"Before, the malevolent ghosts were all swarming around the dragon vein to feast. This time, while the ghosts were going mad, I took the chance to get close and investigate."
"I found that the thing beneath the dragon vein is gone."
Chen Zhou’s brow furrowed slightly. "Gone? What do you mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. It vanished. Disappeared."
Wu Gou had a rather peculiar expression on his face. "It was still there the last time I went, but this time it had just evaporated into thin air."
"The underground is a bit too clean now. Aside from the malevolent ghosts, there’s only that half-dead corpse dragon wailing away."
Chen Zhou’s heart sank.
Disappeared?
An unknown entity—one suspected to be an imperial offering, possessing an aura from the same source as the black spots, and potentially even stronger—had suddenly vanished at this critical juncture?
This was by no means a good omen.
Where did it go?
Did it sense danger and flee early, or...
Chen Zhou’s gaze instinctively drifted out the window, looking at the seemingly holy golden light cascading across the sky.
Or perhaps, in some way Chen Zhou didn't yet understand, it was participating in this upcoming grand spectacle of the descent of the Golden Buddha?
Chen Zhou’s mind raced as he calculated various possibilities.
"Oh, right." Wu Gou seemed to remember something and pointed toward the ground. "Since that thing was gone, I didn't dare linger too long for fear of a trap."
"Regarding the sinful karma you told me to deploy—I just happened to jam the steel fork into the corpse dragon."
At this point, Wu Gou scratched his bald head and asked with a hint of uncertainty.
"But the corpse dragon didn't have much of a reaction."
"Since whatever was under the corpse dragon could use sinful karma to lock down the dragon vein, won't giving him more ownerless sinful karma be like providing aid to the enemy?"
Chen Zhou shook his head. "There is no need to worry."
"I cultivate the divine path and wield the Yin-Yang Decree."
"As long as something is stained with sinful karma, it is guilty."
"If it is guilty, I can pass judgment."
The more sinful karma, the better. The opponent had gone to great lengths to arrange a literal hell underground to lock the dragon vein; they certainly wouldn't do so without a purpose.
Though he didn't know what their plan was, now that the dragon vein was tainted with sin, the initiative was in his hands.
The explosives had been set; all Chen Zhou had to do was trigger them when the time came.
As the two were speaking, suddenly—
Clang! Crash!
A violent cacophony erupted from the direction of the kitchen.
It sounded like pots and pans being smashed, followed by the dull thud of a heavy weight hitting the floor.
The commotion was so great that even the rafters of the side hall shook.
"What the hell?!"
Wu Gou jumped in shock, squeezing Diting so hard the creature woke up and squeaked in protest.
"What happened? What happened? Have the ghosts from underground broken through?"
"No, wait, that sound came from..."
"Oh no, my precious chef!"
His reaction was intense. This was a matter concerning the quality of his future meals; if something happened to Song Zi'an, what would he eat from now on?
That was far more important than any Golden Buddha.
"Benefactor Song, hold on! I'm coming to save you!"
Wu Gou’s figure blurred as he bolted toward the kitchen.
Inside the kitchen was a total mess. Song Zi'an’s black iron heavy pot had been overturned on the floor, which was the source of the thunderous noise.
Various seasoning jars were shattered everywhere, their red, white, and yellow contents mixed together in a wretched sight.
As for Song Zi'an, he was currently collapsed amidst the scattered ingredients.
His hands were clamped tightly over his head, his body curled into a ball as he trembled violently.
"Ah... ugh..."
Song Zi'an let out suppressed roars of agony. Wisps of green smoke rose from his skin, as if he were being scorched by something high-temperature.
The golden light from the horizon shone through the window and fell upon him, acting like a red-hot branding iron.
Every speck of golden light that touched his skin made a sizzling sound, burning a red spot into his flesh.
Though Song Zi'an was a chef, he was still a fifth-stage cultivator. His physical body had long since transcended its mortal origins; ordinary flames shouldn't have been able to harm him in the slightest.
Yet now, the golden light—the prelude to the Golden Buddha's descent—was causing him such immense pain.
"Benefactor Song?!"
Wu Gou turned pale with fright and rushed over to support him.
Chen Zhou followed, expanding his Ghost Domain to block off the window completely.
As the golden light was cut off, the burning sensation on Song Zi'an’s body finally ceased.
He looked as if he had just been fished out of a lake, drenched in cold sweat and gasping for breath, his eyes still somewhat unfocused.
"Benefactor Song, are you alright?"
Only then did Wu Gou dare to approach, carefully helping him up. He hissed through his teeth as he saw the dense cluster of red spots on the man's body.
"This... is this a strike from heaven's wrath?"
Chen Zhou stepped forward to inspect Song Zi'an’s injuries.
The wounds weren't deep, but they were infused with a domineering power that was actively preventing the wounds from healing.
It was an extremely pure power of merit, but at this moment, it revealed its most tyrannical side.
Chen Zhou frowned and turned to Wu Gou, asking, "A thousand years ago, before the Golden Buddha descended on Tianchi Province, did this golden light appear then?"
Wu Gou tilted his head back to recall, then shook it. "No."
"Back then, although there were phenomena, it was mostly flowers raining from the sky or golden lotuses springing from the earth. There was nothing like this..."
Upon hearing this, a cold smile played on Chen Zhou's lips, and a look of realization flashed in his eyes.
"I see. I think I understand now."
He looked at the weakened Song Zi'an and spoke slowly. "The reason you ended up like this is because you were drenched in red rain, yet you also possess merit."
"Merit?" Song Zi'an looked bewildered. "I... I'm just a chef. Where would I get merit?"
"What's wrong with being a chef?" Wu Gou interjected from the side. "Don't you know the effects of the food you cook?"
"By making dishes that bring joy to those who eat them and can even soothe the soul, you've temporarily suppressed mutations. You've probably saved countless people without even knowing it."
"Combined with your kind heart and the fact that you've never committed an evil act, your merit is actually quite heavy for an ordinary person."
Chen Zhou squinted as he looked out the window.
Large numbers of palace servants, who had already turned into malevolent ghosts, were moving freely through the golden light.
He understood. The rules of Heaven and Earth were beginning to exert their influence.
Upon the descent of the Golden Buddha, all those who harbored kind thoughts or possessed merit would be affected by this golden light, facing rejection and scorching pain.
While it wouldn't cause any actual fatal damage—as if the world itself were wary of something and didn't dare be too blatant—it clearly didn't want the Golden Buddha to fall into the hands of the righteous.
If Song Zi'an, a fifth-stage chef, couldn't withstand the golden light, those weaker than him certainly wouldn't fare better.
Those with more strength, at the sixth-stage or above, might be able to use their cultivation to resist the light, but it would inevitably consume a massive amount of mental energy.
In the end, during the struggle for the Golden Buddha, they would surely be at a disadvantage.
Thoughtful glints flickered in Chen Zhou’s eyes.
Was it because that True Lord of Purity and Filth from a thousand years ago sacrificed himself to save the common people and brought peace to Tianchi Province for a time, thus drawing the dissatisfaction of certain existences?
Is that why, now that the Golden Buddha was reappearing in Gloomlight Province, they had simply changed the rules?
"How disgusting."
Chen Zhou sighed.
"To promote evil and punish good... they aren't even pretending anymore, are they?"
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