.

The originally brightly lit plaza instantly became pitch black.

Only the giant snake sculpture overhead emitted a faint red light.

Enveloped by that red light, he felt a bone-chilling coldness.

"What... what's going on?"

The cigarette in Zhang Yang's hand dropped.

He discovered in horror that the giant snake sculpture was actually moving!

The giant snake that was originally coiled around the stone pillar slowly unfurled its body.

Those blood-red eyes stared fixedly at them.

Then.

Its body began to twist and deform.

Black scales fell off, as if they were turning into countless agonized human faces.

The originally slender snake body gradually swelled, transforming into a seated... Evil Buddha, its entire body wreathed in chaotic black light!

The Evil Buddha's face was blurred, yet it gave off an indescribable sense of great terror.

"This... this isn't the Lord's sculpture..."

"What the Hell is this thing?!"

Zhang Yang and the others' hearts were pounding wildly.

They tried to run, but discovered in horror that their legs were like they had taken root, unable to move a muscle.

"Na... Mo..."

The Evil Buddha stared at the group and emitted a grand yet sinister voice.

Immediately after, a black Buddha's hand that blotted out the sky descended from above, enveloping them within.

"Ah!!!"

[Obtained Zhang Yang's fear value +120.]

[Obtained Li Zhong's fear value +200.]

[...]

As the fear of the several people continued to soar.

Inside the Rebirth Temple, notifications were constantly popping up on the panel deep within Lin Chuan's consciousness.

In fact.

Zhang Yang and the others had never actually reached the real Black Snake Society headquarters plaza.

From the moment they left the meeting room, they had already fallen into the dreamscape woven by Lin Chuan.

In reality.

They were like a group of sleepwalking walking corpses, guided by the Coughing Ghoul's Ghost Domain to a dark and filthy slum alleyway.

This place was the lowest level of Hell under the rule of the Black Snake Society.

Every day, countless people starved to death, died of illness, or were casually discarded here to wait for death.

Zhang Yang and his group usually acted like tyrants and had never spared a single glance for this place.

But today.

This would become their burial ground.

"Ugh... ugh..."

Deep in the alley, the bodies of Zhang Yang and the others began to twitch violently.

Their deaths were exactly the same as in the dreamscape.

Some were suspended in mid-air by an invisible force, their tongues sticking out very long.

Some had their bodies twisted into a pretzel shape, their bones snapping inch by inch.

Others were engulfed in ghostly green flames, turning to ash in silence.

"A good death! What a good death!!"

"Heaven has eyes! These beasts have finally met their retribution!!"

The slum dwellers in the surrounding shacks saw this scene through broken windows, each and every one of them streaming with tears.

If not for the fear of retaliation from the Black Snake Society headquarters, they would have even wanted to go out and set off firecrackers in celebration.

They recognized Zhang Yang.

This so-called B-Rank Ghost Controller captain's hands were stained with the blood of civilians.

To experiment with abnormal rules, he had once tortured and killed hundreds of slum dwellers in the streets.

Many slum dwellers had suffered the oppression, humiliation... and even slaughter of these Black Snake Society Ghost Controllers!

Now, Zhang Yang and the others also tasted the flavor of being tortured to death.

Following the deaths of Zhang Yang and the others.

Several black abnormal phantoms drifted out from their corpses.

"Go, devour those abnormalities."

Lin Chuan issued a command to the Crying Ghost.

Soon, the Crying Ghost emerged upside down from the shadows, opened her large mouth, and swallowed all the abnormalities within Zhang Yang's body in their entirety.

Boom!!

After devouring several D-Rank, C-Rank, and the B-Ranked Anomaly within Zhang Yang, the aura of rules on the Crying Ghost's body suddenly surged.

Her body was also undergoing a transformation!!

With a squelch, a pair of pale bone wings burst out from her back.

The bone wings were hung with rotting scraps of meat and eyeballs that were still dripping blood.

[Crying Ghost promotion successful!]

[Current Rank: A-Rank!]

[New Form: Fallen Heaven Resentful Spirit!]

[Sequence Number: 300!!]

"Oh?"

When Lin Chuan saw the Crying Ghost's appearance and the prompt suddenly given by the panel, he was incredibly surprised.

Perhaps because her own potential was great enough, or perhaps because she was attached to a taboo like Lin Chuan... the A-Rank Crying Ghost actually had a sequence number!!

No, she could no longer be called the 'Crying Ghost' now.

She was almost half a taboo!

Her title had also become—Fallen Heaven Resentful Spirit!!

Just hearing this name, Lin Chuan felt that perhaps in the future, she could bring him even more surprises!

Just as the Crying Ghost was transforming.

The Black Snake Society headquarters was in an uproar.

"What?! Zhang Yang and the others have disappeared?!"

Liu Tiesheng slammed the table and stood up, his face full of disbelief.

"Didn't I tell them to go wait at the plaza?"

"Reporting to the Vice President... the plaza guards said they didn't see Captain Zhang and the others go there at all..."

"Then where did they go?!"

"Search! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, find them for me!!"

Soon.

The corpses of Zhang Yang and the others were discovered in the slums.

The state of their deaths was so tragic that even those who went to collect the bodies couldn't help but vomit.

What was even more terrifying was.

The abnormalities within their bodies had all vanished.

"This is... hunting!"

"Someone is hunting our Ghost Controllers!!"

Liu Tiesheng's hands were shaking as he looked at the autopsy report.

At the same time, an unprecedented sense of fear was gradually enveloping his heart.

However.

This was only the beginning.

That night.

As soon as Liu Tiesheng closed his eyes, he had a dream.

In the dream was a boundless sea of blood.

The Ghost Controllers of the Black Snake Society were bobbing and wailing in the sea of blood one by one.

And he himself was nailed to a massive bronze pillar, suffering the pain of ten thousand arrows piercing his heart.

"Ah!!"

He woke up with a start, finding himself drenched in sweat.

Before he could catch his breath.

Urgent knocking came from outside the door.

"Vice President! Something's happened!"

"Everyone had a Nightmare!!"

"The content of the dreams... is exactly the same!!"

Panic broke out completely.

The Ghost Controllers of the entire Black Snake Society, from top to bottom, were shrouded in the shadow of the Ghost Dream.

The feeling of not knowing when one would die a violent death was enough to drive people insane.

"Damn it! What on earth is it?!"

Liu Tiesheng's eyes were bloodshot, like a beast driven into a corner.

"It must be resolved! It must!!"

He summoned all the high-level officials and made a crazy decision.

"Sacrifice!"

"Capture a hundred thousand living people!"

"Hold a Blood Sacrifice Ritual on the plaza!"

"Pray for the Black Snake Taboo to descend a miracle and protect us!!"

The order was given.

The Black Snake Society's Security Teams rushed into the slums and civilian areas like mad dogs.

"Grab people! Men, women, old, young, we want them all!!"

"Anyone who dares to resist shall be killed without mercy!!"

The entire base city instantly turned into a living Hell.

Cries, gunshots, and screams echoed through the sky.

Countless innocent civilians were forcibly dragged from their homes and herded like livestock toward the headquarters plaza... and into the Rebirth Temple.

Lin Chuan watched this scene and did not stop it.

On the contrary.

His gaze grew even colder.

"To make them perish, one must first make them mad."

"Let them make a scene."

"The bigger the scene, the better."

"When everyone is completely in despair..."

"That will be the best time for my appearance."

"Jie jie jie!!!"

As his thoughts flowed, he conveyed another command to Zhao Linfeng.

"Go, bring that thing out."

"Yes."

Soon, Zhao Linfeng arrived before Lin Chuan, carrying a heavy golden box.

The box was opened.

A grayish-white infant curled inside, with a drop of pitch-black ghost blood slowly writhing on its forehead.

The infant was precisely the A-rank Abnormality that Lin Chuan had previously contained—the Resentment Fetus Ghoul!

Even though it was suppressed by Lin Chuan's rule power, its body still emitted heart-palpitating, violent rules.

Lin Chuan had originally planned to devour it directly after promoting to A-Rank.

Later, due to various upheavals, his energy was drawn away, and he almost forgot its existence... now, it was time to deal with it.

"My Buddha, are you going to..."

Looking at this monster that had once almost destroyed Changyang City, Zhao Linfeng still felt a bit apprehensive in his heart.

"But this thing... has the potential to become a taboo."

"I want to see, if someone can control it..."

"Whether it will give birth to... a Taboo Master?"

Lin Chuan responded to Zhao Linfeng.

He no longer intended to devour this Resentment Fetus Ghoul.

Because for him, a mere A-rank Abnormality didn't hold much meaning to devour.

It would be better to use this Resentment Fetus Ghoul to cultivate another powerful Fanatic Believer.

Hearing Lin Chuan's voice, Zhao Linfeng's breath hitched, a hint of desire flashing in his eyes.

Taboo Master!

That was an existence that surpassed A-Rank Ghost Controllers!

During this time, he had also gradually learned about existences above A-rank Abnormality!

The three Ranks of taboo: S-Rank, SS-Rank, SSS-Rank!!

Each Rank was further divided into nine orders!

At this current stage, A-Rank Ghost Controllers were still considered top-tier existences.

After all, most taboos in the world existed in the form of 'mediums' and had not truly recovered or truly descended into this world.

Even if there were taboo true bodies walking the world, they were all some 'low-status' taboos.

taboo true bodies with a horror level exceeding s-rank second order and in a fully recovered state, even if they existed, were very few in number.

Thinking of this, Zhao Linfeng's expression became increasingly fervent, but in the next moment, he regained his composure.

Because he could sense that the four abnormalities he controlled had too severe a rule conflict with the Resentment Fetus Ghoul.

If he forcibly controlled the 'Resentment Fetus Ghoul', he would not only fail to become stronger, but would also cause the abnormalities within him, including the 'Resentment Fetus Ghoul', to enter a crashed state together!

"My Buddha, I want to try... to control the Resentment Fetus Ghoul!"

Just as Zhao Linfeng was feeling regretful, a cold voice suddenly came from outside the hall.

Zhao Linfeng looked up and saw Xiao Hong striding over.

Immediately after, she knelt heavily before Lin Chuan's evil buddha golden body, her gaze fanatical and determined.

Lin Chuan looked at her, a hint of thought flashing in his heart.

Xiao Hong herself was an A-Rank Ghost Controller; if she controlled the 'Resentment Fetus Ghoul', there was even a probability she could directly become a Taboo Master!

Plus, she had already been converted and become his Fanatic Believer.

From the current perspective, she was indeed a suitable candidate.

"Granted."

As Lin Chuan's grand Buddha voice fell, the Resentment Fetus Ghoul in the golden box seemed to be pulled by some force, turning into a gray light and drilling into Xiao Hong's abdomen.

"Ah!!"

Xiao Hong let out a painful groan, her body trembling violently.

But she clenched her teeth and endured it head-on.

Gradually, a series of eerie black patterns spread from her abdomen to her entire body.

Finally, on her forehead, a black mark was formed.

Boom!!

A wave of rule power surpassing A-Rank spread out from her body.

Lin Chuan sensed that although she had not become a true taboo, she had already touched that threshold.

"Thank you, My Buddha, for your fulfillment!!"

Xiao Hong noticed her change and was excited, heavily kowtowing nine times toward Lin Chuan again.