Zhunti's Human Skin

The Eight Treasures Merit Pool is guarded by one Buddha, two Tathagatas, four Bodhisattvas, and eight Arhats.

The Buddha's disciple and the Daoist Dipankara were once among them, but now it's the turn of other cultivators.

Among these monks were some who were on good terms with the Buddha's disciples, as well as members of the factions of Buddha Son Shigong and others.

The Buddha's disciple strode forward and forcefully broke into the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, enduring sixteen blows in the process. As he rapidly approached the pool, his gaze swept across the several-foot-wide area and he saw that the Master Zhunti was indeed lying inside, while the Seven Treasures Tree and other treasures were placed to the side.

He didn't care about using the blessed pestle and the Six Roots Purity Bamboo to kill and wield Law Treasure; he simply reached out and grabbed at the Seven Treasures Tree.

A heavy feeling entered his hands, and the Buddha's disciple turned his body, intending to rush away from this place.

"Tatakata, have you gone mad?"

A four-armed Buddha, who had been attacking in succession, roared. When his gaze swept over the Master of the Eight Treasures Zhunti Pool, he couldn't help but feel fear. He knew he was no match for the Buddha's son, but he had no choice but to strike hard against him.

Four more blows came crashing down, but the Buddha saw that the Tathagata's son offered no resistance, gripping the Seven-Jeweled Tree tightly without letting go, his aim entirely for the tree.

"Compassionate King Buddha, Virtuous Chief Buddha, imprison Tadakata!"

"Akshobhya Buddha, the great assembly of bodhisattvas, stop him! He deserves to die! You cannot let him get away with this!"

The Buddha repeatedly shouted, urging the cultivators qualified to attack the Buddha's son to step forward. However, to his disappointment, the crowd could not form a united force, or rather, they were indeed unable to stop the Buddha's son.

As he shouted down to pull more people up, a plume of yellow smoke billowed out and rushed towards the crowd.

With just one puff of yellow smoke, the Buddha felt his years of concentration crumble, and his two Dharma arms vanished in an instant.

He pressed his neck tightly, trying to prevent himself from vomiting.

The punishment from the cult leader Zhunti was terrible, but what was even more terrible was the wisp of poisonous smoke that made him feel extremely nauseous.

If he could not quickly expel and replenish his energy, the Buddha felt he might lose the ability to act normally.

He turned and ran, only to hear the sounds of several cultivators vomiting uncontrollably behind him. He knew that his mission to guard the Eight Treasures Merit Pool had completely failed and that he would inevitably suffer a punishment worse than death.

The Buddha's face darkened. As he ran and rushed away to breathe in the fresh air, he felt extremely uncomfortable from the stench emanating from his mouth, as if his abdomen had become a place teeming with maggots and foul odor.

He couldn't help but spit out a couple of mouthfuls, only to find that what came out of his mouth was yellow swill, with an indescribable stench.

"Who would use such a treasure to harm us?"

Although the Buddha was afraid of punishment, he was more concerned about who was behind it.

This is not a treasure that the Western Sect could produce; only forces like the Immortal Court and Kunlun might possess it.

Amidst the billowing yellow smoke, the sounds of bells and curses echoed. The cultivator who released the treasure seemed somewhat uncomfortable, and there were also sounds of spitting.

The voices didn't seem to come from one person, but it was indeed only the Buddha's disciple and a flying cultivator who had just entered.

"Our insides have been breached!"

The mere thought of the Law Treasure that made the Zhunti Master famous being taken away made the Buddha feel as if the strongest cultivator of the Western Sect had his teeth pulled out, greatly diminishing its deterrent power.

No one could have imagined that the always honest and upright Buddha would become an inside agent of the Immortal Court and commit such an act of betrayal against the Western Sect.

"The leader?"

The Buddha exclaimed, clearly hoping that the Zhunti Master would quickly rise and recall the Seven Treasures Tree.

But despite his loud voice, there was no response from the thick smoke.

When another plume of yellow smoke came, the Buddha had no choice but to quickly shield himself from the approaching smoke. However, this smoke not only stung his nostrils but also his eyes, causing him to tear up uncontrollably.

For many years, the Three Realms have not had such a powerful treasure that can purely torment cultivators. Although one can escape the yellow smoke by quickly avoiding it, rendering this Law Treasure useless, encountering Law Treasure while on a garrison is like encountering a natural enemy.

After sealing his nasal cavity and oral cavity, the Buddha also sealed his eyes. He stretched out his four hands and grabbed wildly, but was soon struck in the body by some kind of long-handled weapon.

He stumbled and tumbled to the ground. The futile attack made the Buddha think that it was better to be beaten to death like this. He even seemed somewhat indifferent to whether the world would be destroyed.

"Zhunti seems to be dead!"

When the surprised voice came, a chill ran through the Buddha's heart.

"Lying on the Eight Treasures Merit Pool is the human skin of Zhunti; his body is already hollow inside!"

Is this how the Eight Treasures Merit Pool shapes and creates people?

Where are the people that Zhunti manifested?

Whispers could be heard, and even the Buddha's disciple, who had struggled to break free of the encirclement, stopped in his tracks, his body radiating golden light as he charged once more toward the Eight Treasures Merit Pool.

On the seemingly calm surface of the water, Master Zhunti closed his eyes, his expression gentle and showing no sign of anything amiss.

However, the body of the Zhunti Sect Leader was blown several steps away by the yellow smoke from the Purple Gold Bell. When things were calm, nothing could be seen, but now the problem was quite obvious.

Zhang Xuezhou's Purple Gold Bell spewed out poisonous smoke, which had a strong stench that made people want to vomit. However, the smoke was not emitted very fast; it was only as fast as Tongfeng. The wind was so strong that it could only stir the clothes on one's body, not even enough to move an ordinary person.

However, the poisonous smoke blew the body of the Zhunti Master several steps away.

When Erlang True Lord suddenly appeared and blew a breath, everyone saw that the body of the Zhunti Master was blown again, floating in the Eight Treasures Merit Pool as if it were a layer of skin.

"The Master is about to manifest his physical form, Tathagata. You have committed a grave sin by forcibly taking the Master's Law Treasure. You must not act rashly now!"

Seeing the Buddha's disciple reach out to grab the skin of the leader of the Zhunti, the cultivators couldn't help but shout in unison.

Failing to protect the Law Treasure of the Zhunti Master is a grave sin. If the Buddha's son were to damage the Zhunti Master's physical body, they would have no choice but to die to atone for their sins.

Although everyone managed to speak, the consequences of inhaling the toxic fumes released by Zhang Xuezhou, which were downwind, quickly became apparent.

The repeated vomiting sounds drew a surprised exclamation from Zhang Xuezhou.

His eyes were fixed intently on the precious spring water.

If the spiritual spring behind the Bifeng Cave is somewhat sinister, with both good and bad effects, requiring cultivators to gamble their lives to obtain its fortuitous opportunity, then the Eight Treasures Merit Pool has been verified by hundreds or even thousands of cultivators. Zhang Xuezhou even used the Eight Treasures Merit Pool for treatment and experienced the wonders of this treasure pool.

This kind of precious pool would never dissolve a physical body; even the poisonous sand that Zhang Xuezhou threw into the spiritual spring didn't have such power.

As he glanced around, he saw the Buddha's disciple approaching with the Seven Treasures Tree, seemingly also wanting to verify the life Zhunti, and even wanting to take Zhunti the Master Zhunti's physical problems to subdue him.

With a sturdy left hand, the Buddha grabbed at the skin of the leader of the Zhunti. As the Buddha's son's face showed an inexplicable emotion, his body suddenly trembled, and his face instantly contorted in extreme pain.

What's going on?

Yang Jian, who had transformed back into human form from the Chongming Bird, exclaimed in surprise. He then saw the Buddha's disciple vigorously swing his hand, slapping and striking, even throwing the human skin of the Zhunti Master two zhang away.

The human skin was flung out, and a fist-sized, black scorpion with its tail tied upside down appeared on his golden, radiant left hand.

"Could it be that Zhunti has transformed into the physical form of a scorpion demon?"

Yang Jian exclaimed in surprise, and the three-pointed double-edged sword he had used to strike the Buddha quickly struck the scorpion demon who was piercing the Buddha's disciple and was in excruciating pain.

Before the weapon could even strike the scorpion, it tumbled to the ground, transforming into a giant scorpion half the height of a person, and fled frantically.