This chant of Buddhist scripture quickly spread through the mountain forests. Gradually, after a rustling stirred among the trees, eerie green eyes lined both sides of the road leading up the mountain, fixing the man with hostile stares.
They belonged to the beasts that dwelled in these mountains. At the same time, their eerie green eyes were like lamps lighting the way, marking the route into the mountains.
The man dressed like a woodcutter paid no heed to the bizarre sight. He climbed the increasingly steep mountain path, and at last arrived before an abandoned temple deep in the mountains.
Most of the courtyard wall outside the Buddhist temple had collapsed. Ghostly blue flames drifted among the crumbling walls, making the place look like a mass grave. In truth, it was hardly any different from one.
Blood steamed from scattered severed limbs on the blue-brick path before the gate of the ancient Chan temple. Human bones, crushed by brute force, littered the ground, while muddy pools of blood seemed to testify that not long ago, a slaughter had taken place here, with blood sprayed everywhere and heads and limbs flying.
Crack, crack...
The sounds of flesh and bone being chewed came from the temple's Great Hero Hall. A massive shadow loomed within the halls of the ancient mountain monastery.
A pair of eyes suddenly opened in the darkness, revealing yellow, slit pupils. A terrifying aura of evil came surging forth like a wicked beast baring its claws, sweeping over them like a whirlwind.
The creature crouched there was a gigantic tiger. Its entire body was covered in long, thick fur like a rain cape. The coarse, lengthy hairs formed a coat like thick armor.
Experienced hunters called this kind of tiger a Coir Tiger, because its long fur covered its body like a rain cape, and neither blades nor arrows could pierce it. It was a truly troublesome beast.
In the Great Hero Hall, a mutilated female corpse lay beneath the tiger's paw. An arm and a leg were missing, a large chunk had been bitten out of her belly, and her blood-soaked intestines trailed across the stone floor.
The giant tiger turned its head, its eyes glowing faintly as it looked at the woodcutter outside the doorway.
"So it's you, Monk Sanhu. You're supposed to be meditating and cultivating in your charnel forest. When did you find the time to visit my Mountain King Temple?"
The man dressed as a woodcutter said nothing. He simply set down the shrine cabinet on his back.
The white skeleton hidden inside the shrine cabinet stopped chanting.
The man in woodcutter's clothes expressionlessly raised both hands and drove his fingertips into his eye sockets. A moment later, he let out a shrill scream and gouged out his two blood-soaked eyeballs.
"Give them to me."
The skeleton's tongue wriggled as it spoke softly.
The woodcutter respectfully handed over the pair of eyeballs. Blood tears still trickled from his two empty sockets.
The skeleton reached out with its bony hands and placed the eyeballs in its sockets. They rolled around eerily, and then the blood-red pupils turned toward the Coir Tiger in the Great Hero Hall.
"Fire Buddha cultivates one, heart subdues no sound!"
The white skeleton formed a hand seal, its scarlet tongue flickering like a snake's.
"Slaughter Spirit Envoy, it's been ten years since we last parted at Red Plum Palace. This old monk has neglected to pay his respects for far too long..."
"Heh heh heh."
A hoarse laugh came from the Coir Tiger's mouth. On closer inspection, a lump of writhing black mud hid inside its gaping jaws. The mud formed a blurry human face, its features deeply etched.
"As the saying goes, you don't visit the Three Treasures Hall without a reason. Monk Sanhu, I assume you didn't come here to reminisce with me?"
The voice came from that human face.
"Indeed. This old monk came on the sect's business and had no choice but to trouble the Slaughter Spirit Envoy."
Though the skeleton called Monk Sanhu had no expression, the blood-red eyeballs in its hollow sockets rolled a few times.
"This matter was also ordered by the Lotus Seat Master. This old monk is only here to pass on the message. Something has gone wrong with our arrangements in North Prefecture, and the Master sensed it. He hopes the Slaughter Spirit Envoy will investigate."
"That's strange. Trouble rarely breaks out in North Prefecture. Why send me all the way there?"
The Coir Tiger demon lay sprawled before the Great Hero Hall, its tail slapping the blue-brick floor.
"It seems something went wrong with one of the formations we arranged. That's not the main concern. The crucial thing is that an outsider has taken one of our sect's warding objects. If word gets out and draws the attention of the Great You Imperial Clan's Ghost Bats, that would be trouble."
The skeletal monk spoke calmly.
"Sanhu, are you joking?"
The tiger demon gave a heavy snort, its voice like rusted iron grinding against stone, a tiger's roar resounding in their ears.
"Besides the Evil-Slaying Bureau's Director, Situ Haoxing, and his nine Chief Envoys, those ordinary Ghost Bats are no threat at all. Since when has the Mud Sect feared those government lackeys?"
"Ghost Bats do have keen senses. If we cause trouble, it could invite complications. For now, what's happening in the southwest is the real priority."
The white skeleton continued speaking slowly, trying to persuade the Coir Tiger demon.
"I know you've been displeased all these years, Envoy, ever since you were demoted here because of what happened at Red Plum Palace. But this matter is also an opportunity. If you handle it well, the Master will have an easier time answering for it."
"Heh."
The tiger demon only sneered.
"Enough of that. Monk Sanhu, what happened to you? I know you studied the Form-Emptiness Grade in our sect's Lotus Ascension Scroll. It came from the White Bone Meditation lineage of Stone Zen Temple, but there was no need to discard your flesh and blood as well."
The skeleton seemed to grin. Its scarlet tongue quivered as it spoke.
"Slaughter Spirit Envoy, there's something you don't know. Seven years ago, after we parted at Red Plum Palace, I went to the northwest to spread our sect's teachings and save the people. By chance, I met Chixinzi of the Immortal Puppet Sect. The Innate Dao Sect classifies our Mud Sect and the Immortal Puppet Sect among the Nine Evils of Longevity. We also both possess orthodox traditions. To verify my understanding of the Dharma, I took the initiative and invited Chixinzi to test our cultivation against each other..."
At this, Monk Sanhu seemed to sigh.
"Unfortunately, during our debate on the Dharma, I left an opening. Chixinzi spotted it and struck with a Heart-Piercing Lock, cutting my heart right out of my chest... After that, there was nothing I could do. This old monk had no choice but to abandon this foul shell and flee with my life."
"Chixinzi, Immortal Puppet Sect..."
The human face in the tiger demon's throat grew more solemn.
He and Monk Sanhu both belonged to a sect called the Mud Sect. The Mud Sect wielded immense influence and had many experts. In particular, the sect possessed one of the Heavenly Orthodox Traditions, and its ranks included Dao-entry masters who protected the faith.
Across the land, apart from a few rare powers, there were hardly any factions the Mud Sect considered worthy of notice. The Immortal Puppet Sect was one of them.
"So the Immortal Puppet Sect has finally appeared in the world again. Rumor has it that whenever the Immortal Puppet Sect's orthodox tradition, the Formless Secret Treasury, is passed down, five disciples are chosen, and the method is divided into five parts. Only after gathering all five volumes and combining them do the disciples have a chance of reaching Dao-entry—and even then, there are higher realms beyond it."
"Don't worry. Chixinzi hadn't obtained any of the other Formless Secret Treasury volumes at the time. Otherwise, this old monk wouldn't even have had the chance to shed his flesh and escape. As for whether that fellow has obtained any other inheritances during these past seven years, I have no way of knowing."
The skeleton let out a strange "ku-ku-ku" laugh.
"Besides, I was blessed by misfortune. The Bodhisattva took pity on me and bestowed a portion of a ninth-grade great medicine. I switched from the Form-Emptiness Grade to the Sibi Art, and my cultivation advanced instead of declining."
"I see."
A sharp glint flashed in the tiger demon's eyes as it stared at Monk Sanhu.
"I understand. I'll make the trip to North Prefecture. You can go back and report to the Master without worry."