The Heavenly Monk inserted the scepter into the earth, clasped his hands together, and said, "Amitabha, if I do not go to hell, who will?"
Watching the life force on the Heavenly Monk's face rapidly dissipate, Yu Daohen cupped his fists in salute, "Your junior, Yu Daohen, respectfully sends off Master Heavenly Monk on his journey."
As the words fell, a golden light emerged from the Heavenly Monk's body, soaring towards the sky before vanishing. His body also turned into a wisp of dust and melted into the earth.
"Soul returns to heaven, body returns to earth. Master Heavenly Monk truly lives up to his name."
With that, Yu Daohen pulled the scepter from the ground and headed towards the Mountain God Temple. However, he noticed a strange bead on the ground and frowned.
"What is this...?" Yu Daohen squatted down and picked up the bead to examine it. The bead was dark red and had a texture similar to Bodhi seeds. It was rumored that accomplished monks would leave behind sariras upon their passing. Could this be a sarira?
Yu Daohen was somewhat surprised, "I didn't expect this rumor to be true." However, there was no record of the sarira's effects. Even though he didn't know its purpose, this item was extremely valuable, easily worth ten million at the very least. If all else failed, he could sell it for money.
Just as Yu Daohen pocketed the sarira, he saw three figures running towards him rapidly. Yu Daohen's expression changed, and he instinctively looked at the approaching figures. "Damn it, could Shen Tianming still be here?"
He saw three monks in monastic robes approaching. Yu Daohen breathed a sigh of relief, realizing they were allies. The leading monk looked at the place where the Heavenly Monk had passed away, clasped his hands, and sighed, "Amitabha, I didn't expect Uncle-Master to leave us in the end." The two monks behind him also shook their heads helplessly.
Yu Daohen knew who these three monks were: the three abbots of Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, Wu Bei, Wu Nu, and Wu Xi. Although their individual strength was not on par with the Black List experts, combined, even Black List experts had to give them respect. They were known as the Three Stars of Ten Thousand Buddha Temple.
"Your junior greets the three masters," Yu Daohen said respectfully. The leading monk, Wu Bei, nodded and said, "Amitabha, surely the benefactor is the young master Yu from Jiangdu."
Yu Daohen handed over the compass, "Master Heavenly Monk asked me to give this to the three masters." Wu Bei took the compass and sighed, "Master Uncle had mentioned that he might pass away on this journey. Alas, it seems it could not be changed." Yu Daohen glanced at the spot where the Heavenly Monk had passed away. To come here willingly despite knowing the risk of death was a state of mind not easily attained by ordinary people.
The monk Wu Xi handed the Kanglong Mace to Yu Daohen, "We were delayed by the Three Ghosts earlier, which is why we couldn't arrive in time." Yu Daohen nodded and took the Kanglong Mace, feeling fortunate. It was a good thing this Kanglong Mace wasn't lost, otherwise, the loss would have been immense.
"Abbot Wu Bei, how will you handle this scepter?" Yu Daohen asked, looking at the scepter in his hand. Although it looked like a divine artifact, it was useless to him. He couldn't possibly fight with the Kanglong Mace in one hand and the scepter in the other.
Wu Bei glanced at the scepter in Yu Daohen's hand and said, "Then I will trouble Benefactor Yu to hand this scepter over to me. This is the relic of Master Uncle's life, and I will take it back to the temple." Yu Daohen nodded and handed over the scepter. As for the sarira, Yu Daohen said nothing, as if nothing had happened. He then recounted the incident of Shen Tianming being severely injured, as instructed by Master Heavenly Monk. Wu Bei and the others nodded, took the compass, and bid farewell.
Yu Daohen walked into the Mountain God Temple and saw that Tang Jilin and the others had not left. Seeing Yu Daohen return, their faces lit up with joy. "Little brother, you're back!"
Yu Daohen nodded and was about to recount his glorious deeds of chasing and attacking the fox spirit when a sharp pain suddenly gripped his heart. Yu Daohen clutched his chest, his face changing drastically. "Damn it, what is going on? Could I be having a heart attack?" His vision began to blur, and Yu Daohen knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. "No way, am I going to die like this? This is too unfair." Wait! Yu Daohen suddenly thought of something. Could that pyramid scheme leader have scammed him with some inferior product?
"Little brother, what's wrong?" The voices of those around him gradually faded. Finally, Yu Daohen closed his eyes and fainted.
When Yu Daohen opened his eyes again, he saw himself standing on a lake, and the sky was blood red. Yu Daohen knew where he was; the former Penglai Fairy had pulled him here before. However, back then, the sky was dark blue, but now it was crimson.
"Yo, this little brat's spiritual world is quite unique," a deep voice boomed. Yu Daohen quickly turned his head to look in the direction of the voice. He saw a person sitting cross-legged, with their back to him, wearing tattered clothes. Their hair cascaded over their shoulders, and it was impossible to tell if they were male or female. Yu Daohen swallowed, his guard up, not daring to approach. How could there be a living being in his spiritual world? How did this person get in?
The figure did not look at Yu Daohen but continued with their back turned. "Little brat, why are you so scared? I'm not going to eat you." Yu Daohen retorted indignantly, "Nonsense, wouldn't you be scared if a living creature suddenly appeared inside your body?" The figure hummed and nodded, "That's true, but in my current state, I probably don't have the ability to kill you." Even though the figure said so, Yu Daohen remained vigilant. After all, he didn't know if this person was friend or foe, and he couldn't rule out the possibility of them trying to take over his body.
"What are you?" Yu Daohen asked. The figure chuckled and retorted, "Shouldn't you be asking yourself that?" Yu Daohen suddenly realized. Could this person be the one who entered with the drop of ghost immortal blood he absorbed? "Are you that ghost immortal!" The figure laughed, "You're not as stupid as I thought." Damn it. That pyramid scheme leader was indeed trying to trick him. No wonder they were so kind as to help him; they had ulterior motives. Yu Daohen thought about it and then looked at the person in front of him with a solemn expression, "You entered with the intention of taking over my body, didn't you?" The figure seemed somewhat innocent, "Hey, you should speak with a clear conscience. Did I want to enter? You absorbed my blood, and I was forced to enter." "I'm the victim, okay." "This..." Yu Daohen thought it was indeed the case and changed the subject, "Then why aren't you facing me?" The figure's tone suddenly became serious, "Are you sure you want me to face you?" Yu Daohen swallowed, looking at the figure's back. Could this person be an ugly monster, with a terrifying appearance? Perhaps they felt self-conscious and didn't want to be judged by their looks? "Do you have a mole on your face that you're afraid will scare people?"