Chapter 177: Coffin Birthday Tribute, Charm Art

"So, all of this ultimately stems from Mamen?"

Louis asked, his face expressionless.

"Yes, according to the memories I shared with it," Caleb replied respectfully.

Mamen wants to descend into the mortal world?

Fuck, a Hell Lord descending into the mortal world—what the hell does he want? To conquer the world?

Louis knew this was probably tied to some movie, but the clues weren’t specific enough—he couldn’t tell which one.

But one thing was certain: this was huge.

A Lord’s descent was never a small matter.

After all, in most accounts, a Lord is a supreme ruler of Hell, commanding vast demonic legions—even the famed Seventy-Two Demon Gods rank beneath them.

They are true top-tier beings of this world.

If such a being wishes to descend, I won’t say much else, but sweeping across America would likely be no problem.

Fuck, God is really dead!

Internally, Louis was already cursing, his face still blank—he couldn’t hold it in. He’d always thought God was just pretending to be dead, slacking off, but now it was clear: God was truly dead.

Could He claim He didn’t know what was happening in Hell?

Americans placing their faith in this thing to fend off Hell’s invasion? The idea was absurd.

Louis took a deep breath.

Calm down—there’s still the Church. Surely the Church will handle this; after all, in the Western world, the Church is the powerful force that suppresses all evil.

It’s even God’s pastoral organization on Earth—if even it can’t handle this… then I’m out.

After mentally preparing himself in a short time, Louis quickly calmed down—though from his expressionless face, you couldn’t tell he’d been shaken by the news.

"I see. Looks like there’ll be plenty of fighting ahead."

"By the way, do you know when it will descend, and by what means?"

Caleb shook his head. "As a trusted servant, Abalam only knows these details. As for Mamen’s own descent, only Mamen himself knows."

"What about the descent list?"

"He only knows part of it. Not just demons—most are ordinary demons, a few are great demons, and the strongest are Demon Gods."

Then Caleb recited the names on the list—though only abbreviated forms, not true names.

A demon’s true name holds special power; some demons are enslaved the moment their true name is known, and even ordinary demons suffer negative effects once their true name is revealed.

Especially priests and nuns must never learn a true name—it would make their exorcism rituals far more potent.

After hearing the list, Louis felt a chill.

Holy shit—Abalam knew of dozens of descending demons, many of them great demons.

I wonder if the Church can even hold them off.

Hope they fail to descend…

"Good. Now, give me your true name."

Caleb looked puzzled. "Sir, it didn’t share this memory with me, and I’m not sure my current true name still holds power."

Louis smiled faintly. "I’m not speaking to you."

Whoosh!

The willow-blade golden knife slashed straight into Caleb’s shoulder, sinking three inches deep—hiss, hiss, hiss—

"Roar!"

Caleb’s face twisted violently, his eyes turning completely black. "Priest, what do you want? Do you really intend to kill me? Aren’t you afraid of the Lord behind me?"

Louis raised an eyebrow. "Mamen? I’ve tangled with him before—I’m not afraid. As for you, it depends on whether you’re willing to surrender your true name."

Before he finished speaking, Abalam seized control of Caleb’s body and leapt toward the church exit.

"Think you can run? Dream on."

"Jiali!"

Hummm!!

Powerful telekinesis surged again, like a dog leash yanking Abalam back—no matter how hard it struggled, it was useless.

"Damn priest! Don’t you have any other tricks besides this witch?!"

"Of course I do. Want to try?" Louis pulled out a dark green soul stone, staring at Abalam with an expressionless face.

"...Better not."

After a moment of silence, Abalam said.

It was extremely weak now; if burned again by this dual-restraining flame, it would be reduced to ash instantly.

It was merely a servant demon in Mamen’s palace—not a great demon. If it died, Mamen wouldn’t waste magic to revive it, wouldn’t even bother investigating—it was no different from cannon fodder.

But submitting to a human? It still couldn’t accept that.

What’s the difference between this and a human submitting to chickens, ducks, or fish?

The intense discomfort made it choose silence.

"Not speaking?"

Louis didn’t waste words—he ignited the flame immediately.

Dark green flames erupted across its body, engulfing it entirely, turning it into a green giant.

As the fire burned, its eyes gradually faded from black back to their original color—soon, only the left eye still glowed with black light.

Louis didn’t stop. The dark green flame even spread to Caleb’s soul, burning both together.

"Aaaah! Abalam, you fuck—just agree already… say yes…!" Caleb lay on the ground, sweat pouring like rain, his eyes filled with pleading—but Abalam remained silent.

Only when both their souls had weakened to near-extinction and began showing signs of merging did the flames finally die out.

Louis looked at the two unconscious figures on the ground, called out to Jiali, and turned to leave. He’d gained enough secrets—better to get out quickly and clear his mind.

Jiali nodded, using telekinesis to float Caleb behind her.

Soon.

Louis and Jiali returned to the car near the hotel. David was smoking a cigarette outside; Haley and the others were asleep inside.

Seeing Louis and Jiali return, with a person floating lifelessly behind them, David showed no surprise.

He merely gazed at the sky, exhaling a deep smoke ring—the sky within the gray-white ring seemed gray-white too.

"Back already?"

"Mm."

"No trouble left behind?"

Louis glanced at David, feeling something off about his tone—like a mobster or cop movie after disposing of a body.

"None."

"Then let’s go."

The cigarette extinguished. David got into the driver’s seat.

The car slowly started, and David’s group left the small town.

Only a group of panicked, scattering people remained—and an old man searching for his daughter possessed by a demon, only to find he’d lost both his daughter and his son.

But at least, they were still alive.

…

Boom-ba-boom-ba…

Loud music echoed.

Yellow wasteland, scorching sun.

The black highway stretched like an endless black python; the car David drove was the white stripe along its body.

Louis sat in the car, eyes closed, calming his mind—actually restoring his magic power, while also reviewing the Folk Canon.

Defeating the demon Abalam had yielded gains—it wasn’t a weak opponent, and he’d pushed himself to the limit.

Defeating an equal-level strong opponent should naturally unlock a new legacy.

This time, the new legacy revealed—three pages.

Three golden pages fluttered open.

Forbidden Art: Coffin Birthday Tribute

Thousand Thieves Begging Whores: Charm Art

Heretical Path: Five Spirits Great and Small Technique

Solid gains—one Forbidden Art, one Thousand Thieves Begging Whores, one Heretical Path.

After a quick glance, Louis was astonished—no wonder it was heretical path; it was truly offbeat and sinister!

The Coffin Birthday Tribute method was strange: since ancient times, coffins had been inseparable from death. Countless elders, on their deathbeds, desired a fine coffin—a proper dwelling in the underworld, sheltered from wind and rain, even if only for a modicum of peace.

This Coffin Birthday Tribute method wasn’t just an ancient technique—it fused modern and contemporary feng shui concepts.

It ingeniously proposed constructing entire streets shaped like coffins. As long as the residents lived there willingly, each day they stayed, a fraction of their lifespan became rent paid to the coffin’s owner.

This extended life—even on mediocre feng shui land, one could live to a hundred. If arranged by a magic user, one hundred twenty was no problem; if the location was excellent, one could even live to 149!

Why not 150? It seemed taboo—the text didn’t elaborate, only warning that it invited Heaven’s jealousy and risked turning one into a demon-human hybrid.

Looking at this technique, Louis’s first thought was his grandfather.

He’d once stopped his grandfather from using the Clown Doll Box, promising to find a solution—he’d kept this promise in mind for years.

Now, this Coffin Birthday Tribute method seemed viable.

But perhaps it needed modification.

Louis thought of the coffin apartments donated by a certain Hong Kong tycoon in his past life.

The sinister legends surrounding them were countless and conflicting.

Now, it seemed he could make them real.

Stabilizing his mind, Louis turned to the next technique.

Charm Art.

It originated from the brothel sect within the Thirteen Thieves, Beggers, and Whores.

Though the brothel sect claims Guan Zhong as its ancestral master, it is truly part of the lowest underclass!

Since ancient times, brothels have been dens of filth—the most corrupt places in the world, second only to the imperial harem.

And brothels were the brothel sect’s stronghold, teeming with countless sinister arts.

Eating placenta for skin nourishment, raising minor spirits to alter fortune, skin-switching, head-switching, Shi oil perfume, human-blood rouge…

Each one, if leaked, would be enough to terrify people to death!

And all of these could be summed up in one word—Brothel Art!

Among the many types of Brothel Art, the one appearing on this page was relatively mild, yet still perverse.

It had two variants: male and female.

Female version: Take two taels of virgin’s menstrual blood, capture three girl spirits, steal one set of bones from a peerless beauty, dig out twenty fox eyes, gather a barrel of peony blossoms…

Grind the menstrual blood, bones, and spirits into powder and mix into mud; spread it on the face.

Extract the essence of fox eyes, sear with silver needles, drip into the eyes—this steals hearts and ensnares souls, known as Fox Charm.

Squeeze the peony blossoms for their nectar…

Finally, the Charm Art is complete: alluring, fox-like, a single frown or smile can steal hearts and snatch souls.

(End of Chapter)