After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

The demon leader swallowed the three giant black mist pythons whole.

Crunchy.

Without even burping, the demon leader charged forward with undiminished momentum, heading straight for Lingxu Daoist.

"A demonic cultivator! You're a demonic cultivator in the Qi Condensation stage!"

Lingxu Daoist finally saw the true nature of that purple fire: it was a demonic essence that was even more domineering and purer than the Yin Sha Qi!

How could there be any true demonic cultivators in this degenerate age?

And it was such a terrifying demonic giant!

His remaining fighting spirit was completely shattered.

Escape! We must escape!

As long as this news is brought back to Wuji Sect and the cultivation world, those reclusive old monsters will deal with him!

As the demonic fire drew near, a resolute and fierce light appeared on Lingxu Daoist's face.

He took out a dark jade talisman from his pocket and crushed it with force.

"Blood Escape!"

boom!

His left arm exploded into a cloud of blood.

Using the force of this burst of blood energy, he resolutely leaped into the bottomless abyss!

Zhou Ran!

The grudge of losing an arm today will be repaid a hundredfold tomorrow!

The venomous voice echoed in the abyss, growing ever more distant.

Zhou Ran walked to the edge of the bridge and looked down.

Below lay endless darkness, with howling winds powerful enough to disintegrate any flesh and blood that fell into it.

"They ran away decisively."

Zhou Ran withdrew his gaze, showing no intention of pursuing.

"Brother Zhou, is he... dead?"

Miao Yingying timidly approached, gazing at the all-consuming darkness, and swallowed hard.

"Hard to say."

His demonic eyes pierced through the darkness.

At the bottom of the abyss, there is a thick, viscous barrier of corpse energy, which forms a buffer.

If Lingxu Daoist is lucky, he might be able to save his life.

"Let's go."

Zhou Ran turned around, his gaze falling on the end of the Bridge of Judgment.

There was no eeriness there as expected.

Instead, a grand hall radiating a soft golden light stood at the edge of darkness, completely out of place with the surrounding ghostly realm.

It is like a pure lotus blooming on the road to the underworld.

"It's so warm..."

Lin Qingxue walked forward involuntarily.

Ever since entering this sea area, her eyes have been stinging.

But when she looked at the grand hall, a cool and comfortable feeling flowed through her eyes.

The three crossed the Bridge of Judgment and together pushed open the heavy golden nanmu wood gate.

A distant chime resonated in the souls of the three.

The sound cleansed away worldly thoughts, causing the previous killing and fear to subside.

The main hall is magnificent, with countless murals of flying apsaras carved on its four walls.

Furthermore, large sections of scripture circulate spontaneously, radiating a righteous energy that suppresses all evil spirits.

And in the very center of the main hall.

A figure sat regally atop a nine-tiered lotus platform.

That was not a clay or wooden sculpture, but a real physical body!

He was wearing a tattered, weathered robe, and his skin was bronze in color. Although it was dehydrated, it had a jade-like luster.

Time has eroded his face, blurring his features.

But that compassionate spirit of empathy transcends time and still permeates the entire space.

"This is……"

Miao Yingying covered her mouth; she had never seen such a shocking sight.

"This is the remains of a highly accomplished monk who achieved immortality in his physical body!"

"He is an ascetic Arhat."

In Zhou Ran's mind, Ye Futian's voice carried a hint of emotion.

"I never expected to see such a person in such a place where spiritual energy is depleted."

To cultivate an Arhat's golden body with a mortal body—such perseverance is rare even in the world of cultivation.

"Unfortunately, he has been dead for a long time."

Zhou Ran activated his Demon Eyes, his gaze piercing through the golden body's surface to see inside.

At its dantian position, a relic is rotating at a fixed rhythm, releasing endless power of vows, which suppresses the earth veins below through the lotus platform.

At the center of the golden body's forehead, in the sea of ​​consciousness, sat a small, inch-tall phantom of the primordial spirit, a Buddha with closed eyes.

The original body has been dead for a thousand years, but the primordial spirit formed from this lingering obsession is still steadfastly holding its post.

"I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty."

Zhou Ran understood the meaning of that obsession.

This eminent monk voluntarily passed away here, using his own golden body.

All his cultivation and merits throughout his life were transformed into the final and strongest seal of the Soul-Suppressing Temple.

Zhou Ran stood before that golden, fleshy body for a long time without moving.

The ascetic Arhat before us has been gone for a thousand years, yet his serene and unperturbed Zen spirit still slows down the flow of the surrounding air.

Lin Qingxue and Miao Yingying dared not act rashly.

The overwhelming pressure emanating from the level of life itself caused them to lower their heads, clasp their hands together, and respectfully bow.

With this bow, the dehydrated golden statue reacted.

A slight ripple spread outwards.

A ring of visible golden ripples emanated from the lotus platform, spreading outwards in all directions.

The ripples touched Lin Qingxue.

The redness and pain in her eyes caused by the backlash from her Yin-Yang Eyes immediately disappeared, and a cool sensation seeped into her eyes.

As the golden light swept over Miao Yingying's corpse-driving bell at her waist, the previously restless Gu worms quieted down and lay dormant.

"This... is it a return gift?"

Lin Qingxue touched the corner of her eye and looked up in surprise.

Zhou Ran nodded, his gaze fixed on the faint spiritual light between the golden statue's brows.

"He accepted your bow and will repay you with a share of karma."

This golden light contains immaculate power of vows, which can cleanse the soul and greatly benefit your future spiritual practice.

After saying that, Zhou Ran stepped forward.

He did not kneel, but instead bowed to the Arhat statue with his hands clasped at eye level.

"I do not practice Buddhism, nor do I believe in fate."

But I admire your unwavering dedication to suppressing evil spirits for a thousand years.

"If you are alive today, may you rest in peace."

Leave the rest to me.

The words had barely left his lips.

The tiny primordial spirit, barely an inch in size, sitting cross-legged between the golden body's brows, actually opened a crack in its eyelids.

The instant he opened his eyes, a clear and flawless golden light shot out, not as an attack, but directly towards Zhou Ran's brow.

Zhou Ran neither dodged nor avoided the golden light, letting it enter his body.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, demonic energy surged, and Ye Futian's voice rang out with a hint of amusement.

"This old bald monk knows his stuff. He saw that the evil energy in your body was too heavy, so he gave you a 'Great Sun Subduing Demon Golden Light' to suppress it."

This glimmer of Buddha's light is nothing more than a firefly's glow to me.

But for you now, it is an excellent auxiliary material for harmonizing Yin and Yang during foundation building.

After being bathed in this golden light, Zhou Ran's body gained an additional layer of solemn aura in addition to its sharp and sinister demonic energy.

There is Buddha within demons, and Buddha is originally demon.

Thanks.

Zhou Ran lowered his hand and turned to look at the deep passageway behind the main hall.

"Let's go, the best is yet to come."

The three of them walked around the lotus platform and entered the rear hall.

The expected magnificent splendor did not appear; instead, a dark and narrow corridor came into view.

Instead of benevolent bodhisattvas, there are eighteen statues with different postures and fierce expressions on both sides of the corridor.

These statues are cast entirely from dark iron, with bulging muscles and ferocious faces.

Holding heavy weapons such as steel whips, giant axes, and spears, he appears furious.

They are neither Buddhas nor Bodhisattvas.

Instead, it is the Dharma protector deity in Buddhism who specializes in killing and suppression—the Prison Guardian King!

The eighteen statues of the Prison Guardian Kings each exude a palpable killing intent.

That icy gaze seemed to pierce through eternity, locking onto every living being that stepped into the corridor.

Miao Yingying's jaw was chattering.

"This...this isn't an array, these are eighteen killing puppets!"