The Boy Burned

The next second, a fiery red snake suddenly appeared in front of him.

Before Joyful Boy could even react, the snake plunged into his palm.

At that moment, Joyful Boy was still pretending to be an innocent child, reaching out to embrace Yang Chan.

But just as the two were about to touch, a tongue of flame shot between them.

The golden incense wish power on the statue Yang Chan inhabited was instantly set ablaze, while the Buddhist power on Joyful Boy was also ignited by Samadhi True Fire.

"Oh no!" The moment Joyful Boy saw the Samadhi True Fire, he sensed that things had gone terribly wrong. He was furious with the man in red armor.

It was unmistakably Samadhi True Fire, almost identical to the flames that had killed his previous reincarnated body.

What have I ever done to offend you?

I've already reincarnated, and you still won't let me go!

Anger roared within him, but what alarmed him most was that he had already coated his body with Joyful Buddha Power so he could circulate it into Yang Chan's body at the first opportunity.

He had intended to leave an impression of himself in this life on Yang Chan's heart. Life after life, the process would repeat until, sooner or later, Yang Chan would fall in love with him at first sight when they met.

But what now?

Once his Buddhist power was activated, even someone as naïve and innocent as Yang Chan would probably sense that something was wrong, wouldn't she?

With no time to hesitate, Joyful Boy almost instinctively withdrew the Joyful Buddha Power from the surface of his body.

But he was a step too late. The searing heat of the Samadhi True Fire reduced that trace of his Buddhist body bearing his memories to ashes in an instant.

He didn't even feel the slightest pain!

"What monster is this?"

"My son!"

"Oh heavens, a monster! Master Liu's son is dead!"

The instant the infant in the swaddling vanished, the temple keeper realized something was wrong.

He looked down, and the infant in the swaddling had already turned to ashes!

A monster-it had to be a monster at work.

What monster was it? Before everyone's eyes, under the gaze of Goddess Third Holy Mother herself, it had actually murdered Master Liu's child!

This was nothing less than an insult to Goddess Third Holy Mother.

The Third Holy Mother, who resided within the incense, was furious as well. Golden light instantly emerged from the statue, and she directly used the power of incense prayers to form a divine body.

However, the appearance of her divine body greatly strengthened her perception, and Yang Chan sensed that something was amiss.

Her golden gaze fell on the ashes in the swaddling held by the temple keeper. A faint golden light lingered on the ashes.

Buddhist power!?

This infant was the reincarnation of an eminent monk from Spirit Mountain.

No! If he was an eminent monk from Spirit Mountain, what did his behavior just now mean?

Besides, no matter how he reincarnated, he couldn't possibly circulate the power in his body just after being born, could he?

This reincarnated member of the Buddhist Order had retained his memories.

At that thought, Yang Chan's heart trembled. What had this person from Spirit Mountain intended to do, carrying Buddhist light within his body?

"Goddess Third Holy Mother! Please save my son!" The Liu Family Village chief, a man in his sixties, cried out and fell to his knees before the incense divine body Yang Chan had formed.

"Everyone, don't panic. Leave this to me," Yang Chan said, taking a deep breath. Though she still had many questions, the most important thing now was to calm the people around her.

Seeing the Third Holy Mother appear, the temple keeper hurried over and knelt in reverent prayer.

"Goddess Third Holy Mother, this monster is far too arrogant! In broad daylight, under your very gaze, he still dared to act so outrageously. Please don't let him get away!"

"Of course," Yang Chan said with a nod, then swept her gaze over the surroundings.

Fire!

Though the fire snake had appeared only briefly, Yang Chan had noticed it immediately. At the same time, the puzzlement in her eyes deepened.

How could a monster possibly wield Samadhi True Fire?

Unless this monster had a background that reached the heavens, with a great figure who wielded Samadhi True Fire behind him.

But why would such a mighty figure target the Buddhist Order?

And even strike under my watch?

Was he trying to warn me of something?

After looking over the crowd, Yang Chan was even more puzzled. As far as she could tell, everyone nearby was an ordinary person.

Even the cultivators among them had only just set foot on the path of cultivation.

Except...

"What do I do? What do I do? My cousin saw me." Weaver Girl wore a miserable expression as she clutched Jiang Zhe's sleeve, tense and frightened.

"So what if she saw you? You didn't do anything," Jiang Zhe said with a clear conscience. With the concealing power of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, he was certain Yang Chan hadn't discovered him.

After all, it wasn't Yang Chan's true body that had appeared, but merely a divine sense body formed from incense wish power.

She would be lucky to have one-thousandth of her strength.

If he could still be discovered, then his study of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts and Fire Virtue Star Lord's insights into controlling fire would have been for nothing.

In the end, Yang Chan's gaze settled on Jiang Zhe. It wasn't for any other reason than that, of everyone present, Jiang Zhe had the highest cultivation realm apart from her cousin.

He was also the most suspicious, but when she recalled what Jiang Zhe had done that day...

He probably isn't a bad person, is he?

Besides, her cousin was willing to stay by his side.

All sorts of thoughts gathered in Yang Chan's mind, leaving her with a headache.

She urgently needed someone to help her reason it through.

"I'll investigate this matter. Be careful from now on, and make sure that monster doesn't find you again," Yang Chan said to Village Chief Liu after looking around.

"Then, Holy Mother, will I still be able to have a son?" Village Chief Liu asked, his eyes full of hope.

"You will." Yang Chan nodded.

Granting him a child was no great difficulty for her. After all, Mount Hua was her domain, and blessing the place with smooth fortunes and a flourishing population was simple.

After speaking, Yang Chan turned her gaze to Weaver Girl. Her lips moved slightly, and then she dissolved into golden light and vanished.

The other people nearby had scattered and fled as soon as Joyful Boy turned to ashes and someone shouted that there was a monster.

Now, aside from the guards and temple keeper of the Third Holy Mother's temple, only Master Liu of Liu Family Village and a few maids and guards remained.

As Yang Chan vanished, the people around them hurried away as well.

Jiang Zhe and Weaver Girl left with the crowd, but Weaver Girl's face was full of dismay.

"What do I do? My cousin told me to go see her."

"But I don't know anything! Why does she want to see me? Will she tell my imperial father? I don't want to go back." Weaver Girl leaned against Jiang Zhe, babbling nervously.

"Relax, it'll be fine. You really don't know anything anyway. Besides, so what if you have to go back?" Jiang Zhe said, looking rather unconcerned.

"How can you be so heartless? What do you mean, so what if I have to go back? You won't miss me at all!" Weaver Girl pounced on Jiang Zhe, baring her claws, then bared her little canines and bit viciously into his wrist.