The Divine Beast of Sukhavati?

In the center of the City of the Wrongfully Dead, atop the Bone Altar.

Chen Zhou sat upon the Nine-Skull Throne, feeling quite satisfied.

Over the past few days, he had finished organizing the resources brought back from the Southern Region and had assigned various construction tasks.

Hong Ling was in charge of overall coordination, Shitou organized the manpower, Lu Cheng handled the infrastructure, Zhang Cuigu managed the agriculture, Widow Li looked after the logistics, and Su Xue was responsible for medical care.

Having many capable subordinates was truly a blessing; he didn't need to do any of the trivial tasks himself. Simply squeezing his subordinates was enough, and the feeling was wonderful.

Sensing the arrival of Wu Hai and Ku Chan, Chen Zhou did not intentionally put on airs.

"You're both here? Come over."

Chen Zhou's voice echoed directly in their minds.

Wu Hai and Ku Chan immediately scurried to the base of the altar.

This was also the first time Wu Hai had seen Chen Zhou's 'original' form without a possessed body.

Of course, it wasn't exactly his original form, but rather a humanoid figure Chen Zhou had condensed to present himself to others.

His true body remained the Bone Altar beneath his feet.

Wu Hai saw Chen Zhou clad in a calamity-patterned black robe flickering with flames, his face shrouded in shadow, making it impossible to see clearly.

'Sss—'

Just one look caused Wu Hai to gasp, his soul fire jumping violently.

"This... this is..."

A fear originating from the depths of his soul welled up within him.

Wu Hai found it incredible; he hadn't felt fear for several hundred years.

Even when facing the Toad Saint, it was merely a matter of killing or being killed—at most, he would fight to the death.

But facing Chen Zhou at this moment, he felt an absolute suppression of status, an urge to prostrate himself in worship.

'As expected of the Founding Ancestor!' Wu Hai cried out in his heart.

Then, when he noticed the skin exposed by Chen Zhou's sleeves, he was even more shocked.

'The Founding Ancestor has actually grown flesh?!'

Wu Hai was utterly stunned.

According to the records in the Bone Temple’s scriptures, flesh growing on white bone was a sign of cultivating to the extreme, returning to one's true self. it was the omen of attaining the golden body of a Bone Bodhisattva or even reversing the cycle of life and death!

'Could it be that the Founding Ancestor has already surpassed that realm?'

'Yes, it must be so!'

Wu Hai instantly convinced himself.

He threw himself to the ground with a thud, prostrating fully. "Congratulations to the Founding Ancestor! I celebrate the Founding Ancestor! Your divine technique is reaching perfection; total success is just around the corner!"

Ku Chan was momentarily dazed by Wu Hai's sudden flattery, but he reacted quickly. Regardless of whether he understood what was happening, he knelt down and followed suit.

"Congratulations, Lord! Your divine might is peerless; may you unite all for a thousand autumns!"

Chen Zhou: "..."

Chen Zhou's lip twitched slightly.

What was going on?

What just happened?

What divine technique did I practice that's reaching perfection?

However, he didn't bother to explain. Maintaining an air of mystery was a mandatory course for an evil god.

"Rise."

After the two stood up, they immediately began a competitive report.

Wu Hai spoke first: "Founding Ancestor, this disciple has not failed his mission!"

"The Southern Region Branch has taken shape. All the disobedient demons have been turned into fertilizer by this disciple. The remaining human-livestock and demons are working hard to build their new home!"

"This is the list of offerings presented by the various clans of the Southern Region. Please review it, Founding Ancestor!"

Ku Chan was not to be outdone: "Lord, the situation in Lantao City is also excellent. The number of believers has surged, and the incense is flourishing!"

"I have brought one thousand three hundred True Believers and one hundred Devout Believers this time. All have been strictly screened and are ready to sacrifice everything for you at any moment!"

The two spoke one after another, refusing to yield, giving Chen Zhou a headache.

"Enough. You have both done well. Take your rewards."

Chen Zhou casually tossed out two pills and sent them on their way.

Wu Hai took his reward with excitement, but he didn't leave immediately. Instead, he looked at Chen Zhou expectantly.

"Founding Ancestor, the Southern Region is settled. Who do we kill next?"

Wu Hai was a battle fanatic; his path of slaughter was born for combat, and he couldn't stay idle.

Chen Zhou glanced at him. "What, you haven't killed enough?"

Wu Hai chuckled and scratched his bald head. "It's mainly that this disciple's staff has been a bit thirsty lately."

Chen Zhou remained silent for a moment.

He had indeed promised the Old Toad that he would go to the Northern Region to deal with that old dog Moon-Swallowing, and while he was at it, harvest a crop from Ksitigarbha of Great Vows.

But there was no rush.

After all, his sacrifice cooldown hadn't reset yet, and he needed to accumulate more Evil God Points. It would be best to wait until the Myriad Herbs Life-Death Realm was completed, allowing life and death qi to be converted freely, so his logistics would be secured.

"The matter of the Northern Region is not urgent," Chen Zhou said indifferently.

"The Northern Region?"

Upon hearing those two words, the soul fire in Wu Hai's eyes flared up instantly.

"The Northern Region is good! Is the Founding Ancestor going to retrieve the guardian divine beast of our Bone Temple?"

Chen Zhou was taken aback. "The Bone Temple has a divine beast?"

Why didn't he know about this? The system hadn't mentioned it either.

But his expression remained unchanged as he merely raised an eyebrow, putting on an act as if he were testing the man.

Seeing this, Wu Hai immediately spilled everything like beans from a jar.

"As expected, the Founding Ancestor already knows!"

"If it weren't for the fact that our Bone Temple's beast of slaughter, the Huo Dou, was lost in the Northern Region, I, Wu Hai, would have been able to advance to the symbiosis stage long ago. Why would I fear the likes of Ksitigarbha or Jieyin?"

Wu Hai looked indignant.

"That old bald ass Ksitigarbha has the realm earthworm, which allows him to traverse between provinces and grant him the power of the earth dragon."

"That sissy Jieyin has the Dream Demon, which can weave dreams and kill people invisibly."

"Only our Bone Temple is like this. Our guardian divine beast, the Huo Dou, was broken apart and scattered to the Northern Region, causing our lineage to decline. That is why I have been living so miserably."

Wu Hai sighed. "If the Huo Dou were still here, our Bone Temple would be a great power with a seventh-stage expert sitting in command!"

"Of course, even at the seventh-stage, this disciple would never compare to the Founding Ancestor, but I could fight across the north and south for you, willing to die ten thousand deaths!"

Ku Chan was merely a low-level lackey of the Way of All Beings; all of this was Buddhist secrets he had never heard before.

He listened with ears perked, completely stunned.

So the three branches of Buddhism each had a companion divine beast?

Chen Zhou's heart also stirred.

The Way of All Beings corresponded to the realm earthworm, Sukhavati to the Dream Demon, and the Bone Temple to the Huo Dou?

He turned his head to look beside the altar.

There, the pink nightmare pig was sprawled at the edge of the altar, sleeping soundly, blowing snot bubbles from its snout.

Chen Zhou's expression became strange.

'The divine beast... of Sukhavati... could it be this thing?'

He hadn't felt that Jieyin was doing particularly well either; the man had plotted for so many years just for eerification, and he hadn't seen any so-called Dream Demon in the Hall of a Thousand Dreams.

But the little pig truly could use Sukhavati's artifact, the Dream-Weaving Shuttle, and it even showed a tendency toward evolving into a fiend.

Could it... really be it?

As if sensing Chen Zhou's gaze, the nightmare pig grunted, opened its eyes blearily, and looked at Chen Zhou with an innocent expression.

Chen Zhou smiled.

"It's nothing. Go back to sleep."

"When you grow up, we'll go give the Golden Buddha a big surprise."