Dead Man Sutra, Goddess Spirit

"Tap, tap!"

The eerie footsteps grew clearer and clearer.

A headless monk emerged from the mist, clad in a gray monk's robe, his hands pressed together in prayer and iron shackles fastened around his feet.

With every step he took, the chains around his feet were tugged, producing the clank of metal striking metal.

Although there was no head above his neck, the low sound of sutra chanting came from within his body. Buddha Light radiated from his entire body, and golden brilliance flowed across every inch of his skin.

"He has no mouth. Where is the chanting coming from?" Hua Qinglian asked in a low voice.

Monk Tan Qian's expression turned grave. "There is a Zen sutra in Buddhism called Mouth Shut Meditation. Closing one's mouth does not mean one cannot speak. One may speak through the abdominal cavity; this is called ventriloquism, or Abdominal Meditation."

Ning Xiaochuan frowned slightly. "What sutra is he chanting?"

Monk Tan Qian listened closely for a long while, then his expression changed abruptly. "The Dead Man Sutra!"

"What Dead Man Sutra?" Hua Qinglian asked.

"If you hear it, you die." Monk Tan Qian's expression grew even worse, his face already somewhat pale.

With a roll of scripture in my hand,

All sentient beings perish at my chanting.

Hear the Dead Man Sutra—whoever hears it dies.

Ning Xiaochuan and Hua Qinglian immediately circulated their primordial qi, sealing their ears, isolating the space around them, and condensing a protective barrier in an attempt to block the Dead Man Sutra chanted by the Headless Monk.

Yet they discovered in shock that even after sealing their ears and isolating the space, they could still hear the Buddha Sound.

"It's useless. If the Dead Man Sutra were so easily resisted, it would not be called Buddhism's foremost evil