Chapter 567: I refuse! I refuse!

The situation seemed to change in an instant.

We kept switching between great shock and great joy, and for a moment we didn't know what to do next.

The four spirit bodies of Hu, Huang, Bai, and Hui materialized into their true forms, having just been blessed by the Merit Light of Great Perfection, and each of them shone brightly.

The Three-Legged Crow seemed to feel an immense pressure; even the flock of eagles that had been constantly crying around the Ancient God Temple retreated far back.

The Three-Legged Crow suddenly raised its head and let out several cries, as if laughing, yet also as if extremely anguished.

Under our gaze, the Three-Legged Crow turned back into human form again, and actually both laughed and cursed: "Why?! Why won't you accept me?!"

"The Three Realms and Six Paths, heaven and earth vast—why is there no room for me, a Dìshì?"

"Why is it that others are born with it, while I, Dìshì, exhaust my lifelong efforts and still get only a fraction? Why! On what grounds?!"

"I refuse! I refuse!"

……

Dìshì was still roaring; at this moment he was like a trapped beast fighting.

The crowd that had been ecstatic just moments ago suddenly couldn't laugh.

Fang Chuanzong was the first to voice a doubt: "How is this different from what I imagined? Such a powerful existence as Dìshì, even without the blessing of the Merit Light of Great Perfection, could still be unrivaled—why does his sense of defeat come so quickly?"

Hu Yulin also said: "Yeah, he shouts 'I refuse,' but his willpower has collapsed; I even feel he's gone somewhat berserk."

"We haven't even made a move yet." I also didn't understand: "What on earth has happened to Dìshì?"

He originally intended to rely on the blessing of the Merit Light of Great Perfection to successfully grow a third golden true feather, receive the final Buddha's light illumination, and achieve ascension.

Even if he fails to grow the third golden true feather, having grown two golden true feathers already makes him plenty strong.

At this point, his refusal is understandable.

But his refusal should have taken the form of anger and bloodlust, of body seizure and massacre, rather than impotent howling while revealing a deep sense of helplessness.

I furrowed my brows: "I don't know if it's my imagination, but I get the feeling that Dìshì is very afraid."

Fang Chuanzong immediately agreed: "Exactly, it's fear! He seems to be afraid."

What is Dìshì afraid of?

"Ti..."

As soon as my words fell, Dìshì suddenly let out a heavenward roar, arms spread, and his monk's robe and kasaya instantly tore apart, revealing his strong upper body.

Our position was a bit far off, but being cultivators, our vision is relatively good.

However, Dìshì's hovering position at the moment is sideways to us, so we can't clearly see his condition.

On the contrary, the Mysterious Cat suddenly let out a shrill cry, as if it had seen something extraordinary.

The Copper Coin Person's chanting suddenly grew louder, the wooden fish resounding with a bang-bang.

The atmosphere instantly became extremely tense.

After Dìshì's howl, his head suddenly drooped.

His state at that time was somewhat frightening.

Bare-chested, hovering in midair, head limp, limbs powerlessly dangling—he looked…… like he was dead.

But we all understand, he isn't dead.

He couldn't possibly have surrendered without any resistance just like that.

If Dìshì had actually died just like that, the Copper Coin Person's chanting wouldn't have suddenly become this tense.

I instinctively shifted my body a bit forward, squinting my eyes.

When my line of sight met Dìshì's back, I felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over me in the dead of winter.

On Dìshì's back looked like a tattoo.

It was a woman's head.

In the instant my gaze met it, that head actually began to move, constantly squeezing outward.

She seemed to be trying to crawl out of Dìshì's body.

"If not a Buddha, then a demon."

Liu Junyan also saw it, and coldly uttered those six words.

Dìshì failed to receive the blessing of Great Perfection, ultimately unable to grow a third golden true feather; he was not accepted by the Heavenly Dao, making Buddhahood or godhood hopeless.

He refuses, he is unwilling!

At the same time, he is extremely fearful.

What does he fear?

Because he knows better than anyone what kind of monster lurks inside his body, which has clung to him like a shadow since birth, tightly entwining him, controlling him, and pushing him step by step to this moment.

Having lost, he has also become a discarded piece.

Even if he is Dìshì, so what?!

Having lost, his body will be seized by that monster, even devoured.

Just as before, when she pulled the world-wandering Three-Legged Crow down from its pedestal and scooped out the heart of the Three-Legged Crow lost in passionate decadence.

She never shows mercy.

Earlier, it was the peak-state Dìshì suppressing the Ti inside his body, which is why I was so puzzled as to why the Ti never appeared from start to finish.

The Ti is our true opponent.

As I gripped my longbow, Liu Junyan had already raised the Ancient Bronze Sword and thrust it toward Dìshì's back from afar.

But strangely, the next moment Liu Junyan was also blocked by the barrier, her body rebounded slightly, landing outside the wall of the Ancient God Temple.

But just moments ago, the four spirit bodies of Hu, Huang, Bai, and Hui had easily appeared around Dìshì!

Why could they pass through the barrier so easily, while we cannot?

I also flew over, and outside the courtyard wall I was likewise blocked by the barrier.

Liu Junyan suddenly understood: "They are setting up a formation."

"Copper Coin Person guards Xingchen; Xingchen's condition at this time should be very unstable."

Xingchen is the Chief God; the formation point occupied by the Four Blessings Immortals corresponds to the Four Direction Buddhas.

Xiao Jiu, do you still remember the result we analyzed after you first entered the Xuan Feng Dream Realm a few months ago and saw the inside of the divine temple?

It's been a long, long time.

So long that I can't even recall the details of that time.

Regarding the Four Direction Buddhas, the Five Direction Gods…

I abruptly lifted my gaze to Liu Junyan and slowly uttered a few words: "Great Sun Tathagata?!"

I remembered.

Back then, it was Fang Chuan Zong who guided our train of thought, saying that the four statues surrounding the six-petaled lotus each corresponded to the Four Direction Buddhas.

The Four Direction Buddhas guard the Great Sun Tathagata in the center, and together they are called the Five Direction Gods.

Back then we wondered whether the thing covered by the cloth in the middle might be the unfinished statue of the Great Sun Tathagata.

Liu Junyan said: "The Four Direction Buddhas guard the Great Sun Tathagata, but obviously, the Four Direction Buddhas arrayed before us are our own people; they cannot possibly guard the central one, so neither Dìshì nor Ti can represent the Great Sun Tathagata."

Just then, the flock of eagles that had been scared away suddenly swooped back, crying shrilly.

They kept circling and screeching in the sky, and soon they began to kill each other.

This scene again evoked many unpleasant memories for me.

The scene of the blue eagle sacrifice repeatedly staged in Wufu Town, with flesh and blood growing, remains etched in my mind.

I recall that Fang Chuan Zong once told me about a cruel history from many years ago.

He said that, when little Japan left China back then, they dug up a large amount of blood-soaked soil, cast it into a Guanyin statue three meters tall and weighing six hundred kilograms, which stood high on the Mingtai platform, receiving worship.

Bloody Flesh Guanyin, Mingtai Evil…