Chapter 289: The Sacrifice
Chapter 289: The Sacrifice
After several kowtows, the flesh and blood on the stone plate gradually turned into a black, decayed substance, and wisps of white smoke emerged from the seven orifices of the lynx stone statue.
The man lifted his head, knowing that the ritual had taken effect.
As a renowned cleaner, he didn't rely solely on brute force like other fighters; he held an ancient religious secret in his hands.
This method was more effective than face-to-face combat or firearms.
The conditions for activating the secret were simple; all he needed was for the ritual host, himself, to be attacked by others.
In the old days, the ritual master had to participate personally, but with technological advancements, he no longer needed to do so.
Since the human biofield was considered part of the human body, he only needed to use field technology to project his field into the scene and create an abnormal atmosphere. Once the target made a move to drive him away or attack, the conditions would be met.
The process seemed simple, but in reality, it wasn't that easy. For instance, if the boundary token was turned off, all effects would be useless.
So, he did three things. First, he probed and observed if there was a resonator behind the target, and indeed there was. He had to interfere with and block this resonator beforehand.
Second, he arranged for a person with functional disorder syndrome to make contact with the target. This allowed him to set up a strong field signal on the boundary token at close range. The next time they met, through his remote operation, the target would be unable to turn off the token for a short time.
With these two steps in place, he could proceed to the third step.
According to the information, the target went to the Sea Boundary Field every month. Since it was remote, there was only one fixed train each day, and passengers were scarce. So, he decided to take action directly on the train.
To enhance the power of the secret and kill the target quickly, he even sacrificed a part of his internal organs and fragments of altered organs, performing a ritual kowtow.
Suddenly, a contact person appeared on the boundary token, and a stiff voice sounded, "Youshang, the client asks, when can the target be dealt with?"
Youshang replied in a hoarse voice, "Tell the client that it will be soon."
On the other side, the train had arrived at the station. When Chen Chuan stepped out of the station, he suddenly realized that his second self, which had been continuously dematerializing, suddenly intensified, and the trend was becoming more severe.
Within just a few steps, his second self became almost unrecognizable, and even the boundary token couldn't be used.
He had encountered many secrets but had never seen one with such a violent invasion in a short time.
However, since his second self had evolved and undergone several growth spurts, including the battle with Wei Wusheng and the training where he felt clear progress, the overlap time had already reached two days and four hours. So, despite the constant erosion, he could still maintain his composure.
He looked up at the Mystic Palace Tower in front of him. With the abnormality on his body, he wouldn't be allowed to enter the academy.
He believed that the academy would definitely have a solution to this issue, but they might also investigate his condition. So, after some thought, he didn't continue forward but turned and left.
He arrived at the Jin Wei Beverage Shop, where Teacher Wu had invited him for a drink. He found a seat, and the atmosphere here was very retro. It was drizzling outside, and he listened to the piano music playing on the record player, watching the rain outside, creating a wonderful ambiance.
He called a waiter, ordered a hot drink, and took a newspaper available only in the shop. Leaning back in his chair, he leisurely flipped through the pages.
Now, it was a matter of who could outlast whom.
In a dimly lit house, Youshang kept getting up and then kneeling down heavily. But slowly, he felt something was wrong because he never got the result he was waiting for.
That meant the target hadn't died.
He couldn't help but feel suspicious. Although fighters had strong vitality and could endure for a long time, more than an hour had passed, and the target was just a Wu Yi trainee who hadn't reached the third limit. He should have been devoured by the secret... Could it be because he took medicine?
He suddenly remembered that according to the collected information, this trainee seemed to have defeated a third-limit fighter by taking medicine. If something was amiss, it was possible to maintain himself by swallowing drugs.
So...
With a fierce gaze, he cut open the wound that had already healed, took some fragments of altered organs, and sprinkled them on the tray in front of the statue. Then, he performed a heavy kowtow.
With a rustle, Chen Chuan turned to a different page of the newspaper. The content in this beverage shop's newspaper was rich, ranging from gossip to anecdotes about important figures, as well as reviews of clothing and drinks. It was definitely not boring.
Even without the boundary token, he didn't feel bored; it was a rare moment of relaxation.
Since the shop operated all night, the busiest time was actually in the late night and early morning. So, he decided to stay there all night.
By dawn, he found that the invasion was still ongoing, but it had weakened significantly. Even the boundary token was gradually recovering, but he still couldn't contact anyone.
Based on his past experience, he felt that this secret wouldn't disappear; instead, it was like an intermittent pause, and there might be more to come.
This was the first secret he encountered that was so stubborn. It seemed that some preparation was still necessary.
After thinking it through, he got up to pay the bill. Taking advantage of the less noticeable abnormality, he returned to the Mystic Palace Tower and went to his dormitory, where he still had some remaining ritual materials from the last time.
(End)
This was intentionally left by him, and he could set up the simplest binding ritual, but he needed to find a suitable location.
He thought for a moment, and the place where Teacher Wu's old residence was located was perfect—it was secluded and undisturbed. After making his decision, he took off the boundary token he originally wore and replaced it with an old one, then picked up his luggage bag and headed straight for the tram station.
In the dimly lit room, the prostrating Youshang had already caused a depression to appear on the ground in front of him. He had been knocking here all night, but still, there was no result.
He began to feel something was amiss because this ritual had a flaw that wasn't really a flaw—once the ritual began, there must be an offering.
If the target couldn't be killed using the ritual, then in the end, it was very likely that the ritual would turn on him, making him become the offering instead.
What was going on?
He felt extremely agitated, but without a result, he couldn't stop because if he did, it would mean he had given up.
So, while prostrating, he also tried to check the result, but the target seemed to have entered the Mystic Palace Tower. He couldn't penetrate the biologic field there, so he could only continue.
An hour later, Chen Chuan arrived at the wasteland, where he picked a collapsed house that blocked the wind, drew a simple pattern on it, and then stood in the middle.
After waiting for a while, nothing unusual seemed to happen, but at that moment, he sensed something. He glanced at a piece of broken glass in the ruins.
In the reflection of the shattered glass, a cat-like creature was crouched on his back.
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His eyes flickered, and he reached out to grab the creature. With a single move, he caught it, slowly pulling it off his back.
This thing seemed to be formed from smoke, and as he pulled, its four legs remained firmly attached to his body. But with his powerful tug, it finally seemed to reach its limit, suddenly scattering into a cloud, and then disappearing without a trace.
At the same moment, the prostrating Youshang suddenly let out a shrill scream. His belly and back were covered in claw marks, with his skin and flesh curled up, exposing his bones and internal organs.
He quickly crawled to the side and swallowed the medicine he had prepared beforehand. After a while, his wounds gradually healed, but his eyes revealed a mixture of shock and fear.
The ritual had failed.
He hadn't died earlier not because the monster had spared him, but because it would wait for his wounds to heal and then come back to devour fresher blood and flesh, repeating this process several times, unless the target was killed.
His expression turned grim as he considered the situation. If this were the case, he would have to choose the most direct method.
After Chen Chuan no longer felt the monster's invasion, he left the wasteland and contacted Wu Bei, explaining the situation. Wu Bei also said that since yesterday, he hadn't been able to reach him. Initially, someone had likely intentionally interfered with the field signal, and later, it seemed like his boundary token had malfunctioned.
Chen Chuan said, "It should be the influence of the anomaly. I changed to a different boundary token. The previous one couldn't be shut down on its own, as if someone else had tampered with it remotely. Little Brother Wu, is this technically possible?"
Wu Bei replied, "It's generally not possible unless there has been close-range contact... Oh, yes!" he suddenly exclaimed, "That Stun Disease patient! If there was close-range field contact, and a strong field signal was transmitted to your boundary token, then it's possible, but this technology is very advanced and also requires an expensive field creature as an assistant."
Chen Chuan asked, "So, with these conditions, is it achievable?"
Wu Bei answered, "If I can find them, it's barely possible. If someone with even higher technology, it shouldn't be difficult."
Chen Chuan nodded and said, "Little Brother Wu, you just said that the other party might have transmitted a strong field signal to my boundary token to control me. Since the other party left field traces, can you use this to find this person through the reverse method?"
Wu Bei said, "If the strong signal traces haven't been erased, it's technically feasible."
Field signal connections require the assistance of boundary points for transmission, and within a certain time frame, information will remain. The workload to erase all traces along the path is enormous, so the usual method is to eliminate the traces on the endpoint, which is equivalent to closing the gate, making it untraceable.
Chen Chuan thought for a moment and said, "It should still be there."
Since his boundary token was unusable at the time, the other party couldn't have used it against him either. Later, he returned to the Mystic Palace Tower, and no matter how advanced their technology, they couldn't directly bypass the field protection of the tower to tamper with it.
Wu Bei said, "If it's still there, I have a way to try and find it."
Chen Chuan nodded and immediately rushed back to the academy. Considering that bringing out the boundary token might lead to its discovery and the erasure of traces, he followed Wu Bei's instructions and placed it in the original packaging, which could block field invasions.
After retrieving the item, he didn't go to Wu Bei's residence but instead arranged to meet at a temporary garage. He arrived first, and a few minutes later, Wu Bei also showed up.
After a brief conversation upon meeting, Wu Bei opened the box, quickly grabbed the boundary token, and checked it. He exclaimed with delight, "The signal is still there!" He placed his hand on the token and said excitedly, "I'll try to find out where he is."
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Chapter end
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