"Are all of you my friends?" Tang Yan asked with a beaming smile.
"Yes, yes, yes!" All the Spirit Bodies nodded like chicks pecking at grain.
Tang Yan was pleased with their attitude, but he was in no hurry to withdraw the formation. His voice sharpened. "I've always laid my heart bare to my friends. I hope you'll all be equally honest with me!
"From now on, whoever I ask will answer. The rest of my friends will stay silent.
"Answer exactly what I ask.
"If you lie, conceal anything, or contradict yourselves, don't blame me for being ruthless and leaving none of you alive!"
"We'll tell you everything we know and hold nothing back!" The Spirit Bodies nodded again.
Tang Yan pointed at the snake-headed demon. "What is this place? Why are you here?"
The snake-headed demon's attitude had become much more meek. "This is Buddha-Suppressing Island.
"Back then, the Human Clan produced the Nine Sages and Eighteen Venerables. The Buddha was one of those sages, with astonishing combat strength.
"We suppressed the Buddha here to prevent him from escaping and harming our descendants!"
Tang Yan pointed at the red-haired member of the Divine Clan and continued, "Is the Buddha still alive?"
"He's already dead, but he left behind an inheritance," the red-haired Divine Clan member answered.
"What does this inheritance do?" Tang Yan asked again.
The red-haired Divine Clan member hesitated, casting a wary glance at the great formation overhead before reluctantly revealing the truth. "This inheritance contains supreme Buddhist power. If someone with an affinity for Buddhism obtains it, their cultivation can ascend to heaven in a single step.
"We've always been at odds with the Human Clan. If a new Buddha emerges among them, he'll pose an enormous threat to us. Naturally, we have to guard