Corpse Mound World:
With the Mosquito Daoist leading the way, the group avoided most of the resentful spirits, only encountering scares but no danger.
“I feel that we just circled around. We did not get far at all.”
“We did circle around, but we got past the territory of the Blood Shaman Resentful Spirit. Now, we just need to continue walking straight in, and we should arrive soon. The central corpse pit is right before us,” the Mosquito Daoist said confidently.
“Let’s go, then.” Antic.i.p.ation flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes.
Although Gu Hai was somewhat worried about the Fly Daoist, the most important thing was rescuing Gu Han.
The Mantra Seeking Ball indicated they should be near. With the Mosquito Daoist in the lead, they flew to the central corpse pit.
“Something’s not right!” Gu Hai suddenly paused as his expression changed.
The rest of the group also stopped.
“Where are they? Where are Kong Xuan and the Unborn Man?” the Mosquito Daoist exclaimed.
The two had been right beside them earlier. Why did the two suddenly disappear as they flew?
Only Gu Hai, the Mosquito Daoist, Chang Ming, and Bodhisattva Lian Sheng remained.
Everyone’s face sank.
They remained where they were and started looking around. However, they could find nothing.
The Mosquito Daoist waved his hand, and countless black mosquitoes spread into the surroundings.
The mosquitoes searched the place, but the surroundings were quiet. There were no resentful spirits or ritual arrays.
“Your Reverence, something’s off. They have truly disappeared,” the Mosquito Daoist said worriedly.
Gu Hai’s face sank. Kong Xuan and the Unborn Man had disappeared right before their eyes. How did they disappear? This was too strange.
“What should we do now?” Chang Ming asked worriedly.
Gu Hai narrowed his eyes. “There is no one in the world who can silently a.s.sa.s.sinate Kong Xuan or the Unborn Man. Perhaps a ritual array transported them somewhere else.”
“So, they are alive?” Chang Ming’s expression changed.
“Although we don’t know what happened to them, we trust in their strength. If they get a breather, they can figure something out. They will either leave the Corpse Mound World or head to the central corpse pit. Since we cannot find them, we should continue to the central corpse pit,” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” everyone answered.
Now, the four turned extremely careful. After all, the disappearance of Kong Xuan and the Unborn Man was too strange. Ritual array? No one noticed at all.
Whoos.h.!.+
As the group flew, Gu Hai suddenly paused and eventually heard a strange sound. Then Chang Ming and the Mosquito Daoist suddenly vanished.
Only Bodhisattva Lian Sheng remained beside Gu Hai.
“Another disappearance?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng’s expression suddenly changed. “I think I know now!”
“You know? Do you know where they went?” Gu Hai asked anxiously.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng nodded while frowning heavily.
“What’s wrong? Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, can you find them?” Gu Hai asked worriedly.
“I can’t, but I might know the reason for their disappearance. This is…this is the Three-Layered Past Conception! This is impossible! The Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s Past Buddha cannot execute the Three-Layered Past Conception; even I cannot,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said anxiously.
“The Three-Layered Past Conception? What is it?” Gu Hai asked.
“Actually, Chang Ming, the Mosquito Daoist, Kong Xuan, and the Unborn Man are still near us, perhaps even beside us. However, we cannot see each other,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said with an unsightly expression.
“Why can’t we see them? Were they sent to an independent s.p.a.ce? Or somewhere like my Gu’s Immortal Firmament?” Gu Hai asked with a frown.
“A different s.p.a.ce? No, it’s a different time!” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said, frowning.
“A different time?” Gu Hai parroted dubiously.
“Yes. The Three-Layered Past Conception compresses the time of a certain place, splitting them into three layers of time. More accurately, the time of our place has turned slightly chaotic. The Mosquito Daoist is here, but he might be here tomorrow. Kong Xuan is here, but he might be here yesterday. We see the same place but at different times,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said worriedly.
“The same s.p.a.ce separated into three time segments?” Gu Hai raised his eyebrows slightly.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng nodded.
Gu Hai gave Bodhisattva Lian Sheng a deep look.
The Nalanda Temple lived up to being a temple with a long history. Initially, as the Han Nation grew stronger, Gu Hai had felt the Nalanda Temple was nothing much. After all, its strongest member, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, did not appear to be much. However, the Nalanda Temple’s means now seemed horrifying.
“This is a manipulation of time?” Gu Hai said.
“This is different from Old Mister Guan Qi’s time laws. The Three-Layered Past Conception is limited to this region, folding time in this place into three time segments. It only affects time by one or two days at most,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said grimly.
“This region? That means it is something like a ritual array. We just need to leave this area?” Gu Hai asked.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng nodded.
“Since that is the case, we should leave this place immediately. Let’s go!” Gu Hai said.
“Imperial Emperor Gu, it might already be too late. Look!” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said with a bitter smile.
“Roar!”
“Roar!”
Caw!
Countless resentful spirits rushed over from the surroundings. There were all sorts of animal resentful spirits and even some human-shaped resentful spirits. They all charged Gu Hai and Bodhisattva Lian Sheng with overwhelming hatred, wanting to tear the two to shreds.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng’s expression changed. He held his palms together and started chanting the scriptures.
s.h.i.+ng!
Gu Hai extended his hand and drew the Life Executioner Saber with a ferocious expression, looking like he would make a move.
“Bodhisattva Lian Sheng, follow me later. I’ll bring you out,” Gu Hai said seriously.
The resentful spirits Gu Hai killed would not come back, so he had greater destructive power. He protected Bodhisattva Lian Sheng as they left this region quickly.
However, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng continued chanting something.
As Bodhisattva Lian Sheng chanted, chanting also sounded in the distance. Gu Hai discovered the distant chant was the same as what Bodhisattva Lian Sheng chanted. Furthermore, that voice was growing louder. There seemed to be a sun rising in the distance. Soon, Gu Hai saw an extremely old man seated cross-legged in that sun.
The aged monk’s chanting seemed to control the countless resentful spirits when they heard it, causing them to charge Gu Hai.
“That old monk brought these resentful spirits over?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
“Mas-Master?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng’s expression changed.
“What?” Gu Hai asked in confusion.
“That-that is my master, the Dried Lamp Buddha. Didn’t…didn’t he pa.s.s away?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said in shock.
“The Dried Lamp Buddha? Jiang Gautama’s master?” Gu Hai raised his eyebrows.
What exactly is the Corpse Mound World? It even has a Dried Lamp Buddha?
“Roar!”
A few tiger resentful spirits and leopard resentful spirits at the front rushed over.
Boom!
Gu Hai swung the Life Executioner Saber down, clearing away the resentful spirits.
“My master executed the Three-Layered Past Conception. It must be him. But why? Why?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said in shock.
“Let’s go. I’ll bring you to him.” Wielding the Life Executioner Saber, Gu Hai opened a way.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng nodded blankly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Although there were many resentful spirits, they were not as powerful as the Avian King Resentful Spirit, so Gu Hai could kill them with a sweep of his saber.
However, the sheer number of resentful spirits charging them slowed Gu Hai’s progress significantly.
When they approached, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng held his palms together and said respectfully, “Disciple Lian Sheng salutes Master!”
However, the Dried Lamp Buddha ignored Bodhisattva Lian Sheng’s greeting, looking at Bodhisattva Lian Sheng as though Bodhisattva Lian Sheng was a stranger.
“Master, do you not recognize this disciple?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng asked anxiously.
“This buddha naturally recognizes you. However, the peak master gave instructions. If you surrender, this buddha can spare you from death and let the peak master deal with your matter,” the Dried Lamp Buddha replied expressionlessly, with palms held together.
“You…Master, why are you obeying the Corpse Worm Heavenly Demon?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng asked in shock.
However, Gu Hai’s expression changed. “He is not the Dried Lamp Buddha. He should be the Dried Lamp Buddha’s replica!”
“What replica?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said in confusion.
------
Kong Xuan and the Unborn Man had been flying with Gu Hai’s group.
As they flew, the rest suddenly vanished.
“Where’s everyone?” the Unborn Man exclaimed in shock.
“Something’s not right. Why did His Reverence suddenly disappear?” Kong Xuan said as his expression changed.
“Perhaps it’s a ritual array? Be careful!” the Unborn Man cautioned.
“Hahahahaha! Ritual array? Unborn Man, to think you dare to barge into the Corpse Mound World! Why are you here?” A voice suddenly came from a nearby forest.
“Huh?”
The two looked and saw a skinny, black-robed figure among the trees.
“Lifespan Chunshen?” the Unborn Man said.
“How long has it been? You don’t recognize me anymore?” Lifespan Chunshen sneered.
“Where’s His Reverence? Where did you send His Reverence? Is this a lifespan ritual array?” Kong Xuan snarled ferociously.
“Gu Hai and the others? Hah! You can’t even save yourselves now, and you are still thinking about Gu Hai?” Lifespan Chunshen sneered.
“This is not a lifespan ritual array!” the Unborn Man said.
“It doesn’t matter if it is a lifespan ritual array. Humph! Deal with Lifespan Chunshen first, and everything will be resolved,” Kong Xuan said coldly.
As Kong Xuan spoke, he charged Lifespan Chunshen.
Kong Xuan could move extremely quickly and instantly arrived before Lifespan Chunshen. It looked like he would capture Lifespan Chunshen.
s.h.i.+ng!
A sword light suddenly appeared behind Lifespan Chunshen, curved around his shoulder, and slashed at Kong Xuan’s face.
The ferocious sword strike threatened to cut Kong Xuan in half.
“What?” Kong Xuan’s expression changed as he hurriedly flung out two beams of five-colored divine light.
Boom!
The five-colored divine light exploded, and the force from the sword light blasted Kong Xuan back, sending him cras.h.i.+ng through several mountains.
“There’s someone else?” The Unborn Man’s face sank.
A man strolled out from behind Lifespan Chunshen.
“The Six Paths Veritable Lord?” Kong Xuan exclaimed as he climbed out of the rubble.
To think the swordsman was the Six Paths Veritable Lord? Furthermore, it was the metal deity body of the Six Paths Veritable Lord that possessed incredible destructive power. Eight hundred thousand years in the past, the Six Paths Veritable Lord was an existence that made Kong Xuan despair.
“That is the Six Paths Veritable Lord replica! The Sword Deity Six Paths who fought Sha at Borderless Heavenly Capital previously!” the Unborn Man said in shock.