Dark Great Buddha

The wild chrysanthemums had grown like crazy because divine energy from the Meteorite Stone had nourished the soil on Lake Heart Island, benefiting the plants.

Jiang Hong and the five companions he'd recruited had finally waited for the wild chrysanthemums to grow. After each of them picked a bouquet, they immediately climbed into the skiff and rowed back.

"Faster! Faster!"

Jiang Hong urged them on.

"No need to rush so much. Who knows what other traps lie ahead? Let Lin Baici deal with that Dark Great Buddha first, right?"

A bald middle-aged man slacked off, not putting much effort into rowing.

"What do you know?"

Jiang Hong snapped. "Following Lin Baici is the safest option!"

Everyone else thought the same way, so they rowed furiously and soon reached the dock.

Jiang Hong jumped out before the skiff had even stopped.

"Hurry up!"

Jiang Hong urged them on, but after running a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

A hulking, terrifying Dark Buddha Statue appeared before him like a ghost, blocking his way.

It held a Wooden Fish and tapped it slowly.

"My Buddha asks you: Is your heart sincere?"

The Great Buddha lowered its eyes, its gaze as fierce as a vajra's, and stared at Jiang Hong.

Whoosh!

Cold sweat drenched Jiang Hong's clothes in an instant.

"My heart is sincere! It's sincere!"

Jiang Hong hurriedly answered, but Merit Buddha remained unmoved and asked again.

"My Buddha asks you: Is your heart sincere?"

"My heart is sincere!"

Jiang Hong shouted, then dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed as hard as he could.

He was terrified, especially when he heard Merit Buddha ask again. He knew he was done for.

Sure enough!

Merit Buddha saw no sincerity in Jiang Hong. Gripping its mallet, it smashed it down on his head.

Thud!

Jiang Hong's head burst apart, spraying blood and flesh everywhere. His headless body tilted and fell to the ground.

Merit Buddha turned to the bald middle-aged man. As if teleporting, it appeared right in front of him.

"My Buddha asks you: Is your heart sincere?"

The bald man was stunned with terror. He turned and ran.

"If Lin Baici were here, he'd know how to prove he's sincere, right?"

Only now did the bald man realize how good it was to have Lin Baici around.

Merit Buddha's face remained expressionless as it swung its mallet.

Thud!

The bald man died and fell into the water, where his blood spread into a huge stain.

The three remaining tourists ran off in different directions.

But it was no use!

Merit Buddha casually tossed its mallet. It shot out like a flying hammer, smashing the heads of the remaining irreverent tourists one after another.

Afterward,

Merit Buddha wiped its mallet as it gazed toward Lake Heart Island.

Figures were moving there.

So it climbed into the skiff.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

The crisp sound of the Wooden Fish echoed over Lotus Lake!

The cicadas,

sang even louder.

"Even though we've picked the bouquets, we don't know what else might happen. Everyone, be ready to adapt!"

After quietly warning them in front of the Great Hero Hall, Lin Baici ran up the steps, crossed the threshold, and entered the hall.

An eerie, ghostly aura immediately washed over them.

The others followed him inside.

The Dark Great Buddha still sat high above them on the lotus altar, one hand propping up its cheek as it looked down at the lowly ants below.

Its face held disdain, contempt, and deep mockery.

"Just as I expected, you're the first to return!"

The Dark Great Buddha sized up Lin Baici, its gaze passing over the Torch in his hand and the Kasaya he wore.

Slurp!

The Dark Great Buddha couldn't help sticking out its thick tongue and licking its lips.

Even from this far away, I can smell how delicious you are!

"We've brought back the bouquets!"

Old Aunt forced a smile, her manner servile. "Can you let us go now?"

She didn't want to stay here a second longer.

"My Buddha is merciful!"

The Dark Great Buddha chanted a Buddhist invocation, stood up, and stepped down from the altar. It crouched in front of Old Aunt. "You don't need to be afraid!"

Thump!

Old Aunt dropped straight to her knees.

"I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid!"

Her voice trembled.

The Dark Great Buddha nodded, pleased with Old Aunt's attitude. It even reached out a finger and stroked Xu Xiu's head.

"Would you like to become my believer?"

The Dark Great Buddha's touch was gentle, like a cat owner petting a cat!

Old Aunt instinctively turned to look at Lin Baici.

"Why are you looking at him?"

The Dark Great Buddha demanded. "Don't you want to?"

Smack!

The Dark Great Buddha pinched Xu Xiu's head between two fingers.

"I do! I want to!"

Old Aunt hurriedly gave in. The Dark Great Buddha's pinch hurt too much.

"You're a quick learner!"

The Dark Great Buddha praised her, then released her.

Just as Old Aunt thought she'd escaped disaster, the Dark Great Buddha suddenly bent a finger and flicked her forehead.

Smack!

Old Aunt's head burst apart. Brain matter, skull fragments, blood, and flesh flew everywhere, splattering across the floor in a bloody mess.

"Ah!"

Zhang Ju collapsed to the ground in terror. The others were just as shaken.

No one had expected the Dark Great Buddha to be so unpredictable, killing people on a whim.

"Are you insane?"

Lin Baici shouted. His voice rang through the hall.

He knew he shouldn't let his emotions get the better of him, but he couldn't help it.

Ever since Longchan Temple had been engulfed by the Dark Mist and turned into a God Ruins, he'd been under constant threat of death. The other Rule Pollutions were manageable—as long as he endured them, he could survive. But this monster had already issued three God's Taboo Games, and it was still killing people on a whim.

To it, human lives were no different from toys.

"Oppa!"

Jin Yingzhen frantically signaled to Lin Baici. Don't provoke it. He'd pay dearly for it.

"Baici, calm down!"

The Female Anchor tried to soothe him.

"Angry?"

The Dark Great Buddha laughed. "Good. You should be angry!"

As soon as it finished speaking, it flicked a finger again.

Thud!

This time, Sister Xiao Li was the unlucky one. She had hunched over with her head lowered, hiding like a nobody, but she still couldn't escape.

The Dark Great Buddha flicked her head apart.

Thud!

Her body hit the ground.

Lin Baici tightened his grip on the Pine Torch.

"If you want to live, you should kneel and beg me!"

The Dark Great Buddha crouched in front of them, lecturing those who still hadn't grasped the situation. "I am a god, the one who rules over you!"

It reached out a finger and pressed it against Jin Yingzhen's head.

"Would you like to become my believer?"

If she said no, she would certainly die. If she said yes, there might be a chance of survival, but...

Jin Yingzhen glanced at Lin Baici and answered in a trembling voice, "I'll do whatever Oppa does!"

"I don't like that answer."

The Dark Great Buddha bent a finger, ready to flick Jin Yingzhen's head apart. Suddenly, Lin Baici shouted from beside her.

"Ask me!"

Those two words rang out like a golden drum and thunder.

Everyone turned to look, astonished by Lin Baici's fearlessness.

"Fine. I'll grant your wish!"

The Dark Great Buddha lowered its head and leaned toward Lin Baici, staring him straight in the eyes. "You. Would you like to become my believer?"

"I wou—hell no!"

Lin Baici roared and thrust the Torch at full speed into the Dark Great Buddha's left eye.

The Dark Great Buddha sneered. It was about to reach out and flick Lin Baici to death, then eat him, when a heavy punch struck its face like a comet ripping through the sky.

Thud!

The Dark Great Buddha was sent flying. It scraped across the flagstone floor for dozens of meters before slamming headfirst into the wall.

"Run!"

Lin Baici shouted, then charged at the Dark Great Buddha.

He rubbed the Torch against the floor!

Whoosh!

The flames flared, like Lin Baici's beating heart.

Muscle Buddha, wearing only a pair of shorts, was faster than Lin Baici. It strode forward with long legs, thudding like a giant beast as it slammed into the Dark Great Buddha.

Thud!

They tumbled away, locked together.

Lin Baici ran up to the Dark Great Buddha, put all his strength behind the Torch, and thrust it into its body.

"Catch fire already!"

Lin Baici wanted to use the Pine Torch's God's Taboo property—"can set anything alight and burn it to ash in a very short time"—to kill the monster.

If it didn't work, he was doomed to die today.

The Torch touched the Dark Great Buddha's right leg. In an instant, it caught fire, and the flames spread rapidly, engulfing it. Muscle Buddha was caught in the flames too.

"Ant, you dare harm me!"

The Dark Great Buddha roared and tried to kill Lin Baici, but Muscle Buddha held it in a tight embrace.

[You're nothing but an ingredient, yet you dare act so arrogant?]

God of Gluttony mocked it.

The Dark Great Buddha wasn't a god at all. It was merely a Buddha Statue possessed by a piece of God's Remains. And even that piece was no more than a tiny remnant from a god's corpse.

It wasn't nearly enough to satisfy God of Gluttony.

The Dark Great Buddha was ablaze. Flames engulfed its entire body, turning it into a torch and lighting up the hall.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Muscle Buddha pounded the Dark Great Buddha's head.

[Smashing its brains to mush won't do a thing. The God's Remains are embedded in its left forearm!]

Through the Bodhi Messenger Kasaya, Lin Baici could not only summon a Muscle Buddha, but also give it simple commands.

The only problem was that it might pound him to death.

After hearing God of Gluttony's words, Lin Baici immediately gave an order.

"Rip off its left arm!"

Lin Baici kept his distance.

Both Buddha statues were burning now. As they fought, the offering tables, prayer cushions, incense, candles, and statues they crashed into caught fire too.

Thick smoke billowed everywhere.

"Oppa, be careful!"

Jin Yingzhen was worried.

"Cut the chatter. Let's get out of here!"

Sima Mu roared.

They were all ordinary people. Aside from getting in the way, they were no use at all.

"Baici!"

Hua Yueyu was worried and wanted to help, but she had no idea what she could do.

Zhang Ju carried her daughter and stumbled toward the main hall's exit.

Old Aunt had died right beside her, splattering her face with brains and chunks of flesh. She'd been so terrified that her legs had gone weak. If she hadn't been holding on for her daughter's sake, she would have fainted already.

The Dark Great Buddha was furious beyond measure.

It had to kill all these people, or it wouldn't be able to vent its rage. Seeing Zhang Ju try to run, it immediately swung its right hand at the offering table beside it.

Bam!

The offering table flew through the air, crashing toward the hall's entrance.

"Look out!"

Hua Yueyu had barely spoken when the seven-meter-long offering table slammed into Zhang Ju's back with a bang.

The Little Girl was luckier and avoided a direct hit, but Zhang Ju fell, sending her daughter flying.

"Get the Little Girl out of here!"

Lin Baici shouted, charging toward the Dark Great Buddha. "You bastard, weren't you going to kill me? Come on!"

He was provoking it, not only to buy Hua Yueyu and the others time to escape, but also to draw the Dark Great Buddha's attention so Muscle Buddha could get a better chance to act.

"Go!"

Sima Mu urged them anxiously, grabbing Jin Yingzhen.

The Dark Great Buddha had already begun its killing spree. If they didn't leave now, they'd die.

Seeing Lin Baici darting back and forth, treating it like a clown, the Dark Great Buddha was so furious its lungs felt ready to burst. It clenched its fist and swung its arm, intent on pounding him into a pulp.

Smack!

Muscle Buddha seized the opportunity to grab its left arm. Like a giant python strangling its prey, it suddenly tightened its entire body, twisted, then yanked.

Crack!

The Dark Great Buddha's left hand was wrenched off.