Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 531

After uttering this complaint, Li Zhuiyuan quieted down and reached out to touch his face.

Then, he took out a piece of yellow paper, flicked it and the paper spontaneously combusted. After it turned to ash, he grabbed a pinch of ash with his fingertips and rubbed it as if he were washing it.

As the ashes dissipated, Li Zhuiyuan continued setting up the formation until it was completed.

After settling his men in and closing the door securely, Li Zhuiyuan took out a can of beverage and sat down against the wall.

With a "pop," the drink was opened.

The moment he took the first sip, the Ming family's revenge arrived as predicted.

The vengeful will that burst forth in an instant far surpasses the carbon dioxide that is forced into the beverage itself.

After getting used to it, even when I'm in a good mood, I'm more willing to drink beverages from well-known brands because they taste better.

The boy held a beverage can in his left hand and placed it on the ground, rested his right hand on his knee, and rested his head on the back of his hand.

The original body relinquishes control over its physical form and returns to the depths of its consciousness.

Upon returning, he saw the Ming family taking revenge.

The inner demon sat there cross-legged, motionless.

The Ming family is burning themselves out, fueling their inner demons.

The return of the original body was seen by the Ming family as a hasty internal examination after he succeeded, but it was too late.

"I never imagined your inner demons were so powerful. It must have been incredibly difficult for you to suppress them. But you're finished. I'll awaken these inner demons and take you down with me! Hahahaha!"

The main body simply looked at him calmly.

Watching him continue his revenge, watching him perish.

As the inner demons are being nourished, this body is also being infused with a new energy.

Compared to the Ming family members who were "drunk" in the past and realized their revenge was ridiculous during the burning phase, the Ming family members who were "drunk" by the main body today are undoubtedly more fortunate. Before their demise, they all believed that they had completed their revenge and died a worthy death.

The main body offered no explanation, watching as the Ming family member vanished completely amidst a gleeful, sinister laugh.

Then, the main body walked up to the inner demon to examine it.

The inner demon's body was covered in cracks, a side effect of its high-frequency use of the formation causing it to explode. Fortunately, with the Ming family members' continued sacrifice, the inner demon should awaken soon.

His true form entered the depths of his own spiritual consciousness and returned to the "village." Instead of appearing at Li Sanjiang's house, he fell into the fishpond.

With a "plop," the fish inside instinctively swarmed in and began to feed.

The main body gradually emerged from the fishpond, and as its form became more and more visible, one could see red threads wrapped around its body.

This wasn't a red thread he cast; he wouldn't use a red thread to bind himself for no reason.

These red lines come from the outside world; they are the causal connections that I was drawn into when I took control of this body and came into contact with Tan Wenbin, Runsheng, and others in reality.

Cause and effect are reciprocal. The inner demons use them as a foundation to build their own human skin, and when the true self enters this environment, it is inevitably affected.

The original being had to admit that it was being invaded by its inner demons.

The original body showed no fear or unease. It had saved the inner demon, and the inner demon had also revived itself. The two had long since transcended the low-level interest of mutual fear and devouring each other.

Their relationship, oppressed by the laws of nature, has become distorted.

The main body needs the inner demon to continue "acting" outside, while the inner demon needs the main body to maintain its trump card for overturning the table with the Heavenly Dao in the future. Neither can do without the other.

The fish in the pond ate the loose threads off the body, and the body became clean again.

He returned to Li Sanjiang's house and went into the basement.

In the basement, all the other sculptures stood at the edge: Yayoi, Tan Wenbin, Runsheng, Lin Shuyou, and A-Li, maintaining almost the same posture as in reality.

There are subtle differences, after all, the actual development cannot be predicted 100%.

This indicates that before taking over the body and settling these subordinates, the original entity had already conducted tests in this basement using these carvings.

The so-called deduction is visualized here.

"It's not enough. The strength of your men right now is still too much for these old guys. Even if you have the upper hand, winning still depends on luck."

He looked at "Ah Li" and was surprised by the girl's rapid transformation and progress in reality. He liked this positive and uncontrollable aspect.

Then, the main body looked into the depths of the corner, where the "Qing'an" was carved out.

Now I understand why Wei Zhengdao used the "Dragon King's Appearance" to select his subordinates. It's the same process of nurturing and developing talents, but it's easier and less effort for geniuses, and they can bring me a wave of surprises from time to time.

With a thought, a light shone from the sculptures of Zhao Yi and Chen Xiyuan.

The original body walked up to "Lin Shuyou," whose injuries disappeared and who stood up.

"Kai Zhenjun".

"Lin Shuyou" has entered True Monarch mode.

"Spiritual writing".

"Lin Shuyou" began to use a spirit medium, and General Sun descended.

"Snapped."

"Lin Shuyou" cracked open and turned into a puddle of clay.

The original body took out a carving knife and began to carve again. Soon, a new "Lin Shuyou" appeared.

"Kai Zhenjun, Qiji Zeng General."

"Lin Shuyou" did as instructed.

"Snapped!"

It cracked again.

The original figure remained expressionless as it continued to sculpt a new "Lin Shuyou".

"Open True Lord, summon General Zeng." The main body looked elsewhere, and with a "click-clack" sound, General Zeng in his talisman armor stepped out.

"Lin Shuyou" once again activated both True Monarch and General Head states simultaneously. This time, although "Lin Shuyou's" body continued to spasm, he managed to hold on.

On the other side, General Zeng, in his armored form, was groaning under the strain.

The main body nodded.

While it's still far from perfect, it at least proves to be feasible.

General Zeng, who possesses two incarnations, can use one incarnation to perform spirit writing and the other incarnation to be placed in the home shrine to help share the burden.

The main body has no objection to the inner demon's past improvements to the "comrades." However, the urgent situation and the ever-increasing difficulty make it impossible for the inner demon to make long-term plans.

Therefore, we are forced to continuously build up the architecture layer by layer, and we also have to observe whether there will be any problems during runtime and patch them at any time.

When Kong Hui's soul entered Tan Wenbin's body, it was shocked by the incredible structure inside.

The main body then subconsciously looked at Zhao Yi and Chen Xiyuan.

Zhao Yi is able to organize the structure himself, while Chen Xiyuan is able to digest the structure.

This is the ability of a true genius.

"But... that would be very boring."

Guiding geniuses to grow is not as interesting as creating them.

The entity itself is moving towards "peace and tranquility".

"Unsuppress all self-suppression."

Countless faces appeared on Qing'an's body. These faces coalesced together, but when he raised his head, all the carvings around him began to move, as if they were about to break free from the control of the main body.

The main body reached out and pointed at "Qing'an," and with a "snap," "Qing'an" exploded.

The main body flew backward and crashed into the basement wall. The "village" outside also turned from day to night, because there were fewer details at night, so it was less strenuous.

Looking down at the cracks on his body that were exactly the same as those of his inner demon, he realized that he, like his inner demon, would soon fall into a period of slumber.

However, the inner demon destroyed himself in the real battle, while he destroyed himself in the depths of his consciousness when he was deducing Qing An.

Before falling into a deep sleep, the main body recalled Qing'an's words to Li Zhuiyuan under the peach grove: something about how you wouldn't be without options before I die, and how I would let him witness the glory days of our generation...

"So, you weren't bragging, you were actually being modest."

……

Li Zhuiyuan woke up.

Before I even opened my eyes, a sharp, tearing pain shot through my head.

This made Li Zhuiyuan wish he could "sleep" a little longer.

Open your eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan saw A Li right in front of him.

Although the girl looked a little tired, it was a perfect match for the few loose strands of hair in her hair bun. When she saw the boy open his eyes, the girl smiled.

My head started to hurt less immediately.

Just like the boy had done to her before, Ah Li wet a handkerchief and wiped the boy's face.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and, accompanied by A Li, first checked on the condition of his companions.

The altar where Ah Li had been sitting had stopped functioning. Looking at the pool of congealed pus on the ground and Kong Hui's monk robe, Li Zhuiyuan realized what the original body had done.

If it were him, he would do the same, regardless of whether he could fool anyone or not, he would try anything.

See, the deception worked! Ah Li became the first among them to recover.

Xuanzhen must have realized what was happening later and stopped the life-saving sacrifice.

"Ah Li, let me take your pulse."

The girl handed her hand to the boy.

After taking his pulse, Li Zhuiyuan nodded. He had accepted the life force, but not as much as he had imagined. It seemed that Xuanzhen had come to his senses very quickly.

However, whatever amount of deception is gained, especially since it comes from deceiving a future enemy.

But the next moment, the girl made a hand seal, and the blood porcelain bottle on the ground made a "crackling" sound. It cracked but did not shatter, and between each piece of porcelain, there was a faint white halo sticking together, like a fragile and unfinished skeleton.

"Our Ah Li is so amazing."

The main body set up this deception to help the girl recover faster. The girl didn't greedily absorb too much; after absorbing a little life force, she picked up the blood porcelain bottle and transferred the life force she had tricked into the bottle.

She is still young, and the remaining injuries can be repaired with time, but it will be very difficult for Blood Porcelain Bottle to improve, so this is undoubtedly a gain.

It seems that this time, Xuanzhen didn't realize his mistake and stop in time, but instead suffered a heavy blow.

This is likely related to Xuanzhen's current situation outside. Sun Baishen is constantly arranging for monks to fight against him, making it difficult for him to calm down and analyze the situation.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to Tan Wenbin's side. Tan Wenbin was still unconscious, but when the boy placed his finger on Tan Wenbin's forehead, four spirit beasts emerged from the sea of ​​resentment deep within his consciousness, causing the chains that shimmered with Buddhist light to rattle.

In the long run, this intensified confinement will deplete future potential, but considering that there is still a battle to come, Li Zhuiyuan understands the original body's choice.

But when he saw Runsheng, Li Zhuiyuan's gaze narrowed slightly.

The boy reached out and formed a hand seal, trying to dispel the evil spell on Runsheng.

Runsheng opened his eyes, his gaze filled with intense blackness, showing his resistance. He wanted to use this method to accelerate his recovery. He didn't care if he looked more like a dead man, since the few people he cared about didn't care about his dead man identity.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped forming the hand seals, not because the boy had agreed, but because he discovered that when he was releasing the seals, the deathly aura on Runsheng's body was automatically replenishing itself.

Runsheng's instincts led it to learn to accelerate injury recovery in this way. It already possessed this ability, but it had only activated it during battles before, unaware that it could be used outside of combat. Now, it seems to have developed a taste for it.

Li Zhuiyuan lit a thick incense stick and offered it to Runsheng's lips, which Runsheng opened and bit into.

A touch of gentleness flowed through his dark eyes.

When Li Zhuiyuan pulled his companions into his consciousness to conduct a deduction a hundred years later, Runsheng chose to use the great array left by Xiaoyuan to activate lightning and perish himself next to Yinmeng's grave after Yinmeng's death.

Since he was destined to walk that path anyway, what difference did it make whether the degree was deeper or shallower? He was already half-dead anyway.

When Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Lin Shuyou, he reached out and tapped Ayou's forehead.

The face of the White Crane Boy appeared, and his eyes opened.

My eyes are blurry, like my makeup has smudged.

The boy dared not complain, knowing that this was against Lin Shu's goodwill; nor did he dare to tattle, fearing that the other would come back to settle scores with him.

Li Zhuiyuan opened his hand, and the "Evil Book" flew into the boy's palm.

The silver hardcover features delicate floral patterns that symbolize joy.

Turning to the first page, one finds the words the original being spoke to the boy.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Your status does not depend on me, but on Ayou's attitude towards you."

White Crane Boy: Hehehehe!

Finally, Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Yayoi.

Yayoi is in a bad situation; his demonic energy has been suppressed, which is equivalent to suppressing the recovery of his injuries. However, although he cannot move now, he can speak:
"Senior, I may not be able to help in the next battle."

If we let him recover from his injuries, his Buddhist nature will be extinguished; if we don't let him recover, he will be powerless to fight in this state.

Moreover, recovery from injuries will take time after the lockdown is lifted, meaning that decisions cannot be made based on the situation of the final battle.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Focus on resting."

The boy made a decision.

Yayoi: "Senior, am I really useless? This hole in my heart can never be filled."

Li Zhuiyuan stuffed the red envelope hanging around Yayoi's neck into his ribs and replied:
"Look, the hole has been patched up, hasn't it?"

"Will you laugh at this humble monk, senior?"

"Laughing at you?" Li Zhuiyuan reached into his pocket, took out a few coins, and showed them to Yayoi. Even now, Li Sanjiang still had the habit of giving Xiao Yuanhou some change when he went home. "Laughing at you is like laughing at myself."

Finally, Li Zhuiyuan checked the formation. The formation was set up very well and meticulously.

Li Zhuiyuan wondered if the main body would go crazy when it set it up.

But then I thought, the original body probably wouldn't have such emotions.

The half-collapsed palace was just the right spot to climb onto the roof using the slope. Ah Li passed stone slabs down below, and Li Zhuiyuan caught them from above. The two of them built a simple sunshade on the roof.

From up there, it's easy to observe the surrounding situation, but the sun is getting stronger and stronger, and it's becoming increasingly hot.

For the rest of the time, Li Zhuiyuan and A Li spent their time in the shack. Occasionally, when a battle broke out nearby, the two would watch. When there was no activity, they would take out some food from their backpacks to eat, or play chess and draw.

Ah Li drew the skeleton monk wearing a black kasaya from her dream.

After nightfall, the two took turns on duty, with one of them always keeping an eye on the changes in the gray fog outside.

During this time, Li Zhuiyuan returned to the depths of his consciousness and found that the "village" was pitch black and the power was out.

Upon entering the basement, I saw the original body, its skin cracked and slumped against the wall, sitting there in a state of utter disarray.

He had no idea what his original self was doing here, causing him to explode, so he could only give instructions to his sleeping self:
"Watch the time, don't sleep too long, there's still a fight to fight."

Runsheng was the next to stand up. He went into the yard, greeted the boy on the roof, and then cooked himself some porridge.

After a hearty meal, Runsheng sat down by the sink, smoking a cigar. The faint breath still lingered around his wounds, continuing to heal them.

Fearing Runsheng might be too bored, Li Zhuiyuan shouted to those below:

"Brother Runsheng, you can burn paper money for Mengmeng."

While mobile phones are convenient, in places without signal, the old-fashioned methods are more useful.

Runsheng immediately set up the small offering table.

The candles were lit, the brazier was ignited, and Runsheng carefully wrote down the short message and burned it in the brazier.

A moment later, ashes drifted out, accompanied by a sinister response.

Only one message could be sent per day, but it was enough to keep Runsheng from being bored all day.

The next person to regain mobility was Tan Wenbin. The first thing he did after waking up was to light a cigarette, take a deep drag, and then exhale. The smoke was not white, but dark blue.

Tan Wenbin suddenly found himself trapped.

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan was sleeping, and A Li was guarding Bai on the roof.

The girl didn't wake the boy. Instead, she raised one hand and pointed to the wisp of smoke, which then dissipated.

Tan Wenbin awkwardly stubbed out his cigarette. He had just stood up, feeling listless, and couldn't even break free of his own miasma.

However, he could feel that he had been significantly enhanced in his ability to utilize the abilities of spirit beasts.

Lin Shuyou slept for a long time, and when he woke up, he heard the boy's affectionate voice.

White Crane Boy: "Spirit medium, you're awake~"

Lin Shuyou felt that Tongzi was a bit strange.

As everyone's injuries and condition continued to recover, the gray fog on the outside shrank closer and closer.

Sitting on the rooftop, one can frequently glimpse the monks fighting, but unfortunately, due to the sea of ​​blood, one can only see the beginning and end, and skip the middle.

Suddenly one day, while the conflict was still raging, the frequency of the bloodbath suddenly dropped.

Li Zhuiyuan analyzed that this should be because after the fog shrank to a certain extent, there was no need for further specific pushing. The narrow range of activity itself would exacerbate the outbreak of conflict.

The monks with relatively weaker power will inevitably band together further. They know that infighting will eventually break out among themselves, but they all hope to join forces and eliminate the stronger ones before that happens.

Whoever is strong will be the first to stick their neck out.

Xuanzhen is the most dazzling one.

Because he was the only one who would be enveloped by the river of blood, it was tantamount to a clear indication that he would then face an attack from almost every group.

This is the price he paid for breaking the rules.

As long as the rules exist, they will continue to target you.

Li Zhuiyuan gradually projected himself onto Xuanzhen, imagining the scene after he broke ties with the Heavenly Dao, and how similar it was to Xuanzhen's current state. And Xuanzhen, in turn, offered a lesson and an answer.

The lesson is, don't open the champagne too early. Xuanzhen mistakenly believed that his physique was perfected and that he could transcend the rules here, which led to his current predicament.

The answer is that as long as you are strong enough, being targeted by the rules is not the end of the world.

Several times, conflicts broke out in front of Li Zhuiyuan, very close to the Pudu Zhenjun Temple. Xuanzhen held a pagoda in his left hand and a golden bowl in his right, his aura surging. Those small groups that tried to surround him were eliminated one by one by him.

But this also prompted the remaining small groups to further band together.

As the gray fog shrank further, a battle erupted where Xuanzhen challenged almost all the remaining monks. This time, Blood River did not appear, but the battle was even more brutal.

Tan Wenbin and others also came to the rooftop to watch the battle. They sat in a row and draped their clothes over their heads to block the sun.

Fearing that Yayoi would be lonely down there, Lin Shuyou carried her up to the roof so that she could enjoy the view with everyone.

Because the fight lasted so long, Runsheng brought the pot up as well, and cooked "dinner" on the roof.

Lin Shuyou: "Brother Bin, why don't you like those two the whole time?"

One was a monk wearing a tattered robe and with messy hair. While the others were having a good fight, he sat there picking lice and laughing foolishly.

There was also a masked monk holding a bone staff.

Tan Wenbin: "Just pretending."

Although Xuanzhen was fighting against overwhelming odds, the people on the rooftop were definitely on the side of the majority.

In the past, when watching videotapes at home, they would cheer for the protagonist who was fighting alone. This time, Runsheng and Ayou were cheering for the "villain".

Unfortunately, Xuanzhen became more and more like the protagonist as the fight went on. He was surrounded and his momentum weakened time and time again, but he was able to regain his strength and throw out a heavy weapon, turning several monks into mincemeat.

This made the two guys who were watching from the sidelines, disdainful of joining the attack, seem quite out of place.

Lin Shuyou: "I used to think that in movies, the powerful villains would wait until all their underlings were dead before they attacked, which I thought was stupid. I didn't expect it to be like that in real life too."

Tan Wenbin: "Aren't you including us in your insults?"

Lin Shuyou: "Brother Bin, can we go out and join the siege now?"

Tan Wenbin: "They've already become familiar with us. If we suddenly run out now, it'll look to them like we've been 'chosen' through connections. They'll definitely gang up on us."

Lin Shuyou said regretfully, "Oh, yes."

A monk's corpse, consisting only of his upper body, was knocked flying in front of the mad monk, who then happily started looking for lice on the monk's bald head.

On the other side, the masked monk sat cross-legged, fiddling with the skull at the top of his staff, talking intently to himself.

"Pfft!"

Lin Shuyou opened a can of ordinary Jianlibao.

The mad monk who was picking lice off the bald man suddenly stopped and turned to look in their direction.

Lin Shuyou stopped drinking and, holding the beverage can, asked, "Did he find us here?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "The time is almost up, and our position will soon be revealed."

Not far away, the already very close gray fog began its next round of contraction.

Xuanzhen smashed the pagoda out, and with a loud roar, it crushed a group of people to death. However, the pagoda finally succumbed to the weight, cracks appeared, and it stood there leaning, unable to be recalled.

Next came the golden bowl, which spun and flew out, its golden light shattering the souls of the monks one by one. Finally, the bowl itself cracked and rolled to the ground.

Tan Wenbin: "Sure enough, people don't cherish or care about things they've stolen."

Tan Wenbin didn't know what Xuanzhen thought, but he was heartbroken.

When the besieging monks saw that Xuanzhen's two powerful weapons were no longer usable, their spirits lifted, believing that they had finally driven this formidable opponent into a corner. However, Xuanzhen's skeletal structure became visible, and he began to charge into the monks in an unnatural way, starting an even more terrifying massacre.

Even among the monks who entered this place, some were strange or followed different paths, but none had ever seen such a "wicked" appearance.

The masked monk stood up, chanted "Amitabha," and joined the battle.

He was knocked away by Xuanzhen with his first attack, but he also managed to stop Xuanzhen's rampaging figure.

The mad monk was still curiously looking at the Pudu Zhenjun Hall, reaching out with both hands to grab at the empty space in front of him. He seemed to touch the courtyard wall and began to circle along it.

From an outsider's perspective, it looks like this mad monk is performing a pantomime.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Alright, let's go down and make preparations. Take down the awning on the roof and pack up our things."

Don't let anyone see the picnic and camping setup on the roof at a glance. That would be a huge shock to someone who has been fighting for their life outside all this time.

In addition, there is no need to let them know in advance that someone is hiding inside. Otherwise, they will suspect that the formation that will block them later was originally there, making it difficult for them to unite against the enemy and break the formation from the beginning.

The rooftop was cleared, and everyone came to the courtyard, lined up in formation, and stood ready for battle.

The formation doesn't need to be operated by anyone because it's designed to be so rigid that there's absolutely no room for manipulation.

Yayoi was placed in a pit that had been dug in advance.

"Seniors, I wish you success."

Li Zhuiyuan: "If we perish together, the final opportunity to become a Buddha will be yours."

“This humble monk is deeply afflicted by demonic influences. Even if I were to obtain this opportunity, I would certainly not be able to compete with the true Bodhisattva. This humble monk believes that you, senior, can win.”

"Please recite a few more verses for me."

"It depends on fate."

Li Zhuiyuan took the change out of his pocket and placed it in front of Yayoi.

Yayoi: "My blessings are not deep enough."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I'll owe you for now."

Yayoi: "Okay."

Li Zhuiyuan returned to the courtyard and stood in his place.

Close your eyes and return to the depths of your consciousness; dawn breaks in the "village."

This means that the original body has awakened.

Upon opening his eyes, Li Zhuiyuan released red threads, binding his companions together.

Everyone was waiting for Brother Yuan's instructions, and then, just like last time, they would say, "I won't say anything more from now on."

Xuanzhen is skilled in deduction, and he is very likely to have the ability to infiltrate the red line, just like the Hollow Master.

Li Zhuiyuan's voice resonated in the hearts of his companions:

“This time I’m using the red line to direct him. I’ve learned from my mistakes, and this time I hope he can take the initiative to infiltrate.”

When facing a hollow target, it's for emergency avoidance, and digging a small pit is a convenient way to avoid danger. However, it's not a solution to always ignore the red line when facing such an opponent. During this period, Li Zhuiyuan also figured out some countermeasures.

Now, Li Zhuiyuan actually hopes that Xuanzhen can invade his red thread, so that he can bind him in reverse and try to exchange pieces with him.

"Boom!"

A bell rang in the sky.

The Temple of the True Lord of Universal Salvation is fully revealed.

The monks who were fighting stopped and looked at this place in shock. At the same time, the gray mist began to shrink again.

Everyone realized that this Zhenjun Temple was the last safe place, and everyone wanted to get in. A few went through the main gate, but most climbed over the wall.

An invisible array barrier came into play, keeping them all outside.

"Is there a formation?"

"Did it come with the equipment, or was someone already inside?"

After a brief moment of surprise, the monks began to use their individual skills to break the formation.

"Fortunately, this formation is very simple."

"No, it's just that this formation is too simple!"

Because it is so simple, there is no shortcut to cracking it; it's all about killing time. But the final contraction of the gray fog has already begun, and they don't have much time left.

Xuanzhen looked at the Pudu Zhenjun Temple and smiled; at the same time, the green light in his eyes burned with anger.

Sure enough, there was a place that didn't exist hidden here.

Furthermore, he had confirmed that the person he needed to kill was among them.

"Sun Boshen, Sun Boshen, you are so biased, even in death you are biased!"

Xuanzhen didn't believe that the group had found this place by sheer luck; there must be a deeper reason behind it.

If Sun Baishen hadn't deliberately targeted him, preventing him from getting away to investigate, he believed he could have figured out where he was.

The masked monk didn't try to break the formation; instead, he stood in front of Xuanzhen, holding a bone staff, and said:

"Xuanzhen, this humble monk originally thought that you were just keeping a low profile and indifferent to fame at Faping Temple, but I never expected that you would actually degenerate and associate with evil spirits!"

Xuanzhen ignored the masked monk's questioning and instead shouted to the monks outside the True Lord Hall who were busy breaking the formation:
"Someone has already gone in and is hiding inside, waiting for us to make our move. We must not delay and must break through the formation quickly!"

The shout had an effect; the previously somewhat disorganized group of monks began to cooperate consciously.

Xuanzhen then looked at the masked monk in front of him: "Aren't you going to break the formation? You can't possibly be thinking of handing over this chance to become a Bodhisattva to someone else, can you?"

The masked monk remained silent.

Xuanzhen stepped forward.

The masked monk, wielding a bone staff, tried to stop them.

"boom!"

The masked monk was sent flying backwards.

But as Xuanzhen prepared to approach the Pudu Zhenjun Temple, the monks who were busy breaking the formation all turned their attention to him.

While those inside who were waiting in comfort were certainly hateful, Xuanzhen, who had just fought for so long, was also someone to be wary of and fearful of.

Xuanzhen stopped and did not go any further.

He knew that if he got any closer, he might force the monks to abandon their efforts to break the formation and instead turn around and fight him.

This is not the time to bother with these small fry. Let them focus on breaking the formation first. Even if they fail to break it when the gray fog arrives, they can still leave the formation riddled with holes, making it easier for us to enter at the end.

Gray fog is the harshest form of timekeeping.

Li Zhuiyuan, who was in the courtyard, could see many monks clinging to him from all sides.

The formation continued to rumble, peeling away layer by layer like an onion, but because there were so many layers, the onion skin was frighteningly thick.

The mad monk who had discovered the Pudu Zhenjun Temple early on, however, never attempted to break the formation. Instead, he stood on the periphery, watching the other monks busily at work, muttering to himself:

"All the fighting and killing is for nothing, a mere formality, a complete waste of effort."

Which monk who persevered to this point didn't have their hands stained with blood? Yet, this was the outcome of having their robes stained with blood.

The gray fog continued to advance, first enveloping Xuanzhen. The Buddhist nature within Xuanzhen began to be drawn upwards, but he did not move.

In his view, sacrificing some of his Buddhist nature in exchange for further weakening of the formation on the other side was worthwhile.

The masked monk did not retreat, but remained standing in front of Xuanzhen, his Buddhist nature being gradually drained away.

The formation had not yet been broken, but the gray mist still encompassed all the monks outside the Pudu Zhenjun Hall, and their Buddhist nature began to be drawn away.

Some people were already seriously injured, and when their Buddha-nature was drawn out like this, they passed away directly.

Some people took the opportunity to attack and kill the person next to them who had a golden ordination scar on his head, and then immediately made a Buddhist vow with Sun Baishen, and a golden ordination scar appeared on their head.

Quite a few people did this, and others followed suit, causing a chain reaction. At first, it was people in the same team who killed the people they were supposed to be supporting. Later, instead of breaking the formation, they simply started killing each other in the gray fog.

"Hahahaha!"

The mad monk laughed even harder.

Even if Xuanzhen shouted that someone was hiding inside, as long as no one spoke from inside, everyone would believe that no one was inside and everyone was outside. As long as they killed the other competitors at this last moment and became the last one whose Buddhist nature was drained, they would win.

The mad monk laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face, and no amount of wiping them away helped.

Xuanzhen: "What a bunch of useless trash!"

I was forced to let my Buddhist nature be drained in the fog so that you could help me break through the formation, but what are you doing?!
Xuanzhen moves forward.

The masked monk charged again with his bone staff. Although he was knocked away by Xuanzhen once more, he charged again after landing.

After several such incidents, Xuanzhen angrily declared:

"Are you crazy?"

The masked monk was severely injured, and his Buddhist nature was being constantly drained by the gray mist, leaving him as white as paper. He didn't answer Xuanzhen, but instead shouted into the room:

"Listen up, monks inside! I'll try to hold them off for as long as I can, but even if I can't, you can't let an evil spirit become a Buddha. Otherwise, we Buddhism will lose all face!"

In the courtyard, Tan Wenbin raised his hand and slapped himself in the mouth.

Well, they certainly have the right to pretend.

The masked monk's blood and qi surged in reverse, his veins bulging. He stood up again, raised his bone staff, and prepared to block Xuanzhen once more.

At that moment, a response came from inside the courtyard:

"May I ask which temple you are from, Master? I will surely be rewarded in the future!"

The masked monk didn't mince words and replied:
"Shangyun Temple!"

The sounds coming from the courtyard drove the remaining monks on the outer perimeter into complete madness, rendering their previous killings and betrayals meaningless. Screams and curses filled the air.

The mad monk looked back at Xuanzhen, who had once again sent the masked monk flying, and then reached out his hand. His palm was already embedded in the wall, indicating that he was now capable of squeezing into the formation.

Li Zhuiyuan, who was inside the courtyard, turned his gaze here. The direction of the group's formation immediately changed, and they were just waiting for the mad monk to enter before launching their attack.

Runsheng held the Yellow River shovel, opened the valve, and unleashed a powerful aura that pointed directly at the hand that had already reached in.

As a result, just as Runsheng was about to chop with his shovel, the hand suddenly retracted.

You should know that every extra moment you stay outside will drain a portion of your Buddhist nature, yet the other party isn't in a hurry to come in?

The mad monk looked at his palm, then licked it with his tongue. The madness in his eyes faded, and he shouted:

"The Qin family? Are you from the Qin family?"

"Yes."

"The Qin family has actually started studying Buddhism?"

The mad monk slapped his forehead, feeling that the world was even crazier than he was. Could the Qin family members even understand Buddhist scriptures?
"The head of the Qin family now bears the surname Li."

The mad monk: "Are you kidding me? Has the world gone so mad these days?"

As he spoke, the mad monk reached out and grabbed a monk in front of him who was nearly dead from having his Buddhist nature drained, then slapped his skull to smash it open, performing a soul-searching procedure in an extremely brutal manner.

He let go, and the body slumped to the ground.

The mad monk smacked his lips. He had been out of touch with the affairs of the martial world for too long and had just obtained the information he wanted.

Mad Monk: "I really don't understand this world anymore, I just don't understand it."

Shaking his head, the mad monk did not continue to break through the formation, but turned around and looked at Xuanzhen on the outside.

The masked monk was swept away again. This time, he was unable to stand up after landing and was on his deathbed, waiting for the last bit of his Buddha-nature to be drained away.

The mad monk scratched his messy hair:
"I owe Lord Qin a favor, and I'm repaying it today."

Tan Wenbin: "May I ask which temple you come from, Master? You will surely be rewarded handsomely in the future!"

The mad monk chuckled: "Haha, report this to the entire martial world!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the mad monk put his hands behind his back and moved forward quickly, colliding head-on with Xuanzhen, who was rushing towards the Zhenjun Temple.

Xuanzhen remained unmoved, while the mad monk staggered backward, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Xuanzhen: "Another one gone mad?"

Mad Monk: "You're only just realizing that?"

After saying that, the mad monk charged forward again, not to fight or engage in combat, but simply to block you and let you soak in the gray fog for a while longer.

The mask on the masked monk's face came off, revealing an aged face:
"By revealing the temple's name, I've lost my carefree spirit and am far inferior to your level, senior brother."

The mad monk reached out and took the mask, put it on his own face, and replied:

"I am a beggar monk, with no temple name to report to, which is why I pretended to be nonchalant. Never mind..." the mad monk shouted, "I'm affiliated with Shangyun Temple now, and Shangyun Temple will record this again!"

Tan Wenbin: "I've got it!"

"Hehe..." The masked monk laughed for a while, then lost his life.

The mad monk collided with Xuanzhen again, and the mask released a light shield before shattering.

Xuanzhen: "Don't you two find this ridiculous?"

Mad Monk: "Sigh, if it weren't for the two of us making that final push, it would have been truly laughable if we had just killed our way to Buddhahood."

The mad monk spread his hands, drew blood from his body, which condensed into black demon-suppressing chains, sealing Xuanzhen.

"I'll try my best to stop you a little longer, so that our future bodhisattva can be moved a little longer."

Outside the Zhenjun Hall, all was quiet.

There were no shouts nearby; and no more sounds of collisions in the distance.

"boom!"

The wall exploded, and the already crumbling formation was breached, allowing Xuanzhen to enter.

His skin had completely dried up, and he looked like a skeleton. His robe had turned pitch black from being soaked in the blood that the mad monk had used to seal him.

At this moment, he looked exactly like the image in Ah Li's painting.

(End of this chapter)