“Crunch... crunch...”
“Crunch... crunch...”
The hair-raising sound of chewing echoed as the celestial palaces and jade towers atop the black stone coffin dissolved like a dream, vanishing into nothingness. In their place remained only a surging sea of blood and a vast expanse of resentment—
Those who had entered first were already unable to escape. No one knew what was happening inside the coffin, but waves of agonizing wails drifted out, as if something utterly horrific was unfolding within.
Endless darkness spread from the coffin with a power that threatened to devour everything. Wherever it passed, flesh dissolved and bones turned to ash—
In an instant, the black energy sucked the essence from the corpses covering the ground, reducing them to piles of black soot.
“Huiyuan! You treacherous monk! How dare you harm me?!”
A ferocious dragon head scrambled to escape from the stone coffin, only to be pressed back down by a slender, elegant hand clutching prayer beads.
“Amitabha. Excellent, excellent.”
Huiyuan turned a deaf ear to the curses. With eyes downcast, he reached out and crushed the Dragon Prince's soul into powder. As he opened his hand, a pale golden light fell like rain, nourishing the thing inside the stone coffin.
He landed lightly atop the coffin lid. Reaching out, he snatched the twelve bone flutes hovering in the air and tucked them into his robes with great care.
“How could an ancient Witch Coffin be satisfied by devouring a few thousand souls? I must thank my fellow Daoists for making this journey for me; it saved me a great deal of trouble.”
Rumbles like the roars of a wild beast erupted from the black coffin, as if responding to the monk's words.
As for the fate of those who had entered the Witch Coffin, there was no longer any need to ask.
He possessed the face of a compassionate and kindly man, yet the words he spoke were bone-chilling, striking fear into the hearts of any who heard them.
Wherever the black mist had passed, the land was now scorched earth.
“You've been watching for so long. Do you still not intend to come out?”
Huiyuan spoke suddenly. He didn't seem to use any particular technique, yet his voice traveled with pinpoint accuracy throughout Ruyi Pavilion, echoing in every grotto, large and small.
“Must this monk personally invite you out?”
The voice echoed through the black mist. For a long time, there was only dead silence.
Huiyuan shook his head and looked toward a specific spot, appearing quite helpless. He reached out and made a grasping motion toward the air. In the next instant, a beautiful young girl stumbled out from nothingness—
“Huiyuan! You dare to conspire with evil to perform these forbidden sacrifices! Are you not afraid of heaven's retribution? Do you not fear the edge of a blade or the punishment of thunder striking your soul?!”
The woman was none other than Xu Zi, clutching her purple gold bells.
The purple gold bells, seemingly a powerful artifact, suddenly expanded to several feet in height and flew upward to press down on Huiyuan's head. The monk remained unhurried, driving the black blood-mist upward to meet the attack.
“Miss Zi, have you stayed in the mortal realm so long that you've forgotten your own origins? What is there to pity in sacrificing a few dead spirits and hungry ghosts?
“When the great work is complete, you will understand why I have done what I did today.”
Huiyuan's tone was frank, as if the person who had just committed such atrocities was not him at all.
“I spit on you!”
Xu Zi glared at him, unable to stop herself from cursing.
“Slaughtering the enfeoffed gods of the Heavenly Court, using dead souls and demon flesh as sacrifices... in every single count, you are guilty!
“Do you think I don't know? You conspired with that black robed witch for no other reason than to awaken the thing inside that stone coffin! This thing has already harmed so many lives before even waking; if it truly awakens, the mortal realm will face a catastrophe!”
“And what of it?”
Huiyuan looked at her, explaining with a seemingly good-natured patience.
“Before a great change, there must always be sacrifice. In ancient times, people always used the heads of humans and demon beasts for blood sacrifices to show their sincerity. The great change of heaven and earth is approaching; I seek another way to survive. Am I truly deserving of death for that?
“Miss Zi, why don't you think carefully? In the past hundred years, have those who ascended reached even the count of five? Why did the last person to ascend even manage to do so? Gods rely on the power of incense to exist; if there are no more believers, what will happen to them?
“The Heavenly Court... since that Empress performed the Fengshan ceremony, the Heavenly Court is nothing more than a group of people gasping for their final breaths.
“As the human race prospers day by day, look at the gods and divine generals across the heavens—which of them will survive?
“The commoners only care for the Demon Suppression Division; who still remembers the immortals in the sky?
“Only when the mortal realm falls into chaos will the immortals have a way to live... I am willing to borrow the power of the Divine Witch to restore the primordial order, to seek a chance for the Great Dao, and to fight for this sliver of survival!”
He chanted a Buddhist prayer and pressed his palms together, looking every bit the picture of compassion.
“I shall personally perform the rites for everyone present every day, honoring their merit. Miss Zi, I only kept you alive until now because I feared no one would know of my deeds.
“Though I have a history with the Demon Suppression Division, after today, I expect every god in the heavens will know the name of this humble Earth Immortal. Adding one more killing karma to my tally is of little consequence.”
Ever since the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to wither hundreds of years ago and Empress Wu Zetian performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai to establish many rules, the number of immortals walking the world had plummeted overnight.
Nowadays, the immortals who ascended to the upper realm were either enfeoffed by the Heavenly Court, shedding their physical bodies to become incense gods who relied on mortal worship to cultivate—but the day mortals tired of them would be the day they vanished.
Alternatively, they could become rogue immortals, competing with others for the meager spiritual energy available, barely surviving with no hope of further progress.
Some even used secret techniques to seal themselves within secret realms, praying for the day the world would change so they could climb the immortal path once more.
At the thought that even the high and mighty saints could not escape the fate of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, Huiyuan felt only terror in his heart.
Though mortals were like ants, for many immortals, they would only have a way to live if the mortal realm fell into chaos.
As the two spoke, neither noticed a thin paper doll stuck to the black coffin. With a single red dot on its forehead, it was climbing upward inch by inch.
It would climb a bit, check the surroundings, then climb a bit more, keeping an eye on Huiyuan.
In a short while, it actually managed to reach the bottom of the coffin.
“You're actually a rogue immortal from the Heavenly Court! Just who are you?! To think of such a wicked method... have you fallen into demonic possession?!”
Xu Zi suddenly snapped back to her senses and cursed.
“You've lost your mind, you bastard monk! If I die, the Heavenly Court will surely sense it—just what is inside this Witch Coffin?!”
There was still something alive?
Huiyuan frowned and suddenly looked toward the black coffin. But before he could react, thousands of vines erupted from Xu Zi's sleeves. Wisteria petals swirled like flying daggers, stabbing toward him. As he dodged, she lunged forward, only managing to catch a glimpse of a corner inside the coffin.
Inside the open black coffin, there was nothing else but a pale, plump infant. It was impossible to tell its gender. Its mouth was covered in blood, and it was chewing on a fox's paw, making loud, crisp crunching sounds.
How could it be a child?!
Xu Zi felt a jolt of horror. A jade sword suddenly pierced toward her lower back from behind. A white light flashed—it was Huiyuan, controlling the bone heavenly maidens to take her life.
“Miss Zi, I have already answered your question. Now, you may go in peace. On the day of my success next year, your name shall surely be on the monument...”
!
She couldn't let Huiyuan have his way!
Xu Zi desperately reached out to grab the infant in the coffin. She took the sword strike full-on, spitting out a mouthful of wisteria petals. Thousands of branches and vines danced out from her sleeves—
Wisteria flowers danced and gold bells rang, creating a scene of magnificent, dreamlike beauty. Huiyuan's expression shifted slightly as he chanted a mantra. The stone walls beneath his feet rumbled as they rose from the ground. All of Ruyi Pavilion was turned upside down as boulders collided between the grottos. It was like the earth was collapsing and mountains were shaking. In a single breath, the entire Ruyi Pavilion revealed its true form.
It was a massive, ancient Buddha head that had weathered countless storms.
The Buddha's eyes were slightly open, the narrow corners of the eyes pulling back. Its expression was somewhere between a smile and a scowl, carrying a trace of compassionate malice—
This was an Evil Buddha!
“Rumble, rumble, rumble—”
The statue in front of the Ghost Buddha Temple slowly rose, picking up its head and placing it onto its severed neck. Huiyuan stood far above on the Buddha's head, looking down with cold indifference.
“If I do not enter hell, who will?”
“Under the Heavenly Dao, all things are straw dogs. I dare to take the lead.”
“Miss Zi, you may go now.”
“You may go now.”
“You may go now.”
The Ghost Buddha spoke along with him in a booming, hollow voice. Its narrow, ghostly eyes half-opened as a massive Buddha hand was raised high and slammed down with immense force!
Black mist filled the air, and stone fragments flew everywhere!
Xu Zi threw out her purple gold bells to block the blow, but the treasure could only hold out for a moment before it began to crack and shatter inch by inch!
She was no match for the black mist, and with Huiyuan aided by the Evil Buddha, she couldn't escape the overwhelming pressure!
Seeing the giant Buddha raise its leg to stomp down, Xu Zi gritted her teeth and severed her own roots to survive. She split off half of her vines to escape through the earth, but the Evil Buddha seemed to have eyes and followed close behind—
“Whoosh!!”
In the blink of an eye, Nan Zhi suddenly lunged out from the mist, a golden lotus floating above her head. She hurriedly grabbed the vines emerging from the ground and sprinted away. In a flash, she vanished from the spot without a trace!
【Azure Sea Sky Boots: A Thousand Miles a Day】!
Standing atop the Buddha head, Huiyuan sensed something was wrong. He turned to look at the black coffin, only to find it completely empty, save for a thin, swaying paper doll that was on the verge of tearing.
“Ignorant woman! You have ruined my grand plan!!!”
“How bold! How bold!”
“Thief, do not run!!”
Furious roars echoed throughout the Yin Yang Road. The Evil Buddha was shrouded in a sinister mist as the endless black clouds spread, matching the explosive rage of the monk Huiyuan.
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