Even more revolting was the fact that the cassock formed from the Great Vow Ksitigarbha meatball was still connected to an umbilical cord—the last one Chen Zhou hadn’t had time to sever.
Chen Zhou and Great Vow Ksitigarbha’s domains ground against each other. No matter how much damage Chen Zhou’s death qi inflicted, as long as that umbilical cord pulsed slightly, a surge of vow power would instantly repair his injuries.
"Another battle of attrition?" Chen Zhou sneered. "Did you really think I was out of people?"
Chen Zhou raised his hand and summoned another large swarm of skeleton ghost servants, launching a charge at the realm earthworm.
"Woof!"
A wild roar echoed.
When enemies meet, their eyes burn with hatred. Huo Dou couldn’t help but lunge forward, his entire body wreathed in earth vein fire as he bit down on the realm earthworm’s clitellum.
"Ancestor, leave this thing to us!"
"I’m going to avenge my silly dog!"
Holding his staff, Zen Master Wu Hai also transformed into a streak of white light and charged.
At the same time, thunderous war cries suddenly erupted from the outskirts of the Wolf Court.
"Squeak, squeak! My lord, Lord Rat is here to assist you!"
Plague Rat’s arrogant voice was incredibly piercing. Immediately after, a swarm of locusts carrying a toxic cloud of plague swept into the battlefield.
Su Xue followed closely behind in her green robe. Radiance poured from her hands as beams of light, woven from vitality and death qi, rained down to provide support for their side.
Poison-Wing ignited his calamity venom-fire and lunged at Great Vow Ksitigarbha’s ghost domain, attempting to corrode that sturdy barrier.
"Everyone’s here." The corners of Chen Zhou’s mouth curled upward slightly.
Wu Gou watched the gathering of demons and ghosts charging in, and a hint of a smile appeared on his filthy face.
"How lively."
But then, the smile turned somewhat bitter.
The scene was indeed lively.
Huo Dou bit down hard on the realm earthworm’s body, refusing to let go no matter how the creature thrashed. Earth fire burned frantically into the wounds.
Piao and Plague Rat coordinated perfectly, with one tanking damage while the other outputted plague like a madman.
Su Xue remained in the rear, reversing Great Vow’s death qi into vitality to provide healing and restoration for everyone.
But it wasn’t enough.
The umbilical cord connecting Great Vow Ksitigarbha to the earth vein was simply too unfair.
Chen Zhou gripped Jian Huaishuang’s giant sword and slashed out several earth-shattering sword qi strikes, even slicing off half of Great Vow Ksitigarbha’s shoulder.
However, after only a few breaths, the umbilical cord behind him trembled, and the wound healed before their eyes.
The same applied to the realm earthworm. Under the skeletons’ charge, it had already been stacked with many layers of Withering Venom, making its movements sluggish.
It was quickly bitten in two by Huo Dou, but the two severed halves actually managed to regenerate.
Under the influence of vow power, the two segments of the realm earthworm soon regenerated into two complete worms.
For the first time, Wu Hai felt that even earthworms could be this disgusting. If you cut them into two pieces, they grow into two separate beings—did they have no shame?
"Benefactor, give up," Great Vow Ksitigarbha’s voice echoed within the ghost domain.
"This seat’s causal lines are connected to the earth veins of the entire Northern Region and to all living beings within it."
"As long as there are still people in the Northern Region who believe in Buddha and want to live, this seat is immortal."
Chen Zhou’s brow furrowed.
His current strength was at the third transformation of eerification. With his Bone Incarnation and Faith Conferment, he could barely contend with Great Vow Ksitigarbha, who was at the first symbiosis contract.
But to completely kill the opponent, he had to sever that umbilical cord.
However, the cord was protected by Great Vow’s ghost domain, making it difficult to approach.
Truly revolting.
Should he merge the 【Decay】 divinity dropped by Tun Yue?
Chen Zhou calculated in his heart.
He already had two shards of decay divinity. If he merged them into a condensed divinity, he could directly submit the breakthrough quest and upgrade to the first symbiosis contract.
But even that wouldn’t be enough. His Evil God Points had been exhausted when he severed the other umbilical cords earlier, so he couldn’t use Faith Conferment again.
Refining his strength to the first symbiosis contract alone wouldn’t be enough to completely suppress the enemy.
Or should he gamble on Jiu’er’s luck?
Jiu’er’s 【Guardian Auspicious God Destiny】 had never let him down.
Under the overwhelming luck of the Auspicious Noble, Chen Zhou had high confidence that the new ability brought by the breakthrough would counter Great Vow.
As Chen Zhou was pondering, a golden light suddenly appeared in the corner of his vision.
Wu Gou walked over.
His face was clean. The filthy mud on his body was falling away at this moment, revealing the fair and pure appearance of a Buddha underneath.
"Great devil, out of tricks?"
A cynical smile hung on Wu Gou’s face. "How about letting me be your final bargaining chip?"
Chen Zhou’s movements paused as he turned to look at him. "What do you want to do?"
Wu Gou didn’t answer; he only sighed softly.
He reached out, and a ball of brilliant golden vow power ignited in his palm.
It was vow power.
Vow power that was incomparably pure, without a single speck of impurity.
"Take it."
Chen Zhou took the ball of golden light. It felt warm and heavy in his hand.
In an instant, countless noisy voices flooded into Chen Zhou’s sea of consciousness.
'Thank you, Living Buddha, for the medicine. My mother’s illness is cured...'
'Master Great Vow, this bowl of porridge is so fragrant...'
'Great Master, you must live a long life...'
This was the vow power of the people of the Northern Region, and it was also the faith of all living beings.
It was the most sincere gratitude toward Wu Gou from the people struggling to survive in despair.
In a flash, the value of 【Evil God Points】 on Chen Zhou’s system panel began to skyrocket frantically.
Ten thousand... one hundred thousand... one million...
"This is the faith of those living dead."
"You have already obtained the vow of the immortals of the Heavenly Sword Sect and severed the vow of the demons of the Wolf Court. All that’s missing is the vow of the people of the Northern Region."
"It has actually been in my hands all along. Now, I am handing the vow of the people of the Northern Region over to you."
Wu Gou looked at the ball of light, his eyes incredibly gentle.
"For these past five hundred years, when that old bald donkey Great Vow wanted to eat them, I protected them."
"The Northern Region is too bitter; it is a frozen hell. I couldn't deliver them, so I could only keep them in this state of being neither dead nor alive."
"Until hell is empty, I vow not to become a Buddha. Heh, I suppose I’ve fulfilled half of that."
Chen Zhou looked at the heavy ball of light in his hand. "If you give this to me, you’ll die, won’t you?"
The living dead lived because of vow power, and Great Vow Ksitigarbha had been resurrected because of it. Wu Gou was no different.
"I was a split soul to begin with; I should have died long ago. Besides, as long as they believe in me, that old bald donkey won’t die either."
Wu Gou shrugged. "Now they don't need my protection anymore. The people of the Northern Region have found a better place of return."
Chen Zhou was silent for a moment. "Why are you in such a hurry to give your final words? How do you know I have no way to break this situation?"
"I know you must still be hiding a trump card. Someone like you calculates ten steps for every one you take."
Wu Gou smiled—a brilliant smile. "But it’s different now. This is my final path."
He turned around and looked at the hideous Great Vow Ksitigarbha in the distance.
"Lone Yin cannot exist, and lone Yang cannot grow."
"Great Vow Ksitigarbha is me, and I am Great Vow Ksitigarbha. We were originally one."
"I brought you here to slaughter him, and I also planned to give myself a grand burial."
"In any case, it’s time to go. Let me walk this final stretch of the road myself."
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