Chapter 23 The Spirit Buddha Cave: Gods and Ghosts Exterminate Evil. He Bo really liked Yan Chao...

He Bo really enjoyed Yan Chao's terrified and helpless appearance. He thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of having her under his control. He knelt down in front of Yan Chao and revealed his true form.

He wore a vermilion robe, his hair was disheveled, and his blood-red eyeshadow stood out starkly against his pale face.

Uncle He grabbed Yan Chao by the neck and lifted her high up. His thin, claw-like hands seemed to have sharp thorns growing on them, piercing her skin little by little, causing beads of blood to seep out.

He Bo chuckled and said, "The previous ones were all self-sacrificing, which was quite boring. I could only make do with their skin and flesh to set up this human sacrifice."

Uncle He stroked her face with his other hand. “But you are different. You are sharp-tongued and outwardly admit defeat, but you are not sincere. That is why you have the honor of becoming the last sacrifice.”

"How is it? Are you happy? Are you excited?"

Yan Chao rolled her eyes; she didn't want to say a single unnecessary word.

He Bo said, "You've got a temper, haven't you? Hahahaha! Just what I wanted! Anyway, you can't do anything to me, so today I'll end your life and help me achieve my great goal! The guy below will definitely love this gift I've given him!"

He Bo used a spell to fix Yan Chao in front of the offering table. He stood in front of Yan Chao, his back to her, and used a brush on the table to dip into paint made from human blood. He leaned over the table and wrote furiously. As he put pen to paper, the ground began to shake, prayer flags fluttered wildly, copper bells rang loudly, all the utensils floated in mid-air, played by the nine skeletons, and the incantation seals under his feet flashed with a terrifying red light.

He Bo spread his arms and laughed wildly: "Hahahaha! My great undertaking is about to be accomplished! I, He Bo, am the real god! I am bestowed with the title of God of Heaven!"

He raised his hand and waved, and Yan Chao flew into the air, looking directly at him across the distance. Yan Chao's expression was extremely distorted, his features seemed out of place, the veins on his forehead and neck bulged, his lips trembled, revealing bloodthirsty ghost teeth, and his body trembled due to the intense fluctuations of his emotions.

As Yan Chao silently recited an incantation, a barely perceptible white light shone from the bracelet on her wrist. She immediately felt the restrictions around her dissipate. Seizing the opportunity, she pulled out a folding umbrella from her bag and gently pressed the end of the handle. The handle transformed into a sharp sword. Holding the sword, she instantly plunged it straight into He Bo's heart.

"Go to hell and accomplish your great cause!!!"

He Bo was struck to the ground by her sword, and was immediately locked in place by the activating curse seal. Black energy continuously billowed from his chest. He said in disbelief, "Impossible! How can you move? You are clearly just an ordinary mortal. Who are you?"

Yan Chao pressed her sword even deeper, laughing, "Don't underestimate me. I'm here to end you! How does it feel to be subdued by your own magic?" She wiped the blood from her neck, feeling a sharp, stinging pain. Looking at the skeletal remains of the crows, she added, "And to hell with your evil crows! My crows are auspicious!"

She poisoned the sword. Learning from Hu Yanglin's experience, this was a specially modified and enhanced version that she made when she went back last time, specifically targeting these demons and monsters that she didn't like.

As a layer of frost appeared on Uncle He's body, the ice would deepen with every movement he made, and the shackles of the cursed seal would tighten.

But to completely eradicate him, we need to set off another fire.

Despite trying everything, He Bo remained unable to move. Unwilling to give up, he declared, "I will not lose! Today my great undertaking will succeed! I will never lose!!!"

Seeing that the time was right, Yan Chao said, "Don't rush, the real show has only just begun."

Yan Chao shook the bracelet on her wrist, and it suddenly emitted a white light. Yan Chao suddenly felt drowsy and thought something was wrong. Before she could react, the sword in her hand slipped, and she fell straight to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

With a loud crash, Yan Chao was suddenly thrown into a dark, bottomless pit, along with his sword.

The array that had been operating suddenly stopped, and Uncle He was freed from his restraints.

He stood up shakily, his chest pierced through, leaving a gaping hole. He was soaked to the bone, dripping water constantly, looking like a water ghost, utterly disheveled.

He Bo stared at the spot where Yan Chao had fallen, stomping his feet angrily a few times before grinning maliciously, "So what if you stabbed me! So what if the formation is broken! In the end, you still became his sacrifice! I'm going to succeed!! I'm going to succeed!! No one in this world can stop me now!!!"

"A fool's dream!"

A sharp, piercing sound cut through the air, and in an instant, his head rolled to the ground.

The person who arrived was none other than Lianxi.

One hour ago.

After Yan Chao left, Yao Xu cooked a pot of thick soup in the kitchen. The soup looked indescribable, but it smelled exceptionally delicious.

Grandma Chi was extremely anxious, fearing that something might happen to Yan Chao. Just as she was worrying about this, she saw Lianxi leisurely drinking tea, and Yaoxu was even more remarkable, as he actually had the leisure to cook soup.

Granny Chi, concerned, said with a hint of displeasure, "Gentlemen, why aren't you in a hurry? How come you have the leisure to drink tea and cook soup here?"

She was still worried and decided to go out and search for him herself. No matter what, she couldn't let a stranger lose his life here for nothing. She was an old woman; what did it matter if she died? Just as Granny Chi took a step forward, Lianxi called her back.

Are you going to save her?

Grandma Chi said, "That's right. I have to find that girl."

Lianxi asked, "What about Xiaoshan?"

Grandma Chi was stunned. In her moment of impulsiveness, she had completely forgotten about Xiaoshan. "Well, we can't just leave people without trying to save them."

“Who said we’re not going to rescue her?” Yao Xu poked his head out of the kitchen and said, “Don’t underestimate her, she’s formidable. We two brothers need to provide support from the rear, and then we can coordinate an attack from the inside and kill her in one fell swoop.”

Lianxi said, "Just wait patiently, there's no need to worry about us."

Yao Xu poured the concentrated essence of the soup into a small bottle and said, "I'm ready, we can go now."

Yao Xu specifically instructed them, "Before we return, whatever you see or hear, don't pay attention. The groceries we bought are enough for you to eat for quite a while." Before leaving, Yao Xu gave them a reassuring smile, telling them not to worry.

As soon as the door closed, Yao Xu immediately stopped smiling, looked at the small bottle in his hand, raised one eyebrow and said, "The poisonous mushrooms I specially picked have finally come in handy. I guarantee he won't be able to stop drinking them, and his dreams will be shattered."

“Hey, you know,” Yao Xu put a hand on Lian Xi’s shoulder, “if these people knew that their good days were about to end and that they would turn into ghosts, they would hate us to death.”

Lianxi said, "No, they won't even have the chance to become ghosts."

Yao Xu laughed and said, "That's true. Once you enter Wangsheng City, it'll be hard to even become a ghost."

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two arrived in front of the temple and immediately saw the faces locked on each level.

Lianxi said, "It seems that this place existed before that thing came."

Yao Xu said, "It wouldn't be interesting if there was only that one."

The two pushed open the door and entered the hall. The half-body Buddha statue was back in its original position, but it was not quite the same as the one Yan Chao had seen before.

The Buddha statue was no longer covered in gold; instead, it emanated blue light and black mist, and featured a small mustache. Beneath the statue, a fleshly body with the same appearance was faintly visible.

Yao Xu said, "Is this his true face? His forehead is dark, his lips are bluish-purple, and he looks like he's about to die."

Lianxi glanced at the dark stone wall, her eyes flashing. With a "crack," the countless human faces on the stone wall, accompanied by mournful groans, fell to the ground with a clatter, turning into puddles of bubbling white liquid.

The entire hall suddenly became bright.

Only then did the two realize that there was another statue of a deity behind the Buddha.

Lianxi sensed Yan Chao and said, "Peach Blossom is behind here. I'll leave this place to you."

Yao Xu rolled up his sleeves and said, "I've disliked this guy for a long time."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yao Xu leaped into the air, gathered his strength in his palm, and aimed at the Buddha statue, splitting the half-bodied Buddha in two with his bare hands. With a loud bang, the Buddha statue shattered into countless pieces of stone, scattering all over the ground. Pools of foul-smelling black water flowed from the Buddha statue's body. Fortunately, Yao Xu dodged in time and was not splashed all over.

Yao Xu said, "He really is full of bad intentions."

He ignored him and turned to look for Lianxi, only to find him standing on a head, demanding, "Where is she?"

Yao Xu looked around. Apart from a few skeletons and a mess on the ground, there were only the two of them, the headless ghost, and his hollow body that was flailing around. Judging from the marks on his heart, Yan Chao must have already dealt with him.

Half of Uncle He's head had been crushed into the ground by Lianxi, and he could clearly hear the sound of his skull cracking bit by bit. He struggled and spat, laughing hysterically, "Hahahaha! She's dead! She's become a sacrifice, not even ashes are left! Hahahaha...!"

Before she finished speaking, Lianxi's face contorted with rage. She grabbed his body with one hand and slammed it down, then stomped on He Bo's head. With a combination of force from both hands and feet, brain matter and eye discharge spurted out, his skull shattered into powder, and his body was smashed into a pile of mud.

But that wasn't enough. While he still had a sliver of consciousness, Yao Xu poured the small bottle of poisonous mushroom juice onto his face, which was now a pool of unrecognizable features. The instant the juice dripped, Uncle He began to hallucinate; his detached eyeballs dilated, and he murmured incoherently, "...I've succeeded! I...I am...a true god! Aha...no, I won't lose, how could I lose..."

In a flash, after a few sobs, Uncle He died completely.

Strangely, although he was completely dead, there was no ghost's soul inside him.

After a person dies, they become a ghost, but a part of the ghost's soul remains in the world, hence the term "heart soul." Only when a person enters the cycle of reincarnation, or when their obsession dissipates, or when they are killed by someone, does the soul disperse and the ghost disappear, thus the ghost is considered to be completely dead.

In other words, He Bo is neither human nor ghost; he is neither human nor ghost, but more like a puppet.

Lianxi said, "This thing has a strange identity, but we must find Peach Blossom first."

Yao Xu said, "Yes, finding the person is the priority."

Lianxi could still sense Yan Chao, but the two of them looked around and couldn't find any trace of him. They discovered that the formation set up by Uncle He was really evil.

Using snow-capped mountains as a medium, gods and Buddhas as a means of communication, and souls as vessels, they use the flesh and blood of living people to make offerings, widely gathering evil spirits from all directions, and exchanging evil spirits for spiritual energy.

Yao Xu said, "Evil arts? Is that how that thing became a god?"

Lianxi frowned, quickly looked around, and finally found a hollow place in another location. He took out his folding fan and tapped the ground twice with the handle, and the place collapsed, creating a hole.

Lianxi said, "I'm leaving." As soon as she finished speaking, she jumped down.

Yao Xu followed closely behind.

As soon as I came down, I saw Yan Chao, who was fast asleep.

"Peach blossoms!"

Lianxi strode forward and picked up Yan Chao. Her face was peaceful and her breathing was even, as if she were asleep, but her limbs were cold and her body was unusually stiff.

Lianxi cried out urgently, "Peach Blossom, Peach Blossom, wake up!"

He called her name repeatedly but received no response. He held her tightly in his arms, filled with remorse. "I'm sorry, I'm late. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He didn't even realize that his voice was trembling, and his hands were tightening around her, as if afraid that the person in his arms would disappear at any moment.

After a long while, the person in his arms coughed twice and said in a weak voice, "Be gentle, I'm still breathing."

Upon hearing the noise, Lianxi looked at Yanchao with surprise and said, "Peach Blossom, you're awake! How are you feeling?"

Yao Xu also stepped forward and asked with concern, "Peach Blossom, are you alright?"

Yan Chao stared blankly at the person in front of him, his eyes half-open, before finally realizing that he had just fallen asleep. Thank goodness he woke up; otherwise, he didn't know how much trouble he would have caused.

But why did it come so suddenly this time?

Yan Chao gave a weary laugh and said, "I'm fine, I just accidentally fell asleep." She suddenly remembered something and added, "By the way, there's a person sealed here, or rather, a god."

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The author notes: There is one point I need to clarify: the Buddha statue in the hall is an illusory image, and it appears differently to different people.

① Believers of the true God see the golden Maitreya Buddha because, in their eyes, such an image can bring them more wealth. As the saying goes, "a prime minister's belly can hold a boat," and in their eyes, Maitreya's belly is filled with immense wealth. The "true God" sees their thoughts, amplifies their greed, and thus manifests as Maitreya. Therefore, what they see is Maitreya.

②The reason Yan Chao saw the half-bodied Buddha statue was because she knew it wasn't real, but because she heard the summoning voice, she knew something was sealed there, and the half-bodied Buddha was used to suppress it. That's why she saw the half-bodied Buddha statue;

③ The black-faced half-bodied Buddha that Lianxi and Yaoxu saw was due to their identities, allowing them to see the true face of the "Buddha statue." Yan Chao only saw half of it. The reason she didn't see the whole thing is because she is now a human.