Some posed as Vajras, others transformed into Gates, and there were nuns, laymen, and so on.
If a mortal strayed into the hall, the first impression would be that this place was indeed the True Buddha Treasure Hall in the Western Heavenly Bliss.
The Beautiful Corpse, of course, paid no attention to the others, focusing only on the four esteemed seats at the head.
Kongchan and Lian Sha being Arhats there was nothing out of the ordinary.
But that "Cheng Arhat" also had a place, which would surely shock any outsiders who saw it. After all, Cheng Arhat was originally nothing more than a Mortal World warlord. How had he reached the same level as the Three Arhats of the Demon Buddha Temple so suddenly?
The Beautiful Corpse knew the reason, which was not complicated.
Only one: Cheng Arhat possessed the Talent to achieve the Status of Arhat.
The Demon Buddha Temple's principle of accepting disciples was quite similar to the Spirit Treasure Sect, with no prohibitions and refusing no one.
The Beautiful Corpse paid her respects in turn, especially to the old monk sitting in the center, who was exhibiting bizarre behavior, showing him the utmost respect.
This old monk was dressed in blue Buddha's Robe.
Only it was worn quite loosely, revealing a good portion of his belly and ribs.
His face beamed with recklessness, brimming with joy and smiles.
At the same time, he held a small knife, carving away at his own flesh.
With each slice he cut, his smile deepened, as if this were some joyous affair.
As slivers of flesh fell to the ground, there were no wounds, no blood flowed; only a flash of Buddha Light, and then it healed again.
Except for the next moment, when the old monk, seeing the Beautiful Corpse approach to pay her respects, cut off a larger piece with a gleeful expression, the flesh dripping with blood and emitting an extremely rich fragrance, the cut-place bursting forth with Buddha Light, so enticing it made one's mouth water.
The old monk passed the slice of flesh to the Beautiful Corpse, speaking at the same time,
"Niece, would you like to taste your uncle-master's flesh?"
"Just cut it off, it's extremely fresh."
Just as she was full of anger, pondering over making a complaint, the Beautiful Corpse's spirit suddenly calmed down, almost breaking out in a cold sweat.
What kind of joke was this?
Who in the Demon Buddha Temple didn't know that the flesh of Shipi Arhat was of great significance?
Indeed, called "Buddha Fragrant Meat," it was known for being unmatched in delicacy, and consuming it had great benefits.
But the consequence was also simple; even with one bite, no matter if it was the body or the soul, even if reincarnated to Cultivate anew, one would never escape Shipi Arhat's palm.
Who would dare to eat such flesh? Who would want to?
The Beautiful Corpse quickly gave a dry laugh, shaking her head and declining: "Uncle-master's kindness is too much for me to refuse, but the Beautiful Corpse has just been resurrected and cannot yet partake in meat; I need to eat vegetarian for a few years."
After being refused, Shipi Arhat pouted childishly and stuffed the slice of flesh into his own mouth, his forty large white teeth tearing and chewing.
Juices splattered, the meaty aroma intensified.
As Shipi chewed, he complained,
"If niece doesn't appreciate it, that's one thing, but at least put some effort into your excuses."
"You can't eat meat, but you're aching to get that handsome monk into bed; one slap in the face wasn't enough for you, so you're eager to offer up a second chance."
"Those two youngsters may not be Buddha's sons and Bodhisattvas from the old rivals like Free Temple, Dharma Cakra Temple, and Guanyin Temple, but their strength isn't much less, and their backing isn't worse than yours, even better, in fact."
"Just take that monk called Wu Gou, his master, Old Man Qingjing... damn it, I've heard of this old man before but never expected him to be such a brutal figure. With one swing of his Blessing Divine Mallet, he nearly smashed my skull. Luckily, I'm no slouch myself and just managed to fight back."
"That old man is willing to hand over the two youngsters to us, which means he must be determined to enter the Demon Buddha Dao. In that case, they're as good as our own."
"Niece, you might as well hold off on that thought of complaining. I, your uncle-master, won't take action. Kongchan the trickster won't help you either. Your master dotes on you, but alone, he certainly can't go against Old Man Qingjing."
"If you have the skills to lure that handsome monk into bed, nobody can say anything."
"If you expect Lian Sha to help you catch him, strip him and deliver him to you... Tsk tsk, it could happen now, but think about the consequences. Maybe Old Man Qingjing will come to kill you instantly, knocking you on the head with that Divine Mallet, giving you a taste of what it's like to be Buddha, haha."
If there were outsiders present at this moment, they would certainly be surprised to find that Shipi Arhat, who had not made an appearance before, was quite the chatterbox.
Furthermore, his disposition and speech carried a childlike innocence, as if he had already reached the state of returning to the truth.
Who knows what was so amusing, but the entire hall echoed with the laughter of this Arhat.
He succinctly laid out the situation with his words.
Indeed, even though she looked to the onlookers above with pleading eyes, holding the Blood Lotus, hoping for the Rohan's help,
Her usually doting Master shook his head and said,
"Your senior uncle speaks the truth. We cannot employ force against those two children."
"That Old Man Qingjing from the South Sea is currently experiencing the Daoist Transformation Tribulation. He came by earlier and struck a deal with us, taking some volumes of the Demon Buddha Scripture. After his tribulation ends, he'll start a new branch, and our Demon Buddha Temple will gain another powerful Magic Veins."
"Even my Cultivation skills and methods are not a match for Old Man Qingjing."
"If I forced the issue, Qingjing might well retaliate, and could end up killing both you and me, my disciple."
"You thought highly of your skills and assured me there would be no mistake, which is why I helped you transform. Now it seems that your Heavenly Demon Secret Technique cannot separate the couple bound by hate through ten lifetimes."
At those words, the Beautiful Corpse felt utter despair.
She had just recently returned to life, her body artificially hastened in its growth, and she was still unaware of the worldly changes. C@o#nt-ent so!u$rc@e!d# from* MV4#LEMPY&R – My V!ir-t%ua%l L%ib@r^ary Emp^ire.#
Though the time had been short, the situation was no longer the same as when she ran wild in Southern Yue.
Back then, in the Cavernous Mystery Realm, especially as a disciple of such a great sect, she could dominate an entire province, stirring chaos.
But now, Cavernous Mystery heroes were everywhere.
All kinds of old monsters had also come out into the world.
Why had things changed so drastically?
Put simply, the Forbidden Technique had completely shattered, not even its residual power or traces remained, leaving only a few desolate Heavenly Tracks, utterly useless.
The Cultivation World was almost merging with the Mortal World.
Not to mention, the Great Abyss Domain from the Outer Realm was also slowly merging in... The future of this realm, even adept calculators like Duobao might not be able to predict accurately.
Seeing the Beautiful Corpse's defeated look, Lian Sha couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
He truly adored and spoiled the Beautiful Corpse, promptly offering another idea through a whispered message:
"My good disciple, don't be upset. As the saying goes, good things come through hardship."
"Those two are the 'couple bound by hate through ten lifetimes.' They have already accumulated a tremendous amount of mysterious tribulation energy over their past nine lives. If you could gain their assistance, you'd have a better chance of attaining the Bodhisattva Status someday."
"However, getting entangled with such a hounded couple through multiple lifetimes is no easy task."
"For now, make friends with the two of them. Once I return to our temple, I'll expend some resources to ask the Great Joyful Demon Buddha for a favor, to bestow a treasure and cast an Evil Fate Secret Spell on those two from afar. Then, I'll implant the curse root into your womb... This way, the destiny and tribulation energy of you three will become entwined. You cannot resolve the spell without jointly experiencing joy."
"Everyone will benefit from this eventually, and Old Man Qingjing won't be able to say much."
...
After Lian Sha finished speaking, the Beautiful Corpse, who was initially downcast, suddenly displayed a brilliant radiance on her face.
The disciples and Elders, who had been secretly sneering and watching her embarrass herself, witnessed this change and a common thought arose among them: It must be Lian Sha Arhat's intervention, but what sort of idea did he come up with that made the Beautiful Corpse confident about her success?
While ordinary disciples were clueless, Kongchan Arhat, who was Lian Sha's fellow disciple, immediately guessed the answer.
"To forcibly get involved with the couple bound by hate through ten lifetimes, apart from seeking the Great Joyful Demon Buddha's endowment of treasures and methods, there is no second possibility."
"But who doesn't know that the Great Joyful Demon Buddha has the biggest appetite? Lian Sha might have to pay a hefty price this time."
As these thoughts settled, Kongchan's gaze swept between the master and disciple pair.
Then, turning to his disciple Zhen Buchi, he chuckled quietly to himself:
"To pass through tribulation, one must first enter into tribulation. For tactics and fortune in planning to ward off tribulation, my junior brother is far behind me."
"I found a promising candidate like Zhen Buchi, but he had no choice."
"The greatest threat to my junior brother's Daoist Transformation Tribulation is the 'kinship tribulation,' so once he recognized the Beautiful Corpse as someone to guard against tribulation, he treated her as his daughter."
"Their father-daughter bond couldn't be truer, but by the looks of it, when the tribulation eventually erupts, my junior brother Lian Sha might not have the heart to kill his daughter. Instead, he might take his own life, using his lifelong cultivation to fulfill this young girl's fate."
"I know this, and Elder Shipi sees even clearer, but it just so happens we both forgot to remind Lian Sha."
"Even though my junior brother is destined to die, this is the price he pays for enjoying familial bliss and the father-daughter relationship."