Chapter 74: What Kind of

As that hazy, familiar "transmigration sensation" dissipated, Li Yu once again saw the familiar Demon Star barrier.

Only this time, the circumstances were completely different from the last.

He was not safe or free in the slightest at this moment.

Despite having the barrier on his body, he was being treated like a "piglet," tied to a thick bamboo pole, being carried, being gawked at, and moving forward.

"Yo-he~ yo-he."

"Amitabha, a new outsider has arrived."

"Better than the last one; it's a boy, looks quite sturdy."

"Boys are good, boys are good indeed, they can serve as Buddhas."

When Li Yu heard these calls filled with horrific malice, he simultaneously saw the source of the sounds, as well as the environment he was in.

This place appeared to be a dark, damp, and filthy small mountain village.

The ones currently carrying him, and the ones with ugly heads crowding in to observe him, were all villagers.

They crawled out from one dilapidated straw hut after another—middle-aged villagers, village women, elderly folks, young children... not a single type was missing.

Every one of them was in rags and skin and bones.

But quite eerily, their faces, which were so thin they were almost unrecognizable, were all glowing with health, as if their lives were incredibly prosperous and every wish had been fulfilled.

Aside from the fact that they were all chanting "Buddha" or "Bodhisattva" in their mouths, there were also traces of Buddhism all over their bodies.

For instance, tattered monk robes, or the ordination scars on their heads, or the Buddhist prayer beads in their hands—none of it was systematic; it seemed these people were all fanatical Buddhist followers without any proper monks to guide them.

"What kind of start is this?"

"Could this be a cannibal village, and they're going to roast me?"

These two thoughts had just surfaced in Li Yu's mind.

The next moment, he saw a stone platform appear ahead, resembling an altar but pieced together with temple elements like prayer flags.

Right on that platform, there were two objects, one of which made Li Yu feel very familiar.

A highly decomposed female corpse dressed as a Bodhisattva, whose features were no longer discernible.

And a lotus pedestal beneath her.

Looking at its appearance, it was remarkably similar to the Golden Needle Lotus Pedestal Li Yu had seen when he visited Zhu Mei, the abbot of the Pig Master Temple.

If he remembered correctly, this thing was used to create what was called a "flesh-body Buddha," right?

"No... it can't be, right?"

The ominous premonition in Li Yu's mind came true in the next breath.

Under the guidance of an old man wearing a tattered kasaya and a monk's hat, who appeared to hold the status of village chief.

Several villagers began to remove the "female Bodhisattva" from the lotus pedestal, soon discovering it was difficult to pull her off in one piece.

One pull, and either the rotten flesh would crumble, or the head and arms would be torn off separately.

So these villagers simply began to smash her apart and pull her off by force.

Even Li Yu felt these villagers were somewhat insane after seeing this scene, especially since they were chanting repentance while doing so:

"Amitabha! Please, Bodhisattva, do not take offense."

"You haven't provided any Buddha-rhyme for quite some time, so it is time to step down."

"Rest assured, we will not waste your dharma body."

"The Bodhisattva has a kind heart... hey, don't break the intestines, you blockhead."

"Hey, hey, be careful, let me see if the Bodhisattva's heart is golden."

"It really is, very good, very good."

After the old village chief finished scolding the people, he turned and leaned in front of Li Yu, staring at him through the barrier.

He gave a hehe laugh, revealing a mouthful of rotten, yellow, foul teeth, then bowed piously and said:

"Don't be anxious, once the Bodhisattva abdicates, the Golden Light Lotus Pedestal will be yours."

"That is a Buddha treasure that drifted out from the [Most Benevolent Old Buddha Temple]; whoever sits on it is the Buddha. When we worship you, we can receive protection. Even if we don't eat or drink, don't sleep or rest, we can enjoy Great Freedom and Great Joy."

"You are so sturdy, you can serve as a Buddha and won't rot away easily; this is a Buddha-affinity you won't encounter in a lifetime."

"Please hold on for a few more days, our Golden Light Village depends on you."

"Children, go fetch the Buddha robes."

Hearing these words, how could Li Yu not understand?

This village was indeed not a cannibal village, but it was far more terrifying than that.

The villagers had scavenged a lotus pedestal from the so-called Old Buddha Temple; this treasure must have some eerie effect: as long as a living person is forcibly inserted onto it, they can be worshipped as an alternative "Buddha," after which the flesh-body Buddha will release some Buddha-rhyme.

Within the range of the Buddha-rhyme, these villagers could go without eating, drinking, sleeping, or resting, enjoying freedom and joy.

They could not refuse this kind of pleasure.

And so they began kidnapping outsiders everywhere, one after another, to insert onto that lotus pedestal.

In this process, the entire village had gone insane.

I fear that both their "cognition" and what they saw before their eyes had been twisted into something else.

For example, even though they were tying Li Yu up to harm him, they believed they were helping him become a Buddha.

Even though it was a rotting, foul-smelling heart, they felt it was golden.

Perhaps after the fact, these lunatics would even taste the Bodhisattva's flesh and blood.

Although these men, women, and children still had human appearances, internally, they were no longer human.

"The inheritance of Fallen Buddhism has spread to this strange realm, has it?"

"Honored Master Zhu Mei?"

Just as Li Yu was complaining in his heart, the familiar, cold Demon Star Order voice finally sounded in his mind:

"Mission start!"

"At the end of the Warring States period, in the State of Xing, in the Mount Zhangyi region, a powerful cultivator suddenly descended and cast a spell to shroud the entire area around Mount Zhangyi, including Licheng and over a dozen villages, in a barrier, allowing entry but no exit."

"Afterward, he claimed that he was originally a man of Mount Zhangyi, having traveled far to cultivate since childhood, and now that he had finally achieved success, he was determined to return to his hometown so that all his fellow townsmen could achieve immortality with him and enjoy eternal bliss."

"He claimed to have successively followed the three true gods: [Hao Tian], [Buddha], and [Ancient Sage], and with astonishing talent, successfully fused the essence of the three paths to godhood, thereby reaching the legendary extraordinary realm of 'Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown'."

"Thus, he also had three titles: Most Benevolent True Lord, Most Benevolent Old Buddha, and Most Benevolent Sage."

"Because of the great divine powers and great magic power he displayed, the people of Mount Zhangyi all chose to believe him and built three magnificent palaces on the mountaintop for him, each catering to one of his three paths. Afterward, the tens of thousands of people of Mount Zhangyi all began to follow this powerhouse to cultivate."

"Initially, the results were excellent."

"But gradually, the people of Mount Zhangyi became fewer and fewer, and those who remained began to mutate."

Only then did they realize this was a scam.

The tens of thousands of people of Mount Zhangyi had all become experimental subjects for his concurrent cultivation of the three paths to godhood."

=9+Shu_ba

"Such conduct finally angered the true gods. One day, it is unknown which of the three gods it was, but they descended with a divine miracle and killed him across the boundary."

"Before his demise, this person sealed the [Three Flowers] he had cultivated into the three palaces respectively."

When this unexpectedly large mission background entered his ears, Li Yu almost forgot the miserable fate of being inserted onto the lotus pedestal.

Good heavens!

He had seen people scam their fellow townsmen, but never someone who scammed tens of thousands at once.

What kind of experimental maniac was this?

Cultivating all three teachings, were you?

Is this what the legendary 'Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown' is all about?

Li Yu was full of desire to complain about that powerhouse from the Warring States period who was separated from him by many years; compared to him, those proud talents in Wanfu City who liked to hang people or turn patients into zombies seemed weak by comparison.

In his mind, the Demon Star Order voice continued:

"This deployment involves twelve Demon Star Order Holders in total, including two Sequence 7 Order Holders."

"Pre-scouting the Reincarnation Heavenly Net side, there are ten Reincarnators, including two Sequence 7 Reincarnators."

"Main Mission 1: Seize any one 'Flower' and offer it as a sacrifice to gain 3,000 merit points alone; if all three flowers are gathered, one can gain 12,000 merit points alone."

"Main Mission 2: For every Reincarnator killed, different merit points will be obtained based on the opponent's path sequence."

"For other side missions, please explore them yourself."

"Order Holders may take anything obtained during the conquest mission out of the strange realm."

"This mission will not display the factions of either side; all Demon Star Order Holders are requested to be prepared and not be deceived by the Reincarnators."

"All Order Holders and Reincarnators in this mission will be deployed separately; please do not leak relevant secrets, otherwise, you will be severely punished."

"The Demon Star barrier will disappear in thirty breaths; all Demon Star Order Holders are requested to be prepared."

When these long-winded and cold voices fell, a countdown immediately began to appear before Li Yu's eyes.

"Sure enough, the main missions are two as usual."

"Killing and sacrificing, truly simple and crude."

"But the Demon Star Order side has really invested heavily this time; it's rare to have the advantage."

"Twelve against ten, the true advantage is with me."

"Hmm?"

"Damn your Demon Star Order...!"

As Li Yu was complaining, he suddenly discovered something that left him completely speechless.

This shitty Demon Star barrier appeared to be protecting him.

But in reality, it was a complete restriction, leaving him unable to move, unable to release his elixir fire, or even take out a spirit elixir to consume.

Yet, those villagers were not restricted much at all.

They could move his body, drape those layers of tattered Buddha robes over him, and of course, carry him up to the high platform to place him on that lotus throne, which had already been pierced by who knows how many outsiders.

Looking at the mottled and filthy exterior of that throne, it had likely never been cleaned since it was acquired.

And at this moment, they were actually doing exactly that.

He watched as the thirty breaths counted down, bit by bit.

The only consolation: these villagers were all incredibly thin and weak; even with five of them lifting Li Yu together, they took three steps and rested for two.

Finally, just as they lifted Li Yu up and intended to pry his legs apart to arrange him in a suitable position.

The countdown!

Ended.

The moment the demon light before his eyes shattered and Li Yu regained his freedom.

He did not hesitate in the slightest, directly snapping the ropes, forcing himself up, and grabbing a skin-and-bones villager from the side, shoving him straight onto the lotus throne.

Puchi!

The villager was so thin that not even blood splattered out, and he was easily impaled upon it.

Pierced by that filthy golden needle, this villager, who had been flushed with a ruddy glow the entire time, seemed to have had some sort of "illusion" popped, and he suddenly snapped back to his senses.

He looked at everything around him in disbelief, and a shrill wail erupted from his mouth.

Seeing this scene, a cruel smile curled at the corners of Li Yu's mouth.

He shifted his gaze, looking directly at the other villagers.

(End of chapter)