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

Chapter 19: You're forcing me to speedrun, aren't you? (Please add to your favorites and read on!)
Rumbling--

As night fell, a torrential downpour began.

Mang Ge was indeed quite capable during the day; although he failed to break out of the city, he was not captured either.

It's estimated that the two consorts and three princes were busy with their charity work, gathering people together to screen survivors on a large scale, and didn't have time to deal with this, which is why he was able to seize the opportunity.

Unfortunately, the good times are not long.

As Li Chunfeng was diligently digging underground, a magnificent sound suddenly appeared in his mind, piercing through the vast expanse of space. The booming sound seemed to descend from the heavens, deafeningly loud.

[Survivor Xu You has been captured by the killers and is undergoing a sacrificial ritual. The ritual will last for twelve hours; if successful, the power of the Spider Mother's reflection will increase by ten percent!]

His expression instantly turned serious. The Killer's power was already formidable, and it even had the bug of resurrection after death. If sacrificing survivors could further enhance its strength, then as the enemy's power grew, the situation facing the survivors would inevitably become more and more dangerous each day.

"I was hoping to survive until seven days later, but now I have no choice but to speedrun."

He was about to leave when he suddenly realized something was wrong and pulled back.

An uninvited guest has entered the temple.

Li Chunfeng immediately retreated into his meditation room and blew out the lamp.

"click~"

The heavy gate to the passageway, located deep within the mountain where the Spider Mother Cult was situated, slammed shut.

At this moment, the vast space inside the mountain was bustling with activity.

What was originally a hollow cave has now been transformed into a landscape of many corridors carved out of its walls, with torches burning brightly everywhere, illuminating the mountainside as if it were daytime.

The surrounding mountain walls were filled with believers and devotees dressed in white religious clothing.

Many of these people were ordinary citizens from all walks of life in the city, yet they strangely gathered on the mountain at night. All the believers held hands, their shoulders swaying rhythmically from side to side, their eyes filled with fanaticism, and they chanted prayers in unison, conducting a mysterious sacrificial ritual.

At the very center of the space below is an ancient altar, on which stands a statue with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a spider, surrounded by patterns drawn in blood.

Ten pitch-black tree trunks stand tall all around, though calling them tree trunks is not quite accurate; they are more like petrified tree stumps covered in thorns.

Xu You, who had summoned a silver wolf to charge through the city gate during the day, was now hanging awkwardly on a splinter from a tree stump.

He did not die, but blood kept flowing from the wound caused by the wooden splinter, seeping into the mysterious patterns on the altar below.

Ironically, during this process, his consciousness remained incredibly clear, making his life a living hell!
The sacrificial ceremony took place over twelve two-hour periods.

Jieyuan gave all the survivors a hint, probably hoping that his allies would come to their rescue.

But seeing this situation, even he himself gave up any inappropriate fantasies and only wished for a quick death!

Five figures gathered at the edge of the altar. One of them, a holy consort, had her face painted with spider paint. Holding a scepter, she raised her hands high and, with a frenzied expression, led the other four in performing worship and sacrificial actions. "Great God, you are the supreme ruler, you are our flesh and blood mother. In this world, only we know your power. Please accept the sacrifice of our most loyal believers."

"We gather here together to offer you the blood of a practitioner to cleanse you of all your impurities. When the sacrificial blood has run dry, we will offer you the souls of the desperate to complete the sacrificial ritual."

What she didn't see was that the four people behind her exchanged glances, all with strange looks in their eyes.

Seemingly unimportant about the sacrificial ceremony, one of the consorts couldn't hide her reluctance. The fat monk next to her noticed and gently nudged her, signaling her not to get too carried away.

The Holy Consort frowned and moved away from the fat man, keeping her distance from him. Although she knew his intentions, she was unwilling to hide her disgust and resistance.

Yes, as killers, their team has always consisted of four people.

The leading Holy Consort was not replaced by someone who had undergone tribulation, but was an indigenous person.

They also knew that there were ten people in the survivor group.

Four against ten!
The winning ticket is guaranteed!

"Sigh~"

A high-pitched cry resounded throughout the entire mountainside.

A gigantic spider phantom loomed above the altar, its menacing face surveying the surroundings.

The overwhelming pressure of the soul instantly silenced the prayers of the surrounding believers.

The next moment, all the believers and followers had bloodshot eyes and began to worship even more fanatically.

The unified chanting echoed throughout the mountainside, marking the official climax of the sacrificial ceremony.

The High Priestess, leaning on her scepter, turned majestically to look around. "For the early return of the great God, go and capture all the troublemaking prey!"

Nine evil vertical eyes manifested from the void, each releasing beams of yellow light that shone on the surrounding believers.

The fat monk and other holy sons and holy consorts were also particularly illuminated by the evil beam of light.

They all shuddered. The Holy Consort could no longer contain herself and cursed in Common, "I'm turning into a monster! How disgusting!" "Damn it, I hate killers, but I hate death even more!"

"Stop talking! The Slayers have a huge chance of winning this Abyss Tribulation, so let's just hold back for now!"

The others couldn't hold back any longer either.

Even with the indigenous Holy Consort, who was serving as the chief priestess, standing by, she couldn't suppress her resistance and openly complained in a language that didn't belong to this world.

Then, with an uncontrollable howl, it tore its skin off its head, transforming into a ferocious spider demon and charging wildly out of the passage.

Many red-eyed cultists were performing the same actions, except that the spider monsters they had transformed into were even more beast-like.

This is the price the Killer faction pays for gaining power; no wonder the 'Holy Consort' feels resistant.

However, in the Kill Mode, one side will always have to lose.

Being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to yourself!
……

A figure darted swiftly through the ancient temple, exploring almost the entire temple grounds, but found nothing unusual.

Finally, he squatted outside the only young monk's meditation room for a long time, seemingly wanting to make some kind of move, but ultimately didn't touch the young monk.

After a long while, they finally descended the mountain, disappointed.

Li Chunfeng opened his eyes and looked at his retreating figure in the distance.

If this person doesn't leave soon, he's afraid he won't be able to resist jumping up and sacrificing him first.

This man was the merchant who had been spying on him in the restaurant during the day.

The person wearing the vest is undoubtedly a survivor.

Having witnessed the killers' actions during the day, this group of people were probably restless and inquired about various matters. This particular person likely learned that the Spider Mother Holy Cult had seized the former Chaotic Ancient Temple's temple and monastery as its headquarters, and was puzzled by the Spider Mother Holy Cult's powerful stance of leaving the remnants of the Chaotic Ancient Temple alive instead of exterminating them. That's probably why they came to investigate.

It's a pity that he thought too much.

The Spider Mother Cult was indeed up to no good. Li Chunfeng learned from the young monk's memories that the cultists seemed to be looking for something, but they couldn't find it from the two monks, one old and one young.

But they still held onto a sliver of hope, which prevented the complete annihilation of the Luan Gu Temple.

Now that the old monk has passed away, leaving only the young monk as his sole heir, it is even more crucial that nothing happens to him.

The ancient city was silent in the dark of night, with lanterns lit in every household.

In the darkness, the occasional soft chewing sounds could be heard. The streets were shrouded in mist, and it seemed as if monsters were lurking in the thick fog, occasionally revealing their scarlet eyes as they scanned the empty streets or peered through the windows of houses, as if checking if the residents were asleep.

However, ancient rules still remain in the ancient city of Maha, preventing them from overstepping their bounds.

Even though this gate could be smashed down with a single punch, the rules still apply. Monsters cannot enter people's homes, nor can they cross the threshold illuminated by the red lanterns. Occasionally, a few misguided monsters would stumble into the lantern light, only to be instantly burned and emitting a short, high-pitched hiss before fleeing back into the darkness in a sorry state.

In this situation, even a pet dog wouldn't dare utter a sound.

Only unfortunate vagrants and unsuspecting outsiders dare to venture out at night, only to become sacrifices to the Spider Mother.

The uninvited guests, who had just come from the Chaotic Ancient Temple, had clearly not fully grasped the rules. After descending the mountain, they plunged into the fog and immediately encountered several spider monsters.

The merchant was startled. He had only entered the city that day and had only heard bits and pieces about the city's nighttime rules. But he hadn't taken it too seriously. Or perhaps he was just relying on his skill and daring to spy on the city at night.

At this point, he realized that he had committed a grave mistake.

He vaguely sensed that many more spider monsters were surging towards him from afar, including several powerful ones.

He was also a decisive person. He immediately summoned his demonic pet to combine with it, and swiftly killed several demonic spider monsters before fleeing.

After a while, a lantern ghost appeared at the foot of the low hill near Luangu Temple.

The little red lantern floated and floated, eventually drifting into the lantern in front of a house, blending in naturally.

Then several more lantern ghosts flew out of the thick fog, one after another, like fireflies filling the sky. The densely packed lantern ghosts appeared in every corner of the street, successively merging themselves into the lanterns in front of people's doors.

A mortal-level 'phantom clone' can split into three clones.

The human level has nine clones, and the spirit level has eighty-one clones.

Upon entering the Yellow Rank, the number of Burning Lamp's phantom clones had suddenly reached an unbelievable 1,080!
Although each clone can only exert 27% to 80% of the original's strength.

Such a number of clones is enough to launch a small-scale battle.

"With my strength, if you won't let me play defensively, then I'll have no choice but to speedrun!"

Would anyone be willing to cast a monthly vote?

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(End of this chapter)