Chapter 60: 59, Life Shell

59, Life Shell

The pool was dark and deep, the trees lush and verdant.

Zhou Eryang gripped the sleeve of a woman, his gaze sincere and anxious: “Miss Bai, I never imagined they would falsely accuse us of having an illicit affair!”

I only pitied you—you had no elders at home—so I often helped you with chores…

Now that this has happened, Miss Bai, let’s run away together!”

The woman he held by the sleeve—Bai Pandi—had a face seven or eight tenths like Bai Xiue’s.

She struggled desperately to wrench free his grip, her powdered face flushed red: “Zhou, Zhou brother, let go of me first!”

There was nothing between us—the whole village saw that!”

You helped me carry water and chop wood; I made clothes and assembled matchboxes to earn money and pay you back—no one from the Bai clan of Jing can slander us—but Zhou brother, won’t you please stop tormenting me?”

Let go!”

Let go!”

Zhou Eryang had never expected such a response from Bai Pandi.

He visibly froze.

Bai Pandi finally managed to pry his hand loose, stepping back repeatedly; in her vivid red bridal gown, she declared firmly to Zhou Eryang: “I will explain this matter clearly to the village elders—Brother Zhou need not worry…”

Zhou Eryang’s expression darkened. He watched her retreating back and murmured to himself: “Rumors say the Lotus Child’s life, once entangled in love or hatred with another, can weave thought-filaments into lotus stems and fashion a lotus corpse for that person…”

In truth, whether you fall madly in love with me or bitterly hate me—it makes no difference to me…”

Miss Bai.”

Zhou Eryang suddenly snapped back to awareness, strode forward several steps, seized Bai Pandi’s arm, and dragged her into the deep pool!

He plunged in after her!

…

A torrent of thought-nourishment flooded Zhou Chang’s spirit.

He recalled again the contents of the “Great Mind Elixir Scripture,” those fragmented, twisted Chinese characters rearranging in his ears into clear phrases:

“Lotus-body, strange lotus-stem divine essence…”

“The divine essence has not been refined by heaven; the mind-consciousness is chaotic and unempty…”

“Recite the sudden-coming incantation, and the essence awakens my wisdom and merges with me…”

“Sudden-coming incantation, sudden-coming incantation, summon the black deceit and madness—now the heavens and earth are vast…”

The content revealed this time by the “Great Mind Elixir Scripture” seemed identical to the last.

But Zhou Chang carefully discerned a minuscule, subtle change within it.

Listening to the phrases forming in his ears from the “Great Mind Elixir Scripture,” he locked eyes with the strange lotus-stem divine essence that had taken on his exact features—Zhou Eryang.

Zhou Eryang’s eyes were filled with illusory, multicolored thought-nourishment.

It stared fixedly at Zhou Chang and asked: “Who are you? Where did you get this life shell? How dare you come to steal the fortune I painstakingly built?!”

“I am not a ‘shell.’” Zhou Chang grinned. “I am the master of all that is mine—I’ve come to reclaim what belongs to me!”

He was fundamentally different from this “Zhou Eryang!”

From the torrent of thought-nourishment radiating from “Zhou Eryang,” it was clear this being had never been Zhou Eryang—he was originally a monk from a temple in the Secret Treasury Realm that venerated the Wealth God.

By chance, he obtained a relic bestowed by the Lishan Holy Mother—the clay coffin cradled in his palms.

Thanks to that clay coffin, he received from the Lishan Holy Mother a “life shell.”

Thus was born the false identity of Zhou Eryang, the Bai family’s tomb son-in-law.

But Zhou Chang had always been Zhou Chang!

“Absurd!”

“Zhou Eryang” laughed bitterly at the words.

He clearly understood the Lishan Holy Mother’s “life shell” well—he did not believe a life shell could ever generate an independent soul—

“Whoever you are, trying to steal my fortune, you shall be slain by my incantation!” Zhou Eryang’s lips moved as he chanted a secret mantra: “Om! Be Ya! Sa Wa Na Ye! So Ha!”

Amid the mantra’s true words, the multicolored thought-nourishment filling Zhou Eryang’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose churned violently, transforming into golden whirlpools!

Brilliant golden light burst forth from each whirlpool, possessing the power to corrupt the heart and mind!

Under the golden radiance, Zhou Chang suddenly felt the lotus-stem divine essence before him had become the Wealth God—he felt an overwhelming urge to prostrate himself before that golden, radiant Wealth God!

The secret mantra chanted by this Secret Treasury monk was deeply tied to the Wealth God; reciting it granted the Wealth God’s blessing.

Was he also a pawn in the Wealth God’s scheme?

Or perhaps a crucial hidden piece?

Threads of thought swiftly slithered into Zhou Chang’s left palm, into the purple-black lips there; black cotton threads emerged from the palm’s lips, and in an instant, he donned the Ghost Shroud.

The character “Longevity” embroidered on the Ghost Shroud wriggled faintly, as if about to sprout gaping, bloodied mouths.

The golden light radiating from the whirlpools struck the Ghost Shroud—and was entirely devoured.

Before the pure terror of life and death, desire for wealth meant nothing.

Zhou Chang, clad in the black shroud, seized Zhou Eryang’s throat with his left hand; threads of blood-thought slithered from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. He stared at Zhou Eryang and said: “My turn.”

Shhh!

A dense swarm of blood-thought threads erupted from Zhou Chang’s face, piercing instantly into the lotus-stem divine essence Zhou Eryang’s face, wrapped in layers of lotus-filaments!

Each blood-thought thread began to weave through and purge the thought-nourishment of Zhou Eryang within the lotus-stem divine essence.

“How could you—how do you have her lotus-filaments?!”

“Damnable! Damnable!”

“Om! Ma! Ni! Ba! Mi! Hong!”

Zhou Eryang, his face pierced by blood-thought threads, shrieked in agony!

He frantically chanted the secret mantra, seeking unimaginable empowerment to obliterate Zhou Chang before him—

Amid the mantra’s true words, the multicolored thought-nourishment filling Zhou Eryang’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose coalesced into coins—golden, gleaming cash that covered his face and neck, then spread across his body, as if weaving a suit of armor made of gold coins!

Simultaneously, from the hole in each coin, a pinpoint of brilliant gold spun forth, converging toward Zhou Eryang’s third eye, slowly forming a radiant golden horizontal eye.

A sense of grandeur, mystery, antiquity, and solemnity flowed from the slowly forming horizontal eye.

Zhou Chang glanced at that eye for only an instant—and the Ghost Shroud on his body screamed with Li Xiamei’s agonized cry!

Filthy corpse-water dripped from the black shroud!

That golden eye sprouting from Zhou Eryang’s forehead might represent some terrifying divine banner—the Wealth God, about to cast his gaze upon this place!

“That golden eye must not fully form and witness this scene!”

Zhou Chang’s heart turned icy. Countless thought-threads flowed through his right palm; his nearly shattered Ghost Shroud instantly transformed into a golden-red python robe!

This four-clawed python robe blocked the golden eye’s power!

Yet the python’s scales on the robe were slowly shedding!

Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!

As the golden horizontal eye slowly took shape, Zhou Chang unleashed nearly all his thought-threads, driving them into Zhou Eryang’s lotus-body to weave and purge its life-soul nourishment—but even so, his speed was too slow!

If this continued, before he could fully purge Zhou Eryang’s life-soul nourishment, the golden horizontal eye would fully form on the lotus-stem divine essence’s forehead!

At that moment, the dense tangle of lotus-filaments wrapped around the lotus-stem divine essence suddenly stirred.

The lotus-filaments scattered like a snowfall, linking with each of Zhou Chang’s thought-threads.

Far away in the pool, the nine-jointed lotus stems swaying gently in the current instantly transformed into nine young maidens.

Seven young maidens in flowered dresses clustered around Bai Pandi, the Bai family’s matriarch, wearing a red veil and red bridal gown, and beside her, Bai Xiue in plain white robes.

The matriarch beneath the red veil slowly rose to her feet.

Zhou Chang blinked—and saw her standing before him, her cold gaze piercing through the red veil, fixed upon Zhou Eryang’s face.

ps: The Bai family matriarch’s name is Bai Pandi; in the previous chapter she was mistakenly written as Bai Ruyu—this has been corrected!