Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 337 - 334: Infighting within the Sect, Ownership of the Blessed Land

Chapter 337: Chapter 334: Infighting within the Sect, Ownership of the Blessed Land

Huang Wu suddenly turned her head, only to see an old monk, skinny to the extreme like a dead person, silently standing behind her.

Hiss—!

His body was so withered that only a yellowish human skin remained, tightly stretched over a rough skeleton, as frail as a straw pole that could collapse with a mere puff of wind.

His eye sockets were deeply recessed, his chest showed no rise and fall, and there was no heartbeat whatsoever.

He looked even more like a ghost than the little female ghost herself!

She was caught off guard and frightened by the ghostly figure, stepping back involuntarily.

Seeing Huang Wu turn around, the old monk standing under a Bodhi tree emanated a solemn aura and slowly chanted a Buddhist name again:

"Namo Corpse Forest Master, fortunate for us, our Buddha Master bestows flesh and blood to nurture all beings, allowing the Mortal World to witness the grandeur of myriad prosperities.

Since the donor has entered the Corpse Forest today, one should sincerely worship Buddha. Please, donor, offer flesh and blood for our ’Skull Temple’!"

It took Huang Wu a while to comprehend the logic of this monk.

The "Corpse God Tao" lineage worshipped the [Heavenly Official·Fangzhang Corpse King], also known as "Corpse Forest Master," "Corpse Forest Master," "Tomb Burial Master," and "Corpse Buddha."

It was the Human Skin Corpse Account Scripture that recorded information on the "Fangzhang Corpse King" which almost led to Wang Yuan’s death in the Wang Family’s ancestral hall!

The foundational scripture of this Great Sect, the Essential Body Sacrifice Scripture, originally portrayed fairly normal mythological tales.

Primarily, it was about the Buddha stories of "Corpse Buddha sacrificing his body for doves" and "Maha Saddharma sacrificing itself to feed a tiger," promoting the great virtue of Buddhism almsgiving, sparing no life.

However, any good scripture, once in the hands of the demon people of the Sect, inevitably gets twisted.

The Buddha’s Dharma Protector God position of the "Corpse Forest Master," once contaminated by the Heavenly Official, naturally became even more sinister.

Changing from almsgiving one’s own flesh and blood for the benefit of all beings, to forcibly begging and demanding flesh and blood from all beings!

After all, eons ago, beings survived because they received the almsgiving of flesh and blood from the Corpse Forest Master.

Today, they naturally need to give back the flesh and blood.

Even though the [Fangzhang Corpse King] itself is outside the Heavenly Gate, unable to enjoy the offerings.

But Buddhism has the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Monk.

Giving alms to monks who believe in the "Corpse Forest Master," which means the disciples of the various branches of the "Nine Aspects Corpse God Tao," naturally has the same effect.

Indeed, a logical genius!

And while they were talking.

Another tiger with lifeless eyes, following the weird "hee-hee, haha" chime, stepped into the Corpse Forest from outside, one step at a time.

It walked straight to the largest Bodhi tree in the center of the forest, and bowed three times to the big tree like a human being.

Then, it flicked out its right claw, sharp as a knife, and fiercely slashed its own neck.

Bright red blood instantly spurted out, forming a bloody stream that seeped into the ground.

This was not the end, as the tiger, seemingly oblivious to pain, continued to slash with its claws, making the ghastly wound longer and longer.

Then.

Rip—!

With unbelievable strength, it used all four claws to tear off its entire hide from its body while still alive.

Then came strips of flesh, tendons, membranes, internal organs, and bones, until it had broken itself down to a skeleton, and finally collapsed to the ground with a clatter.

The Bodhi seeds hanging from the tree seemed quite pleased, the chime growing louder and more boisterous.

Then countless roots wriggled from the ground, and in the blink of an eye, consumed the self-prepped and offered flesh and bones down to the last bit.

At the same time, the face of a tiger in excruciating pain appeared on one of the Bodhi seeds hanging from the tree.

A monk’s mouth, lying ghosts.

Time and again claiming to offer flesh and blood, yet they did not spare the soul, devouring everything without leaving a trace.

With this tiger completing its "almsgiving" with utmost devotion,

The group of monks from the "Skull Temple" seemed to notice something amiss, all turning their heads to look at Huang Wu, who acted as if nothing had happened.

"You... have no flesh and blood?"

This group of demonic monks from the "Skull Temple," having cultivated a "Corpse Forest" using countless corpses as raw materials, imbued the forest with Abnormal Power.

[Taboo: Any living being with flesh and blood that is in this place will involuntarily develop the thought to offer alms. The lower their Taoist Ability, the longer they stay, the stronger the impulse will become.

Until they finally act upon it!]

But this incredibly beautiful woman, seemingly clear of bone and flesh, with exquisite features and snow-like radiant skin, appeared completely unaffected by the Corpse Forest.

And there was no trace of ghostly or demonic energy on her body.

This left them baffled for a moment.

With the overlap of reality and the shielding Dream Realm, these demon men failed to notice that Huang Wu was actually a ghost!

As Huang Wu looked at the monks by the Bodhi tree, who were turning their heads towards her, she too was taken aback.

Initially, she only saw a bunch of bald and white heads and mistook them for monks.

But when they turned around, Huang Wu noticed that they were indeed monks—just monks who were nothing but white skeletons!

No wonder they, too, were unaffected by the "Corpse Forest."

Realizing something odd about Huang Wu, a group of White Bone Monks dressed in hemp kasayas stood up in unison, subtly surrounding her.

The only monk who still retained a layer of skin on his body frowned, ready to order the capture of this strange girl.

Squeak, squeak, squeak...

Amidst the "hee hee ha ha" of bells ringing, a frantic squealing of rodents suddenly emerged.

Immediately, a horde of pitch-black rats charged in as if mad.

Although the entire Corpse Forest seemed to come alive.

Whipping their slime-covered roots, sticky with corpse oil, like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, they easily tore those rats into shreds.

Yet no blood flowed from the insides of the rats. The torn carcasses rapidly transformed into a rising mist of black ash, corroding the numerous Bodhi trees with a sizzling noise.

These turned out to be fake rats formed from the intense energy of disease.

Following that, a wild laughter echoed throughout the Corpse Forest:

"Hahaha, my ’Plague Dao’ has already established the ’Plague Formation’ here with the ’Plague Umbrella’ and ’Yellow-Skinned Dharma King’.

As long as diseases remain rampant in the outside world, the power of my ’Plague Formation’ will continue to grow day by day, and soon it will completely flatten your Corpse Forest.

So what if you came early?

If you ’Nine Likeness Corpse God Path’ stick-wielders don’t want to die, then move out of Beimang Mountain Blessed Land quickly and all of you roll out of here for this Dao Master!"

Hearing this, Huang Wu’s heart shook violently.

"No wonder I just felt that every plant and tree here seemed familiar. Turns out the ’Yellow-Skinned Dharma King’ is hiding in Beimang Mountain, littered with corpses!

The ’Plague Dao’ and the ’Nine Likeness Corpse God Path’, these two sects mortal enemies, are both eyeing the ’Beimang Mountain Blessed Land’ in my family’s backyard?

The one that barred me from entering at the beginning must have been the Plague Formation!"

Unlike the usual peaceful coexistence, even occasional collaboration, between the ’West King Holy Mother’ and the ’No-Life Buddha’.

The ’Mud Saint’ and ’Fangzhang Corpse King’, who tread similar paths, were already sworn enemies.

The ’Mud Saint’s’ power is disease, five poisons, corruption, disaster...

It’s said: "Under the Plague Umbrella’s shadow, practitioners of wicked sorcery dwell, all in the Mortal World fall as if to plague delivered by hell; in a moment, families are tainted, a breath, and lineages fall, homes with corpses quickly filled, as if death claims them all."

The ’Fangzhang Corpse King’s’ power, on the other hand, is the corpse, emptiness, tombs, guardian spirits...

A Buddha verse states: "The five aggregates, all naturally empty, life rooted in love for the body we wear; guarding the graves, ghostly souls beneath the night moon fly, with corpses lost, foolish spirits in autumn winds cry; Names without face, below towering pines they lay, bones turn to ashes amid the grasses where they stay; Stone epitaphs fade unseen, friends by graves weep first, red."

Their conflict is even sharper than that between the ’Heavenly Official’ and the families of ’Corpse Dissection Immortals’.

If either could devour the other, they would immediately integrate the entire supply chain, self-produce and self-sell, manage killing and burying alike, and leap to become one of the mightiest ’Heavenly Officials’.

The Taoist skills derived from them also naturally determined the positions of the two great sects.

Disciples from both sects could also devour each other to enhance their Taoist ability!

Even on ordinary days when paths cross, a fierce fight is due, to devour the other completely, let alone now when one of the seventy-two Blessed Lands, with its vast benefits, lay before them?

Of course, they would fight a life-and-death battle.

"We originally thought that we could enjoy peaceful days for a little longer, but within less than two months away from the Great Yan, these heretics have already lost patience, one by one jumping out."

Receiving Wang Yuan’s enlightenment every day, Huang Wu’s knowledge was also exceptional.

Through the actions of these two sects, she easily perceived the quietly changing situation of the entire Red County Shenzhou cultivation world.

The noses of the sects are sharper than anyone else’s.

When the Great Yan Dynasty and its ’Martial Saint’ had not fallen, no one dared to be the bird that sticks its head out.

But now it was completely different.

Ever since the ’Dragon Raises Its Head’ on the second day of the second month, everyone in the sects knew that the ’No-Life Dao’ had usurped Yunjing City, even propping up a puppet Emperor.

Busy digesting the gains, who had the spare time to care about their trivial matters?

They could no longer hold back and were all eager to leap into the fray.

Unlike the fictional Thirty-Three Heavens, the mortal Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands truly had a countable number, thirty-six Grotto Heavens and seventy-two Blessed Lands, wishing for one more was in vain.

Few were without owners.

And these Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands were inherently the converging points of the mortal world’s spiritual mechanisms and Earth Qi, akin to a Sage’s Inner Scene Heaven and Earth, self-contained small worlds.

They could also be regarded as the ’acupuncture points’ where the world’s Qi circulated.

Securing one more would invisibly strengthen the sect’s Daoist influence on the Heavenly Dao.

Moreover, whenever a Dynasty flourished, ’Dragon Qi Prohibitions’ blazed like fierce fire on oil, extremely unfriendly to Taoist skills, driving many Tao lineages to seek refuge in Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands.

That was the main reason why Wang Yuan felt no regret leaving the Beimang Mountain Blessed Land behind – the mere Red Seal had no qualification to lay fingers on such treasures (Chapter 106).

Now, mankind’s Dynasties were entering a cycle of decline from prosperity.

Not to mention that the Yili King, Zhou Yi, who had originally occupied the Beimang Mountain Blessed Land, had been pit-killed to death by Old Master Wang.

Even if he were still lying intact in his tomb, these sects that had long coveted this place would have scattered his ashes to the wind!

Merely because the nature of the ’Beimang Mountain Blessed Land’ resonated too well with the Taoist skills of the two sects.

Of course.

Having been tainted by the ’Three Vultures Power Technique’ for more than two hundred years, it was even more compatible with the Yin Mountain Taoism!