By this time, the light in the Toad Saint's eyes had grown increasingly dim.
To save Su Xue, he had forcibly reversed the death qi, and to purge the traitors of his sect, he had exhausted his final bit of control.
Now, the death qi that had been suppressed was like a wild horse bolting from its stable, rampaging through his body. Large corpse spots began to appear across his skin, his once-upright frame started to hunch over, and waves of decay emanated from him.
"Whew... whew..."
The Toad Saint panted heavily, looking at Chen Zhou with a hint of urgency in his gaze.
"Quickly, I can barely hold it back."
"Don't let that thing... revive through my body."
Chen Zhou looked at the Toad Saint and nodded.
"Very well. It is time to send you on your way."
The Toad Saint smiled openly. "Good. I leave it to you."
Previously, he had worried about what would happen to the old dogs of the Northern Region if he perished early. Now, there was no need to worry; this Bone Temple Master was far more capable than he had imagined. It was a good thing for the Southern Region, and Su Xue would have a good home. He had nothing left to fret over.
Chen Zhou turned to look at Jian Huaishuang beside him.
"Huaishuang."
"Your servant is here." Jian Huaishuang immediately stepped forward and knelt on one knee.
"I shall borrow your body for a moment."
"As you command!" Jian Huaishuang did not hesitate for a second, directly releasing all defenses of his mind and body.
Chen Zhou's form blurred, transforming into a streak of light that instantly plunged into Jian Huaishuang's body.
In the next second, Jian Huaishuang's body shuddered as a vast and terrifying aura erupted from him.
To perform a Sacrifice of the highest specification, ordinary Bone Ghost Servants simply could not bear the burden. Only Jian Huaishuang's body, which possessed the Perfect Vessel trait, could perfectly accommodate Chen Zhou's Bone Incarnation and allow him to manifest all his original abilities.
Rumble—
Heaven and earth changed color.
The already eerie ruins of the Black Bone Hall were instantly shrouded in an even denser layer of darkness. A phantom image of an altar, radiating an endless aura of ill omen, slowly descended from the void, floating behind Chen Zhou. The altar was constructed entirely of white bones, emitting a silvery-white glow like a lamp in the dark of night.
"This is..."
Seeing that altar, the Toad Saint's pupils constricted violently.
From that altar, he felt a death qi that was even more terrifying and pure than that of Ksitigarbha of Great Vows. It was not demon qi, nor was it fiendish qi. He did not know what it was. It seemed to be an icy aura that stood above all living beings, regarding all things with indifference.
Countless pitch-black chains condensed from pure death qi shot out from the altar, instantly piercing through the void and wrapping around the Toad Saint's body.
As the chains entered his flesh, no blood splattered. However, the Toad Saint let out a muffled groan. The chains had not only locked his physical body but also his divine soul, even reaching deep into his origin to bind the thing that was awakening inside him.
The Toad Saint was in agony; a sensation of his soul being torn apart made him tremble. Yet, he did not resist. He continued to deathly suppress his body's instincts, allowing the chains to drag him toward the altar and into the unknown abyss.
He knew that Chen Zhou was a man who kept his promises. This was a deal, and it was also liberation.
However, just as his body was about to be pulled into the altar, a sudden change occurred.
"ROAR—!!"
The Toad Saint suddenly let out a roar that did not belong to him. The roar was filled with rage and resentment. It was the seed of death qi planted by Ksitigarbha of Great Vows—the monk who had been lurking within him for hundreds of years. Sensing its impending doom, it had completely revolted.
It did not want to die!
It had lurked for five hundred years and devoured countless blood food. It was on the verge of completion; how could it die here?
The Toad Saint's eyes instantly turned pitch black, devoid of any white. His body began to swell violently, his half-human, half-toad appearance vanishing completely as he transformed into a writhing mountain of meat.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Upon the meat mountain, a thousand eyes burst open, and countless streams of pus and blood sprayed out. At the same time, around the ruins of the Black Bone Hall, the corpses of the demons who had just died—even the remains left behind after Thousand-Tangle's self-destruction—seemed to receive a summons.
Countless pieces of flesh and blood instantly withered, transforming into streams of crimson red that madly converged toward the Toad Saint.
"It's Jade Toad's Heaven-Devouring Divine Method; he's reconstructing his physical body." Su Xue's expression changed.
Wu Hai also recognized something. "This scent... the Aspect of All Beings?"
Behind the Toad Saint's massive meat mountain, a giant phantom of a Buddha composed of countless rotting flesh, severed limbs, and eyeballs slowly rose. The Buddha image stood a hundred feet tall, its face filled with compassion, yet it was composed of the most ultimate evils. It sat cross-legged atop the meat mountain, hands pressed together in prayer, looking solemn and sacred while emitting a nauseating stench of corpses.
A thousand eyes opened in unison as the Aspect of All Beings revived. Grand Brahma chanting echoed through heaven and earth. However, as the chanting reached one's ears, it caused blood and qi to flow backward and the divine soul to spin, making it feel as if countless insects were burrowing into one's brain.
"Hells not empty, I vow not to become a Buddha; only when all beings are saved will I attain Bodhi."
A demon screamed in terror, "It's... it's Ksitigarbha of Great Vows?"
This was a fear carved into the very bones of the demons of the Southern Region. It was also the source of the endless nightmares that had plagued the Southern Region five hundred years ago. He had forcibly descended using the Toad Saint's body, intending to counter-consume Chen Zhou.
Intimidated by this pressure, the demons present fell to their knees one after another. Some with weaker wills even began to chant along with the scriptures, tears of blood flowing from their eyes.
Facing the terrifying Rotten Flesh Buddha, Chen Zhou controlled Jian Huaishuang's body, standing in mid-air with his robes fluttering.
"It's not the Great Vows himself, only a projection."
A wild, arrogant arc curled on Chen Zhou's lips. "Hmph, it seems you couldn't hide any longer after all."
"I have been waiting for you, you old bald ass."
Chen Zhou had long anticipated this. If a seed of death qi inside a seventh-stage Great Demon could be sacrificed so easily, that would be truly strange. However, this was for the better. Only by forcing this thing out and sacrificing it along with the projection could he truly make the most of the old toad's final value.
The Rotten Flesh Buddha looked down at Chen Zhou, his voice rolling like thunder.
"Seeing my dharma body, why do you not kneel?"
"Refuge in my Buddha, and find Sukhavati!"
Behind Zen Master Wu Hai, his group of bone disciples had originally been clattering their teeth while watching the spectacle. Now, under the Brahma chanting, the soul fires in their eyes flickered violently, and their kneecaps were becoming overwhelmed.
Thud, thud.
Rows of skeletons fell to the ground uncontrollably, even tossing aside their monk staffs as they showed signs of submission.
"Get the hell up, you spineless things!"
Wu Hai shouted in anger, his monk staff madly striking the skulls of his disciples and grand-disciples. "We are Bone Temple people in life and ghosts of the Founding Ancestor in death! Why are you kneeling to this fake Buddha of the Aspect of All Beings? Get up!"
However, no matter how he cursed, those low-level disciples were as if their spines had been removed, sticking firmly to the ground and even beginning to kowtow to the Great Buddha.
Even Wu Hai himself felt a weight pressing on his shoulders, forcing him to kneel.
Chen Zhou watched this scene and sneered. "Is that all? Playing with death qi in front of me?"
"You are teaching a fish how to swim."
The moment his words fell, the Hate Prison and the Lie Sword Domain opened simultaneously.
Countless bone-white spikes appeared in the void, wrapping around the Great Buddha. Hatred Fire burned, and paper snow drifted.
"Piao, it's time to eat," Chen Zhou said.
"Understood, Lord."
Piao, who had long been unable to restrain herself, vanished instantly.
The power of gluttony was fully unleashed as she activated the True Explanation of Myriad Devouring.
"It looks very unappetizing... but since the Lord ordered it, I shall eat."
Piao's form scattered into countless flying locusts. With the enhancement of Chen Zhou's Faith Conferment, the locusts swarmed across the area. The golden Buddha light and death qi emitted by the Great Buddha were all devoured by the locusts.
Then, the locusts transformed back into Piao. Her face was slightly pale, but she was uninjured and hadn't been corroded by the death qi; she just felt like vomiting. Piao felt that the Aspect of All Beings was definitely her nemesis; everything about it tasted so bad. If she ate any more, she would truly become anorexic.
Under the enhancement of Chen Zhou's madly burning Evil God Points, a mere projection of the Great Vows could not stir up any significant trouble.
Seeing that he could not win the battle, the Great Buddha's Brahma chanting rose again. He began to attack the wounded demons, as well as Su Xue and Poison-Wing, wanting to devour living beings to replenish his power.
Although Poison-Wing had just regained his senses and his body was still very weak, his ferocity was completely ignited when he saw the death qi surging toward Su Xue.
"ROAR!"
Poison-Wing blocked the way in front of Su Xue. He was already heavily injured from being corroded by death qi, and now the Buddha light shining on him immediately caused an even more violent reaction.
"It hurts... it hurts so much..."
Poison-Wing curled up on the ground, his skin beginning to fester. He already had very few feathers left, and now those remaining began to fall out in large clumps. The Great Buddha's death qi was forcibly stripping away his vitality, attempting to save him into a walking corpse.
In this life-or-death crisis, the cloud-patterned golden light and the baleful aura latent within him seemed to reach an alliance. Su Xue protected his life, and the baleful aura was used by him. Together, they resisted the corrosion of the death qi. Under the extreme pressure of life and death, the bloodline of the ancient poison bird within Poison-Wing finally awakened a sliver of its true form.
"GET LOST!!"
Poison-Wing suddenly raised his head, his eyes turning a bizarre purple-red. Behind him, a blurred phantom soared into the sky. It was a magnificent, strange bird with vibrant wings, every feather shimmering with an ominous, lethal poison luster.
The great bird gently flapped its wings. A purple poison wind was born out of thin air, actually managing to force back the golden Buddha light looming over Poison-Wing's head. Wherever the poison wind touched, even the air was poisoned to death, turning into a vacuum zone.
Though it was only for an instant, and though the phantom was still very immature, this power had actually blocked the pressure of the seventh-stage Great Buddha.
"What?" The Great Buddha's movements stalled, clearly not expecting this ant to be able to make a breakthrough on the spot.
"Since everyone is working so hard, I cannot hold back either."
A cold light flashed in Chen Zhou's eyes.
"Dead men should lie quietly on the altar."
Chen Zhou increased the input of Evil God Points, ramping up the output of death qi. The fake Buddha was firmly locked in place by the Hate Prison.
Chen Zhou pointed a finger.
Upon the altar, the chains that the Great Buddha had previously broken free from suddenly increased tenfold in number. The dense thicket of chains was like a Heavenly Net, tightly binding that hundred-foot-tall Rotten Flesh Buddha.
"Su Xue, go," Chen Zhou said calmly.
She did not ask why, nor did she think about what Chen Zhou was planning or what she could achieve. When she locked her gaze on the Toad Saint's pained face that was flickering within the meat mountain, her instinctive urge overrode all thought.
As a healer, I must settle my spirit and fix my resolve, free from desire or pursuit. First, cultivate a heart of great compassion and pity, vowing to save all sentient beings from suffering.
At the same time, Su Xue's innate Heavenly Doctor destiny, nourished by the pure vitality of the unaging pine cone and driven by her selfless conviction, finally broke through its shackles, radiating an unprecedentedly brilliant light. As if the world had sensed it, auspicious clouds tore through the dark sky, revealing a corner of light.
Su Xue, bathed in golden light with her dark hair flying, ran toward the rotting giant Buddha.
Heavenly Doctor protecting life, compassion averting calamity.
As if sunlight were tearing through eternal night, Su Xue used her destiny's power to forcibly tear an opening between the fake Buddha and the Toad Saint.
"With this heart, I avert this calamity."
Rate on N.U.
