The faint shadow of the Bone Altar manifested within the Ghost Domain.
A lustrous white halo rippled out like water. Several chains condensed from death energy shot out from the base of the altar, binding the Smiling Face monk and the vessel of Jian Huaishuang that Chen Zhou currently inhabited.
As the chains wrapped around him, the Smiling Face monk finally snapped out of the control of the Seed of Resentment, his face contorted with a mixture of shock and fury.
He was fortified by Buddhist teachings, his mind clear, and he had absorbed half of the Locust Mother's power, achieving minor completion of the Arhat's body.
Even if his opponent had reached the first stage of Eerification or possessed a perfect Arhat's body, it should have been impossible to disturb his mind like this.
He tried to struggle, only to find that even the energy within his body had become sluggish; his golden light and Buddhist techniques could not be deployed at all.
Across the hundred faces of the Smiling Face monk, the hypocritical mask of compassion rapidly faded, replaced by an expression of utter disbelief and a hint of fear.
This restraint didn't feel like mere brute force. It felt like obscure rules originating from a higher tier of existence. He felt his flesh and blood melting away as quickly as snow under a scorching sun.
But Smiling Face was, after all, a Buddha who had cultivated for centuries. He spoke in a cold voice.
"Amitabha... Benefactor, do you realize who you are making an enemy of? Opposing the Buddhist sects will not end well for you."
"Cultivation is not easy. To reach the first stage of Eerification, you are already one in ten thousand. The Golden Buddha is destined to descend into this world, and the barrier of this realm will not hold for long. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. Do not destroy your future over a moment of impulse!"
Chen Zhou's inhabited body was also bound by a chain, yet he felt no discomfort. Instead, he felt his connection to the altar grow even tighter.
Listening to the monk's threats, he sneered. "You still haven't figured out your situation?"
"You came to my territory to cause trouble and spread copper poison. Now, I am the butcher and you are the meat on the block. Your life and death are subject to my whim, yet you still dare to threaten me?"
Induced by Chen Zhou's will, the Bone Altar's glow suddenly intensified!
The chains wrapped around the Smiling Face monk tightened violently.
To his horror, the monk discovered that the flesh and blood energy he had cultivated for centuries—and even his source soul—were being sucked out by a powerful force and funneled continuously into the altar!
"No! This is impossible!"
Smiling Face could no longer maintain his mask of benevolence. All hundred faces simultaneously twisted into expressions of genuine panic.
"This isn't a power that the first stage of Eerification should possess... These are... laws?! Who exactly are you?!"
He felt an absolute suppression in terms of status, feeling as small and powerless as an ant facing the vast firmament.
Chen Zhou smiled.
"You have only cultivated for a few centuries; your vision is too narrow."
"Looking at me should be like a frog at the bottom of a well looking up at the moon. When you are lucky enough to complete your Eerification one day, you will realize that seeing me is like an ephemeral mayfly beholding the azure sky."
"But unfortunately, I don't intend to give you that chance."
"You asked me who I am?"
"The god who takes your life!"
Whether stunned by those words or feeling his life truly slipping away, the monk's struggles weakened. All hundred faces spoke in unison.
"Have... mercy! Senior! This monk was blind! I am willing to serve you as my master, I only ask..."
Chen Zhou ignored his pleas for mercy and concentrated his will, guiding the sacrifice on one hand.
On the other, he carefully shielded the pure soul of Jian Huaishuang, clearly separating it from the lingering consciousness of the White Jade Old Ghost and the energy being stripped from Smiling Face.
This sacrifice was extremely unique.
He exploited the unstable connection just established by the Eerie Fusion trait and the qualities of Jian Huaishuang's Perfect Vessel to forcibly bind three originally independent existences—the evil spirit Zhenjiang Shrine, the White Jade Old Ghost, and the Smiling Face monk—into a single entity for sacrifice.
Chen Zhou had exploited a bug, but it appeared to be successful.
The voice of the Smiling Face monk quickly faded as all his energy was seized by the altar.
【Sacrificing one...】
The system's prompt actually paused briefly, as if identifying the complex composition of the target.
After a moment of stalling.
The system seemed to default to Chen Zhou's clever manipulation and popped up the settlement information.
【Sacrificed an evil spirit who slaughtered a city while attempting to become immortal; unlocked enslaved ghost—Paper General】
【You obtained a stage-5 Ghost General】
【Current Ghost Generals: 1/1】
【Sacrificed a false smiling Buddha; unlocked protective artifact—Eternal Calamity Karma-Fire】
【New Artifact panel added; please check it yourself】
【You obtained a wisp of broken divinity—gluttony】
【broken divinity: A being can obtain divinity upon completing Eerification. At stage-3 Eerification, the higher the grade, the stronger the divinity. Divinity of the same attribute can be combined for a chance to obtain complete divinity】
【Current Grade: Abnormal Grade】
【Forging Bones progress: 3rd-stage flesh 10000/10000】
【Painting Skin progress: 3rd-stage blood 10000/10000】
【Refining Body progress: 3rd-stage soul 10000/10000】
As the sacrifice was completed, the Ghost Domain dissipated, and the chains bound around Chen Zhou vanished. The shadow of the Bone Altar gradually faded away.
Chen Zhou looked at the panel. He had struck it rich; all three progress bars were maxed out. Immediately after, a new mission popped up.
【Breakthrough Mission】
【Abnormal Grade is the fourth level of an evil spirit. The Evil God's body has begun its preliminary formation. Please collect broken divinity and Evil God Points to complete the breakthrough】
【broken divinity: 0/1】
【Evil God Points: 451/10000】
【Note: The traits of divinity may influence the authority of the Evil God; please choose carefully】
Evil God Points were easy enough; with 10,000 points needed, he could just idle for a few days to get them.
While sacrificing the Smiling Face monk had granted him a wisp of broken divinity, and Chen Zhou could submit it directly, the system's warning caught his eye.
What Smiling Face possessed was gluttony, derived from the Locust Mother's source of famine. If it influenced his future authority, it might not be suitable for him.
There was no rush. There was still a stone tower in the Dead Man’s Forest he could open like a mystery box. He would decide then.
Chen Zhou then looked at the control panel for the enslaved ghost.
【Ghost General: An incarnation of the Evil God's authority, an agent of his will. Where the divine will goes, the blade follows.】
【Can obtain a portion of the authority bestowed by the Evil God, and can be promoted by bestowing divinity】
His only current Ghost General had become the Paper General, Jian Huaishuang.
Chen Zhou could feel that Jian Huaishuang's vessel had been completely converted into an evil spirit. Most of his abilities were retained and even enhanced.
Ghost Servants were only basic units with no independent consciousness, possessing only the instinct to execute simple commands. They were extensions of Chen Zhou's power.
At his current grade, he could only bestow one type of authority. Chen Zhou immediately bestowed the ability to control enslaved ghosts to Jian Huaishuang.
It wasn't a direct transfer, but more like a copy-paste.
This gave Jian Huaishuang the ability to control Ghost Servants. Combined with his original ability to create paper figures, building a Ghost Servant army in the future would be a simple task.
Chen Zhou was very satisfied. Finally, he looked at the Artifact panel.
【Eternal Calamity Karma-Fire】
【Based in mysterious black, woven from eternal night, adorned with dark red calamity patterns flowing with incessant karma-fire.】
【An exclusive robe for the Evil God, the manifestation of disaster. He who wears this robe is the master of ten thousand calamities.】
【Karma-Fire Protection: Immune to all attacks from those below your own grade.】
【Damage Transfer: A portion of damage from those above your grade can be absorbed by the artifact and converted into fuel for the karma-fire, increasing its power for a period of time.】
【Blood-Fiend Absorption: Passively absorbs surrounding blood and death energy to slowly repair the artifact.】
【Calamity Brand: Those injured by the karma-fire will be branded. Damage dealt to branded targets by the Evil God and his servants will be increased, and a small portion of the target's power can be absorbed to nourish the user.】
Chen Zhou looked at the black and red outfit on the panel.
"A new skin. Got it."
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