Chapter 167 - 126: Brain-Eating Evil Buddha

Chapter 167: Chapter 126: Brain-Eating Evil Buddha

They returned to the house at the village entrance. It was silent inside and out, with only the faint sound of the night wind occasionally brushing against the window lattice.

After rummaging around for a long time, they found there was no food left in Lu Changyuan’s home. The rice jar in the kitchen was scraped clean, perhaps by mice.

The jar of pickled radishes in the corner held nothing but murky brine. As Lu Changyuan searched the cupboards, Qiu Yuehan leaned against the doorframe and watched him, her gaze as calm as still water.

The sky had gone completely dark. A night as black as ink enveloped the small village. The occasional distant bark of a dog only amplified the surrounding desolation.

Moonlight filtered through the window, casting faint shadows.

The Fairy’s skin was luminously pale, her expression serene and distant. Her black dress clung to her slender waistline, outlining heart-stopping curves. Her soft, dark hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders and back like a waterfall. The crimson floral mark on her forehead seemed to glow faintly in the darkness, accentuating the Fairy’s otherworldly aura, making her seem utterly apart from the mortal world.

Lu Changyuan exhaled, sitting on the edge of the bed and gazing at the moon as if something had just occurred to him.

"Do you still remember the Spirits of the Netherworld?"

The Fairy was lost in thought, her long, slender fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her dress. She didn’t answer.

’Qiu Yuehan recalled the first time she had come to Lu Changyuan’s home. Back then, her mind had been consumed with how she could swallow her pride to survive his clutches. That single Demon Pattern had been her greatest worry.’

’At the time, she had been terrified Lu Changyuan had ill intentions toward her. She had even quieted her breathing, not daring to expose the slightest bit of skin. And yet now... he wasn’t like this with her Junior Sister at all. They had clearly tried everything together.’

’The first lesson for a cultivator is to face one’s own desires. Only by being honest about those desires can one avoid being corrupted by a Desire Demon.’

’Qiu Yuehan would not lie to herself.’

’She knew she needed this man to dispel her loneliness, and she understood her feelings for Lu Changyuan with even greater clarity... It wasn’t a normal emotion like love or affection, but something far more profound, like intertwined threads of fate binding them tightly together.’

Just as Lu Changyuan felt that Xia Lianxue had become a part of his life, a Lifebound Spirit was also an inseparable part of the Nether Monarch.

"I’m talking about your Spirits. The ones that constantly wander the Netherworld."

Lu Changyuan raised his voice slightly, and only then did Qiu Yuehan snap out of her daze, her lashes fluttering. "What about them? The Spirits?"

Qiu Yuehan could sense her connection to the Netherworld. Though the Netherworld was currently closed, she could make it reappear at any time she wished, letting the Nether River flow once more.

SPLASH!

It had started raining again. Inky black rain struck the ground, kicking up tiny splashes. The air even carried a strange, inky fragrance, as if someone had knocked over an inkstone.

Against the patter of the rain, the Fairy’s voice sounded even crisper, like jade beads falling onto a platter. "Those Spirits are all manifestations of the Path of Death. They are a part of the fundamental laws."

"What I want to know is, can a Spirit truly absorb a cultivator’s blood and flesh and become an entirely new life?"

Qiu Yuehan didn’t answer Lu Changyuan right away. She simply rose, her bare feet padding on the cool floor. She walked to the door, closed the somewhat dilapidated wooden panel, slid the bolt shut, and then lit the small oil lamp on the table.

Then, bathed in the dim, yellow light of the lamp, she calmly slipped out of her black dress. The silky fabric glided down her smooth skin and pooled at her feet, revealing a moon-white dudou that gently cupped her chest. The garment’s ribbons were tied behind her neck, outlining her full curves.

Her snow-white collarbones and delicate, fair shoulders were faintly visible in the shadows, as pure and noble as plum blossoms in the snow, glowing with a soft luster in the gloom.

The Fairy walked to Lu Changyuan’s side. As he watched with mild surprise, she pressed herself against him with a look that was both expressionless and perfectly natural. Her arms wrapped gently around his waist, and she rested her cheek on his shoulder.

Lu Changyuan was about to speak when he heard the Fairy say in a flat, indisputable tone, "The first time you met me, you dragged me into bed. Don’t you go saying anything awkward to me now."

The Fairy added, "New life is possible, much like the reincarnations you read about in folk tales. But in practice, you should think of them as newborns. They have no memories of their past lives, and their race is determined by the race of the Blood and Flesh Cultivator they absorbed."

Qiu Yuehan’s dark hair brushed against Lu Changyuan’s cheek. It tickled, carrying a cool, ethereal fragrance.

’Lu Changyuan felt a fire stir within him. Her body, as beautiful as the moon, was so alluring it always sparked an impulse to ravage her fiercely, just to see that icy composure break and the corners of her eyes flush red with tears.’

’Besides, what man alive wouldn’t want to see the normally cold and aloof Female Sword Immortal kneeling on the floor, head bowed, cheeks flushed, and whimpering? That extreme contrast was the most captivating thing imaginable.’

Lu Changyuan steadied his breathing, thinking to himself that this was all the fault of his Five Desires and Six Dust Heart Transformation Technique. He then asked, "Do you know how many people have made it out of your Netherworld?"

"Two. A man and a woman," Qiu Yuehan answered succinctly.

Lu Changyuan frowned. "Can you contact the ones who got out?"

"Not really. I don’t know where they are now. For all I know, they’ve already perished."

"I thought you created this method of rebirth back then to ascend beyond the Yao Guang realm." Lu Changyuan’s fingers unconsciously toyed with a strand of her hair. It took him a moment to remember this wasn’t the Little Fairy in a White Skirt, but her senior sister.

Qiu Yuehan paused, seemingly oblivious to his action. "That was indeed the reason. If one could truly turn death into life, that would mean achieving a state beyond Yao Guang."

The Nether Monarch’s technique couldn’t be considered true rebirth, but rather the creation of new life. However, if that new life possessed memories from its past, acted the same way, and even remembered its former Magic, *that* would be true rebirth. If the Netherworld could achieve that, Qiu Yuehan could have used it to break through to the realm beyond Yao Guang.

Unfortunately, she was severely injured before she could succeed.

Qiu Yuehan whispered in Lu Changyuan’s ear, her breath as fragrant as an orchid, "Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"It just came to mind. You were so powerful back then. What could have possibly happened to leave you like this?"

"I don’t really remember. Those memories haven’t returned yet. Most of what I recall now are memories of my time with you."

Memories require a catalyst to be revived. Since Qiu Yuehan stayed by Lu Changyuan’s side day and night, it was only natural that her memories of him were the first to return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

’I miss him so much. I wonder what he’s doing right now.’

The Little Fairy in a White Skirt sat on a grave mound, gazing at the inscription on the headstone—"Tomb of My Husband, Lu Changyuan"—and muttered to herself, "He’d better not be on Celestial Mountain, getting cozy with Senior Sister."

’Xia Lianxue had to admit that Qiu Yuehan was gorgeous. A Female Sword Immortal with robes fluttering in the wind, as cold and remote as the moon... She was even more alluring than she was.’

’So, even though it was a little embarrassing to admit, Xia Lianxue really wanted to see the normally aloof Qiu Yuehan begging for mercy in a state of utter humiliation... Well, she couldn’t help it! Her senior sister had lorded it over her for more than a decade; it was only normal to have a few dark thoughts, right?’

The Little Fairy in a White Skirt patted her own grave, took out her wedding dress, and then left her place of seclusion, clutching the chest that held it.

She glanced back and clenched her small hand toward her place of seclusion.

The resonance of the Dao of Time spread out from that spot, blanketing the entire Miao Yu Palace. Beneath the heavens, everything seemed to slow down, yet the Spiritual Qi began to multiply.

The Little Fairy had altered the rate at which Spiritual Qi gathered here, as well as the flow of time itself.

She was only at the Sixth Realm now, and such a massive undertaking was taxing. She had to rely on the lingering resonance of the Dao she had left behind when she was at the Seventh Realm to enact her plan.

’Hopefully, in the ten years the palace is sealed, everyone inside can recover their strength.’

Not long ago, Xia Lianxue had summoned all the disciples to the main hall and given a speech.

The gist of it was: cultivate diligently, improve every day, and when the time comes, she would lead them to charge back and slaughter every last member of the Canglan Sect, the Blood Demon Palace, and the Corpse Puppet Sect.

The disciples of the Sect listened with boiling blood, resolving to train relentlessly so they could get their revenge.

Hatred truly is the purest motivation for cultivation.

~~~~~~~~~~~

「Celestial Mountain.」

The Red-clothed Sword Immortal sat on Leng Moyuan’s bed, gazing down upon the Mortal World.

Unlike Leng Moyuan, who preferred to lie on her side, Jiang Jiayi favored sitting properly cross-legged. Her Wooden Sword rested on her lap, never leaving her for a moment.

Someone flew swiftly up Celestial Mountain.

"Vice Sect Leader."

Jiang Jiayi gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment.

"We’ve found a trail leading to the Brain-Eating Evil Buddha of Shifo Temple."

"Where?"

"Not far from the territory of the Dream Race. A few days ago, the skulls of seventeen cultivators were pried open and their contents devoured."

Jiang Jiayi closed her eyes and said flatly, "I am aware."

Several years ago, Jiang Jiayi had united with three other sects to attack the Eating Buddha Sect. They had destroyed the sect’s mountain stronghold, and its disciples had been all but wiped out. Their Sect Leader, the Brain-Eating Evil Buddha, had taken several of Jiang Jiayi’s sword strikes and was gravely wounded, but he ultimately escaped. In the years since, the Eating Buddha Sect had vanished without a trace, and its Sect Leader’s whereabouts remained a mystery. To think he would finally make a move now.

"Send a message to the Qingcao Sword Sect. Tell them I invite their Sect Leader here to discuss an important matter."

"Yes."