Chapter 240: Soul Summoning 1: Ritual

Rhode Island.

Harrisville.

A lakeside cottage located beside a city street, with a lake present.

Middle-aged man Roger sat on the sofa, anxiously tugging at his hair, while Edward Warren, dressed in an orange-yellow suit, was setting up cameras and monitors in their home; Luo Lin watched sharply over Roger’s wife Caroline and her five children.

Then, as if sensing something, she nodded to Edward and approached Lady Caroline to gather information and offer comfort—she could feel that among this family, this woman was the most severely corrupted!

Edward watched the entire house from upstairs, his gaze deep; since his wife had nodded, it meant the place was indeed haunted, and the immediate priority was to capture evidence so the exorcism ritual could begin as soon as possible.

After setting everything up, Edward descended to the second floor and stood before Roger, lighting a cigarette, and the two men began their conversation.

“When a malevolent spirit appears, it typically causes a sudden drop in temperature—thermal imaging devices, surveillance cameras, thermometers—all of these can give us early warning.”

“Also, we need to record anomalies as evidence; only when the Church certifies it can we bring in professional priests to assist with the exorcism.”

“Of course, if the situation is urgent, I can apply for an emergency exorcism permit—so, Mr. Roger, you needn’t worry too much.”

“As long as it’s not too complicated, we can handle it—please relax.”

These words were deliberately spoken by Edward, meant to soothe Roger.

After hearing Edward out, the weary Roger nodded, seeming to place slightly more trust in him.

Seeing this, Edward, now certain this was a genuine supernatural case, began his inquiry.

“Mr. Roger, could you tell me the full sequence of events?”

For spirit experts like them, who lack strong mystical power and rely solely on tools for exorcism, resolving each supernatural incident feels more like solving a mystery.

They determine truth through clues, trace origins, causes, and facts, then apply targeted solutions.

Thus, the client’s detailed account is crucial.

Through Roger’s narration, Edward formed a rough outline of the situation in his mind.

The Roger Perrin family had moved here half a month ago due to a work transfer.

In fact, the first two days after moving in were fine—aside from the dog barking incessantly, nothing unusual occurred.

But within days, an accident happened: the dog was found dead outside the door one morning, then Caroline developed bruises, and the children each began showing signs—being pulled by the ankles in sleep, sleepwalking…

At first, Roger didn’t realize these issues, as he was out driving a truck for work; Caroline only mentioned them briefly during phone calls, so he didn’t raise his guard.

Until the anomalies intensified—the malevolent spirit began wreaking havoc throughout the house: mysterious clapping sounds during hide-and-seek with the children, doors locking themselves and trapping Caroline in a dark room, then the children themselves witnessing the spirit during hide-and-seek—and even being attacked…

Fortunately, he returned in time, opened the door, rescued his wife, and comforted his terrified daughters.

Trusting his wife and daughters, he chose to seek out supernatural experts; Caroline had previously seen Warrens’ TV program and newspaper articles, so she called for help.

And now, today.

“If we hadn’t just bought the truck and were out of money, I might have chosen to move away from this place.”

Roger said to Edward with a bitter smile.

Move?

Edward shook his head internally—you don’t get to choose. The malevolent spirit here is already deeply entangled with your entire family.

Based on experience and description, he had already discerned the spirit’s three-stage pattern: harassment, oppression, possession.

From the night the dog died, the spirit began its harassment; the hide-and-seek incidents and the spirit’s appearance were blatant oppression, designed to inflict heavy psychological pressure.

Now, they were still in the oppression phase—but if not stopped promptly, they would soon enter the possession phase.

“Mr. Roger, I think I need to thoroughly inspect your house.”

Edward said.

“You mean… our strange occurrences are truly tied to this house?!” Roger leapt to his feet, knocking over a chair with a crash.

“Mr. Roger, please calm down.”

“I haven’t said that—I haven’t conducted an investigation yet.”

“Ah, alright, follow me.”

Then Roger described the general layout of the house.

Afterwards, Edward stepped outside and surveyed the surroundings; at that moment, Luo Lin emerged after calming Caroline.

“Confirmed—the dark matter here is thick, there are many malevolent spirits, enveloping the entire house and the Perrin family, especially Caroline—her condition is poor; she’s likely the primary target.”

“Hmm, expected. We must report this to the Church quickly—I hope the Church’s recent reforms have made the new priests effective.”

Luo Lin nodded; she understood what Edward meant. Several years ago, due to the return of darkness, the Church established an exorcism academy to recruit priests and nuns and train them in exorcism methods.

These new priests and nuns were essentially combat priests and combat nuns, specialized solely in exorcism.

Today, the first cohort has graduated; if the Church is now petitioned for an exorcism permit, they might indeed send combat priests or nuns.

At that moment.

Luo Lin’s expression changed, her gaze fixed intently on Edward’s back.

Edward furrowed his brow; years of experience and unspoken understanding made him instantly react—he turned around sharply.

Not far behind him, on a tree branch, a body hung by a rope, its long, matted hair covering its entire head, its white home clothes filthy and stained.

The entire body swayed slightly—before Luo Lin could speak,

The spirit vanished instantly.

“...”

“The spirit… perhaps is warning us,” Luo Lin said to Edward, staring at the tree.

“Or it’s targeting us, trying to frighten and harass,” Edward added.

“No time to waste—I’ll report to the Church now. Given the rising frequency of supernatural incidents, even with limited evidence, the Church should approve.”

“Good, I’ll go explain to the Perrin family and prepare them mentally.”

Then the couple divided tasks—one contacted the Church, the other gathered the Perrin family to explain.

…

On the streets of Harrisville.

Louis walked, wearing a black trench coat, dark sunglasses, chewing gum, glancing left and right.

Don’t ask why he dressed like this—it was due to an accident while cultivating charm arts using the residual soul of the lecherous demon Abalam.

The three essentials of charm arts—the most critical lecherous soul—were now in hand; the other two conditions weren’t difficult, so Louis naturally didn’t let the opportunity pass—he practiced on the way here.

With Louis’s current realm, cultivating this ordinary technique went smoothly: the lecherous soul was effortlessly crushed, ground, and condensed into essence; the Five-Substance Soup made from rare animals like wolf’s kiss and tiger’s heart was easy to obtain in this America.

But the final condition—refining one’s temperament and skill “amidst a thousand flowers”—lacked objective conditions, leaving Louis able to activate the charm but unable to suppress it.

To avoid drawing attention, he wore sunglasses and fully activated his concealment art.

“Tch, this charm art is strong—even pure concealment art can’t fully mask it; it must be due to Abalam’s exceptionally high-quality essence.”

“After resolving this, I’ll open a silver parasol—no, a ball would work too… no, too dirty…”

Louis was pondering when he suddenly stopped, noticing the police tape and construction sign ahead.

He lifted his gaze slightly forward.

In the distance, a dark dot—there, a massive concentration of human presence.

“The location is correct.”

“And it’s… surprisingly close to the Warrens’ exorcism site.”

Glancing at the distant dark dot and the lakeside cottage location on his map, Louis pulled out his phone, dialed, then straightened his step—his figure blurred slightly, and he shot toward the dark dot.

The Gluttony Array was nearly complete.

Compared to the Gluttony Array, which can resurrect, transform humans into followers, and cleanse sins, the Warrens’ value in this case—unrelated to the “Soul Summoning 2: Ghost Nun” plot—was insignificant.

So the choice was obvious.

Louis sped through the sky, his form swaying.

Leaving a long trail behind.

Soon.

Louis halted midair, gazing down from afar.

Below.

A massive black cloth concealed everything; only the deafening roar of machinery could be heard from within.

Through the cloth and barriers, squads of soldiers patrolled in rotation; on temporary structures, cranes, and other elevated positions, snipers stood ready; Louis even spotted guard towers and searchlights illuminating them!

In concealed spots on the ground, heavy weapons seemed to be hidden.

All of this left Louis stunned above.

“Damn, is this a military base?”

He checked his phone—yes, the signal here was jammed. He had no idea how Smith had sent him the message; he’d underestimated him.

He took a deep breath.

Facing modern weapons, especially heavy ones, Louis—only at the Pure Yin Realm—had to take this seriously.

But!

Weapons may be powerful, but the humans controlling them are nothing but tofu.

The humans wielding these apocalyptic weapons were mere flesh and bone.

If Louis wished, eliminating these armed forces would be effortless—provided no mystical forces intervened.

“Let’s see what the complete Gluttony Array can summon—I hope it’s a true demon manifestation.”

Louis’s eyes flashed—he activated his concealment art fully, triggered the Ten Thousand Illusions Robe’s invisibility function, and his entire form vanished from the sky, descending toward the ground.

…

Since ancient times,

Humanity has shown extraordinary passion for extending life—whether East or West, legends of longevity and immortality abound.

Especially the nobility, who never tired of pouring their efforts into this pursuit.

First it was medieval kings and lords, then mad scientists and wealthy merchants; now, capitalists and officials have taken up this goal.

W Corporation, a specialized company backed by upstart capitalists.

In a short time, it spread across much of America and extended its reach overseas—to South America, Africa, Europe, and beyond—searching for anything that could extend life, whether rare materials or sinister rituals…

And the Gluttony Array was one such method.

A legendary array said to communicate with Beelzebub, the Gluttony Demon King of Hell.

Due to its persistent incompleteness, it had long been unpopular.

Only recently, the corpse of the Gluttony Witch completed this array, igniting intense enthusiasm among the capitalists.

This sprawling site, its defenses rivaling a military base, was built by these fear-driven old men as a sacrificial ground.

No one knows what it will ultimately become.

I hope no true Demon King descends…

Shi Misi thought to himself.

At that moment.

A woman in her thirties walked over; her figure was alluring, but her face was rigid, giving off an air of sternness at a glance.

“Captain Shi Misi, the supervisor ordered you to take your team to guard the western sacrifice warehouse.”

“Western? Sacrifice warehouse?” Shi Misi stared at the woman.

The woman met his gaze without flinching.

“It’s the supervisor’s order.”

After a moment.

“Fine, I’ll go.”

The woman immediately smiled in satisfaction, then turned and walked away with a swaying hip.

Watching her swaying figure, Shi Misi felt no allure—only suppressed frustration and rage. At that moment, a team member beside him spoke up.

“Damn bitch. At a time like this, she’s sending us to guard the sacrifice warehouse? Isn’t that clearly setting us up to take the fall?”

“Yeah, that way, when the bosses come, they won’t see us.”

“Captain, we shouldn’t accept this. Even if it’s the supervisor’s order, we’re not even in the same chain of command.”

“…”

“Enough. Quiet. Don’t you know the supervisor’s background isn’t simple? Now, we’re heading to the western sacrifice warehouse.”

The group could only suppress their anger and follow Shi Misi toward the west.

In fact,

Shi Misi was delighted—and even grateful to the female assistant and the supervisor.

Appear before the leadership?

Hah.

Soon, that place would become a danger zone. He had no intention of getting near it at all—he’d been looking for an excuse to get moved away, and now they’d handed it to him. Perfect.

A fleeting smile crossed Shi Misi’s lips.

Upon arriving at the warehouse, seeing the sealed facility, Shi Misi felt no curiosity and stood silently in place.

Soon,

A helicopter flew in from afar and slowly landed within the base.

The ritual was about to begin.

(End of Chapter)