Either Fight! Or Die!

Yang An did not know what to say.

Asking him to kill a True Person of the Viscera Stone Realm was no different from throwing an egg against a rock. It was practically suicide.

If that was the case, he would rather resist. Even in death, he had to die with dignity.

Seeing Mother Diviner True Person's and Yang An's reactions, the crane head immediately let out a mocking, eerie laugh.

Fortunately, Old Man Fate Crane spoke up and stopped its nonsense.

He looked at the terrified Mother Diviner True Person and said blandly:

"You will not be needed. The children under your command will do."

Mother Diviner True Person immediately let out a breath of relief.

"I can summon however many children Senior wants. They are merely my flesh slaves. Will ten be enough?"

In her eyes, the Muckworm Children were all cauldrons she had sucked dry and no longer had any use for. Naturally, she did not care about them at all.

Ten?

Yang An's eyelid immediately twitched.

Was this supposed to mean that he had to kill ten Muckworm Children before Old Man Fate Crane would take him as a disciple?

What was he supposed to use to kill them?

The Lighting Method alone?

Yang An had always believed that his ability to kill demons, as well as Filth Daoist Kong Shuai, had all been strokes of luck.

Once he faced those things head-on, he absolutely would not be able to achieve the same results.

Although he did not know how strong these Muckworm Children were, having ten of them come at him all at once was definitely more than he could bear.

Yang An could only look eagerly at Old Man Fate Crane, hoping he would show mercy and give him something easier.

But what Yang An had not expected was that this Old Man would say something even more shocking.

"Ten? Not enough! Fifty!"

At the end, Old Man Fate Crane added lightly:

"And they must at least be in the False Eater Realm."

"..."

Yang An finally understood.

The two heads perched on Old Man Fate Crane's shoulders—despite the old man's head looking kind and benevolent—were neither of them anything good.

One wanted him to kill Mother Diviner True Person.

The other wanted him to kill fifty Muckworm Children who were at least in the False Eater Realm.

It was as though he had become Old Man Fate Crane's plaything, to be toyed with however he pleased.

Mother Diviner True Person, watching from the side and eager to see the world burn, could not help laughing until she trembled like a swaying flower.

The crane head, meanwhile, rolled its eyes at Old Man Fate Crane in disappointment. "Boring!"

Yang An still gathered his courage and looked at Old Man Fate Crane.

He had to resist. Otherwise, he could already imagine the manner of his death.

"Senior! Fifty is too many! I think—"

Before he could finish, the enormous, savage crane head darted before him in an instant, its pair of sinister eyes staring fixedly at him.

"Little fellow, do you think this is a business deal? That you can haggle over the price?"

"Either fight! Or die!"

Gulp!

Yang An swallowed. At that moment, he seemed to viscerally feel the suffocating sensation of standing on the brink of death. He could not argue back.

The crane head gave a cold laugh and withdrew again, while Old Man Fate Crane remained unmoved throughout.

Mother Diviner True Person, still watching as though enjoying a play, clapped her hands.

Clap! Clap!

In an instant, Yang An was once again engulfed by endless darkness. Yet soon, dozens of Muckworm Children began appearing around him one after another.

These disgusting things were like puppets controlled at will, standing woodenly opposite Yang An, waiting only for an order before rushing at him together.

Yang An felt immense pressure and could only grit his teeth.

Fight!

Before the Muckworm Children made any move, he was the first to release the Bone Relic Buddha Light from his body.

A circular halo appeared behind Yang An's head, radiating intense white light that was sacred and solemn.

At the same time, he pressed his left hand against the wound on his right hand, which had only just dried, and viciously pulled downward. The wound tore open again, searing pain shooting through his hand as blood immediately poured out.

Buzz!

A fireball the size of a human head suddenly appeared above Yang An's right hand and swelled wildly.

The white light and crimson flames intertwined and overlapped, illuminating several meters around Yang An.

Both the Bone Relic Buddha Light and the flames from the Lighting Method shared the same effect: they could drive evil creatures away, or at least prevent them from daring to approach him.

The closer they came, the greater the damage they suffered.

But Yang An did not want to sit and wait for death. Seizing his chance as the dozens of Muckworm Children all began to move, he picked one as his target and charged forward first.

For this battle, his blood alone was nowhere near enough.

He had to rely on these monsters' blood. Only then might he create a sliver of hope.

At that moment, behind Yang An where he could not see, three pairs of eyes watched his every move from within the darkness.

"Is that Buddha light? How could a mere mortal condense Buddha light? Could he be the reincarnation of some Buddhist cultivator?"

"There is a filthy aura within this Buddha light. It is not pure. He must have condensed it with the aid of an external object."

The crane head looked at the halo behind Yang An's head in confusion, stretching out its neck to get a closer look.

Old Man Fate Crane, on the other hand, saw through the truth with a single glance.

Mother Diviner True Person waited at the side, seeming to have thought of something.

"I have heard that the old monk at White Buddha Temple, hundreds of miles away, is attempting to create a Sacred Buddha. Perhaps this is related."

"White Buddha Temple? Never heard of it. What backwater temple did this crawl out of?"

The crane head spoke with great disdain.

"Great Virtue Temple may stand behind White Buddha Temple!"

"Great Virtue Temple? Heh heh."

Upon hearing that name, the crane head immediately gave a cold laugh.

While the three spoke, Yang An had already successfully rushed before a Muckworm Child. He drew the small knife from his waist with his left hand and brought it down in one swift motion, but the result was beyond his expectations.

The body formed from countless disgusting muckworms did not bleed even a single drop after being cut open by the knife. Instead, even more slime seeped from the surfaces of the sliced worms.

Yang An took the opportunity to press the flames on his right hand against it, but he could not ignite it. Instead, the slime stained his hand and let out a hissing sound.

A burning sensation immediately spread through his hand. He hurriedly pulled it back, and the slime was instantly scorched by the high heat into wisps of white smoke.

It was not blood. It could not be ignited!

Yang An's heart skipped a beat as he inwardly cried that things had gone badly, then quickly retreated.

Many Muckworm Children around him were already attacking. They moved very quickly, countless splashes of slime flying through the air. In the blink of an eye, they had reached Yang An.

Compared to them, Yang An was not fast. He was immediately pounced upon and knocked down by one of the Muckworm Children.

Countless mouthparts suddenly emerged from the muckworms whose heads and tails had been impossible to distinguish, and they began frantically gnawing at his flesh.

If he could ignite these Muckworm Children, Yang An could still fight for a sliver of life. But the result just now had been like a basin of cold water dumped over him. These Muckworm Children simply could not be ignited by the Lighting Method.

The other Muckworm Children that followed also pounced on him, burying Yang An in the blink of an eye.

Yang An immediately felt pain coming from every part of his body, as though countless saws were madly tearing apart his flesh and blood.

In only an instant, he could clearly sense the life draining from within him. Countless bloody wounds had already been bitten open across his body, warm, wet blood pouring out.

If this continued, he would certainly die within a few breaths!

"Fuck you!"

Yang An flew into a furious rage. Clenching his teeth tightly, he desperately wrenched free his right hand and slammed it against his own chest.

Since he could not ignite these things, then he would ignite himself. At worst, his blood would dry up and they would perish together!

Buzz!

The next moment, a pillar of flame suddenly shot into the sky from within the darkness, instantly lighting up all directions.

The countless Muckworm Children rushing in and packed together were immediately swallowed by the suddenly expanding flames. They did not even have time to scream before they were instantly melted into ash.

In the darkness, Old Man Fate Crane's aged face was illuminated by the firelight, and a genuine smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Not bad! That is how the Lighting Method should be used!"