Chapter 22 The Buddha Enters the Earth, Devouring Souls and Transforming into Gold; The Robed Man Points to the Stone…

The cloaked figure pointed to the stone door and said, "The true god is inside. Please come in, wise woman."

Yan Chao said, "Aren't you going in?"

The cloaked man said, "The true god has commanded that only you are allowed to enter."

Yan Chao thought to herself, "You're only letting me in? You must be up to no good! I'd like to see just how big your belly really is."

The people in cloaks all retreated. She walked to the door, and with a "boom," the stone door slowly opened, revealing a golden Buddha statue, eight zhang tall, with half of its body and lowered eyebrows, standing prominently before her.

The lights in the hall flickered, but a beam of light always shone on the Buddha statue, making its golden body radiate light and further highlighting its majesty.

The Buddha's face is compassionate and solemn, with its head bowed in reverence, its back against the snow-capped mountains, as if it is repenting to all living beings, exchanging its own life for the happiness of all beings.

Just looking at it inspires awe.

If believers stand in front of the Buddha statue, they will surely bow and worship, and make offerings with devout hearts.

Unfortunately, this was not the real Buddha.

This does fit the story of a true god entering the snowy mountains for ascetic practice, but how did Maitreya turn into a Buddha?

The strangest thing is, if he is a Buddha, why does he call himself a true god?

Although demons and ghosts have countless clones, this is the first time I've seen clones that are so similar in appearance.

Yan Chao suddenly felt a chill run through his body, as if something was watching him.

Yan Chao looked around. The candlelight in the hall seemed to have a spirit, illuminating the room with her gaze. It was as if she hadn't looked at it before, but once she did, she was truly trembling.

The stone walls of the entire hall are inlaid with countless petrified human faces. They have different expressions, empty eyes, and are silent. They include men, women, young and old, and all their eyes are fixed on her. When she looks at them, they struggle and scramble to break through the walls, their faces ferocious, trying to devour her.

Suddenly, the faces on the entire stone wall began to stir, emitting low groans as they jostled and writhed, making sounds like bones breaking and stones rubbing against each other. Their groans turned into screams, a cacophony of sounds: some laughing wildly, some wailing, some roaring in terror, while others seemed to be having a friendly conversation...

The noise was incredibly annoying. Yan Chao covered his ears, frowning deeply, thinking, "What kind of awful place is this?! It's so noisy!!!"

She couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "No matter what kind of demon or monster you are, show yourself right now! Otherwise, I'll tear down your statue and destroy your temple!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the human face on the wall suddenly stopped moving, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Another eerie and sinister voice came from the air.

"Wise lady, you've come from afar. Don't you enjoy the welcome ceremony I've prepared for you?"

Yan Chao was speechless. If this was what they called a welcome, then she should really call that handsome young man over to listen and see who was better between the two of them.

Yan Chao said, "Since you invited me here, you don't even dare to show your true form. You dare to give the people of Shengchun ill-gotten gains, yet you are ashamed to show your true face. Are you so ugly that you are not even as good as a ghost and have no face to see anyone? When you were a ghost, didn't you take good care of your appearance?"

"Hahahaha! Hui Nu is so funny!"

"Isn't I right in front of you?"

With a loud bang, the half-bodied Buddha's body twitched slightly. Its solemn expression suddenly turned fierce, its eyes flashed with an eerie purple light, and a wicked smile appeared on its lips as it coldly gazed at the woman standing in front of it, who was as insignificant as an ant in its eyes.

Yan Chao crossed his arms and stared straight at him without the slightest fear.

Yan Chao scoffed, "What? Just because you're inside a Buddha statue, you think you're a Buddha? You claim to be a true god, yet you've transformed into a Buddha, making such a ridiculous mess."

The Buddha laughed and said, "Gods and Buddhas are at my feet, no one can stop me!"

One of his arms reached out from underground, stretching towards the stone wall to grab a handful of still-wriggling human faces. In his palm, the faces resembled a mass of ugly worms, and they even emitted fawning laughter upon seeing him. He gently clasped his hands together, and with a "plop," the faces instantly turned to dust, utterly silenced.

The sound was like a desperate drumbeat exploding in one's ears, sending chills down one's spine.

Yan Chao found it strange and asked, "What exactly are those human-faced things?"

The powder from the Buddha's palm scattered in front of Yan Chao, who said, "They have all ascended to godhood."

"The nutrients in their bodies have been almost completely absorbed. What I just crushed was their heart. Did you hear that? It sounded so beautiful."

Yan Chao felt a chill run down his spine. He had heard the person selling the herbal bath packs say that there were at least a thousand people. Although he had anticipated that they would meet with misfortune, he did not expect it to be like this. He was a little unable to accept it for a moment.

Yan Chao let out a long sigh and said, "What are you trying to achieve by going to such lengths to capture them?"

The Great Buddha said, "Of course, it's to contribute to my becoming a god."

"Whether it's ascending to godhood or becoming a Buddha on the spot, it's all done under the noble name of saving the three realms, while doing the most miserable work in the world. They also have to pretend to be high and mighty in front of believers, and they can't even fulfill a small wish."

"I want to be a god above all gods! Free from the constraints of mortals, unbound by the cycle of reincarnation, enjoying the ultimate bliss of the world, and ridding all suffering!"

Those who are gods live for 9,999 years; those who are ghosts live for 999 years.

Nine is the extreme number; the moon wanes after it is full.

Because the lifespan of gods is long, there was a rule from the very beginning of their creation: gods cannot be reincarnated.

Of all the beings in the Three Realms, only gods cannot be reincarnated after death.

Among all the gods throughout history, was there any who lived to be 9,999 and died peacefully in their old age?

certainly.

Not a single one.

Those whose existence can be verified have lived for at most a little over a thousand years, and the current Heavenly Emperor has only lived for about seven hundred years.

Compared to the distant 9,999 years, it was a very short lifespan.

Some of those gods died in battle, some died of illness, some were killed, and others lost their followers and were banished and exiled to die of old age.

Imagine someone who goes through countless hardships, enduring nine tribulations of lightning to finally become a god, only to be unlucky enough to lose their life less than a year after their ascension. While this is not the norm, it does happen.

Even so, countless people still desperately try to ascend to godhood.

Although Yan Chao felt that being a god was meaningless and there were all sorts of ways to become a god, those gods who successfully ascended had at least cultivated themselves properly or experienced some extraordinary events.

Neither of them could possibly be like him.

That's wishful thinking, a pipe dream.

Yan Chao said, "What you say sounds noble, but I really can't agree with your methods. But there's one thing I don't understand: if you want to become a god, why sacrifice these innocent people?"

The Buddha seemed to have heard a huge joke and said, "Innocent? They are not innocent."

“I bestowed upon them wealth and honor, and they repaid me with their lives to ascend to godhood. We each took what we needed, so how can they be innocent?”

"Furthermore, their desire and greed for money are bottomless. I have both satisfied their desires and purified their greed. I am doing a good deed. It is a mutual agreement, so how can I be innocent?"

To some extent, he was right.

Yan Chao said, "You specifically asked me to come here so that I would become one of them?"

The Buddha said, “No, no, no, you are a wise woman, you have a better place to go, how can they be compared to you?”

Yan Chao chuckled and said, "Alright, but I have a habit. If I want to understand something, I will never let it slip by in a muddle. Since I'm going to die sooner or later, I must die knowing the truth."

The Buddha said, "No problem, I like straightforward people like you. What should I do? I've suddenly started to like you a little."

As soon as the words were spoken, a white light flashed from the ground, and the Buddha suddenly vanished into thin air, replaced by a deity statue behind it. The statue's head and limbs were firmly chained, and it appeared to be in great pain.

At first glance, the statue looked exactly like the Spring Goddess statue, but upon closer inspection, it was not the Spring Goddess, but a person with the same makeup and hairstyle as the Spring Goddess.

Yan Chao recalled the voice he had heard earlier. Could it be him?

The Buddha's voice rang out again.

"I will take you to the supreme bliss."

An invisible force swept Yan Chao up and headed straight for the heart of the statue. Just when she thought she was about to be smashed to her head, in an instant, it passed through the statue and took her into another space.

Welcome to my world.

As soon as Yan Chao landed and opened his eyes, he was stunned by the scene before him.

This was a completely enclosed space, with exquisitely painted and lifelike portraits hanging in the air. The portraits depicted none other than celestial deities, arranged in a staggered fashion according to their divine rank. The gods in the portraits seemed almost leaping out, and prolonged viewing could cause dizziness and hallucinations.

Yan Chao closed his eyes to calm himself down, and when he opened them again, the portraits were all emitting wisps of black mist.

This technique is very much like that of a demon king.

She is known as the "Fairy in the Painting".

It is said that this ghost had an extremely high talent for painting when he was alive. Because of his exquisite painting skills, he often painted pictures of the gods worshipped in temples in various places so that believers could invite them home to admire.

He himself, because of his paintings of deities, also deeply revered the gods.

Although he was born with a handsome appearance, he was short and thin, so his paintings were famous but he himself was not.

He devoted his life to painting, and somehow, after his death, he cultivated himself into the Ghost King Li Shengxiang. He still painted gods, but this time, he used the portraits to deceive believers, thereby stealing many believers from the gods and causing them great trouble.

He carried a chest on his back all day, his hair was tied up with a hairpin, and he wore coarse linen clothes, looking every bit the scholar.

If you happen to encounter him somewhere, he will lean forward and turn his head to reveal his gaunt and pale face. He will look at you with his white eyes, raise a finger with slender white nails to his lips, signaling you to be quiet. Then, he will give you a strange smile.

Ask me: "Do you want to paint?"

Therefore, he also had a nickname: "The Smiling Scholar".

With his thoughts returning to their source, Yan Chao asked, "What is your relationship with the fairy in the painting?"

"Him... If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here. We have the same goal, so he naturally took me under his command."

This doesn't sound like a superior-subordinate relationship; it sounds more like he took advantage of the fairy in the painting.

Yan Chao asked, "Who exactly are you?"

"That's a good question, I'll have to answer it properly."

"I am He Bo, born to become a god! But I disdain the laws of Heaven, I have my own path to godhood! I will ascend to the Heavenly Capital! I will cut off the head of that hypocritical villain Han Yue! I will make all the gods and immortals of the heavens submit to me! I will be the one to bestow the titles of gods from now on!"

So this is the true meaning of "bestowing divine favors upon the heavens".

Yan Chao gave an awkward smile and said, "Looks like you've been taking a lot of medicine too."

"Now I am only one step away, and that is you! The last messenger brought by the raven."

He said something else she couldn't understand, the same thing the hooded man had said that day.

Yan Chao asked, "What does this sentence mean?"

A chilling laugh rang out.

"The most beautiful offering, please enjoy it to your heart's content!"

The scroll unfurled, revealing nine skeletons standing before them. Their skeletons varied in size, suggesting they represented men, women, and children of all ages. Each skeleton had a raven perched on its head, its feet deeply embedded in the skull, creating a bizarre sight.

Suddenly, the nine skeletal crows cawed, and the nine skeletons stretched their heads forward, stopping just a fist's distance from Yan Chao, their open jaws seeming to welcome her.

The skeletons extended their arms in invitation, and Yan Chao followed their gaze. It was a spacious open space with a black and white banner fluttering above. In the center below stood a black wooden offering table, upon which sat an incense burner, three offerings, and various ritual implements and fragments of human bodies. A deep red curse mark was carved into the ground, and the four corners of the table were bound with red thread, from which copper bells jingled.

Uncle He was very satisfied with his work and introduced it to her with great enthusiasm.

"This drum is made of human skin."

"These drumsticks are made of human/bone."

"This wine is made with human blood."

"This meat was cooked with human/flesh."

......

Uncle He's voice was no longer clear; it was replaced by the roars and cries of countless people.

The moment Yan Chao saw this scene, it was as if she had fallen into a nightmare. Overwhelmed by fear, she felt cold and numb. They were like an invisible rope, strangling her almost to the point of suffocation, and she felt as if all the blood in her body had drained away in an instant.