Scourge Messenger

Chapter 165 The Last Attempt

"Rabbit benefactor, are you sure that Buddhist relics are the only way to break through the skull tower?"

Outside the forest of corpses, Prajna spoke as he lifted a nearby water vat and slowly but violently rinsed his entire body. When the cold water fell on his muscular upper body, it actually steamed up, as if it were cooling down scorching steel.

They had just attempted to attack the Forest of Corpses again, but naturally returned empty-handed. Even though the Skull Tower was nearly destroyed once more, it stubbornly stood atop the lotus platform. Once the Bunny Girl and Prajna exited the Rainstorm state and their damage per second plummeted, the lotus platform would quickly repair it to its original state.

Their regular output simply cannot keep up with the lotus platform's repair speed.

If their first retreat from the Forest of Bones was filled with hope, the second time they were left with only a deep sense of powerlessness, like monkeys struggling to swim in an attempt to pluck the moon from the lake, only to find it was a mirage when they got close... All those years of perseverance seemed to have been in vain.

"Prajna, how can anything be certain about this?" Before the bunny girl could speak, the Pharmacist immediately retorted, "It's just speculation. My sister is kindly helping me figure out how to break the deadlock, what guarantees do you want? Do you want us to guarantee that you'll get Si Wuxie's legacy and reach the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment after you finish the front hall?"

The pharmacist was willing to protect the bunny girl like a mother hen protecting her chicks. She also fearlessly retorted to Prajna's slightly impatient question, even though she had just witnessed Prajna's godlike bravery in the Corpse Forest.

It seems that when she said she considered Bunny Girl as her younger sister, it wasn't just another way of saying "I love you so much, sister," but rather "From now on, you are the most important person to me."

But I created this alt account precisely to be sarcastic, argumentative, and troublesome. Your rebuttal was so brilliant, so who's going to make up for the gaming experience I missed?
Yan Qing sighed and guided the bunny girl to walk in front of the pharmacist.

"Believe it or not, it's up to you, but I'll make it clear beforehand that I'll be using Buddhist weapons next time I enter the Forest of Corpses." The bunny girl stuffed the Seven Star Sword in her hand into the warehouse, replacing it with the Seven Steps of Reciting Buddhist Mantra, her face full of aloofness: "I have no interest in wasting my time with you."

"We have already paid you to assist us," Prajna said.

"So, you've drawn up a line, how many times do you want us to help you? Five times? Ten times?" the bunny girl said. "How many times will you finally give up?"

"Prajna, it's time to accept reality."

Surprisingly, it was Xue Xiang who spoke in agreement with them. He was absorbing the spirit jade next to the withered tree, his face gloomy, but his tone was very calm: "Regardless of whether this stupid girl is right or wrong, our method is definitely wrong, and it's pointless to do it again and again."

"You can't destroy the Skull Tower just by unleashing devastating attacks." Pharmacist Yuan's tone softened. If the three guardians only had a tendency to believe, she completely trusted Bunny Girl's judgment: "Just like you can't kill someone by insulting them, if the method is wrong, no amount of effort will make a difference."

Prajna's expression was conflicted: "But the key to breaking this deadlock may not necessarily be Buddhist relics; we can—"

"What do you mean, 'can't'? Waste another few years collecting various tokens and testing them slowly?" Blood Element retorted bluntly, "Do you and I have that much time left? Once we reach old age and our energy declines, even if we inherit Si Wuxie's legacy, what chance will we have of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage when we're old and frail?"

"Not to mention that the token that breaks the deadlock might also cause changes similar to the lotus platform. Will you have to find other methods then? Actually, when you tested that the Zen staff would cause changes to the skull pagoda, I had a feeling that the Buddhist token was the key. Unfortunately, at that time we couldn't even destroy the skull pagoda, and strengthening the lotus platform was too risky, so I suppressed this idea."

"Prajna, we demonic cultivators go against the tide, which is disliked by the world. If you hesitate and waver when faced with an opportunity, you might as well go back to the temple and become a bald monk." The entrance to the Forest of Corpses fell silent for a moment, with only Xue Xiang's slightly hoarse voice echoing. No one expected Xue Xiang's reaction to be so intense and resolute. To be honest, even Yan Qing himself wasn't sure. If the Buddhist token couldn't break the deadlock, there was a possibility that it might even advance the Skull Tower further. Therefore, he couldn't and wouldn't guarantee anything.

However, Xue Xiang's confidence was far greater than his. Perhaps this inheritance secret realm had already consumed too much of their efforts, so Prajna could not tolerate any risks, and Xue Xiang could not tolerate standing still.

Gambling might lead to total loss, but not gambling guarantees no win. The righteous path can avoid gambling because they have masters and families, but what does the demonic path have?
They only have one life, a life without relatives, friends, family, or country.

"That undying golden light from the Skull Tower," Bei You said slowly, "I believe it's a clue left by Si Wuxie."

Even disregarding Bunny Girl and Pharmacist Wish, the statements from Bei You and Xue Xiang alone were enough to change the situation. Prajna sighed, took away the rare long staff, and exchanged it for a golden nine-ringed tin staff. The tin staff was solemn and dignified, with intricate patterns on its body. When the tin staff landed heavily, the entire forest was awakened by the sound of the nine rings, and even Yan Qing outside the screen felt a sense of tranquility.

"It was I who was attached to appearances." Prajna chanted a Buddhist mantra, his eyes no longer showing any hesitation: "I will do as Benefactor Rabbit said and use the thunder of Buddhism to sweep away the evil influence."

Although Yan Qing had anticipated that they would accept the plan sooner or later, he hadn't expected it to be so quick. They changed their minds immediately after only two rounds of fighting; he had thought they would hesitate for several days. Yan Qing had underestimated them. While the locals couldn't see the health bar, they weren't stupid either. The Skull Tower's near-invincible health was practically an act.

Standing once again at the dividing line in the front hall, Prajna said, "In any case, this is the last attempt tonight."

"This might be the last attempt," Bei You said quietly.

The pharmacist and Yan Qing had pretty much figured it out: this guy liked to bring up things that were best left unsaid.

"I hope our wish will be fulfilled," Prajna said. "Only this humble monk and the rabbit benefactor possess the Buddhist tokens, so you do not need to approach and attack the Skull Tower this time. Just focus on dealing with the demons."

Perhaps they should have devised a more cautious strategy, such as calling in a few more third-tier warriors to help lure away the demons. After all, the main attackers this time are only Bunny Girl and Prajna, and the others are just support. The requirements for support are not that high... But now, everyone has abandoned caution. They just want to go all in and wait for fate to reveal the answer.

"Three, two, one!"

At a command, the five stepped back into the front hall and proceeded according to plan. Everything went smoothly; the bunny girl had successfully led the demons to the front of the Skull Tower, and amidst the torrential rain, she wielded the Seven Steps of Buddhist Recitation, piercing countless holes into the Skull Tower!
Speaking of which, can the Seven Steps of Reciting Buddha's Name, a weapon that gained its fame from killing monks, be considered a Buddhist weapon?

However, Prajna made a mistake—whether it was the fatigue accumulated from the previous two actions or his inner fear and anxiety, he failed to trigger the rainstorm and simply dodged the zombie demon's attack! It was clear that he was also surprised. One failure was not a big deal, but if even his first dodge, which was extremely focused, failed, he would probably have difficulty triggering the rainstorm in his subsequent dodges.

At this critical moment, Yaoshi Yuan suddenly shouted and wielded the Soul-Severing Spear with righteous indignation, thrusting it straight at Prajna with both speed and stability!

　There is another chapter tonight

　　
　
(End of this chapter)