Chapter 19

The contents hidden within the evil Buddha's belly were quite abundant.

Dozens of vials of pills had originally been full, but when the sword light split open the evil Buddha, many vials shattered; though Chen Ye desperately tried to salvage them, numerous pills were contaminated by corpse water and rendered useless.

Among the remaining pills, most were Blood Pills—these not only aid in consolidating the dantian and qi sea, but also serve as daily qi replenishment and can treat minor injuries, precisely what Chen Ye needed now that he had lost his hearing. Yet the side effects of these Blood Pills were extreme, so Chen Ye was in no rush to take them immediately.

There were also various bottles and jars containing antidotes, poisons, and poison worms—just these alone made the penniless Chen Ye grin from ear to ear.

Besides the pills, there were two spirit talismans.

One of them had already been shattered by sword qi and lost its efficacy.

The other one Chen Ye recognized—it was the most classic demonic spell, the Blood-Burning Incantation, which used blood as fuel; once ignited, it burned until flesh and marrow dried up, an extremely vile technique.

Mo Ci had taught Chen Ye the Blood-Burning Incantation; Chen Ye naturally understood its principles, but performing it himself was nearly impossible, for the spell was far too complicated and cumbersome, requiring long preparation just to begin, let alone vast amounts of qi to sustain it—something a mere Qi Sea cultivator could never manage.

This spirit talisman was undoubtedly a valuable item, so Chen Ye stowed it away first.

Yet trading two sword talismans for this Blood-Burning Incantation felt like a bad deal. After all, Qinghe Sword Art was the finest in the world, and Qinghe Sect's sword talismans were naturally far more precious than these common-grade items.

If these were the only gains, this treasure hunt would have been a massive loss.

Fortunately, there were other treasures.

A pitch-black long banner, a translucent amber, and a seemingly ordinary bound book.

The black banner was the demonic artifact, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner; it seemed each demon lord carried one, though this one was far superior to the crude version Chen Ye had crafted himself.

After securing the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, Chen Ye picked up the amber to examine it further.

But the moment he clearly saw what was inside, he nearly threw it away.

Inside the palm-sized amber was sealed a child—apparently around seven or eight years old, curled up, shrunk, and imprisoned within the amber. Upon closer inspection, the child's entire body was covered in runes smaller than needle points.

"Evil Curse Spirit Child?! This was made specifically for soul possession!"

Chen Ye trembled all over—this amber in his hands was cruel and vile beyond measure.

Demonic cultivators often committed atrocities; killing others to cultivate was commonplace, and body destruction requiring soul possession was not unusual. Chen Ye's master, Mo Ci, had performed soul possession multiple times, each time damaging his soul and growing weaker.

Forced soul possession was too damaging to the soul—was there a way to reduce this damage? Naturally, there was: the Evil Curse Spirit Child was a vile demonic artifact designed for soul possession.

One simply had to forcibly refine a child with close blood ties into amber, and at a critical moment, one could directly possess the child's body.

How to obtain a child with close blood ties?

Simple: have one yourself. As for who to have it with, how to have it… the demonic sect had countless methods.

One was far from enough; at least dozens were needed before one suitable candidate might appear.

When the child reached six or seven years old, their mind had to be destroyed—using terror or nightmares to reduce them to complete idiocy, keeping them alive yet powerless to resist, then sealing them in amber.

To preserve bodily vitality, the flesh had to be regularly nourished with blood and meat, ensuring the body did not decay.

The child sealed within this amber was still alive, yet no different from death.

The Evil Curse Spirit Child did not need to be carried; once the demon lord's body was destroyed, the soul would be drawn by the engraved array, automatically descending into the amber, and within days, it would hatch anew, completing soul possession at the fastest possible speed.

The Evil Curse Spirit Child was among the top survival techniques in the demonic sect, but it was so vile that even Mo Ci, Chen Ye's master, had only heard of it and refused to perform it himself.

There were differences even among demon lords; Mo Ci, for instance, was neither high nor low—he was not cruel enough to be a true villain, nor firm enough to be a true good man, so he lived a miserable life.

Cultivation must never take the middle path, for achieving immortality demands the one-in-ten-thousand. Both orthodox and demonic sects had ancestors who ascended, yet no one from the fringe paths had ever been heard to ascend.

Though character has nothing to do with cultivation level, those with firmer resolve are far more likely to overcome hardship. Doing things "close enough" always leaves you one step short at the critical moment.

And that one step—perhaps—is the difference between mortal and immortal, between life and death.

Chen Ye silently warned himself not to repeat the same mistake, then turned his thoughts elsewhere.

Now he understood the purpose of this corpse pit and the evil Buddha: to guard and nourish the Evil Curse Spirit Child, ensuring the demon lord could escape death at a critical moment.

No wonder the evil Buddha's belly held so many treasures—it was all preparation for the demon lord's soul possession and rebirth.

With pills, spirit talismans, and artifacts, he would have immediate self-defense after possession.

"These days, even demons must be not only cruel, but also cautious."

Chen Ye sighed, then grew concerned for Su Chunyi. A demon lord capable of crafting an Evil Curse Spirit Child was no ordinary foe—he wondered whether Miss Su could defeat him.

"Wait—if Miss Su kills the demon lord, won't he immediately possess the Spirit Child?"

Chen Ye suddenly felt the amber in his hand burn like fire—if the great demon revived right before him, he would be dead.

Either discard this amber or destroy it outright—otherwise, disaster loomed.

Chen Ye carefully placed the amber aside and took out his final find: a seemingly ordinary bound book. But the book had been soaked in water; the ink had completely dissolved, rendering the text unreadable. The material also seemed unremarkable—just the most common kind.

Yet if this were truly ordinary, why was it stored alongside so many precious treasures?

Chen Ye carefully flipped through it, and finally noticed something unusual.

On the book's cover, there appeared to be a faint white mark; when he lightly rubbed it, the mark grew slightly lighter.

Only this one mark? That felt wrong to Chen Ye.

Why would such an ordinary book have only this mark, while every other part—aside from the dissolved ink—showed no damage at all?

If this were a normal book, frequent handling would leave corners worn or creases—how could it look brand new?

"This white mark… could it have been made just now?"

Chen Ye was startled by his own thought—Miss Su's sword talisman had cleaved through a solid gold evil Buddha, yet could only leave a scratch on this book?

Chen Ye applied force, trying to tear the book open, but no matter how hard he pulled, not a single fiber gave way.

He pulled out his dagger and stabbed fiercely, yet no matter how much effort he exerted, he could not pierce a single page, nor leave even the faintest mark.

Chen Ye exclaimed in shock: "This book is the real treasure!"

No wonder it was kept inside the evil Buddha—even if the text couldn't be read, simply tucking it into one's clothes made it an impervious armor.

Yet the book's true value lay in its text. Whatever was recorded on material this precious must be extraordinary—perhaps the legacy of a demonic sovereign?

Chen Ye, with only a try-it-out attitude, infused his qi into the book.

Logically, this should have had no effect—if the text was encrypted in some way, it wouldn't be so easily cracked.

But today seemed to be Chen Ye's lucky day.

As Chen Ye infused his Qi, the indistinct characters turned into golden light and hovered in midair.

"Compassion arises from accumulated virtue, vowing to save all beings; the golden staff in hand shakes open the gates of hell. The pearl upon the palm radiates light over the thousand-fold world. Within the voice of wisdom, amidst auspicious clouds, for the suffering beings of Jambudvipa, I am the great witness and meritorious benefactor. Great compassion, great vow, great sage, great mercy, the primary deity, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha Mahasattva."

After reading it, Chen Ye was stunned; this seemed to be the *Sutra of the Fundamental Vows of Ksitigarbha*!