Chapter 150: Three Infants Spirit Gathering

I stared at the ancient Talisman Paper in Zichou's hands, too shocked to speak. Fortunately, his attention was entirely focused on the array formation, so he didn't notice my reaction.

"A Deity-Inviting Talisman!" I would probably never forget the Talisman Paper in his hand for the rest of my life. At the Bridge No. 3 Crematorium, I had used an identical talisman for inviting spirits to possess me, stopping a peerless monstrosity from escaping.

'Using a Talisman Paper as the array core?' The core was the heart of a formation and its most critical component. It was usually formed by rare natural treasures or items filled with intense willpower and obsession. Could a mere piece of Talisman Paper really do the job?

Harboring doubts, I retreated to the stairwell and shouted to the younger brother, Zimao, "The Dao of formations is no trifling matter. Isn't your older brother being a little rash by using a single Talisman Paper to anchor the array?"

"Ignorant. This isn't just any ordinary talisman." Zimao's voice was gloomy, and the look he gave the talisman carried an unconcealable trace of greed. "This was drawn by a fox immortal. It was originally enshrined in a fox immortal temple deep in the old forests. My brother only managed to bring it out by a stroke of fate."

"Talismans were created by the Daoists of the Celestial Master Dao. How effective could one drawn by a spirit really be? You two aren't planning to trick me, are you?"

"Ordinary spirits are indeed poor at drawing talismans, but this is the number one fox immortal in a thousand years..."

"Ahem!" Zichou coughed twice from within the array and glared at his younger brother. After that, neither of them said another word.

No matter how I tried to beat around the bush, Zimao just hemmed and hawed, refusing to tell me the truth.

"There's definitely something wrong with this array," I muttered, rubbing my chin as my eyes locked onto the Talisman Paper in Zichou's hands. He first performed three kneelings and nine kowtows to the talisman before placing it right between the three Infant Spirits.

He seemed to know I was watching him, so he chanted all his incantations silently. I could only see his lips moving without a single sound.

'Anchoring the array with a Deity-Inviting Talisman? What is he planning to do?'

As Zichou cast his spell and chanted, the mouths of the three Infant Spirits tore wide open. The yin energy in the corridor transformed into wisps of black wind that surged into their mouths.

'They're devouring the yin energy and resentment.' I was about to keep watching when staggering footsteps echoed from the stairwell. That group of mutilated students had arrived!

A dense mass of swaying bodies flooded in—pale faces, deformed features, and pitch-black, hollow eyes.

"Found them! They're right here!"

"Hide and seek? I haven't had enough fun yet."

"So many new friends. This will be enough for us to play with for a long time."

They shrieked bizarrely as they charged forward like a winding black river.

"Sin-Slaughtering Mantra! Chi, Tuo, Jia, Luo!" Zichou poured out the Buddha oil, loudly chanting the Buddhist extermination mantra. Those syllables contained Buddhist willpower, packing tremendous lethal force against evil spirits.

He charged into the corridor alone to battle the malicious ghosts. Any yin soul struck by his Precept Blade was left with an unhealing wound.

Amidst the shrieking of ghosts, he was slaughtering with sweeping momentum on his end, while my situation was a bit awkward.

Zichou was a genuine cultivator, whereas I was just a half-baked layman. The total amount of time I'd spent cultivating didn't even add up to half a month. Blocking the malicious ghosts coming from both above and below the stairs all by myself was truly a struggle.

"Sakurako, downstairs is yours. You have to hold them off!" I said to the girl who shared Sakurako's appearance. She nodded and obediently stood by the stairwell. Strangely enough, the moment this little girl took her stance on the stairs, the yin souls and malicious ghosts surging from both directions slowed down.

I gave her a deeply meaningful look but didn't say anything more, taking out a Suppression Talisman and gripping it in my palm.

"Five Directions Divine Generals, lend me your dharma might to suppress all things. Swiftly act on this decree!"

Rather than throwing the Talisman Paper out, I held it tight. Talismanic runes wrapped around both my hands, shining with a golden light capable of scorching yin souls.

With a loud shout, I charged into the throng of yin souls and brawled with them. There were simply too many malicious ghosts in this Nightmare. Even divided three ways, with each of us handling a single direction, the pressure was immense.

The Talisman Incantation on my hands soon dimmed. The Daoist essence was corrupted by the yin energy, and cracks covered the Talisman Paper.

"Zichou, hurry up!" I had only held on for a few minutes, yet my body was already covered in dark bruises. Massive amounts of yin energy had invaded my body, blurring my consciousness.

In the corridor, Zimao was also approaching his limit. The Precept Blade in his hand had snapped, and several bite marks marred his body.

"Hold on!" Zichou's face was flush red. He was currently presiding over the dharma array and couldn't spare a single thought for anything happening outside it.

He knelt on both knees, cupping the Talisman Paper in his hands as if bearing a crushing weight. "Three Infants Spirit Gathering!"

The massive influx of yin souls and malicious ghosts accelerated the absorption of yin energy. The three bizarre Infant Spirits opened their mouths wide, their bellies bulging high in a terrifying, gruesome display.

Zichou spat out a mouthful of vital blood. The moment the blood hit the floor, it morphed into threads that bound the three infants together. The three Infant Spirits then twisted their heads around and spewed all the yin energy and resentment they had inhaled directly onto the Talisman Paper in Zichou's palm.

"Activate the array!" he bellowed. Under the deluge of yin energy, the Talisman Paper in his hand radiated vitality, as if waking from a deep slumber. It slowly began to actively absorb the yin energy, and the bellies of the three Infant Spirits rapidly deflated.

When the Talisman Paper drained all the yin energy, the Nine-Tailed Blood Fox drawn on it abruptly opened its eyes—eyes that looked incredibly real. The three Infant Spirits had already expelled all their yin energy, but the Talisman Paper didn't seem satisfied. An even more violent suction force erupted from it, dragging the three miserable, wailing Infant Spirits in as well!

"Not enough!" Yin energy surged violently. With his hair in wild disarray, Zichou screamed at Zimao, "Open the life gate!"

Hearing this, Zimao pulled that black Command Flag from his robes and swiftly dodged into a corner.

The moment he moved out of the way, a massive suction force dragged countless yin souls and malicious ghosts into the array.

The yin souls shrieked as they were reduced to pure yin energy within the formation, entirely absorbed by the Blood Talisman without a drop remaining. The patterns across the Talisman Paper grew increasingly vivid, and that Nine-Tailed Blood Fox looked as if it had truly come to life.

"Not enough! Still not enough!" Completely ignoring his own flesh turning pitch-black from the yin energy corruption, Zichou cupped the Talisman Paper like a madman.

I had already noticed the disturbance behind me. As the suction force intensified, it wasn't just the yin souls being pulled—even my own body was being dragged toward it.

"What the hell is this thing? Zichou! What are you trying to do?!"

With the grand array complete, Zichou laughed without any scruples. "What am I trying to do? Wipe you all out, of course. This isn't the Nine Sons Absolute Yin Formation at all. This array is called the Three Infants Spirit Gathering! By using infants born in yin hours and yin moments as catalysts, it draws in all the yin energy within three hundred meters, slaughtering every evil entity and converting them into pure yin energy."

He looked exceptionally smug. Yin energy billowed around him. The Blood Talisman in his palm had devoured enough yin energy; its blinding, bloody glow pierced the darkness.

"And this is only the first step! Years ago, deep in the mountains, I serendipitously received this talisman from a fox immortal. Even though this Talisman Paper is only a Lesser Vehicle Talisman, as long as it's provided with enough flesh, blood, and yin energy, it can unleash the might of an Upper Vehicle Talisman!"

"Two birds with one stone! First, I exterminate the malicious ghosts to gather yin energy, and then I invite a spirit to possess me, slaying you—a lunatic who dared to fight over the Eight Characters Divine Fiends!"

With his momentum fully established, Zichou naturally didn't need to hide his intentions anymore. He slapped the Blood Talisman right onto his forehead.

A talisman that devoured yin energy was extremely vicious. The moment he stuck it to his head, blood seeped from his forehead. Even more bizarrely, the blood didn't run; it congealed and was sucked right back into the Talisman Paper.

This was a baleful talisman capable of draining the caster's vital essence, blood, and even their lifespan—something I had experienced firsthand long ago.

"Gao Jian, you dared to obstruct the Buddha's grand plans and interfered to snatch the eight characters Fate Pattern. Today is your day to die!"

The situation had completely flipped in the blink of an eye. I always knew these two brothers harbored ill intentions, but I never expected their scheme to be this venomous—they were actually using the yin energy and resentment in the Nightmare to feed the Blood Talisman, using it to invite a spirit.

"Zichou, you're breaking ties with me right now? We're in a Nightmare. Killing me will only make it harder for you to escape." Ever since the Blood Talisman appeared, a will that did not belong to me awakened within my mind. Beneath my clothes, the Blood Fox Tattoo that stretched from my chest all the way to my thighs seemed to come alive as well, its eyes glowing with greed and excitement.

Zichou hesitated for a moment after hearing my words, but his ruthless expression quickly returned. "Did you think I couldn't tell? You keep protecting that boy formed from resentment by your side at every turn. He must be the key to breaking this deadlock. Enough of your nonsense! I'm sending you to your grave right now!"

He was in a rush to strike, refusing to give me a chance to speak out of fear that he might change his mind. This Zichou was much harder to deal with than I had imagined.

Beneath him, twenty-seven pieces of Talisman Paper were linked together by bloody patterns. Zichou squeezed a drop of his heart's blood onto the Blood Talisman.

"Invite the spirit!"