Chapter 608: What on Earth Are You Trying to Do!?

Boom—

A grand bell toll echoed between Heaven and Earth, causing everything to fall silent, everything returning to stillness, with only the reverberations of the bell remaining.

All living beings were dazed, blankly raising their heads to look at the sky, seeing a massive blood-red cloud that blotted out the sun and sky appear above.

Right above the blood-colored clouds, an illusory Spirit Mountain stood tall within them.

It seemed to have just appeared, yet it also seemed to have been here all along, only now choosing to reveal itself.

Furthermore, that Spirit Mountain looked vastly different from the Spirit Mountain in the impressions of the world, and also completely different from when it last appeared.

The Spirit Mountain in the sky was no longer resplendent with gold and jade; it had only two colors, red and white—the red of blood and the white of bone—standing within an infinite, floating sea of blood, upon which floated countless boats made from skeletons.

The figures worshipped throughout Spirit Mountain were not statues of any Buddhas; they were all headless skeletons sitting cross-legged on Lotus Platforms, using their right hands to pull off the arm bones of their left arms to strike the Wooden Fish made from their own skulls, the sound crisp and clear.

Dong, dong, dong...

Countless striking sounds converged together, sounding as if they held a strange rhythm, like a dying person whispering hoarsely and with great effort.

The entire scene appeared bloody and revealed a sense of eeriness, causing those who saw it to feel a chill in their hearts, suddenly feeling as if the head being struck was their own.

And at the peak of the bloody Spirit Mountain, a pitch-black shadow stood at the very top; He stood with hands behind His back, silently gazing toward the east.

!!!

What is that!?

This answer, no one present knew.

Chijiao, who had already charged to the mountaintop and was only one step away from rushing into the interior of Spirit Mountain, was also stunned at this moment.

"This... is this the true Spirit Mountain!?"

Before the bloody Spirit Mountain appeared, He had never once doubted the authenticity of the fallen Spirit Mountain beneath His feet.

Not even once!

But the moment the bloody Spirit Mountain appeared, the monk Chijiao understood that the one in the sky was the Spirit Mountain in His memories.

Although it had become unrecognizable, He could be one hundred percent certain that it was the true Spirit Mountain!

What on earth happened!?

After He left all those years ago, what exactly happened on Spirit Mountain?

And, that figure... why does He look so familiar? Where does this feeling of familiarity come from?

Questions, questions, questions... Chijiao's mind was filled with nothing but questions at this moment.

But even with doubts weighing heavily, He knew what He should do most at this moment.

Ignoring everything else, the monk Chijiao did not continue to hunt down those Demon monks, instead abandoning them directly and soaring into the sky, charging toward the bloody Spirit Mountain.

He had to go and see for Himself!

If the fallen Spirit Mountain beneath His feet was merely polluting Buddhism, then this Spirit Mountain filled with blood was absolutely digging up the very foundations of Buddhism.

Turning Spirit Mountain into a hell, turning paradise into suffering, turning Buddhas into skeletons—no one could transcend.

This is not the Spirit Mountain of Buddhism!

And as the monk Chijiao approached, huge waves surged in the sea of blood, converging into blood-colored giant hands that reached out to grab Him, but before they could get close, they were shattered by the shockwaves erupting from His body, turning back into blood and falling into the sea of blood.

Along the way, He was unstoppable, easily shattering all the manifestations of the sea of blood that attempted to block Him.

Boom!

The giant-like Chijiao landed with a crash at the foot of the bloody Spirit Mountain, looking up and staring at the figure on the peak.

The closer He got, the clearer that feeling in His heart became.

He must know this guy!

But who exactly is it?

Which Buddha has fallen? How could He have become so evil?

The monk Chijiao pondered while climbing Spirit Mountain once more.

And this time, He encountered resistance as well; those headless skeletons rose from the withered Lotus Platforms and blocked the path ahead.

Dozens of skeletons blocked the way, each with strength no less than a Formless, their momentum extremely astonishing.

Yet facing this formation, Chijiao did not slow down; His entire figure expanded once more, almost transforming into a small mountain, and He kicked forward violently with His massive foot.

"Stop!"

Boom!

"Get!"

Boom!!

"Out of the way!"

Boom!!!

Although those skeletons had astonishing momentum, in reality, they possessed no fighting spirit; under the repeated stomping of Chijiao's massive foot, they were directly reduced to a pile of broken bones, scattered everywhere across Spirit Mountain.

But the headless skeletons did not die—or perhaps they had already been dead for a long time—and the scattered bones constantly reassembled and charged forward again, time after time, never ceasing.

But in the end, the monk Chijiao broke through their obstruction and arrived at the peak of Spirit Mountain as He had wished.

Boom!

As He landed heavily on the peak, the skeletons saw Him leave and stopped chasing; they bent down to pick up their broken bones to reattach them, then silently returned to their original positions, as if nothing had happened at all.

Chijiao did not notice this scene; even if they had ambushed Him, He would not have discovered it, because all of His attention at this moment was already drawn by the existence before Him.

"You! You are!?"

The moment He landed on the peak, Chijiao's heart skipped a beat, His pupils trembled violently, and He stood frozen in place.

Thump-thump!!

Could He... could He be!?

No, impossible!

I watched Him sacrifice Himself with my own eyes; those people shouldn't have been able to let Him go.

How could He be here?

While the Chijiao monk stood dazed, that pitch-black figure looked back, sizing Him up from head to toe, and after a moment, actually nodded gently toward Him.

!!!

"You, you..."

The Chijiao monk trembled all over, feeling that this world was so absurd, so insane!

His voice trembled as He tentatively asked slowly:

"Fozi?"

This is impossible...

After all, Fozi had already perished long ago!

The Chijiao monk was unwilling to believe this fact, but at this moment, He had to believe it, because after hearing His question, the other party actually smiled slightly and nodded, saying:

"World-Honored One, it has been many years; you are still as impatient as ever."

World-Honored One.

There is only one person in this world who would address Him like that.

"It really is you!!? You survived?"

Chijiao was agitated, feeling agitated for the survival of Fozi; in His heart, He had actually always hoped for this possibility, unwilling to see such a brilliant and talented prodigy sacrifice Himself for that group of stubborn fellows.

"That's great, that's grea..."

But soon, Chijiao's expression changed, and the smile on His face stiffened.

Because He discovered one thing—the Bodhi seed in His embrace did not make any reaction.

The Bodhi Treasure Tree is a Supreme Treasure of Buddhism, held by Fozi back then; it could not possibly misidentify His aura, and He carried the Bodhi seed in the hope of finding His reincarnation...

But now, He saw the real Fozi, yet the Bodhi seed had no reaction at all?

Not only that, the Bodhi seed was also using all its strength to hide its own aura, disguising itself as an ordinary fruit.

This...

Is it afraid?

Is He not Fozi!?

"World-Honored One, rest assured, I am I."

The existence suspected to be Fozi saw through the doubt in Chijiao's heart, nodded, and then shook His head, saying: "However, just as you have changed into a demon body, I am also not entirely myself."

"You understand, don't you?"

Thousands of years have passed; for Fozi to die and return to life, it naturally requires paying some price.

Cutting away some things, abandoning some things, just to survive.

"..."

Chijiao was silent, then slowly nodded.

"I understand..."

But the next moment, Chijiao's eyes widened in anger, and He said hatefully: "I understand that you have resentment toward Buddhism and hatred for the events of that year, but what have you done! You are Fozi, yet you profane Spirit Mountain like this; what exactly are you trying to do!?"

Upon seeing Fozi, the Chijiao monk instantly understood who the true mastermind behind Spirit Mountain was.

The Fozi of the past, the Fozhu of the present.

It was He who orchestrated all of this; it was He who wanted to destroy the orthodoxy of Buddhism!

"World-Honored One, I am no longer Fozi."

The darkness on Fozhu's body faded slightly, revealing a young man's face, His eyes filled with blood-red color as He looked calmly at Chijiao and said: "You may call me... Demon Buddha."

The Chijiao monk's breath hitched, His anger faded by more than half, and His eyes revealed dejection and sorrow.

"Demon..."

Demon Buddha.

This was the malicious name some people used for Fozi back then, slandering Him as having Fallen into Demon, saying He would destroy Buddhism... Now it seems they were right.

"Since that day I sacrificed myself, I have already paid off the karmic debt on me; I no longer owe Buddhism anything, rather, Buddhism owes me a great Causality."

Although the Fozhu here is an evil thought, the calmness He displayed was exactly the same as His benevolent thought; although one could vaguely feel the violent killing intent contained within His body, His outward appearance was extremely calm.

"And now, it is time for Buddhism to repay this Causality."

The fact that He blocked a tribulation for Buddhism back then was the cause; now, He has come to collect the result.

Causality and retribution, the cycle is unerring.

Chijiao understood all of this, but even if He understood, He could not accept it.

Fozi was willing to sacrifice Himself to preserve Buddhism back then; He had great love for Buddhism, but how has He changed into this appearance now!?

What changed Him?

Hatred?

"Are you seeking revenge? Destroying their foundation, watching them slowly weaken, and finally die miserably."

Demon Buddha nodded gently, then slowly shook His head, "That is only a small part of what they are going to pay."

It is a goal, but not the entire goal, and it doesn't even count as the main goal.

"I have only one wish: I wish for there to be no more Buddhism in the world; I wish for the world to be without Buddha; I intend to extinguish Buddhism."

"What exactly... do you want to do? Why do you want to do this?" Chijiao did not understand why He had to commit such heinous acts, "Could it be that you want to use the act of extinguishing Buddhism to become a Supreme one?"

"A Supreme one? No, I have never wanted to become a Supreme one." Demon Buddha lowered His eyes, looking at the collapsing Spirit Mountain beneath His feet, and said softly: "I just want to extinguish Buddhism and unlock the shackles for all living beings."

Inside Spirit Mountain.

The moment the bloody Spirit Mountain appeared in the outside world, the battle here had already begun.

As Fozhu rose, the Divine Path Bell flew from Mingxin's waist into the hands of Yaoyue, and then she smashed it directly at Fozhu.

"Hey!"

Boom!

The Kind Thought did not resist, letting the Supreme Treasure, weighing ten thousand jun, smash into its body; its body trembled uncontrollably, yet it still reached firmly toward the falling Blood Bodhi.

Ren Yidao and Yaoyue both tried to intercept, but Fozhu seemed to have changed the laws of this place; all power lost its original might after landing around Fozhu and could not affect Him at all, so they could only watch helplessly as the Blood Bodhi fell into the hands of the Kind Thought.

But just as the Blood Bodhi was about to fall into Fozhu's hands, Jiexing, who had looked like he had already collapsed, suddenly opened his eyes at this moment.

"I won't... let you... succeed!"

An arm several zhang long erupted from his distorted body, grabbing at the Blood Bodhi!

A Fox Tail extended from behind Yaoyue, swelling in the wind, and swung out rapidly like a Long Whip, grabbing toward the Blood Bodhi.

And just as Jiexing and Yaoyue made their moves, Ren Yidao did not give up either, simultaneously unleashing his own methods.

He took out that headless Buddha statue, held it by the ankle, and smashed it forcefully at Fozhu, shouting loudly: "Hey! Look at what I have in my hand!?"

Jiexing's flesh-and-blood arm only relied on surprise, its power was nearly non-existent, and Fozhu did not care.

Yaoyue's Fox Tail had astonishing power, causing Fozhu to glance slightly to the side, but He did not pay much attention to it.

Yet Ren Yidao's childish method left Fozhu completely stunned.

"A feint to the east to attack in the west? Heh, just a petty trick... Hm?"

Hm!!?

That, that is!

My body?

Why is it in his hands!?

And, how could he use my body as a hidden weapon!!?

Even for an existence like Fozhu, with His composure and having seen all kinds of storms, He had not expected to encounter such a development.

You, using my body, to launch a sneak attack on me?

Huh?

Such a thought lasted only an instant in His mind, less than a tenth of a blink, but His mood sank.

Not good.

Such time was very, very short, but for experts like them, it was already enough.

Whoosh—

Yaoyue's Fox Tail changed direction in an instant, abandoning the grab for the Blood Bodhi, and instead lashed heavily onto Fozhu's chest, sending Him staggering.

Clang!

Both were flesh and blood, yet at the moment of collision, they emitted a metallic roar.

"Hahaha!" Jiexing took advantage of this opportunity to grab the Blood Bodhi, and just as he was about to laugh out loud, his palm exploded directly.

Crack!

The next instant, the Blood Bodhi that escaped from the palm seemed to be under great stimulation, turning into a streak of blood light and rushing out of Spirit Mountain on its own!

The speed was so fast that even the others did not react, and the weakest one, Mingxin, did not even know what had happened.

"Not good! Let Him run away!"

Yaoyue was also stunned for a moment by the departure of the Blood Bodhi, and as a result, this time it was Fozhu who seized the opportunity.

He did not engage with Yaoyue, took her attack head-on, and then chose to chase the Blood Bodhi, rushing out of Spirit Mountain.

"Shall we chase?" "Chase!"

The master and disciple looked at each other, instantly understood the other's thoughts, and without hesitation, left Mingxin and Jiexing behind to pursue.

Things had reached this point; He absolutely could not be allowed to leave just like this!

Ren Yidao was dragged along by Yaoyue, the sense of crisis in his heart constantly expanding and magnifying, even making him feel a sense of suffocation.

"That Blood Bodhi feels very wrong; we absolutely cannot just leave it be."

"Blood Bodhi, Spirit Mountain, destroying Buddha... what exactly is He trying to do!?"

Thanks to the big boss poorsen for the ten-thousand-point reward.

Thanks to book friend 20230131130704168 for the tip.

Insomnia is causing my mental state to explode.

I am going to put on an eye mask and sleep for a while now, and I will write when I wake up.

If you see me anywhere, whether it's chatting in a group or browsing Bilibili, please tell me directly to get lost and go to sleep.

If I don't return to normal sleep, there will really be a problem...