Lin Yu unlocked their chains and reassured them gently, "Don't be afraid, you're saved."
Upon hearing this, the pregnant women cried even harder. Although they were saved, their faces were filled with confusion; their families were all gone.
For a moment, they were all a little lost, feeling as if they were homeless.
Lin Yu knew about their plight, but there was nothing he could do. In such chaotic times, he could only save them temporarily, not forever.
After reassuring the pregnant women, they were told to stay there and that they would be taken away later.
Lin Yu turned and walked towards the temple's dungeon. With a thought, the golden bead containing the evil "Bodhisattva" appeared in his palm.
He originally planned to wait until he had eliminated the remaining members of the Fire Lotus Society before letting this evil spirit devour their souls. These little people didn't deserve to be reincarnated; only letting their souls be scattered was their best destiny.
But as soon as I grasped the bead, I sensed something unusual about its aura.
It is no longer purely sinister as before, but has gained a Daoist flavor.
Lin Yu stopped in his tracks. Through the translucent beaded wall, he could clearly see that the evil spirit inside had changed its appearance.
A faint golden light appeared on his originally dark skin.
The black aura surrounding him dissipated by more than half, and he sometimes appeared as a compassionate bodhisattva, and in an instant, he transformed into the ferocious appearance of a demon.
The three energies of Buddhism, Demon, and Daoism intertwined and entwined within its body, yet strangely, they did not devour each other; instead, they gradually approached a balance.
"Interesting..." A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Yu's eyes. A Golden Light of Merit condensed at his fingertips and slowly probed into the bead.
The moment the golden light touched the evil spirit, its Buddhist nature suddenly intensified, and its demonic appearance vanished instantly.
But after a short while, the demonic force surged back, suppressing the Buddhist force, until the peaceful aura of Daoism mediated and the three forces stabilized again.
It can be said that the devil is always one step ahead of the saint.
After several attempts, Lin Yu finally figured out the pattern: when he recited the "Supreme Edict Divine Rebirth Deliverance Mantra," the Daoist Yin-Yang power had unintentionally seeped into the bead.
The supernatural power that trapped it, combined with the power of merit and rules, unexpectedly neutralized some of the evil's demonic nature and even gave rise to its Buddha-nature.
What's even stranger is that this evil spirit seems to have a strong ability to adapt; the three forces that should have been at odds actually formed a delicate balance within its body.
It neither falls into demonic ways, nor returns to Buddhism, nor degenerates into Daoism; it has become a special state never seen before.
"It's quite a rare item." Lin Yu withdrew his Spiritual Power and reinforced the bead's seal.
The evil spirits that this guy researched were quite peculiar. Lin Yu's collecting habit kicked in, and he had to collect these strange items.
After putting away the bead, Lin Yu followed the evil aura to the entrance of the dungeon.
The entrance was hidden beneath the base of the Buddha statue in the main hall. As soon as he pushed open the hidden door, a black flame carrying an evil aura rushed towards him, and a scorching wave of air hit his face directly.
Behind the hidden door, four members of the Fire Lotus Society, holding talismans, were watching him warily. They had obviously heard the fighting upstairs and had set a trap in advance.
However, Lin Yu was too lazy to even dodge this level of attack, letting it land on him.
The flames fell on Lin Yu, but they extinguished without even a ripple, as if a stone had sunk into the sea.
"Attack him together! Burn him with cursed fire!"
Seeing that their attack had no effect, the four of them decisively made hand seals at the same time, and four balls of black fire converged in the air, transforming into a fire snake that pounced fiercely towards Lin Yu.
Lin Yu initially wanted to raise his hand to neutralize it, but then he thought it would be a good opportunity to test the evil spirit's power; something so peculiar must have something extraordinary about it.
With a flick of his wrist, the golden bead flew out instantly, expanding several times in size in the air, directly enveloping the entire dungeon and forming a semi-transparent barrier.
The evil spirit inside the bead sensed the increased space, its scarlet eyes instantly lit up, and it lunged outwards, trying to escape. But as soon as it touched the barrier, it was bounced back by an invisible force and crashed to the ground with a thud.
"Don't waste your energy. If you manage to escape, I'll change my surname to yours today," Lin Yu said calmly.
When the four members of the Fire Lotus Society saw the evil spirit inside the bead, they were first stunned, and then their expressions changed drastically.
He quickly dispelled the spell, knelt down with a thud, and repeatedly kowtowed to the evil spirit, chanting obscure Japanese prayers.
They recognized it at a glance—it was the Bodhisattva worshipped by the church!
After bowing for a moment, one of the men looked up at Lin Yu, his gaze shifting from wariness to awe, even carrying a hint of obsequiousness. "Your Excellency... Your Excellency can actually summon a Bodhisattva, could you perhaps be an esteemed official sent from headquarters?"
In their view, only the higher-ups of the sect could command the Bodhisattva, and since Lin Yu could keep the Bodhisattva by his side, he must be one of their own.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yu's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Whether headquarters sent me or not, I don't know, but this person definitely did."
Lin Yu took out an oil lamp, inside which floated a soul—it was none other than the Fire Lotus Society member Lin Yu had killed earlier.
"Baka!" Sure enough, these few days were furious when they saw their companions being tormented by Lin Yu like this, and when they were being mocked.
He stood up, intending to die together with Lin Yu.
Lin Yu raised his chin at the evil spirit inside the bead. "See? These people worship you like a god."
"Why don't you show them what your idol really looks like?"
The evil spirit that had stopped trying to escape hesitated for a moment, looking at Lin Yu with a hint of fear, and then at the Fire Lotus Society members kneeling on the ground.
His demonic nature suddenly surged, and the black aura around him instantly increased dramatically.
It was not very intelligent to begin with, and although some of its evil nature had been neutralized, it was still bloodthirsty. Those who had worshipped it were nothing more than delicious snacks in its eyes.
His peaceful Buddhist nature was instantly suppressed, and ferocious demonic patterns appeared on his dark blue skin. Sharp teeth were exposed, and his scarlet eyes stared intently at the Fire Lotus Society members, letting out a low growl.
Before the four could react, the evil spirit pounced out, moving so fast that they only saw a black shadow.
The Fire Lotus Society member at the front had just raised his head when the evil spirit grabbed him by the neck.
With a crisp "crack," the neck bone snapped.
Darkness didn't stop. It opened its mouth and bit his shoulder, tearing off bits of flesh mixed with black blood. The chewing sound was particularly jarring in the deathly silent dungeon.
"How... how could this be..." The remaining three were terrified, unable to believe that the god they worshipped would attack them.
They scrambled and stumbled in an attempt to escape, but the dungeon was shrouded in a golden barrier. As soon as they reached the edge, they were bounced back by the barrier and fell to the ground.
The evil spirit dealt with the first person and then turned to attack the second.
In his panic, the man pulled out a talisman, hoping to drive away the evil spirits.
Unfortunately, the source of their spell power comes from the evil spirit in front of them; how could they use the power of an enemy to fight an enemy?