The head of Miao Fengjun sighed softly.
Li Muyang was utterly baffled and hurriedly asked, “Revered monk, what is the origin of the resentful ghost? Why does it resemble Fairy Qinghe so closely?”
The resentful ghost before him did not seem to be an enemy of Little Wild Grass, nor did it appear to be a friend.
The stance of this resentful ghost was incredibly peculiar.
In response, the head of Miao Fengjun chuckled bitterly and said, “This resentful ghost was originally known as the Emperor of All Saints, a divine being from the Peaceful Realms.”
“Ten thousand years ago, while wreaking havoc in the Mortal World, it was defeated several times by Fairy Qinghe.”
“Eventually, it devised a life-and-death gamble, a duel with Fairy Qinghe, where the victor would claim everything from the defeated.”
“It was meant to be a trap targeting Fairy Qinghe, a plot laid out in advance by the Peaceful Realms’ ghostly deities to completely annihilate her.”
“But the outcome of the gamble defied everyone’s expectations.”
“Fairy Qinghe did not die, and this ghostly deity of the Peaceful Realms did not win either. Instead, it was stripped of everything that defined it as a ghostly deity—its face, its status, its will—and turned into a mad, deranged resentful ghost.”
“Fairy Qinghe seems capable of using some sort of means to enslave it, commanding it to complete tasks.”
“Yet, while carrying out these commands, it harbors a deep hatred toward Fairy Qinghe and anything related to her.”
“Later, when Fairy Qinghe entered the Ancient Resentment Well, she brought this resentful ghost along and then vanished without a trace.”
“Maybe Fairy Qinghe feared that, upon her departure for the Peaceful Realms, this resentful ghost would lose control, so she sealed it underground.”
“The pseudo-Buddha discovered the Peaceful Realms’ resentful ghost sealed beneath and took hold of this place, using the ghost as a core to extract its powers and sustain a special formation capable of resisting the Evil God.”
“Now that the pseudo-Buddha is dead, the resentful ghost has broken free…”
The head of Miao Fengjun recounted the past.
While dragging Li Muyang, who was drained of his mana, they fled at a speed that nearly defied limits.
Yet, the resentful ghost behind them continued its relentless chase, snarling and ferocious beyond measure.
Li Muyang observed the head before him with astonishment and asked, “Revered monk, you… became an immortal?!”
The cultivation of Miao Fengjun before him was clearly no longer on the same level.
To escape from the pursuit of a resentful ghost comparable to a True Immortal could only mean Miao Fengjun himself now wielded the power of a True Immortal.
Li Muyang was stunned.
Through the demonic air surrounding the head, he suddenly saw a faint smile as it spoke, “Indeed, I found the last medicinal primer I sought and fulfilled my lifelong wish. Now, not only has my body reunited with my head, but I have crossed the great threshold, becoming the first demon cultivator in history to step into the True Immortal realm.”
“Though I have not become a full-fledged immortal, I now wield an immortal’s power and have gained eternal life.”
Miao Fengjun’s words left Li Muyang utterly shocked.
“You became immortal? Eternal life?”
Damn it… wasn’t the world’s upper limit not supposed to allow one to become an immortal?
Miao Fengjun actually reached it… Could it be his body also entered the Ancient Resentment Well?
The Ancient Resentment Well is the only place where the Heaven and Earth Seal does not exist!
Li Muyang’s vigilance surged instantaneously, eyeing the head before him with suspicion and caution. He questioned coldly, “Why save me? If you let me die, wouldn’t no one come to kill you… Isn’t that better?”
The blood oath between the two dictated that Li Muyang would let Miao Fengjun search for the final medicinal primer, after which Miao Fengjun would voluntarily return the Buddha’s golden body.
But Li Muyang had promised the Earth Spirit Buddha Ancestor not only to reclaim the golden body but also to kill Miao Fengjun.
Theoretically, the two should be enemies.
Why would Miao Fengjun intervene at such a critical moment to save him?
Li Muyang’s gaze was filled with wariness.
From the demonic air surrounding the head, laughter erupted: “I never wanted to save you. But regrettably, I owe a favor to Fairy Qinghe.”
“If, after ten thousand years, I encounter you and you are in need, I must save your life at least once.”
“This is my debt to Fairy Qinghe, which I now repay.”
“Having saved you this time, I am no longer bound by any ties with you siblings.”
“The next time we meet, we will determine life or death… Farewell, scholar!”
The head laughed loudly and abruptly whipped the demonic air, sending the exhausted Li Muyang and five puppets flying far away.
Left behind alone, the head laughed maniacally as it turned to confront the ferocious resentful ghost chasing after it.
As the head and the sinister ghost were about to collide, the ghost roared angrily.
“Miao Fengjun! You unnatural abomination!”
“I will kill you and deliver your head to Jiang Zhiwei!”
The resentful ghost’s furious roars reverberated like thunder across the heavens.
Yet, the head facing it laughed wildly and showed no fear.
“Emperor of All Saints, you’ll never see Jiang Zhiwei again!”
The laughing head collided with the ghost’s giant claws without resistance.
But in the moment the head was seized, its gaze lifted toward the heavens, chanting an arcane and mysterious incantation.
From the surface of the Buddha’s head, a faint shadow of the Demon Lord emerged.
—Miao Fengjun had deliberately revealed his true self!
In the next instant, the mists in the sky suddenly dispersed.
A colossal eye appeared in the cosmos, its gaze fixating upon the Buddha’s head below.
Immense evil power descended from the void and slammed into both the resentful ghost and the Buddha’s head.
The resentful ghost screamed in agony as it plummeted, slamming into the mountains below.
Covered in evil power, it writhed madly, screaming in torment.
Meanwhile, Li Muyang, still weakened, was carried away by the demonic air, propelled ever farther, until the mountains and the ghost and Miao Fengjun were no longer visible.
His body, gradually succumbing to exhaustion, began to feel weak.
A system notification appeared in his vision.
[Main quest completed: Liberation of the Buddha’s Golden Body]
[Thirty-six Buddha’s golden bodies lie buried beneath the Ancient Resentment Well, forced to share their resting place with resentful ghosts and demons, unable to find peace. You have successfully liberated them, allowing them to perish fully and find peace.]
[Would you like to end the game?]
[Note: Ending the game will permanently close it.]
The system prompt floating in his vision struck Li Muyang as slightly absurd.
To liberate the Buddha’s Golden Body… Seriously? The Four Virtues sent him here to liberate not the Seven Treasures Glaze Buddha but the thirty-six Buddha’s Golden Bodies buried beneath the Great Zhou’s imperial palace?
Yet that same thirty-six Buddha’s Golden Bodies were neither cremated nor buried peacefully, but rather gobbled up by the Evil Gods of the Ancient Resentment Well… That counts as peace? Seriously?
This feels like hell.
In the doctrine of Buddhism, peace comes simply from the absence of the physical body?
Li Muyang found it a bit ridiculous, absurd.
But he did not immediately choose to end the game.
Because in his vision, a countdown appeared.
[Time remaining before the body decays…]
A long string of numbers indicated how much longer this body of Jie Zijiu could move.
In this moment, Li Muyang sighed.
It was destined to be like this…
This time, the game’s central character, Jie Zijiu, had already died before the game even started.
The system had merely borrowed a corpse for a temporary soul.