Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chapter 242 The Evil Spirit in the Mine

Something's not right...

Chen Mo looked around at his surroundings, then looked up at the sky; it was already close to dusk.

Autumn dusk always comes early; the sun is still hanging on the western ridge when the light begins to dim.

He withdrew his gaze, walked around the cave entrance, and mentally measured the location and distance.

The cave entrance faces south, backed by the mountain. On the left and right sides are piles of waste rock that have been accumulated for decades. In front is a wide, gentle slope, and down the slope is the gully filled with tailings.

From a topographical perspective, this is a natural depression with shelter on three sides and only a gap in the southeast, making it a good location for setting up an army formation.

Chen Mo took out eight sheets of Nether Bamboo Talisman Paper from his storage space, each of which had been pre-drawn with talisman patterns.

These runes were drawn by him while he stayed up all night at the inn. He used blood cinnabar, and the style of the runes was the standard array diagram of the Inspection Bureau, a simple introductory array called the Eight Gates Locking Spirit Array.

It's not very powerful; it can only serve as a warning and a way to shield one's own aura.

He inserted eight talismans into eight different locations around the cave entrance, infusing each talisman with a trace of Yin energy to create a weak spiritual connection between the talisman and the ground.

When the last talisman was inserted, one could clearly feel the spiritual energy between the eight talismans beginning to resonate with each other, as if an invisible thread was connecting them together.

Chen Mo took two steps back and made a hand seal.

The eight talismans lit up at the same time, the light flashing and disappearing in an instant. After the cinnabar runes on the surface of the talismans went dark, they gained a faint glow, shining slightly in the darkening sky.

The Eight Gates Locking Spirit Formation is complete.

Chen Mo didn't stop; he took out five more copper coins from his storage space.

These were the Five Emperors Coins he borrowed from the fat man. The coins were dark and heavy, and the edges, which were round on the outside and square on the inside, had been worn smooth and shiny.

Five Emperor Coins are relatively rare in the market, but they are more effective than ordinary materials when used to set up defensive formations.

He squatted down, arranged the five copper coins according to the five elements, and then interlaced his fingers to form a seal.

The power of Taiyin was forced out from his palm, using five copper coins as a base to create an invisible barrier within a ten-meter radius around him.

The barrier was invisible and intangible, but Chen Mo, as the master of the formation, could sense its presence.

Whether you rush out from the inside or rush in from the outside, as long as you hit this barrier, you will be bounced back.

With his current cultivation level, this barrier cannot stop true masters, but ordinary Yin creatures and common people will definitely not be able to break through it in a short time.

Chen Mo stood up, dusted off his hands, and carefully examined the connection between the two formations.

The Eight Gates Locking Formation is responsible for early warning and shielding Qi and blood on the outer layer, while the Five Emperors Defense Formation is responsible for blocking on the inner layer. The two formations are stacked together, do not interfere with each other, and can complement each other.

It has three functions: early warning, hiding, and defense. Although it's not a particularly sophisticated setup, it should be sufficient for most situations.

He looked up at the sky.

The sun had completely sunk behind the mountain ridge, leaving only a dark red afterglow.

Chen Mo took out two paper figures for scouting from his storage space and placed them in his palm.

As the power of Yin was injected, the paper figure unfolded, only two inches tall and as thin as a cicada's wing, swaying slightly in his palm.

"go."

The paper figures jumped off his palm and walked towards the cave entrance one after the other, about ten meters apart.

Chen Mo closed his eyes and split a wisp of his divine consciousness into two strands, attaching them to the two paper figures.

At this time, the light inside the cave was almost zero, but fortunately, the paper figure's senses did not rely on the eyes.

The passageway appeared wider than the entrance, about six feet wide, and the ceiling was not high, less than ten feet.

Every few steps along the rock face, there was a wooden pillar supporting the rock, the wood so rotten that it was unrecognizable and covered with grayish-green mold.

The railway tracks extend inward along the tunnel, with most of the sleepers rotten. In some places, the tracks have tilted to one side and been deformed by falling rocks.

After the paper figure in front of us had walked for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the passageway began to slope downwards.

The slope isn't too steep, but it's very long, and you can't see the end of it.

The sun has set.

Chen Mo stood outside the cave entrance and suddenly felt a chill emanating from the depths of the mine, as if something underground had exhaled.

The last ray of light outside the cave entrance was disappearing, and something began to appear in the darkness of the ravine.

Chen Mo opened his eyes and looked around. The distant mountain ridge had turned into a blurry black line, and the nearby piles of waste rocks looked like mounds of graves in the twilight, with strange shapes.

He closed his eyes again and focused his attention on the paper figure's perception.

The two paper figures had already walked quite far.

The passageway ahead became increasingly narrow, with the rock walls on both sides converging inwards.

The railway tracks end here, leaving only a narrow path paved with gravel that winds its way deeper into the area.

The paper figures behind suddenly stopped.

Chen Mo's heart tightened, and he shifted his attention more to the paper figure.

I sensed something following me from behind...

He made the paper figure turn around and walk a short distance, but found nothing.

The passageway was empty; the wooden pillars were still the same wooden pillars, the rock walls were still the same rock walls, and everything remained the same.

But one detail sent a chill down his spine: a string of footprints had appeared on the ground.

These are not footprints of a paper figure.

The paper figure's feet were only the size of an index finger, and they left almost no trace when stepping on the gravel.

The footprints, however, were the size of an adult, imprinted in varying shades on the gravel and mud, as if something was following the paper figure.

Chen Mo immediately stopped the paper figure at the front and inspected the surrounding rock walls and ground.

There were no footprints on the ground ahead; it was clean and tidy, with only pebbles and the occasional puddle of water.

In other words, the set of footprints appeared behind the paper figure.

Something secretly followed them after they went in.

Chen Mo opened his eyes and quickly scanned his surroundings.

The Eight Gates Locking Formation was not triggered, and the Copper Coin Defense Formation showed no unusual activity. Everything outside the cave was quiet, shrouded in twilight, with nothing out of the ordinary.

He closed his eyes again and made the two paper figures walk back at the same time, wanting to see the source of the footprints.

The paper figure in front of him had just turned around when he suddenly lost contact with Chen Mo.

In that instant, it transmitted its last sense.

The sound of chains seemed to come from deep within the mine, one end connected to darkness, the other dragging something slowly towards the entrance.

Chen Mo suddenly opened his eyes and immediately gave the paper figure behind him the order to retreat.

The paper figure tried to turn around, but its limbs seemed to be controlled by something. After turning halfway, its body was forcibly twisted back and pushed forward.

Although the connection between the two sides was still maintained, the paper doll that had been scouting ahead was now completely out of his control.

Before he could disconnect, the paper figure that had been probing suddenly stopped, and a grayish-white face slowly drooped down from the top of its head.

The face was hanging upside down, forehead down, chin up.

The skin was grayish-white, but not the dry kind; it was wet, like raw meat just pulled from the water.

Cracks covered his face like a spider web, and through them, one could see a scarlet color inside.

Chen Mo made a quick decision, withdrawing his divine sense from the paper figure, and his expression darkened.

"It's possessed by an evil spirit, and there's another monster deep inside the mine..."

'

Possessed by an evil spirit—he'd seen this in the Bureau of Investigation's files before; it was a mid-grade, Class B evil spirit.

It is neither an ordinary vengeful ghost nor a typical corpse monster, but rather an existence somewhere in between.

Corpse monsters are ferocious, but most of them lack intelligence and only harm people based on instinct.

The vengeful ghost was in a state of disarray, its consciousness fragmented, unable to even remember who it was.

But possession by an evil spirit is different.

They even retain some of their memories and wisdom from their previous lives, while also incorporating the ferocity that arises in the yin and evil places after death.

This kind of monster can think and sets traps, waiting for its prey to walk right into its net.

What's most terrifying is their ability to possess and devour.

When a spirit possesses another body, it takes time. First, it affects the mind, then it gradually erodes the consciousness, and finally it takes over the physical body.

The whole process would take at least half an hour, but if it is discovered in time, there is a way to interrupt it.

But possession by an evil spirit is different.

They possess prey with astonishing speed; as long as there is physical contact with the prey, or eye contact when the prey is caught off guard, they can possess it in an instant.

Just like that paper figure that was used to guide the way.

The evil spirit didn't even need to touch the paper figure; it simply severed its control over the paper figure through some medium and forcibly took over its body.

Such a possession speed, if it were the real body entering...

Chen Mo wasn't sure if he could withstand the opponent's abilities.

Moreover, there is another monster deep inside the mine.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and began to analyze the source of the sound of the iron chains deep in the mine.

That sound was clearly not something a possessed evil spirit could produce.

The chains dragged along, dull and slow, as if something was being pulled by chains and moving towards the cave entrance.

Moreover, judging from the depth of the sound, the monster was definitely not small.

Chen Mo recalled the words spoken by the ghost woman's spirit.

The entrance to the Black Dragon's Fiend Land is located at the source of an underground river deep within the mine. It can only be entered at night when the entrance to the underworld opens; it is impossible to enter during the day.

In other words, he must enter the underground river tonight, or he will have to wait another day.

But two monsters blocked the way in the mine: one was a possessed evil spirit, and the other was the thing behind the iron chain.

Only by eliminating them can we enter the underground river.

The possessing evil spirit's attack methods were too bizarre; Chen Mo wasn't prepared to step into the mine until he had killed it first.

As for the thing chained up, judging from the sound, its strength is likely greater than that of the possessing evil spirit.

Go around it?

Not at all.

There is only one road in the mine, with no side roads, unless he digs out a new passage, but that is not practical.

Chen Mo paced back and forth a few steps outside the cave entrance. With a thought, the Merit Banner appeared in his palm.

"come out."

The banners fluttered without wind, and the black mist churned.

Eight blood-red demons burst out of the banner almost simultaneously, their bodies shrouded in a thick, dark red mist that churned and rolled around them, emitting a pungent, fishy stench.

Blood Demon is a malevolent aura that condenses after a vengeful ghost has devoured a large amount of human blood and essence. Ordinary Taoist priests would avoid it if they saw it.

Immediately afterwards, hundreds of other ghosts roared out, and the open space around the cave entrance was shrouded in thick black mist. The sounds of ghosts wailing and howling rose and fell, the black mist surged, and the ghosts cried mournfully.

Chen Mo glanced at the ghostly creatures and pointed towards the mine.

"Go in and kill."

Although these ghosts were suppressed within the banner, their ability to sense Yin energy remained. They detected the aura of the possessed evil spirit deep within the mine even earlier than Chen Mo.

Eight blood-red vengeful ghosts rushed into the cave entrance first, followed by hundreds of vengeful spirits that surged in like a black tide. The mournful howls of the ghosts echoed back and forth in the passageway, causing the rocks on the cliff walls to fall down in a rustling sound.

He didn't follow them inside, but only glanced at the shadow on the ground.

"come out."

The shadow trembled violently.

Eight black figures emerged from the shadows, quickly coalescing into human form and mingling with the horde of ghosts.

Chen Mo closed his eyes and separated a wisp of his divine sense, attaching it to the shadow puppet at the front.

The middle section of the passageway ahead.

The possessing evil spirit had emerged from underground, its skin riddled with cracks and oozing a wet, sticky substance, like a rotting corpse just pulled from the bottom of the water.

Eight fierce ghosts were already locked in combat with their opponent, and hundreds of vengeful spirits crowded the surrounding space, occasionally rushing forward to devour their opponent's flesh.

It was described as a grappling match, but it was more like a one-sided suppression.

The possession ability only works on physical entities; it has no effect on evil spirits or ghosts of the same kind.

Chen Mo had already calculated this before he took action.

At this moment, eight blood-red vengeful ghosts pounced on the possessing evil spirit from different directions, and the blood-red aura surged like a tide, dyeing that alleyway dark red.

The evil spirit spread its arms, its grayish-white skin stretching like rubber, trying to wrap around and devour the vengeful ghost.

But it miscalculated this time.

The eight vengeful ghosts, along with hundreds of vengeful spirits, gave it no chance to defeat them one by one.

Hundreds of vengeful spirits surged forward like a tide, tearing and biting without regard for the cost.

Individually they are not strong, but their sheer numbers make them powerful. Layer upon layer, they are like countless ants devouring a giant beast.

The possessing evil spirit struggled frantically, its body twisting and turning, its grayish-white skin being torn open and then healed, then torn open again.

Dark red pus splattered everywhere.

But it can't be killed off completely.

For every soul torn apart, ten more take its place.

Its recovery speed is decreasing, the crimson light in the crack is weakening, and its movements are becoming increasingly sluggish.

Chen Mo observed everything through the perspective of the shadow puppet and had a clear understanding of the situation.

Possessed evil spirits excel at possession and devouring, making them nearly invincible against opponents with physical forms.

But when faced with these ghostly beings that also lack physical form, its possession becomes useless, and its devouring cannot keep up with its consumption.

Like a beast trapped in a cage, surrounded by endless enemies, each kill adds another wound to its own body.

Finally, the eight vengeful ghosts attacked simultaneously, pouring their bloody energy into its seven orifices, causing it to explode inside its skull.

The possessing evil spirit's body convulsed violently, its grayish-white skin quickly lost its luster, and the scarlet light in the cracks instantly went out.

His entire body collapsed with a crash, shattering into a pile of blackish-gray powder.

The passageway fell silent for a moment.

The remaining spirits ceased their attack and floated in place.

The eight vengeful ghosts also stepped back a few paces, their blood-red eyes fixed on the pile of powder, and the bloodthirsty aura on their bodies slowly subsided.

Something is glowing in the middle of the powder.