Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 165 - 162: Immortal Sand Soul Returning Seal, Earth Official Finally Has a Master

Chapter 165: Chapter 162: Immortal Sand Soul Returning Seal, Earth Official Finally Has a Master

The sky gradually darkened.

However, the Buddhist hall was brightly lit with thousands of long-burning lamps burning scented oil, which not only made the flames bright but also filled the air with a refreshing, aromatic scent.

Hung on the gold-plated pillars were two lines of poem: "Why does one become an official in this life, for the gold of the past life adorned the Buddha’s body. From past cultivation comes the rewards of this life, begging before the Buddha in purple robes and jade belts."

Sixth Ma, bare-chested, sat silently in the center of the hall on a platform that looked like an anvil.

A red talisman, looking as if it were dripping blood, was painted on his dark back.

By his side, a beautiful monk of indeterminate gender, whose face exhibited a sacred brilliance, recited an extremely agitated scripture, their silhouette swaying as if possessed by a demon!

"The purity of the lady’s spirit is clear, yet it is disturbed by the heart; the human heart desires tranquility, yet it is drawn by desire. Always able to dismiss its desire, the heart naturally becomes tranquil, clarifying the heart until the spirit itself becomes clear.

Naturally, the six desires do not arise, and the three poisons are eradicated, however..."

Sixth Ma’s eyes were tightly closed, his face distorted as if he was entirely gripped by a nightmare.

He was completely unaware that it was not only that monk helping him to cultivate the Stone-to-Gold Technique who was chanting the scriptures.

But also those dozens of Buddha statues, each as big as a real person, seemingly crafted from gold and jade!

As the scriptures continued being chanted, similar yet slightly different Daoist scriptures appeared on the surface of each Buddha statue.

They were all different versions of—the Soul Leaving Mountain Spirit Skill.

All of them had transformed into golden stone demons after cultivating the Soul Leaving Mountain Spirit Skill and violating the Precept Taboos!

This skill required the collection of mountain aura from various famous mountains and could gradually alter one’s bloodline, transforming oneself into a strange creature known as "Mountain Spirit."

While losing both gender and human emotions, it could significantly extend one’s lifespan.

If one could create a Taoist Inheritance Artifact, allowing the school’s Taoist skills to continue to improve, possibly sooner or later, it could evolve into a Taoist Department Skill comparable to Mountain and Sea Qi Method.

Such as: the True Forms of the Five Mountains Skill.

However.

Although this Taoist skill is powerful both in dueling and in extending lifespan,

ironically, ninety-nine percent of the disciples die not from duels or natural deaths but from the strict "Precept Taboos."

[Item one, only those with the Earth Life Chart could cultivate this technique.

Roadside Soil, City Head Soil, Roof Soil, Wall Soil, Great Post Soil, Sand Soil—among these six, Roadside Soil is the most suitable.

Other life charts struggle to encapsulate the mountain energy, and prolonged cultivation will inevitably lead to a rigid and dead body.]

[Item two, during the transformation into the strange creature "Mountain Spirit," strong emotions are needed as an anchor, preferably taking a person or object as the emotional fulcrum, often a family member, lover... and so on.

To prevent oneself from completely losing gender, emotions, and humanity in the process.

However, once successfully transformed, this person or object will become an irreducible weakness and it is advised to sever this attachment.]

[Item three, after becoming a "Mountain Spirit," it is necessary to blend Human Qi and Incense Fire Energy from the Red Dust Qi to prevent completely turning into an unconscious stubborn rock.

Whether performing kindness personally, deceiving, or stealing Incense Fire, it must be continuous daily,

and Human Qi should not be interrupted for more than ten days.]

Once the mutation begins, it cannot be reversed.

Even because the body petrifies, reducing mobility, thereby creating a vicious cycle where the lacking Incense Fire Energy and Human Qi only continue to diminish.

In the end, one cannot see, speak, or hear... It’s a state more torturous than death itself.

At this time, the spirit also quickly goes completely mad and consequently falls into a bloodthirsty Demon.

The Mud Buddha who fell many years ago in the ruined temple of Peach Blossom Valley was such a case.

Knowing full well the high risks of the law, the disciples of the Mountain Spirit Temple naturally were not willing to accept their fate.

Generation after generation of Mountain Spirit Temple disciples tirelessly researched, and at the onset of mutation, they actively sought the Knowledge from the Undying Tree, recording it onto their bodies.

After many years, they not only gradually perfected the Taoist skill.

But they also eventually developed a "Talisman Art" closely related to the knowledge of the Soul Leaving Mountain Spirit Skill—the Immortal Sand Soul Returning Seal.

Using the blood of living beings to make immortal sand and crafting it into a talisman, a talisman each month could keep the already mutated "demon’s" spiritual wisdom intact.

However, during the first year, the blood of spiritually aware animals like black dogs, green snakes, and white foxes could be used, but later the effect weakened and one had to gradually switch to demon blood and human blood, and the required quantity also increased.

The essence blood and soul of mortals, filled with passions and desires, are the primary sources of most of the Red Dust Qi in the world and are the easiest to obtain.

Beyond this,

This talisman that keeps one’s spiritual wisdom can also be used in reverse to induce a variety of extreme emotions, thereby attracting various living "Knowledge" from the universe to actively transform the person into a Demon!

The group of disciples of the Mountain Spirit Temple, thus exploited this fact continually to pluck wool from the "Undying Tree."

Deceiving mortals who matched the life chart into their temple.

As they were chased by the Knowledge related to the Soul Leaving Mountain Spirit Skill and ruthlessly torn apart, the whole community watched and gradually perfected their own Taoist skills.

The so-called Stone-to-Gold Technique indeed existed, but it was not used on stones, but on people!

And these mortals who wanted to cultivate this Stone-to-Gold Technique, after serving as guinea pigs to contribute their "Knowledge," would eventually be transformed into Demons composed of gold and jade.

Directly smashed on this platform resembling an anvil, discarding the stubborn rock to extract the gold and jade, turning it into bait to attract the next destined person.

Today’s magnificent Mountain Spirit Temple was accumulated bit by bit.

The requirement for the "Little White Mouse" to weigh over 150 kilograms stemmed from the fact that if there was too little flesh, the transformation into golden jade would also be minimal, insufficient to offset the deficit.

They favored individuals over 300 kilograms, but unfortunately, such people in these times were either wealthy or noble and tough to target.

Sixth Ma was being "transmuted into gold" inside.

The group of young people from Chen Family Village outside was not idle either; tied with ropes and hanging in a row from the trees, they wailed into the night wind:

"Help!"

"Help me! I won’t learn the Stone-to-Gold Technique anymore!"

"Chen Sixi, you’ve doomed me!"

"..."

They regretted it so much that their guts turned green.

If they had just grabbed a handful of gold at the entrance and left, how could they have ended up like this?

Although the temple had only two monks, a senior and a junior, neither was someone they could confront with brute force.

Under the tree.

A little monk, about seven or eight years old with a face like white jade, meticulously carved, was sharpening a knife, his eyes slightly red and drooling from the corner of his mouth, as he sang:

"Brain with tofu, hot blood for softening tofu, wrap liver and hearts into spring rolls, then brew a pot of Monkey Wine.

Feasts of two-legged sheep, not even the Emperor can match me!"

The voice was as lovely as gold and jade, but the content was extremely bloody.

Spirit monsters and demons have exactly three ways to obtain human qi.

The first method is through reading and literacy, accepting education, understanding human speech and clear reasoning, naturally accumulating human qi.

But its effect is too slow, and the process too painful.

The second method involves enchanting and mingling in secret, gradually transforming oneself by stealing human essence and yang energy.

The Mountain Spirit, having lost its gender and emotional capacity and being no longer human but a kind of earthy mutated elf, also lost this ability.

The third method, preferred by most demons, directly involves consuming humans, scooping out hearts, digging out livers, and sipping marrow; this way, they gain human qi.

This was the final choice of the "Mountain Spirits."

In any case, anyone who entered the temple was never wasted.

In the past, they only dared to hide in the deep mountains to wait for an unlucky one to come to them.

Now, as the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" fully retreated to the county town, the rural villages were almost completely abandoned.

These places opened their arms to all sorts of evil and heretical practitioners.

Just a few days later, those more cunning ones had already responded, decisively acting and using various means to abduct mortals.

Young Master Xue and the officials of Dengzhou Prefecture had the power to restrain other merchants and wealthy people, preventing them from participating in this divided feast.

Yet, they could not restrain the magicians and evil practitioners in the temples and palaces across the mountains.

Perhaps they would not risk offending the officials by repairing dams, but they would not shy away from beneficial actions.

It seems, although the great disaster artificially created by the officials of Dengzhou Prefecture was meant for the lands in the hands of those disaster-affected people, the ultimate impact was profoundly extensive.

It was just unknown whether the mastermind behind this had anticipated such a scenario.

At that moment, a sudden gust of wind blew by.

The little monk’s knife-sharpening paused.

He suddenly turned his head to look behind him.

Simultaneously, he uttered a low shout and rapidly formed a seal with his hands, slamming it on the ground.

In the fan-shaped area before him, the ground suddenly began to ripple like boiling water.

Booming sounds echoed...

Dozens of mud and sand hands burst forth, as if possessing their own consciousness, connected into a surging wave of earth, each wave a giant hand.

As they surged at high speed, they firmly slapped a dark figure below.

The little monk cracked a sinister smile, his sharp teeth gleaming, and he cackled eerily:

"What little mouse is this? I’ve caught you.

The flesh of a cultivator is even tastier, perfect to accompany my wine."

Although the Mountain Spirit looked young, it already possessed the Taoist ability of a Red Seal Mage.

However, as the sand slightly dispersed, what was revealed was not a living person but a slender paperman.

That paper face, painted with rouge, flashed a weird smile at the little monk and teasingly said:

"It seems I’m the one who’s caught you, my... Earth Official!"

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