Chapter 11: Lamp Demon

So, it's a Lamp Demon...

Hearing the voice in his mind, Chen Xuan's eyebrows raised slightly as he made a judgment.

[Lamp Demon, Phantom Demon Spirit, Racial Rating 6 stars]

[Its body is like a faint mist, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. Its illusions are hard to discern, cunningly bewitching the heart. In a daze, the soul scatters, ruthlessly taking empty space.]

On the surface, the Lamp Demon can grant three wishes.

In reality, it creates illusions based on these three wishes, step by step, to break through the mind's defenses, causing brain death.

There are only two ways to break the deadlock:

First, a Spirit of the same level can release an energy wave, directly dispersing the illusion.

Second, ignore it and wait a while for help.

The former is not difficult, but the young Stone Monkey can't be relied upon.

However, even choosing the latter is just a slow death.

Because even without making any wishes, the Lamp Demon will lurk in the shadows, slowly devouring the mental energy of its prey. The 'wish illusion' is just a means to speed up the hunting process.

[I can really make your three wishes come true, money, beauty, power, even bringing back the dead. As long as you make a wish, I can satisfy it, believe me, I'm not lying to you.]

The voice sounded again.

Chen Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, deep in thought.

This tone seems a bit urgent...

In fact, the Lamp Demon's racial skill "Wish Illusion" is not too outstanding. If it encounters a slightly stronger opponent, it can be easily broken.

If the opponent is much weaker than itself, there is no need to waste so much effort, just go head-on.

So...

The best target for using 'Wish Illusion' is an opponent of similar strength.

In other words, this injured Lamp Demon's mental state at the moment is poor, and it's not much stronger than himself.

So, who is the hunter and who is the prey is still uncertain...

With this in mind, Chen Xuan's lips curled slightly, and he slowly said:

"My first wish is to reverse-apply my second wish."

"My second wish is not to fulfill my third wish."

"My third wish is to ignore my first wish."

[No problem, I'll satisfy you!]

In the Lamp Demon's voice, there was a touch of smug satisfaction.

Then, the surrounding Phantom Energy began to fluctuate violently.

But after a while, the Lamp Demon discovered something wrong—even though the wish seemed simple, why couldn't it create the corresponding illusion after following Chen Xuan's instructions?

Seeing that it had been over half a minute and the Lamp Demon still had no response, Chen Xuan couldn't help but laugh lightly:

"What's wrong? Why haven't my wishes been granted yet?"

[Wait... Just give me a moment, I'm almost...]

The Lamp Demon stuttered a bit.

"No problem, I can wait no matter how long."

Chen Xuan kindly comforted.

Actually, even if given more time to think, the Lamp Demon probably wouldn't be able to figure out what was wrong with the three wishes.

That's because Chen Xuan had deliberately set up these error-inducing wishes. If the Lamp Demon tries to execute them, it goes like this:

[Wish ①: Reverse-apply the second wish]

[Wish ②: Do not fulfill the third wish → Fulfill the third wish]

[Wish ③: Ignore the first wish]

↓

[Wish ①: Do not reverse-apply the second wish]

[Wish ②: Fulfill the third wish → Do not fulfill the third wish]

[Wish ③: Ignore the first wish → Do not ignore the first wish]

↓

[Wish ①: Reverse-apply the second wish]

[...]

Like this, it falls into an infinite loop.

Meanwhile, the Lamp Demon that's constantly releasing energy to fulfill the wishes ends up like a car stuck in neutral— not moving but constantly consuming fuel.

'I hope this mental exhaustion lasts a bit longer...'

Chen Xuan silently prayed, while his hands swiftly processed the talisman materials on the table.

Chopping, grinding, soaking...

In order to improve the success rate of drawing a talisman, the materials must be processed methodically and crafted according to perfect procedures. Otherwise, it's like a pen that occasionally runs out of ink, affecting the drawing process.

However, the Lamp Demon could break free of its 'mental exhaustion' state at any moment, and Chen Xuan obviously doesn't have that much leeway.

He could only try to prepare the talisman ink as fast as possible while ensuring the materials are barely usable. As for whether it would 'run out,' that depends on his on-the-spot performance.

'This amount is only enough for one try, I can't afford any mistakes...'

Looking at the small puddle of ink he had prepared, Chen Xuan felt a little nervous.

He pinched a sword gesture, dipped it in the freshly prepared ink, and began to draw in the air.

One after another, intricate and abstruse runes appeared, faintly extending along the lines of light, connecting vertically and horizontally to gradually form a solid-like shape. The interior faintly showed surging waves.

As time went on, the edges of the talisman were filled in, leaving only the central area blank.

This meant that once the final rune was drawn, this talisman would be complete.

But...

At this moment, Chen Xuan pulled back his hand, not continuing to draw — because the Lamp Demon's real body had not yet appeared.

Right now, that voice in his mind was still mumbling:

[Not right... It shouldn't be... Why can't it be realized... I don't understand... I don't understand...]

[There must be a mistake somewhere... Let's try again... Let's try again...]

However, repeated failures made the Lamp Demon gradually doubt itself, and its tone became somewhat frantic:

[Why... Why can't such a simple wish come true... Am I useless... Hahaha...]

The change in the Lamp Demon's mood made Chen Xuan nervously squeeze a handful of sweat, staring intently at the half-finished talisman.

As long as the Lamp Demon made any slight movement, his finger soaked in talisman ink would immediately be pulled out and placed to finish the last rune.

'Click... click... click...'

In the silent living room, the only remaining sound was that of the seconds ticking by.

Finally, at a certain moment, the Lamp Demon let out a hysterical roar:

[Ah! I can't tell! I really can't tell ahhhhh!]

Countless thick black smoke appeared from nowhere, enveloping the entire living room, with a plump figure faintly visible.

Now, the Lamp Demon, blinded by rage, changed its preferred hunting method and opted for a head-on attack.

"Zhen!"

Chen Xuan's eyes flashed as he shouted and stabbed with his sword finger, pointing at the empty central area of the talisman.

In an instant, the talisman shook, bursting forth with golden light.

[Spirit Incubation Talisman!]

[When the grand pill matures, it returns to the Immortal World. Gathering spirit artifacts, forming spirit infants, becoming spirit entities beyond the five elements, not within the three realms.]

[Exclusive to the Stone Monkey clan, by swallowing Heaven and Earth Treasures or absorbing energy from other Demon Spirits, they can form spirit infants to nourish themselves. While breaking through racial limitations, they also gain new abilities that are compatible with themselves.]

'Hum——'

Under the suppression of the golden light, the Lamp Demon's figure paused, hovering in mid-air, and strands of solid energy were peeled off from all over its body, pouring into the Spirit Incubation Talisman.

However...

This situation did not last long, as the rate at which the Spirit Incubation Talisman absorbed energy began to slow down, and the previously solidified energy lines became faintly illusory.

It was clear that the Spirit Incubation Talisman was about to reach its energy absorption limit.

Once it stopped, the Lamp Demon would immediately regain its movement and continue its attack.

'Gugu~~~~~'

Chen Xuan calmly raised his hand and, amidst the drumbeat-like growling, a Talisman Talisman was manifested:

[Talent Talisman: Gluttonous Stomach!]

The talisman flashed, then appeared above the Stone Monkey's head, who was standing as punishment in the corner of the room.

With the booster of the 'Gluttonous Stomach', the almost saturated 'Spirit Incubation Talisman' became hungry again.

As time went by, the Lamp Demon, whose origin energy was constantly being drained, no longer had its previous momentum. Its figure began to disperse, and it muttered weakly:

[Huh... I made it... I made it...]

"Huff——"

Chen Xuan, who had perfectly resolved the crisis, let out a big sigh of relief. As he excitedly and fearfully sat down on the sofa, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but curve upwards.

Apart from the thrill of walking back and forth through the gates of hell, it was also because the appearance of the Lamp Demon had saved him a lot of money.

After all, when the 'Spirit Incubation Talisman' was finished, it required the absorption of 'spirit artifacts' to set the future growth tone.

Originally having a tight budget, he had only prepared a 'Primordial Wood Peach' and did not expect any new abilities. All he hoped for was a successful formation of a spirit infant and to break through the racial restrictions.

As a result, the Lamp Demon that actively approached him was very likely to provide a rare phantom ability.

If placed outside, who would allow you to have such a messy energy absorption from their Spirit?

Once this source energy was taken away, it wouldn't kill them, but the Dao would definitely die. From then on, there would be no more progress.

"I shouldn't have to pay for it, right? After all, this counts as an emergency escape..."

Looking at the Lamp Demon lying on the ground like mud, Chen Xuan couldn't help but think.

(ŎдŎ;)Mas... Master... Is the bad guy gone?

The Stone Monkey, who had been standing still in the corner for half a day with his eyes closed, quietly asked with a trembling voice.

"The bad guy has already been knocked to the ground by me, don't worry."

Only now remembering that the Stone Monkey was still being 'punished', Chen Xuan walked over and picked it up.

(ó﹏ò｡)Master, I didn't move at all, I knew you would save me, wuuu wuu...

The Stone Monkey, sobbing like Lanzhou noodles, hugged Chen Xuan and whimpered.

"Of course, who else would save you if not your master?"

Chen Xuan gently patted its back, comforting it softly.

At this moment, a commotion came from outside the door:

"Captain! Here it is! It's in this house!"

"Break down the door!"

'Bang!'

With a loud noise, the security door was smashed to pieces.

Immediately after, a group of people in uniforms, wielding various Spirits, rushed in.

'Sigh...'

Seeing this, Chen Xuan couldn't help but sigh.

These investigators' efficiency was just like that of the Hong Kong movie "Ah Sir", always arriving late after the incident had ended...