Demon Taming: Start by synthesizing a Lantern Ghost with Divine and Demonic Talents

Chapter 17: Endless Killing Intent (Please continue reading)
Looking at the empty tables and chairs, the proprietress was immediately lost in memories. "The First Tribulation, it really is... such a distant memory."

"Aim~"

A white cat floated lightly down into the courtyard, stepping on a cloud. In mid-air, the cat leaped lightly, landing on the table before jumping into the woman's arms. It lay comfortably on the heavy spot below her chest, and the landlady subconsciously stroked its fur.

The white cloud also grew human-like features, and a pair of big, dark eyes blinked at her. Seeing that its owner was engrossed in memories and ignoring it, it suddenly became playful. In a flash, it spun around the yard countless times, stirring up a whirlwind that sent rain and fallen leaves flying into the air, making a complete mess of the small yard.

This finally made the proprietress frown. She easily caught it with her slender hand and flicked Baiyun on the head, saying, "Naughty!"

"Little Cloud, do you remember? Back then, you were just an innocent little cloud, and I was a little girl who had just embarked on my cultivation journey. When I encountered my first tribulation, I went through countless near-death experiences before finally winning you over and successfully forming a contract with you."

Baiyun blinked, clearly having no memory of this.

However, it calmed down and obediently flew behind the landlady. The landlady naturally lay down, and the white cloud stretched its body and transformed into a soft white cloud couch. It even fawned over the landlady by producing a pair of chubby white hands, which gently kneaded the landlady's shoulders, causing the couch to sway back and forth.

……

The moment Li Chunfeng stepped inside, the world had changed.

"Dang~"

A rainy night, a dilapidated temple.

The melodious sound of the Zen bell lingered in the mountains for a long time.

A bald young monk guarded a dim lamp, its light illuminating the dilapidated hall that had collapsed halfway down.

Amidst the wind and rain, a barely audible sigh emanated from the Buddhist temple.

Welcome to the Abyss. Your first tribulation is at level one. After ten tribulations, you will automatically descend into the Abyss!

[Location of this tribulation: Chaotic Ancient Wasteland]

[Trial Mode: Endless Danger]

[Identifying all beings participating in the ordeal: Killers/Survivors]

Your identity has been confirmed: Survivor

[Mission: Escape the ancient city of Maha, or survive for seven days. Upon completion, you may choose to return.]

Li Chunfeng touched his bald head, savoring the information conveyed in his mind.

First, unfamiliar written symbols flooded my mind, representing the language system of this world and the memories of the person in this body. Then, strange scenes swirled in my mind, providing a descriptive overview of the mission:
The Chaotic Ancient Wilderness is a mysterious and forbidden frontier. In one corner of the wilderness lies an ancient city called Maha, where a terrifying demon is said to be suppressed.

After a long period of time, the former suppressive power has become very weak.

Demons, through various means, are spreading their power back to the human world.

When night falls, evil spreads, and demons emerge from the mist to sacrifice people. But as long as one follows the rules of the night, one can remain safe.

The City Lord's Mansion is the nominal leader of the ancient city of Maha, while the Spider Mother Cult is the actual ruler of this ancient city. Legend has it that the Spider Mother possesses destructive power and a vast number of puppets and followers, including two immortal consorts and three immortal sons.

The once sacred Buddhist city of Maha has been transformed into an absurd world where black and white are reversed and right and wrong are confused due to the manifestation of demons in the human realm.

Note: Do not reveal yourself.

……

"I never expected that my first ordeal would be the most difficult killing mode."

Li Chunfeng had watched many videos of the Abyss Tribulation contributed by his predecessors. Although everyone's experience of the world was different, these videos could only be used as a reference, not a guide.

Having seen many, one can roughly summarize several fixed patterns for the tribulations of the first level of the Abyss.

Including "role-playing/killing/exploration/puzzle/guardian/survival/life survival/murder mystery..."

The most dangerous type of tribulation is one that involves direct confrontation and killing intent.

The two sides are divided into "killers" and "survivors".

The killers could be terrifying ghosts, ferocious beasts, evil madmen, and so on. Behind them could be other cultivators in disguise, undergoing tribulations according to the power of the rules; or they could be real monsters mixed in among them.

The objective, of course, is to kill all the survivors within a limited time and space.

This time, the side responsible for the slaughter was undoubtedly the demon's minions, or even the demon itself.

In the ancient city of Maha, there stands a desolate ancient temple called Luan Gu Temple. Originally, there was only an old monk and a young monk in the temple. Some time ago, while rushing to repair the main hall that had been washed away by a rainstorm, the old monk was accidentally struck by a beam and passed away.

So, only the young monk remained in the dilapidated temple.

Li Chunfeng's current identity is that of this little monk.

The mission is clearly described; following the established rules will ensure safety. In this role-playing type of ordeal, it's best to avoid revealing any unusual identity.

Li Chunfeng was not the type to sit still and think things through when faced with a problem. He stood up and checked himself over.

Aside from the change in identity, everything else remained the same. The Mustard Seed Ring was still on him, and nothing inside it was missing. His power was still his power; he had simply borrowed a skin.

Is the little monk a real person, or a fragment of history from a small world conjured up by the Abyss?

"...This topic has gone off on a tangent."

Li Chunfeng carefully recalled the little monk's memories and found that he could only recall the scenes of his life in the recent period. He could not remember the previous memories, including those of practicing martial arts, the old monk's teachings, and some very important things that he vaguely remembered.

According to the young monk's original life trajectory, he should now patiently wait for dawn and then go into the city to beg for alms. He should at least have a place to stay if he intends to renovate the ancient temple's main hall.

His gaze fell on the dim lamp.

A green lamp before the Buddha, a ritual implement. It contains three sacred prohibitions; it provides light and wards off evil!

I've got my beginner gear.

Li Chunfeng wasn't surprised. If those killers possessed demonic minions, they would surely receive some extra benefits. It was normal for survivors to have one or two external aids.

"Crench."

With an unpleasant scraping sound from the hinges, the wooden door slowly opened.

Li Chunfeng walked into the wind and rain, a delicate little lantern in front of him shone brightly, illuminating a space of ten feet in radius, as if a large hole had been burned through the darkness.

An invisible barrier covers our heads, impervious to wind and rain.

The ancient temple is located on a low hill in the western part of the ancient city. The temple area is not large, and you can basically walk around it in a few rounds. Climbing to the highest pagoda, you can vaguely see the brightly lit mountain in the center of the ancient city.

That was the former site of the Luan Gu Temple, now occupied by the Spider Mother Holy Cult.

Li Chunfeng didn't find much useful information, but after returning to the main hall, he discovered new clues under a huge Buddha statue in a collapsed corner.

The dilapidated Buddha statue seems to hold a secret within!

Li Chunfeng jumped onto the Buddha's knees and carefully searched through the broken parts of the Buddha's belly, but found nothing... He spread his mental perception and finally found a clue on the base of the Buddha.

Void Handprint!
Using his mental power to form a large hand seal, Li Chunfeng grabbed a corner of the Buddha statue with both hands, and with a mighty effort, lifted it open.

A deep, dark cave came into view.

Li Chunfeng did not jump in, but instead had Randeng send out several clones to clear the way, while his divine sense was attached to these clones. Before long, they saw a pile of withered bones and numerous weapons.

These weapons were all ordinary weapons, and because they were so old, they would turn into rusty iron fragments at the slightest touch.

It seems that a bloody battle once took place inside the tunnel.

Suddenly, the passage was blocked by a huge dragon-severing stone, leaving no way forward.

Seeing that there was no danger, Li Chunfeng jumped in himself and made his way to the Broken Dragon Stone. He found that it was embedded in the belly of the two mountains. Neither pushing nor lifting was feasible, so the only option was to break it down by force.

With a casual flick of his wrist, the demon-slaying blade appeared in his hand.

"Keng~"

Sparks flew everywhere in the dark tunnel, and only a small piece of the Dragon Slayer Stone was broken.

It's unclear how long it will take to begin excavation.

However, judging from the direction the cave leads to, it seems to lead to the Spider Mother Holy Church in the center of the city, which was formerly the Chaotic Ancient Temple.

"Oh dear, this is not a good place to go."

After thinking about it, since the tunnel has existed for so long, the other side obviously hasn't noticed. Since I have nothing else to do, I might as well dig it. Maybe this tunnel will be useful later.

So deep underground, his mental power transformed into a giant handprint, wielding the Demon-Slaying Blade as a drill, and began to frantically chisel at the Dragon-Slaying Stone.

He washed himself thoroughly before heading into the city at dawn, carrying his alms bowl.

The sky was overcast and there was no sunlight.

People had already walked along the cobblestone streets countless times by dawn, and the ancient Chinese buildings lined both sides of the street. In stark contrast to the quiet of the night, the ancient city of Mohe was bustling with activity during the day, as it was the only market town within a hundred miles.

Every household here hangs various large lanterns at their door, which are always lit up at night, otherwise, they fear misfortune may befall them.

Despite the threat of demons, life in the city was still better than living in the wilderness, where one's life was uncertain from day to day.

At least on the faces of ordinary, unremarkable people, there is no obvious fear or numbness.

"It's just a few people dying, it's not like I'm the one who died."

(End of this chapter)