Talisman Monster

Chen Shi crouched with his knees bent, leaped onto a roof beam, and moved along it.

With one hand holding the ground cinnabar and dog blood, and the other holding a brush, he carefully painted on the five giant talismans.

The beam was not wide, so he had to be cautious, otherwise, a slight misstep would send him falling.

These five talismans were clearly created by a cultivator skilled in talismans, transforming them into Malevolent Spirits to track children by the scent of virgin boy's urine.

After catching them, they were hung here.

If he were to rashly rescue them, it would definitely trigger the power of these talismans, and he might end up killing the survivors instead of saving them. Therefore, Chen Shi's goal was to first destroy the five talismans before rescuing them.

However, simply destroying the talismans by force would still trigger their power. Thus, he used the ground cinnabar to alter the structure of these talismans, preventing them from unleashing their full power.

Soon, he had smeared the eyes of four of the talismans and turned their heads into a mess.

The most crucial part was the mouth. The mouths of the monster heads were connected to chains. If the talismans were activated and the chains tightened, the tongues of these children would likely be ripped from their throats on the spot!

Chen Shi sealed the mouths of the four talismans with cinnabar. This way, even if the talismans still held power, they couldn't tighten the chains.

However, the cinnabar in the inkstone had run out, making it impossible to paint the fifth talisman.

The fifth talisman did not restrain a child, so Chen Shi felt it was unnecessary to paint it and immediately walked towards the frail boy who was barely breathing.

But at that moment, the monster head in the fifth talisman slowly opened its eyes, and the chain in its mouth slid with a rustle.

Chen Shi's palm had already touched Liu Fugui's arm. Seeing this, he held his breath and remained motionless.

The eyes of the fifth talisman's monster head gradually widened. The cinnabar-drawn eyeballs rolled, and it looked at Chen Shi askance, its face seeming to smile, though it appeared somewhat distorted.

Rustle, rustle.

The chains began to move link by link, and the dangling chain ends, like snake heads, slowly lifted.

Chen Shi's heart sank; he had still been discovered!

The monster head of the fifth talisman suddenly spoke, its voice booming and echoing, "Who are you? Why do you interfere with my magic?"

The voice was incredibly loud and deafening, causing dust and debris to rain down from the abandoned house!

This was not the Talisman Monster speaking, but the owner of the talisman, observing Chen Shi through the monster's eyes and conversing with him through its mouth!

Chen Shi was secretly alarmed. Such skill surpassed that of an ordinary Talisman Master!

"Why interfere with your magic? What evil art are you using to refine the village children? What are four lives to you?"

As he spoke, Chen Shi grabbed the fishhook binding Liu Fugui's eyelids. Without time to remove it, he yanked hard, trying to break the thin chain connected to the hook.

His cultivation of the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art for over ten days had already granted him immense strength, capable of shattering rocks with a mere gesture. Yet, this thin chain was incredibly sturdy. Chen Shi pulled once with all his might, but it didn't break.

He pulled again, and only then did the chain snap!

He grabbed the thin chain of another fishhook and exerted his full strength, snapping it.

Then came the fishhook chains on the nose and mouth!

"Are the lives of country folk not human lives?"

The monster head let out a cold laugh. "You are also a Talisman Master, have you never used the lives of others to refine treasures? I merely wished to refine a Life-Extending Lamp by condensing the essence of five young boys into lamp oil. You barge into my domain and ruin my work, showing no respect at all?"

The fifth talisman began to twist. The lines forming the talisman writhed like crimson snakes, collectively forming the monster's face.

"Swish--"

The chains hanging from the fifth talisman's mouth danced like pythons, coiling towards Chen Shi!

Chen Shi grabbed the hook snagged on Fugui's tongue with one hand, removed it, and with the other, reached for the chain.

He had to remove all the fishhooks from Fugui's face first, especially the large hook on his tongue. Otherwise, if he rashly tried to untie the chains binding Fugui's limbs, these fishhooks would simply tear off Fugui's entire face and rip his tongue from his throat!

That would be harming, not saving!

As he removed the hook, he also grabbed the chain. However, the chain, like a giant python, coiled around his arm, spinning and tightening its grip.

Chen Shi surged with Blood Essence, instantly filling his arm, making it swell rapidly. He exerted force with his feet, flipped upwards, and grabbed the other chain binding Fugui's hands and feet.

He quickly wrapped the chain around his left leg to prevent himself from falling.

Above his head, the strokes of the fifth talisman had taken physical form, transforming into a crimson monster head, ten feet in size. It opened its massive maw and lunged at him, a foul stench assailing his nostrils!

The giant monster mouth the villagers saw was likely this talisman manifested.

The long, dangling tongue was the chain in their mouths!

Chen Shi exerted force with his hands, trying to swing the charging monster head, but failed. This monster head was incredibly powerful, stronger than him, and it could float in the air, beyond human strength to resist!

Chen Shi was currently in mid-air, relying solely on a chain for leverage. He was no match for the monster head.

Seeing the crimson monster head about to swallow him whole, Chen Shi stomped hard on his feet. The roof rumbled violently, and the wooden board holding the chain made a cracking sound.

Although his strength was inferior to this Talisman Monster, it was still astonishing. With this stomp, the roof could no longer bear the weight and collapsed!

The wooden boards painted with talismans, along with the roof's tiles, stones, and straw, fell together, smashing onto the monster's large head!

The chain on Chen Shi's foot immediately loosened. He moved like a fish, embracing Fugui, and descended.

As soon as he landed, the roof beam, unable to bear the load, snapped. The one-to-two-thousand-pound beam broke and crushed the house, crashing down with a roar.

Chen Shi ignored the chains binding Fugui's limbs and, holding him, immediately darted outside. Just as he rushed out of the main hall, he heard a thunderous crash behind him. The main hall and two side rooms collapsed simultaneously, walls and beams burying the three rooms!

The house collapsed, and the blast wave sent Chen Shi and Black Dog staggering. Dust filled the air, making Black Dog cough repeatedly.

Chen Shi held his breath and quickly untied the chains on Fugui's limbs. Before he could stand up, he saw the main beam of the collapsed house suddenly straighten up with a whoosh. The beam, weighing one to two thousand pounds, seemed as light as a piece of firewood, leaving Chen Shi and Black Dog wide-eyed.

"A small Talisman Master from the countryside, you have angered me!"

A roar came from beneath the collapsed house. Talisman Monster, with its head unharmed, emerged from the rubble, pushing aside dirt, stones, and the beam, floating in the air and staring down at Chen Shi.

A chain connected its mouth, and the other end was tied to a palm-sized bronze tripod. Inside the tripod was the Life-Extending Lamp oil it had refined using the lives of four children!

When the house collapsed earlier, it had no time to devour Chen Shi and immediately went to snatch the small tripod, finally managing to retrieve it. The lamp oil inside was thus saved from destruction.

However, although it recovered the lamp oil, it also gave Chen Shi an opportunity to rescue Fugui, ruining its plan to refine the lamp oil.

The lamp oil was saved, but its quality was greatly reduced, and the effect of the Life-Extending Lamp was significantly weakened.

The other end of the Talisman Monster was controlled by its master, the mysterious Talisman Master who refined the Life-Extending Lamp. Enraged, he was about to command the Talisman Monster to devour Chen Shi in a fit of rage. Suddenly, he saw the vermilion talisman on the locust tree and hesitated, then sneered, "Little Talisman Master, we have a score to settle. You can't escape! I will definitely capture you and refine you into lamp oil!"

Under the control of the mysterious Talisman Master, the Talisman Monster flew upwards, intending to leave with the lamp oil. Suddenly, Chen Shi, who was in the courtyard, took off his pants, took out his little bird, and peed on the collapsed house.

The mysterious Talisman Master looked down and was stunned: "Could it be that this kid is so scared he wet himself?"

Just as he thought this, the Talisman Monster suddenly broke free from his control and swooped down towards Chen Shi!

The mysterious Talisman Master's mind went blank, and he suddenly realized.

"My Talisman Monster attacks when it smells virgin boy's urine, capturing the boy. This country boy is a virgin, using his own urine to lure the Talisman Monster!"

Before he could change the Talisman Monster's trajectory, it pounced in front of Chen Shi.

At the same time, on the old locust tree, the Five Sacred Mountains House-Suppressing Talisman left by Chen Shi activated, emitting a brilliant light that formed five dazzling mountains. These mountains pressed down on the Talisman Monster, crushing it to the ground with a loud crash, leaving it unable to move!

The small tripod in the Talisman Monster's mouth rolled out, and the lamp oil inside spilled all over the ground.

Chen Shi shook his little bird, pulled up his pants, walked forward, and stomped heavily on the bronze tripod, crushing it. He then squatted down and met the gaze of the Talisman Monster, which was over ten feet tall.

The mysterious Talisman Master was furious but was pinned by the Five Sacred Mountains, unable to move.

"We have indeed settled a score. Don't let me meet you."

Chen Shi stared directly into the Talisman Monster's eyes, as if trying to see the true face of the Talisman Master through it.

"If I meet you, I will beat you to death!"

Chen Shi stood up, raised his foot, and stepped on the Talisman Monster's large head.

With a bang, the Talisman Monster exploded, turning into scarlet blood and cinnabar, which splashed onto the ground and merged with the soil.

Chen Shi's feet were also splashed.

Although he had eliminated the Talisman Monster and rescued Liu Fugui, solving the case of the child who was urinated on, he still felt a surge of unvented anger.

This mysterious Talisman Master was indeed powerful, far stronger than the Imperial Guards he had encountered. He shouldn't have clashed with such a master, but he desperately wanted to find this mysterious Talisman Master and beat him severely until he was dead!

"You can come in now."

Chen Shi suppressed his anger and beckoned to the stunned villagers outside the courtyard. "The Malevolent Spirit has been eliminated, and Fugui has been rescued."

Upon hearing this, the villagers still hesitated to enter.

Sanwang, the bravest, stepped in, and the others cautiously followed him into the Tian Family's abandoned house.

Fugui's parents rushed forward, hugged their son, and kept calling his name.

Fugui groggily opened his eyes and whispered, "Dad, Mom." Then he closed his eyes again.

"His vital energy is too depleted. Let him sleep. Don't give him any tonics yet, just some rice soup."

Chen Shi gave a few instructions and had Fugui's parents carry him home.

The other villagers cleared the collapsed house and searched for the other three children. Unfortunately, these three children had been dead for a long time and could not be saved.

Low sobs were heard, eventually turning into wails of grief.

Chen Shi's heart ached. He walked out of the abandoned house with Black Dog and then turned back to Sanwang, saying, "Have someone bury the eight coffins of the Tian family."

Sanwang was startled and quickly replied, "They offended their Godmother and were punished by her. Who would dare bury them?"

Chen Shi's expression darkened, and he sneered, "Not bury them? If their entire family of eight cannot be laid to rest, and these coffins remain here, their resentment will only deepen, and they will surely become Malevolent Spirits! By then, they will devour your entire village! You decide!"

The villagers were startled and quickly began to prepare.

Earlier, they had thought Chen Shi was young and not very capable. But after seeing him destroy the "Malevolent Spirit" as large as a small mountain, they were finally convinced.

The village elder ordered people to bring chairs and tables for Chen Shi to rest, offering him fruits. Seeing his youth, he also summoned two young girls to massage his shoulders and legs.

"Sanwang, come here!"

Chen Shi called Sanwang over again and asked, "Have any strangers visited your village recently?"

"Strangers?"

Sanwang thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, there was. I heard he was from the Provincial City, a very old Talisman Master. He said the Second Daughter of the Zhao Family from the Provincial City had gone missing and he was here to inquire about it. It was late, so he asked to stay overnight in our village and left at dawn. That Talisman Master was quite nice; he even drew a few talismans for us."