The people on the train were startled by the strange voice in their heads. The crowd became struck with fear and surprise.
“What was that noise?”
“Yea, I heard it as well. It sounded as if it was in my head.”
“It was calling out for Chen Beixuan. Who is Chen Beixuan? Do we have a Chen Beixuan among us?”
People murmured to each other perplexedly. They wondered why the voice seemed right in their heads but everyone on the train seemed to have heard it.
Soon, someone’s panicked scream shot throughout the train.
They noticed the light outside the windows dimmed as if the night had suddenly dawned upon them. Why did the sky suddenly become so dark while it was still noon?
“Shit! Is it some kind of supernatural phenomenon?”
“Are we on The Midnight Meat Train?”
“Mom, I want my mom.”
The train was suddenly filled with a cacophony of Kids’ crying, women’s screaming, and men’s nervous pep talk that verged on a mental break down. The dim light became the passenger’s only defense against the darkness outside. Without it, the complete darkness would break these passenger’s minds one nerve at a time.
Ai Jinqi was terrified by the turn of events. She grabbed hold of Chen Fan’s arm as her body trembled uncontrollably. She was raised in a wealthy family and never had seen anything remotely close to this. Ren Hao’s legs already gave out and brought him down to the floor.
Even during this moment of distress, Ai Jinqi didn’t forget about Chen Fan. She held tightly onto him and managed to ask him with as much calm as she could muster.
“How did that voice know your name? Is it coming after you? Don’t leave us, we have a lot of living people here, ghosts should be afraid of us.”
Chen Fan cracked a smile after seeing the girl’s poor attempt to remain calm. “Don’t worry, it is likely just a bunch of lost souls and minor spirits.”
Chen Fan’s confidence smoothed Ai Jinqi’s nerves. However, Ren Hao crawled toward Chen Fan like a scared dog. He screamed as he ran toward Chen Fan.
“He is Chen Beixuan! Those Oni are after him. Don’t harm us!”
People scurried away from Chen Fan as soon as they heard Ren Hao’s words. Many looked at Chen Fan with shock and disbelief as if Chen Fan was some kind of a monster.
Tears welled in Ai Jinqi’s eyes as she saw the other tourists’ reactions. She gave Ren Hao a glare which made the young man blush. However, the hint of embarrassment on Ren Hao’s face quickly evaporated. His own life was at stake now and he shouldn’t feel bad for doing what was best for him.
Suddenly a jarring shriek came up from outside. Everyone peered through the windows and saw a dark shadowy figure floating in the air. Two shining round eyes stared back at the passengers like two pools of molten iron.
The sight of the ghastly shape turned people into a bundle of nerves. They were ordinary people and had never seen anything like this.
Red Sparrow who had sat opposite of Chen Fan glared at the young man.
“He was able to send his voice through soul energy, so whoever he is, he is either Immortal State or another Demon God from Japan.”
“I wager it’s the so-called Demon God. I wonder how many of them are out there.”
“Maybe we should go take a look.” Chen Fan said readily and rose to his feet under everyone’s watchful eyes.
“What is he going to do? Is he going to meet those Demons out there?”
Everyone gave Chen Fan a long stare with complicated feelings. Ai Jinqi squeezed his hand and was not willing to let go. Chen Fan smiled slightly and then said, almost like an older brother to a younger sister; “Don’t be afraid, I will catch these little demons for you.”
Everyone thought Chen Fan was making a sick joke and even Ai Jinqi replied with a cringing smile that verged on crying. She watched as Chen Fan jumped up from the ground as a beam of azure light shot through the ceiling of the train cart. Then Red Sparrow also sprung into action and disappeared behind the hole on the ceiling by turning herself into a trail of fire.
Everyone was shocked by the incredible sight.
“Are they immortals from the legends?”
Someone stammered.
Ai Jinqi sat motionless, her mind blank.
Memories of her past encounter with Chen Fan suddenly came back to her and she was finally able to put two and two together. She had met Chen Fan at the Susano Shrine and the Susano Shrine was destroyed soon after she had left. Then, she met Chen Fan again under the Tokyo Tower, and right after she exited the park following Chen Fan’s advice, the Tokyo Tower collapsed, allegedly it was the work the aliens.
Ai Jinqi had thought those were mere coincidences, but it suddenly dawned upon her that Chen Fan had caused all of this.
“Who is he? Why does he have such magical power?” Ai Jinqi pondered on.
She conceded that all her presumptions about Chen Fan were wrong. Although she had no clue who Chen Fan was, her instinct told her that the answer was much more shocking even than her wildest imagination.
Ren Hao slumped on the ground, gaping with fear and remorse.
If he knew Chen Fan wielded such unthinkable abilities, he would never throw him under the bus. Now he had pissed Chen Fan off and Ren Hao couldn’t bring himself to imagine what would happen to him after he had dealt with the Demons outside.
Ren Hao had never felt so regretful before. He started to register unfriendly stares and belligerent glances all around him.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan had already made it to the top of the rail cart.
The train conductor had slowed down the speed of the train due to the sudden appearance of darkness. Chen Fan looked ahead and behind the train and saw it was surrounded by an impenetrable dark mist that completely blocked out the sun. Amidst the dark mist was countless wretched spirits and vile demons swimming around each other. Their eyes were large red unblinking holes that shined a very eerie light from within. A cold gust came up, sweeping across the sky with sharp, agonizing shrieks. Chen Fan had seen a similar procession of spirits and demons in the art of the Young Lord of the Ghost Witch Sect, but this was on another level of deadliness.
These apparitions were ancient and held deep grudges toward the living. Many of them had wondered the line between living and dead for a hundred or so years.
Some of them were still dressed in the old fashion way with the Edo period styles.
“What’s going on?” Red Sparrow pulled herself over the ledge and came abreast with Chen Fan. She asked in a solemn voice.
“The dark mist had stretched as far as a few thousand kilometers from here. Sunshine is just on the other side. It seemed to be the work of a Dharma Artifact. These Ghosts wouldn’t be able to show up without the protection of an Artifact.” Chen Fan linked his hands behind his back and said lightly.
He had since projected his Divine Will as far as five kilometers away from him and got a handle on what was going on. He was not at all affected by the ghastly apparitions and jarring screaming around him.
“This is the Dark Sky Curtain from the Ise Grand Shrine. Legend has it that a grand Kannushi from Ise Grand Shrine had refined this vile artifact using the western art of alchemy. It could not only unleash ghosts into the world but also could be used as a vehicle for the Demon God.” Red Sparrow explained.
As soon as she finished talking, a Demon God with three heads and six arms appeared in the darkness. Its hulking frame filled up the space between the ground and the sky. Each one of his six arms wielded a different kind of Dharma Artifact, making his appearance resemble that of a Dharmapala, the protector of the buddha.
“That’s the Six-Armed Demon God from Shrine of Hell King”
Red Sparrow’s face changed color a bit and then said.
“Chen Beixuan, I have heard so much about you.” The soul energy roiled about the Six-Armed Demon God like the waves on the ocean. He fixed his gaze on Chen Beixuan, and didn’t spare Red Sparrow any attention.
He was a Demon God and the only person who was worthy of his attention was Chen Fan. Chen Fan had killed Lord Susano, and Takemiya Hiro, so the Demon God treated him as equal, the same could not be said about Red Sparrow.
Suddenly, another shadowy figure emerged out of the dark mist. His body was wrapped in a tangle of vines. Its skin was darker than its surroundings and even the mist under its feet turned into a poll of black ichor. His appearance was similar to a hellish ghoul.
“Lord Yamamizuki from the Yamamizuki Shrine.”
Red Sparrow announced. Her face turned sour.
“Chen Beixuan, are you scared?” Lord Yamamizuki asked in a high pitch screech.
“Yamamizuki, Chen Beixuan is the strongest man of East Asia, a powerful Immortal State warrior. He is not afraid of your meager power.” Another voice came up from behind Lord Yamamizuki
Chen Fan saw a man-like creature with the head of a bird and a pair of ugly wings that appeared in the sky. It looked very much like the mythical creature of Karasutengu: The crow dog.
“Lord Karasutengu from the Karasutengu Shrine.”
Red Sparrow’s face paled.
She had never thought that all three Demon Gods would show up once: Six-Armed Demon God, Lord Yamamizuki, and Lord Karasutengu. She was confident that Chen Fan could handle each one of them individually, and he might be able to handle two if she helped him out, but three at the same time is stretching it too thinly.
The situation quickly escalated, and Red Sparrow quickly gave up the hope of saving the poor souls still trapped on the train.
“Clack-Clank, Clack-Clank.”
A wave of wet footsteps came up. A tall and thin figure appeared from the dark corner at the end of the line of train carts. Red Sparrow was taken aback by the appearance of a mortal during this tense moment. When the man was close enough for Red Sparrow to see his face, she was shocked: “Lord Kurome, why are you here?”
Lord Kurome was just an S-Level Overlord, and this battle was way out of his league. Even Red Sparrow could defeat him, much less Chen Fan. Suddenly, an ominous feeling seized her mind.
“You are not a mortal, you are the Demon God Lord Kurome.”
Chen Fan cracked a light smile.
Red Sparrow watched as Lord Kurome’s eyes started burning with a red glow. He stood quietly as the flying ghosts and spirits bowed to him fearfully.
“Six-Armed Demon God, Lord Karasutengu, Lord Yamamizuki, and Lord Kurome.”
Of the six Demon Gods in Japan, one had already been killed by Chen Fan and the other four stood right in front of him. The Demon God of The Ise Grand Shrine was still missing in action but had contributed to the cause by offering his Artifact: Dark Sky Curtain.
They were all after Chen Fan.
“Chen Beixuan, did we surprise you?”
Lord Kurome laughed out loud. There was another voice behind that laughter that belonged to someone, or something much more ancient.
The four demon gods surrounded Chen Fan and started cycling around him. They were all half-step away from Immortal State and were indestructible within the dark mist. Even Takemiya Hiro would be shredded into pieces if he had to face all four of them at once.
Life drained away from Red Sparrow’s face. She grabbed hold of Chen Fan’s arm like a drowning woman would to the last piece of floating plank. She really thought she was going to die here.
Chen Fan clasped his hands behind his back and stood haughtily.
“Very good. You saved me many trips. I will kill all of you today to charge my Dharma Treasure!”