The Mysterious Card Maker: Starting with Zhang Jiao's Deification

The ghost spider hung upside down from the ceiling, its smiling face stretched from ear to ear, and its blood-red eyes slowly moved as if choosing its next prey.

It opened its mouth, and several white threads shot out simultaneously, flying towards the gate where the crowd was densest.

"Get out of the way!" The security captain tackled a young man who was standing frozen in place. The two rolled on the ground, the silk thread grazing their heads and embedding itself in the wall behind them, instantly cracking several gaps in the wall.

But others weren't so lucky. A middle-aged man in a gray jacket had a thread pierce his shoulder and was pinned to the back of a chair, screaming like a pig being slaughtered.

Another young bridesmaid was grazed on the arm by the silk thread, her clothes were torn, and a deep bloodstain was left on the exposed skin, from which blood gushed out instantly.

"Ah! Help!"

"Don't step on me! Don't step on me!"

"The door! The door is open!"

There's something else behind the door.

The group broke open the door only to find a layer of fine spider silk behind it, making it impossible to get out.

The crowd that had been gathered at the entrance began to scatter and flee, and the hall became noisy again.

The ghost spider seemed to enjoy the chaos; every time a white thread shot out of its mouth, someone would fall to the ground.

The wedding venue was turned into its hunting ground, and those who panicked became its prey.

"Spread out! Don't crowd together!" The security captain's voice came from the center of the hall, but no one was listening to him anymore.

Another thread shot out and pierced the calf of a middle-aged woman. She screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her wound and begging for help, but the next thread made her unable to speak.

Lin Fan sat in his wheelchair, staring intently at the ghost spider on the ceiling, his fingernails digging deeply into his palms.

"Old Zhang," Lin Fan lowered his voice, "could we use the soil outside to summon the Yellow Turban Warriors?"

Zhang Jiao glanced out the window with his eyes half-open and half-closed, then shook his head slightly: "We can't get out."

Lin Fan followed his gaze and saw that the outside of the window was now covered by a fine spider web, completely enveloping the banquet hall.

Lin Fan clenched his teeth. The Ghost Spider had never intended for them to escape from the beginning. Its target was not just himself; it wanted to kill everyone in the entire hall without leaving a single one alive.

"I can't worry about hiding my identity anymore." He took out the White Impermanence card and was about to summon the Card Spirit when a card fell to the ground.

【Meilongxi】!

A glint flashed in his eyes.

【Emperor's Dream】It plunges you into an emperor's dream; I wonder if it can also trap the supernatural in a dream.

Watching the ghost spider relentlessly shoot out white silk threads to injure people, he took a deep breath and poured his mental energy into the card. "I can't worry about that now."

A blue light burst forth from the card, and a wisp of mist shot straight toward the Ghost Spider.

As if sensing something, the ghost spider suddenly turned its smiling face towards Lin Fan, its blood-red eyes fixed on him.

But it was too late; the mist of the [Imperial Dream] had already enveloped the Ghost Spider.

Its eyes began to glaze over, and a short while later it fell from the ceiling and crashed heavily to the ground.

"It...is not moving!" The security captain looked at the card in Lin Fan's hand in shock.

"Hurry!" Lin Fan gritted his teeth, forcing the words out of his throat, "Now!"

Upon hearing Lin Fan's response, the security captain snapped out of his daze. He channeled his spiritual energy into the bronze warrior and shouted, "Attack!"

The bronze warrior strode forward and charged toward the Ghost Spider, his longsword whistling through the air as it struck the spider's head.

The smiling face suddenly opened its eyes and let out a painful roar, causing the bronze warrior to tighten his grip on his longsword.

"Sizzle"

The spider's head was cut in half, and spider silk hung limply from its mouth. Green blood gushed out, splattering onto the bronze warrior's body and making a sizzling corrosion sound.

The spider's body began to twitch, its remaining seven legs kicking wildly. After struggling for a while, it slowly retracted, and soon it stopped moving.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Someone shouted, "It's dead! It's dead!"

Then the others began to shout, their voices filled with the ecstasy of surviving a disaster and an uncontrollable tremor.

As the ghost spider died, the spiderwebs covering the banquet hall began to fall off piece by piece, and the door could finally be opened.

The crowd surged out, and in a short while, the hall quieted down again, leaving only Lin Fan and his group.

Zhou Chen slowly climbed up from the edge of the stage, his face smeared with dark red blood, and walked expressionlessly toward the corpse of the Ghost Spider.

"Zhou Chen!" Lin Fan called out.

Zhou Chen did not respond. He walked up to the Ghost Spider, looked down at the dissipating corpse, and saw green blood still seeping out. Zhou Chen reached out and grabbed the remaining half of the Ghost Spider's face.

"You killed her." His voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

The security captain tried to pull him away: "Sir, it's dangerous here, you should go first..."

Zhou Chen abruptly shook off the security captain's hand and punched Ghost Spider repeatedly in the face. The green blood corroded his flesh, but he seemed completely oblivious to it.

"You killed her!"

He roared it out, and his fists moved even faster.

The people in the hall just watched him silently, and no one spoke again.

Only after the spider's face was beaten bloody and mangled did Zhou Chen turn around and stagger back to the bride beside the stage.

Zhou Chen knelt down, held her head in his arms, pressed his forehead against her hair, and trembled violently.

He didn't cry out, not even a sound!

Lin Fan watched Zhou Chen's retreating figure, his throat feeling like it was blocked by something. He wanted to say something, but his lips moved and he couldn't say anything.

Qin Muyao, who was standing next to him, reached out and grabbed his arm tightly.

The Ghost Spider's corpse dissipated, turning into a card that fell to the ground, and a black shadow separated from the Ghost Spider's body.

The Shadow Devourer did not rush to escape, but remained in place. The black mass slowly wriggled and gradually transformed into a humanoid shape.

Its eyes were fixed on Lin Fan, and its mouth moved, but no sound came out.

"Old Zhang!" Lin Fan called out in a low voice.

Zhang Jiao clenched his fist, and golden lightning gathered in his palm, striking directly at the Shadow Devourer.

A burst of lightning erupted, and the Shadow Devourer patted the spot struck by the lightning, showing no effect whatsoever from the lightning magic.

"Lightning magic... it's no longer effective against it, it has adapted to lightning magic!" Zhang Jiao said in disbelief.

Just as Zhang Jiao was preparing his next move, the Shadow Devourer shrank back into a shadow and quickly fled out the window.

Zhang Jiao leaped out of the window and quickly gave chase, and the two disappeared into the night.

Lin Fan looked out the window and fell silent, because just before the Shadow Devourer fled, he saw its mouth move.

It's as if it's saying, "Wait, I'll be back!"