World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 264 Black Hen
The moment Lin An left the tent, he unexpectedly encountered the proud black hen.

"You actually found me?"

The hen clucked, the sound echoing like a sharp, noisy alarm clock.

"So you're the [Forest Ranger]. Damn it, it must be that annoying old blind man who ruined things."

"Red Poppy Chamber of Commerce"

Lin An confirmed the identity of the person controlling the hen, but something was strange. He had thought the people from the Chamber of Commerce were after him, but seeing the man looking around, it seemed he was searching for something else.

"You're quite shrewd. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll spare your life for now." The hen arrogantly turned her head. "Tell me where Susumi is?"

"Brother Chicken, are you looking for Su Sumi?" Lin An frowned.

"Of course, I'm going to pursue her." The hen said matter-of-factly, "I came to this stinking wilderness just to find her. That pearl buried deep in the mud is the only thing of value here, otherwise I wouldn't bother to make the trip myself."

"I thought you were an assassin hired by the Chamber of Commerce," Lin An said expressionlessly. "Susumi is the ancestral spirit of the Tiger Fish Tribe. Why aren't you looking for her with your suppliers? What are you doing in the Lion Tribe?"

"Stop trying to make yourself look good! You, a filthy and ignorant third-rate mystery, do you even deserve to be associated with the Van Hofwegen family..." The hen stopped talking. "Forget it, I don't want to waste my breath on you. I know Susumi is nearby."

"A medium for the 'prophet'?" Lin An raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, a yellow butterfly landed, and a dilapidated wooden plank came crashing down on Lin An's head.

The rainforest shrouded in a light mist, the busy lion tribe, and the self-important black hen have all vanished. An absurd and bizarre atmosphere leaps about, the batik curtains are on fire, and a cloud of mist swirls and transforms into a human shape.

Zai leaned on a cane, half of his body covered in bruises and whip marks. In front of him was a colorful, handmade plastic doll. He stared at Lin An with his sculpted, cold eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"I can't touch that person's body."

"Is it because he, like you, hid in a separate space similar to the 'underworld'?" Lin An, used to the dreamer's unpredictable ways, quickly got into the zone and began to explore the known information.

It seems that Zai has already fought with the controller of the black hen.

“No, it simply doesn’t have any effect.” Zai scratched his cheek in frustration, his nails scraping off flakes of skin, chunks of injured flesh peeling off. “Even if I hit him, it has no effect, like hitting a piece of paper.”

"Are you sure that's this person's 'true form'?" Lin An asked thoughtfully, seemingly oblivious to the bizarre scene before him.

“At first it was, then it disappeared, it ran very fast.” Zai’s fingers moved faster, his nails becoming sharper and sharper, until he had gouged out his entire cheek.

New, pale red flesh surged from the exposed bone wound, covering the previous one. The muscle texture was as dense as wriggling maggots. He then scratched his arm, which was covered with scars and shallow pits.

"So, you're not sure where his real body is right now, right?" Lin An rolled his eyes, feeling that Zai was deliberately showing him these physically uncomfortable scenes.

"I can look for it."

Sure enough, when Zai saw Lin An turn his head away, a fleeting smile appeared on his usually angry face.

"I'm just telling you that I can't do anything about him, let alone deal with the mother lizard that gave birth to him."

“Chicken Bro is the son of Countess Mariette van Hofwegen.” Lin An cursed under his breath for being childish, and continued to communicate with him, “How long will it take you to re-lock onto him?”

“About ten minutes.” Zai tore off the rotten flesh from his arm, which began to grow back. “Be careful of the chicks that chicken lays; they are haunting, decaying ghosts.”

Based on Zai's description, Chicken Bro is probably not a "prophet," but rather a medium with more comprehensive abilities.

A hen, scraps of paper, and a 'ghost'...

Keywords swirled in his memory, and Lin An gradually pinpointed the mysterious prototype of Brother Chicken.

"Mr. Zay, please step aside, let me take a look at how things are going."

Lin An reached out and brushed aside Zai's mosquito-smoke, which enraged the latter. Zai's blind eyes, which looked like glass beads, widened as he angrily cursed.

"You ungrateful brat! Just wait until those monsters bite you to death!"

Since having a third of his power taken away and discovering that Lin An was not a member of the Red Poppy Merchant Guild, Zai's illusions have become less threatening than before, light and gentle, as if covered with a layer of magical color.

Using the energy flow from the Philosopher's Stone to slightly disrupt the Dreamer's energy, Lin An saw the black hen think he was standing still and look around on her own, eventually locking onto the hut where Susumi was.

"Coo-coo-da, I've come to see you, little mermaid!" He flapped his wings and rushed toward the hut door.

"Chicken feet, keep them here!"

Lin An shouted, causing a surge of air currents. Zai cursed and retracted the spatial manipulation, with yellow butterflies following behind him.

Several items flashed through Lin An's mind, but the system prompted him that some of them could not be locked onto the black hen because it was not the Mysterious One himself, but merely his messenger, having neither a soul nor a "form" belonging to Titan.

To deal with these crooked and evil methods, the "presiding judge" is undoubtedly the most effective and direct tool!

[Prayers for Candlelight Day]!
A deep blue pentagram appeared beneath the black hen, which crashed into the cube-shaped space with a loud thud. Immediately afterward, a blinding, holy light flashed across the sky, causing the hen's pupils to contract and it to howl in pain.

"You ungrateful wretch! I'll kill you!" the hen crowed loudly. "Eloim, Essaim, frugativi et appellavi!"

A strange incantation rang out, and Lin An narrowed his eyes slightly.

This is a Latin and Hebrew mixed incantation: O moving spirits of the gods, I call upon and plead with you.

The famous incantation brought the mysterious prototype to life, but unfortunately the black hen was not his true form, and the system did not provide a detailed panel.

As the hen's screech subsided, a monster dressed in a burgundy coat, yellow vest, and light green breeches replaced the black hen. He stepped on a pentagram magic circle and exhaled sulfurous breaths with a ferocious expression.

His most distinctive features are his two long, donkey-like ears, his lower body is entirely that of a goat, and his entire body is covered with stiff, thick hair.

"Nanther! (Attack)"

The hen's voice grew increasingly ethereal, and the enormous monster twitched its long donkey ears, its body swelling until it filled the cube of the Candlelight Prayer.

"Boom!"

He slammed his goat's hoof against the invisible wall, making the ground rumble loudly.

"Ha! It's locked up!" Zai laughed loudly.

"Shh..."

"What's wrong, ranger?"

“This creature is adept at disguise and scheming.” Lin An gestured for silence. “Look into its eyes; it’s a demon from hell.”

"Damn it, I'm blind!"

"Okay, I'll tell you, the characteristic of demons is that they can't blink at the same time."

The next moment, the demon disguised as a monster chuckled mockingly. Its enormous and clumsy body transformed into a dark room. The spatial constraints were merely a prop for it, and their effect was to make Lin An believe it was real.

"Soutram Urbarsinens!" The incantation was accompanied by a chilling coldness, and the demon melted like butter on a hot pan, soaking the soil.

The crimson, moist liquid nourished the seeds of another world, and the rapidly growing vines maliciously climbed toward Lin An.

The creatures emitted piercing sounds, strange and mesmerizing energies surged left and right, the rusty smell of soil permeated the air, and the repulsion from all things in heaven and earth attempted to engulf Lin An.

The green code formed armor first. Lin An stretched out five fingers and made a strange gesture. Just as he was about to retaliate, he heard Zai shout.

"Don't let them near you!"

As the visionary's energy surged, the dark world enveloped Lin An just as the "ghosts" from all directions approached him.

"Weren't you going to make me get bitten to death by them?" Lin An froze halfway through casting his mystical spell, speechless as he stared at Zai, whose face was full of gloom.

"Even if I die, I'll wait until those outsiders are driven away!" Zai sneered. "Ghosts are dangerous. Once they've got their eyes on you, it's hard to escape!"

“Those are not ghosts,” Lin An said. “They are an army of elves, Rutin, and dwarfs.”

"army?"

"Grandpa, you should rest. Now is not the time for science education."

"You son of a bitch! Who's your son?! Die!"

Zai immediately kicked Lin An out of the fantasy space, and a yellow butterfly fluttered its wings and flew high, hovering above Lin An's head.

The scene became clear again, and Lin An, who had been holding his fingers outstretched, suddenly clenched them into a fist.

"The Encyclopedia of Magic III: Playing Pan's Flute - The Cult of the Familiar Oak Tree's Worship Secrets - [The Druid's Mediation Dance]!"

Druids are the guardians of traditional wisdom, focusing on moral philosophy, natural phenomena, and theology.

They were skilled in divination, interpreting omens, performing rituals, and developing calendars, playing a crucial role in both the sacred and secular lives of the Celts.

Diogenes Laertius records that as early as the fourth century BC, during the time of Aristotle, the Druids held a high position, equivalent to spiritual leaders of the community, and acted as mediators between the people and the gods.

These souls refer to natural spirits, such as fairies, ghosts, and goddesses living in the fairy kingdom, or dwarfs, rutins, and zhennis who coexist with humans and possess magical powers.

Lin An's clenched fist posture was like a photograph, instantly stripped away, and the energy formed a female druid in the same posture.

She was dressed in black, wearing a verbena crown, and the phantom of an oak tree flashed by and disappeared.

Using his toes to draw a circle to protect Lin An, the druid charged into the army of mysterious creatures, howling at them, holding a lit torch in one hand and beating a drum in the other, chanting ecstatic poems, and performing a strange dance with clattering sounds.

Don't keep arguing.

Leave this person's side.
Otherwise I'll soak you in a sheep bath solution!

Having understood the druid's words, the hissing army fell silent, took a step back, and froze.

The flying Zai was astonished; though he couldn't see it, he could sense the changes in energy.

Through their rhythms, Zaibi was able to perceive the mysterious trajectory of "Comers" more clearly when his eyes were intact.

Lin An actually drove away these monsters that had left him helpless?

Every time he thought he had figured out Lin An's methods, the latter would always come up with new tricks that left him dazzled.

Perhaps he could rival that woman...

Before Zai could land, an aura that had infiltrated the fairy army rose like a venomous snake, belonging to the original demons.

Taking advantage of the moment the black-clad druid began to dance, he swiftly broke through her circle and pierced the code surrounding Lin An.

"Chichi!"

The green energy surface emitted a burning sound. Lin An immediately turned the Philosopher's Stone, but the demon chuckled, stepped on the six-pointed star array, and plunged into it, leaving on its own.

A slight pain came from the back of my hand. A six-petaled flower mark appeared on the skin that had been corrupted by the demon. The stripes were purplish-red, and each petal was decorated with a different symbol. The inverted cross in the center was longer at the top and shorter at the bottom, which looked particularly ominous.

The system is a seeker of knowledge, and Lin An cannot use one entry while using another.

The demon seized the moment he finished casting [Druid's Mediation Dance] and launched a surprise attack, carving this strange seal on the back of his hand.

While Zai meant well, he undoubtedly disrupted Lin An's fighting rhythm.

If he hadn't been unexpectedly pulled into the illusion space, he would have had plenty of time.

The whispers went from deafening to utter silence as the fairy army dispersed like a tide, disappearing into the plants and soil like coded radio waves, vanishing invisibly throughout the rainforest.

"Hoohoo!"

Darkness descended, and Zai sat in the space covered with a checkered carpet. He first looked Lin An over, his lifeless gaze lingering on the back of his hand, muttering to himself.

"Fortunately, you weren't haunted by ghosts."

"Actually..."

Without your meddling, I wouldn't even have been branded with this thing that looks like "quarantine certified"! Lin An thought to himself.

Zai gestured for him to stop talking and picked up a carved plastic doll, handing it to Lin An.

"Eat it."

"I don't eat matryoshka dolls, can I have Kinder Surprise eggs instead?"

"Stop talking nonsense, do you want to expose us?" Zai's angry tone carried a hint of unease. "If you had told me you had a way to deal with that chicken, I wouldn't have been willing to take action!"

"Grandpa, you didn't give me a chance."

"Who's your boss...?"

Lin An took the doll, which was originally a yellow wildflower. The smell of decay was overwhelming, mixed with the fresh bitterness of dandelion, which was the energy that Zai usually used to repair his body.

He could tear flesh and blood, then reshape the wound to remove the demon's mark, making it impossible for the black hen to find Lin An's location.

Thinking about the other party's chilling "healing process," Lin An was somewhat reluctant to accept it.

As he hesitated about whether to eat the flower, Zai took a deep breath and couldn't help but ask.

"Hey, ranger, what's that chicken?"

“Black Pullet,” Lin An explained while poking at the wildflowers. “Brother Chicken just used a page from this magic book to perform a famous magic ritual—the Golden Hen Search.”

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(End of this chapter)