Chapter 104: You Are Exposed!
The moon hung high in the sky, its bright light like a transparent veil gently draping over the intricately carved platform inscribed with complex spell scripts.
The vast platform was as black as ink, with thirty-six stone pillars scattered upon it, each capable of holding several people, gathering around the central altar like stars surrounding the moon.
This was the Great Pure Yang Palace Zixiao Terrace.
From the back mountain to the front, Zhang Hainan, dressed in a dark Daoist robe, walked with a slight stoop and hands clasped behind his back, arriving at the base of Zixiao Terrace, halting before the entire one hundred eight stone steps.
After a brief pause, he stepped forward, and his slightly squinted eyes opened wide, his aura abruptly shifting.
Deep, vast, and intimidating.
The feeling was akin to a gentle stream suddenly transforming into a roaring ocean.
“…From the Divine Nine Gods, guide the auspicious energy of the Five Emperors…”
Ascending the steps, Zhang Hainan began to softly chant the description of his own spirit patterns’ powers. As he uttered the first few lines, a fierce wind surged around him, blowing his dark Daoist robe dramatically.
“Rescue all living beings below, protect the two instruments from collapse, ensure the eternal safety of all lives…”
As he finished the second section of the power description, dark clouds rapidly accumulated in the previously clear sky above Zixiao Terrace.
“Boom——!”
Accompanied by a flash of lightning slicing through the gaps in the clouds, a deafening thunder erupted.
Within the thunder, faint whispers reverberated, seemingly responding to Zhang Hainan and repeating the power descriptions he had chanted.
“…Said the Northern Black Emperor of the Five Qi Celestial Ruler!”
As he stepped onto the central altar of the Zixiao Terrace, Zhang Hainan chanted the final part of the power description, his eyes suddenly bursting forth with an almost tangible blue flame, his silvery hair floating gently in the wind.
Wearing a dark jade crown and a flowing dark robe, with flapping black flags and swirling black dragons, various phantoms instantly appeared around his body.
Phantoms cloaked in dark iron armor, nearly identical in appearance to Zhang Hainan, emerged behind him, then began to step orderly toward the thirty-six stone pillars surrounding the altar.
Logically speaking, to activate the Zixiao Terrace, it required at least one host and thirty-six assistants to simultaneously infuse spirit energy into the terrace to activate the solidified spell inscribed on it.
Alone, even with enough spirit energy fluctuations, one could only exert a portion of the Zixiao Terrace’s power.
However, Zhang Hainan was an exception, able to harness eighty to ninety percent of the terrace’s might by himself.
His ability to do so depended precisely on the spirit energy control technique created by Qing Xiazi—[Outer Body].
However, like Luxianbei, Zhang Hainan combined Qing Xiazi’s [Outer Body] with the power characteristics of his own spirit patterns, making proper optimizations and improvements.
Unlike Qing Xiazi, who wielded [Outer Body] through disconnecting spirit energy from the body, Zhang Hainan maintained his connection with the spirit energy while expanding it with his vast reserves.
This method of control, while allowing [Outer Body] to become more agile and capable of completing more complex tasks, consumed spirit energy at an alarming rate.
If someone else were to maintain this state, it would likely take less than three seconds to deplete an average B-Class spiritual ability user’s spirit energy.
…
As the thirty-six phantoms took their positions, Zhang Hainan’s gaze narrowed slightly as he slowly sat cross-legged and began to chant softly, almost synchronously with the thirty-six phantoms, which began to speak along with him, forming a united sound of thirty-seven voices.
“The dark pearl sounds the thundering law of the heavens, thereby illuminating the brightness above, dispelling all earthly troubles spanning the sun and moon, opening a portal within the dark pearl…”
As the incantation was recited, the skies above roiled like a tsunami with dark clouds, boiling and turbulent, crashing waves creating resounding booms.
“…All phenomena converge upon the heavenly mandate, the divine talisman’s true inscriptions grant to the Zixiao!”
As Zhang Hainan finished reciting the last line of the incantation, an immense rumbling of thunder erupted from the skies.
Immediately, a deluge of thunder light burst forth, a torrent of azure light accompanied by torrential rain washed down like a flood breaking its banks, enveloping the entire Zixiao Terrace.
Earlier, having obtained from Qing Xiazi a weapon seized from a Secret Society member that had been corrupted by the paranormal entity codenamed F, Zhang Hainan had cast a divination and, combined with information acquired from Luxianbei, quickly grasped the form of the entity codenamed F.
The reason he had repeatedly failed in previous divinations targeted at this paranormal entity was that it was omnipresent, or more accurately, it existed within all items contaminated by it.
In a certain sense, it even resided in the malicious intents and words of those who had birthed it, endowing ‘things’ with evil thoughts.
To suppress or even k*ll it, the first step was to enter a state similar to its own.
As a Disaster-Class Spiritual Energy Manipulator, Zhang Hainan could barely achieve this with the help of Zixiao Terrace.
At this moment, he was the thunder that trembles the mortal realm, and also the water that nurtures all things.
Amidst the thunderous light, as always, Zhang Hainan saw dazzling items, but soon those items vanished before his eyes. In a chaotic and unclear void, he finally witnessed for the first time the urban legend hidden behind the Secret Society—a swirling mass of chaotic colors too brilliant to describe.
As if alive, that mass of color slithered, continually outlining the contours of various items, accompanied by countless enticing whispers echoing.
“Really, it’s not that I don’t want to lose weight, but you might not believe it, it’s those delicious things that tempt me first!”
“This time, after smoking this one, I’ll quit!”
“What the hell is this? So bloody and violent? My child has been ruined by you all!”
“…”
Zhang Hainan steadied himself, seemingly ignoring those whispers, and stepped forward toward the mass of chaotic colors.
At that moment, the chaotic space quaked.
Accompanied by the sound of phantasmal fractures, Zhang Hainan saw from afar that the chaotic fog had been torn apart, countless stout, purple-patterned tentacles draped in black mist stretched from the void, rushing forward and heavily striking the mass of chaotic colors.
In an instant, countless enraged thoughts surged in Zhang Hainan’s mind.
“…”
Was this the urban legend behind the Tulip Society?
It was the first time he saw its true visage!
Although it was merely the tip of the iceberg… Zhang Hainan thought.
————
Meanwhile, on the other side.
On the outskirts of Amsterdam, a huge lake lay beneath the blazing midday sun, its surface dark and deep, as if it had swallowed all light, and from high above, it resembled a giant eye exuding malice.
Several ancient black ships floated in the seldom-visited center of the lake, each adorned with a large golden tulip that boasted intricate carvings.
The ships formed a massive circular formation upon the lake, resembling some oddly shaped altar, with several individuals bound with ropes hanging from the bows of each boat.
Below them, the lake surface surged as if boiling, and vague shapes with indescribable forms flickered beneath the dark water.
“Ladies and gentlemen, standing here today, my mood is actually quite terrible…” Bruce Ma, dressed in an elaborate medieval captain’s outfit, stood at the front of the largest ship, gazing down at the people hanging above the water, speaking gravely, “You were once trusted individuals, my family.”
“But now, you have betrayed me, betrayed our shared beliefs. If it weren’t for the friends from the Siye Society reminding me, I would still be kept in the dark…”
Before he could finish, the cabin door behind him suddenly burst open with a loud crash, and a white-haired elder stumbled out, rushing to his side and clinging to his leg, weeping.
“Lord Bruce Ma, for the sake of my years of loyalty to you, I beg you, please spare my son? He was just momentarily confused, in the future…”
“Shut up!” Bruce Ma kicked the elder aside and leaned down, his face dark as he scolded, “Old Patrick, your son has angered the gods; he must d*e!”
“You should know that on this land, only one god is allowed to exist…”
Having said that, he ignored the ashen-faced elder and straightened up, pulling out an antique pistol with tulip carvings from his coat, firing a shot into the sky.
“Bang——!”
Flames burst forth as the gunfire echoed across the lake.
In the next moment, all the ropes binding the “sinners” on the ships were severed at once, and one by one, figures plunged into the deep lake, as if devoured by something, without causing a single splash.
————
On the other side, at the top of a landmark building on a financial street.
This was a spacious office surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, the setting sun casting a rosy hue over the concrete jungle outside.
In the office’s meeting area, a middle-aged Jewish man sat on a highly designed sofa, glancing nervously at the man opposite him.
At that moment, his phone suddenly rang. The ringtone chimed only twice before he quickly answered the call.
Upon receiving the news from the other end of the line, the frown that had tightly knit together began to ease, and he let out a long sigh, as if released from a great burden.
Seeing this, Golden Toad Boy smiled and inquired, “Mr. Gilles, it seems the outcome is good?”
“Yes, yes.” The middle-aged man replied multiple times, “Those damned guys have all been pulled out; don’t worry, they will disappear quite reasonably.”
“Very good!” Golden Toad Boy nodded, stood up, and picked up a thick stack of contracts from the coffee table, tearing them into shreds in a few swift motions. “Mr. Gilles, congratulations, you have managed to avert a catastrophic fate for us all and saved us from bankruptcy.”
“Well then, I must take my leave; the God of Wealth is still waiting for me…”
Saying this, Golden Toad Boy stood up, adjusted his tailored suit, and walked toward the office exit.
“d*mn it, still wearing this custom suit… it’s itching in my groin; finally, I can take it off.” Golden Toad Boy’s grumbling voice echoed from afar.
————
22:20.
In a taxi headed for a gas station to meet Yang Yichen, Elder Wang sat in the back seat, resting with his eyes closed.
At that moment, a familiar voice came from the car’s radio.
“You are exposed, exposed, do you know?”
“Hurry and leave!”
“…”
Warnings of similar meaning repeated three times, causing the taxi driver’s expression to darken as he muttered, “These radio dramas are terrible, what kind of nonsense are they talking about?”
As the driver complained, Elder Wang opened his eyes, looking puzzled at the car radio, furrowing his brow.
He recognized that voice; it was Hu Chuan’s voice…
