"Now!" Mo Chuan quickly repositioned, drawing the stone statue's attention while tossing the lantern to Zhang Hanshan, who had just emerged from the mural. He then pulled Zhang Hanshan over.
"Cough, cough… this guy's strength is like a sixth-tier Flood Dragon, it almost shattered my ribcage…"
"Old Zhang, did you figure anything out?" Mo Chuan flicked a [Desolation] at the stone statue's face, blocking its attack route to allow He Lanxin to retreat beside them.
"Even after changing its form, the stone statue's defense remains incredibly high," He Lanxin said, panting. "Only my [Gamble Everything] can deal damage."
Mo Chuan looked up and saw that all six of the stone statue's arms were covered in scratches, and on its right flank was a spiderweb-like pattern of cracks, clearly the damage inflicted by He Lanxin's [Gamble Everything].
"He Lanxin's [Gamble Everything] is true damage, and Zhang Hanshan's [King Ming's Wrath] is magic damage," Mo Chuan recalled the damage types the stone statue had sustained. "But why did none of my [Desolation] attacks deal any damage? And the combat log showed nothing, which means it wasn't the statue's skill."
Zhang Hanshan, however, noticed something else: the stone statue never moved too far from its base during the fight. Furthermore, after the statue transformed, the murals on the surrounding cave walls had also changed – from depictions of Buddhas spreading enlightenment to scenes of Asuras bringing destruction.
"Brother Chuan, buy me some time. I think I've found its weakness," Zhang Hanshan said, withdrawing the hand he had placed on Mo Chuan's shoulder. "Pay attention to the statue's base; see what happens if you attack it. Also, the murals on the wall have changed, which might be our chance to uncover the statue's true identity."
Mo Chuan nodded at this, giving Luo Ni a meaningful look. She understood immediately, summoning a squad of sand soldiers and commanding, "Soldiers! Bury it!"
The magic damage dealt by the sand soldiers was clearly the same as Mo Chuan's situation. However, the sand soldiers' harassment did attract the stone statue's attention, causing it to gradually move away from its base.
He Lanxin and Mo Chuan exchanged a glance. Mo Chuan raised his right hand, aiming at the base, while He Lanxin held her halberd reversed, beginning to charge [Might of the Hegemon].
"Soul Severing Grasp."
"Might of the Hegemon."
A spectral giant hand rose from the ground, reaching for the base. He Lanxin bent her legs and leaped into the air, swinging her halberd down towards the base.
As expected, the stone statue, as if sensing something, fiercely swung its artifact, carving a path through the sand soldiers, creating a storm of dust.
Watching the stone statue charge towards the base, Mo Chuan let out a cold laugh. He knew the statue would protect its base, so he predicted its trajectory. Just as the statue reached the base, [Soul Severing Grasp] also arrived, not only damaging the base and marking it but also forcefully pulling the statue away.
But just as He Lanxin's halberd was about to touch the base, the stone statue abruptly lifted its head, turning its Yaksha face towards He Lanxin.
The moment their eyes met, He Lanxin fell into the same dazed state as before. Her strength gradually ebbed, and her downward-striking leap turned into a fall onto the stone platform. Her Overlord Halberd, however, narrowly grazed the edge of the base and plunged deep into the floor.
In the distance, Zhang Hanshan's eyes narrowed. Not only had the mural changed again, but as He Lanxin fell onto the base, she stirred up the thick dust on the ground, revealing the base's true form:
A nine-tiered red lotus burning with karma fire (flame and lotus patterns).
The statue's identity was thus almost revealed – the Great Vajrabhairava, one of the Eight Great Wisdom Kings.
[In this world's Buddhist pantheon, before the spiritual energy depletion, the system was: Five Buddhas (Dipankara Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, Bhaisajyaguru Buddha, Amitabha Buddha) – Eight Great Bodhisattvas (Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Akashagarbha Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Matanga Bodhisattva, Universal Worthy Bodhisattva) – Five Great Wisdom Kings (Achalanatha, Trailokyavijaya, Kundali, Vajrabhairava, Vajrayaksha) – Four Heavenly Kings (Virupaksha, Vaisravana, Virudhaka, Dhritarashtra) – Eight Great Vajras (Vajra to remove disaster, Vajra to dispel poison, Vajra to follow prosperity, Vajra to purify, Vajra of red sound and fire, Vajra of steady disaster, Vajra of purple virtue, Great Divine Vajra) – 108 Arhats – 500 Venerables. However, according to Master Wu Hai's previous words, after the spiritual energy resurgence, the Buddhist pantheon had undergone significant changes, becoming Three Buddhas (Bhaisajyaguru Buddha, Vairocana Buddha, Maitreya Bodhisattva) – Four Great Bodhisattvas (Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva) – Eight Great Wisdom Kings (Trailokyavijaya Vajra King, Vajrabhairava Vajra King, Mahahasa Vajra King, Mahachakra Vajra King, Vajrayaksha King, Aparajita Vajra King, Achala Vajra King, Padmakara Vajra King) – 108 Arhats – 500 Venerables. The overall focus shifted from preaching to deliverance (physical).]
Upon seeing the karma fire lotus platform and the Yaksha face mural, Zhang Hanshan suddenly had a bold idea.
First, the constantly changing murals. From the initial depiction of the Great Vajrabhairava and Buddhas spreading enlightenment, which illustrated the former becoming a Wisdom King (chopping off arms and head), the subsequent murals of Asuras in chaos explained the body's original identity – an Asura King.
And the current Yaksha face mural depicted the Yaksha King leading Yakshas in slaughtering souls in hell.
This also indicated the origin of the stone statue – a chimera of the Great Vajrabhairava, an Asura King, and a Yaksha King. It was possible that either the Asura King or the Yaksha King alone could not bear the divinity (wishes) of the Great Vajrabhairava, hence the need for both to share the divine position.
This meant that this Wisdom King was actually impersonated by a demon. The real Great Vajrabhairava had likely, no, must have died long ago.
Zhang Hanshan suddenly realized he might have stumbled upon the truth behind the Thousand Buddhas' Annihilation.
However, Mo Chuan couldn't afford to dwell on that now. He slid behind the statue, using a chain to grab its head and force its direction, while taking advantage of its departure from the base to unleash continuous [Desolation] attacks on its face.
As expected, after leaving the base, the stone statue's defense greatly decreased. The Asura face was blasted to smithereens by Mo Chuan, revealing a mass of writhing flesh within.
"Holy crap… this thing is so sanity-draining…"
Due to the Qinglian Zi's spellcasting and the sand soldiers holding the statue's limbs from beneath, restricting its movement, Mo Chuan stepped onto the statue's shoulder, intending to use [Desolation] to blast its head.
The statue reacted as well – turning its Buddha face towards Mo Chuan.
"Still changing? Screw you!" Mo Chuan tightly gripped the chain, forcing the statue's neck to lock, then pressed his hand onto the exposed flesh and unleashed a barrage of [Desolation] explosions.
Finally, under Mo Chuan's constant magic output, the statue's head exploded, scattering碎石 and flesh everywhere.
The statue's body also began to crumble and disintegrate.
Standing on the statue's shoulder, Mo Chuan shouted to He Lanxin, "Sister Lanxin, are you alright?"
"I'm fine…" He Lanxin was clearly suffering from immense mental shock and couldn't recover immediately.
Just as Mo Chuan let his guard down, Zhang Hanshan saw the statue's hand, holding the golden ring, swing down from behind towards Mo Chuan.
Zhang Hanshan seemed to trigger some memory, instantly arming himself with his skills and charging towards Mo Chuan. "Brother Chuan, watch out!"