The ground was covered with corpses, their stench pungent and unbearable, immediately drawing the crows circling overhead.
Twisted limbs were tangled together. Some of the Cave Dwellers were not quite dead yet and could still be seen gasping for breath, but the bloody foam at their mouths and noses showed they were already on the verge of death.
Yet the surrounding monks maintained solemn and dignified expressions, meticulously chanting scriptures without the slightest deviation, forming an absurd contrast with the bloody scene before them.
The Cave Dweller Buddhist Child that had been selected was forcibly held before the Sitting-Deer Arhat. As golden light scattered in all directions, he received the infusion of Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi.
"Amitabha..."
The Cave Dweller named Huang Ming gradually drifted away from his humanity under the erosion of Buddhist qi. The sorrow on his face transformed into fanatical devotion toward the Sitting-Deer Arhat.
At first, he was still able to resist the Buddhist qi, but how could a mortal body contend against immortal Buddhas?
In Huang Ming's eyes, the corpses littering the ground suddenly stood up. Wearing kasayas and displaying compassionate expressions, they released soul after soul that drifted toward the Western Paradise in the sky.
The hatred in his heart was completely dispelled. So this was the reason for killing, to save all living beings.
A stiff smile appeared on Huang Ming's face. Just as he was about to fully accept the Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi, his consciousness suddenly sank into boundless darkness.
Confusion filled him. Hadn't he just been attending his ordination ceremony?
According to the enlightened monks of Lingshan Temple, if he could gain the recognition of the Sitting-Deer Arhat, then after death he would be allowed to sit beneath the Buddha's Throne of Skulls.
After waiting for a long time, the excitement in Huang Ming's heart gradually calmed.
At that moment, a figure composed of distorted rays of light appeared. Fear rose in Huang Ming's heart, and he could only recite the title of the Sitting-Deer Arhat.
He thought it was the inner demon recorded in Buddhist scriptures. If one failed to overcome it, they would suffer qi deviation and fall into the eighteen layers of hell after death.
Huang Ming forced himself to look at the figure and silently repeated, "Everything is false," hoping to awaken from the illusion. Instead, he heard the figure speak.
"Huang Ming, is what you see truly reality?"
Huang Ming froze and looked up in disbelief.
He discovered that the "inner demon" was constantly changing forms, shifting from the Sitting-Deer Arhat to the Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva, then to Ratnasambhava Buddha, and even the Three Dao Ancestors were not omitted. The sight was utterly horrifying.
Huang Ming's mind stood on the brink of collapse as his consciousness cried out in disbelief, "How can this be so real? I've never even seen the Buddhas recorded in the scriptures. It's impossible..."
Using Zhili Technique's influence over dreams, Ren Qing quietly invaded Huang Ming's Mud Pellet Palace. "Open your eyes, Huang Ming. Open your eyes..."
The reason he had intervened was because something had indeed gone wrong with the Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi.
Under the monks' protection, aside from the statue possessed by Ren Qing, there was also a palm-sized box. The Buddhist qi contained within it was the densest.
Ren Qing could sense that part of the Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi was likely sealed inside the box, yet for some unknown reason, the rest of the Buddhist qi showed no reaction whatsoever.
Huang Ming awoke in a daze. Only a few breaths had passed outside, but to him it felt as though a hundred years had gone by in a dream.
Instinctively, he looked around again. His pupils immediately shrank to pinpoints, and the legs he knelt upon trembled uncontrollably.
There was no Western Paradise. As for Buddhism... there was only a land of evil.
Huang Ming saw the souls of his tribesmen being devoured by the endless Buddhist qi. Every twisted face was filled with despair and the desire to survive.
"Save me..."
"Kill me..."
The river formed from Buddhist qi was packed with tens of thousands of horrifying souls.
Huang Ming burst into uncontrollable laughter, causing dozens of monks to surround him. Killing intent had already appeared in their eyes.
Ren Qing sighed. Both the immortal path and the Buddhist path were roads of no return. Living in this world, if one's luck was poor, even life and death would be beyond their control.
Huang Ming shuddered. The terror in his heart was overtaken by the desire to survive.
Because he knew that once he died, he would not even have the privilege of having his soul scattered. He would undoubtedly become one of the countless white bones piled behind the Buddha.
Huang Ming cried for help over and over in his heart, and before the monks could approach, he fell into darkness once more.
After probing the Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi, Ren Qing became even more audacious. Using the dream realm's ability to bridge vast distances, he directly pulled Huang Ming into Dream City.
Huang Ming appeared in the sky above Dream City. He saw a flourishing city filled with life and heard the sound of scripture recitations from the Cishi people during their morning lessons.
Without realizing it, his fear and panic gradually faded away, leaving behind only calmness as still as water.
This was also Ren Qing's first time using Zhili Technique to alter another person's nature. He had not expected that he had still underestimated the power of this Ascension Method.
He had deliberately waited until the Buddhist qi had transformed Huang Ming into a fanatic believer, yet he still easily shattered the man's cognition before reconstructing it anew.
Not only did Huang Ming abandon his faith in the Sitting-Deer Arhat, he also became filled with hatred toward the Buddha and developed a yearning for Dream City.
When Ren Qing used Zhili Technique, the distance between them spanned over ten thousand miles.
Moreover, the most terrifying aspect of Zhili Technique was that it could use the influence of dreams to cause its targets to suffer all kinds of illnesses.
If Huang Ming believed in a dream that he had caught a cold, his body would likewise develop symptoms.
This was the core principle behind Zhili Technique.
"Diseases originate from dreams, and dreams govern all dreams under heaven."
Ren Qing intended to develop Huang Ming into an informant, eliminating the need to communicate through Song Zongwu's remnant soul. Thus, he sent a speck of Dreamflower into Huang Ming's Mud Pellet Palace.
The contents of the Great Compassion Maitreya Vajra Sutra poured into Huang Ming's mind, along with Calculus Disease Seed and a trace amount of weak Buddhist qi.
[Great Compassion Maitreya Vajra Sutra]
[Created by Ren Qing. Suitable for Calculus Disease Seed. It gradually transforms flesh into metal, and upon reaching mastery, can be used to begin cultivating the Vajra Body.]
Huang Ming trembled uncontrollably. By the time Dreamflower disappeared, his body had already adapted to the infusion of the Sitting-Deer Arhat's Buddhist qi.
His flesh turned bronze in color, while Buddhist qi circulated throughout his body via his pores.
The monks of Lingshan Temple flushed with excitement. Numerous friendly gazes landed on Huang Ming, believing they had finally found hope for an heir to inherit the Fruit Position.
Huang Ming's expression returned to calmness as crisp sounds echoed from his bones.
Under the gaze of the gathered monks, his deformed limbs and body unexpectedly returned to normal. He instantly became a gaunt man over three meters tall.
Bringing his palms together, Huang Ming responded to the monks' expectations.
"Sitting-Deer Arhat above."
In truth, only hatred remained in his heart toward the Sitting-Deer Arhat.
In his daze, he could still see that dreamlike city.
Countless cultivators traveled through Dream City, and there was even a temple dedicated to worshiping Buddhas. The Buddha enshrined within the main hall vaguely resembled that figure.
Although the monks there were unconstrained by taboos, they emitted the aura of the Great Compassion Maitreya Vajra Sutra and possessed not the slightest trace of Buddhist qi.
Huang Ming had established his Dao within the dream. Not a hint of confusion remained.
"I have received the summons of the Sitting-Deer Arhat. The Buddha has instructed us to gather more believers."
Huang Ming spoke without joy or sorrow.
None of the monks doubted him because of it. After all, he had just undergone the ceremony and was already capable of wielding Buddhist qi.
Barring any accidents, Huang Ming would become the next Sitting-Deer Arhat.
Seeing that Lingyin Temple's movements were unfolding exactly as expected, Ren Qing withdrew his consciousness and had bacterial soul monitor Huang Ming's situation at all times.
He was in no hurry to guide Lingyin Temple toward Xiangxiang.
After all, with Nameless Ascetic's arrangements in place, the troublesome part was not the Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi.
It was figuring out how to separate Song Zongwu's soul.
There were tens of thousands of souls mixed within the Buddhist qi. Just thinking about it made Ren Qing's scalp tingle.
Ren Qing was also very curious about the Buddhist Fruit Position. He wondered how it differed from an Immortal Position and hoped to uncover the truth behind Dipankara Buddha in preparation for dragging Buddhism into the muddy waters in the future.
He narrowed his eyes and suddenly thought of the Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva he had encountered before.
It seemed that Buddhist qi would only release souls on its own when it sensed a threat. The Arhat Fruit Position appeared to be even more rigid than the Bodhisattva Fruit Position.
Ren Qing did not immediately begin laying plans against the Sitting-Deer Buddhist qi. Instead, he found a secluded cave and entered closed-door cultivation.
Originally, he had intended to wait until the Heavenly Dao Crack recovered halfway before advancing, but now it seemed better to break through Stomach World into the Ascension Ladder realm as soon as possible.
Ren Qing needed to use bizarre objects to fill out the rules of the forbidden zone and forge war machines, laying the foundation for the future struggles among True Immortals.
Especially the Longevity Forbidden Zone. A single grave mound inside was clearly far from enough.
Closing his eyes in meditation, Ren Qing decided to take advantage of this period and let Lingshan Temple gather population for him, expanding the ecology of Stomach World.
He could vaguely sense that The Taotie Method's Immortal Position was tied to something of immense significance. More population brought only benefits, and Restraint Officers' Hall also required reserve strength.
During Ren Qing's seclusion, Jingzhou continued to shake with earth-shattering upheavals.
Meanwhile, because the corpse of Meat and Wine Taoist no longer remained to stabilize it, the Water Marsh Desert gradually shrank without anyone noticing.
Only Xiangxiang thrived with vitality, though the Endless Forest to the south had begun showing signs of expansion, albeit at an unremarkable pace.
Ren Qing devoted all his attention to organizing the Ascension Methods and paid no heed to the outside world.
To achieve immortality and attain the Dao, he had to remain cautious. One misstep would result in the destruction of both soul and body.
Time passed like a fleeting white colt through a crack.
Within Stomach World, it was difficult to perceive the traces left by time.
After cultivation became widespread, the people had long since escaped the natural lifespan limit of fifty years.
Fireworks blossomed above the towns, signaling the arrival of another Spring Festival.
The customs of the various races differed, and even their languages varied, yet no matter where they came from, there was always a festival celebrating the passing of winter and the arrival of spring.
Every corner of Wuwei City was decorated with lanterns and colorful ornaments. Sickly children, dressed in festive clothing, ran through the streets to play after receiving endless instructions from their elders.
Body cultivation had now become Restraint Officers' Hall's introductory method.
Even the Temple of the Child-Giving Goddess directly implanted disease seeds when assisting pregnant women during childbirth, allowing children to begin cultivating body techniques at the age of five.
Although this affected children's constitutions to some extent, medicinal pills could nourish them afterward, making premature death extremely rare.
Huang Ming walked through Dream City.
The city that never distinguished between day and night had become exceptionally quiet.
Climbing to the top of the city wall, he gazed into the distance.
Wuwei City was lively and bustling. Elderly people and children walked together, presenting exactly the appearance that the mortal world ought to have.
Huang Ming stared silently until a figure appeared beside him, startling him back to awareness.
Facing Ren Qing, whose depths he could not fathom, he had no idea how to address him. He opened his mouth, stammering without managing to squeeze out a few words.
"Huang Ming."
"If abstaining from meat could make one a Buddha, then cattle and sheep could all become immortals..."
Ren Qing did not participate in the Spring Festival.
Although Zhou Wu and the others had invited him in advance, it was already difficult for him to return his mentality to that of an ordinary mortal.
As Huang Ming was still pondering the meaning of those words, Ren Qing's figure vanished.
In the evening breeze, only his departing murmur remained.
"Immortals and Buddhas are all corpses wrapped in skin. I have no desire to become a corpse..."