bookbashuk Chapter 172 The Pure Gate only allowed Tang Sanzang to pass first.
Chapter 172 The Pure Gate only allowed Tang Sanzang to pass first.
The moment the black card peeked out from the crack in the door, Sun Wukong made his move first.
He swung the golden cudgel horizontally and smashed.
"Stop pretending! Get out here, you old Sun!"
Just as the gust of wind pressed down, a white line suddenly lit up through the crack in the door.
It's not a block.
It is a photo.
The white line first swept across the golden cudgel, then across Sun Wukong's wrist.
The next instant, the entire clean area door shook violently with a "hum".
The black mirror behind the door was cracked with a dense layer of fine lines.
Song Jiuce's face turned pale, and he immediately shouted, "Don't touch it!"
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Click.
Another crisp sound.
The cracks on the black mirror increased threefold, making it look like a porcelain surface about to shatter, and even the old Taoist seal in the crack of the door swayed.
A cold, discreet voice immediately came from inside the door.
"Non-reincarnation chain main body, no prior entry allowed."
"One forced insertion resulted in a 7% loss of the lens layer."
"Trigger three more times, and the clean zone will be sealed off."
The entire room fell silent.
Sun Wukong's hand, which was swinging his staff, stopped in mid-air, his brows furrowed low.
"What do you mean?"
Yang Jian stared at the door, his voice growing deep.
"It recognizes people."
"What is being recognized is not the physical body, but the chain of reincarnation."
Chen Fan's heart tightened, and he immediately looked at Tang Seng.
Tang Sanzang had already raised his hand.
The faint lines on his wrist were gradually glowing, as if an invisible thread was being pulled by something inside the door.
The notification sound from inside the door rang again.
"Residual Tang Dynasty seals were detected."
"Hidden old chain detected."
"Clean zone access sequence corrected."
"Priority number one, the Lord's will be the first to pass."
After listening to this, Song Jiuce's Adam's apple bobbed violently.
"broken."
"We won't let others take our spots in the designated clean area."
"This door is only for the main body of the scriptures. Anyone who tries to force their way through will have the mirror layer shatter first. Once the mirror is shattered, everything inside will be in chaos."
Sun Wukong sneered.
"Even if they won't let me in, I'm still going."
He had just taken a step forward when the white line on the door lit up again.
This time it's not just bright.
It even cut a thin black mark directly in front of Sun Wukong's feet, like a knife scraping the ground.
No one doubted that if they had taken just half a step more, they wouldn't have been cutting the ground.
Chen Fan reached out to stop him.
"Don't push it yet."
"This rule is like an inflexible rule now. You can't reason with it."
Sun Wukong turned his head to look at him.
"Then let the monk go in alone?"
"Are you sure you don't mind?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Tang Sanzang.
Nobody knows what's behind the clean zone gate.
The figure that looked exactly like Tang Sanzang that appeared earlier has now disappeared.
It doesn't seem right that this school suddenly only recognizes Tang Yin.
Tang Sanzang, however, did not retreat.
He walked to the door and looked up at the black sign.
The black tag has two layers of marks, one old and one new, pressed very firmly.
He paused for a moment, then suddenly asked a question.
"If I go in, how long will it be before closing time?"
There was a moment of silence inside the door.
"After the master enters the gate, the outer gate retains thirty breaths."
"Not returning, automatically lock the inner door."
Sun Wukong's expression turned even uglier.
"Thirty breaths? What's the difference between that and suicide?"
Tang Sanzang turned around and glanced at him.
"It's better than being stuck in traffic outside."
He spoke calmly, but his hand was already raised.
The moment his hand reached for the crack in the door, the white line on the door softened instantly, like a layer of water seeping up his palm.
next second.
A small, pale golden chain-like phantom appeared behind his neck.
One link leads to another.
It's not magic.
It's like the mark he left behind through lifetimes.
My eyelids twitched as I looked at the old Song Dynasty books.
"It really is a chain of reincarnation..."
"The clean area treated him as the original owner."
Chen Fan stared at the broken chain and suddenly remembered a line from the eighth fragment of the file.
I cannot find the original text, I only recognize the Tang dynasty seal.
It wasn't an exaggeration after all.
They truly only recognize this one.
"Go in," Chen Fan said in a low voice. "Find the fourth section of the text first. Don't look at it or touch it too much. If something blocks your way, write it down first, don't try to force it."
Tang Sanzang nodded.
"You all keep watch outside."
Sun Wukong took half a step forward, his voice muffled.
"Monk."
Tang Sanzang paused for a moment.
Sun Wukong stared at him, grinned, but his smile was anything but relaxed.
"Stop pretending to be righteous. If you don't come out in thirty breaths, I'll tear the door down too."
Tang Sanzang didn't turn around, he just waved his hand.
"Then you'd better hurry."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped through the crack in the door.
It felt like my whole body was swallowed up by a curtain of water.
The door was not fully open.
They only drove as far as he could get through.
As soon as Tang Sanzang entered, the people outside immediately heard a soft sound, like a lock fastening the first layer.
The crack in the door is still there.
It's narrower than before.
Chen Fan took a step closer and peered through the crack in the door.
It wasn't the palace I had imagined.
It's more like a long corridor.
The corridor was old, with rows of vertical mirrors standing on both sides. There were no human figures in the mirrors, only lines of floating text, as if someone was constantly proofreading something.
Tang Sanzang had only taken seven or eight steps when the first mirror on his left lit up.
A line of text flashed on the mirror.
The fourth recitation is to be added.
Missing sentences not returned, net value not sealed.
Chen Fan's pupils contracted.
found it.
The fourth paragraph is indeed in there.
Tang Sanzang obviously saw it too, and his pace quickened immediately.
He walked to the mirror, and the mirror surface rippled like water, slowly revealing half of an old piece of paper.
The edges of the paper are curled up.
Only the first half of the sentence is above.
"If one holds the pure seal..."
The space behind it is empty.
It's not blurry, it's like a section is completely missing.
Tang Sanzang reached out to take it, but the note didn't come out. It just swayed in the mirror, and then a line of even smaller words appeared below it.
"Sentence completion authority: Chief Proofreader."
"The current deputy position holder does not have the authority to transfer files."
Yang Jian, who was outside, saw everything clearly, and his brows furrowed suddenly.
"Secondary position?"
Chen Fan said in a low voice, "There is more than one position in the Clean Zone."
Song Jiuce was already sweating profusely.
"This is a huge problem. The one who can suppress the fourth recitation is not an ordinary guard. They must be at least from the upper levels of the clean zone."
Sun Wukong hated this kind of roundabout talk the most, so he just cursed.
Speak like a human.
Song Jiuce swallowed hard.
"They didn't come here to delete a page of scripture."
"They're trying to block the mouth of the Bible."
"If the fourth paragraph is missing a sentence, the following paragraphs won't connect. Even if Tang Sanzang went in, he could only see it, but couldn't take it away."
Inside the gate, Tang Sanzang had obviously also discovered it.
He tried twice, but could only make the mirror ripple; the half-strip of paper remained suspended inside.
To make matters worse, a white shadow suddenly appeared at the end of the corridor.
The shadow was too far away to see its face clearly.
Only the outline of the cassock can be seen, and it looks almost exactly like Tang Sanzang.
Sun Wukong's eyes flashed fiercely, and he raised his staff, ready to smash the door again.
Chen Fan grabbed him and pressed him down.
"Don't move!"
"If you smash the mirror again, it'll really shatter!"
Sun Wukong clenched his teeth, the tendons on the back of his hands tensed, and he managed to stop.
The white figure inside the door did not approach.
It simply raised its hand and gently touched the top of the corridor.
The next moment, a semi-transparent black page suddenly fell from the sky above the entire corridor.
Like a page turned in an account book.
The top row is filled with names and their rankings.
Four large characters are written at the very top.
List of personnel on duty in the clean zone.
When Song Jiuce saw that thing, his legs went weak.
"How did the duty roster get submitted...?"
Yang Jian's gaze darkened.
"This isn't for us to see."
Chen Fan remained silent, staring intently at the top.
The first line is larger than all the other characters.
It looks like someone deliberately placed it in the most conspicuous position.
[Chief Proofreader]
The name should be followed by the next one.
That column was initially blank.
Then, stroke by stroke, two characters slowly emerged.
Tang Sanzang.
It's not Xuanzang.
It's not Jin Chanzi.
That's Tang Sanzang.
Sun Wukong was stunned for a moment, then his face darkened completely.
"fart."
"This bald guy just went in, when did he become its chief?"
Chen Fan's heart skipped a beat.
wrong.
This is by no means an appointment.
It's more like a registration process.
This place was reserved for Tang Sanzang long ago, but the name is only being revealed now.
Tang Sanzang, who was inside the gate, also saw it.
He stood there, his hand still in front of the mirror, as if he were nailed to the spot.
And the list hasn't stopped yet.
Below the two characters "Tang Seng", a second line of smaller characters slowly emerges.
"Position number nine is ready, pending approval for permanent appointment."
Chen Fan felt a chill run down his spine.
This line of text was almost identical to the markings he had just seen on the old paper outside.
Position 9, ready.
Pending activation.
It says "him" on the outside.
The figure hanging inside is of Tang Sanzang.
Two number 9s?
Or is someone constantly choosing a body double?
Sun Wukong clearly sensed something was wrong and turned to ask, "Why does your face look like that?"
Chen Fan was about to speak.
The white figure inside the door suddenly took a step forward.
As this step was taken, all the mirrors in the entire corridor lit up simultaneously.
In every mirror, the same person is reflected.
It's not Tang Sanzang.
It's Chen Fan.
And beneath the mirror at the very front, a new line of black text slowly emerged.
"The alternate proofreader has arrived."
"Please claim this, Chief."
Chapter 572's reading note becomes eight pages
"Please claim this, Chief."
As soon as those black characters appeared, the entire corridor seemed to come alive.
The mirrors on both sides lit up one after another.
Every aspect of him is Chen Fan.
Chen Fan standing.
Chen Fan with his head down.
Chen Fan raised his hand.
Even the angle of their frowns is exactly the same.
Sun Wukong exploded first.
"Recognize your mother."
He swept the stick across the ground.
boom!
The three mirrors at the very front shattered.
Before the fragments even hit the ground, the mirror surface behind them was patched up again, without even a crack, as if someone had taken a pen and corrected it on the spot.
Yang Jian's eyelids twitched.
"It's not the mirror reflecting people."
"It's a booklet used to cover people."
Song Jiuce slumped against the wall, his face turning blue.
"Once the claiming process begins, the candidates will be officially listed."
"Once the chief nods, he is no longer his own style."
"It will be directly incorporated into the old road review list."
Chen Fan cursed.
Speak like a human.
Song Jiuce's Adam's apple bobbed.
"You will be turned into one of their people."
The voice just fell.
The white figure inside the door had already reached behind the crack in the door.
Even through a sliver of white light, the face was still Tang Sanzang's face.
Even their eyebrows and eyes are exactly the same.
But when he raised his hand, his movements were even colder than Xuanzang's.
Like turning over old paper.
Like checking on a dead person.
He looked at Chen Fan and said only one sentence.
"Number nine, follow me into the clean area."
Sun Wukong raised his staff and smashed the door.
"Who do you think you are, daring to come and take him away?"
The white figure didn't even blink.
The double-layered black plaque on the door trembled slightly.
The stick stopped.
It's not about blocking it.
Suddenly, a string of thin black characters appeared on the entire surface of the golden cudgel.
Temporary closure.
The rule of armed force takes over.
When Sun Wukong saw this, the veins on his forehead throbbed.
"You dare to remember Old Sun's beating?"
He applied force with his hands and pressed down hard.
The stick seemed to sink into the mud, getting heavier and heavier the more it was pressed down.
Chen Fan's heart tightened.
This place is much harsher than the previous floors.
The front part is still about recycling and coverage.
At this point, they've begun to categorize and take over the rules.
It will write whatever you take out first.
Whichever line you want to modify, it will block that line first.
If that white figure really completes the process, he'll even have his right to curse recorded.
Xuanzang at the entrance remained motionless.
He stared at the white figure, his face grim.
It was as if they had finally recognized something.
"It's not a clone."
"It's from the old proofreading records."
"This is the best copy of the first eight failures."
Chen Fan suddenly turned his head.
"The first eight times?"
Xuanzang didn't turn around, and his voice was very low.
"That half-page of chanting slip I had was neither a Buddhist scripture nor a Dharma treasure."
"Those are fragments of documents from the old road's review process."
"Before, there was only half a page left, and I couldn't read the whole thing. Now it opens by itself."
Upon hearing the words "recite the text," Song Jiuce shuddered.
"You still have that thing in your hand?"
Xuanzang ignored him and pulled the old paper from his sleeve.
The moment the paper appeared, the entire corridor fell silent for a moment.
Even the black lettering on the mirror stopped.
Chen Fan could see it clearly.
That's not scripture at all.
The paper is yellowed and the edges are worn.
The inscription is neither a Buddhist verse nor a talisman.
It is a series of very neat small characters.
It's like someone holding a pen, approving each item one by one.
There is also a missing corner in the upper right corner.
Old Taoist seal.
Song Jiuce's face turned pale, and his voice trembled.
"These are truly old proofreading documents."
"Isn't this thing useless now?"
Xuanzang loosened his five fingers.
The piece of wood didn't fall down.
It floated up on its own.
First, there was a jolt.
Then it scattered with a "whoosh".
It's not broken.
It is an expansion.
One page becomes two pages, two pages become four pages, and finally it stops in mid-air, a total of eight pages.
Each page is small and brittle from age.
There were also black marks from being burned nearby.
But the words on it are clearly visible.
The first page has an old title on it.
The first failure was recorded in the year of the Book of the Lost.
Page 2.
The second failure: The Lord was absent.
Page 3.
The third failure: the westward journey ended in failure.
Page 4.
The fourth failure: The white dragon does not enter the trough.
Page 5.
The fifth failure was recorded in the year of the monk's name being mistakenly signed.
Page 6.
The sixth failure was recorded in the year of Tang's regression.
Page 7.
The seventh failure: The monkey broke free of its chain.
Page 8.
The eighth failure in the annals of history: Overwrite.
The corridor was deathly silent.
Even Sun Wukong was taken aback.
"This thing, you memorized it eight times?"
Xuanzang stared at the eight pages of paper, his voice hard.
"Not a record."
"It has been reviewed."
"For each failure, the old proofreader would leave a page."
"What remains is not the result, but the rule that led to the mistake."
The white figure stood behind the door, and finally her expression changed.
the first time.
A crack appeared in the otherwise calm coldness in his eyes.
"You shouldn't have brought it."
Xuanzang sneered.
"You've practically shoved the door in my face, why should I listen to your rules?"
The white figure raised its hand and pressed down on the black card.
"Clean areas can be claimed first."
"Enter position number nine."
All eight mirrors shook simultaneously.
All the reflections of Chen Fanquan in the mirrors took a step forward.
It looked like it was trying to squeeze out from inside.
Chen Fan felt a chill run down his spine.
This is not an illusion.
They really want to change his status from "candidate" to "registered".
Xuanzang didn't waste any words and slapped the first piece of paper.
Snapped!
The first page is now lit up.
The four characters "经主失号" on the paper were instantly pressed into a black line and nailed directly to the door crack.
The white figure's hand, which was pressing down, suddenly stopped.
The double-layered black card made a muffled sound.
The words above are messed up.
Song Jiuce cried out in disbelief.
"The rule of divine recognition has been suppressed!"
Xuanzang said in a deep voice, "We can only suppress it for a while."
"Next page."
Chen Fan realized what was happening and immediately roared.
"Then smash them page by page!"
Sun Wukong laughed, his eyes filled with ferocity.
"That's more like it."
He swung his golden cudgel and smashed it again.
This time, the stick didn't stop.
The second page flew over by itself and slammed onto the head of the stick.
The Lord was absent.
boom!
The black sign on the door was knocked half an inch off-center.
The white figure took half a step back, its gaze finally darkening.
"Who taught you to use old documents like this?"
Chen Fan immediately retorted.
"I taught you this, if you disagree, come out here."
Yang Jian also moved.
The three-pointed, double-edged blade spun and pierced straight into the center of the mirror.
The third page flew out and stuck to the blade.
The westward journey was disrupted by a broken chain.
With that one strike, the mirrored light in the entire corridor dimmed by 30%.
All those "Chen Fans" who were trying to squeeze out were stuck in the mirror.
Some showed only half their face.
Some only extend one hand.
Like a group of living ghosts stuck on a threshold.
My legs went weak from looking at all the old Song Dynasty books.
"That's really good at pressing down."
"All eight pages are rules and regulations."
"Whoever has it can temporarily disable a type of recycling process."
Sun Wukong grinned.
"You should have said so earlier."
"Isn't this like taking someone else's documents and slapping them in the face?"
He got more and more into the fight.
Page four, the white dragon does not enter the trough.
With a snap, it landed on the threshold.
The gate to the clean zone suddenly jammed shut.
Page 5, monk's name mislabeled.
On the white figure inside the door, a layer of black lines appeared on his face, as if his name was falling off.
Page 6, the character "唐" is backed up.
The four characters "Chief Claimant" that were originally hanging at the end of the corridor were now completely blurred into a mess.
Page 7, the monkey breaks free of its chain.
The black characters sealing the golden cudgel exploded on the spot, and Sun Wukong laughed loudly, swinging the cudgel so hard that the entire corridor resounded.
Page 8, overwrite.
This page is the most ruthless.
It didn't have a door sticker or a mirror sticker.
It floated to Chen Fan's head and gently pressed down.
The black lettering "Alternate Proofreader is here" in all the mirrors cracked open simultaneously.
Bai Ying finally couldn't hold back anymore.
He suddenly looked up, staring at Xuanzang, then at Chen Fan.
Do you know what you're doing?
"Once you open the eight pages, the entire chronicle of failure will come back."
"The old way is to find people by following the documents."
Chen Fan sneered.
"Go ahead and look for it."
"You've already come this far, what's one more push?"
The white figure stared intently at him.
"You're not a candidate for position nine."
"You are on page nine."
Everyone stopped when he said that.
Even Sun Wukong frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Xuanzang seemed to have thought of something and suddenly turned around to look at the back of those eight pages.
The eight pages have been scattered.
But there was another one after that.
It had been rolled up and hidden in the innermost layer.
It's slowly coming to light now.
That was page nine.
blank.
Not a single word.
Only in the corner of the page was there a very faint old note.
The current fruit feeder personally added this information.
Chen Fan's scalp tingled.
Fruit feeder.
He knew those three words all too well.
A hundred years have passed under Wuzhi Mountain.
Wasn't it him who fed Sun Wukong the fruit?
Sun Wukong saw it too.
His pupils contracted, and he turned around to curse.
"You bastard, you went through all that trouble just to get me to write something?"
Song Jiuce's voice became hoarse.
"It's not about waiting for him to write it."
"We're waiting for him to sign."
"Once the ninth page is filled, the previous eight failures will be re-archived."
"Whoever writes it will be the new chief."
Yang Jian's face darkened.
"No wonder they insisted on claiming Chen Fan."
"It's not about taking him back."
"We need to take his hand and complete page nine."
The white figure inside the door suddenly stopped retreating.
He stared at Chen Fan, a smile appearing on his face for the first time.
It's very light.
It looks even more creepy.
"You finally understand."
"They're all just crossing the bridge."
"You are the one who put pen to paper."
The voice just fell.
That blank ninth page floated to Chen Fan's side.
The shadow of a black pen slowly emerged on the paper.
The pen tip hangs suspended.
It was just an inch away from falling into his hands.
Xuanzang suddenly shouted, "Don't touch it!"
Sun Wukong had already pounced on them.
But just then...
At the very bottom of page nine, a new line of text appeared.
It's not for Chen Fan to sign.
It's to have him write it.
Please supplement the record of the ninth failure.
The next instant, two blood-like words seeped out from the center of the paper:
Flowers and fruits.
Chapter 573 The Clean Zone Gatekeeper
The moment the words "flowers and fruits" appeared, the entire corridor seemed to jerk.
The black pen hovered on the paper, its tip trembling slightly.
It's like urging them on.
Xuanzang, being the closest, rolled up his sleeve and slapped the page away.
The paper didn't land.
It hovered in mid-air, then slowly drifted back.
Sun Wukong's temper flared up instantly. He held his golden cudgel horizontally and smashed it at the piece of paper.
boom!
The paper wasn't torn.
The mirrors on both sides of the corridor first burst open with a layer of white light.
In the white light, the paper seemed to have moved to a different position and stopped in front of Chen Fan again.
It's only half a foot off.
Write it down.
The figure that looked exactly like Tang Sanzang stood inside the Pure Land gate, expressionless and speaking in a flat voice, as if reciting a dead rule.
"Supplementing the record of the ninth failure."
"It's time to register Huaguo Mountain."
Sun Wukong's eyes immediately turned red.
Say it again.
He rushed forward, his staff flashing through the air, the entire corridor echoing with its sound.
The white figure didn't dodge.
A hand suddenly reached out from behind the clean door.
Two fingers.
He was very thin, and his knuckles resembled dried bamboo joints.
Just like that, it was lifted up.
clang!
The golden cudgel stopped.
It really did stop in mid-air.
The veins on Sun Wukong's arms were bulging, but the staff still couldn't push him down even a little.
Yang Jian's pupils contracted sharply.
Song Jiuce's lips trembled, and his voice broke.
"Not the one guarding the vault."
"This is... the gatekeeper."
With a flick of that hand, the staff tip was pushed aside, and Sun Wukong was pulled two steps to the side.
next moment.
A person walked out of the clean gate.
He was not wearing a monk's robe, nor a Taoist robe.
He was wearing a very old black outfit.
The cuffs were tightly fitted, and a double-layered black tag hung on his chest.
The first floor features the main hall design.
The first floor is the old Daoguan seal.
What was most striking was the thin strip of paper wrapped around his neck, like the corner of a discarded and unremoved file.
He looked up and gazed at Chen Fan.
"Don't touch the pen."
Just three words.
The surroundings fell silent.
The ninth page remained unchanged.
The black pen also stopped.
Even the mirrors that had been flashing wildly all over the wall seemed to obey a command, and they all dimmed a bit.
One sentence was enough to dominate the entire room.
Sun Wukong's face darkened, and he turned around and cursed, "And who the hell are you?"
The man didn't even look at him.
"Remnants of the former chief examiner of the Daoist sect."
"Guardians of the Clean Zone".
"You've done a good job getting this far."
The words were spoken fairly.
The flatter it is, the more uncomfortable it is.
It's as if he doesn't even consider the group of people in front of him to be living beings.
Xuanzang stared at the double-layered black plaque on his chest, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"Residue?"
The man finally tilted his head.
"The original body is long gone."
"Leave me to guard the door; that'll suffice."
Upon hearing this, Song Jiuce's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.
He had been in the recycling port for so many years, and he had seen the registers, the printing presses, and the replacement parts, but he had never seen the remnants of the chief proofreader.
That thing shouldn't still be there.
It's even more inappropriate to stand behind the door.
Yang Jian had already raised his three-pointed double-edged sword.
Get to the point.
"Where exactly is this place?"
The gatekeeper finally glanced at him.
"The zeroth port of call is just a warehouse."
"What you smashed open was a place where scrap parts were stored."
"The clean zone is the source."
Each sentence was hammered down like nails.
Song Jiuce turned pale upon hearing this.
"warehouse?"
"Is the 'reclaimed port' just a warehouse?"
His eyes were practically popping out of their sockets.
"Those prints, those booklets, those replacement forms..."
The goalkeeper caught it very quickly.
Outbound documents.
"Old prints are recycled, new prints are issued, and failed prints are temporarily stored."
"You think you've rushed into your own hearts."
"Actually, they were still moving boxes outside the door."
That's a really harsh statement.
Sun Wukong had previously smashed through the port area with his staff and dismantled several seals, believing that he had already reached the enemy's lair.
Now people just say it's nothing more than a warehouse.
It's still a warehouse for storing scrap parts.
That slap was too loud.
Even Yang Jian's expression changed.
Xuanzang gritted his teeth and asked, "What's the responsibility of the Clean Zone?"
The gatekeeper raised his hand and pointed to the ninth page, which was suspended in mid-air.
"Put on the pen."
He then pointed at Chen Fan.
"It also applies to the person who puts pen to paper."
A chill ran through the corridor.
Chen Fan remained silent.
He stared at the man, his gaze lingering on the strip of paper around the man's neck.
Those notes weren't decorations.
There were tears on the edges of each sheet.
It looked like it had been forcibly torn from a large book.
I pulled it too fast, and the words are all damaged.
He suddenly spoke.
"You didn't come here to arrest me."
The gatekeeper stared at him without even blinking.
"Go on."
Chen Fan took half a step forward and grabbed the ninth page.
The moment the paper touched his hand, black lines immediately appeared from the edges, crawling up his wrist like live snakes.
Sun Wukong was about to make his move.
Chen Fan raised his hand and pressed down.
"Don't rush."
He stared at the goalkeeper, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"The fact that you can stop this page with a single sentence means you have higher authority than it."
"The fact that you watch it urge me to write, but don't snatch the pen directly, shows that you have rules and regulations in place."
"You're not here to take someone away."
"You've come to talk."
Upon hearing this, Song Jiuce was stunned.
Yang Jian's eyes flickered.
Xuanzang also realized what was happening and stared at the gatekeeper's hand.
Since he left, he has never once touched Chen Fan on his own initiative.
They didn't steal the black ledger either.
The goalkeeper finally showed some expression.
It's not a laugh.
It's like seeing a matching item.
"The alternate proofreader has decent eyesight."
"No wonder I was able to get this far."
Upon hearing the words "alternate reviewer," Sun Wukong slammed his staff into the ground.
"Bullshit."
"He's one of Lao Sun's men."
The goalkeeper glanced at him this time.
His eyes were cold.
"You are the link that broke in the chain during the seventh failure."
"You have the right to argue."
"I'm not qualified to name him."
Sun Wukong's forehead twitched, and he almost swung his staff again.
Chen Fan took over the conversation first.
What do you want?
The goalkeeper didn't go around.
"The Black Ledger"
"Hand it over."
"I will give you the ninth truth."
At that moment, everyone's expression changed.
The black ledger has been a lifesaver ever since it entered the port of return.
The things recorded inside—prints, registers, replacement positions, failure sequences—become increasingly bizarre as you go further in.
Everyone knows this thing is valuable.
But no one expected that the gatekeeper would ask for it.
Xuanzang said coldly, "Do you think we're fools?"
The gatekeeper answered even more decisively.
"You don't even know what you're fighting for."
"That ledger isn't a ledger."
"It's the key."
"The key to unlocking the lower level of the clean zone."
Song Jiuce's breathing became disordered.
"The lower level?"
"Is there a lower level in the clean zone?"
The gatekeeper said calmly, "Where there's a source, there's a draft."
"The ninth failure you are looking for is not in the warehouse, not on the door, and not in the mirror."
"It's in the draft."
He looked at Chen Fan, his voice still flat.
"You want to know why you're the one hanging outside, but Tang Sanzang is the one hanging inside."
"I want to know why your words arrived before yours."
"I want to know whether position nine is a substitute, a stand-in, or the original position."
"Hand over the black ledger."
"I will give you the ninth truth."
The corridor was eerily quiet.
The ninth page felt slightly warm in Chen Fan's hand.
It seems like they're waiting too.
Sun Wukong was the first to speak.
"I won't pay."
"You believe him the moment he opens his mouth?"
Yang Jian didn't speak, but the tip of his knife had already dipped half an inch, clearly he was also calculating.
Xuanzang's eyes grew even more somber.
He knew very well that every word the goalkeeper said hit the nail on the head.
These are all things that Chen Fan absolutely needs to know.
Song Jiuce was even more direct, saying in a low voice, "I can't give it to you."
"If we lose this ledger, we're worse off than blind people in this place."
Chen Fan didn't answer immediately.
He took the black ledger out of his pocket.
As soon as the ledger came out, the paper strips around the gatekeeper's neck suddenly trembled.
Like a dog smelling blood.
Chen Fan witnessed this scene.
He immediately understood.
This person wanted the account book, not just for the sake of following the rules.
He himself lacks this thing.
Chen Fan looked down and flipped through the account book, then suddenly smiled.
You're dreaming.
The gatekeeper was watching him.
"What do you mean?"
Chen Fan closed the ledger and waved it.
"You asked for the key right away."
All I got was a truth.
"I lost out big time."
Sun Wukong's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Yes, that's it."
"He's not quite up to par when it comes to doing business with Lao Sun."
The goalkeeper's expression remained unchanged.
"What do you want to add?"
Chen Fan took another step forward.
The two were only three feet apart.
"First, let me tell you half of it."
"Second, open the door to the clean zone for me."
"Third, if there are pits inside, you go first."
Song Jiuce was so shocked by what he heard that his scalp tingled.
Trying to negotiate these terms with the gatekeepers of the clean zone is like trying to scratch a tiger's face with a knife.
But Chen Fan's tone remained very steady.
The gatekeeper stared at him for a long time.
Suddenly he raised his hand.
The white figure that looked exactly like Tang Sanzang suddenly shattered into pieces, turning into a pile of paper scraps.
Even Sun Wukong was stunned for a moment.
"Substitute cardboard".
The gatekeeper said calmly.
"That's half a token of sincerity."
Immediately afterwards, he raised his other hand and pointed to the black ledger in Chen Fan's hand.
"I'll give you half first."
"The Ninth Truth is not about one person."
"It's one group of spots."
"Position number nine is not a position either."
"It's the stroke order."
Chen Fan's eyes darkened.
The goalkeeper continued.
"Whoever gets the ninth entry can fill in the missing year."
"Whoever writes the first line takes over the original scrapped case."
"Tang Sanzang was the prototype."
"you--"
He stopped abruptly at this point.
Because the black ledger in Chen Fan's hand cracked on its own.
It's not turning the page.
It was when the center line of the cover suddenly cracked open with a snap.
Like, if there's something inside, you need to push it out.
Everyone saw it.
The goalkeeper's expression changed for the first time.
It's very light.
But Chen Fan could see it clearly.
This old man didn't expect this move either.
next moment.
From the cracks of the black ledger, a tightly folded black sheet of paper slowly rose.
The first line of text peeking out from the corner of the paper contained only four characters.
Change of leadership.
The paper strip around the goalkeeper's neck suddenly snapped shut.
He finally took a step forward, and for the first time, his voice was lowered.
Give me the ledger.
Chen Fan didn't give it to him.
He looked at the black paper, his finger already pressed on it.
"You didn't finish what you were saying."
The gatekeeper stared at him, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"You're not a substitute."
"You're the one the previous administration didn't finish signing—"
The black paper in Chen Fan's hand suddenly popped open on its own.
Chapter 574 The Old Taoist Sect and the Main Hall were once one
The black paper popped open.
There is no lengthy explanation above.
There is only one column of old entries.
Article 1.
Clear the site and proofread; all materials are from the same source and printed by the same person.
Article .
The source point is pure and must not be created by mirrors.
Article 3.
The right to cover the area was transferred to the General Office, leaving only the shell of the old road.
The fourth line appears to have been scraped in half.
Only a few words remain.
Position 9... Recycling... Chief Signatory.
Chen Fan stared at those lines of text, his eyelids twitching.
Sun Wukong had already started cursing.
Speak like a human.
"What exactly does this thing say?"
The goalkeeper didn't respond.
The paper strip around his neck tightened even more, as if someone was pulling him from behind.
The next instant, the mirrors on both sides of the corridor made a soft sound.
Click.
Click.
Click.
It cracked open from one end to the other.
From each crack, a central hall pattern emerges.
Yang Jian raised his hand and pressed down on the three-pointed double-edged sword, his voice becoming deep.
"Someone is listening."
Xuanzang took half a step forward, the hem of his kasaya sweeping across the ground.
"Not listening."
"It's a way of telling him to shut up."
The gatekeeper's face twitched twice.
He stared at the black ledger in Chen Fan's hand as if it were a knife already pressed against his throat.
Give me the ledger.
Chen Fan smiled.
The more anxious you are, the less I want to give it to you.
"You just said I'm not a substitute."
"Then what am I?"
The goalkeeper's lips twitched.
"You are the chief scribe who didn't finish signing the previous one."
As soon as he said that...
Sun Wukong was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened.
"What the heck?"
"he?"
"chief?"
Even Song Jiuce gasped in shock.
"Ghostwriting and chief writer are not the same thing."
"If we could actually encounter someone who could 'supplement the record of the ninth failed attempt,' then the entire old Taoist sect would only have one condition left."
"It must have been touched by the original seal."
Chen Fan looked down at his palm.
The burning sensation that had been forced out by the shadow of the black pen had not yet dissipated.
The gatekeeper gritted his teeth and spoke.
"Initially, there was no main hall or experimental field."
There is only one door.
"It's not called the Main Hall, nor the Old Road."
"Let's call it the Proofreading Gate."
Sun Wukong waved his hand impatiently.
Stop beating around the bush and get to the point.
The gatekeeper stared at the cracked mirrors, as if he were in a hurry.
"The review department only does one thing."
"Clear the area."
"Clean up the mess."
"The wrong person was identified; the debt is cleared."
"It was printed wrong, reprint it."
"The manuscript is rotten; it's completely useless."
Yang Jian frowned.
"What about coverage?"
The goalkeeper's Adam's apple bobbed.
"That term wasn't covered back then."
"Initially, there was only purity."
When he uttered that word, the entire corridor trembled slightly.
It's like something has been touched at the root.
"It is neither a district nor a gate."
"It is the source."
"The earliest batch of facilities were not fabricated."
"It is reflected from within the purity."
"Like a reflection in water."
"The original body is on top, and the shadow appears below."
"The experimental field you later talked about all came about from this."
Chen Fan's eyes narrowed.
"Mirror-like product".
The gatekeeper nodded.
"right."
"We're doing more and more shows later on."
"And the shadows are getting thicker and thicker."
"Some people complain that the proofreading process is too slow."
"Collecting services one by one is too much work."
"So they changed their approach."
"If we can see the image, we can redraw it."
"Since it can be redrawn, it can be completely covered up."
Song Jiuce felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.
"Therefore, the right to cover the area came later."
"right."
The gatekeeper spoke very quickly.
"First, there was a clearing and inspection process."
"There is overall coverage in the back."
"Later, the Taoist sect split up."
Those who advocate clearing the area should stick to the old gate.
Those who advocated for a rewrite went to the main office.
Sun Wukong sneered.
"To put it bluntly, one is in charge of erasing, and the other is in charge of revising."
"almost."
The gatekeeper looked up at the innermost door, the one that was meant to be clean.
"The old sect believes that if the business is ruined, just shut it down and don't touch the source seal."
"The people at headquarters felt that since it could be changed, it should be changed completely."
"From one page to one booklet."
"From one person to an entire group."
"The old gate blocked my way."
"We lost the interception."
As soon as he finished speaking, the reflection in the mirror suddenly brightened.
It's like a death knell.
Xuanzang's eyes turned cold.
"They seized the coverage rights."
The goalkeeper did not deny it.
"After it was taken away, the old door was just an empty shell."
"Nominally, it's still called proofreading."
"Actually, I'm only responsible for wiping the tail."
"Whoever messed it up, whoever left behind the dirty laundry, will have to sweep it up."
"Whoever writes something bad will have their old door reclaimed."
"Those who made contributions are from the General Office, those who got into trouble are from the Old Gate."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately laughed.
His smile was full of anger.
"No wonder you gatekeepers are all so frustrated."
"So you're being used as a rag?"
The goalkeeper looked grim but didn't argue.
Chen Fan flipped the black paper over to the other side.
There is also an old seal on the back.
Two layers of imprints overlapped.
One is square, the other is round.
Square seals are heavy, round seals are light.
It looks like they were pressed down one after the other.
Chen Fan raised it.
"The square one is the old road."
"Is the round one the main hall?"
The goalkeeper's eyelids twitched.
"The square seal is the original seal of the Imperial Examination Gate."
"The round seal is the seal of the new hall that was later separated."
"On the day the family divided their property, the two seals were still pressed together."
"From that day on, the round seal became deeper and deeper, while the square seal became fainter and fainter."
In the end, everyone only recognizes the headquarters.
Song Jiuce couldn't help but ask.
"What about cleanliness?"
"Since it's a source point, how did we encounter it at the main hall?"
The gatekeeper was silent for a moment.
In that instant, Chen Fan saw that the note on his neck had already dug into his flesh.
Any later, and this person probably won't even be able to open their mouth.
Chen Fan raised his hand and slammed the black ledger forward.
"explain."
"You have now returned to the old ways."
"Not the General Administration Office."
"You're afraid of them, but I'm not."
The gatekeeper stared at him, and for the first time, his gaze changed.
It was like a shock, and also like a gamble.
"The net originally belonged to no one."
"The gatekeeper is merely a guard."
"Not for use."
"Later, the main office took over the guard and changed positions."
"They first take the right to cover, and then they define net coverage in reverse."
"It is not the source point, but the main control point."
"Whoever is in overall control has the right to rewrite the entire scene."
Yang Jian's face darkened upon hearing this.
"So they've been looking for a chief."
The goalkeeper said in a hoarse voice, "No, it's been creating a chief."
The corridor fell silent instantly.
The thread in Chen Fan's mind finally connected in one go.
Two number 9 positions.
Tang Sanzang in his monk's robe.
Chen Fan in the mirror.
Alternate proofreader.
The chief has claimed the title.
And that phrase "to be activated".
It's not a choice.
It is a test.
They've been testing people.
Let's see who can get the original seal.
Let us test who can enter the Pure Gate.
Let's see who can complete the record of their ninth failure.
Chen Fan raised his head.
"Tang Sanzang is the bridge."
"I am the pen."
The gatekeeper nodded, his face pale.
"If you want to enter the sacred space, someone else has to go through the door first."
"People like Xuanzang have clean seals and can open gaps."
"But he can't write."
"You can write, but you have too many filth on your body; the Pure Gate won't recognize you first."
"That's why the headquarters has always used you in separate units."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong nearly ground his teeth to powder.
"Use my master to open the door."
"Let's start with Chen Fan."
"They really dare to calculate."
Xuanzang, on the contrary, was the most calm.
He stared at the clean door, his voice cold.
"Where is the man in the monk's robe?"
The gatekeeper whispered, "Old print sample."
"The Mirror Monk was pieced together based on the shell you left behind."
"He is not you."
"He was the spare key left by the main headquarters."
The back of the old Song Dynasty book is completely numb.
"What if Chen Fan really succeeds in getting his re-enrolled—"
The goalkeeper took over directly.
"The General Office can use him to rewrite the ninth overlay as a legal old case."
"From then on, the last bit of judicial power left by the old gate was gone."
"Because they even set the year of their defeat."
Chen Fan suddenly chuckled.
Not big.
But the gatekeeper felt a chill run down his spine.
"No wonder you kept asking me to give you the account book."
"It's not that I'm afraid of dying."
"They're afraid I'll understand it first."
The gatekeeper remained silent.
It's considered an implicit agreement.
Sun Wukong, carrying his golden cudgel, took a step forward.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"Break down the door, arrest them, and pull off a big heist."
Yang Jian raised his hand to stop him.
"It's too late."
Everyone looked at him at the same time.
Yang Jian raised his chin and pointed to the main mirror at the very front.
In the mirror, a sitting figure appeared out of nowhere.
I can't see the face clearly.
All I could see was a row of prints on the table.
The circular seal is in the very center.
The man raised his hand and pressed down gently.
The floor of the corridor suddenly sank.
The gatekeeper turned pale and blurted out.
"The main hall is now open for live audiences!"
"He's taking over the clean doorway!"
The person in the mirror did not speak.
A line of black text appeared on the table by itself.
Residual traces of the old road were detected during the review process.
Initiate the process of collecting signatures from the general agent.
Target – position nine.
These four words came out.
The black ledger bounced off Chen Fan's palm as if it had been branded with a hot iron.
Turn to page nine yourself.
The shadow of that black pen was ten times clearer than before.
The pen tip was aimed directly at Chen Fan's finger.
It's like they're trying to force it in.
Sun Wukong swung his staff at it.
boom!
The ink traces haven't faded.
Instead, a string of black characters crawled out along the stick.
Rejection by force without permission is invalid.
Sun Wukong glared at him.
"Still dare to put on airs?"
He was about to swing his stick down a second time.
Xuanzang suddenly shouted, "Don't smash it!"
"It's not aimed at Wukong!"
The voice just fell.
The deepest, pure door suddenly swung open.
There was no white light behind the door.
It was a whole surface of black water.
Nine figures stood in the black water.
The first eight are all shameless.
The ninth one slowly raised his head.
That face looked exactly like Chen Fan's.
There was just a square mark on his forehead.
He looked at Chen Fan outside the door and suddenly spoke.
"You're finally back."
"Now, you should finish writing about me, right?"
Chapter 575 The real mirror is not on the outside.
"You're back?"
Sun Wukong exploded first.
"Go back to your ancestors!"
He raised his golden cudgel and smashed down.
The "Chen Fan" in the Blackwater Gate didn't even lift his eyelids, only raising one finger.
hum.
The stick's shadow hovered in mid-air.
It wasn't blocked.
It was as if an invisible hard shell had appeared in front of the entire Blackwater Gate. When the stick was pressed down, fine ripples immediately spread out in all directions, as if it had been smashed into a living mirror.
Sun Wukong's arm jerked, and his brows furrowed.
"That's interesting."
He flipped his five fingers and increased the force.
Click.
A crack appeared in the hard shell.
The "Chen Fan" inside the door then looked at him, his eyes frighteningly indifferent.
"You're still the same as always."
"Smash any door you see, overturn any rules you encounter."
Sun Wukong sneered: "You're the same. You have that face, but you act like some kind of ancestor."
Chen Fan did not respond.
He kept staring at the face opposite him.
so similar.
It's not just a superficial resemblance.
Even the angle from which they look at people, even the habit of pressing down the corners of their mouths, are similar.
It felt like his back was a little tight.
The goalkeeper had already taken half a step back, the paper strip around his neck trembling incessantly.
"Stop fighting."
"He didn't come here to fight."
Xuanzang also stared at the Black Water Gate, his voice deep.
"This place was never prepared for Wukong from beginning to end."
"It's for Chen Fan."
Sun Wukong turned his head to look at him.
"You've learned to talk nonsense too?"
Xuanzang ignored him and only looked at the person inside the door.
"You just said you'd finish writing about yourself."
"What exactly are you?"
The "Chen Fan" inside the door raised his hand and tapped the square mark on his forehead.
"I am the old save file in position nine."
"It's also the last page that the previous administration didn't finish."
To put it more directly...
"I am the half he left behind."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong's eyes darkened.
His hands, hidden in his sleeves, tensed up.
Chen Fan took two steps forward.
"Who was the previous one?"
"I?"
The person opposite smiled.
"You're asking too late."
"You entered the clean zone, dug up old accounts, touched the black pages, and watched nine shadows."
"You're no longer investigating other people."
"You're investigating yourself."
Sun Wukong stepped sideways and blocked Chen Fan's path.
"Stop talking nonsense. Speak like a human being."
The person inside the door didn't look at him, but stared at Chen Fan.
"You are not a candidate examiner."
"It wasn't a temporary stand-in either."
"From the very beginning, you were the core of the mirror."
"Huaguo Mountain is not a mirror. Neither is the port."
"Those places are just projection boards."
"The true mirror has always been in 'human beings'."
The room fell silent.
Chen Fan stared at him, feeling as if something dry was stuck in his throat.
His mind works incredibly fast.
The echoes of Huaguo Mountain.
The reflection of the harbor.
The Mirror Gallery in the clean area.
And every time he arrives, the entire field reacts.
If the mirror is not on the ground.
Then the only option is...
"The object being projected itself."
The person inside the door finished speaking for him.
"You finally figured it out."
The gatekeeper's expression changed, and he suddenly looked up.
"You can't just say that outright!"
The person inside the door said calmly, "He's already here; there's no point in hiding it anymore."
"What the old Taoist sect and the main hall did back then was not a simple field experiment."
"They're doing a live mirror."
"To cultivate a person into a mirror core that can reflect the entire experimental field."
Sun Wukong got annoyed by what he heard and asked the important question directly.
"What's the use of a live camera?"
The person inside the door said, "The alignment is off."
"If the experimental field deviates from its course, the ground will become chaotic, the cables will become chaotic, and the people will become chaotic."
"At this point, we need to project the mirror into the scene. Not onto the ground, but onto people. Not to see if things are chaotic outside, but to see who started wrong first."
Xuanzang's eyes darkened.
"Fruit feeder".
The person inside the door nodded.
"Each generation of fruit feeders is a living mirror."
"They will be placed in different stages and different positions. Close to key people, close to key points. Whoever loses balance, they will be the first to react. Whichever line deviates, they will be the first to show their marks."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong's face immediately turned cold.
"You mean, the hundred years this kid was imprisoned under Five Fingers Mountain wasn't a coincidence?"
"Of course not."
The person inside the door spoke calmly.
"Do you think anyone can sit at the foot of the mountain and feed you fruit for a hundred years?"
"That's not about keeping you company."
"That's aligned with your calibration."
"You are the biggest variable. The closer he is to you, the more stable the mirror image becomes."
At this moment, murderous intent flashed in Sun Wukong's eyes.
He slammed the stick on the ground.
The entire corridor shook.
"Using Old Sun as a nail, and even as a measuring stick?"
"These bastards are really bold."
The mirrors surrounding the room buzzed and rattled.
Every mirror reflected Chen Fan's face.
Some were younger, some looked tired, some had faint marks on their foreheads, and some had blood on the corners of their mouths.
Like generation after generation.
Like time and time again.
Chen Fan looked at those faces, and his fingers slowly curled up.
"What happens to each generation of fruit feeders in the end?"
The person inside the door looked at him and paused for two breaths.
"Some of them are ruined."
"Some of them broke."
"Some of them had their work taken back after they finished writing about themselves."
"And some, in the end, still refuse to sign."
"So it was cut in half."
After he finished speaking, he pointed to himself.
"I am that other half."
The goalkeeper's forehead was covered in sweat.
That's enough.
"If we continue, the door to cleanliness will close prematurely!"
The person inside the door laughed.
"What's there to be afraid of?"
"If I'm really scared, I shouldn't have done it back then."
Chen Fan felt a tightness in his chest.
It wasn't from being scared.
It felt like something was burrowing under the skin.
One at a time.
It's becoming clearer and clearer.
Xuanzang was the first to notice something was wrong, and his gaze suddenly fell on the back of his hand.
"Chen Fan, don't move."
Sun Wukong immediately turned around.
"What's wrong?"
Chen Fan looked down and his pupils contracted.
A fine line had appeared on the back of his right hand at some point.
Silver-gray.
It's very shallow.
It's as if someone lightly carved a line under the skin with a knife.
Immediately afterwards, the second and the third appeared.
It doesn't grow randomly.
It runs along the back of the hand, all the way up to the forearm.
Each line is straight and cold, like the reflection of light after a mirror has cracked.
The gatekeeper turned pale when he saw the thing.
"The mirror pattern has appeared."
"How could it be so fast!"
Xuanzang asked in a deep voice, "What will happen if it gets up?"
The goalkeeper opened his mouth, as if he didn't want to say anything.
The person inside the door answered for him.
"This indicates that the mirror core has begun to recognize its position."
"We don't have enough projection screens outside."
"It needs to return to the person to complete the final correction."
Sun Wukong grabbed Chen Fan's wrist.
The moment the mirror pattern touched his palm, it emitted a soft "sizzle" sound.
Like a spark hitting iron.
Sun Wukong's eyes sharpened.
"Does this thing recognize people?"
The person inside the door nodded.
"recognize."
Not just anyone can touch it.
"Not everyone can handle it."
Xuanzang took half a step forward.
"What was being corrected during the final calibration?"
The person inside the door looked at Chen Fan and uttered an even harsher remark.
"Seat number nine in the school."
"Who should actually write this?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire surface of black water surged violently.
The eight faceless figures behind the door looked up at the same time.
Silver-gray cracks gradually appeared on their foreheads.
Like eight broken mirrors, waiting for the last one to be put back in place.
The lines on Chen Fan's arm spread faster and faster.
It climbs from the forearm to the shoulder.
Beneath the sleeves, the skin and flesh felt tight in waves.
He could even feel the area around the old mark on his chest starting to heat up.
It's like something is being turned out from inside the bones.
Without another word, Sun Wukong raised his hand to forcefully press those patterns back down.
The person inside the door suddenly shouted.
"Don't touch it!"
"If you press down any further, it will break prematurely!"
Sun Wukong abruptly stopped, his eyes blazing with fire.
"Then tell me, what should we do?"
The person inside the door stared intently at Chen Fan.
"Let him choose for himself."
"It's about continuing to be the fruit feeder outside."
"Let's come back and make a real mirror."
Chen Fan looked up.
"return?"
"Go back where?"
The person inside the door raised his hand and pointed to the deepest part of the Blackwater.
Suddenly, another door appeared there.
The door isn't big.
The door frame was covered with carvings.
Each dish looks like it was made by hand.
Chen Fan could see the middle row most clearly.
It wasn't written by someone else.
It's still his handwriting.
There are only six characters.
The No. 9 mirror core is back in place.
Sun Wukong grinned, his smile chilling.
"Return to its place my ass."
"Old Sun will tear down this broken door first, then we'll settle the score."
He had just held the golden cudgel horizontally.
Chen Fan felt a sudden surge of heat in his chest.
With a soft "poof".
A silver-gray light shone through his clothes.
Followed by.
The ground beneath his feet, the entire mirrored corridor, and even the black water behind the door all reflected the same image.
Not now.
It is at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain.
A younger "Chen Fan" was squatting beside the rocks, handing fruit to Sun Wukong.
And the moment the young man looked up.
The square mark was already on his forehead.
Sun Wukong's pupils contracted, and the staff in his hand stopped moving.
"That's not right."
"He didn't have this thing on his head back then."
Xuanzang stared intently at the screen, his voice tense.
"It's not that there isn't one."
"It was because we couldn't see it back then."
The "Chen Fan" inside the Blackwater Gate slowly took a step back.
It's like giving up a spot.
"Now, it's your turn to see clearly."
"Chen Fan".
"The first fruit you fed was not for Wukong."
"It's for you to eat."
After he finished speaking,
The door with the words "Mirror Core No. 9 Returned to its Place" on it opened by itself.
Chapter 576 Mirror Marks Appear on Chen Fan's Body
The door opened.
The black water behind the door didn't gush out.
The first thing that came out was a blast of cold air.
It's not the wind.
It felt like someone had stuck a wet cloth to Chen Fan's face.
He had just taken half a step when his chest suddenly clenched.
pain.
It's not the kind of pain you get from being cut with a knife.
It felt like a needle was prying out of the bone.
Chen Fan looked down.
A thin line has appeared on the back of my hand without me noticing.
Silver-white.
It's very shallow.
Like the cracks left after a mirror breaks.
The next second, the thin line climbed up her wrist.
It's not fast.
It's a sight that sends chills down your spine.
Sun Wukong saw it at a glance and immediately held his golden cudgel horizontally.
"Don't move."
You have a growth on your body.
Chen Fan cursed and reached out to press the button.
It can't be held down.
The patterns on the mirror look alive.
The moment his fingertips touched it, the lines of the skin glowed in a flash.
At the same time.
Two prompts exploded in my mind at once.
[No system message: The carrier is stable.]
[General Office Residual Verification: The substrate is about to be vitrified.]
The two sentences are put together.
One said it was nothing.
One said it was almost over.
Chen Fan's temples throbbed.
"Can't you two discuss this first?"
The system did not respond.
The voice from the main hall continued to play.
[Backflow detected in mirror core number nine.]
[Resonance of the precursor sample was detected.]
[Detection result: The current carrier has a risk of being rewritten to.]
[It is recommended to immediately complete the blank reading entry on page nine.]
Xuanzang's face darkened, and he reached out and grabbed Chen Fan's wrist.
His brows furrowed the moment he touched it.
"This is not an injury."
"This is an archive stamp."
Sun Wukong turned around and started cursing.
Speak like a human.
Xuanzang stared at the mirror pattern, speaking very quickly.
"He's like a document that hasn't been stamped yet."
Someone wrote about him before.
"Now we need to fill in the rest."
"If it can't be filled in, then it's not him writing, it's the words writing him."
Sun Wukong understood the second half of the sentence.
His face immediately turned cold.
"Anyone who dares to write about him, I'll beat them to death first."
Inside the Blackwater Gate, the "Chen Fan" with the square mark on his forehead smiled.
"Can you even kill paper?"
"Did you break the mirror?"
"This time, it wasn't someone outside who made the move."
"It's his turn to return to his place."
The voice just fell.
Chen Fan felt another sharp pain in his shoulder.
The mirror pattern spread up to her neck.
Like a thin silver thread, it clung to the skin and climbed up the face.
Sun Wukong's eyes blazed with fury, and he raised his hand to grab it.
Xuanzang shouted urgently, "Don't touch it!"
"If you pull, his entire skin might tear off."
Sun Wukong's hand stopped in mid-air, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
The goalkeeper stood by and watched.
At that moment, the old paper strip around his neck swayed gently, as if he had finally waited to see something he wanted to see.
"I told you so."
"He's not a substitute."
"He was the previous one who didn't finish writing."
Chen Fan looked up at him.
Stop keeping me in suspense.
"If you want me to die knowing why, then tell me everything."
The gatekeeper stared at the fine lines that had appeared on his forehead and spoke slowly.
"The main hall and the old gate were originally one place."
"The proofreading wasn't done by one person either."
"People have come here eight times in the past."
Everyone wants page nine.
"They didn't take any of it."
"It's not that they aren't strong enough."
"In the end, they all became samples."
Chen Fan's heart sank.
"The first eight times, it was me?"
"right."
The gatekeeper nodded.
"Or rather, they are all the words you wrote on this piece of paper the first eight times."
Sun Wukong was furious.
"What does all this have to do with page nine?"
The gatekeeper raised his hand and pointed to the black water inside the gate.
"Page nine is a blank reading slip."
"Only by obtaining it can this name stand alone."
"If we can't get it, the source point will be filled back as before."
He lived according to how the first eight characters were written.
Xuanzang's expression changed.
"Reverse writing".
The gatekeeper grunted in response.
"Start with memory."
"And then to family."
"Even the tone of voice and the habit of raising one's hand will remain the same as before."
"Once the mirror mark climbs onto his forehead, he will no longer be called Chen Fan."
The staff in Sun Wukong's hand clicked.
He was really holding on tight.
"Who the hell made this stupid rule?"
Chen Fan took over the conversation from the square seal in the black water.
"Rules are not set by others."
"It was produced by the first eight themselves."
"Each failure leaves a backup plan."
"If you fail eight times, you'll end up with eight layers of paper."
"If he still doesn't dare to write this time..."
"It's my turn to come out now."
As he said this, he looked at Chen Fan outside the door, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.
"You don't actually think you're the first person to get here, do you?"
The words were harsh.
Even more jarring was the way that thing spoke, right in his face.
Chen Fan felt a surge of anger rising in his chest.
He hates it when people use his name to preach.
"OK."
"You want to come out, right?"
"I won't give in."
He stepped to the door.
The wrinkles on his face climbed up his chin and reached his ears.
The system in my mind finally started beeping again.
[System notification: Ultimate access binding entry detected.]
The current binding conditions have not been met.
[Additional Note: The blank reading strip on page nine is the final page for the main text.]
Before being bound, the host has the right to use the device, but not ownership.
Once the source node is reversed, the host will lose its master name.
Chen Fan's eyelids twitched.
Subject's name.
This wasn't the first time he'd seen those two words.
In the past, whenever there was a big commotion at the headquarters, the name was always involved.
Now it has finally happened to me.
"The final binding page...only by taking it can it truly be mine?"
【Yes. 】
"What if we can't get it?"
You will become a replaceable option.
Chen Fan smiled.
They laughed without any restraint.
"To put it bluntly, it's just an exam to get promoted from a 'tool' to a permanent position."
The system remained silent for two breaths.
This can be understood in this way.
Upon hearing this, even Xuanzang glanced at him.
To respond to such nonsense at a time like this.
Only Chen Fan would do something like that.
After listening, Sun Wukong only asked one question.
"How do I take it?"
The gatekeeper then took a step forward.
This step has been taken.
The nine figures in the black water swayed simultaneously.
The first eight faceless figures slowly raised their shoulders, as if they were about to wake up.
The goalkeeper raised his hand and pointed at Chen Fan.
"You can have page nine."
"Call out the first eight."
The air suddenly tightened.
Sun Wukong exploded first.
"Are you crazy?"
"Send eight ghostly things out to surround him?"
The gatekeeper shook his head.
"I didn't put it there."
"It was him who called."
"Page 9 does not recognize outsiders."
"It only recognizes one person who can suppress you the first eight times."
"If you can shout it out and keep it under control, then he'll take it."
"If you can't hold it down, then let the person in front take it."
Xuanzang narrowed his eyes.
"What should I call you?"
The gatekeeper said, "Use his name."
"Strip yourself of the fame from the previous eight times."
Upon hearing these words, Chen Fan's heart sank.
It's not fear.
His body reacted first.
It felt like something was churning inside the bones.
next second.
He felt a sudden heat on the back of his shoulder blade.
The clothes ripped open with a "rip".
A silvery-white pattern peeked out from the back.
This time it's not just a line.
It's a small piece, not a whole piece.
It looked like half a shattered mirror stuck into the flesh.
Xuanzang's eyes changed.
"Face-showing wrinkles".
The gatekeeper looked at the pattern and lowered his voice.
"That was fast."
"I recognized him from the source location."
Sun Wukong stared at the mirror pattern, a murderous aura slowly rising in his eyes.
"Recognize my ass."
"Anyone who wants him will have to get past me first."
Chen Fan suddenly laughed out loud at the square seal in the black water.
"Sun Wukong".
"You can protect yourself from a stick and a knife."
"Can you protect what's written inside his body?"
"Back then, the first fruit he fed at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain wasn't for you."
"That was a prelude left by the previous administration."
"Once the fruit is in your mouth, the sample is kept."
Chen Fan's mind went blank for a moment.
A scene suddenly popped into my mind.
Wuzhishan.
Rotten fruit.
The mountain breeze carries the scent of earth.
He squatted in front of the mountain crevice, his mouth bitter, holding the fruit in his hand. He took a bite first, then handed it to the people below the mountain.
He has always had this memory.
He just never thought much about it.
Now, that thing inside the door has brought up this old story with just one sentence.
Seeing his expression, Xuanzang immediately snapped, "Don't think that way!"
"That's it recreating the old look!"
Chen Fan bit his tongue hard.
The smell of blood brought him back to his senses.
"You want to take me back to my old drafts?"
"dream."
He slapped the black ledger against his chest with his other hand.
The moment the ledger was pasted on, the tear in the cover instantly opened up.
A black line suddenly wrapped around the mirror pattern.
When the two sides touched, they produced a harsh friction sound.
[No ethics system notification: A peelable predecessor marker has been detected.]
Should the previous roll call system be implemented?
Chen Fan's eyes lit up immediately.
"They can even take attendance proactively?"
【Can. 】
[Extremely high risk.]
[After the original form is revealed, the host must personally set the order.]
[The order is incorrect, and the main name is broken.]
Sun Wukong immediately took half a step closer.
"I'll go in with you."
Xuanzang also spoke.
"I can help you keep track of the reading notes."
The gatekeeper coldly replied, "It's useless."
"This is his door."
"If someone else goes in, they'll just be erased as a comment."
Sun Wukong turned his head, his eyes filled with a frighteningly fierce look.
Say it again.
The gatekeeper didn't flinch, but stared straight at him.
"If you really want to save him, don't go in his place."
"Page nine requires the chief."
"Not a guard."
That's really harsh.
That's really accurate.
Sun Wukong's cheeks were all tense.
He hates situations where he has the power but nowhere to mess things up.
Chen Fan raised his hand and stopped him.
"Monkey King".
"This time, I'll do it myself."
Sun Wukong remained silent.
I only stared at the wrinkle on his neck that was almost reaching his face.
Two breaths later, he slammed the golden cudgel down heavily.
"OK."
"Go inside."
"If anyone dares to replace you, I'll smash this door to dust right outside."
These words were spoken.
The Blackwater Gate even shook slightly.
The goalkeeper's eye twitched, but he ultimately didn't take it.
Chen Fan took a deep breath and spoke directly to the system.
"Execute the predecessor of roll call."
[Command confirmed.]
[Beginning the removal of the precursor markings.]
[Please state the first name, host.]
"How the hell would I know what their names are!"
The system paused for a moment.
[Assisted search enabled.]
[Using mirror patterns as a starting point, and the main name as the central theme.]
The first precursor is about to emerge.
The voice just fell.
The first faceless figure in the black water suddenly had a line of words flash on its chest.
It wasn't written by someone else.
It was squeezed out little by little from the mirror pattern on Chen Fan's back.
The character for "silver" is crooked.
It looks like someone is scratching it with their fingernails.
Only two words came out.
Chen Fan.
Another Chen Fan.
Sun Wukong's expression changed.
"Why is it you again?"
The gatekeeper stared at the two words and slowly uttered a sentence.
"Because in the first eight times, I wasn't qualified to leave my name elsewhere."
"They only deserve to share this one shell."
In the black water, the first faceless figure raised its head.
The face isn't completely clear yet.
The sound came out first.
Hoarse, muffled, like there's paper stuffed in my throat.
"This time..."
"Who's going to live my life now?"
Followed by.
The second faceless figure also lit up its chest.