Without the God's Remains, the Dark Great Buddha's body began to collapse with a clattering sound, stone fragments scattering across the ground.
"Destroy it!"
Lin Baici urged them on.
Muscle Buddha swung the arm he'd just torn off the Dark Great Buddha and suddenly hurled it at Lin Baici.
Whoosh!
The arm whistled through the air.
Fortunately, Lin Baici was fully focused and reacted quickly. He tilted his head to the side, dodging the arm.
Bam!
The arm slammed into the wall. Combined with the flames scorching it, the impact reduced it to stone powder, and only a palm-sized piece of black material broke free and fell to the ground.
Lin Baici stared at Muscle Buddha.
But the thing didn't attack him again.
"Looks like I shouldn't use this kasaya so casually after all!"
Lin Baici remembered Jin Yingzhen's explanation. Divine Taboo Objects like this could be used without worry after being sealed by the Black Coffin Seal. Otherwise, they could easily subject the user to Rule Pollution.
[Time to eat!]
The God of Gluttony urged him.
Even without the reminder, Lin Baici found himself walking toward the black material and picking it up.
It looked a lot like a piece of beef jerky that had been dried for years. It had no moisture, and felt warm in his hand. Lin Baici could also sense energy radiating from it.
He didn't know that an ordinary person who touched God's Remains without any protective gear would immediately lose their human form under the contamination, turning into a puddle of rotting flesh.
Even more terrifyingly, that "rotting flesh" would still be alive.
[What are you waiting for? Planning to grill it first? Maybe sprinkle on some cumin?]
Lin Baici was hungry, but he still felt a little repulsed at the thought of eating this "jerky" of unknown origin.
[The finest ingredients often call for the simplest preparation. God's Remains are best eaten raw!]
The God of Gluttony offered its expert culinary advice.
Lin Baici was still hesitating when a pair of slender, semi-transparent arms that seemed to be formed from starlight emerged from his shoulders and grasped the God's Remains.
Before Lin Baici could say a word, they pried open his mouth and shoved the jerky down his throat.
[Thank you for the Gift of the Gods!]
The God of Gluttony sounded like it might have been praying—or mocking him.
Cough, cough!
The piece was painfully stuck in Lin Baici's throat, but soon divine energy welled up inside him, bursting forth and nourishing his organs.
It felt even better than eating the Meteorite Stone.
Suddenly...
A sharp pain struck his brain. Lin Baici clenched his fist and raised it, pounding his head as hard as he could.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
After a dozen or so seconds, the pain disappeared. Some Mystical Knowledge had appeared in Lin Baici's mind.
Two Divine Graces.
He knew them as well as if he'd been born with them.
"Sanskrit Chants and Buddhist Sounds?"
"Floating Life Night Rain, Wild Buddha Blows Out the Lamp?"
Lin Baici savored the names, then the corners of his mouth lifted. He was as happy as a kid coming home from school to learn his dad had just told him he was the son of a billionaire.
He'd gained two more Divine Graces, and they were powerful.
"Don't go in! It's too dangerous!"
In the open space outside the main hall, Sima Mu held on to Jin Yingzhen with all his might.
After getting the Little Girl outside, Jin Yingzhen had tried to rush back in and help.
Hua Yueyu held the unconscious Little Girl in her arms, her face full of guilt and worry.
It wasn't that she didn't want to help. She was simply powerless to do anything.
Judging by the destructive power the Dark Great Buddha had shown, they weren't even fit to be cannon fodder. If they stayed inside, they were as good as dead.
"Shit, let go of me!"
Jin Yingzhen raised her long leg and kicked Sima Mu twice in the crotch.
Bam! Bam!
Sima Mu was left numb by the blows, but he didn't let go.
"Listen to me. Don't go in there and get in the way!"
Sima Mu was only trying to help.
"At least I can be cannon fodder!"
At the last moment, Lin Baici had told everyone to leave and stayed behind to take on the Dark Great Buddha alone. Jin Yingzhen had been so moved she could hardly contain herself.
Apart from her mother, no one had ever treated her so well.
"Baici?"
Hua Yueyu had been staring at the main hall. Her tear-streaked face instantly lit up with delight, and then she picked up the Little Girl and rushed toward the hall.
That Big Male Student had made it out alive!
He'd...
Won!
"Oppa!"
Jin Yingzhen was overjoyed.
"Holy shit, that guy really won?"
Sima Mu was stunned.
"Is everyone okay?"
Lin Baici looked at the four of them. Apart from being a little worse for wear, they seemed unharmed. But when his gaze fell on the Little Girl, he sighed.
Sigh!
Old Aunt, Sister Xiao Li, and Zhang Ju had been unlucky!
"Where's the God's Remains?"
Sima Mu rose onto his tiptoes to peer into the main hall.
"Destroyed!"
Lin Baici smiled faintly.
He definitely wasn't going to admit that he'd eaten them.
"Huh? So this God Ruins will soon collapse and disappear, and we'll be able to get out alive?"
Jin Yingzhen was so happy that she jumped onto Lin Baici and hugged him tightly.
"Oppa, you're my Superman!"
Mua!
The Goryeo girl planted a hard kiss on Lin Baici.
What a chest!
In this position, Lin Baici could feel it very clearly.
The Dark Mist shrouding Longchan Temple was quickly dissipating.
"Baici, thank you!" Hua Yueyu said gratefully. "From now on, you're family. The kind of family I always let win whenever we argue."
The Female Anchor wasn't joking. From that day on, she decided to treat Lin Baici like her little brother!
After all, without this Big Male Student, she would definitely have died in this temple.
Wait!
"Baici should be younger than me. Does that make me a cradle robber?"
Hua Yueyu was short and slender, with a fairly flat chest. In a school uniform, she looked just like a junior high school girl, but in reality, she was already a sophomore in college.
"We can talk later. Let's get out of here first!"
Lin Baici wanted to leave.
He'd made a huge haul this time and gotten several Divine Taboo Objects. He didn't want to risk any more mishaps.
"Right, let's go!"
Sima Mu looked up and surveyed their surroundings. "Don't use the front gate. Climb over the wall and take the path down from the back of the mountain."
Jin Yingzhen and Hua Yueyu looked to Lin Baici.
They were both sensible women and wouldn't make suggestions at a time like this. They would leave it all up to Lin Baici.
"Let's go!"
Lin Baici led the way.
As a local, he'd been to Longchan Temple many times and knew his way around.
According to Jin Yingzhen, a God Ruins formed by a meteorite that had just fallen was relatively low in danger. At this stage, God Hunters would come to clear out the God Ruins, seal the Divine Taboo Objects, and secure the God's Remains.
If they went out through the main gate, they might run into them.
Lin Baici didn't want the Divine Taboo Objects he'd only just gotten to be confiscated before he could even enjoy having them.
Parking lot at the foot of Nine Phoenix Mountain.
A young man in his twenties stood on the roof of a tour bus, observing the mountaintop through a pair of binoculars.
A few days ago, the purple bricks and red tiles of Longchan Temple had still been visible. Now, all he could see was a vast expanse of black mist, like the lair of a Demon King in Journey to the West, radiating a sinister, ghostly aura.
The summer heat was sweltering. Cicadas chirped feebly, and not a breath of wind stirred. Yet the black mist over the mountaintop suddenly began to dissipate.
"Hm?"
The young man was startled. Once he was sure his eyes weren't deceiving him and that the Dark Mist was indeed thinning, he immediately pulled out his phone and called the office.
As soon as the call connected, a roar came from the other end.
"Chen, how many times have I told you? I don't have anyone to spare right now. As long as the God Ruins aren't spreading, don't bother me!"
The voice coming through the phone was rough and raspy, filled with anxiety and deep concern.
"No, Director Zhang. The Dark Mist is dissipating rapidly."
Chen Shihe hurried to report.
"What?"
Director Zhang perked up. "Are you sure?"
The Dark Mist disappearing meant the God's Remains had been secured. The God Ruins would soon disappear, and the surrounding environment would return to normal.
"Of course!"
Chen Shihe thought to himself, It's not like I'm blind.
"Haha, the heavens are on our side!"
Director Zhang let out a huge sigh of relief. "Longchan Temple is the most famous attraction in Guangqing City, with tons of visitors. When the meteorite fell and formed the God Ruins, there must have been a God Hunter in there burning incense and praying to Buddha. They took the opportunity to secure the God's Remains and break the God Ruins."
"It could have been an ordinary person!"
Chen Shihe offered.
"Bullshit!"
Director Zhang immediately snapped back. "Look at the time. It's only been five hours since the God Ruins appeared at Longchan Temple. Tell me, what ordinary person could find and secure the God's Remains so quickly, with all those Divine Taboo Objects contaminating them with their rules?"
"..."
Chen Shihe was at a loss for words.
It really was impossible. Ordinary people would either die from Rule Pollution or become Dead Meat People from the radiation of the God's Remains.
"A God Hunter who broke a God Ruins in five hours has to be at least a Lion King. They might even be Dragon Rank!"
Director Zhang was relieved. No matter what, the God Ruins Disaster at Longchan Temple had been resolved.
"Hiss, Dragon Rank?"
Chen Shihe sucked in a breath and exclaimed in shock.
"Quit gawking. Get to Xiushui County and assist Captain Li!"
Director Zhang ordered.
"Should I go into the temple and look for that Dragon Rank Hunter? Ask them for help?"
Chen Shihe suggested.
Guangqing City had been pretty unlucky this time: two meteorites had fallen.
One had landed in Xiushui County, affecting more than two hundred thousand people.
At most, Longchan Temple had had twenty thousand visitors, so Director Zhang had sent all the God Hunters in the bureau to Xiushui County, leaving only Chen Shihe's two-person team outside Longchan Temple to keep watch.
"You idiot. If a Dragon Rank Hunter is there, what will be left for us?"
Director Zhang was about to die of frustration.
Divine Taboo Objects, Meteorite Stones, and God's Remains were all dangerous, but they were valuable too. Handing them over to headquarters could earn the bureau plenty of benefits.
After ending the call, Chen Shihe glanced toward Longchan Temple, jumped down from the bus roof, and got into the Mazda with his partner.
"I wonder what Divine Taboo Objects that God Hunter got. Could they be a colleague?"
Chen Shihe was curious.
Every country had official organizations dedicated to dealing with God Ruins Disasters.
Chen Shihe's department was the Guangqing City branch of the Nine Provinces Divine Shield Security Agency.
"A God Hunter who broke a God Ruins in five hours must be powerful. Director Zhang doesn't want to provoke them. Otherwise, with his miserly nature, he'd definitely come over to haggle about the Divine Taboo Objects and the God's Remains."
His partner teased him, started the car, and drove toward Xiushui County.
A little over an hour later, the five of them left Nine Phoenix Mountain and emerged beside a nearby road.
They walked more than five li before they finally managed to flag down a taxi.
"To the Hilton Hotel!"
Jin Yingzhen said.
Hua Yueyu couldn't help glancing at the Goryeo girl. Who would've guessed she was a rich young lady?
The Hilton was the best hotel in Guangqing City. Even the most basic standard room cost over a thousand yuan a night.
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