Where is Buddha?

After the first seal was broken, the sky did not improve; instead, it grew even darker.

The bright moon had vanished into thin air at some unknown moment, and the entire sky seemed to be shrouded by a deep black curtain, from which no light could be seen ever again.

Even the sound of the wind seemed to have ceased.

"Benefactor, there is not much time left." The Old Monk looked up at the sky, his voice becoming hoarse and rusted. "The Bodhisattva has already seen you and me. It seems He does not intend to wait for the full number of days and is preparing to break the seal early."

Having said that, he turned his head, his eyes as still as an ancient well.

"This old monk intends to pick up the pace, so please keep up, Benefactor."

Zhou You nodded in agreement.

After applying another layer of skin to the Gui Po, the two arrived at the crossroads once again.

"Monk, are we taking the middle path this time?"

To his surprise, the other party shook his head and flatly refused.

"No, the resentment in the middle path is the strongest. Even with the incense, this old monk would still have to use dharma power to suppress it, otherwise, you would surely never return, Benefactor. Therefore, we shall take the right path this time."

"The place with the eyeball anomalies?" Zhou You frowned. "But Monk, I have already used the cursed object for this path. How will you get through?"

The Old Monk raised his head, revealing a face now covered in deep red veins.

"Do not worry, Benefactor. This poor monk has his own methods."

Thus, the man could only shrug and follow him forward.

The moment they stepped into the path, the sensation of being "watched" by something surged forth, and this time it was particularly severe. Zhou You felt goosebumps instantly crawl across his back—they had only just entered the road, yet that thing felt as if it were already right in front of him!

However, watching the Old Monk's steady pace, he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

They walked for about four or five minutes when the Old Monk's footsteps suddenly stopped.

The anomalies in the fog were restless, appearing ready to strike at any moment. The surrounding streetlights flickered on and off; occasionally, when one peered into them, one could see that they were no longer light bulbs, but one blood-dripping eyeball after another.

The Old Monk did not look at them. He gently placed his hands on his face, his withered fingers digging deep into his eye sockets, and then...

With a sudden, violent force!

He had actually gouged out his own eyes alive!

There was no screaming, no wailing, and none of the twitching reactions typical of an ordinary person suffering such a grievous injury. The Old Monk simply held the moist eyeballs and began to chant scriptures at high speed.

"Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was in the Trayastrimsa Heaven, preaching for his mother. At that time, in the immeasurable worlds of the ten directions..."

Under the influence of this scripture, the pair of eyes rapidly solidified and hardened, becoming just like real prosthetic eyes.

Then, just as Zhou You had done at the very beginning, the Old Monk unhesitatingly crushed his own two eyeballs with a forceful squeeze!

"Splat!"

Blood and mucus splattered instantly!

A sound of immense joy immediately came from the fog behind them, and at the same time, the Old Monk turned his head back, "looking" at Zhou You with his now empty eye sockets.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Walking with hurried steps, Zhou You returned to the temple of the Guhyapada Vajra.

But this time, after hesitating for a long while, he looked at the Old Monk's empty eye sockets and spoke to him.

"Monk, is this the method you meant by 'bypassing the anomalies'?"

The Old Monk nodded.

"That is correct. These three anomalies were all cultivated through the method of 'stripping.' To pass them, one must use something imbued with yin energy to deceive them, making them believe it is the thing they are missing... and in this place, aside from what is in the hands of that Gui Po, there is only this shell of mine that has walked the Hungry Ghost Path."

The Old Monk's expression was indifferent, as if losing his two eyes were nothing more than a trivial matter.

"Of course, this trick can only be used once. If it were not for the two cursed objects you brought, Benefactor, even if I risked my life, I could only have broken open one temple."

After explaining this to Zhou You, the Old Monk walked step by step to the Buddha statue, performed his customary pious bow, and then threw his body against it once more.

Blood and filth surged in, his body swelled up, and then it deflated like a leaking balloon. However, this time it did not return to its original form; instead, his entire body seemed to have grown a size larger.

As he walked, one could even hear the sound of liquid sloshing inside him.

The Old Monk still paid it no mind.

He faced Zhou You with his blinded eyes, his face remaining as calm as ever.

"Apologies, Benefactor. Now that this poor monk is blind, for the path ahead... I must ask you to lead the way."

The third path was much calmer than the previous two.

However, this time the two had swapped positions.

Zhou You was in the front, and the Old Monk was in the back.

Just as they were about to reach their destination, the Old Monk suddenly spoke.

"Benefactor, it is enough to light the incense in this place. The anomaly will die upon seeing it; you and I need to obscure its senses first before we can pass."

Zhou You agreed, took out his lighter, and was just about to ignite it when the Old Monk suddenly spoke.

"I am well aware that you have been suspicious of me since a moment ago, but as we have reached the most critical juncture, I only wish to say one thing."

"Please trust me; at the very least, I have no intention of harming you."

Zhou You smiled without replying, instead lighting the incense directly.

Only then did he speak.

"Fine, I believe you."

Smoke curled upward, wisps of blue haze rising with his words before moving without a breeze, as if manipulated by something, drifting toward the very front of the path.

Zhou You held the burning incense aloft with the Old Monk following silently behind him, but as they passed by the Pious Ghost, the incense began to burn at an accelerated rate!

Just like that candle in Building Four, this thing would burn rapidly whenever it drew near a supernatural entity!

At this moment, however, the Old Monk stepped forward.

"Benefactor, let me handle this."

Without waiting for Zhou You's answer, he sliced his wrist open with his fingernail. Deep black, filthy blood gushed out, yet when it poured onto the incense, it did not extinguish the faint flame, merely causing the burning speed to slow down abruptly.

Correspondingly, the Old Monk's hand had turned into bare bone!

"The incense will last at least half an hour now. Benefactor, let us continue."

Soon, the thin, small old man appeared once more, but this time it did not look at Zhou You. Instead, it stared ahead with dazed eyes; despite being a vengeful spirit, its expression was one of deep infatuation. It gazed at the smoke without moving an inch, nor did it utter a single sound.

Although the Old Monk had lost his sight, he seemed to sense the scene and explained from the side, "Using infant bones to make incense is a common technique of the XZ Esoteric Sect. It allows both humans and ghosts to see the scenery they miss the most. I imagine this one is currently reuniting with its family in an illusion."

He then let out a soft sigh.

"The girl who loved beauty most had her skin peeled away; the child who loved to look up at their father had their eyeballs gouged out; the man who cherished his family most had everything taken from him... Jixiang Jimiao Guimu Bodhisattva is exactly that kind of existence. She only enjoys taking away what people cherish, even going so far as to make them destroy it with their own hands... Once she is released, this city will inevitably become a living hell—this is the last one, Benefactor, please hurry."

Zhou You nodded and took the lead into the fork in the road.

A few minutes later, the final temple appeared before him.

Seeing that the mission was nearing completion, Zhou You's expression relaxed significantly, but the moment he pushed the door open, his expression suddenly froze on his face.

Then, he turned his head with a creaking sound and asked the Old Monk.

"Monk, you did say that by breaking the seals of the three Buddhas, we could reseal that Bodhisattva, right?"

Watching the Old Monk nod, Zhou You raised his arm and pointed into the temple.

"Then let me ask you."

"Where is the Buddha in this place?"