The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 156 A Thought

"Okay, it's getting dark, you should go back quickly. My affairs are none of your business." The crab monster said gently.

"Master..." The shepherd boy wanted to say something else.

"roll!"

The crab demon suddenly changed his face, his demonic energy surged, and his aura suddenly became extremely terrifying. He held the white snake in one hand and pointed at the shepherd boy with the other. Under the setting sun, that arm suddenly changed into a crab claw, and his face also changed into the shape of a crab, with a pair of eyes raised high and hanging on his forehead.

A monster is still a monster after all.

The law of the jungle has been practiced since the awakening of spiritual intelligence. It has almost become an instinct and engraved in the bones. Although the shepherd boy's behavior touched the crab monster a little, that was all. It would not change the result. At most, it would just add some more feelings.

The crab monster didn't want to hurt the shepherd boy, nor did he want him to get in the way anymore. At first, he was still somewhat patient because he was touched, but after a few polite words, his patience was finally exhausted, and he simply revealed part of his true form in order to scare the shepherd boy away.

"Monster...monster..."

The shepherd boy took several steps back and suddenly his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

"eye!"

Not far away, the originally quiet old cow was also frightened by the crab monster's momentum. It turned around and kicked up its heels, wanting to escape. But it had just turned around when it turned again. Its eyes looked at the shepherd boy without blinking, and then looked at the crab monster with fear, neither advancing nor retreating.

Although the old cow was not yet intelligent, it had lived for so many years and had gained some spiritual knowledge. The shepherd boy fed it every day and they had a close relationship. Even in such a dangerous time, the cow was able to suppress its instinctive fear and was unwilling to abandon the shepherd boy and escape alone.

The crab demon watched this scene in silence. He retracted his true form, with one hand still pinching the white snake's vital point, and with the other hand, his demonic energy floated, supporting the shepherd boy's soft body to prevent him from falling to the ground. With another wave of his hand, the shepherd boy's body flew up, and lay sideways on the old cow's back like a feather.

"eye!"

The old cow let out another cry, its voice full of gratitude.

"From what I see from your appearance, you are not far from awakening your spiritual wisdom. Unfortunately, your life span is about to end. If you can awaken your spiritual wisdom before the end and become a demon, and extend your life span, you can come to Yangshou Mountain in Qingcheng to find me. Considering our fate today, I can take care of you a little."

The crab monster said, he looked at the old cow, the old cow didn't understand him at all, his big eyes blinked, seeing that the crab monster was reluctant to retract his frightening power, pleading appeared in his eyes again, he had no idea how lucky he was today, his turbid pupils revealed clear stupidity.

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand now. When your spiritual wisdom is awakened in the future, you will naturally remember what I said today. If your spiritual wisdom cannot be awakened..." The crab monster smiled. If it cannot be awakened, then naturally forget it. "Okay, take your little master back."

The crab monster dispersed the suppression of its demonic aura.

The old cow was as if it had been pardoned and would flee immediately without even looking back.

The dusk melts into gold, and the green mountains overlap.

The old cow carried the shepherd boy on its back and hurriedly ran towards the grove they had passed by. Looking at the old cow's panicked back, the crab monster smiled, then thought of what he had done before and was a little surprised. Is this still himself?
But the next moment the crab monster gathered his thoughts again, and when his eyes fell on the white snake again, he had returned to his previous appearance, cold and greedy, and was about to continue what he had just unfinished. The momentary kindness that he had just felt like doing was, after all, just an adjustment. Bloodthirstiness was the essence of survival. Now, with a monster in hand, it was natural that he should take the monster pill into his stomach first, which was the right thing to do.

The crab demon's hand covered the white snake's belly again.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a vague sense of uneasiness in his heart. It was a sudden feeling. At his level, he would not have such a feeling for no reason. The few times he had experienced it in the past, he had always encountered life-and-death crises later.

Immediately, the crab demon gathered his demonic energy and ran towards the grove. He raised his head and looked around again. There was no change. This should be a good sign, but somehow, the more clues he could not catch, the more uneasy he felt in his heart, stronger than ever before!
The old cow, carrying the shepherd boy on its back, had reached the edge of the woods when it suddenly heard a strong and gusty wind behind it. Its front hooves went weak and it fell to the ground.

The crab monster had no time to care about it at this moment. It passed by the old cow and was about to go into the woods. Suddenly, it was enveloped by overwhelming pressure.

"thump."

Beside the crab monster, the old cow also knelt down on its two hind legs. Deep fear made it put its head on the ground, prostrating itself on the ground. Its body could not support itself and was shaking like a sieve. It did not even notice that the shepherd boy had slipped off its back and fell to the ground.

"Moo...moo..."

The old cow cried out, and a hint of demonic energy involuntarily emanated from his body. It was under the pressure of repeated fear that he finally awakened his intelligence. Unlike the wild beasts in the mountains, who were hungry and weak every day, the old cow lived with the villagers in the mountains every day. He was the lifeblood of the family and was even more important than humans. He was taken care of meticulously every day. In addition, the cow's body was also quite good, and as soon as it became a demon, demonic energy was born in its body.

If it were under normal circumstances, this would naturally be a great opportunity, but at this moment, it is still unknown whether it is a blessing or a curse.

Ding Lin saw the white snake in the crab monster's hand at a glance from the sky. Although he showed no expression on his face, a dangerous aura quietly emanated from his body.

The Great Demon of Yuanshen!

The crab monster looked up, and he finally understood where the feeling of danger came from. His pupils shrank to the limit, and for a moment, he felt bitterness in his mouth. The next moment, he found that he could not move. The pressure released by Ding Lin was restrained and concentrated, but in the crab monster's perception, it was overwhelming and came from all directions.

It's not that the crab monster had never seen a soul before. The big monster he followed, the black snake, was the soul. But the feeling Ding Lin gave him was much deeper than that of the black snake, like a bottomless pool. Under such pure malice, he couldn't even think of resisting.

"Pfft!"

The crab monster couldn't hold on any longer and fell to the ground at once. His hands loosened and the white snake crawled out. Ding Lin gave a look and a demonic energy came out, which swept the white snake to his side in the air.

Looking at the crab monster again, he had been oppressed to his true form, covered by a large and colorful cassock, like a layer of skin that had been shed, wriggling, and a crab as big as a human crawled out from inside.

The inky bowl rolled to the side.

“Mercy…mercy…” The crab monster’s mouth was squirming, foaming at the mouth, and it begged for mercy weakly.

Ding Lin's eyes were cold. He took the white snake into his palm and waved his hand to send out a demonic aura.

It's over. Despair surged in the heart of the crab monster, and the pair of eyes on the top of his head turned involuntarily, looking at the pitch-black bowl that rolled to the side. It was the spoils of war after he devoured an old monk. The material was special and stronger than anything he had ever seen. It was also because of this that he devoted himself to refining the bowl at that time, but he didn't expect that since the day of refining, the bowl had not shown any magical properties. At first, he thought it was the divine object that was hiding itself, but no matter how much he studied it for so many years, he didn't find anything, so he slowly gave up. He thought he had given up hope for this bowl a long time ago, until now when he smelled the breath of death, he still couldn't help but fantasize that a miracle would happen.

There are no miracles.

The big monster on the cloud had cold eyes and attacked quickly and fiercely. He was suppressed so tightly that he couldn't even dodge, let alone resist. He already felt the sharp wind on his forehead. In the corner of his eye, he saw the old cow trembling and the shepherd boy unconscious beside him.

I hope they can survive.

Thinking of the shepherd boy's behavior just now, the crab monster thought bitterly that if the crab monster still had time, he would probably be surprised that his last thought would be pure kindness, even though this thought was full of coincidences.

The crab monster is out of time.

"Snapped!"

With a slight sound, just like a farmer breaking an egg, the crab shell of the crab monster shattered, leaving a small hole, only the size of a finger, at the top of the crab shell. It looked very inconspicuous, but the blood that flowed out could not be stopped, gurgling like a spring.

And lives also disappeared in the flow of blood.

The crab monster's thoughts came to an abrupt end, but at this moment, the bowl that had rolled to the side suddenly shook slightly, and then naturally rose up without any external help. The black matter on the surface faded away, revealing its golden essence, bright and generous.

Buddhist artifact?

This sudden change was beyond Ding Lin's expectations. It should be the thing of the crab monster, but it did not show any signs when he was alive, but revealed strange signs after his death.

Ding Lin didn't think twice, fearing that there would be any changes, so he flicked his sleeves and launched several attacks downwards. At the same time, he stretched out his hand and grasped the sword in his empty hand.

In the golden light, the bowl enveloped the crab monster's body. Then, a somewhat illusory soul shadow was pulled out. It was the crab monster's soul.

Ding Lin's evil spirit attacked and hit the bowl, but it was like a spring breeze blowing across the threshold, leaving only ripples. The golden light on the surface of the bowl fluctuated for a while, and then the attack was eliminated without notice. Under the cover of the bowl, the soul of the crab monster had a look of confusion on its face, and then it slowly woke up, its consciousness returned, and its facial features changed from confusion to vividness in the illusion.

Not dead yet?
No, he's dead, only his soul is left.

Can a monster like me preserve my soul and reincarnate after death?
"The sea of ​​suffering is boundless, but when you turn around, you will find the shore!"

In a trance, a voice sounded in his ears, and the crab monster suddenly fell into deep thought. The golden light on the surface of the bowl that enveloped his soul became brighter and brighter.

Scenes from the past flashed before my eyes.

Before it gained intelligence, it ate soil and was humbled by the mud and sand. After a long time by chance, it gained spiritual wisdom and became a demon. It first rushed around in the stream, killing countless fish and shrimps with its claws. It finally completed the most primitive accumulation of demonic energy through killing. After that, it fought layer by layer and plundered countless times before it finally achieved a demon pill. Then it walked step by step to the current level close to the primordial spirit.

One day, an old monk was walking in the mountains, so he ate his body and took his treasure. The bowl was extraordinary in shape, but after refining it, he could not use it at all. Until the moment before his death, he had a thought of goodness and finally felt it. Looking back on his life, he had come from killing and blood. After getting the bowl, he only had this one good thought. It turned out that it was not that the bowl was not magical, but that the monster's heart was as sharp as a knife, and he had never had any kindness.

At this point, the cause and effect finally became clear.

A trace of bitterness appeared at the corner of the crab monster's mouth. It was really ironic. At this point, even if the Buddha's treasure was magical, what use would it be since he was already dead?
"Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha immediately!"

The mighty Buddhist music rang in my ears, seeming to bring some enlightenment.

The crab monster was stunned for a moment, and then he suddenly woke up as if a pelican had enlightened him.

"Namo Amitabha!"

The crab demon put his hands together and closed his eyes. Sometimes enlightenment only lasts for a moment, and two tears suddenly flowed on his illusory soul. He put his hands together and knelt devoutly, kneeling for his past sins and also for things to come in the distant future.

"I wish to enter the eighteen levels of hell, to refine my soul with fire, to pierce my spirit with a knife, to punish my spirit and soul, to punish the sins of this life. If there is an afterlife, I wish to walk for my Buddha, to save people from water and fire, to pay for the karma of this life."

The crab monster murmured, and as he suddenly realized, a golden light lit up in the center of his soul and quickly spread out, filling his body. At this moment, the yin quality in his soul was gone, transformed into pure yang. If his physical body was still there at this time, he would be able to enter the realm of primordial spirit immediately. This was the realm he had been striving for all his life but had never been able to reach. But when the crab monster opened his eyes, he found that he was not as happy as he had imagined. The instant change of his state of mind had made him detached from the world, like still water, no longer bound by these external things.

"good."

A voice sounded from nowhere.

The bowl wrapped up the crab demon's soul and went straight to the ground, sending the crab demon to the underworld to be punished. This sudden change, although complicated, was actually just a moment. Ding Lin realized something was wrong and used his sword as a knife to chop it down, but it was too late. He heard a "clang" sound and the long sword hit the bowl.

Ding Lin used all his strength in this sword strike. The bowl was hit directly with scattered golden light, and its surface exploded, showing traces of cracks, but the bowl still blocked Ding Lin's attack. The soul of the crab monster inside seemed to have no fear at all, and its yang god looked calm, as if he had put everything aside.

After this strike, the bowl had no intention of staying entangled and sank into the ground, carrying the crab monster's soul into the underworld. In the last moment before disappearing, the crab monster seemed to turn around and glanced at the shepherd boy and the old cow.

Ding Lin said nothing, with an ugly look on his face. He put away the sword, thinking that he was a great demon with a soul, but he was not careful enough and let a Dan realm soul escape from his hands. Thinking back to the Buddhist bowl, especially the golden light it emitted later, he felt a little familiar for some reason.

Bowl, crab monster...

Ding Lin turned his head to look at the shepherd boy again, and finally his gaze rested on the white snake in his palm, and the place he was in at the moment - Qingcheng.

Hindsight.

Ding Lin suddenly remembered the mythological story that was widely circulated in his previous life.

(End of this chapter)