Ksitigarbha Vow Sutra

Ksitigarbha Vow Sutra

The Evil Buddha had quite a trove hidden in its belly.

Dozens of bottles of pills had been packed to the brim, but when the sword light split open the Evil Buddha, many bottles shattered. Chen Ye had done his best to save what he could, but plenty of pills had still been contaminated by corpse fluids and rendered useless.

Most of the pills that remained were Human Blood Pills. They could help condense the dantian Qi Sea, serve as a source of spiritual energy in a pinch, and even treat minor injuries. They were just what Chen Ye needed now, with both ears deaf. But these blood pills had serious side effects, so he wasn't in a hurry to take one right away.

There were also a few bottles and jars filled with things like antidotes, poisons, and Gu worms. Just those alone were enough to make the penniless Chen Ye beam with delight.

Besides the pills, there were two spirit talismans.

One had been broken by Sword Qi and was useless.

Chen Ye recognized the other as the most classic Blood Burning Curse of the demonic sects. Fueled by blood, once ignited, it would burn until the flesh and blood were completely dried up. It was an exceedingly vicious spell.

Mo Ci had taught Chen Ye the Blood Burning Curse, so he understood how it worked. But actually casting it would be all but impossible for him. The spell was simply too troublesome and complicated: it took a long time just to prepare, and required an immense amount of spiritual energy to sustain. A minor cultivator in the Qi Sea Realm couldn't possibly cast it.

This spirit talisman was definitely a good thing, so Chen Ye put it away for now.

Still, trading two sword talismans for this Blood Burning Curse was a bit of a loss. After all, the Qinghe Sword Technique was the best under heaven, and the Qinghe Sword Sect's sword talismans were naturally far more precious than this common stuff.

If this were all he'd found, this treasure hunt would have been a huge loss.

Fortunately, there were other treasures.

A pitch-black banner, a translucent amber, and an ordinary-looking thread-bound book.

The black banner was a demonic magic treasure, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. It seemed every demon had one, though this one was far better than the crude thing Chen Ye had made himself.

After putting away the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, Chen Ye picked up the amber to examine it.

But the moment he saw what was inside, he nearly threw it away.

Inside the palm-sized piece of amber, a child had been sealed. From the looks of it, the child was around seven or eight years old, curled up and shrunken down within the amber. Looking more closely, Chen Ye saw that the child's entire body was covered in curse marks smaller than pinpricks.

"Cursed Spirit Child?! This was made specifically for possession!"

Chen Ye couldn't help trembling. The piece of amber in his hands was truly cruel and vicious beyond compare.

Demonic cultivators committed every kind of wickedness, and killing people to cultivate was commonplace. Cases of their bodies being destroyed and their needing to possess another were even more frequent. Chen Ye's master, Mo Ci, had possessed others many times, and each time it damaged his soul, leaving him weaker than before.

Forced possession still did far too much damage to the soul. Was there a way to lessen the harm? Of course there was. The Cursed Spirit Child was a vicious magic treasure used by demonic cultivators for possession.

All one had to do was refine a child of similar bloodline into the amber while the child was still alive. At a critical moment, one could then possess the child's body directly.

How could one get a child of similar bloodline?

Simple: have one. As for with whom, and how...the demonic sects had plenty of ways.

But one child was nowhere near enough. It took at least dozens before there was a chance of finding a suitable candidate.

Once the child reached six or seven, they would have to destroy its mind, using terror or nightmares to turn it completely into an idiot, leaving it alive but unable to resist, before sealing it inside the amber.

To keep the body alive, it also had to be nourished with flesh and blood from time to time, ensuring it didn't decay.

Though the child sealed in this amber was still alive, it was no different from being dead.

The Cursed Spirit Child didn't need to be carried around. Once a demon's body was destroyed, the soul would be drawn by the formation carved into the amber and automatically descend into it. Within a few days, the child could be reborn, allowing the demon to complete the possession as quickly as possible.

The Cursed Spirit Child was considered a top-grade life-saving art among the demonic sects. It was simply too cruel, though. Chen Ye's master, Mo Ci, had only heard of it and couldn't bring himself to use it.

Even among demons, there were differences. Someone like Mo Ci was neither here nor there: he wasn't vicious enough to be a proper villain, yet lacked the conviction to be a good person, so he'd ended up in a rather sorry state.

One absolutely couldn't take the middle road in cultivation. After all, becoming an immortal meant seeking the one in ten thousand. Both the righteous and demonic paths had predecessors who ascended, but no one had ever heard of some wavering, unorthodox cultivator becoming an immortal.

Though temperament had nothing to do with cultivation, the more steadfast a person was, the more likely they were to overcome hardships and obstacles. When it came to everything, being "good enough" always meant falling just short when it mattered.

And that little bit might be the difference between an immortal and a mortal, between life and death.

Chen Ye quietly warned himself not to repeat the same mistakes, then turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

Now he understood the purpose of the corpse pit and the Evil Buddha: they had been used to guard and nourish this Cursed Spirit Child, so the demon could escape with its life when the time came.

No wonder the Evil Buddha had so many good things in its belly. It turned out the demon had prepared them for its own rebirth through possession.

With pills, spirit talismans, and magic treasures, it would have the means to protect itself as soon as it possessed a new body.

"These days, to get by in the demonic path, you have to be both ruthless and cautious."

Chen Ye sighed, then began to worry about Su Chunyi. Any demon capable of making a Cursed Spirit Child was no ordinary opponent. He wondered if Miss Su could defeat it.

"Wait. If Miss Su chops that demon down, won't it possess the child right away?"

The amber in Chen Ye's hands suddenly felt even hotter. If that great demon were reborn in front of him, he'd be dead for sure.

He either had to throw the amber away or destroy it outright. Otherwise, disaster was sure to strike.

Carefully setting the amber aside, Chen Ye took out the last treasure: an ordinary-looking thread-bound book. It had been soaked in water, though, and the writing had completely run together, making it impossible to read. The material didn't seem special, either. It was the most common kind.

But if it was really ordinary, why had it been stored alongside so many precious treasures?

Chen Ye examined it closely and finally found something unusual.

There seemed to be a faint white mark on the cover. When he lightly rubbed it with his hand, the mark faded a little.

Just this one white mark? Something about it seemed off to Chen Ye.

Why would such an ordinary book have only this mark, with no other damage besides the blurred writing?

A regular book that had been read often would surely have a bent corner or a crease somewhere. How could this one look brand-new?

"Could that white mark...have just been cut into it?"

The thought startled Chen Ye. Su Chunyi's sword talisman could cleave even the pure-gold Evil Buddha in two, yet it had only left a scratch on this book?

Chen Ye applied all his strength, trying to tear the book apart, but no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't damage it at all.

He took out his dagger and stabbed at it with all his might, but even after straining with all his strength, he couldn't pierce a single page or leave so much as a mark.

Chen Ye was stunned. "This book is the real treasure!"

No wonder it had been placed inside the Evil Buddha's belly. Even if he couldn't decipher the writing, he could just tuck it into his clothes and use it as armor impervious to blades and spears.

But the book's true value ultimately lay in the words written inside. Anything recorded on such precious material had to be extraordinary. Perhaps it was the legacy of some Demon Venerable?

Chen Ye decided to give it a try and channeled his spiritual energy into the book.

Ordinarily, this shouldn't have had any effect. If the contents had been encrypted somehow, there was no way it could be so easily deciphered.

But it seemed to be Chen Ye's lucky day.

As Chen Ye poured his spiritual energy into the book, the blurry writing turned into golden light and floated in midair.

"Out of compassion, I vowed to save all living beings. The golden staff in my hand swings open the gates of hell. The bright pearl in my palm shines upon the great thousand worlds. Amid the sounds of wisdom, amid auspicious clouds, I stand as the great witness and lord of merit for the suffering sentient beings of Jambudvipa. With great compassion and a great vow, I am the great sage, the greatly merciful Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Mahasattva."

Chen Ye stared in shock. Wasn't this the Ksitigarbha Vow Sutra?!