Ksitigarbha Vow Sutra

Chapter 19: Ksitigarbha Vow Sutra

The contents hidden within the belly of the Evil Buddha were quite abundant.

Dozens of pill bottles had originally been packed to the brim, but when the sword light sliced the Evil Buddha open, many of the bottles shattered. Although Chen Ye tried his best to salvage them, many pills were contaminated by corpse fluid and rendered useless.

Among the remaining pills, most were Human Blood Pills. These pills could not only assist in condensing the Qi Sea in the dantian, but they could also serve as a supplement for spiritual energy in daily life and treat minor wounds—exactly what Chen Ye needed for his current deafness. However, these blood pills had severe side effects, so Chen Ye was in no rush to consume them immediately.

There were also various other jars and pots containing things like antidotes, poisons, and gu insects. Just these items alone made a pauper like Chen Ye beam with joy.

Besides the pills, there were two spirit talismans.

One of them had already been destroyed by the sword qi and had lost its effectiveness.

Chen Ye recognized the other one; it was the most classic Blood Burning Curse of the demonic path. It used blood as fuel, and once ignited, it would burn until the flesh and blood were withered—a truly vicious spell.

Mo Ci had taught Chen Ye the Blood Burning Curse, so Chen Ye naturally understood its principles. However, for him to cast it would be nearly impossible, as the spell was far too cumbersome and complex. It required a long preparation time just to initiate, not to mention the massive amount of spiritual energy required to sustain it, which was far beyond the reach of a mere Qi Sea Realm cultivator.

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

It was just a bit of a loss to trade two sword talismans for this Blood Burning Curse. After all, the Qinghe Sword Technique was the best in the world, and the sword talismans of the Qinghe Sword Sect were naturally far more precious than these common goods.

If these were his only gains, this treasure hunt would have been a huge loss.

Fortunately, there were other treasures.

A pitch-black long banner, a crystal-clear piece of amber, and a seemingly ordinary thread-bound book.

The black banner was the demonic artifact known as the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. It seemed that every demon lord carried one, though this one was far superior to the crude version Chen Ye had crafted himself.

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

But the moment he saw the figure inside the amber clearly, he nearly threw it away.

Inside the palm-sized amber, a child was actually sealed. The child appeared to be about seven or eight years old, curled up and shrunk down within the amber. Looking closer, the child's entire body was covered in curse scripts smaller than the tip of a needle.

"Cursed Spirit Child?! This is prepared specifically for possession!"

Chen Ye couldn't help but tremble; the piece of amber in his hand was truly cruel and vicious to the extreme.

Demonic cultivators often committed evil deeds, and killing to practice cultivation was a common occurrence. Situations where a physical body was destroyed and required possession were also frequent. Chen Ye's master, Mo Ci, had performed possession many times, and each time it damaged his soul, leaving him increasingly weak.

Forced possession was too damaging to the soul, so was there a way to mitigate the damage? Naturally, there was, and this Cursed Spirit Child was a vicious artifact used by the demonic path for possession.

One simply had to refine a child with a similar bloodline into the amber while still alive, and at the critical moment, one could directly possess the child's body.

How does one obtain a child with a similar bloodline?

Simple: one births them. As for who to birth them with or how... the demonic path had plenty of methods.

One child was far from enough; at least several dozen were needed to have a chance at finding a suitable candidate.

Once the child grew to six or seven years old, they would destroy the child's consciousness, using fear or nightmare methods to turn them into a complete idiot, keeping them alive but unable to resist, before sealing them into the amber.

To ensure the vitality of the flesh, it had to be nourished with blood and meat from time to time to ensure the body did not decay.

Although the child sealed in this amber was still alive, they were no different from the dead.

The Cursed Spirit Child did not need to be carried on one's person. Once the demon lord's body was destroyed, their soul would be drawn by the inscribed array and automatically descend into the amber. Within a few days, they would re-hatch and complete the possession as quickly as possible.

This Cursed Spirit Child was considered a top-tier life-saving technique in the demonic path, but it was too vicious; even Chen Ye's master, Mo Ci, had only heard of it and could not bear to use it himself.

There were differences between demon lords, and someone like Mo Ci was stuck in the middle—not ruthless enough to be a true villain, yet lacking the conviction to be a good person, which was why he lived such a miserable life.

In immortal cultivation, one must never take the middle path, for the pursuit of immortality is a one-in-a-million chance. Both the righteous and demonic paths had predecessors who had ascended, but the wavering side paths had never been known to produce an immortal.

Although one's character was unrelated to their cultivation level, those with greater determination were more likely to overcome difficulties and obstacles. When things are "good enough," one often falls just short at the critical moment.

And that "shortfall" might be the difference between immortality and mortality, the difference between life and death.

Chen Ye secretly warned himself not to repeat those mistakes, then pulled his thoughts back.

Now he understood the purpose of this corpse pit and the Evil Buddha: they were meant to guard and feed this Cursed Spirit Child so that the demon lord could save his life at a critical moment.

It was no wonder the Evil Buddha's belly was filled with so many good things; it was all preparation for the demon lord's own possession and rebirth.

With pills, spirit talismans, and artifacts, he would have the power to protect himself immediately after possession.

"In this day and age, those in the demonic path must not only be ruthless but also cautious."

Chen Ye sighed, then immediately began to worry about Su Chunyi. A demon lord capable of refining a Cursed Spirit Child was no pushover, and he wondered if that Miss Su could defeat him.

"Wait, if Miss Su kills that demon lord, wouldn't he immediately perform possession?"

Chen Ye felt the amber in his hand grow increasingly hot; if this great demon were to be reborn right in front of him, he would be dead for sure.

He had to either throw this amber away or destroy it immediately; otherwise, he feared a great disaster would befall him.

Chen Ye cautiously set the amber aside and took out his final find: a seemingly ordinary thread-bound book. However, the book had been soaked in water, and the ink had completely bled, making it impossible to see what was written. The material didn't seem special either; it was the most common kind.

But if it were truly ordinary, why would it be kept with so many precious treasures?

Chen Ye examined it carefully and finally discovered something unusual.

On the cover of the book, there seemed to be a faint white mark. When he wiped it gently with his hand, the mark became slightly lighter.

Only this white mark? This made Chen Ye feel that something was wrong.

For such an ordinary book, why was there only this mark, while the rest of the book, aside from the blurred ink, had no other damage?

If this were an ordinary book, wouldn't it have some dog-eared corners or creases from being flipped through so often? How could it look brand new?

"This white mark... could it have been slashed just now?"

Chen Ye was startled by his own thought. Su Chunyi's sword talisman could cleave even an Evil Buddha cast from solid gold, yet it could only leave a scratch on this book?

Chen Ye exerted force with his hands, trying to tear the book apart, only to find that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't damage it in the slightest.

He took out his dagger and stabbed it with all his might, but despite his best efforts, he couldn't pierce a single page, nor could he leave any mark at all.

Chen Ye said in shock, "This book is the real treasure!"

No wonder it was placed inside the belly of the Evil Buddha; even if one couldn't decipher the text on it, just stuffing it into one's clothes would make for armor impervious to blades and arrows.

However, the true value of this book ultimately lay in the text itself. Content recorded on such precious material must be extraordinary—could it perhaps be a legacy left behind by some Demon Lord?

Chen Ye, holding onto the mindset of giving it a try, injected his spiritual power into it.

Under normal circumstances, this action shouldn't have any effect; since it had been encrypted in some way, how could it be cracked so easily?

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

As Chen Ye's spiritual energy flowed in, those blurry characters transformed into golden light, actually hovering in mid-air.

"Accumulating virtue through compassionate causes, vowing to save all sentient beings; the golden staff in hand swings open the gates of hell. The pearl in the palm illuminates the great thousand worlds. Amidst the sound of wisdom and within the clouds of auspiciousness, for the suffering beings of Jambudvipa, you act as the great witness and master of merit. Great compassion and great vows, great sage and great mercy, the Honored One, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Mahasattva."

Chen Ye was stunned after reading it; this appeared to be the Ksitigarbha Vow Sutra!