In the Silence, deserted mountains, deep within a dark cave.
At this moment, seven eerie dolls were suspended by red ropes all around, surrounded by a circle of red candles, and in the center, covered by a white cloth, beneath which lay human-shaped outlines.
Sudden,
The humanoid figure moved, pulled out a dagger, and plunged it into his forehead; black energy swirled around the dagger.
Accompanied by murmurs, the eerie dolls seemed to come alive, crying, laughing, and shaking, trying to escape the control of the red thread.
Inside the sealed cave, a chilling wind suddenly rose from the ground.
The insects in the cracks in the wall all began to crawl and rustle. They sensed death and tried to escape, but it was too late; they were frozen solid.
A layer of frost and mist condensed on the cave walls.
The scene inside the cave was comparable to a ritual sacrifice to an evil god, even more bizarre, like a miniature version of hell descending upon the human world.
If an ordinary person saw this place, they would be scared half to death. If they were to accidentally come into contact with that howling, eerie wind, they would at least fall seriously ill.
Only the dead insects could witness this scene.
The silhouette beneath the white sheet sat up abruptly without warning, stiff and mechanical, without any other movement, as if someone had pulled it up, like a zombie rising from the dead.
This action exacerbated the changes inside the cave, and the dolls began to dissolve.
Until the figure stiffened and fell to the ground again, as if conveying a signal or pressing a switch, the dolls quickly melted away, as if their essence had been taken away by the person under the white cloth, and they completely fell apart.
"Call!"
Wu Heng unveiled the white cloth and stood up.
He looked down at his body; the pink wound between his brows was healing rapidly.
He was already very familiar with the Seven Fiends Rebirth Ritual, and nothing unexpected happened.
He then glanced at the paper figure on the ground, now restored to its white color, and the cracked leather figurine.
He felt the changes within himself.
Not only did his Spirit-Touch Power increase, but he also gained new insights into his ability to Spirit Binding.
First, regarding strength, the strength of the Spirit Binding has increased significantly, but the exact amount will only be known after testing.
Secondly, he will no longer merely restrain a few floating spirits as their followers as before; he now possesses the ability to control them.
Perhaps this doll was born from the evil spirit that Rie felt like a puppet in her life, which is why its abilities and Spirit Binding are perfectly combined.
It truly developed abilities similar to summoning Spirit Binding and commanding underworld officials.
He eliminated all the floating spirits inside the cave before the ritual began, leaving no trace to prevent interference with the ceremony. Therefore, he had to wait until he went outside to capture a floating spirit for testing.
Suddenly, Wu Heng had a thought and released the Evil Buddha Bronze Statue.
Since this magical artifact was combined with the Swine Elixir, every time he eliminates evil spirits, some of the evil energy flows into it.
As a result, he hasn't dared to use it easily in the past few days.
The current Evil Buddha Bronze Statue, now encased in Swine Elixir No. 2, is a two-meter-tall statue with an appearance resembling a pruned plant, its branches and leaves made of flesh and blood.
Instead of looking like a living Buddha, its body has transformed into a plant form, making it appear even more eerie.
Wu Heng observed the strangely Evil Buddha Bronze Statue, reached out and peeled back the skin covering its belly, revealing the Evil Buddha Bronze Statue inside.
With a flick of his finger, a drop of blood flew into it, using the Spirit Binding ability.
The blood disappears and dissolves.
It actually works!
He had previously noticed that the bronze statue and Swine Elixir No. 2, having absorbed so much evil energy, seemed to have formed a combined mutation, resembling both an evil spirit and a plant, or, if he had to describe it, more like a robot.
The Swine Elixir itself possesses plant instincts.
Wu Heng didn't know whether plant instincts could be considered plant consciousness.
But now he senses a change.
This Evil Buddha Bronze Statue was now like a mecha controlled by Wu Heng; he could control everything about it.
As Wu Heng's consciousness stirred, the two-meter-tall statue emitted a pulling sound, its body straightened, and it grew another centimeter taller.
He continued to issue commands, and the statue took a stiff step forward, its heavy steps appearing unusually clumsy. With each subsequent step, its gait became increasingly steady, like a machine that had been fully activated.
Looking at the walking statue, Wu Heng finally felt relieved. He could sense that the thing was completely under his control.
His biggest worry was that it would get out of his control.
Wu Heng collected all the sacrificial items from the ground.
He looked at the statue in front of him, which was neither flesh nor plant and could move. If he were to go out like this, it would either cause panic or attract onlookers.
With a thought, he took out a trench coat and a pure black bandit hood from the Life Box, put them on the statue, and then put on a pair of sunglasses and a top hat.
The image of a tall, muscular man in a trench coat, his face obscured, then appeared.
"From now on, you shall be called Swine Two!"
Looking at the statue's attire, Wu Heng softly spoke, offering a name for it.
Then, he controlled the Swine Two to collect the landmines along the way, put all the metal parts blocking the cave passage back into the Life Box, and walked out of the cave.
Leaving the darkness and standing in the sunlight at the cave entrance, the view instantly brightened.
Wu Heng began capturing various floating spirits along the way and restraining and controlling them.
It went on until night.
He had just come down the mountain and found a food stall to eat at.
Perhaps these floating spirits were really too weak; he controlled quite a few, yet he didn't feel tired at all.
He sat at the table eating fried rice with eggs.
Standing by the roadside, there was a dense swarm of 37 floating spirits, of all shapes and sizes, men and women, young and old.
Following his will, these floating spirits arranged themselves into a square formation and began doing calisthenics.
Nothing demonstrates a group's reaction and teamwork better than calisthenics.
"Young Eagle Showcase. Young Eagles Take Flight"
Wu Heng kept issuing orders, and the floating spirits in the team followed suit and began to move.
However, their speeds varied greatly, some fast and some slow, and their movements were completely non-standard, like a group of beginners. Two of the floating spirits without arms were stuck, frozen in place, as if they hadn't heard the command.
Perhaps they simply don't understand what an arm is.
Changing square formation.
With a thought, Wu Heng began to control it again.
He discovered,
These floating spirits can understand basic movement and attack well, but when it comes to something more detailed, they encounter problems, exhibiting sluggish, incomprehensible, or misunderstanding behaviors.
However, these were only the lowest-level floating spirits; he hadn't yet tested them with more powerful evil spirits.
"Boss, another one, please."
Wu Heng called out to the food stall owner and continued to manipulate the floating spirits to perform gymnastics. While honing his own abilities, he was also exploring the range of their control.
These floundering spirits' foolish movements, which even elementary school students learning for the first time couldn't match, reminded Wu Heng of his own time learning radio calisthenics, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.