Ten Thousand Miasma Valley, on the outskirts of the Black Bone Hall.
The battle between Jian Huaishuang and the two demon kings had reached a fever pitch.
Boom!
The Azure-Scaled Jiao Lord’s massive tail swept across, smashing a legion of paper people directly into scraps.
But he wasn't faring well himself.
The reflection effect of the Lie Sword Domain meant that every strike he landed felt as if it were hitting his own body. By now, more than half of his scales had cracked and shattered, leaving him drenched in blood.
His younger brother, the Black-Scaled Snake Envoy, was in an even more pathetic state.
Jian Huaishuang had landed a heavy blow at his seven-inch mark, nearly severing him in two. He now lay paralyzed on the ground, his breathing shallow and ragged.
"Big brother... I... I can't make it..." Black-Scaled wheezed, his eyes filled with terror.
He never expected this human cultivator, who looked as fragile as pasted paper, to be so difficult to deal with.
"Shut up! Don't talk like you're already dead!" Azure-Scaled roared, his eyes filled with unbearable grief. Though he was insidious and never hesitated to sell out teammates, he was genuinely devoted to his only blood brother.
'This kid’s domain is too bizarre. If this continues, we’re both dead!'
Azure-Scaled glanced at Jian Huaishuang, who remained expressionless and seemingly untiring. He steeled his heart.
"Black-Scaled, I'll hold him back. You go!"
"Big brother?" Black-Scaled was stunned.
"Go, now! Go back and find the Exalted Saint. As long as you reach the Black Bone Hall, the Exalted Saint will surely save us!"
As Azure-Scaled finished speaking, his demonic qi surged instantly, even burning his essence blood. His originally azure body turned crimson as he charged recklessly at Jian Huaishuang.
"A cornered beast’s struggle."
Jian Huaishuang’s eyes narrowed slightly. He twirled his giant sword, and the Paper Snow filling the sky suddenly accelerated.
Just as Jian Huaishuang was prepared to end the dragon with a single strike, a thunderous roar of battle cries erupted from the distance.
"Stay thy hand! Bold monsters, do not harm the envoy of our Old Ancestor!"
"Wa-ya-ya-ya! Wu Hai, the thirty-sixth generation descendant of the Bone Temple, is here! Vile beasts, surrender your lives!"
"Kill! For the Old Ancestor!"
Jian Huaishuang’s movements paused.
Azure-Scaled was also stunned. Both turned their heads at the same time.
Emerging from the mist was a group of skeletons. Leading them was an old skeleton draped in a human-skin cassock, waving a bone staff as he sprinted forward at an incredible speed, his kneecaps almost sparking from the friction.
Behind him followed dozens of equally fanatical skeleton monks. Soul fire flickered wildly in their eye sockets as they shouted nonsensical slogans, charging like a pack of rabid dogs.
Azure-Scaled Jiao Lord was speechless.
Where did these reinforcements come from? Wait, what were they shouting?
'Do not harm the envoy of our Old Ancestor?'
Azure-Scaled looked at Jian Huaishuang, then at the group of skeletons.
"Pfft—"
Azure-Scaled spat out a mouthful of blood.
'Why don't you look at who's actually being harmed here? I'm the one about to be beaten to death, you blind idiots!'
Zen Master Wu Hai didn't care about any of that.
He had rushed all the way to the Southern Region. Upon entering Chaiwang City, he saw demon blood covering the streets. Legions of paper people were assisting human cultivators in slaughtering the monsters.
Wu Hai had seen the paper person brigades in the City of the Wrongfully Dead. He was thrilled; as expected of the Old Ancestor, he had conquered a demon city so quickly.
'This is truly the style of our Bone Temple! Plucking feathers from a passing goose and skinning any beast that walks. The path of slaughter is exactly as it should be!'
'Beautiful faces are but white bones; all phenomena are empty. Only by discarding flesh and blood can one see the true Buddha.'
'Using slaughter to guide them, delivering all sentient beings to see the Buddha!'
As Wu Hai delved deeper, he saw the Thousand-Silk Forest burned to scorched earth and didn't see a single demon hair in the Black Marsh Forest. The further he went, the more excited he became.
'My Old Ancestor is truly successful! He really leaves neither chicken nor dog, nor even a blade of grass!'
Until he passed the Black Marsh Forest and saw the overwhelming demonic qi ahead. He squinted and saw—good heavens!
Two mountain-sized demons were attacking a small figure covered in white paper.
Although he had never met Jian Huaishuang, he recognized that aura, and he recognized the paper people under Jian Huaishuang’s command. The death qi swirling around those paper people was identical to that of the floor-sweeping senior brother back in the City of the Wrongfully Dead!
He had seen those paper people shattered by snake demons back in the City of the Wrongfully Dead and in Chaiwang City as well. Therefore, the swordsman was undoubtedly a high expert under the Old Ancestor’s banner!
And those two snake demons were clearly local monsters of the Southern Region. How dare they use numbers to bully the Old Ancestor’s person?
Could this be tolerated?
Absolutely not! This was a god-given opportunity to earn merit!
"Boys, the chance to show off has come!"
Zen Master Wu Hai was so excited his skull was trembling. He let out a loud roar: "That must be the vanguard envoy sent by the Old Ancestor, currently under siege by demons! Our Bone Temple shall uphold justice today and assist the envoy in slaying these monsters! For the Buddha, kill!!"
"Roar!!"
The group of skeleton monks acted as if they had been injected with chicken blood, howling as they joined the fray. Though their cultivation wasn't as high as Azure-Scaled’s, they had the advantage of numbers, and they feared neither death nor pain.
They latched onto Azure-Scaled’s tail and bit down, or jabbed their bone staffs into the gaps between his scales and tumors.
"Let go! You bastards, let go of me!"
Azure-Scaled howled in pain. Why were these skeletons like the paper people? Did they only know how to use their teeth in a fight? Where was the martial dignity!
"Where did these stray dogs come from!"
Enraged, Azure-Scaled smashed several skeletons with a claw. But in the next second, those scattered bones automatically reassembled. They clicked their necks back into place and charged again.
"Hahahaha, exhilarating!"
Zen Master Wu Hai laughed heartily. "As expected of the Old Ancestor’s territory! The death qi here is so dense that even if I'm shattered, I can reassemble!"
He turned to look at the bewildered Jian Huaishuang, instantly switching to a fawning expression. He shouted from a distance, "Envoy, do not fear! Little Wu Hai of the Bone Temple is here! Leave this small scene to us; don't let it dirty your hands!"
Jian Huaishuang sheathed his sword and stood still, watching these suddenly appearing allies with some confusion.
Bone Temple? Wu Hai?
He recalled that the master had indeed used the identity of the Bone Temple before, but currently, only a few of the master's confidants knew the truth. Jian Huaishuang wasn't stupid; with a little thought, he guessed this might be Hong Ling’s idea.
Nearby, the paper people also stopped their movements and gathered around curiously. The disciples of the Corpse Soul Sect watched the monks of the Bone Temple.
Paper people and skeletons stared at each other.
"Wow, Senior Brother, look! That bald skeleton is so shiny!"
"Are they the master's people too? They look quite unique."
"Is this the legendary bone spirit?"
The paper people chattered among themselves.
The skeletons also looked back while gnawing on the snakes.
"Is this the Old Ancestor’s Mahayana Buddhism? Turning paper into soldiers?"
"What powerful scraps of paper; they actually sliced through a demon king’s hide!"
"Fellow sect members! These are our kin!"
Two sects that originally had nothing to do with each other now felt a bizarre resonance because of their shared faith.
Azure-Scaled was in utter despair. Jian Huaishuang alone was hard enough to deal with, and now a pack of suicidal, crazed skeletons had arrived. How the hell was he supposed to fight this?
"Black-Scaled, run!"
Azure-Scaled cried out, desperately entangling himself with the charging Zen Master Wu Hai to buy his brother one last moment. However, Black-Scaled had already been surrounded by a swarm of small paper people and skeletons, leaving no room to escape.
"Want to run? Have you asked your Lord Buddha?"
A small novice skeleton raised a bone staff larger than himself and smashed it down onto Black-Scaled’s head.
Splat!
The battle ended quickly. Under the pincer attack of the two forces, the two demon envoys, who were already at their limit, had no chance of turning the tables. Black-Scaled was dismembered on the spot. Azure-Scaled was heavily injured and tied up like a bundle by Zen Master Wu Hai using an immortal-binding rope that looked like an intestine. Then, he was strangled to death.
"Phew... satisfying, truly satisfying!"
Zen Master Wu Hai stepped on Azure-Scaled’s head, looking high-spirited. He felt this was the most prosperous and pride-swelling battle the Bone Temple had fought in centuries!
As the smoke cleared, the paper people of the Corpse Soul Sect and the skeletons of the Bone Temple quickly hit it off. Quite literally.
"Hey, hey, fellow daoist, your rib is inserted backward. Let me fix it for you."
A paper person enthusiastically helped a small skeleton snap a rib back into place.
"Many thanks, many thanks. Fellow paper daoist, there's a hole in your foot. Do you want to borrow a piece of human skin to patch it? Don't worry, it's my own skin; I don't need it anymore."
The small skeleton was also very polite.
"No need, no need. I have some paste here."
The scene was momentarily very harmonious.
Jiang Ziang walked out from the crowd of paper people. Looking at his fellow disciples having the time of their lives behind him, he let out a helpless sigh.
"This is too unseemly..."
He cupped his hands toward Jian Huaishuang. "Lord Jian, Master Wu Hai, please excuse the sight. These disciples have been suppressed for too long; they’re letting themselves go a bit now."
Jian Huaishuang sheathed his giant sword and gave a faint look at the cheerful paper people. "It is no matter."
He recalled Chen Zhou’s words, and his gaze softened slightly. "The Corpse Soul Sect carried too much in the past."
"They are merely children under the age of twenty, yet they had to bear the lives of an entire city’s people and the blood debts of their sect in a desperate place like Kushi County."
"That kind of pressure would crush even an adult," Jian Huaishuang said softly. "They had to force themselves to become mature and steady just to survive in that environment. But now, the calamity of Kushi County has been resolved by the master. The burden on their shoulders has been lifted. Since they have been reborn, there is no need to force themselves anymore."
"Returning to their natural state and being a bit lively is good. I imagine even the master would be happy to see them so full of life."
Jiang Ziang was stunned upon hearing this. He looked at his juniors who were currently having a race with the skeletons, and a mist rose in his eyes.
Indeed. They were all still children.
In a peaceful age, they should have been playing and bickering in the sect, perhaps getting punished by their master for stealing a spirit fruit. They shouldn't have been in a ghost city, dealing with corpses all day and calculating every sacrifice just to stay alive. It had been too heavy.
"Lord Jian speaks truly..."
Jiang Ziang lowered his head, feeling a hint of guilt in his heart. The Sect Master had martyred himself for the Dao, and the elders had faced death without regret. As the eldest disciple and their senior brother, he had failed to carry the sky for them; he truly wasn't qualified. How could he now put on airs and scold them?
But it was also thanks to that great lord. Under his divine grace, the Corpse Soul Sect could still exist in the world in the form of paper people.
"Thank you for the enlightenment, Lord Jian." Jiang Ziang took a deep breath, feeling a great weight lift from his heart.
At this time, Zen Master Wu Hai straightened his cassock and approached respectfully.
"Um, might I ask, is the envoy a Patrol Envoy under our Bone Temple's Bone God?"
Jian Huaishuang nodded. "Indeed."
Zen Master Wu Hai instantly brightened. He hadn't misidentified him! He pointed at the two snake corpses on the ground.
"Then let this humble monk handle these spoils of war! This monk is best at cleaning up battlefields. I guarantee I'll strip the skin clean, carve the meat away until not a shred remains, and bring back the bones intact!"
As he spoke, he prepared to order his disciples to start. Nearby, the small novice who had smashed Black-Scaled’s head earlier seemed to think he hadn't performed well enough. He was currently using his staff to deliver a series of heavy thuds to Black-Scaled’s corpse, mashing the good snake meat into a pulp.
"Vile beast, die! Die!"
The novice shouted as he hammered away, acting as if he had a deep-seated grudge against the snake. Seeing the envoy look over, he hammered even harder.
His master had already instructed him to perform well; whether he could catch the Old Ancestor’s eye depended on this! He felt that with his current hard work, he would surely leave a good impression on the envoy.
The novice felt wonderful inside.
Jian Huaishuang’s brow furrowed. "Stop."
The novice flinched, almost dropping the staff on his foot.
"The corpses are useful to the master." Jian Huaishuang walked over, looking at the mess of meat with some helplessness. "The master needs complete materials to... make some things."
The novice immediately became as submissive as a quail. He scrambled to pick up the meat chunks he had smashed, trying to piece them back together. Then he hoisted the massive snake head and looked at Jian Huaishuang expectantly.
"Envoy... I’ve put it back together. Can it still be used?"
That 'please praise me' expression paired with a smooth skull was exceptionally comical.
Jian Huaishuang: "..."
Zen Master Wu Hai also found it strange. He thought to himself, 'The Old Ancestor practices bone Buddhism, emphasizing that only by discarding flesh and blood can one see the true Buddha. Why would the Old Ancestor want this useless flesh? Could it be the Old Ancestor has also mastered culinary arts?'
But on second thought, what kind of figure was the Old Ancestor? He was a supreme being who had attained godhood. How could a mortal like him fathom his deep intentions?
Perhaps the Old Ancestor was using the flesh to feed some peerless ferocious beast.
"Ahem, since the envoy has spoken, everyone be careful!" Zen Master Wu Hai immediately changed his tone and commanded, "Handle everything with care! These are treasures to be offered to the Old Ancestor. If you break them, I'll dismantle your bones as compensation!"
Soon, the battlefield was cleaned. Black-Scaled’s minced meat was packed up, and Azure-Scaled’s corpse was bound tightly like a zongzi, carried on the shoulders of several strong skeletons.
"Envoy, where to next?" Wu Hai asked expectantly.
Jian Huaishuang looked into the depths of the Ten Thousand Miasma Valley, in the direction of the Black Bone Hall.
"To the Black Bone Hall. The master is waiting for us there."
Hearing this, Wu Hai and the novices acted as if they’d been injected with adrenaline.
What? The Old Ancestor had already stormed the Black Bone Hall? Had he already started fighting the demon kings?
"Good, good! Let’s go!"
"We must rendezvous with the Old Ancestor immediately!"
"Level the Southern Region! Our Bone Temple shall unify Gloomlight Province today!"
A group of skeletons, carrying snakes and bound dragons, marched grandiosely toward the Black Bone Hall. Their aura was more demonic than that of actual demons.
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