Chapter 60: Mammon

This was Louis’s own idea.

The inheritance only described the cultivation method, but Louis had been unable to enter it for a long time, so he naturally wondered where he had gone wrong.

One must possess subjective initiative—this is also called insight.

While thinking, Louis accidentally recalled the Unforgivable Curses from his past life’s Harry Potter works, where entry and power depended on malice and hostility within the heart.

Could this be a more targeted form of intent?

Thus, this experiment was born.

And as for the female corpse before him, Louis naturally harbored malice—even hatred. Come on, that axe of hers had almost scared him to death!

As Louis’s malice coalesced, the characters drawn moments earlier in the air above the willow leaf suddenly appeared out of nowhere, finely engraved upon its surface, and in the next instant—

Whizz!

The willow leaf spun through the air.

It pierced straight into the corpse’s third eye.

The tender willow leaf shattered inch by inch, turning to ash; in contrast, strange changes overtook the corpse.

She sat up abruptly, her gaping black mouth—devoid of lower jaw flesh—yawning wide as a bottomless abyss.

Crackling, crackling…

Her body, wrapped in tendons and muscle, began to rot: tendons snapped, muscles loosened, flesh fell away, like an ancient house collapsing from roof to foundation!

In the blink of an eye, a clean, bare skeleton lay before him, while on the ground lay a pile of rapidly decaying flesh, tendons, and organs…

As expected.

Her essence was still a malevolent spirit, merely fused with the body to control it—the willow leaf blade had damaged her spiritual form.

But some doubts remained unresolved: why could she resist fire and lightning? And why was she so unusual?

As Louis delved deep into thought, an abrupt transformation occurred.

From the wide-open jaw, strands of black smoke emerged, rapidly gathering.

Louis was startled, cautiously retreating toward the corner and activating his Concealment Technique.

His body’s scent vanished.

His breathing sound vanished.

His soul’s fluctuations vanished.

He became as still and hidden as a stone in the corner.

At the same time, the Min Dian within his soul trembled slightly, and the divine amulet in his chest grew hot again—so hot it burned.

In the room, the black mist tried to coalesce several times, but failed each time.

“Aaaaaaah!!!”

After letting out a furious scream, it exploded into nothingness.

Another half hour passed.

Louis finally extended his foot, surveyed the scene, saw no further anomalies, and exhaled in relief.

Just a false alarm.

“What was that just now?”

His sharp eyes noticed the corpse had vanished, leaving only the golden arm—and on its surface, a simple drawing had been carved.

A palace, a two-headed bird, gold coins.

Clearly, this was a symbolic pattern.

And this motif felt familiar to Louis: in America, only demons or evil gods could leave such symbols and influence malevolent spirits.

As Louis thought this, the trembling in his soul persisted; with a thought, he released the Min Dian.

The large, ancient book trembled, emitting a fluctuation Louis could not comprehend.

In the next instant—

The golden arm turned to drifting ash, leaving only a thin black filament drawn into the Min Dian.

Rustle!

The Min Dian turned pages.

Nine radiant pages appeared behind the Blood Curse Technique.

After sensing it, Louis realized the Min Dian had unlocked a new chapter—the Miao-Dai Gushu Chapter.

And it presented three Gu techniques.

“To unlock a chapter ahead of schedule…”

Unlocking the Strange Arts Chapter early had occurred when he encountered the powerful malevolent spirit Mary Shaw; now, unlocking it again could only mean he had encountered something even more terrifying.

Louis swiftly exited the cave and issued a stern warning to the guards: “Seal this area. No one is allowed in—not even you. If you enter, you’ll all die!”

A group of black-clad brutes instantly went on high alert; their guns offered no sense of safety now.

Louis returned to his room, turned on his computer, and opened a web browser to search for the pattern.

The internet changed the world; though its data was a mix of truth and falsehood, it was vast beyond measure, containing everything.

He soon found results.

The pattern most likely represented Mammon, one of the Seven Demon Lords of Hell, symbolizing greed and wealth.

Legends say his form varies, but his most common form is the two-headed bird; he adores wealth, resides in a golden palace in Hell, and treasures coins and jewels—embodying humanity’s greed.

Consider the legend of the golden arm.

And the female corpse’s greed for it.

This was almost certainly a follower of the Hell Lord Mammon—or something related.

“Tch. Unlucky. Looks like I’ve accidentally offended a great demon.”

Louis reached this conclusion.

He felt a bit exasperated.

He hadn’t expected that merely saving someone, seeing the golden arm, and wanting to study it could Qianche to a demon lord.

Are Hell Lords really this easy to encounter? What kind of place is this?!

But Louis did not regret it.

Judging by this situation, America truly is a land of extraordinary people and spirits!

If not today, then tomorrow—accidents don’t pick their victims.

You can’t just hide forever.

And he had finally confirmed one thing.

“Hell… is real!”

So going to Hell after death is real too?

The curse “go to Hell” had become reality!

Malevolent spirits had already appeared; Hell’s existence was not surprising—Louis had merely clung to luck before.

Now confirmed, he knew he wouldn’t ascend to Heaven. He wasn’t a believer in God. Given his ruthless, kill-without-hesitation nature, his odds of descending to Hell were high.

Shit!

Laozi doesn’t want to go to Hell!

Sitting in the chair,

Louis thought for the first time about his path forward.

Ascending to Heaven? Impossible.

Descending to Hell? Even worse.

Becoming a ghost cultivator? That’s possible.

But all these are post-death matters—what about while alive?

Louis summoned the Min Dian, stroking its ancient, heavy cover, glancing at the peach wood objects in the room, the Kitchen God statue, then at himself.

“The path was determined from the very beginning: become an immortal, attain ancestral status.”

“Oh right—in America, becoming a god is also possible.”

Louis set his future goal—or rather, his aspiration.

To avoid death, avoid Hell, avoid torment, avoid bondage—he would cultivate fiercely, grow stronger, and seek immortality.

Minimum goal: cultivate a Yin Spirit, enabling future transformation into a ghost cultivator.

Ultimate goal: become an immortal or a god.

Long-term goal: hunt ghosts and monsters to obtain materials and unlock new chapters, thereby growing stronger.

Short-term goal: master the newly acquired techniques, strengthen the Blood Curse Technique and previous arts, to defeat malevolent spirits.

Everything was clear.

(End of Chapter)