Comprehensive network wizard, magic emperor.

Chapter 258 Whispers of Magic, Demon's True Name, Dwarf Joke
The administrator of the forbidden book section stood behind the podium. Unlike other living beings whose forms were blurred, Hai Lixin's ghost was clearly identifiable, with vivid colors just like his appearance in life, except that his skin had a faint green glow, like a moldy pearl.

Lin Bo smelled the stench of negative energy, and heard a deep, brooding murmur in his ears. It was as loud as a fierce wind blowing through a mountain crevice, and as gloomy as a black moon that obscured the sun. This taboo language was more profound than the language of the dead or monsters.

After he became a dragon, he could hear the outpourings of various magical energies, including negative energy, shadows, and hellish energy. They all spoke the language of corruption, a forbidden language that could awaken a twisted nature, such as bringing back a life that had already died in another form.

The whispers of negative energy weaved through the layers of mirrored barriers in Lin Bo's mind, unable to find the sorcerer's hidden consciousness and thus unable to corrupt him. Lin Bo was therefore able to safely listen to these words.

Even the forbidden words revealed the truth to the sorcerer, detailing how Hai Lixin transformed himself into a ghost and what protective magic he had placed on his body.

The pale and emaciated Hai Lixin was draped in a black robe that resembled a curtain, and beside him stood a tall, slender woman from Tiflin.

“She is our sorcerer [Strange Lily],” the paladin explained in a low voice.

This Tiflin had grayish-purple skin, a short bull horn on the left side of his forehead, and a sawed-off bull horn on the right. He wore a huge wide-brimmed hat crookedly on his head, a dark green long dress, and his body was covered with tattooed floral patterns. Standing there, he looked like a brightly colored porcelain vase.

Currently trapped, [Strange Lily]'s face is covered by a thin black silk, as if she were wearing the veil of a widow.

Lin Bo nodded knowingly, reached out and grasped, and the azure plasma swirling around him gathered in his palm like a river.

Hai Lixin's ghostly figure tilted its head slightly, uttering words that echoed hollowly: "Another bunch of greedy fools..."

It had barely begun to speak when it suddenly noticed the electric ball in the three-eyed skull's hand flashing a white light.

The next instant, the trigger spell set by Hai Lixin took effect. Its effect was to immediately trigger a teleportation spell when attacked suddenly, taking the target away from the original location.

A straight bolt of lightning shot out from the mage's palm, piercing the ghost at lightning speed.

The moment the lightning struck, the leader monster's spirit trembled violently, vanished from its spot, and reappeared high up at the back of the audience seating area in the conference hall.

Having escaped the terrifying crisis, it howled and roared in pain, yet its whole body still felt like it was burning.

It looked down and found a beam of electricity piercing deep into its chest.

"How could this be..." Hai Lixin clearly dodged the attack. When he looked up at the three-eyed skeleton, he realized that the lightning ball in his hand had actually split into two lightning bolts, which hit both the ghost's main body and the target location of the teleportation spell at the same time.

This means that when he made his move, he already knew where Hai Lixin would escape to; this second lightning bolt was already waiting for him.

It was the demon who told the sorcerer these secrets.

Skilled spellcasters, especially magic network mages, possess a technique called spell counterspell, which allows them to interrupt an opponent's spellcasting by casting a corresponding counterspell when the opponent is preparing to cast a spell.

This technique requires the caster to have a clear and accurate understanding of various types of magic.

Lin Bo was not a magic caster, but the magical energy induced by various spells would frankly explain the advantages and disadvantages to him, and the content was clear and understandable.

Hai Lixin's trigger and teleportation spells are fixed; he can understand what's going on just by smelling the scent or seeing the magical energy.

The lightning bolt that pierced the ghost's body was detonated by the Fierce Control Technique, and the resulting branching arcs of electricity spread in all directions, triggering an electromagnetic pulse that swept across the forbidden book area.

The spirit tore apart, wailing sharply, and vanished in an instant.

[Network notification: "Lighthouse Guest" has launched a fatal attack, successful! Enemy (Forbidden Book Administrator - Ghost Hai Lixin) has fallen]

The numerous living beings holding books in the audience trembled slightly in the electromagnetic pulse.

The players' hair floated like jellyfish in the charged air, and they cheered with glee.

Even though the leader monster fell in an instant, the battle was not over.

Hundreds of living spirits holding scrolls began chanting incantations. The pages of the forbidden books in their hands fluttered like the wind, and magical knowledge drew upon the power of the living spirits, transforming into spells.

Even though the voices of such a large number of spellcasters were hoarse and dry, and the words were broken and fragmented, the chanting still had the power to engulf life, like a gradually rising tide.

The human ranger shouted, "Silence!" A silent spherical field enveloped the dozens of living beings in the audience seats on the east side.

Halflings, elves, and paladins followed suit, tearing open scrolls to cast silence spells, covering the audience seats on the west, north, and south sides.

The orc rogues had already rushed to the audience seats, swinging their enchanted hammers to strike the living beings. Their shrieks were completely swallowed up by the Silent Domain, and not a single sound could be heard.

His teammates all ran to eliminate the living creatures. Lin Bo put away the remaining plasma, refilled it into the lantern, and walked towards Tiflin, who was standing next to the podium.

[Strange Lily] grabbed the magic book hanging from her waist, unfolded the pages, and quickly chanted the incantation in the language of the abyss. This mortal language used by demons sounded as eerie as the friction of snake scales.

"On my command...come out!"

Tiflin pointed to the ground, and flowing light outlined geometric lines and magical runes, combining to form a summoning circle. A dark shadow exuding the smell of sulfur was quietly projected into the circle.

A giant ape with thick arms, burning hair, a ferocious and ugly face, and adorned with skull beads all over its body suddenly appeared.

With a high-level demon summoning spell, Tieflin pulled a vicious ape demon from the abyss into the arena. This cruel and bloodthirsty monster was addicted to killing, even hunting its own kind.

Although the trapped [Strange Lily] summoned it, she could not control it. The evil ape demon roared and turned to swing its huge, wheel-like hand at the summoner.

"Hit him! Don't hit me..." Tiflin muttered blankly, then nimbly did a backflip to dodge the attack.

Lin Bo watched as the summoner and her summoned creatures fought, and couldn't help but smile.

[Strange Lily] frantically flipped through her magic book, chanted the incantation again, and a thick, jet-black octopus tentacle appeared on the ground, binding the rebellious evil ape demon.

Someone patted her on the shoulder. Tiflin turned around and saw the Three-Eyed Skull standing behind her. Before she could react, she felt a cold, cloud-like aura spread from her shoulder throughout her body, and then she lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

Lin Bo walked toward the bound abyss demon. The giant ape broke free of its tentacles, bared its fangs, and lunged at the mage.

"(Incantation) Speak your true name!"

A thunderous roar erupted, and the monstrous ape suddenly froze, collapsing to the ground. Lin Bo pressed down on its hideous head, listening to its clamorous spirit, and gradually discerned a demonic rune.

This is the demon's true name, and it is its own unique true name.

The giant ape broke free from its silence and was about to attack again when it suddenly heard a series of whispers from the human in front of it. Immediately, its body, mind, and consciousness trembled.

A personal real name is more specific than a racial real name; it encompasses everything about an individual: body, mind, how others perceive them, and how history remembers them.

Once the true name is known to the True Name Master, one's life and fortune hang in the balance.

"No... Master..." The evil ape demon lay prostrate on the ground, its bloodshot eyes straining to look up at the mage's figure.

Lin Bo looked at the creature and said calmly, "(Curse) Death."

The evil ape demon is dead.

Its body turned to ashes, and its soul was annihilated, never to return to the abyss to be resurrected and reborn.

A moment later, all the living beings had been dealt with.

The explorer's ghost reappeared, thanked everyone, and the negative energy within him gradually dissipated. With his mind having nowhere to rely, he vanished into nothingness.

Lin Bo and his teammates began searching for the source of the curse on the trapped players.

The Barbarian's [Wounded Knee] cursed item is a picture book.

"Dwarf Jokes (Illustrated Edition)," the elf [Huanji] said, holding the cursed picture book. "Shall we take a look?"

The paladin refused sternly, saying, "Doing so would probably hurt my comrades' feelings, and I don't recommend watching it."

[Huanji] sighed, "Alright, one vote against."

The human ranger raised his hand: "I vote in favor."

The halfling struggled, "I...I abstain."

Orc Rogue: "I'm in stealth, so it's inconvenient for me to speak."

Linbo found another cursed item, a black veil wrapped around a forbidden book. After purifying it, Tieflin [Strange Lily] broke free from the shackles of the living spirit and regained consciousness.

She had clearly heard the discussion, and her first words after being freed were: "I want to see!"

"Master, what is your suggestion?" Everyone's eyes turned to Lin Bo.

"It's not about whether we want to see it or not, but rather that [the injured knee]'s consciousness is trapped in the picture book, and only by finding her can she be freed," the monk gave a very pertinent and correct answer.

The paladin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Then I agree."

[Huanji] laughed, "Ladies and gentlemen, five votes in favor, two abstentions."

He spread out the picture book, and everyone crowded around, forming a circle, with the empty space occupied by the invisible orc.

A message on the title page: "A dwarf once tried to write all those who mocked them into a book of hatred, but he gave up because the book was much taller than him."

"What do I do if I start laughing?" The Ranger couldn't help himself.

Turning to the first page, an illustration catches the eye: a dwarf with his arms crossed, a bubble of text escaping from his mouth: "Hey! Help me! Your good friend [Wounded Knee] is trapped in this lousy picture book. And don't turn any further, I've seen it all, and I swear I'll write the book of hatred on the guy who wrote this!"
Lin Bo nodded and said, "Very good, we've found her."

"Oh no..." a teammate cried out in a low voice.

(End of this chapter)