Thousand-Face Nuo Opera Fan

"No—!" Lin Yaoming's despairing scream was drowned out by Fang Gang's violent fist wind!

That sinister Thousand-Face Nuo Opera Fan seemed to come alive, the countless twisted faces on its surface emitting silent shrieks and wails! Eerie purple light burst from Lin Yaoming's eyes as he frantically poured all his evil power into the bone fan! The ghastly white fan surface was instantly covered in a filthy dark-purple sheen, its ribs humming and trembling as it met the iron fist blazing with golden-red flames and carrying the heaven-lifting force of a savage elephant!

Fist and fan collided!

There was no earth-shattering bang, only a teeth-grinding ripping sound, like cloth being violently torn apart by brute force!

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

The next moment!

"Crack—!!!"

The pitch-black fan ribs, neither metal nor wood and exceptionally hard, shattered inch by inch and flew apart like dead branches crushed beneath a ten-thousand-ton hydraulic press!

The ghastly white fan surface covered in dark-purple light was like cheap leather pierced by a red-hot branding iron, instantly torn open by the pure Yang True Fire and raw force gathered on his fist!

"Waaah—!!!"

It was not Lin Yaoming's scream! It was the piercing, soul-deep shrieks and wails of countless overlapping voices erupting from the shattered fan surface!

As the fan surface tore apart, countless translucent phantoms of twisted, suffering faces burst from the hole like evil ghosts escaping their prison! They screamed and wailed, carrying endless resentment and despair as they instantly filled half the banquet hall! A sinister wind howled, and the temperature plummeted!

These were all souls swallowed and imprisoned by this evil artifact! They were the true nourishment of the Thousand-Face Illusion Domain!

"My fan! My power!" As if struck by a heavy hammer, Lin Yaoming spat out a mouthful of thick black blood, his face turning corpse-gray in an instant! The destruction of the evil artifact had inflicted a terrifying backlash upon him! The refined, hypocritical aura around him completely shattered, revealing the twisted, resentful visage beneath, like that of a vengeful ghost!

"It's your turn." Fang Gang's cold verdict pierced through the souls' shrieks. His fist had not lost its momentum! After smashing the bone fan, his iron fist burning with Nine Yang True Fire carried the will to incinerate everything as it slammed without obstruction toward Lin Yaoming's chest!

"No! You can't kill me! I am..." Lin Yaoming was utterly horrified and tried to activate his remaining illusions to save himself, but the clear, resilient heart mirror within his sea of consciousness (Mental: 25) flashed, instantly crushing his final mental struggle!

"Bang!!!"

A dull impact rang out!

Lin Yaoming flew backward like a torn sack! A clear fist mark visibly caved into his chest! The instant his skin, flesh, and bones came into contact with the fist, they were utterly burned and pulverized by the violent Nine Yang True Fire and brute force!

He crashed 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 gleaming shards, mixed with Lin Yaoming's charred, smoking remains, fell from nearly a hundred meters in the air toward the brightly lit streets below!

"Ahhh—!!!"

The terrified screams of pedestrians below could faintly be heard.

Inside the banquet hall, there was dead silence.

As Lin Yaoming died and the bone fan shattered, the madness in the eyes of the guests affected by the Phantom Nightmare Domain rapidly faded, replaced by immense confusion and the terror of having survived a disaster. They collapsed to the floor, staring at the wreckage around them and at the bald figure standing beneath the crystal chandelier with a Bronze Battle Halberd over his shoulder, as though looking upon a demon god descended into the world.

Fear—deep fear—replaced their former disdain and disgust.

Fang Gang did not even glance at the collapsed guests. His gaze fell upon the shattered remains of the Thousand-Face Nuo Opera Fan on the ground. Most of the ribs and surface had turned to ash. Only a palm-sized piece of ghastly white membrane near the handle remained relatively intact, bearing the pattern of that swirling pupil-less eye and several deep, scorched fist marks.

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

It was ice-cold to the touch. The lingering evil intent tried to burrow into his arm like venomous snakes, but his Nine Yang Qi and Blood instantly incinerated it. The Resentful Eye Brand on his left arm once again gave off an intense throb, the dark-gold vertical pupil at its end opening and closing as it conveyed a greedy desire to devour.

"Nightmare..." Fang Gang's eyes were cold. This fragment, along with the emblem from before, both pointed to this more deeply hidden nest of rats.

Just then, his keen mental power (30 points) caught an extremely faint sensation of observation carrying a chilling malice! It did not come from downstairs, but from... the ventilation opening in the ceiling of the banquet hall!

Fang Gang abruptly looked up, his gaze shooting like lightning toward a corner of the ceiling!

"Creak..."

The louvered grille of the vent seemed to sway ever so slightly, and the feeling of being watched instantly vanished without a trace.

"There's more than one rat." Fang Gang sneered inwardly. The Nightmare Holy Cult really was watching this place.

He put away the evil artifact fragment, shouldered the battle halberd, turned, and strode toward the banquet hall doors. Everywhere he passed, the guests sprawled on the floor scrambled backward in terror as if fleeing from a plague, making way for him. No one dared stop him. No one dared make a sound.

His dark-gold bald head reflected the cold light of the crystal lamps as he disappeared through the doors beneath countless fearful, reverent gazes.

Back at the safe house serving as his temporary shelter, Fang Gang locked the heavy alloy door behind him. With the noise outside shut out, only his heavy breathing and the faint hum of the Bronze Battle Halberd leaning against the wall remained inside.

He sat cross-legged and sank his consciousness into the system.

Available evolution points: 35! (Obtained by killing the Phantom Nightmare Priest)

The battle on the mental level would be crucial going forward. Both the Resentful Eye Brand and the Nightmare Holy Cult's methods leaned toward bizarre Mental Pollution.

"System, add points to the True Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra!"

Ding! 35 evolution points consumed!

"True Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra" (Basic Chapter): Minor Accomplishment (0/500) → Minor Accomplishment (35/500)!

Mental: 25 (Resilient Barrier) → 30 (Perceiving the Minute)!

A stream of spiritual spring water, far cooler, more condensed, and almost tangible than before, surged into his sea of consciousness! The clear heart mirror shone brilliantly, becoming even sharper and more stable, its surface seeming to have been polished over and over until it could reflect a person perfectly! The range and precision of his mental perception rose once more! His control over his own power and insight into external energy fluctuations both advanced by another level! The malicious ripples emitted by the Resentful Eye Brand on his left arm became clearer under the heart mirror's illumination, yet were also more thoroughly kept outside.

Fang Gang opened his eyes. A cool, faint gleam seemed to flow deep within his pupils, so sharp it was as though it could pierce through falsehood. He spread his palm, where two items lay quietly: the bloodstained Nightmare Emblem and the remaining fragment of the Thousand-Face Nuo Opera Fan.

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

The brand on his left arm throbbed again. The dark-gold vertical pupil at its end opened and closed slightly, and greedy intent, like tangible tentacles, tried to coil around the two objects.

"You want them?" Fang Gang's lips curved into a cold arc. "Then I'll give you a little 'treat.'"

With a thought, the more condensed heart mirror in his sea of consciousness slowly rotated, actively opening an extremely tiny gap in its barrier. A wisp of faint yet incomparably pure resentment lingering in the evil artifact fragment was precisely guided and stripped away by the heart mirror's power, drifting slowly toward the brand like bait.

"Hiss..."

The dark-gold vertical pupil at the end of the brand suddenly dilated! Its greedy intent surged! Like a hungry venomous snake spotting prey, it instantly swallowed and absorbed that wisp of pure resentment!

After devouring the resentment, the dark-gold glow of the brand seemed to brighten by an almost imperceptible trace? A cold intent of satisfaction, pleasure, and even a hint of laziness emanated from it before quickly going dormant again and returning to dead silence.

Fang Gang's eyes were as sharp as a hawk's as he stared fixedly at the changes in the brand.

"So it really can be 'fed'... Is it growing? Or... awakening something?" This dangerous experiment confirmed some of his suspicions. Not only could this brand be suppressed, it seemed that it could also be... "nourished"? With an enemy's power? Was that a blessing or a curse?

Just then, his phone screen lit up soundlessly. A new encrypted message appeared:

"Nicely done! With Phantom Nightmare dead, the snake nest has been disturbed. Watch out for retaliation. The Twelve Priests' kill order... has been issued! —Old Smoker."

The Twelve Priests... a kill order?

Fang Gang looked at the message, then lowered his eyes to the cold Nightmare Emblem in his palm and the temporarily "sated" brand on his left arm. Not only was there no fear in his eyes, but an even fiercer fighting spirit ignited within them!

"Come." He muttered in a low voice, like the rumble before war drums began to beat. "Come however many you want. I'll kill them all!"

Under the cold lights of the safe house, his bald head reflected a hard metallic gleam, like a battle blade drawn from its sheath.

**Host: Fang Gang**

**Realm: Tendon Transformation Realm (Mid Stage)**

**Strength: 10000 (Savage Elephant Lifting Heaven)**

**Constitution: 1200 (Indestructible Golden Body)**

**Agility: 650 (Chasing Stars and Moon)**

**Mental: 30 (Perceiving the Minute)!** *(Mental barrier strengthened, perception increased!)*

**Cultivation Techniques:**

**True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Complete)** *(Source of strength)*

**True Vajra Indestructible Body (Complete)** *(Absolute defense)*

**True Nine Yang Divine Skill (Complete)** *(Supreme Yang restrains evil)*

**True Mirror Still Water Heart Sutra (Basic Chapter): Minor Accomplishment (35/500)** *(Mental core!)*

**Martial Skills:**

**Eight Extremes Suppressing Prison Force (Grade C): Minor Accomplishment** *(Fists release Yang flames, shaking ghosts and specters)*

**Great Sun Incinerating Demon Palm (Grade A): Beginner** *(Palms contain True Fire, incinerating demons and refining evil!)*

**Available evolution points: 0!** *(Objective: improve mental cultivation technique!)*