PDLP Chapter 173 The Predecessor Unpacks the Box Himself
Chapter 173 The Predecessor Unpacks the Box Himself
In the black water.
The second figure had a glowing chest.
Next is the third one.
the fourth.
Like old lamps, all lit at once.
Eight beams of gray-white light fell on Chen Fan.
Chen Fan looked down.
The mark on his chest was no longer a single line.
It split into eight branches.
Like eight thin hooks, pulling towards the Blackwater Gate.
Sun Wukong stepped in front of him and flicked his golden cudgel.
"Don't pull him."
Xuanzang also stepped forward, the string of torn pages in his hand making a snapping sound.
"This door is recognizing the shell."
"Whoever agrees first will be dragged in first."
The goalkeeper didn't move.
He only stared at "Chen Fan" in the black water, who had a square mark on his forehead.
"If you dare to come out, I'll consider it an overstepping of boundaries."
Fang Yin and Chen Fan smiled.
He smiled faintly.
"I'm not coming out."
"This time, I'll take half a step back."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and pressed it to his forehead.
The square seal lit up briefly.
Like red-hot iron, it was forcibly pulled out of the skin and flesh.
Chen Fan's eyelids twitched.
That's not fake.
It's about permissions.
This is the proof that this lousy place recognizes him.
Fang Yin was pulled out little by little by him.
Dark light was leaking through the gaps between his fingers.
Behind the Blackwater Gate, the eight figures looked up simultaneously, as if they had heard some signal.
The goalkeeper's expression finally changed.
"Are you crazy?"
"If you remove the Chief's seal, you will be demoted."
Fang Yin and Chen Fan took a breath, but their voices remained steady.
"He always stood outside listening."
"Today it's my turn to give him a push."
"If we don't move forward now, all those previous eight deaths will have been for nothing."
The words were spoken.
With a flick of his fingers, he slapped the black square seal, which resembled a stamp, directly into the frame of the Blackwater Gate.
boom!
The entire door shook violently.
On both sides of the door frame, the eight gaps that were originally closed have suddenly cracked open.
It's not a crack in the door.
It's a seam in the box.
Behind the black water, there were eight old boxes neatly arranged.
There are wooden crates.
There is an iron box.
There are cardboard boxes.
There was even one box that looked like it had been forcibly bound together with scripture pages and chains.
Each box had two words written on it.
Chen Fan.
The handwriting is different.
Crooked, slanted, wild, neat.
Like eight different people, in the end, only this one name remains.
Sun Wukong cursed.
"What a damn bad luck."
"Even if I die eight times, I'll still share the same name."
In the black water, the first faceless figure took a step forward.
He raised his hand and touched his face.
His face wrinkled up like wet paper.
It was still Chen Fan who was revealed.
His left eyebrow bone was broken, and there was a grout line at the corner of his mouth that hadn't fully healed.
He stared at Chen Fan outside and grinned.
"I'll go first."
"I was the first to die."
The lid of the box clicked open half an inch on its own.
A rotten fruit smell wafted out.
Chen Fan felt a lump in his throat.
This tastes overcooked.
At the foot of Wuzhi Mountain.
He fed the fruit that had been there for a hundred years.
It lingers on my hands, inside my clothes, and even when I'm asleep.
There were no remains in the box.
There was only one half-rotten fruit and a piece of broken rope.
Chen Fan reached out and grabbed at the remaining remnant.
The broken rope flew out and wrapped around Chen Fan's wrist.
Sun Wukong raised his staff and smashed it.
"Go back!"
boom!
The rope didn't break.
Instead, it slid along the golden cudgel, like a live snake, and coiled around the back of Sun Wukong's hand.
next second.
Sun Wukong's vision blurred.
Wuzhishan.
At the bottom of the mountain.
Chen Fan, who was so thin he was just skin and bones, held a piece of fruit and brought it to his mouth.
The man's laughter was so dry it made his mouth dry.
"Brother Monkey, eat up."
"After you leave, remember not to look back."
Sun Wukong's pupils contracted, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
He jolted violently, shattering the illusion.
He cursed even more fiercely.
"Stop dazzling me with old shadows!"
You can criticize as you please.
His blow ultimately failed to land.
Chen Fan understood.
This is not a murder box.
It's a box for collecting debts.
The predecessor sample's permissions were revoked, not so that he could just watch the show.
Let him drive it himself.
Fang Yin and Chen Fan stood behind the door, their voices lowered.
"Source Chain, I'll take three breaths for you."
"Group boxes can only be opened briefly."
"Do you want to go in now and collect the remaining pages?"
"Either wait for them to explode on their own, then the mirror patterns on your body will crack."
The gatekeeper's eyes darkened when he heard the words "Source Chain".
He finally took a step back.
It's not about making way.
It's a boundary demarcation.
"Once you start, don't ask to stop."
"If you can't get past this, you're not qualified to write page nine."
As soon as those words were spoken...
Eight old trunks, all shaking together.
Click.
Click click.
Like eight mouths, they all started biting the lock at the same time.
The second iron box was opened first.
Inside sat Chen Fan, whose body was covered in nails.
It wasn't nailed on the outside.
It's a paper nail that grew out of flesh.
Each nail had a small piece of paper attached to its end.
The top was covered with words that had been revised and crossed out.
When he looked up, his eyes looked like they were filled with tiny needles.
"I wrote it."
"I wrote 700,000 words."
In the end, all I got was a rejection.
He raised his hand and pulled.
He yanked the longest paper nail out of his chest.
A string of black characters appeared.
The string of words, like a live insect, rushed straight at Chen Fan's face.
Xuanzang immediately threw out a sutra page to block it.
The moment the paper touched the black ink, it instantly burned to ashes.
Xuanzang's face darkened.
"It's not Buddhist script."
"Like a comment from the General Office."
The gatekeeper responded coldly.
"Draft clippings".
"Whoever writes the wrong page, should pin it to themselves."
The voice just fell.
The string of black characters had bypassed the ashes and was rushing towards us, taking a detour.
Chen Fan did not back down.
He raised his hand and grabbed.
The black characters seeped into my palm.
Immediately, a line of distorted small characters appeared in the palm lines.
[Second Failure Page: Overwriting, Owner's Name]
The mirror pattern on Chen Fan's chest lit up.
The second fork in the road was a sure thing.
Chen Fan was stunned by the nails in the box.
I never expected it to be so successful.
next moment.
All the paper nails on his body burst open, turning into a cloud of black dust that rolled back into the box.
"This works?"
Sun Wukong grinned at the sight, then turned and laughed.
"it is good."
"Turns out it wasn't a beating, it was robbery."
"Then I'll go get it too."
The third cardboard box burst open on its own.
Inside, a younger man named Chen Fan was squatting, clutching a wad of white paper tightly in his arms.
"No."
"This is something I hid with great difficulty."
"You've all been using me as a stepping stone, and now you want to take me away?"
He didn't finish his sentence.
Sun Wukong rushed to the box and grabbed the crumpled paper.
"Stop talking nonsense."
"You're already dead, why are you still protecting your secret stash of money?"
The remaining Chen Fan went berserk and bit Sun Wukong's hand.
Sun Wukong didn't tolerate it and flicked his forehead with his other hand.
Snapped!
The man tilted his head to the side, and his entire face became crooked.
A crumpled piece of white paper fell to the ground.
spread.
There are no treasures inside.
These are several lists stained with blood.
The first one reads: Available for recruitment.
The second one says: Unreliable.
The third one is the shortest, with only four characters.
Don't trust the gatekeeper.
The goalkeeper's eyelids drooped.
Sun Wukong was amused.
"I told you, this thing is no good."
The goalkeeper offered no explanation.
He just stared at the paper as if it were an old, long-unresolved matter.
Chen Fan picked up the list.
The moment he got his hands on the paper, the words seemed to seep into his palm.
[Third page of failure: Misguided faith leads to failure at the doorstep]
The third fork in the road also lit up.
Chen Fan stared blankly at the remnants in the cardboard box.
It was like a sudden sigh of relief.
He hugged his empty arm, pulled it back, and muttered under his breath.
"Finally, someone is willing to believe me this once."
The box, made of the fourth set of prayer leaves, suddenly split open.
This time, it wasn't Chen Fan who made the first move.
A hand is sticking out of the box.
That hand was clutching a fragment of the golden cudgel.
Sun Wukong's face stiffened.
Chen Fan crawled halfway out of the box, grinned at him, his teeth covered in blood.
"Monkey King".
"This time, you're the one who killed me."
The air suddenly tightened.
Xuanzang looked up at Sun Wukong.
Sun Wukong tightened his grip, and the staff emitted a low hum.
"fart."
"If I, Old Sun, wanted to kill you, would I spare you even half your face?"
"Stop nitpicking."
The remaining Chen Fan smiled even more strangely.
"Of course you didn't do it on purpose."
"You just don't believe it."
"That blow of yours was aimed at the door."
"I just happened to be standing in the crack of the door."
After saying that, he pushed the broken piece of stick forward.
It's not about hitting.
It is delivered.
"Dare you take it?"
"Once you take it, you have to see it."
Sun Wukong stared at the fragment, his eyes burning with suppressed rage.
next moment.
He grabbed it.
"What's there to be afraid of?"
I just got the fragment.
He was suddenly jolted.
The scene changes abruptly.
The door collapsed.
Black water churns.
A man named Chen Fan stood in the crack of the door and yelled at him.
"Smash it!"
Sun Wukong's staff was already out of control.
The door was broken.
Half of the person was broken.
But that person was smiling until he died.
It's like they calculated it perfectly.
When Sun Wukong came to his senses, the fragment in his hand had already turned to ash.
He didn't say anything.
He simply shoved the stick into the ground.
With a thud.
The entire stream of black water trembled three times.
"OK."
"I'll accept this."
"Who's next?"
The fifth wooden crate.
The sixth lockbox.
The seventh short box.
The eighth black leather suitcase.
The lids of all four boxes popped open at the same time.
The four remaining Chen Fans opened their eyes simultaneously.
One without a tongue.
One without a shadow.
A hole in the chest.
The last one was holding a folded piece of paper in his arms.
Two words were visible on the corner of the paper.
ninth.
Fang Yin and Chen Fan, who were behind the door, finally changed their expressions.
"Take that one first!"
For the first time, the goalkeeper also took half a step forward.
"Don't let him unfold!"
The black water suddenly burst open.
The residue from all four boxes was ejected simultaneously.
The mirror pattern on Chen Fan's chest had already lit up in three directions.
The remaining five branches are all burning hot.
The person holding the paper raised their head, their lips pale, and gave Chen Fan a very slight smile.
"So you really came."
"Then I won't hide it for you."
He loosened his grip.
The paper with "Ninth" written on it had already been partially unfolded.
Chapter 578 The Ninth List of Fruit Feeders
The paper was fully unfolded.
There was no golden light.
There were no major patterns or markings.
It was just a very old piece of black paper, with frayed edges, as if it had been folded many times. But as soon as the paper was revealed, the nine figures behind the Blackwater Gate trembled in unison, and even the paper strip around the gatekeeper's neck tightened sharply, as if it wanted to burrow into his flesh.
Sun Wukong rushed to Chen Fan's side first, holding his golden cudgel horizontally in front of him.
"read!"
"I want to see just how many tricks these charlatans have up their sleeves."
Chen Fan did not reply.
He stared at the paper without blinking.
There are only six characters at the top.
List of Fruit Feeders
As soon as those six words were uttered, Xuanzang's Adam's apple bobbed, and one of the prayer beads in his hand snapped off with a "crack".
The goalkeeper's face turned pale.
"Put it away."
"You can't watch the whole thing right now."
"Once you've seen it all, you have to accept it."
Chen Fan looked up at him.
"Go ahead and steal it."
The goalkeeper stood still.
It's not that he didn't want to take it.
The black paper was already pressed against Chen Fan's palm. It was as if it were recognizing its master. Or as if it had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
Chen Fan looked down.
first row.
[First place: Chen Fan. Ending: Recovered.]
Sun Wukong's eye twitched violently.
"fart."
"You're number one too?"
Xuanzang also stared at those two words, his voice deep.
"It's not the same name."
"They are from the same shell."
Behind the Blackwater Gate, the first faceless figure slowly raised his hand and touched his blank face. The movement was slow, like an old habit from a long time ago. The next moment, he shattered into a splash of ink, crashing back into the Blackwater.
An extra red line appears on the first line of the paper.
It looks like it's been crossed out.
Sun Wukong cursed, "This guy's got a death wish?"
Chen Fan continued scanning downwards.
[Second place: Chen Fan. Ending: Deleted.]
The second figure's chest flashed, as if a knife had sliced it open horizontally. Before he could even utter a sound, half of his figure faded, as if words had been forcibly erased.
Xuanzang's expression turned even uglier.
"Recycling and deleting are not the same approach."
"One is to take it back. The other is to wipe it clean."
Chen Fan pressed his knuckles against the edge of the paper and continued reading the third line.
[Third place: Chen Fan. Ending: Overturned.]
This time, the third figure in the black water suddenly grew a face.
It was Chen Fan's face.
But it only lasted for a moment.
The next second, the face was flattened as if by something, the features were all blurred, and the person returned to being faceless.
Sun Wukong was enraged and slammed his staff on the ground.
"cover?"
"Use the back to replace the front?"
The gatekeeper finally spoke, his voice dry.
"right."
"If the previous one is substandard, the next one will step in."
"The memories are taken over. The shell is taken over. The name is taken over too."
"So all you've ever seen is Chen Fan."
As soon as these words were spoken, the remaining figures behind the Blackwater Gate began to sway.
It looked like someone inside had woken up.
Chen Fan didn't stop.
Fourth line.
[Fourth place: Chen Fan. Ending: Recovered.]
Fifth line.
Fifth place: Chen Fan. Ending: Deleted.
The sixth line.
[Sixth place: Chen Fan. Ending: Overwritten.]
The seventh line.
[Seventh place: Chen Fan. Ending: Recovered.]
Eighth line.
[Eighth place: Chen Fan. Ending: Deleted.]
The faster you read, line by line, the quieter the room becomes.
It was eerily quiet.
Sun Wukong initially cursed a couple of times, but then stopped. He just stared at the eight lines, his eyes gradually hardening with a fierce light.
Eight.
His full name is Chen Fan.
There is no other name.
In other words, what the gatekeeper just said was true.
In the first eight attempts, no one was qualified to stay.
They were all pressed into a shell.
Xuanzang raised his head and looked at Chen Fan, who had a square mark on his forehead, behind the door.
"What number are you?"
Fang Yin and Chen Fan didn't laugh this time.
His lips were pursed, as if he hadn't expected the paper to be completely unfolded at this moment.
"I left behind a shell that I wrote halfway through."
"It's both ninth and not ninth."
Sun Wukong immediately sneered.
Speak like a human.
Fang Yin Chen Fan stared at Chen Fan now and slowly uttered a sentence.
"None of the first eight were fed until the end."
"Some were fed to the wrong people. Some were fed, but the door wasn't opened. Some opened the door, but rotted away themselves."
"When it was my turn, I hid the list in the box, intending to cover up the ninth name."
"But you still came."
Upon hearing this, Chen Fan finally spoke.
"Fruit feeder".
"What exactly does it do?"
The goalkeeper closed his eyes, as if resigned to his fate.
"Distribute".
"Grow up and mature".
"Pick someone who can enter the clean zone but won't be crushed by it on the spot."
"First, throw him into the dirtiest place. Let him feed himself. Feed the monkey down the mountain, feed the mirror behind the door, feed his own shell."
"Only when the shell and soul are properly matched can one enter the Ninth Gate."
Sun Wukong's temples throbbed with excitement.
"You're treating Chen Fan like a precious gem?"
The goalkeeper remained silent.
This silence is more hurtful than an admission.
Sun Wukong was about to rush over in one step.
Chen Fan raised his hand to stop him, his eyes still fixed on the paper.
"Ninth place."
"I only saw the top eight."
There is also a crease at the bottom of the paper.
It's like deliberately pressing down on the last line.
Fang Yin and Chen Fan's expressions darkened, and they finally took a step forward.
"Don't flip through it."
"By opening this now, you've essentially signed it."
"Last time I was—"
He didn't finish his sentence.
The black paper trembled slightly.
The crease slowly popped open.
The bottom line of text was revealed.
[Ninth place: Chen Fan. Status: Currently casting.]
Investment in progress.
It's not recycling.
It's not deletion.
It's not a cover.
It is still being rolled out.
Sun Wukong stared at those two words, his hands bulging out.
"OK."
"I knew it! There was always someone chasing after you all this time."
"So, in their eyes, you haven't even landed yet."
Xuanzang said in a low voice, "In other words, it's not a finished product yet."
"Still on the way."
The gatekeeper's voice became even hoarser.
"right."
"As long as you're still investing, you can change it."
"The ending can be changed. The position can be changed."
Chen Fan raised his eyelids.
"Change seats?"
The goalkeeper stared at the bottom, feeling as if he had a thorn stuck in his throat.
"The list contains more than nine names."
"In each round, nine is the threshold. Ten is the replacement."
Sun Wukong and Xuanzang both continued watching.
really.
At the very bottom of the black paper, there is an empty space.
The first nine lines are written very rigidly.
Only the last column looks freshly drawn, the ink not even completely dry.
[10th place: To be determined.]
The room fell silent.
The next second, a loud "thump" suddenly came from behind the Blackwater Gate.
It felt like something had bumped into the doorway.
a bit.
Another one.
It's getting heavier and heavier.
The first shattered figure re-emerged from the black water, only half a head remaining, still crawling towards the list. The second deleted figure, with an empty chest, also pushed its way out. The third covered figure was even more ruthless, its face bulging as if another face was trying to emerge from within.
Sun Wukong raised his staff and smashed it.
With one blow, the black water exploded high into the air.
The figures took a half step back, then immediately rushed back.
Like they've gone mad.
"What are they robbing?"
Xuanzang suddenly realized what was happening, and his expression changed.
"It's not about stealing the list."
"It's about grabbing tenth place!"
The goalkeeper got really anxious this time and yelled at Chen Fan.
"Throw the paper away!"
"Once the tenth spot is lost, all the remaining nine who aren't completely eliminated will come back to fight for the shell!"
"You won't be the only Chen Fan then!"
It seems to be in response to this statement.
Chen Fan, behind the Blackwater Gate, suddenly had a mark on his forehead that lit up.
He looked at Chen Fan, and for the first time, a look of urgency appeared in his eyes.
"Burn it quickly!"
"Don't let it write the tenth one!"
Chen Fan didn't move.
It's not that he doesn't want to move.
The black paper had begun to bleed words into it.
At the very beginning of the blank column, two strokes slowly emerge.
It's as if someone is writing the tenth name through the back of a piece of paper.
Sun Wukong swept his staff horizontally, smashing back the half-human figure that was rushing towards him, and roared as he turned around:
"Chen Fan, burn it!"
Chen Fan looked down at the two strokes, his pupils contracting.
That's not "Chen".
It is not "ordinary".
The strokes start very straight.
The second stroke goes down.
It looks like the top part of the Chinese character "孙".
Sun Wukong saw it too.
The stick in his hand stopped in mid-air.
Behind the Blackwater Gate, the nine figures simultaneously looked up.
Fang Yin and Chen Fan exclaimed in disbelief:
"impossible--"
The ink on the black paper has already reached the third stroke.
Chapter 579, page nine, requires Chen Fan to write it himself.
The third stroke on the black paper had just been made.
The gatekeeper rushed to Chen Fan, flicked his sleeve, and rolled the paper back.
The paper couldn't be contained.
There was still a crack at the corner.
As soon as that ink-like aura burst forth, the entire Blackwater Gate went berserk.
boom!
The eight front boxes behind the door exploded one after another.
The lid of the box flew off and crashed to the ground like eight muffled claps of thunder.
Sun Wukong turned around and yelled, "What are you hiding for? Just say it!"
The gatekeeper stared at the black paper, his face as stiff as a board.
"Not everyone can write page nine."
"Whoever puts down the pen will temporarily assume control of the ninth coverage."
Upon hearing this, even Xuanzang's expression changed.
"Control?"
The goalkeeper nodded, his voice very low.
"The first eight times were all trial writings."
"Just write the name, and set the shell."
"The ninth time, I wrote about people, events, who lived, who died, and who remained."
Sun Wukong understood.
A hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
"So, whoever finishes writing page nine can change the situation here?"
"right."
The goalkeeper kept his eyes on Chen Fan.
"It can also change you."
Behind the Blackwater Gate, Chen Fan slowly smiled.
He didn't laugh much.
It's chilling to look at.
"Do you understand now?"
"You've investigated for so long, dismantled so many doors, and opened so many boxes."
"Investigating a case?"
"The query was incorrect."
"You're not here to investigate; you're here to take over the pen."
Chen Fan remained silent.
The eight-pointed mirror pattern on his chest lit up completely.
It was so hot it felt like eight knives, drilling into the bone again and again.
next moment.
Eight shadows fell to the ground simultaneously from the eight boxes.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The sound wasn't loud.
The ground suddenly sank.
Sun Wukong blocked the way with his staff, not rushing forward for the first time.
Because all eight of them looked exactly like Chen Fan.
It's not a face.
There are eight different appearances.
One of them was frighteningly thin, with rotten fruit juice stains on his cuffs, looking like he had just crawled out from the foot of Wuzhi Mountain.
There was a man with a crack on his forehead, clutching half a page of paper tightly in his hands.
One of them had dark circles under his eyes and a smile on his lips, but the smile was full of fatigue.
There's also the strangest one.
He didn't take anything; he just looked down at his hands.
Like those hands that once wrote something, only to regret it afterward.
Xuanzang's Adam's apple bobbed.
"All eight remnants of the predecessor have emerged."
The gatekeeper grunted in response.
"That's the proper way to do things."
"Before writing the ninth page, suppress the remnants of the first eight pages."
"I couldn't hold it in; the pen shattered as soon as I put pen to paper on the ninth page."
"It's not the paper that's broken, it's the person who wrote it who's broken."
Sun Wukong suddenly turned around.
Why didn't you say so earlier?
The gatekeeper said coldly, "It's no use talking. Nobody will believe it until they get here."
Fang Yin and Chen Fan stood inside the door, raising their hands and pointing at Chen Fan.
"You can't write it."
"The first eight times they didn't clean it up completely."
"They'll tear your pen apart the moment you put pen to paper."
It seemed to be in line with his statement.
The eight remaining bodies simultaneously raised their heads.
Eight pairs of eyes stared at Chen Fan.
The one holding the paper spoke first.
"You're late."
Hoarseness.
It was the remnant of the "ninth" paper corner that had been hidden for him earlier.
Another split forehead was attached.
"It's not that we're late."
"It's happened again."
The one who was frighteningly thin grinned.
"Every time they say this time is different."
"Every time, we first treat the stick as our brother, then the monk as a nail, and then we go to dismantle the door."
"In the end, we still have to come back and write it down."
Sun Wukong frowned.
He slammed the golden cudgel to the ground.
"Stop mimicking his way of speaking."
"Who do you think you are, to even look at him?"
Among the eight "Chen Fans," some looked at him.
His eyes showed defiance.
Some people looked at Xuanzang with resentment in their eyes.
There was another one who was staring at the character "孙" on the black paper, his lips twitching slightly.
Like a smile.
It's also like being afraid.
Chen Fan finally spoke.
"Why is 'Sun' written on it?"
Fang Yin and Chen Fan did not answer.
The goalkeeper spoke first.
"Page nine isn't just for writing about you."
"Whoever gets the main control unit gets to be number nine."
Sun Wukong's face darkened.
"Ninth place?"
"The first eight share the same shell. If the ninth one is actually registered under someone else's name, the entire mirror core will change owners."
The gatekeeper's voice grew even more urgent as he spoke.
"Therefore, it cannot be written as Sun Wukong."
"Once it's finished, the ninth mirror core will be his. At that time, all the old pages here will be rearranged with him as the main axis."
Xuanzang took a breath.
"Wouldn't that mean...?"
Sun Wukong immediately responded.
"Old Sun will become a new shell."
Inside the Blackwater Gate, Fang Yin and Chen Fan raised their hands and gently clapped.
Snapped.
The black paper floated up on its own.
The character "孙" above has been divided into seven parts.
"It's too late."
"Do you want him to write it?"
"Or, let me finish writing."
Sun Wukong swung his staff and smashed it.
A giant wave exploded in front of Blackwater.
Fang Yin Chen Fan was knocked backward by the impact, but the seal did not break.
He laughed even harder.
Hitting me won't help.
"Page nine identifies the pen, not the face."
The voice just fell.
The eight remaining entities moved together.
It's not about Sun Wukong.
It's not Oki Genzo either.
Quan Chong Chen Fan.
They were incredibly fast.
Like eight pieces of shadow forcibly torn from old pages.
Chen Fan felt a jolt on the mirror pattern on his chest, and he took three steps back.
The first one to rush over was the one who was frighteningly thin.
He grabbed Chen Fan's wrist, his voice trembling.
"Don't write it."
"If I write it, you'll be just like me, buried on the first page, being fed fruit over and over again."
The second one to bump into us was the one carrying the paper.
He pressed the half-page of tattered paper against Chen Fan's chest.
"Write."
"I must write this."
"I lost the first eight times because I didn't dare to make the final move."
The third one is the most ruthless.
He raised his hand and grabbed Chen Fan's throat, his face contorted in pain.
"You have no right to live for me!"
The scene immediately descended into chaos.
Sun Wukong swept his staff across, sending both of them flying.
"roll!"
The two remaining pieces crashed into the stone wall, but they didn't scatter; instead, they landed and got up again.
Xuanzang flicked his prayer beads, which entangled a man with a split forehead. Just as he was about to press down on him, the man bit off three of the beads in one bite.
"These are no ordinary afterimages!"
The gatekeeper shouted sternly, "Each of them has written more than half a page!"
"If even half a page survives, it's all considered a loose-leaf page!"
Sun Wukong cursed, "Speak human language!"
"It means that we can't wipe them out unless we subdue them!"
After the gatekeeper finished speaking, he suddenly reached out and handed Chen Fan a pen.
It's not a calligraphy brush.
It looks like a piece of charred bone.
It was still stained with ink.
As soon as Chen Fan touched it, his palm felt a burning sensation.
A memory that didn't belong to him surged up.
He saw himself kneeling at the foot of the mountain.
He saw himself secretly going through the files at night.
I saw myself handing someone a badly written ninth page through the door.
The last picture is the clearest.
A hand pressed against the back of his head.
Someone whispered in his ear.
Those who seek the truth can only stand outside the door.
"If you want to change the truth, you have to write it yourself."
Chen Fan's eyes hardened, and he immediately suppressed the surging distracting thoughts.
He looked at the bone pen in his hand and understood.
This is not a clue.
This is the key.
He had been taking doors apart, searching for the answer.
The door is now open.
Further investigation is pointless.
We have to grab it.
You need to write it.
Fang Yin and Chen Fan's expressions finally darkened when they saw him holding the pen.
"You dare?"
Chen Fan looked up.
"If you dare to make Wukong the ninth, why shouldn't I?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong grinned.
His smile was full of anger.
"That sounds nice."
"You write yours."
"I'll hold these eight down for you, Old Sun."
After saying that, he stabbed the ground with his stick.
A ring of gold cracked open in the ground, forcefully pushing back the three remaining streaks.
Xuanzang didn't waste any words. He raised his hand and slapped a Buddhist seal on the ground, directly suppressing the two.
"Goalkeeper, explain all the rules."
The gatekeeper stared at the black paper and spoke quickly.
"Write page nine, and include three items."
"A pen, a writer, and a blank space."
"The pen is here. The person is you. The blank space was originally you too."
"Now that Fang Yin Chen Fan has stuffed 'Sun' into it, it's like he's stealing the spot."
"If you want to win, first suppress the remaining top eight, then erase the character 'Sun', and finally write the real ninth page."
Chen Fan asked, "Anything is fine to write?"
The gatekeeper shook his head.
"No. The fake one will crack."
You can only write what you recognize, can control, and can bear.
"If the characters are written too lightly, the page will not be legible."
"If you press the words too hard, you'll collapse first."
Chen Fan smiled.
"So this thing is selective in its use depending on the person."
He had just finished speaking.
The one who had been looking down at his hands suddenly stepped out.
He didn't pounce.
I didn't steal it.
She simply looked at Chen Fan and slowly opened her palm.
There was half a word in the palm of his hand.
The left side of the character "陈".
It looks like it was carved in.
"I shielded you once."
His voice was very flat.
"I only wrote half of my name that time."
"It wasn't even finished falling when they tore it up."
"If you want to write it, I can help you suppress one."
Fang Yin and Chen Fan's expressions changed slightly, and they shouted sharply, "Shut up!"
The remaining figure looked up and glanced at its reflection inside the door.
"You've been installing the controller for too long."
"Does he really think he's the ninth one?"
The words fell.
He suddenly turned around and rammed his head into the remnant of the throat grabbing wound beside him.
The two shadows suddenly became entangled.
It rolled directly into the black water.
Sun Wukong was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"good!"
"You guys started biting each other first."
Chen Fan didn't waste this brief window of opportunity.
He snatched the black paper floating in mid-air, raised the bone pen, and pointed the tip at the character "孙" that was about to take shape.
But just as he was about to put pen to paper...
On the back of that black paper, a line of even smaller words slowly emerged.
It wasn't newly written.
It's like it was already hidden in the paper.
Xuanzang saw it first, and his face turned pale on the spot.
"Chen Fan, stop!"
"There are old notes on the back!"
The goalkeeper looked over abruptly and froze.
There were only seven characters in that line.
Every word was blackened.
— Page 9 must not be written by a living person.
Chen Fan's pen stopped three inches from the paper.
next moment.
Behind the Blackwater Gate, Chen Fan, the man with the square seal, grinned and softly uttered a sentence.
"you guess."
"Are you even alive now?"
Chapter 580 All Eight Predecessors Appear Together
Chen Fan's pen stopped three inches from the paper.
No more writing was done on the black paper.
Chen Fan smiled first when he saw the square seal behind the door.
It's not about being proud.
It was as if something I had foreseen had finally come to pass.
"You're too scared to write anymore."
"Or are you only now realizing that your breath isn't that of a living person anymore?"
Sun Wukong rushed forward, his golden cudgel held horizontally in front of Chen Fan.
"Stop talking nonsense."
"Whether you live or die, I, Old Sun, will test you with this stick."
The shadow of the stick pressed down.
The Blackwater Gate shook violently.
The sign on the door that read "Number Nine Mirror Core Back in Place" didn't crack; instead, it shone with a dark light, as if it had swallowed the blow.
Sun Wukong's arm went numb, and his eyelids twitched.
"It's really tough."
Xuanzang stared intently at the old note on the back of the black paper, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"It wasn't the paper that stopped him."
"This place is recognizing people."
The gatekeeper's face was ashen, and his hands trembled violently inside his sleeves.
"Don't touch page nine."
"The first eight times, I died at this step."
He finished speaking.
Behind the Blackwater Gate, all eight crates were opened simultaneously.
It's not just opening a crack.
The lid was blown off along with it.
boom! boom! boom!
Eight sounds in a row.
The black water, like eight filthy dragons, suddenly surged into the air.
The eight-pointed mirror pattern on Chen Fan's chest lit up completely at once.
It was as hot as red-hot iron.
He grunted and took a half step back.
next moment.
Eight figures stood up one after another from the box.
It's not faceless anymore.
This time, everyone showed their faces.
They were all Chen Fan.
They are of similar age.
They have similar body shapes.
Even their eyebrows and eyes are almost identical.
Upon closer inspection, they are completely different.
The first one had a split at the corner of his mouth, as if someone had repeatedly pulled it open with a blunt knife.
The second one had half his face charred black, but his eyes were still moving.
The third one had a broken pen stuck in his chest.
The fourth one has a golden headband around its neck.
Fifth, both hands were covered in blood, as if they couldn't be washed clean.
The sixth one had a hollowed-out abdomen with black water sloshing around inside.
The seventh one, with a corner of the mountain shadow pressing down on its back, never straightened its back.
The eighth one was the cleanest, his robes were neat and tidy, as if he had just stood up from his desk, except for a thin crack in the middle of his forehead.
All eight "Chen Fans" looked up at the same time.
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
Even Sun Wukong didn't make the first move.
He has seen clones, remnant souls, and demons possessing his body.
I've never seen eight identical people, each with a different look at death, standing opposite one person.
Pigsy's back molars were all clenched.
"Old Sun, this thing is more eerie than seeing a ghost."
Sha Wujing slammed his demon-subduing staff into the ground, his eyes darkening.
"Senior brother, they seem to be waiting."
Who are we waiting for?
Waiting for Chen Fan.
The first one took a step forward, leaving a black mark on the sole of its shoe.
He looked at Chen Fan and grinned, revealing his gaping mouth.
"I'll go first."
"I lost because I was too soft-hearted."
"I always want to leave a way out, for the Heavenly Court, for Buddhism, and for myself."
"As a result, they cut me one slice at a time, first cutting Wukong, then Flower Fruit Mountain, and finally cutting my neck."
"Being soft-hearted means risking your own life to pave the way for others."
The second predecessor is connected.
Half of his charred face was still crumbling, and when he spoke, it was like ashes falling from burning charcoal.
"I lost because I was too hasty."
"I want to turn things around in one fell swoop."
"I snatch pages, I snatch doors, I snatch names, I snatch secrets from heaven."
"In the end, everything was just one step away."
"It's urgent, it's like handing a knife handle to the person who betrayed you."
The third predecessor looked down at the broken pen stuck in his chest and laughed dryly.
"I lost because of my lack of faith."
"I believe the gatekeeper had a backup plan."
"I believe Fang Yin's face still feels pain."
"I believe there is always truth in the mirror."
"If you trust the wrong person, the whole thing will fall apart."
The fourth predecessor raised his hand and touched the tight band mark on his neck, his voice muffled.
"I lost because of the choice of replacement."
"I was afraid that Wukong would carry too much, so I carried it for him."
"I was afraid Xuanzang wouldn't be able to do it, so I did it for him."
"I was afraid it would make everyone look bad, so I took on all the dirty work."
"The more you take the blame, the faster you die."
The fifth predecessor raised its two bloody hands, all ten fingers trembling.
"I lost because of greed."
"It's not about being greedy for treasure."
"It's about being greedy and wanting to win everything."
"I want to protect every single one of them. Wukong, Xuanzang, the Dragon Clan, the Bull Demon Clan, Flower Fruit Mountain, and Xiniu Hezhou."
"If you try to get everything, you'll end up losing everything."
The sixth predecessor looked down at its empty belly, where black water sloshed back and forth.
"I lost because I was afraid."
"It's not that I'm afraid of dying."
"I'm afraid that if I really become the ninth, the previous eight will have died in vain."
"I hesitated for a moment, and it came in."
"Fear is opening the door for it."
The seventh predecessor carried the shadow of that mountain on its back, its shoulders drooping downwards.
He speaks very slowly.
Each word seemed to have been squeezed out from a crack in the rock.
"I lost because I accepted my fate."
"I thought that if I made a big move, fate would eventually give in."
"I thought that after suffering so much, it was finally my turn to win."
"no."
"As soon as you bend down, it mounts you."
Finally, the cleanest of the eight predecessors looked at Chen Fan.
A thin line of black ink slowly seeped from the crack in the center of his forehead.
His voice was the flattest.
It was so flat it sent chills down my spine.
"I lost because I thought I was the most clear-headed person."
"I memorized the first seven times."
"I calculated every step correctly."
"I thought I wasn't one of them."
"In the end, I was just the eighth of them."
That's all in eight sentences.
The eight predecessors raised their hands simultaneously.
Everything points to Chen Fan.
"the same as you."
"The ninth time will also be overwritten."
This statement was not made by one person.
It's like eight mouths opening at once.
The sounds overlapped, like eight needles piercing the ear at the same time.
Chen Fan's mind went blank for a moment.
The eight-pointed mirror pattern on his chest suddenly tightened, like eight hands reaching into his heart.
His vision went black, and he almost knelt down.
Sun Wukong grabbed his shoulder with his backhand.
The moment my palm touched it, it was so hot that I recoiled.
What's your body temperature?
Chen Fan's breathing quickened, and he looked down.
Eight dark shadows were already visible through the skin on his chest.
Like those eight people, trying to squeeze out of his body.
Fang Yin and Chen Fan stood behind the door and clapped their hands.
"That's more like it."
"I shouldn't have been the only one watching the first eight times."
"You should see for yourself how they lost."
Xuanzang took a step forward, his cassock being torn and swayed by the black water.
Stop pretending to be a ghost.
"They are the precursors, not shackles."
The eighth incarnation suddenly turned his head and looked at Xuanzang.
"Shut up."
"The sixth time, it'll be you dying first before I panic."
Xuanzang's breath hitched.
Sun Wukong's eyes darkened, and he pointed his staff directly at the target.
"court death."
This strike was so fast that only a thin golden line remained.
The sixth predecessor did not dodge.
boom!
Half of his body exploded on the spot.
A cloud of black water flew out.
Just as Pigsy, who was watching, was about to unleash his fury, the black water was drawn back by the dark light behind the door and instantly reformed into a human shape.
Even the cuts on their chests are the same.
A fire suddenly ignited in Sun Wukong's eyes.
"Can't be broken?"
The gatekeeper murmured something.
"It's not that it can't be broken."
"They weren't meant to be killed in the first place."
"They are meant to be replaced."
Upon hearing this, Pigsy broke out in a sweat.
"For whom?"
No one answered him.
The answer is already before us.
The eight predecessors surrounded Chen Fan step by step.
With each step he took closer, the mirror pattern on Chen Fan's chest brightened a little more.
It's like they're taking it personally.
The first one reached out and touched Chen Fan's left shoulder.
Chen Fan grabbed his wrist.
ice.
It's not the kind of ice that's used on dead people.
It's like reaching into the bottom of a well and touching a stone that's been pressed down for a hundred years.
The first predecessor stared at him, his mouth widening into a grin.
"Look."
"You can touch me."
Chen Fan's eyes hardened, and the black fire in his hand exploded.
boom!
That wrist, along with half of the arm, was burned into black smoke.
The first one took three steps back.
The people surrounding them were all stunned.
Sun Wukong laughed first.
"It can be burned."
"That makes things easier."
But the next moment, Chen Fan's expression changed.
As he burned the other man's arm, a tear silently appeared on the cuff of his own left sleeve.
Beneath the skin and flesh, the same scorch marks emerged.
It was as if the wounds on the other person had also fallen on him.
Pigsy's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"How are we supposed to fight like this?"
Fang Yin and Chen Fan laughed so hard their shoulders were shaking.
"I already said that."
"They are not the enemy."
"They are yourself."
"The harder you hit, the faster you'll be replaced."
The smile on Sun Wukong's face gradually faded.
He hates this kind of thing the most.
He's not afraid to fight head-on.
The most disgusting thing is to beat someone by tying their hands and feet together.
The eighth incarnation suddenly looked at the black ledger beside the door.
The ledger opened itself.
Page after page, flipping through them at lightning speed.
The front was covered with writing.
There are names, scratches, bloody handprints, and large areas smeared black.
When you turn to the last page.
Stopped.
blank.
An entire blank page.
It's not a clean white.
Like ink hidden beneath the paper, waiting for the first stroke.
The gatekeeper's face turned deathly pale when he saw that page.
"Total pages..."
Xuanzang recognized him too.
"Is this a blank master page of the black ledger?"
Fang Yin and Chen Fan nodded.
"right."
"The first eight wins and losses are all recorded in the previous records."
"This page is reserved specifically for the ninth time."
The eight predecessors turned around together and stood in a row.
Like eight nails, they pinned Chen Fan in the center.
Fang Yin looked at Chen Fan through the door, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"Now, let's decide the winner."
"If you write, you may not be a living person."
"If you don't write it down, they'll come back to you one by one."
"If you misspell a single word, you'll die for the previous eight mistakes."
"You wrote it correctly..."
He paused deliberately at this point.
Sun Wukong cursed.
"So what if I wrote it correctly? Tell me!"
Fang Yin and Chen Fan narrowed their eyes but did not answer.
On the blank master page, a line of faint text appeared on its own.
There are only four.
—The winner will be remembered.
Chen Fan stared at those four words and slowly raised his head.
The eight predecessors were also watching him.
Everyone's face seemed to be waiting for an outcome.
Just then.
Suddenly, a thin crack appeared in the center of that blank page.
Half of something slowly emerged from the paper.
Like a pen.
It doesn't resemble a pen either.
It looks more like a white bone rod carved from someone's finger bone.
At the top of the bone shaft, a wisp of undried golden fur still clung.
Sun Wukong's expression changed drastically when he saw the tuft of hair.
"Is that my fur?"
Chapter 581 The First Predecessor Makes the First Move
The skeleton just emerged from the main page.
The first precursor moved.
He was half a step ahead of his predecessors.
It's not "扑" (pū). It's not "沖" (chōng).
Like a piece of paper sliding out of the black water, it appeared silently and without a trace, arriving in front of Chen Fan in the blink of an eye.
He reached out to grab the bone pole.
The goalkeeper's face tightened, and he blurted out a shout.
"Stop him! That's a pen that records defeats!"
Sun Wukong stepped sideways and brought his golden cudgel down.
"You dare touch a hair on my head!"
boom!
The first figure raised its hand, its palm like a mirror, and caught the blow head-on.
The ground in the black water area was blasted open in a ring.
Xuanzang was so shocked that he took two steps back, and the hem of his kasaya rolled up.
Fang Yin and Chen Fan stared intently at the hand, their Adam's apple bobbing.
"It's a mirror case."
"The first time he walked along the clearing road was the one where the area was cleared."
Chen Fan frowned.
"Clear the area?"
Fang Yin and Chen Fan stared at the first predecessor, their voices deep.
"He felt there were too many variables."
"Too many shells, and the way to survive becomes chaotic."
"So he chose the most ruthless method."
"Eliminate them all before they have fully grown."
Upon hearing this, the first predecessor finally spoke.
His face is still unclear.
It felt like a layer of hazy, mirror-like skin was stuck to my face.
A thin slit appeared at the mouth, and the sound was so sharp it made one's ears tingle.
"Finally, someone who understands."
"The next few are all incredibly stupid."
"Keep it. Wait. Try it."
"And the result?"
"They've all become useless pages."
As he spoke, his gaze fell on Chen Fan.
"the same as you."
"It's not ripe yet."
"It's easiest to wipe it clean as soon as possible."
The voice just fell.
He suddenly flipped the mirror-like surface in his palm.
Click.
It was as if a thin mirror was being stretched open from his hand.
The next moment, everything around them changed.
The black water has disappeared.
The door is gone.
Even the gatekeeper and Xuanzang seemed to be a layer away from each other.
All Chen Fan could see were mirrors upon mirrors.
In each side, there stands a version of yourself.
Some had holes pierced through their chests.
Some had half their faces rotten.
Some were clutching black ledgers, their eyes vacant.
There was another one, kneeling on the ground, holding a piece of paper that read "Ninth" on it; his hand was gone.
Sun Wukong cursed from outside.
"They're using this same trick again!"
The first predecessor sneered.
"It's not a smokescreen."
"It's a defective sample."
"Look more closely."
"This is the end he deserved."
The mirror flickered.
The Chen Fan reflections in those mirrors all walked towards him at the same time.
step.
Two steps.
There was no sound of water underfoot, only the rustling sound of paper rubbing together.
The three-pronged mirror pattern on Chen Fan's chest lit up instantly.
The remaining five branches also started to get hot.
It felt like eight thin needles were drilling into the flesh all at once.
The first predecessor stared at him, her tone frighteningly flat.
"Didn't you want to know why you weren't eligible to have your name used in the first eight attempts?"
"Because they haven't learned one thing yet."
"We shouldn't leave too much of the shell."
"A person should not be fully grown."
"The name shouldn't even be written out completely."
The words fell.
All those reflections of Chen Fan in the mirrors rushed towards them.
Chen Fan raised his hand and flipped through the black ledger.
The moment the pages were opened, those shadows were already right in front of my face.
Bang bang bang!
Three black lines were pulled out from the pages, shattering the foremost shadow.
It wasn't people who were broken.
It's paper.
The fragments fell to the ground, each piece bearing the name "Chen Fan".
Chen Fan's eyelids twitched.
"That bastard, did it really tear off the whole front shell?"
The gatekeeper's voice forced its way in from outside.
"Don't let the mirror cover close!"
"Every time you close it, you lose one level of status!"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong swung his staff even more fiercely.
boom!
The entire mirror array was shaken by the impact.
But the original predecessor never retreated.
He pressed down with his hand.
Dozens of hands suddenly emerged from the mirror.
Each hand is exactly like Chen Fan's.
Some were grabbing the account books.
Some grabbed his throat.
There was another one, which went straight for the white bone pole.
Chen Fan raised his foot and kicked.
Two were sent flying by a single kick.
He closed the ledger with his left hand and reached directly for the bone rod with his right.
My hand just touched it.
That strand of golden hair was permed.
It felt like a spark had gotten into my palm.
A buzzing sound went through his mind.
A broken, intermittent sound burst out.
It's not Sun Wukong.
It looks like someone used this bone stick to write a long time ago.
Only half a thought remained.
—Record the defeat first, then write down the name.
Chen Fan's eyes darkened.
"Old Sun, don't smash people."
"Smash the shell!"
Sun Wukong, who was annoyed by the several hands sticking out of the mirror, grinned when he heard this.
"You should have said so earlier!"
He suddenly loosened his grip on the end of the stick and twisted his whole body.
The stick swept horizontally across the mirror surface.
It wasn't about hitting the head of the first predecessor.
They specifically targeted his chest.
The first predecessor underwent its first transformation.
No, it's the first time that the mirror-like coating has become messed up.
He suddenly stepped back, his voice becoming slightly shrill.
"How did you figure that out?"
Chen Fan did not reply.
He stared intently at the other person's chest.
There was a very thin white mark in that spot.
It's exactly the same as the first mirror mark on his chest.
"You're not number one."
"You're just the first broken shell."
One sentence was thrown out.
Fang Yin and Chen Fan were stunned.
The goalkeeper also gasped.
The mirror face of the first predecessor twisted.
That calm has finally crumbled.
"Shut up!"
He clasped his hands together.
The entire mirror array suddenly contracted.
Mirrors from all sides were crowding onto Chen Fan.
The black water on the ground was compressed into a thin layer.
Xuanzang's lips turned white, and he began to recite.
As soon as half a verse of Sanskrit chant was uttered, several black cracks appeared on the mirror's surface.
The gatekeeper also raised his hand and pulled out a stream of black water from behind the door.
"Wukong! Now!"
A fierce glint flashed in Sun Wukong's eyes.
"Open it for me!"
He gripped the stick with both hands and chopped straight down at the white mark.
He didn't hold back with this strike.
With a loud bang.
It looked like someone had smashed an entire palace mirror with a sledgehammer.
The first part of the mirror shell on the chest of the first prototype sank in.
Immediately following, a crack appeared.
Not one.
There are a total of eight.
Cracks erupted from his chest, spreading to his limbs and then to his face.
The layer of grayish mirror skin suddenly burst open.
Chen Fan in all the mirrors stopped.
The next moment, they shattered together.
Debris flew everywhere.
Each piece contains a short frame.
Some of them were the first predecessors who picked up their pens and crossed out the character "Chen".
Some of them stood in front of a blank master page, watching helplessly as the entire page turned black.
There's one that's the clearest.
He emptied all the other shells and stood alone in front of the door.
The door was closed.
They wouldn't even accept his paper.
In the end, he was the only one left, and the layer of skin on his face began to collapse inwards.
He wrote his name frantically.
Write one, shatter one.
In the end, only two words remained on the entire page.
Chen Fan.
Chen Fan felt a chill run down his spine.
"So that's why you lost."
"You killed him too soon."
"No one will fill in the missing pages for you."
"When the shell is completely empty, the account is dead."
The remains of the first body were still swaying.
Without the mirror, his face actually looked more like Chen Fan.
He's just old, dry, and has frighteningly deep-set eyes.
He looked at Chen Fan and actually managed a smile.
"yes."
"So you'll end up like this too."
"You'll only end up worse off than me."
"Those guys behind them... none of them are easy to deal with..."
He hadn't finished speaking.
Something suddenly floated out from the eight cracks on his chest.
It's only the size of a fingernail.
Like a semi-transparent black key.
The key has no teeth.
There is only one line of extremely small characters.
Sun Wukong was quick-witted and agile, and reached out to grab it.
The black key touched his fingertip and passed right through it, sinking into the black water.
The gatekeeper shouted.
"Don't touch it!"
"That's the key to defeat; we only recognize this account!"
Chen Fan raised his hand and pushed the black ledger forward.
With his other hand, he gripped the white bone staff and flicked it directly at the black key.
laugh.
Like picking fish bones out of meat.
The black key was lifted by the bone handle and fell into the ledger.
The ledger opened itself.
Not the previous page.
It's the last blank master page.
The moment the black key touched it, it dissolved instantly.
It's like ink, but stickier.
The first line of text slowly appeared on the main page.
—The first key to failure: clearing the field too early; once the shell is exhausted, the account is doomed.
The character is 一成.
A corner of the entire master page suddenly lit up.
It's really just a corner.
A palm-sized area was revealed in the lower left corner.
The paper was covered with tiny, very faint characters.
Like I wrote before, it was forcibly erased by someone.
Xuanzang's hands trembled when he saw that corner.
"It's lit up."
"The master ledger is now lit up."
The gatekeeper's eyes immediately turned red.
"It really can be fixed..."
Fang Yin and Chen Fan, however, were not happy.
Instead, he took half a step back, his face turning extremely ugly.
"broken."
Chen Fan looked up.
"What's wrong now?"
Fang Yin and Chen Fan didn't look at him.
He stared at the other seven predecessors, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"Once the first key to defeat is revealed, the rest will follow."
"Know what?"
This time, it wasn't him who answered.
It is another predecessor of Blackwater.
The person didn't move.
Then he raised his hand and slowly peeled off a small piece of skin from his face.
What's exposed isn't flesh.
It's another layer of text.
His smile was even more sinister than his first incarnation.
"I know that if I wait any longer, it will be too late for me."
He took a step forward.
The black water beneath their feet immediately churned up.
He suddenly had a knife in his hand.
The blade has turned black.
Half of an old kasaya was wrapped around the hilt of the knife.
Xuanzang's expression changed after just one glance.
"Is that my cassock?"
The former body pointed the tip of the knife at Chen Fan, then tilted it to point at Xuanzang.
"Last time, I didn't clear the area."
"I'm using someone else's knife."
"This time, I'll lend it to you first."
Chapter 582 The Second Predecessor Wants to Replace Chen Fan
The knife arrived first.
The black sword, wrapped in an old kasaya, flashed and slashed straight at Xuanzang's shoulder.
Xuanzang retreated quickly, but a corner of his kasaya was still cut off.
As soon as the piece of cloth fell into the black water, a human face immediately swelled up on the surface and opened its mouth to bite.
"Using my things as a weapon?"
Xuanzang's eyelids twitched, and he flung the prayer beads away with his other hand.
The Buddhist prayer beads hit a person's face and mouth.
A snap.
His face immediately exploded.
The second predecessor laughed.
"Still the same temper. You blocked me like this last time too."
He didn't look at Xuanzang when he spoke.
He kept staring at Chen Fan.
Like staring at a ready-made suit of skin.
Chen Fan stood before the main page, the mirror mark on his chest still glowing. The three prongs felt like they were being branded with fire, while the remaining five prongs tingled with numbness. He didn't reply, but simply gripped the white bone staff even tighter.
The tuft of golden hair on the bone suddenly twitched.
Sun Wukong grins.
"Is this thing trying to find a master?"
"It's not about recognizing a master."
The goalkeeper's voice was dry.
"It is recognizing its position."
Fang Yin and Chen Fan stood behind the door, their faces already grim.
"The second one isn't here to steal the page."
"He's here to steal you."
The moment the words were spoken, the second predecessor moved.
He didn't chase Xuanzang any further. His foot slipped, and he seemed to skim across the black water as he rushed towards Chen Fan. He swung his black blade horizontally, not aiming for the neck or the heart, but only touching Chen Fan's brow with the tip.
That was so strange.
It doesn't look like murder.
Like an imprint.
Chen Fan dodged to the side, but the blade still grazed his forehead. The skin wasn't broken, but a sudden chill ran down his spine.
next moment.
A series of static exploded in Chen Fan's ears.
Mountain breeze.
The fruit pit fell to the ground.
The monkey is making a sound.
There was also a low voice that spoke countless times in his ear.
"Pass the fruit over."
"Don't look up."
"You're just a fruit feeder."
Chen Fan's vision went black for a moment.
He felt as if he had returned to the foot of Wuzhi Mountain.
The broken basket was at my feet.
The smell of rotten fruit comes on top.
Above him was the soil from the bottom of the mountain, and in front of him was the face of Sun Wukong.
wrong.
That's not right either.
That hand wasn't his.
That hand was thicker, with a callus on its knuckles.
Someone is pushing him out of his position.
"Do you understand?"
The voice of his second predecessor crept into his ear.
"Your body wasn't stable to begin with."
"This is the first time someone has fed the fruit for them."
This time, I'll take your place.
Sun Wukong swung his staff down.
The second predecessor didn't even look, flipped his left hand, and thrust the back of the black knife upwards.
clang!
The golden cudgel was actually deflected by him by half an inch.
Sun Wukong's eyes twitched.
"You bastard, you think you're worthy to imitate me?"
The second predecessor licked the corner of his mouth.
"I'm not copying you."
"I got to where I am today by stepping on you."
As he spoke, the tip of the knife pointed at him again.
This time it's not between the eyebrows.
It was the brightest fork in the mirror pattern on Chen Fan's chest.
Chen Fan felt a sharp pain in his chest and actually took half a step back.
Just this half step.
The light-colored text on the main page suddenly brightened up.
—The winner will be remembered.
As soon as those four characters lit up, more than a dozen hands immediately reached out from the black water, grabbed Chen Fan's ankles, and dragged him down. It was as if the matter of his name would have to be recalculated as soon as he left the main page.
Xuanzang's expression changed.
"He's using the main page to rearrange the layout!"
The goalkeeper was getting anxious.
"Chen Fan, don't back down!"
"If you step down, the fruit feeder will take over!"
The second predecessor's smile was even more sinister.
"Did you hear me?"
"You're standing here not because of your ability, but because you took the position."
"Then I'll take my position back, and who do you think you are then?"
The eight predecessors surrounding the main page were initially somewhat tentative.
Upon hearing this, the expressions on everyone's faces changed.
Especially the tall, thin man in the far corner, his Adam's apple bobbed, as if he were also doing some calculations.
Chen Fan took in the entire scene.
He suddenly stopped retreating.
Instead of retreating, they took a step forward.
The black water didn't drag him.
The second predecessor's eyes darkened, and the blade moved even faster.
"court death?"
"Take advantage of your mother."
After Chen Fan finished cursing, he pressed his left hand directly to his chest.
The three-pronged mirror pattern instantly turned red.
He flipped his right hand and pulled a short nail from his sleeve.
The nail was short, jet black, and had two very small characters engraved on its head.
Proofreading.
The gatekeeper was speechless upon seeing this.
"When did you take it?"
Chen Fan did not reply.
This was something he'd found tucked between the pages when he tore open the ninth page last time. At the time, he'd only thought it was eerily cold and hadn't used it. Now he understood.
The predecessor can take over.
It relies on old names, old annotations, and old pages.
Then he'll fix the current name for now.
The second predecessor recognized him, and the smile on his face froze.
"You dare?"
"You try and see if I dare."
Chen Fan raised his hand, and the nail was plunged into his collarbone.
puff.
The nail head was halfway in.
Not much blood was lost.
The moment the nail went in, Chen Fan shuddered, as if a piece of paper had been nailed flat into his bones.
He gritted his teeth and roared out two words.
"Chen Fan!"
The name was uttered.
The main page shook violently.
The four characters "淡" (dàn, meaning "light") instantly dispersed, transforming into a circle of ink lines that circled around Chen Fan's feet. The black hands that had been grabbing him at his feet, as if struck by a branding iron, hissed and smoked, then all withdrew.
Even more ruthless was its second predecessor.
The knife he had pointed at Chen Fan's chest seemed to have suddenly pierced through an iron wall, unable to go any further.
The old cassock wrapped around the blade tore first.
Next is the handle.
click!
The entire knife was broken in half.
The second predecessor's expression changed for the first time.
"Proofreading DingTalk live usernames?"
"Are you crazy?"
"If you nail this down, and then change your name on the next page, you'll be the one who cuts off your own path first!"
Chen Fan was in so much pain that cold sweat poured down his forehead, but he remained stubborn.
"I'll cut off your path first."
After saying that, he grabbed the broken half of the knife and stabbed it into the chest of the second introvert.
The second predecessor didn't dodge.
It's not that I don't want to hide.
It was as if something was stuck in his chest, slowing his movements by half a beat.
With a soft "pfft".
The broken knife pierced in three inches.
The second predecessor looked down and actually smiled.
"This time it's even more ruthless than the last time."
"Unfortunately, it was still just a little short."
There was no blood where his chest was split open.
There were only layers of old, worn-out paper.
Those papers had fine print pressed inside.
It's all names.
Fruit feeder. Copywriter. Page watchman. Proxy clerk.
Layer by layer.
He wasn't just one person; he was a stack of failures.
Xuanzang's scalp tingled.
"Was he also covered up?"
The goalkeeper gritted his teeth and nodded.
"So he most wants to take over the account."
"He didn't come here to win; he came here to live a new life as Chen Fan."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong's eyes blazed with anger.
"Live like him?"
"They don't deserve it!"
The golden cudgel swung in a wide arc and smashed down on the head of the second predecessor.
The second person raised their hand to block.
This time it didn't work.
boom!
Half of his body was smashed open on the spot, sending shredded paper flying everywhere.
The black water was churned into a ditch.
The few who had witnessed it all retreated.
Even Fang Yin and Chen Fan narrowed their eyes.
"waste."
The second predecessor, with only half a body remaining, was still laughing.
He stared at the nail in Chen Fan's chest, his eyes brimming with resentment.
"You can hold yourself together."
"You can't hold a mirror in place."
"You'll have to accept the second key sooner or later."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the shredded paper he had scattered suddenly disappeared into the bottom of the main page.
It felt like being sucked away by something.
At the bottom of the main page, a new black pattern slowly emerges.
Like half a lock.
It also resembles half of an upside-down "two".
The mirror mark on Chen Fan's chest jumped.
The fourth fork was originally supposed to be lit.
It lit up halfway and then suddenly stopped.
It felt like being firmly pressed down by that proofreading nail.
The gatekeeper rushed over and, upon seeing it, was first stunned, then delighted.
"It's done."
"The second failed key has been generated."
"The mirror pattern did not continue to open."
Xuanzang also breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's been temporarily suppressed."
"temporary?"
Chen Fan clutched his chest, his face deathly pale.
The gatekeeper's expression darkened again.
"It's your current name that's being nailed, not your profile page."
"It's just slowing down."
"Once the third predecessor is connected, you'll still have to carry it."
Chen Fan cursed and looked up ahead.
The second predecessor has almost completely disintegrated.
Before leaving, he used his remaining hand to point slightly downwards from the bottom of the main page.
The newly emerged black pattern suddenly cracked open.
A key fell out of it.
Half black and half gold.
A very thin red thread was wrapped around the key handle.
Chen Fan reached out and grabbed it.
The moment he encountered it, a scene flashed through his mind.
At the foot of Wuzhi Mountain.
It wasn't him.
Another fruit feeder crouched in the shadows, tying a red knot to someone's wrist.
That wrist is very thin.
On the back of his hand, there was a well-worn, faded ring mark.
Chen Fan's pupils suddenly contracted.
This is not the predecessor of the previous two.
This is someone else.
They are also people buried in the old stories of the fruit feeder.
Sun Wukong noticed his expression was off and was about to speak.
Suddenly, the black water gate at the back of the main page made a loud "thump".
It sounded like someone inside the door bumped their head.
The first blow was followed by an even heavier one.
Boom!
Something slowly squeezed out from the crack in the door.
It's not a hand.
It is a foot.
A red thread, exactly the same as the one on the key, was tied around her ankle.