"Summoning the soul, summoning the soul..."

After a brief period of despair, a glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in Li Molin's heart. He quickly took two steps forward, trying to snatch Liuli from Shichan's arms, but Shichan held Liuli tightly and cried bitterly, refusing to let go.

A murderous glint flashed in Li Molin's eyes. He was about to take out his skull staff and kill Shi Chan first when, amidst despair and remorse, Shi Chan's heart was once again filled with a bloodthirsty desire. His eyes turned red, and his arms went limp, allowing Li Molin to easily pull Liuli into his arms. Shi Chan suddenly knelt on the ground, clutching his head in pain, his face contorted with struggle, as if trying to break free from the endless killing intent but unable to, filled with unbearable anguish.

Ignoring Shi Chan, Li Molin flew directly out of the alley, just as Yu Ke and Lang Yuan arrived. Li Molin stopped, his face cold and his eyes red, and he shouted in a chilling voice, "Kill that monk! Kill him at all costs!!"

Having said that, he didn't linger and flew away in the blink of an eye.

Yu Ke and Ji Jue looked at each other and shook their heads. They then agreed and flew towards Shi Chan.

"Sister..." Large tears streamed down Lingxi's face. In that fleeting glance, she had seen Liuli in Li Molin's arms, covered in blood and lifeless. She choked out, "Sister, is she dead...?"

Lang Yuan shook his head silently, speechless.

At this moment, a bloodthirsty light once again stained Shi Chan's eyes red. His mind kept replaying Liu Li's words and her appearance, and his heart ached as if pierced by a thousand arrows.

Hot tears could not warm his cold heart. Shi Chan's mind struggled between lucidity and madness. The regret, sadness, and despair brought about by Liu Li's death made him suffer unbearably.

Then he remembered the fear and despair on the faces of those innocent people before they died at his hands, their pleas still echoing in his ears.

"I can't kill anymore..." Shi Chan's eyes flickered between bloodshot and clear, tears streaming down his face as he whispered in anguish, "I absolutely can't kill anymore..."

He tried to dispel all his bloodthirsty killing intent with his steadfast Buddhist heart, but he had been on the ancient battlefield for too long. The immense malevolent energy of the battlefield had seeped into his heart for so long, and his relentless, frenzied killing had awakened all the deepest-hidden killing intent within him. If he hadn't entered the Buddhist order from a young age, possessing an extremely kind heart and a firm will, he would never have had a moment to regain his senses.

"Liuli, wait for me, I'm coming to find you... In my next life, I will not enter the Buddhist order, I will not practice Buddhism, and I will not help suffering beings. I only ask to find you and never be separated from you again."

Shi Chan's voice was hoarse yet gentle. He murmured this sentence, and one of the Buddhist beads on his wrist, bearing the swastika symbol, flashed and transformed into a small, gleaming golden dagger. As soon as the dagger took shape, it trailed a golden tail and swiftly pierced towards his own heart.

At the same time, Yu Ke's scimitar and Ji Jue's giant axe were already only a few feet away from him.

The knife was moving extremely fast, and it looked like it was about to pierce Shichan's heart.

Suddenly, a dazzling golden light burst forth from between Shi Chan's eyebrows. The golden light shattered the monk's knife into pieces and firmly blocked Yu Ke's scimitar and Ji Jue's giant axe.

When Yu Ke and Ji Jue swung their weapons at the ball of golden light, they felt as if they had struck a soft net, unable to advance any further, and were suddenly bounced back.

The two took a few steps back and looked closely. They saw that Shi Chan was enveloped in a golden ball of light about ten feet high, completely obscuring his figure.

The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously raised their weapons to slash at the golden orb of light, but just like the first time, they couldn't hit the orb at all.

At that moment, Lang Yuan rushed over, frowning as he asked, "What happened?"

Yu Ke shook his head and said helplessly, "I don't know. Suddenly there's this ball of light, and we can't break through it."

With a wave of his hand, Lang Yuan unleashed a wolf fang that hurtled toward the ball of light. The sharp point of the wolf fang struck the ball of light, causing it to sink slightly. However, in an instant, the wolf fang bounced back.

Lang Yuan looked at Yu Ke and gently shook his head.

Yu Ke pondered for a moment and said, "Let's wait and see."

Lang Yuan nodded helplessly and said, "Okay."

--

Inside the ball of light.

In that brief moment of lucidity, Shi Chan attempted to end his life, but the sudden appearance of golden light stopped him. Then, the bloodthirsty urge returned. At this moment, Shi Chan was kneeling on the ground, supporting himself with his right hand and rubbing his throbbing forehead with his left. His face was contorted with pain, and cold sweat gathered and trickled down his forehead, washing away the blood in streaks.

“Buddhism”.

A gentle voice suddenly rang out, causing the intense pain in Shi Chan's heart and the crimson in his eyes to instantly recede. He abruptly looked up and saw an old monk sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of him. The old monk radiated a dazzling golden light, looking unlike an ordinary person, but rather like a Buddha. His long white eyebrows and beard moved without wind, and a faint smile played on his lips hidden in his beard.

The old monk smiled and said, "Shichan, try to overcome the bloodlust in your heart. I believe in you, you can definitely defeat it."

At this moment, Shi Chan was still struggling on the edge of madness and lucidity. He said with a pained expression, "Master, I am in so much pain... Master, how can I overcome my murderous thoughts?"

The old monk shook his head and said gently, "All of this depends on yourself."

The old monk's gentle, smiling gaze calmed Shi Chan's heart somewhat and gave him a little more confidence to overcome these bloodlustful thoughts. He endured the pain, sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and began to silently recite various scriptures.

Because of the malevolent and violent energy in his heart, he often misread the scriptures, but he did not give up. He continued to recite the scriptures he had memorized since childhood, word by word, in an attempt to calm his mind.

Time ticked by, and suddenly, Shi Chan frowned, his eyes snapping open with a bloodshot gleam. He shook his head violently, and the bloodshot color in his eyes subsided slightly.

He closed his eyes tightly again, his lips opened and closed, and began to recite the scriptures aloud.

The old monk watched with gentle eyes as Shi Chan gradually calmed down, and nodded slightly.

Shi Chan's mind had calmed down considerably. Although a huge amount of malevolent energy still filled his heart, he had stabilized it and it would not cause him to lose his mind or go mad for the time being.

At that moment, his mind was filled with countless thoughts. He recalled his first meeting with Liuli. In that dense forest, she suddenly appeared in front of him and playfully breathed on him. He still remembered that her breath was as fragrant as orchids.