A Heavenly Doctor should act according to Heaven's will and dedicate their life to healing the world.
The auspicious god destiny, which had long been obscured in the Southern Region, finally awakened completely at this moment.
The golden light covering Su Xue's body pierced through the mountain of flesh, awakening the consciousness of the Toad Saint.
The death qi chains followed the opening Su Xue had torn and lunged straight inside.
There was no resistance.
This was due to Su Xue's purification and also the Toad Saint's active cooperation.
The chains pierced directly through the Toad Saint's flesh, passing through those writhing meridians and stabbing fiercely into the screaming bald phantom inside him.
"Caught you."
A cruel curve hooked at the corner of Chen Zhou's mouth as he gave a sudden tug.
"Come out!"
"No, I am immortal! I am the walking vessel of Ksitigarbha of Great Vows, the future Buddha!"
The remnant soul of the monk that had been parasitic inside the Toad Saint for five hundred years finally revealed his true face.
He screamed in terror, clutching the Toad Saint's soul tightly and refusing to let go, attempting to shrink back inside.
"Immortal my foot! Get down here!"
Chen Zhou grabbed the fleeting chance and exerted a sudden force.
"Protect him," Chen Zhou said in a low voice to Su Xue.
Su Xue gritted her teeth, squeezing the last bit of auspicious god power from her bone marrow. It transformed into a massive white orchid that wrapped around the Toad Saint's crumbling soul.
Screech—
It was the sound of a soul being forcibly stripped from a physical body.
The chains pulled taut.
The terrifying Rotten Flesh Buddha, a hundred zhang tall, was actually dragged out from the Toad Saint's mountain of flesh by those seemingly tiny chains.
"No, this body is mine! I have nurtured it for five hundred years! Give it back to me!!"
The Buddha phantom wildly flailed its rotting arms, trying to grab the Toad Saint's body, trying to seize even a sliver of life.
But before the sacrificial rules of the altar, all struggle was futile.
Chen Zhou felt no pity; he didn't even bother to listen to the phantom's last words.
【Sacrifice】
When Chen Zhou had looted Thousand-Tangle’s corpse earlier, he had already made a discovery.
Thousand-Tangle was already as dead as could be, but miraculously, a sliver of her remnant soul had been preserved by the Heavenly Doctor.
Although it dissipated quickly, this was perhaps the ability and trait of a Heavenly Doctor—a healer's heart, wishing to save everyone.
Back when he sacrificed White Jade and Smiling Face in Kushi County, Chen Zhou had already gained experience. Under Jian Huaishuang's 【Eerie Fusion】 trait, he could sacrifice only the parasite and preserve the host.
Now, with the help of the Heavenly Doctor and the Ksitigarbha phantom being locked down, it wasn't hard to save the old toad's remnant soul.
"Old toad, safe travels."
With a thought from Chen Zhou, the phantom of the Bone Altar behind him instantly solidified, and death qi condensed into a vortex.
The chains tightened, dragging the despairing projection of Ksitigarbha along with the Toad Saint's massive, bloated 7th-stage demon body into the vortex.
The Toad Saint did not struggle.
In the final moment, just as his physical body was about to collapse, a sliver of clarity finally returned to his cloudy eyes.
He looked toward the female demons in the distance who were praying for him.
His lips moved, seemingly saying something.
In the next second, he actively collapsed his own physical body, pinning the remnant soul of Ksitigarbha of Great Vows firmly inside. Even if it meant death, he would drag this old bald ass down to hell with him.
Boom—
The altar closed.
The world instantly fell silent.
The death qi filling the sky dissipated, and the oppressive Brahma chanting ceased.
Only the system's prompt rang pleasantly in Chen Zhou's ear.
【Sacrifice Successful】
【You have sacrificed a 7th-stage demon king with impaired mind who plagued the Southern Region, along with the remnant soul parasitizing it.】
【You have obtained a Heaven Grade special building blueprint: Myriad Herbs Life-Death Realm】
【You have obtained 8th-stage natural treasures: Sky-Mending Stone x2】
Chen Zhou glanced at the rewards and was quite satisfied.
A Heaven Grade blueprint and 8th-stage materials—this trip was worth it.
One had to remember that even powerful special buildings like the Gathering Fortune Pavilion and the General-Summoning Platform were only Earth Grade.
Chen Zhou slowly descended, the death qi on his body dispersing as he returned control of the body to Jian Huaishuang.
Upon the ruins, Su Xue sat on the ground, quietly staring at the empty earth before her.
There, an old toad as large as a mountain had once lay.
That old friend who had accompanied her for centuries—who had risen from weakness to strength, from strength to madness, and finally chose self-redemption at this moment—had completely vanished.
Not a single shard of bone remained.
Su Xue felt a twinge of sadness, but she knew Jade Toad was atoning for his sins.
Over the past five hundred years, countless living beings had perished in Jade Toad's maw. Even if it was forced, even if it was to suppress death qi, sin was still sin.
He had killed too many and created too much slaughter; only by perishing completely could he repay this karma.
But Jade Toad left with dignity.
At the very least, in his final moment, he was the King of the Southern Region, not anyone's gu insect.
She had ultimately sent her old friend off with her own hands.
She didn't think of blaming Chen Zhou.
To her, to Jade Toad, and even to the entire Southern Region, Chen Zhou had been a benefactor.
If this lord had not stepped in, Jade Toad's best ending would have been to be completely possessed by Ksitigarbha, turning into a walking corpse and a puppet that plagued the world.
This lord from the Bone Temple had granted him liberation and his final dignity.
Pfft—
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Su Xue's figure swayed, becoming hunched once more.
Her destiny's fortune was overextended once again. Her brief youth was like a fleeting night-blooming cereus; Su Xue reverted to the appearance of a withered old woman.
But with the previous experience, no one panicked.
Even Poison-Wing accepted it quickly. He hurried over to support Su Xue, and instead of crying, he looked at Chen Zhou with anticipation in his eyes, as if saying, 'Can I have another pill?'
Su Xue tilted her head and smiled. Even with her aged face and layered wrinkles, there was still a gentle beauty of time passing.
"My apologies, Lord."
Su Xue said apologetically to Chen Zhou, "I just promised you that one must save oneself before others, and that it's mere foolish kindness to protect others when one cannot even protect oneself..."
"But when the moment truly came, I still couldn't help myself."
"If I could let Jade Toad leave with a bit more grace and dignity, it doesn't matter what happens to me."
"I have made a fool of myself before you."
Chen Zhou looked at her and remained silent for a moment.
This time, he did not criticize her further.
Perhaps this was what it meant to be a healer.
'If someone comes seeking help for an illness, a physician must not ask whether they are noble or common, rich or poor, old or young, beautiful or ugly, friend or foe, kin or stranger, wise or foolish—all must be treated as one's own kin. They must not hesitate, worry about their own safety or fortune, or cherish their own life. Seeing the suffering of others as if it were their own, their heart should be filled with sorrow and compassion. They must not avoid danger, nor fear cold or heat, hunger or fatigue, but devote themselves single-mindedly to saving lives, without any thought of status or personal gain. Only then can they be called a great physician for all living beings.'
Chen Zhou did not understand it.
But if Su Xue truly changed—if she became someone who hesitated and worried about her own safety—how could she have been favored by the Heavenly Doctor destiny?
How could she have cultivated such a pure origin in this cruel Southern Region?
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