Maison des esprits

Chapitre 5

It grew bigger and bigger, no longer resembling a cigarette butt underfoot, but rather like something stubbornly trying to expand!

Zhang Hai moved his foot away and looked down.

---janeadam

Reply [19]: Eyes, densely packed, bulged up from the ground, followed closely by the white body, emerging from the ground without a speck of dust, leaving not even a trace of damage. I find it difficult to describe this scene accurately now; I just want everyone to think about how, in the TV series "Journey to the West," the scene when the Great Sage recites the incantation and the local earth god appears is exactly the same as when these monsters appear. Clean, efficient, and without any hindrance.

They stood in a neat circle, their movements perfectly synchronized as they stared blankly at Zhang Hai with their single eye. Zhang Hai was very familiar with this scene. Thirty years ago, whenever he inspected his troops, those thousands of soldiers moved in perfect unison, just like these monsters now. But today, he knew it was he who was being inspected, and these monsters were inspecting him, trying to find a way to break through his defenses.

He subtly reached behind him, drew his sidearm from its holster, and disengaged the safety. He wasn't sure if the monsters' eyes could see him; they hadn't moved an inch, just stared straight at him.

Zhang Hai's left shoulder dipped slightly, and simultaneously, he used his waist to propel himself forward, his legs pushing off the ground, and he landed on the open space behind the sofa. Countless combat experiences and long-term training allowed him to instantly enter a state of readiness. His ten standard movements—standing still, proper gun stance, target acquisition, wrist extension, magnification of the aiming area, recovery of vision, timely breath-holding, pre-pressing the trigger, smooth firing, and a natural pull—were executed flawlessly in one fluid motion.

"Crack!" A monster was smashed into thousands of white fragments like pear blossoms.

Before the recoil from the gun had even reached his hand, Zhang Hai had already released the trigger. At the same time, using his shoulder as a pivot point and maintaining a consistent grip, he moved his arm laterally, his gaze returning to the aiming area to search for the next target. With a "click," the slide recoiled. Simultaneously, Zhang Hai slowly pulled the trigger again.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" All five shots hit their target. The shattered white monster fragments were scattered all over the ground. However, the fragments quickly disappeared into the ground without a trace, as if they had never existed. The remaining monsters remained calm and motionless, still staring at him with their dead fish-like eyes.

Zhang Hai reached for the spare magazine on his waist, only to remember that he had left it on the table after returning home. He faced the monster, moving his feet alternately towards the table.

The monsters let out shrill laughter, seemingly mocking Zhang Hai's overestimation of his abilities, and then they began to move.

One after another, the monsters jumped together, then stacked on top of each other like a human pyramid, rising straight up on the ground, resembling a hideous snake, its lifeless eyes like the evil spots on its body.

Zhang Hai watched in astonishment as the snake, its body covered in eyes, grew taller and taller, looking down, then straightening its neck, then looking straight ahead, then raising its face, and finally looking up.

The snake slowly lowered its head, like a real Tyrannosaurus Rex, undulating and tentatively approaching Zhang Hai. A chilling light emanated from its single eye. Zhang Hai tried to look away, but couldn't. He wanted to quickly move to the table and load his magazine as fast as possible, but his legs wouldn't obey him. He desperately tried to mobilize all his nerves, to regain control of his body, but to no avail. His eyes were bitter from staring for so long, his whole body stiff as he watched the malevolent one-eyed snake rush towards him, its eyes gleaming with mockery. He, who had once charged bravely through a hail of bullets, felt a genuine fear then. That fear creaked and groaned in every joint of his body.

The snake's head was already close to his face, slowly probing into his mouth, swiftly and quickly darting into his throat, then bursting out from the soft tissue of his neck, accompanied by a spurt of blood. The snake's head gracefully traced a curve, re-examining Zhang Hai's panicked face, then re-entered with the sliding body, this time bursting through the diaphragm beneath his ribs, then winding its way to his anus and disappearing—a cycle repeated, unhurriedly.

With a loud bang, the door was pushed open, and bright light shone in from outside. Two figures appeared outside, coughing as they were choked by the smoke rushing out of the room.

The snake suddenly accelerated as it pierced through Zhang Hai's body, plunging into the ground and disappearing one by one. Just as it was about to vanish completely, it seemed to encounter some obstacle and paused for a moment. Then, its body twitched violently, and the immense force flung Zhang Hai's stiff body to the ground, whereupon his entire body vanished in an instant.

---janeadam

Reply [20]: Professor Lin and his student then entered the room. The student kept calling out, "Director Zhang, Director Zhang----" Because their eyes had not yet fully adapted to the light in the room, they walked around looking left and right until the student's foot stepped on Zhang Hai's body.

The two stared blankly at Zhang Hai's lifeless body, a chill slowly creeping down their spines. The student nervously glanced around, his voice trembling with tears, and asked, "Teacher Lin, what do we do? What do we do? Director Zhang is dead! Director Zhang is dead!"

Professor Lin put his arm around the student's shoulder, trying his best to comfort him. His eyes remained fixed on Zhang Hai's body, his worry growing ever stronger. What were these things? Where had we offended them? Was this slaughter really going to continue indefinitely? The student had calmed down from his initial fear. Professor Lin released him and crouched down to examine the corpse closely. Every wound on his body was a perfectly round, pierced hole, with extremely clean edges, as if they had been gouged out with a sharp knife. Yet, apart from this, there were no other clues!

Professor Lin wrapped his arms around the corpse's waist and beckoned a student to lift Zhang Hai's upper body. The student cautiously held Zhang Hai's neck, and the two of them lifted the body, moving it towards the bed. Zhang Hai's head tilted to the side, and something rolled out of his mouth, landing squarely in the student's hand. The student was startled; he stopped and peered inside. Professor Lin also observed from a distance.

That was the monster's body that Zhang Hai had bitten off with the last of his strength in his dying moments, and it was even the monster's eyeball. It suddenly flipped over in the student's palm, stood up, and kept twitching slightly.

Professor Lin and the student were both taken aback. The student hurriedly flipped his wrist, trying to throw the horrifying eyeball to the ground. However, his hand flipped down, but Professor Lin didn't see the eyeball fall. The student opened his palm and held it to his face. Through the scraggly fingers, Professor Lin saw an expression of disbelief creep onto his face. The student suddenly screamed. Then, Professor Lin saw a black hole suddenly appear on the back of the hand, like a piece of paper that had been burned through. Yes, it was a black hole, because the blood flowing continuously from the back of the hand was completely black. And the hole was still expanding; in just a glance, the edge of the hole had already spread to the wrist.

The student lost his temper and shouted loudly, trying to shake off the substance that had already melted in his palm.

He simply flicked his five melting fingers to the ground, where they quickly turned into black liquid. His arm, like a rapidly burning candle, had melted up to his elbow. The black liquid dripped from his arm, emitting a strong, earthy smell.

Professor Lin watched in stunned silence. He wanted to help his student, but such a massacre was beyond his experience. He didn't know how to stop it, and the melting was happening so fast that before he could even process what was happening, the evil burning had already melted the once-living bodies into a heap of black liquid, which was gradually seeping into the ground. Only a painful watermark remained on the ground.

Oh my god!

It was only then that Professor Lin realized he should leave the room quickly. He retreated in a panic, and as soon as he stepped out of the door, he started running like a madman.

---janeadam

Reply [21]: Professor Lin only calmed down after running all the way home, his mind still filled with the terrifying scene that had just occurred. It was then that he truly realized how evil the monster was. He had only heard about it from others and thought it was nothing more than a mountain demon or a water spirit, but after witnessing the monster with his own eyes, all his guesses were overturned. In his nearly thirty years of social science research, he had never seen or heard of such a thing. The thing was so bloodthirsty that if it had ever appeared in history, there must have been an earth-shattering battle between humans and it, but-------- he shook his head, none of the information he could recall matched the monster.

He pondered deeply, slowly recalling the books he had read and the stories he had heard, year after year. Suddenly, something occurred to him—? His whole body jolted, and he jumped up! Instantly, his face turned ashen, and sweat soaked his grey Zhongshan suit until it turned black.

"Impossible, impossible, could this really be true?" Professor Lin muttered to himself. He ran out of his house, picked up a shovel in the yard, stared blankly at the gleaming shovel head, gripped it tightly with both hands, and a resolute expression in his eyes, as if he were terrified to do what he wanted to do. Finally, however, he made up his mind. He closed the door, took one last, lingering look, and then shouldered the shovel and walked towards the construction site. His steps were so heavy, each one hesitant, as if his shadow carried countless moments of loneliness and sorrow.

The residents, hurrying along, spread the word: "Professor Lin has gone to the construction site!"

Professor Lin was a celebrity in the town. He had studied abroad, received education, and been received by central government leaders—and these were only some of his honors. What truly won the hearts of the town's residents was Professor Lin's expertise in handling so many strange events. He could perform divination, fortune-telling, and palmistry; these skills earned him genuine respect. So, when they saw Professor Lin walking alone towards the construction site—a site filled with an eerie atmosphere—their anxiety of the past few days suddenly found support. One, two, and more and more people silently followed behind Professor Lin, surging towards the construction site.

Professor Lin inquired around and, guided by others, arrived at the site where the ancient tomb had been unearthed that day. The soil that Zhang Yongwang had hastily filled in was a noticeably different color from the surrounding soil. Professor Lin began shoveling away the loose soil, but being unaccustomed to physical labor, he was already panting after only a few digs. The onlookers exchanged glances, and several men rushed over, shovels flying, and the tomb was quickly reopened. People swarmed around, forming a tight circle around the tomb.

Professor Lin took a breath and jumped down, causing everyone's hearts to leap into their throats.

Professor Lin closed his eyes to calm himself down, then opened them and stared intently at the coffin, asking, "Was it like this when it was first dug out?"

"No, there used to be a coffin lid, but it disappeared sometime ago," someone above replied.

Professor Lin nodded, brushed away the loose dust from the skeleton, and picked up the whisk to examine it closely. The bronze handle was covered in green patina, and the seal script engraved on it was no longer legible. Professor Lin held it up higher to try and see it clearly, but because of the dim light, he kept backing away. Suddenly, he heard a "crunch" sound under his feet. He turned his head to look down.

It was that yellow paper covered in incantations that fell to the ground on the first day the grave was buried; later, when Zhang Yongwang stole the coffin lid and buried it, he covered it with a few shovelfuls of soil. Just now, Professor Lin was walking along when he stepped on it, and the already fragile paper instantly turned into fragments.

---janeadam

Reply [22]: Professor Lin gently put down the whisk in his hand, slowly squatted down, and reached out to clean away the dirt mixed in with the debris little by little. Gradually, the outlines of the vermilion symbols on the yellow paper became visible. Professor Lin's expression became more and more tense. When the symbols on the paper were completely recognizable, Professor Lin just stared blankly, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, sweat dripping onto the ground. He suddenly stood up, grabbed the whisk, and stared intently at the almost illegible characters on the handle. Finally, he recognized them, and at the same time, he despaired. He closed his eyes, and two lines of tears slid down from the corners of his eyes.

The construction site was silent! Everyone held their breath, watching Professor Lin, who was weeping.

Professor Lin slowly opened his eyes: "Do you know where the coffin lid went?"

A commotion arose among the crowd, and a resident pushed his way to the front: "Zhang Yongwang sneaked home the night he died. I had diarrhea that night, and when I went to the toilet, I saw him walking towards the construction site. I went to the toilet several times that night, and once when I was going home, I saw him carrying a plank and running hurriedly towards home. I came out right after he passed the toilet, and I saw it clearly. It was that plank. I also saw it when they were digging the grave that day."

"Has anyone seen a small red thing?" Professor Lin then asked.

The crowd stirred again, and another man squeezed out from the crowd: "The day Wang Tiegen died, when they were carrying his body, I saw that he was tightly clutching a piece of meat in his hand, it was dark red. I was wondering at the time, where did he get the meat from? We ate lunch together, why was he holding a piece of meat in the afternoon? But he was holding it so tightly, I couldn't pry it open, so I didn't pay any attention to it after that!"

Professor Lin scrambled to the ground, parted the crowd with his hands, and ran towards the morgue, followed closely by the crowd. He rushed to Wang Tiegen's body, ripped off the tarpaulin, and stared intently at his hands.

There was nothing there; the corpse's hands were empty. The man said in surprise, "Yes? I remember it very clearly!"

Professor Lin's body trembled again, and in the silence, his jaw clicked loudly. People in the crowd whispered among themselves, and finally shouted, "What is it? Professor Lin! Tell us!"

Professor Lin slowly turned around, his face even more ashen than that of the deceased Wang Tiegen. His unfocused gaze was unsettling. He seemed to be speaking to everyone, yet also to himself, saying, "Two thousand years... it was all true, it was all true. I always thought it was just a legend? It was real..."

People shouted even louder, "What is it? Tell us quickly!"

Startled by the deafening roar, Professor Lin's gaze finally settled on the crowd. He opened his lips and uttered, word by word, "Tai—Sui—!!!"

---janeadam

Reply [23]: (IV)

The ancient book *Shenyi Lun* records that after Pangu separated the primordial chaos, Gonggong angrily struck Buzhou Mountain, Nuwa created humans and mended the sky, Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, and after the Yellow Emperor and Yan Emperor merged, the divine realm was established on the foundation of the human world. Shakyamuni Buddha, Taiyi Zhenjun, and the Jade Emperor were respectively the heads of Buddhism, Taoism, and the Qing Dynasty. The followers of Buddhism and Taoism were all Great Immortals, detached from worldly affairs. Only the Jade Emperor governed countless wandering immortals, roaming between the divine realm and the human world. Among them were those upright and righteous immortals who frequently intervened in human injustices, earning the respect of the people. Temples were built for them to burn incense and worship, with incense burning year-round, and they were believed to grant all requests. These wandering immortals are what people call benevolent gods; for example, Guan Yu is the incarnation of the Martial Saint, Wang Hong became the Kitchen God, and Zhao Gongming firmly holds the title of God of Wealth. However, some wandering immortals, due to their narrow-mindedness and vindictiveness, often retaliate against the slightest transgression of mortals, causing harm instead of benefiting the people. These are the evil gods known in the human world. Since the powers of the good and evil gods are equal, the good gods are powerless to help the evil gods when they harm the people. They can only plead with the Jade Emperor for a fair judgment. To resolve this issue, the Jade Emperor entrusted Shakyamuni Buddha to create the eighteen levels of hell with his great power, and decreed that the evil gods should be in charge of the Ten Kings of Reincarnation, the Thirty-Six Judges of Hell, and thousands of Ox-Headed and Horse-Face demons. Without the decree of the Pure Land, they are not allowed to leave the underworld and roam the human world. Because of their inherently vicious nature, they are perfectly suited to specialize in capturing people's essence and souls, and arbitrarily torturing them in Fengdu City. Thus, the people of the human world were able to live in peace and prosperity.

Professor Lin stood on the stage of the county theater, surrounded by a dense crowd. Behind him was a banner that read, "Sweep away all demons and monsters!"

"However, there are three evil gods, whom even the Jade Emperor dared not order to be permanently exiled to the mortal realm. Two of these evil gods are brothers, sons of Taiyi Zhenjun who descended to the mortal world. The Jade Emperor appointed them as the Black and White Impermanence, allowing them to move about in the human realm. The other evil god is the younger brother of the demon god Yuanshi Tianzun, whom even Tianzun could not subdue. Furthermore, the war between gods and demons had been going on for a long time without a clear victor. The Jade Emperor could only appoint him to serve in the mortal realm, the human world, and the heavens, but he did not obey orders. This evil god is Tai Sui, also known in human legends as the fierce god."

"The malevolence of Tai Sui lies not only in its cruel behavior, but also in its different incarnations depending on the year. The celestial axis is Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui, and the terrestrial axis is Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai. Human beings use the Jiazi (甲子) as a unit of change, with one Jiazi lasting sixty years. Tai Sui has a different incarnation each year within a Jiazi. Tai Sui is the deity who takes turns governing the major events of the world each year within the sixty Jiazi cycle, and is the most powerful year god among the earth gods. Except for the Jade Emperor, almost all other deities must obey its commands."

Therefore, no one dared to offend him. In the human world, because of his high position and great power, everyone held him in high esteem, fearing that angering or offending him would be detrimental to themselves.

"The above describes the Tai Sui as recorded in ancient books. In ancient folk tales, Tai Sui usually appears in the human world as a fleshy ball, living beside rotting corpses, at the bottom of rivers, and in old houses. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Wen of Jin, Chong'er, accidentally stepped on the head of the Tai Sui while bathing in the Jin River, and was retaliated against by Tai Sui. As a result, his family and state were destroyed, and he was forced to wander abroad. It also caused years of war in the Jin region, resulting in widespread suffering. The 'Gongyang Commentary on the Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals' records: 'In the third year of Duke Wen's reign, it was an evil year, with strange occurrences and great misfortune.' This refers to the devastating disaster that occurred after offending Tai Sui."

"From then on, the vital energy of Jinzhong was completely lost, and no country could remain on this land for long. Countless people used their bodies and blood to irrigate this evil land, causing the Tai Sui to roam the world. At that time, there were Tai Sui as large as cartwheels. Even the smaller ones were the size of a fist, with an eye on their heads, appearing in the human world. The people suffered unspeakably and tried many methods to eliminate the Tai Sui, but all they got in return was the Tai Sui's more cruel revenge. Later, Taiyi Zhenjun could no longer bear to see it and secretly sent his disciple Bai Qingzi down to the mortal world to subdue the Tai Sui in Jinzhong. He used the Anfeng Talisman to..." The spirit of Tai Sui was collected as an inner elixir in Taoism, appearing as a dark red substance hidden within the body. The form of Tai Sui in the Jin region was entirely recorded in the books of its veneration. Later, Bai Qingzi returned east on his journey, but because he carried the essence of Tai Sui, he could not enter the Eastern Heavenly Gate. Therefore, he built a barbican in Jin, buried his physical body beneath it, and used talismans to suppress the essence of Tai Sui. He left a will that from then on, Tai Sui should be worshipped and venerated annually, and that the location of Tai Sui should be consulted before any weddings, funerals, construction, or relocation. Failure to do so, and inadvertently offending Tai Sui, would cause the remaining fleshy mass to reappear on the ground, potentially bringing disaster.

"However, because the Tai Sui deity has been subdued, these remaining forms do not pose a great threat to humankind. Some people with strong resentment can even deal with them at will. It is said that in ancient times, some people whipped the Tai Sui after digging it up, and the Tai Sui could only endure it. Some people cut off the body of the Tai Sui and ate it, and were able to live a long life. However, most people are still very afraid after digging up the Tai Sui, and immediately bury it back in the ground and choose another day to perform the ritual. When Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty rose up against the Yuan Dynasty, he was just a novice monk in a temple. After digging up the Tai Sui, he ate it when he was hungry, and from then on, he was transformed and eventually established the Ming Dynasty. After establishing the capital in Beijing, he was grateful for the Tai Sui's grace and built an altar on the site of the Yuan capital, and offered sacrifices every year."

Professor Lin sighed as he finished speaking. The audience below had already turned deathly pale. Only muffled coughs could be heard from the dense crowd.

---janeadam

Reply [24]: "In the social science works I have studied, there are also many ancient books about Jinzhong that mention these things. However, many of them are folk legends, which I have not paid attention to. I think that Tai Sui may be like the dragon and phoenix in mythology, which were deified by the ancients based on some strange animal prototypes. Tai Sui may just be a pangolin that is rare in our plains. It is not as fast as it is in the mountains in the hard loess, so it will be dug up by the people when they are digging. However, I did not expect that all of this was actually true!?"

"Just now, when I was at home, my heart was still shaken by the horrific scene I witnessed at Director Zhang's house. It wasn't until I calmed down and carefully recalled those things that I realized these things must have always been there, because I could see hatred in their eyes. Later, when I dredged up all the strange phenomena I knew from my memory, I thought of Tai Sui. The moment I thought of it, I even forced myself not to think about it anymore. If it really is them, then this is the second disaster that Jinzhong has ever faced. Many people wanted to escape this place, but in the end, they could only carry their bodies back by the roadside. If this really is Tai Sui, then this time it came to destroy the city. Tai Sui's nature is so violent, and only such a violent and ferocious god could bring such a disaster to the world!"

"The moment I opened the grave, my heart sank. All the legends had become reality before my eyes. There were Bai Qingzi's remains, the talisman for enshrining the spirit, and the bronze willow whisk. But what worried me most was the absence of the inner elixir formed from the Tai Sui, and the Book of Enshrining the spirit that imprisoned the spirit's form. Now we can be certain that Wang Tiegen must have accidentally come into contact with the inner elixir and died after being drained of his life essence by the Tai Sui, which hadn't tasted human flesh for a thousand years; the old man guarding the body was probably also accidentally drained of his life essence by the Tai Sui hidden within Wang Tiegen's corpse; Zhang Yongwang, after carrying back the Book of Enshrining, was reborn in the form awakened by the Tai Sui god, and killed Zhang Yongwang and his wife; and my father—----------------!"

Professor Lin fell silent. He looked up at the sky, letting the tears flow back into his eyes, and then continued:

“The ‘earth cocoon’ my father brought back wasn’t the kind we usually eat. It was a remnant of the Tai Sui that had been summoned after absorbing flesh and blood. Because it hadn’t eaten flesh and blood for a long time, its body was white like a mushroom. The Tai Sui could originally grow in water, but after everyone washed them in water, the Tai Sui finally regained its original nature. That’s why so many people were killed. And this massacre will continue until—!” Professor Lin fell silent again.

A stir ran through the audience, and someone shouted, "Until when?"

Professor Lin pondered for a moment, then involuntarily shuddered and said, "After subduing the Tai Sui god, Bai Qingzi said: 'The remaining form of Tai Sui in the world is not a threat, because its spirit is trapped. But if one day the Tai Sui god is lost to the world, it must be re-enshrined before it regains its original spiritual form. Otherwise, nine days later, if the Tai Sui god finds a suitable recipient, then it will probably not just be Wei Yucheng that suffers extinction!'"

"It has been five days since Bai Qingzi's grave was excavated and the God of Tai Sui reappeared in the world. If we cannot find and enshrine the God of Tai Sui within the remaining four days, I fear that in four days, Wei Yu City will become a dead city, the home that the God of Tai Sui loves to live in—a place littered with corpses!"

A chill slowly crept up the crowd. At the corner of the playground, countless small whirlwinds suddenly rose, dancing like joyful sprites. Someone softly asked, "But where can we find the Tai Sui? Everyone who's found it, except for a few children, is already dead!"

---janeadam

Reply [25]: "Yes, it's the child." Professor Lin interrupted the man and said, "Hasn't everyone thought about why children who have seen Tai Sui are all fine? According to Taoism, when a child bursts out of the mother's body, there is a resolute evil aura, which can last until the age of 18. But after the age of 18, the evil aura dissipates and can no longer resist Tai Sui. But before that, the evil aura formed by the infant's desire to survive and the mother's impending death, this life-and-death intertwined evil aura can even make a fierce god like Tai Sui retreat. So from now on, all children should try to stay by the side of adults, which may be able to resist the killing of Tai Sui. As for me, I will try my best to find the god of Tai Sui and subdue and enshrine him again."

The crowd erupted into chaos, everyone huddling around the children nearby. The innocent children, oblivious to the perilous situation, cried and screamed in distress, overwhelmed by the throng. Amidst the chaos, someone shouted, "Professor Lin, it's not that we don't trust you, but what method do you have to subdue the evil spirit? When Zhang Hai died, you could only watch helplessly. Instead of that, let's all run out of the city; every person who escapes is a chance!" Hearing this, the panicked crowd quieted down, turning their attention back to Professor Lin.

Professor Lin did not answer immediately. He raised his left hand, holding the bronze willow whisk that had been unearthed from Bai Qingzi's tomb. Professor Lin stared at it, his eyes radiating hope.

"If all the legends and myths of the past were true? It seems they are. Then, the primordial spirit of Tai Sui should be wearing a purple-gold crown, dressed in military attire, holding a halberd in his left hand, a summoning bell in his right, and standing on azure and blue energies. However, during the fierce battle between Bai Qingzi and Tai Sui, the summoning bell fell in the Tianshan Mountains and was collected by the Tibetan Lion Mother, while the halberd was transformed into a whisk by Bai Qingzi and carried with him. The power of a god can only be manifested through a divine artifact. If Tai Sui wants to dominate the human world again, I think he will definitely come to find his original divine artifact. The Tibetan Lion Mother has profound magical power, and her son can share the Buddhist realm with Shakyamuni Buddha. I think Tai Sui would never dare to provoke her. Therefore, he will definitely come to retrieve this halberd."

"On that day, the talisman of Anfeng was swept to the ground, and the God of Tai Sui saw the light of day again. At that time, his form was not complete, and he had to immediately absorb the essence and blood of humans to quickly recover. But in the past few days, he has been constantly summoning his original form and killing indiscriminately. The bodies of the dead are his best food. Once he has fully recovered his original spirit and form, he will find a recipient to enter. At that time, he will travel between the three realms of heaven, earth, and the underworld. I don't know if there is a heaven and an underworld, but I know that when Tai Sui finds a suitable recipient, there will definitely be no earth."

"Therefore, I will use this whisk to lure Tai Sui. Before its primordial spirit recovers, it will not seek out this divine artifact. But once its primordial spirit recovers, it will also need to find the artifact so that it can transform at will. To prevent everyone from being used as victims by Tai Sui, I will give you a talisman that you must carry with you at all times. This is a Taoist purification mantra, which needs to be written in cinnabar on yellow paper. With this talisman by your side, although it cannot stop Tai Sui from physically harming you, it can protect Tai Sui's primordial spirit from committing offenses. If you feel something trying to forcibly enter your mind or body, recite this talisman aloud."

Professor Lin took out a piece of yellow paper from his pocket. In the dim light, several words were written on the paper, appearing as if in blood:

Namo Samanta Om Mutuo Nam Om Duru Duru Diwei Om Suoha

---janeadam

Reply [26]: Wei Yucheng spent the fifth day in panic. Hundreds of people tried to escape the city under cover of night but died on the roadside. Many others lost their lives because they forgot they were with their children. The air was thick with the smell of blood, and everyone could hear and feel the earth beneath their feet undulating as if it were breathing.

On the sixth day, Professor Lin led a group to rebury Bai Qingzi's tomb. They then set up an altar on it according to the six cardinal directions, with the four divine beasts—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—standing in the east, west, south, and north respectively, the Purple Star accompanying a red furnace in the center, and the Kui Star carrying an inkstone roaming outside. On this day, thousands were killed. The corpses, left unburied for days, decomposed, and the stench permeated the city. Underground, something seemed to be moving rapidly; buildings with weak foundations collapsed one after another, resulting in countless deaths and injuries.

On the seventh day, Professor Lin prayed to the Three Pure Ones. He used cinnabar, ink, and alum to draw the Yin-Yang symbol on the ground. He erected statues of the Three Immortals—Taiyi Zhenxian, Taibai Jinxing, and Taishang Laojun—in the Three Eyes of Gods, Ghosts, and Humans. On that day, nearly ten thousand people perished. The forms of Tai Sui had already swarmed and howled through the streets. Cracks appeared in the ground, and blue and green mists spewed from the fissures, shrouding Wei Yu in a deathly haze.

On the eighth day, Professor Lin, naked and draped in a feather cloak, sat in meditation in the center of the Six Harmonies Altar, chanting purification mantras, invocation mantras, homage mantras, offering mantras, refuge mantras, protection mantras, true Buddha mantras, the Hundred Syllable Mantra, dedication mantras, peace mantras, and completion mantras all day long. People in the city, poisoned by inhaling the fumes, some wept blood from their eyes, others suffered from cracked skin all over their bodies; tens of thousands went mad, devouring each other to death. The cracks in the ground grew wider and wider, and a thumping tremor emanated from the Earth's core, like a giant drum, or a heart that was gradually enlarging.

On the ninth day, only a handful of people remained in the city; those who had survived had completely lost the will to live. The entire city gathered around the Six Harmonies Altar. The innocent children still laughed, their clear voices echoing in the distant sky. Professor Lin, who hadn't eaten for a day and a night, sat cross-legged in the center of the altar, his body stiff, only his lips still moving. His eyes were fixed on the bronze willow whisk placed before him, not daring to relax for a moment.

The earth began to tremble, surge, shake, and finally churn and throb! Like a giant sieve, the earth rose and fell dramatically; buildings in the city began to collapse, and dust billowed into the air. A tremendous force tore open the cracks in the ground, like gaping, malevolent mouths, tearing and devouring everything in their path. Rumbling sounds emanated from underground, mingled with agonizing cries. The clouds grew lower and lower, pressing heavily overhead; something moved rapidly within them, howling like countless vengeful ghosts. The Six Harmonies Altar seemed to be adrift in the heart of a raging storm; people could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground.

Suddenly, a mixture of blue and green energies erupted from the six sides of the Six Harmonies Altar, tightly enveloping it. A towering cylinder stood between heaven and earth.

A strong wind was blowing.

Professor Lin slowly raised his gaze, staring at the surging undercurrents. The bronze willow whisk in front of him suddenly began to tremble.

---janeadam

Reply [27]: Buzz!

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