Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Xiao Che's gaze shifted from the pile of gold and silver treasures to Kuai Xian's festering body: "Countless gold and silver, is this what you call prosperity?"

Kuai Xian slowly suppressed his smile: "It seems your arrival here is not accidental, and you are unwilling to embark on the path of cultivation with us. Then... we can only ask you to die! Disciples, listen to my command: seize him, life or death!"

The wicked monks roared like wild beasts, brandishing their weapons and charging forward, covered in pus and blood, stinking to high heaven! Pus splattered, and a foul stench filled the air!

The game has entered combat mode.

In this completely one-sided match, after Dongshan chose He Ye to attack, he immediately left the battle screen.

“He Ye,” Xiao Che said.

A thick black shadow instantly emerged from the protective mirror on his chest, followed by several hissing sounds of flesh and bone cracking. The evil monks who rushed at him were like being hit by a giant hammer, their bodies slamming violently against the hard stone wall!

boom!boom!

In no time, several puddles of a paste-like substance, mixed with broken bones, rotten flesh, and filthy blood, covered the stone wall and slowly slid down, staining the surrounding Ksitigarbha statues red.

The intense smell of blood and decay practically assaulted my senses.

Kuai Xian's expression froze, his eyes filled with the fear of death. He never dreamed that his opponent would have such terrifying power.

"Nine Lives, hurry! Stop him!"

Kuai Xian roared at the black cat demon with all his might, while frantically pulling a small cage from his pocket, inside which were two sleeping kittens!

"If you don't do it now, I'll crush them to death!"

The cat demon let out a hiss. It stared at the cage in Kuai Xian's hand for a while, then looked at He Ye, whose aura was as terrifying as an abyss, and Xiao Che, who was expressionless. Finally, it let out a sharp cry and pounced on Xiao Che.

Xiao Che reached out and stopped He Ye, who was eager to try. Facing the cat demon who pounced, he casually reached out and grabbed the cat demon by the neck.

The cat demon's claws swung in vain, unable to cause him any harm.

Xiao Che took out the demon-slaying bag with his other hand, opened the bag, and stuffed the struggling cat demon inside.

Lesser demons like this can be contained in a demon-slaying bag, unless it's a powerful demon like He Ye that can't be contained.

Kayeon's last hope was gone.

As he watched Xiaoche approach step by step, he felt as if he were seeing the Yama, the demon he had been running from for so long.

He threw down the kitten cage in terror, startling the two kittens awake, which huddled together in fear. He clasped his hands together, his face streaked with pus and blood, and forced a desperate plea: "Master, Master, spare me! I was wrong! I'm willing, I'm willing to give up everything!"

puff!

His words stopped abruptly.

Xiao Che flicked his toe, kicking a fallen dagger to the ground, causing it to transform into a flash of cold light that instantly pierced through Kuai Xian's heart.

Kuai Xian stared incredulously at the dagger embedded in his chest, a hissing sound escaping his throat.

He struggled and fell backward, his rotting flesh falling off piece by piece as his life dissipated. His decaying hands desperately grabbed at the gold and silver jewels scattered around him, muttering incoherently as pus and blood gushed out.

"My gold, my treasure, even in death, is mine."

The sound grew fainter and fainter until it finally fell silent. Those greedy eyes remained fixed on the treasure on the ground until their dying breath.

Xiao Che looked at Kuai Xian's corpse with a complicated expression. He walked to the corner and picked up the cage that had contained the kittens.

The sturdy cage shattered in his hands. The two frightened kittens immediately huddled together and hissed, but that didn't stop Xiao Che from putting them into his demon-slaying bag as well.

At this moment, the little girl who had been unconscious on the ground slowly woke up.

She opened her eyes in a daze, and what came into view was a room full of mess and mutilated corpses everywhere.

"what--!"

She was terrified and let out a sharp scream. She scrambled to a stone statue of Ksitigarbha, trembling like a leaf, her face covered in tears and snot.

"Don't be afraid." Xiao Che looked at her. "These are all monsters. I'm here to save you. Come out with me."

The little girl looked at Xiaoche in terror, then at the horrific corpses, and her small body trembled even more violently.

She dared not approach the bloodstains, much less Xiaoche.

Xiao Che didn't urge her, but just watched her quietly. After a while, perhaps Xiao Che's patience gave her a sense of security, she nodded tremblingly, carefully avoiding the filth on the ground, and moved step by step to a few steps away from Xiao Che.

Xiao Che then entered the passage and returned the way he came.

As for the small rooms along the way, perhaps because Kuai Xian was the core of the formation, all the children died and stopped breathing when he died.

Back in the main hall, the little girl stared at the dimly lit, empty temple and the golden statue of Ksitigarbha, her face still filled with fear.

Xiao Che summoned He Ye: "He Ye, transform and take her home."

"Yes, sir." He Ye transformed into a stoic male figure and stood at the door.

Xiao Che crouched down, looking into the little girl's still-shaken eyes, and said in as calm a tone as possible, "Listen to me, when you get back, tell everyone that the nursing home is a demon temple, filled with man-eating demon monks. A passing Onmyoji burned down the demon temple and rescued you. Understand?"

The little girl seemed to understand, tears still welling up in her eyes, but looking into Xiao Che's eyes, she nodded vigorously.

She suddenly knelt down and kowtowed to Xiaoche: "Thank you. Thank you, Uncle Yin-Yang Master!"

Xiao Che shook his head: "Go quickly, go find your family." He gestured to He Ye.

He Ye took a candlestick from the eternal lamp in the main hall and led the way. The little girl followed timidly behind He Ye. The candlelight flickered, and the little girl looked back at Xiao Che every few steps before finally disappearing into the night outside the hall.

A moment later, Xiao Che turned his gaze back to the magnificent main hall, to the golden statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who sat serenely on a lotus pedestal, devoid of sorrow or joy.

He took out several talismans from his pocket, dabbed a little blood on his fingertip, and quickly drew fire-starting talismans.

"go."

Several talismans shot towards the beams, pillars, curtains, and offering tables throughout the main hall.

冯。

The dark blue flames burst into flames instantly. Unlike ordinary fire, these flames ignite when they encounter wood and melt when they encounter metal.

The magnificent painted decorations curled and peeled off in the flames, the sandalwood offering table burned fiercely, the outer gold leaf of the Ksitigarbha statue melted and deformed rapidly in the flames, and the compassionate face was distorted by the high temperature. The entire main hall was instantly turned into a sea of ​​fire and quickly spread to other buildings.

"Fire! Help put out the fire!"

"The main hall... the main hall is on fire!"

"Where is the abbot? Where is Brother Fashan?!"

The sound of monks' terrified shouts and chaotic footsteps came from outside.

However, with the key figures all executed, the remaining monks were like headless flies. The sudden fire was even more intense and difficult to extinguish.

Cries, curses, and the sound of collapsing buildings mingled together, plunging the entire nursing home into chaos and flames.

Seeing that the fire was out of control, the monks cried out and grabbed some valuables, fleeing in panic from this burning hell.

The fire burned all night, turning half the sky red. It wasn't until dawn that the fire gradually subsided, leaving only ruins and wisps of smoke, the air thick with the smell of burnt ashes.

Xiao Che trudged through the scorching ashes to the ossuary behind the temple. It was relatively secluded and less damaged.

He gently placed his master's ashes and the two secret manuals, carefully wrapped in oilcloth, into a burial niche and then buried them underground.

“Master,” he murmured to himself, facing the burial site, “your soul should have returned to a pure lotus throne, not this Avici Hell. Your disciple has cleansed your way.”

In the past, the scorching flames were his deepest source of fear, easily reminding him of the helplessness he felt during the Mingli Fire. But last night, witnessing that evil crumble in the fire, he felt only a chilling pleasure.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, a disheveled monk, wrapped in a wet and tattered quilt, crept furtively to the ruins of the main hall.

Chapter 235: All Evils of Humanity

Ignoring the still-smoking charred wood and the scorching heat, he frantically searched through the collapsed beams and the melted remains of the Buddha statue.

"Found it! Haha! I found it!"

He suddenly let out a wild scream of joy and pulled an iron box from under a pile of scorching rubble. Ignoring the heat, he hugged it to his arms, his face filled with the fervor of Fan Jin after passing the imperial examination.

"The Ksitigarbha Array Diagram! Hahaha, with it! I am the new abbot! The path to immortality is right before my eyes!"

He turned around laughing wildly, only to bump into Daoman Xiaoche, who had come running at the sound of his voice.

In an instant, it was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. The monk's maniacal laughter instantly turned into extreme terror. He tried his best to suppress his laughter: "Benefactor?! You...you're still alive?! Buddha, thank goodness! This is wonderful! The temple has suffered a great calamity. The sorcerers set fire to the temple, and the abbot and the others...they are probably..." He stammered, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

Xiao Che's gaze fell on the iron box he was tightly holding in his arms, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

He slowly drew the Demon-Slaying Crimson Blade from his waist, brought the blade forward, and gently touched the monk's throat.

"Hand it over." The voice brooked no refusal.

The monk trembled, his face turning deathly pale. He instinctively clutched the iron box tighter, forcing himself to remain calm: "What are you handing over? Have you perhaps lost something, benefactor? I returned only to search for the abbot's remains to pray for his soul's rebirth, but I found nothing!"

His eyes darted around, still trying to get away with it.

Xiao Che pushed the tip of his knife forward slightly, and the cold touch and heavy pressure made the monk feel suffocated.

He realized that the person in front of him was no ordinary person, and that he could not be swayed by words.

But when asked to hand it over, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, and he abruptly turned to run.

Xiao Che frowned. He really didn't want to cause any more bloodshed unless absolutely necessary.

He picked up a piece of gravel and snapped his fingers.

"what!"

A muffled thud was followed by a scream.

The fleeing monk suddenly felt a sharp pain behind his right knee, and his entire leg instantly went numb.

He lost his balance and fell forward violently, landing headfirst on a thick, charred but still scorching hot pillar of charcoal.

"what--!"

The piercing screams startled the birds in the forest. The monk covered his face and rolled frantically on the ground. Blisters quickly formed on the scalded areas, and the iron box fell to the ground.

Xiao Che didn't even glance at the monk who was screaming and rolling around in agony. He walked over, bent down, picked up the item, and opened it.

Inside was a book carefully wrapped in animal hide.

The Nine Formations of Ksitigarbha

He turned to a few pages, which contained intricate arrays drawn with cinnabar mixed with some kind of dark pigment, accompanied by dense, obscure annotations.

At first glance, there is nothing evil about it.

Just as he was about to burn this source of trouble, his master's dying words suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Power is neither right nor wrong, it's all about how it's used" (Dongshan promptly inputs a command to remind him).

Xiao Che paused, silently looking at the array diagram in his hand.

Destroying it would certainly solve the problem once and for all.

But who can guarantee that there won't be another such array diagram in the world? Who can guarantee that there won't be another Kuai Xian? There are too many people who covet immortality; it's impossible to kill them all. If it falls into the hands of someone with more power, it will be an even more terrible disaster.

Rather than that, it's better to take control ourselves. Only with complete control can we find a way to deal with it.

He carefully wrapped the array diagram again and tucked it into his bosom, close to his body.

He needs to destroy this thing to feel at ease, but before destroying it, he needs to learn how to use it first.

Xiao Che ignored the monk who was still screaming and was about to turn and leave when the folding fan in his sleeve trembled.

Whoosh!

A long tongue shot out from his sleeve like lightning, instantly engulfing the charcoal-roasted monk covered in black ash.

The monk didn't even have time to let out a second scream before he was instantly dragged toward the folding fan.

A perfectly healthy person was thus caught up in the folding fan in the sleeve.

With a muffled gulp, the monk's figure, along with his wailing, vanished completely with a flick of his sleeve.

"Hmm, the charcoal-grilled flavor, cooked to medium-rare, is really good." Zhu Hai said, still wanting more.

"It seems the lesson I taught you wasn't enough." Xiao Che took out a folding fan and opened it, Zhu Hai's name appearing faintly on the fan surface.

The folding fan swayed slightly, and Zhu Hai's ugly half-body emerged, grinning with a theatrical, fawning smile: "Wait, wait, Master, calm down! This humble servant is all loyal, determined to eliminate any future troubles for you! Look at that person's character; he clearly knows a lot about the temple's shady dealings, and now he even knows that you took the treasure that could grant immortality."

"If we let him leave, he can embellish the story and spread all sorts of nonsense, saying that you committed arson and murder and stole the temple's treasures of immortality. Tsk tsk, the surrounding villages will be in big trouble! There will be chaos and bloodshed, which would be even more contrary to your benevolence."

It licked up non-existent blood from the corner of its mouth and chuckled softly as it explained.

Xiao Che pondered for a moment. He knew that what Zhu Hai said was not without reason; that monk was indeed a hidden danger.

However, there are other ways to deal with this than eating it directly. The main issue is that Zhu Hai has been corrupted by negative human emotions, transforming him from an ordinary person who was unwilling to eat anything unclean to someone who now eats anything raw or cold without any restrictions.

Seemingly sensing that Xiao Che hadn't been completely convinced, Zhu Hai's eyes darted around, then he changed direction, his voice carrying a hint of deliberate worry: "Master, are you really so comfortable letting that child go back on his own?"