Dark Great Buddha

Those wild chrysanthemums had grown wildly only because the divine energy within the Meteorite Stone nourished the soil of Lake Heart Island, benefiting these plants.

Jiang Hong and his five newly recruited companions had waited until the wild chrysanthemums grew tall. After each gathered a bouquet, they immediately jumped onto the sampan and rowed back.

"Quick! Quick!"

Jiang Hong urged.

"There's no need to be so anxious. Who knows what pitfalls are still ahead? Let that Lin Baici face the Dark Great Buddha first."

A bald middle-aged man slacked off, not putting his strength into the oar.

"What do you know?"

Jiang Hong was annoyed. "Sticking with that Lin Baici is the safest bet!"

Aside from the bald man, the others thought the same, so they rowed furiously, reaching the dock quickly.

Jiang Hong didn't wait for the sampan to stop before jumping off.

"Hurry!"

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

A towering, terrifying Dark Buddha Statue appeared before him like a ghost, blocking his path.

It held a wooden fish, tapping it unhurriedly.

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

The Great Buddha lowered its brows, its vajra-like eyes glaring, staring at Jiang Hong.

Shua!

Cold sweat instantly soaked through Jiang Hong's clothes.

"My heart is sincere! My heart is sincere!"

Jiang Hong replied hastily, but Merit Buddha remained unmoved and asked again.

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

"My heart is sincere!"

Jiang Hong roared, falling to his knees with a thud before Merit Buddha, kowtowing forcefully.

He was terrified to death, especially when he heard Merit Buddha ask again. He knew he was finished.

Sure enough!

Merit Buddha, seeing no sincerity from Jiang Hong, gripped its wooden mallet and smashed it into his head.

Bang!

Jiang Hong's head shattered, blood and flesh splattering everywhere. Then his headless corpse tilted and fell to the ground.

Merit Buddha turned its head to look at the bald middle-aged man, appearing before him as if teleporting.

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

The bald man was stunned with fear and turned to run.

"If that Lin Baici were here, he'd definitely know how to prove sincerity, right?"

The bald middle-aged man only now remembered Lin Baici's worth.

Merit Buddha's expression was blank as it swung the mallet.

Bang!

The bald middle-aged man died, falling into the water, a large patch of blood blooming around him.

The remaining three tourists fled in different directions.

But it was useless!

Merit Buddha casually hurled the mallet, and it shot out like a flying hammer, smashing the heads of these insincere tourists one after another.

Afterward, Merit Buddha wiped the mallet clean, its gaze turning toward Lake Heart Island.

There, figures were moving.

So it stepped onto the sampan.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The crisp sound of the wooden fish echoed over Lotus Lake!

The summer cicadas

sang even louder.

"Although we've gathered the bouquets, we don't know what will happen next. Everyone, adapt on the fly!"

In front of the Great Hero Hall, Lin Baici finished his low-voiced instructions, then ran up the steps, crossed the threshold, and entered the hall.

A sinister, ghostly aura immediately rushed forth.

The group followed inside.

On the Lotus Buddha Platform, the Dark Great Buddha still sat high above, one hand propping up its chin, looking down at these few lowly ants. Its face bore disdain, contempt, and thick mockery.

"The first one back is indeed you!"

The Dark Great Buddha sized up Lin Baici, its gaze sweeping over the torch in his hand and the Kasaya draped over him.

Slurp!

The Dark Great Buddha couldn't help it; it extended its thick tongue and licked its lips. From this far away, I can smell the deliciousness on you!

"We've picked the flowers!"

Old Aunt put on a fawning smile, her attitude humble: "Can you let us go now?" She didn't want to stay here a single second longer.

"My Buddha is merciful!"

The Dark Great Buddha chanted a Buddhist phrase, rose, stepped down from the platform, and crouched in front of Old Aunt: "Don't be afraid!"

Thud!

Old Aunt dropped straight to her knees. "I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid!" Her voice trembled with fear.

The Dark Great Buddha nodded, very satisfied with Old Aunt's attitude. It even reached out a finger to stroke Xu Xiu's head. "Would you be willing to become my disciple?"

The Dark Great Buddha's movements were gentle, like a pet owner petting a cat!

Old Aunt subconsciously turned her head 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.

"Yes! I want to!"

Old Aunt quickly gave in; the Dark Great Buddha's pinch hurt too much.

"A teachable child!"

The Dark Great Buddha praised and released its fingers. Just as Old Aunt thought she had escaped disaster, the Dark Great Buddha suddenly flicked her forehead.

Smack!

Old Aunt's head was shattered. Brain matter, skull fragments, blood, and shredded flesh turned into a messy pulp, splattering across the floor.

"Ah!"

Zhang Ju collapsed in terror; the others felt no better. No one expected the Dark Great Buddha to be so capricious, killing on a whim.

"Are you insane?"

Lin Baici roared, his voice echoing 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 was shrouded in the Dark Mist and became a God Ruin, he had been facing constant threats of death. Other Rule Pollutions were bearable—survive them and you live—but this monster had already issued the God's Taboo Game three times, and it still killed people so casually. To it, human lives were no different from toys.

"Oppa!"

Jin Yingzhen frantically signaled Lin Baici with her eyes—don't butt heads with this thing; you'll suffer for it.

"Baici, calm down!"

The Female Anchor urged.

"Angry?"

The Dark Great Buddha smiled: "Good, be angry!" As soon as it finished speaking, it flicked again.

Bang!

This time, Sister Xiao Li was the unlucky one. She had already hunched her back, tucked her head, and tried to hide like a wallflower, but she still didn't make it.

The Dark Great Buddha snapped her head with a flick of its finger.

Bam!

The body crumpled to the ground.

Lin Baici tightened his grip on the Pine Torch.

"If you want to live, what you should be doing is kneeling and begging me!"

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

It reached out a finger and pressed down on Jin Yingzhen's head.

"Are you willing to become my follower?"

Answering no meant certain death. Answering yes might offer a sliver of hope, but...

Jin Yingzhen glanced at Lin Baici, her voice trembling with fear. "Whatever Oppa does, I'll do the same!"

"I don't like that answer."

The Dark Great Buddha curled its finger, ready to snap Jin Yingzhen's head, when Lin Baici suddenly roared from the side.

"Ask me instead!"

Those four words struck like thunder, ringing out like bronze drums.

Everyone turned, stunned by Lin Baici's fearlessness.

"Fine, I'll grant your wish!"

The Dark Great Buddha lowered its head, leaning in close to Lin Baici, staring him straight in the eyes. "You. Are you willing to become my follower?"

"I'm willing... the hell I am!"

Lin Baici bellowed, thrusting the torch in his hand at full speed toward the Dark Great Buddha's left eye.

The Dark Great Buddha smirked dismissively, reaching out to flick Lin Baici to death and devour him—when a heavy punch, like a comet tearing through the sky, slammed into its face.

Bam!

The Dark Great Buddha was sent flying, its whole body scraping across the bluestone floor for dozens of meters before crashing headfirst into the wall.

"You all run!"

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

He scraped the torch against the ground.

Whoosh!

Flames blazed, like Lin Baici's pounding heart.

The Muscle Buddha, clad only in shorts, moved faster than Lin Baici, its long legs eating up the distance. Thump, thump, thump—like a rampaging beast, it slammed into the Dark Great Buddha.

Bam!

They tumbled together, locked in a grapple.

Lin Baici reached the Dark Great Buddha, mustered all his strength, and jammed the torch into its body.

"Burn, damn it!"

Lin Baici was banking on the Pine Torch's taboo property—'can ignite anything and reduce it to ash in a very short time'—to kill this monster.

If it didn't work, he was dead today.

The Dark Great Buddha's right leg touched the torch. In an instant, it caught fire, then the flames spread, rapidly consuming it—and the Muscle Buddha along with it.

"Ant! You dare harm me?!"

The Dark Great Buddha raged, trying to kill Lin Baici, but the Muscle Buddha held it in a death grip.

[Just an ingredient, and it's this arrogant?]

The God of Gluttony sneered.

The Dark Great Buddha wasn't a god at all—just a Buddha statue possessed by a fragment of God's Remains. And even that fragment was nothing more than a tiny scrap from a divine corpse.

Not even enough to satisfy the God of Gluttony.

The Dark Great Buddha was ablaze now, the flames engulfing its body turning it into a torch, lighting the hall bright as day.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The Muscle Buddha pounded the Dark Great Buddha's head.

[You can smash its brains to pulp and it won't matter—the God's Remains are parasitic in its left forearm!]

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

The only trouble was the risk of getting crushed by it himself.

Hearing the God of Gluttony's words, Lin Baici immediately gave the order.

"Tear off its left arm!"

Lin Baici didn't get close.

Both Buddha statues were now ablaze, and the offering tables, cushions, incense candles, and other statues they struck during their fierce battle had also caught fire.

Thick smoke billowed.

"Oppa, be careful!"

Jin Yingzhen was worried.

"Stop with the chatter, let's get out of here!"

Sima Mu barked.

They were all just ordinary people—useless except for getting in the way.

"Baici!"

Hua Yueyu was anxious, wanting to help but not knowing what she could do.

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

Old Aunt had died right beside her, brain matter and gore splattering across her face, scaring her legs weak. If not for her daughter, she would have already fainted from sheer terror.

The Dark Great Buddha was consumed by rage.

It wanted to slaughter everyone here to vent its fury. Seeing Zhang Ju trying to flee, its right hand immediately swung toward a nearby offering table.

Bang!

The offering table was sent flying, crashing toward the hall's entrance.

"Watch out!"

Hua Yueyu's words barely left her mouth when the seven-meter-long table slammed into Zhang Ju's back with a heavy thud.

The little girl was luckier—she wasn't hit directly—but Zhang Ju fell, flinging her daughter away.

"Take that little girl and go!"

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

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

"Move!"

Sima Mu urged urgently, grabbing Jin Yingzhen.

That Dark Great Buddha had already started a massacre; if they didn't leave now, they'd die.

The Dark Great Buddha saw Lin Baici bouncing around like this, treating it like a complete clown, and its lungs were about to burst with fury. It clenched its fist and swung its arm, aiming to smash him into pulp.

Slap!

The Muscle Buddha seized the chance to grab its left arm, coiling around it like a python strangling its prey. Its entire body suddenly tensed, twisted, and then wrenched.

Crack!

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