Thousand-Face Nuo Opera Fan

"No!" Lin Yao Ming's desperate roar was drowned out by Fang Gang's furious barrage of punches!

The sinister Thousand-Face Nuo Opera Fan, its surface adorned with countless twisted faces that seemed to come alive, emitted silent, piercing shrieks and wails! Lin Yao Ming's eyes shot out violet light, pouring all his evil energy into the bone fan! The pale fan surface was instantly coated in a flowing, foul dark purple, its bone frame humming and vibrating as it met the iron fist burning with golden-red flames, carrying the immense power of a charging elephant!

Fist and fan collided!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a teeth-grating "shredding" sound, like fabric violently ripped apart by brute force!

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

The next instant!

"Crack—!!!"

The black bone frame, neither metal nor wood, incredibly hard, shattered and flew apart inch by inch, like dry branches crushed by a ten-thousand-ton hydraulic press!

The pale fan surface, covered in dark purple flowing light, like shoddy leather pierced by a red-hot iron, was instantly torn by a massive hole by the pure yang true fire and sheer strength concentrated in the fist!

"Waaah—!!!"

It wasn't Lin Yao Ming's scream! It was countless overlapping, soul-piercing shrieks and wails that erupted from the shattered fan!

As the fan surface was torn, countless semi-transparent, distorted, pained phantom faces, like demons breaking free from their cages, madly escaped and surged out from the hole! They screamed, they wailed, carrying endless malice and despair, instantly filling half the banquet hall! An eerie wind howled, and the temperature plummeted!

These were all souls devoured and imprisoned by this evil artifact! The true sustenance of the Thousand-Face Illusory Realm!

"My fan! My power!" Lin Yao Ming felt as if struck by a heavy hammer, spewing a mouthful of viscous black blood, his face instantly turning ashen like a corpse! The destruction of the evil artifact had caused a terrifying backlash! The veneer of cultured falseness that surrounded him completely shattered, revealing his true twisted, resentful, fierce ghost-like visage underneath!

"Your turn." Fang Gang's icy pronouncement pierced through the soul-piercing screams. His punch hadn't finished! After shattering the bone fan, the iron fist burning with Nine Yang True Fire, carrying the will to burn everything, continued unimpeded towards Lin Yao Ming's chest!

"No! You can't kill me! I am…" Lin Yao Ming was utterly horrified, attempting to activate his remaining illusions to save himself, but the clear and resilient Mind Mirror in his sea of consciousness (Spirit: 25) flashed, instantly crushing his final mental struggle!

"Bang!!!"

A dull impact sound!

Lin Yao Ming was sent flying backward like a tattered sack! A distinct fist print visibly caved into his chest! His skin, muscles, and bones were completely incinerated and pulverized by the ferocious Nine Yang True Fire and brute strength the moment they made contact with the fist!

He slammed heavily into the massive floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the banquet hall!

"Crash—!!!"

The expensive bulletproof tempered glass shattered on impact! Countless sparkling fragments, mixed with Lin Yao Ming's charred, smoking remains, plummeted from nearly a hundred meters high towards the brilliantly lit street below!

"Ah—!!!"

Faint screams of terror from pedestrians below could be heard.

Inside the banquet hall, a deathly silence descended.

The guests, affected by the Phantom Nightmare Domain and driven to madness, watched as Lin Yao Ming's death and the shattering of the bone fan caused the madness in their eyes to rapidly recede, replaced by immense confusion and the terror of survival. They collapsed to the ground, gazing at the mess around them, at the bald figure standing beneath the crystal chandelier, carrying the Bronze Battle Halberd, as if looking at a descending deity.

Fear, a deep, profound fear, replaced their previous disdain and disgust.

Fang Gang didn't even glance at the collapsed guests. His gaze fell upon the shattered remnants of the Thousand-Face Nuo Opera Fan on the ground. Most of the bone frame and fan surface had turned to ash, with only a piece of pale membrane, about the size of a palm, near the handle, remaining relatively intact. It still bore the pattern of a vortex with a pupil-less eye, along with several deep, scorched fist marks.

He bent down and picked up the fragment of the evil artifact.

It felt bone-chillingly cold to the touch, the residual evil intent attempting to burrow into his arm like venomous snakes, only to be instantly incinerated by his Nine Yang vital energy. The Grudge Pupil brand on his left arm pulsed strongly again, its dark gold vertical pupil at the end opening and closing erratically, transmitting greedy, devouring desires.

"Nightmare…" Fang Gang's eyes were icy. This fragment, along with the previous badge, pointed towards a deeper, hidden rat's nest.

Just then, his keen spiritual sense (25 points) detected an extremely faint, yet malevolently malicious probing sensation! It wasn't coming from below, but from… the ventilation duct in the banquet hall ceiling!

Fang Gang's head snapped up, his gaze like lightning shooting towards a corner of the ceiling!

"Creak…"

The louvered grille of the ventilation duct seemed to shift ever so slightly, and the probing sensation vanished without a trace.

"More than one rat," Fang Gang sneered inwardly. The Nightmare Holy Cult was indeed watching this place.

He pocketed the evil artifact fragment, slung the battle halberd over his shoulder, and turned, striding towards the banquet hall doors. Wherever he passed, the guests collapsed on the floor scrambled backward on all fours as if encountering a plague, clearing a wide path. No one dared to stop him, no one dared to utter a sound.

His dark gold bald head reflected the cold light of the crystal lamps. Under the gaze of countless fearful and awestruck eyes, he disappeared out the door.

Returning to the temporary safe house, Fang Gang locked the heavy alloy door from the inside. The external clamor was shut out, leaving only his heavy breathing and the faint hum of the Bronze Battle Halberd leaning against the wall.

He sat down cross-legged, his consciousness sinking into the system.

[Available Evolution Points: 35! (Obtained from killing Phantom Nightmare Priest)]

The confrontation on the mental plane would be the key going forward. The Grudge Pupil brand and the methods of the Nightmare Holy Cult both leaned towards peculiar mental corruption.

"System, allocate points! True Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra!"

[Ding! Consumed 35 Evolution Points!]

[True Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra (Basic Chapter): Minor Accomplishment (0/500) → Minor Accomplishment (35/500)!]
[Spirit: 25 (Resilient Barrier) → 30 (Microscopic Insight)!]

A mental spring, far cooler, more condensed, and almost tangible than before, instantly surged into his sea of consciousness! The clear Mind Mirror shone brilliantly, becoming clearer and more stable. Its surface seemed to have been polished repeatedly, reflecting light like a mirror! His mental perception range and precision advanced another level! His control over his own power, his insight into external energy fluctuations, all leaped forward. The malevolent fluctuations transmitted by the Grudge Pupil brand on his left arm became clearer under the Mirror's reflection, but also more effectively isolated.

Fang Gang opened his eyes, a faint, cool light swirling in the depths of his pupils, sharp enough to pierce through illusions. He opened his palm, where two items lay quietly: the blood-stained Nightmare Emblem, and the fragment of the Thousand-Face Nuo Opera Fan.

The emblem was cold, the fragment retained a sinister resentment.

The brand on his left arm pulsed again, the dark gold vertical pupil at the end slightly opening and closing, its greedy intent like tangible tentacles trying to wrap around these two items.

"Want it?" Fang Gang's lips curled into an icy arc. "Then I'll give you a little 'taste'."

With a thought, the more refined Mind Mirror in his Sea of Consciousness rotated slightly, proactively opening a minuscule gap in its barrier. A wisp of the residual malevolence from a fragment of an evil artifact, faint yet incomparably pure, was precisely guided and peeled away by the Mind Mirror's power. Like bait, it slowly drifted toward the branded position.

"Hiss..."

The vertical dark-gold eye at the end of the brand suddenly dilated! Greedy intent surged! Like a starving venomous snake discovering prey, it instantly devoured and absorbed that wisp of pure malevolence!

After absorbing the malevolence, the dark-gold light seemed to, almost imperceptibly, brighten by a sliver? A feeling of satisfaction, pleasure, and even a hint of lazy cold intent transmitted outward, before it swiftly retreated back into dormancy, reverting to its deathly stillness.

Fang Gang's gaze was as sharp as a falcon's, fixed on the transformation of the brand.

"As expected... it can be 'fed'... Is it growing? Or... awakening something?" This dangerous attempt confirmed some of his conjectures. This brand could not only be suppressed, but it seemed it could also be... "nurtured"? With the enemy's power? Was this a blessing or a curse?

Just then, his phone screen lit up silently. A new message was added:

"Well done! With the Phantom Nightmare dead, the snake den is alerted. Beware of retaliation, the 'Twelve Priests' kill order... has been issued! — Old Smoker."

Twelve Priests... a kill order?

Fang Gang looked at the message, then down at the cold Nightmare Emblem in his palm and the brand on his left arm that was temporarily "sated." Far from showing fear, his eyes instead ignited with even fiercer fighting spirit!

"Come on," he murmured to himself, like a low growl before the beating of war drums. "Whoever comes, I'll kill them all!"

His bald head, under the cold light of the safe house, reflected a metallic, hard luster, like a drawn battle saber.

[Host: Fang Gang]

[Realm: Tendon Transformation Realm (Mid-stage)]

[Strength: 10000 (Mighty Elephant Upholding Heaven)]

[Constitution: 1200 (Indestructible Golden Body)]

[Agility: 650 (Chasing Stars and Moon)]

[Spirit: 30 (Minute Observation)! (Spirit barrier strengthened, perception increased!)

[Cultivation Methods:]

[True · Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Completion): (Source of Strength)

[True · Vajra Indestructible Body (Completion): (Absolute Defense)

[True · Nine Yang Divine Skill (Completion): (Supreme Yang Countering Evil)

[True · Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra (Basic Volume): Minor Accomplishment (35/500): (Spiritual Core!)

[Martial Skills:]

[Eight Extremes Suppressing Prison Force (Grade C): Minor Accomplishment: (Fist emits solar flames, shaking ghosts and spirits)

[Great Sun Burning Demon Palm (Grade A): Entry Level: (Palm contains true fire, burning demons and refining evil!)

[Available Evolution Points: 0! (Goal: Enhance Spirit Cultivation Method!)