Corpse Mound World:
Wielding the Life Executioner Saber, Gu Hai killed the countless resentful spirits in his path.
There were many resentful spirits, millions of them. Furthermore, they could return after dying. However, Gu Hai could annihilate them.
Boom!
Gu Hai could kill ten thousand resentful spirits with each saber strike.
Gu Hai headed for the Dried Lamp Buddha, sweeping everything in his path and bringing Bodhisattva Lian Sheng along.
Although there were many resentful spirits, they were much weaker than the Avian King Resentful Spirit and the Blood Shaman Resentful Spirit. They were simply no match for Gu Hai.
However, these resentful spirits had no consciousness, consumed by resentment. They did not fear Gu Hai’s saber strike and continuously rushed at him.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
By the time Gu Hai reached the Dried Lamp Buddha, he had killed one million resentful spirits.
“Master’s replica? How…how can this be? Master never lost any flesh or blood in his entire life—no, there was once. He drew out blood to rescue First Senior Brother. Could it be…it was Jiang Gautama….” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng’s expression changed.
“Do the two of you insist on continuing your way? We already know everything about you. You cannot escape!” The Dried Lamp Buddha looked at the two.
Gu Hai stared at the Dried Lamp Buddha, sensing danger.
“We’ll go around and head straight for the central corpse pit,” Gu Hai said to Bodhisattva Lian Sheng.
However, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng’s expression changed. “Oh no! It’s too late!”
“Huh?” Gu Hai said, feeling confused.
“Evil sin h.e.l.l domain, the ultimate world of the past conception,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said in shock.
The Dried Lamp Buddha held his palms together, sitting in the blazing sun as the surroundings suddenly turned dark. Millions upon millions of ghostly beings suddenly appeared, presenting scenes of torture—some had their bodies being sawed in half, some had their tongues pulled out, some were tossed in boiling oil, and many more—all looking incredibly cruel. The two were stunned.
The shock from these scenes seemed to affect the two’s minds, triggering memories of the wrong things they had done, then magnifying the impact of these wrongdoings and evoking their guilt.
“Sowing chaos in our mind? You are not enough.” Gu Hai’s expression turned serious.
As he spoke, he swung his saber at the Dried Lamp Buddha.
Boom!
A powerful manifested saber flew at the Dried Lamp Buddha. However, it strangely pa.s.sed through the Dried Lamp Buddha’s body, not touching him.
“What?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
“Imperial Emperor Gu, this is a domain, a divine Dao domain, the past conception’s world. He is G.o.d in this place. This is the most powerful mystery of my Nalanda Temple. No one can touch him,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said anxiously.
“He is untouchable?” Gu Hai’s face sank further.
If I can’t touch him, how do I fight?
However, Gu Hai did not give up. He had many means at his disposal, some of which might work. Gu Hai drew the Life Killer Saber and tried attacking the Dried Lamp Buddha.
Boom!
A loud report suddenly came from in front of Bodhisattva Lian Sheng. He had opened an exit.
“Imperial Emperor Gu, I used the past conception I learned throughout my life to open this exit. You go first; leave this place to me,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said gravely.
“Leave it to you?” Gu Hai frowned slightly.
“Time is tight. Earlier, Master said the Corpse Worm Heavenly Demon had already discovered us. What if he goes to deal with Gu Han ahead of us? We cannot delay and remain here for long; we need to find Gu Han immediately,” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng said anxiously.
Gu Hai showed a grave look as he nodded.
Gu Hai did not fear dealing with the Dried Lamp Buddha. However, it would be bad if something happened to Gu Han.
“Then let’s go together.” Gu Hai nodded.
Bodhisattva Lian Sheng shook his head. “No. This is the exit I opened with my past conception. I fused with this domain to allow myself to open it. I can’t leave. Go quickly!”
Gu Hai’s face sank. “If I leave, you will be in danger. How about we end this battle quickly? We can leave after I kill the Dried Lamp Buddha’s replica.”
“No!” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng immediately yelled.
“Huh?” Gu Hai said.
“Imperial Emperor Gu, go first. Actually, I also have a selfish motivation. Although he is Master’s replica, he has Master’s memories. I have something to ask Master. There’s no need to worry about me. Quickly find Gu Han!” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng pleaded.
Gu Hai looked at Bodhisattva Lian Sheng and eventually nodded.
Then Gu Hai stepped into the exit.
Buzz!
The exit instantly shrank and vanished.
“Lian Sheng, your past conception is well cultivated,” the Dried Lamp Buddha said coldly.
Vast black energy rushed towards Bodhisattva Lian Sheng and engulfed him.
Amid the vast black energy, Bodhisattva Lian Sheng called out, “Master, the evil sin h.e.l.l domain is a reflection of your heart. All the evil spirits and the sinister energy are due to past wrongdoings. This disciple had the fortune to enter Master’s domain in the past. Back then, the domain was bright without any darkness. Why are there so many ghosts and so much sinister energy now? Master, how many evil things had this body of yours done? How many people have you killed for the Corpse Worm Heavenly Demon?”
The surging black fog enveloped Bodhisattva Lian Sheng.
The Dried Lamp Buddha held his palms together, showing a cold gaze. “Since you know I am a replica, you should understand I only obey the peak master.”
“No. Master, you once said that the ma.s.ses are equal and that all life suffers sorrow and bitterness. We Buddhist cultivators work to free the ma.s.ses, to resolve the evils of the world. Have you forgotten? This disciple’s dharmic name is Lian Sheng, meaning to take pity on the ma.s.ses. This name came from Master. Master, have you forgotten your true self? Have you abandoned your Buddhist Dao?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng’s sorrowful cry came from the black fog.
The Dried Lamp Buddha trembled slightly, a visible struggle showing on his face.
“You once said your greatest trial was First Senior Brother. You wanted to use your entire life to lead First Senior Brother to goodness. You even said if one life was not enough, you would use ten. Have you forgotten?” Bodhisattva Lian Sheng asked anxiously from within the fog.
“Gautama?” The Dried Lamp Buddha’s figure trembled.
------
Gu Hai left the evil sin h.e.l.l domain. After stepping out, he returned to the earlier Corpse Mound World.
There was no one around.
Gu Hai frowned slightly. Then he headed towards the central corpse pit with a somewhat heavy heart.
He was already near the central corpse pit, so he moved at his fastest speed.
Along the way, the number of resentful spirits increased, continuously charging him. However, all the resentful spirits turned to ash wherever his Life Executioner Saber pa.s.sed.
Rumble…!
Loud sounds rang out. Gu Hai killed many resentful spirits as he moved.
The Mantra Seeking Ball indicated he was getting near.
Along the way, Gu Hai had been quite lucky. He did not run into any powerful resentful spirits like the Avian King Resentful Spirit or the Blood Shaman Resentful Spirit. The strongest he ran into was just a sixth-layer Upper Heavenly Palace Realm rat resentful spirit.
When he approached the corpse pit, resentful spirits filled the surroundings.
There were so many resentful spirits, they seemed endless.
At a glance, there were millions, even billions.
After arriving here, Gu Hai raised his eyebrows, no longer going on a killing spree. Instead, he moved quickly, weaving his way through before the resentful spirits could react.
Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+
The air whistled as he shuttled along and eventually arrived at the central corpse pit.
The corpse pit looked like a t.i.tanic valley with billions of resentful spirits in the surroundings. They howled as they gazed at a figure in the center.
“Han`er?” Joy suddenly flashed on Gu Hai’s face.
Gu Han had two chains on his back—one golden and one black—fixed to his scapula. Their ends extended into s.p.a.ce and vanished, apparently connected elsewhere.
Gu Han sat cross-legged in the air, s.h.i.+ning with a bright golden light.
“Om mani padme hum!” The Six-Syllable Great Light Mantra rang out in the air.
The nearby resentful spirits clutched their heads in incredible pain as though being burned and purified by the Buddhist chanting. There were even two resentful spirits that got fully purified. They held their palms together and knelt behind Gu Han, chanting together with him.
“Han`er!” Gu Hai shouted.
This cause the distant Gu Han’s figure to tremble. He stopped chanting and looked towards Gu Hai.
“Roar!”
The moment Gu Han stopped chanting, the golden light around him withdrew. Countless resentful spirits suddenly charged him, directing their Resentful Energy at him.
“You are courting death!” Gu Hai glared.
Rumble…!
Gu Hai swung the Life Executioner Saber, immediately sending out millions of saber qi to kill the nearby resentful spirits.
“Father?” Gu Han exclaimed, slightly startled.
“Roar!” Countless resentful spirits continued charging over.
Gu Hai stood by Gu Han, protecting him and continuously killing the resentful spirits.
However, the tide of resentful spirits seemed endless. Millions of resentful spirits continuously charged out from the colossal pit below.
Gu Hai’s face sank. He wanted to bring Gu Han away.
“Father, I cannot leave. I’m locked to the s.p.a.ce here,” Gu Han said with a bitter smile.
“Don’t worry. Father is here to save you today. I will bring you away,” Gu Hai said seriously as he did his best to kill the surrounding resentful spirits.
Gu Han felt moved. “Father, this child had heard about your matters while at Nalanda Temple. Actually, this Corpse Mound World is different from the world outside. This is an independent world created by the previous-generation Heaven. The Six Paths Immortal did not take away the laws of this world.”
“Oh?” Gu Hai felt startled.
As he killed resentful spirits, he extended a hand and swiped down.
Buzz!
Gu Hai seemed to pull on a purple energy thread in the air.
“He really did not. To think the Go Dao laws exist here?!” Gu Hai’s face lit up with joy.
Now, no one but the deceased Old Mister Guan Qi could match Gu Hai in the Go Dao in this world. As long as there were Go Dao laws, he could use them.
Gu Hai did not need the Heavenly Go Stone and simply probed s.p.a.ce.
Rumble…!
Countless energy threads appeared in s.p.a.ce. Then a surging fog enveloped Gu Hai and Gu Han. The Go Dao ritual array instantly activated, covering the vicinity. When the countless resentful spirits rushed in, they lost their sense of direction.
Now, the area around Gu Hai and Gu Han fell silent.
“Go Dao laws? Father’s Go Dao is indeed unparalleled in the world,” Gu Han marveled.
“Han`er, Father finally found you. Let me see your chains; then Father will take you away,” Gu Hai said.
However, Gu Han shook his head. “Father, this child does not want to leave yet.”
“Oh?” Gu Hai felt slightly startled.
“Jiang Gautama placed me here to use the countless resentful spirits to incite my past demonic nature. However, I had been moved by my master from my previous life, the Dried Lamp Buddha. My demonic nature has already been removed—no, suppressed. Jiang Gautama wants to bring back my demonic nature with the resentful spirits here; this is the best place for tempering my heart. I want to purify all the resentful spirits and acc.u.mulate great beneficence to wash away my past sins,” Gu Han said gravely.
“Past sins? Father does not understand,” Gu Hai said with a frown.
“Father, you know about my past life, right?” Gu Han smiled.
“You were the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s good Gautama, and Jiang Gautama was the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s evil Gautama. You were originally one,” Gu Hai answered with a frown.
“Yes. Actually, I had another name when I shared a body with Jiang Gautama. Has Father heard of it before?” Gu Han asked gravely.
“The Gautama Heavenly Demon?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
Gu Hai had heard this name in the past. He previously thought it just referred to his duality in nature. Now that Gu Han asked this, Gu Hai suddenly thought of a shocking possibility.
“Yes. This child used to be the peak master of the Heavenly Demon Holy Land’s Spirit Mountain Peak. The Unrestrained Heavenly Demon sent me to Nalanda Temple to take the Dried Lamp Buddha as my master and inherit the ancient temple to start the Heavenly Demon Holy Land’s faction in the land of the living. The Dried Lamp Buddha discovered my motive and prevented me from succeeding. Later on, I established the Spirit Mountain Sect, which is the current Spirit Mountain Holy Land,” Gu Han said with a bitter smile.
“Gautama Heavenly Demon? Corpse Worm Heavenly Demon? You…you were the Gautama Heavenly Demon? This means the Spirit Mountain Holy Land is actually a branch of the Heavenly Demon Holy Land?” Gu Hai said in shock.
“Yes. This child was the peak master of the Heavenly Demon Holy Land’s Spirit Mountain Peak in my previous life, the Gautama Heavenly Demon. I had built up overwhelming sin. This child wants to resolve those sins in this life here,” Gu Han said, nodding.
“The Heavenly Demon Holy Land?” Gu Hai’s face sank.
This was truly a horrifying acc.u.mulation. One main peak and twelve subordinate peaks. The Gautama Heavenly Demon had been just the peak master of one of the subordinate peaks. Did that mean there were eleven others of similar strength to the Gautama Heavenly Demon? Was the Unrestrained Heavenly Demon of the main peak even stronger?