Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 162: Monster Elimination

In the forest, Chen Chuan was climbing up the mountain alone, holding a machete in his hand, carrying a Xuejun Knife and a bulging bag on his back.

It was almost July, and at this time of year the mountains were full of poisonous snakes, insects and ants, but he had made sufficient preparations. He had brought a lot of insect repellents with him, applied ointment, and wore a scratch-resistant overalls, basically ensuring full body protection.

Even if there is a second time I suffer damage, I will try to do it myself where I can protect myself. After all, I need to use the second time in the most appropriate and critical place.

The roads in the mountains have not been walked on for many years and are no longer recognizable.

Fortunately, after walking for more than half an hour, he found some dilapidated mountain roads paved with stone steps. Judging from the style, they were left over from the old times and were probably from the same era as the mountain temple. This made it easier to find them. When he encountered thorny bushes on the way, he simply cut them open with a machete to open up a path, which would also make it convenient for him to come down the mountain later.

The mountain was not high, only about five or six hundred meters, but the slopes were steep in some places. However, it did not pose any obstacle to him. After finding the passage, he climbed up in one breath, without even changing his breath.

Although it was June or July, the forest was very cool. Now that he reached the top of the mountain, the temperature had dropped abnormally a lot, making him feel like he was back in winter.

But he didn't feel cold, instead he felt very comfortable.

At this moment, I finally saw the mountain god temple. In front of the temple, there were two stone lamp stands with bulging eyes and pointed cheeks. The edges and corners had been worn away by the erosion of wind and rain, and one could barely make out their original ferocious appearance.

There is a mountain gate in front of the mountain temple. The walls on both sides have collapsed, leaving only half of the front wall. Various plants and vines grow among the scattered rubble.

After passing the mountain gate, there is an open space in front and a mountain path that curves upward. From here you can already see the eaves of the temple above.

However, after walking here, the sounds of insects and birds that originally existed in the mountains disappeared, and everything became quiet, with only the sound of wind blowing from time to time.

When he got here, he took out his cup and drank a sip of water, then walked up the mountain path. After a while, he arrived in front of the temple. The two gates had already collapsed and were damaged. After crossing the threshold, he saw that the space of this mountain temple was not too large, only about a hundred square meters. There was dust and broken bricks everywhere, broken beams and pillars lying on the ground, and most of the roof had collapsed long ago, with only the altar barely covered.

He walked closer and found that the platform where the statue was originally enshrined was empty.

There was no surprise on his face.

Because according to previous information, the range of this ghost story has expanded to several nearby hills. If you want to see it in the temple, you need to offer sacrifices.

He put down the backpack on his back and took out a bamboo basket from it. Inside the basket was a large unconscious white goose that he had prepared in advance. He then took out an incense burner, a thick cushion, and a can of old tea.

Some of these things were obtained from Cheng Zitong, and some were collected from some people by Ren Shu based on the descriptions in the files.

In order to solve this strange story, he put a lot of effort into it. No other strange story had ever been so well prepared.

He first took some tea leaves out of the old teapot, poured them into a transparent glass cup he brought with him, and then brewed it with water from the thermos. However, he did not drink it, but put it aside.

Then he lit the incense burner, and after the fragrance drifted into the hall, he picked up the bamboo basket and came to the altar, where he killed the big white goose and offered it as a sacrifice on the table.

Then he walked back, held the sword across his knees, and sat there cross-legged.

Judging from previous situations, this kind of ghost story requires sacrifices and repeatedly asks for sacrifices, which shows that its activities are related to sacrifices, which is very similar to the flying head monster, so it is very likely that it can be consumed and eliminated in the same way.

But this is just a hypothesis. The situation of this strange story is a bit complicated and it is difficult to investigate it in advance. It is hard to say what it is. So his plan this time is to handle it if he can handle it, and if he can't handle it, he will retreat first and come back with Cheng Zitong to find a solution, instead of being stubborn.

He waited slowly here, but there was no movement around him. He did not waste time. He guided his own breathing and silently guided the growth of the alienated tissue, adding some new incense to the incense burner from time to time.

The sky outside was gradually getting darker. Seeing this, he lit a few torches and placed them around, then returned to his original position and sat down.

After a long time, he seemed to hear some chewing sounds. His heart moved and he looked up, only to see that the big white goose on the altar had disappeared.

The sound did not come from the front, but from the back.

His eyes moved slightly, and he exerted a little force on his legs, without moving his upper body, and slowly stood up from where he was, and turned around. As he turned around, the chewing sound also disappeared, and there seemed to be a black mass outside the temple gate.

He picked up a flashlight, picked up the Xuejun Knife, and walked out. When he reached the door, he shone the light and saw a hunched statue of a god that had appeared there at some point, but now it was facing away from him.

But it would be more appropriate to call it a statue of a ghost rather than a statue of a god. The fingers of the statue's hands almost hang down to the ground. The upper body is large, while the lower body is slender, and the posture seems as if it is squatting there.

He walked slowly around to the front, and when he saw it clearly, his expression froze.

He suddenly discovered that this was actually a headless mountain ghost statue!

His thoughts raced for a moment. He had not known about this situation before, which meant that the method he had previously envisioned to solve the ghost story was completely incompatible with it, and he might have to start all over again.

Because usually when faced with a ghost story that was originally complete but later incomplete, the correct way to deal with it is to find the missing parts.

In this case, the mountain ghost is not looking for any tribute at all, but just to find his lost head! Otherwise, there is no way to solve it.

This was not something that could be found in a hurry, so he immediately decided to retreat from here. He did not even take anything from the temple, and retreated without hesitation. However, after he had retreated a few steps, there was movement behind him, and at the same time, a wave-like sign of emptiness appeared above the second self, and his footsteps paused slightly.

Looking up, I saw that the mountain ghost statue was actually moving, and paint and mud were falling off.

After changing his mind, he stood still.

It would be easy for him to just leave, but if the mountain ghost was not satisfied with the sacrifice this time, it might go looking for the villagers nearby. Although the villagers already had experience in dealing with it, they couldn't just let it go. That's not how things work.

He looked at the mountain ghost statue and clenched the Xuejun Knife in his hand. Since he couldn't leave for the time being, he decided not to leave.

The mountain ghost statue had now stood up, and at a distance of about two meters to three meters, it faced the direction of Chen Chuan, and with a straight jump, it bounded towards him.

Chen Chuan moved his feet and dodged to the side. The statue fell to the ground with a thud, and a lot of dust fell from it. Smoke filled the air all around.

But the first attack missed, and after a pause, he came again, and then again, and again...

Chen Chuan kept dodging. At this moment, he was sure in his heart that the speed of this mountain ghost statue was not too exaggerated and he could deal with it easily.

But this is only because he is the one standing here, because the invasion of ghost stories is not mainly this kind of direct attack, but the invisible invasion.

At this moment, it can be seen that the second me showed very severe signs of weakness, and the alienated tissue in his body also suffered extremely strong stimulation, which was no less than fighting against a late-stage flying head. He had to dodge while using the brief intervals to guide it with his breathing.

However, in the process of dodging, he found that the invasion of his second self was gradually intensifying, and the process of improvement was very fast. He originally wanted to hold on until dawn, because this ghost story usually did not come out during the day, but if it continued like this, he was afraid that he would not be able to reach that time until the second self disappeared.

In this case, we have to find a solution.

After dodging once more, he retreated into the temple. As he entered, he arrived at a place shrouded in fragrance, and the signs of weakness on his body also weakened a little.

He picked up a machete and waited for a moment. Then he saw the statue jumping down from above his head. He stepped aside and hit the statue with his machete, instantly breaking a large piece of it.

However, the virtual manifestation on his body suddenly intensified, and the broken parts disappeared after a few breaths, as if he had not suffered the blow just now.

Seeing this, he judged that as long as it came into contact with it, the invasion would definitely intensify, even if it was in contact with something in between, and it would not be able to be broken or delayed by violence.

He was also wondering in his heart, where is the head of this thing?

He suspected that it might be the work of the Feitou Cult, because at one stage in the past, the Feitou Cult knocked off the heads of the statues worshipped in various places. If this was the case, then they had already been destroyed, and there was no way to get them back, which became a dead end.

But at this moment, he suddenly thought of a detail. The legend of Sanshan said that this mountain ghost "eats with his belly and chews it like candy."

That’s right, eat with your stomach!

He suddenly thought of a possibility and looked sharply at the belly of the statue. Could it be what he thought?

He quickly changed his mind and decided to take a risk.

After dodging another attack, he picked up the thermos and drank all the water in it in one breath. Then he took a deep breath and mobilized the alienated tissues in his body.

At the same time, he picked up the cup of tea, which now contained no tea leaves but wriggling black worms. He waited for the statue to jump up and fall to the ground again, then he poured the tea all over the mountain ghost statue.

As soon as the bugs came into contact with the statue, they drilled into its body, corroding small holes on its surface. The mountain ghost's movements slowed down as a result.

At this moment, Chen Chuan took advantage of this moment, stepped on the ground with both feet, rushed forward suddenly, and inserted one hand straight into the statue's abdomen. It felt like breaking through a layer of tough cowhide.

With this contact, the signs of emptiness on my body suddenly deepened, became uncertain, and seemed to be about to disperse.

However, he remained unmoved. He reached out his hand and rummaged around inside for a while. Suddenly, he grabbed something. His eyes fixed and he pulled hard, pulling out a head with a green face and fangs. It was not a statue, but a pure dry head!
"It's really here!"

The head was not taken away by someone, but is in the belly of this mountain ghost!

At this time he no longer hesitated, and seeing that the statue was about to resume movement, he placed the head on the broken neck and held it tightly. The statue suddenly shook and struggled, and after a while, it finally calmed down.

Chen Chuan saw a trace of blood seeping out from the broken neck of the statue, and then slowly flowing down. After a while, he heard a cracking sound. The statue began to crack all over its body, and began to break into pieces, and finally turned into countless ashes, all scattered on the ground.

……

……

(End of this chapter)