Chapter Sixteen: The Prayer Beads Destroyed, Heading to the General's Tomb!

"Waaah, it hurts!~"

After a flurry of blows, the giant Buddha finally dissipated into thin air, transforming back into a little monk who collapsed on the ground, his face contorted with terror.

"Don't kill me! Please, don't kill me!~"

"Why do you persist in guarding this temple and deluding the minds of the people?"

Ling'er descended. In her true form as the goddess Nuwa, she radiated majesty. Every word she uttered carried a magical authority that compelled submission.

"I... I was originally the prayer beads in the hands of Bodhidharma. I have been cultivating for nine hundred and ninety-nine years. The scriptures say that all living beings possess Buddha-nature and can be saved. If I bring them into the fold of Buddhism, the Buddha will surely praise me!"

The little monk spoke with a sense of self-righteousness. The more Ling'er listened, the angrier she became. All these years, the Buddha had been using these scriptures—which only drove people to abandon their lives and families—to deceive the masses. A demon spawned from Bodhidharma's prayer beads, his nature so deeply ingrained with this twisted "Buddhism" that he was beyond redemption.

"Little monk, you have violated the laws of the Great Tang by deceiving the people and coercing them into monkhood. As the Acting Prefect of Suzhou, I sentence you to the depths of the Yellow Springs, never to be reincarnated!"

Ling'er's voice rang out like thunder. As she finished, the Human Path summoned a bolt of lightning, as thick as a water barrel, which struck the little monk with brutal force. He didn't even have time to utter a sound before he was blasted into fine dust, scattering into the wind, leaving no trace behind in the mortal world.

Anu and Tang Yu stared at Ling'er in astonishment. This lightning did not seem to be a mere immortal art, nor did it feel like anything belonging to the mortal realm. As cultivators, they could clearly sense a trace of the Heavenly Dao within the strike.

"Princess, that lightning..." Anu asked cautiously, terrified that the majestic Princess might decide to strike her next. Given her small stature, she could not withstand even a fraction of that power.

Ling'er, noticing their fear, gently performed a hand seal. Her Nuwa form dissipated, and she returned to her usual adorable self before explaining.

"Our world is composed of three paths: the Heavenly Path, the Earthly Path, and the Human Path. The Heavenly Path represents the Heavenly Court, the Earthly Path is the Underworld, and the Human Path consists of mortal powers or nations. Within the Great Tang, the human race naturally holds dominance. As the Acting Prefect of Suzhou, I have the authority to invoke the Human Path to deal with a demon like those prayer beads that prey on the people."

The explanation only left Anu and Tang Yu more bewildered.

"Then... why can't the King of the Miao hold such power?" Tang Yu asked impatiently. In Nanzhao, the Moon Worshipping Cult was their greatest enemy; if they could also summon such lightning...

Before Ling'er could answer, Lin Yueru chimed in: "Tch, does your Nanzhao have a nation united in heart and mind? To invoke the Human Path, a power must have the recognition of ninety-nine percent of its race. Furthermore, once recognized, only the officials in charge of each prefecture possess this strength, and it must never be used for evil—only for the future of the human race. Even with that, I don't have this power yet!"

When put that way, Tang Yu understood. The Great Tang, through its immense strength and advancements, had essentially conquered the world; there wasn't a single human nation that didn't recognize the Great Tang as the leader of the human race. But what about Nanzhao? Never mind the entire human race—even within their own country, how many recognized the King of the Miao? More than half the population believed in the Moon Worshipping Cult!

*Sigh*, if only they had followed the Great Tang's example and enlightened their people sooner.

"Enough, it’s almost ten o'clock. At two o'clock, the sun's rays are at their peak; we must speed up!"

"Wait, I just received word from the Imperial Guards. The source of the trouble in White River Village is in the General's Tomb north of Blackwater Town! The Red Ghost King is there!"

A carrier pigeon flew from the distance and landed in Lin Yueru's hand. She opened the scroll, read the intelligence, and announced it aloud.

"Good, let’s pick up the pace and aim to resolve this today!"

...

At twelve noon, taking advantage of the sunlight to repel the undead, the group arrived outside the General's Tomb. The moment they stepped into the woods, the sunlight dimmed—not because of the tree canopy, but because they could literally feel the Yang energy dissipating.

"Be careful. We have stepped into the territory of the Red Ghost King." Ling'er cast four or five buffs to protect the group, warning them vigilantly. To be able to shroud the sunlight—the thousand-year-old Red Ghost King was truly as formidable as rumors suggested.

"I'll take the lead. Anu, watch our backs," Tang Yu said, drawing his long sword and stepping to the front. The four of them stood in formation, guarding their respective directions as they slowly advanced.

Ling'er's judgment was spot on. They hadn't gone far when a thick miasma enveloped them. By the time Ling'er used a Whirlwind Spell to clear the air, they discovered that the sky had turned pitch black.

No, that wasn't right. They had stepped into a pocket dimension—an independent space maintained by the ghost power of the thousand-year-old Red Ghost King!

"What a powerful Red Ghost King, to be able to sustain a spatial realm... Anu, Tang Yu, Yueru, hold your weapons tight and be ready to fight! We have entered their stronghold!"

"Understood!"

Two swords and a whip were drawn. Anu released all her scouting insects, leaving none behind.

They continued forward, passing through a graveyard littered with bones and traversing the desolate land until they finally encountered their first wave of enemies: a swarm—no, over a thousand surging zombies!

"Save your strength, leave this wave to me!" Tang Yu stepped forward, his sword moving like a phantom, carving profound light patterns into the air.

"Flying Stars!"

With every flick of his blade, a sword-flower bloomed, and from each blossom, a small hexagram shot out. The hexagrams flew forward at high speed, shredding every zombie in their path. By the time the light trails dissipated, all thousand zombies lay dead by Tang Yu's hand.

"Tang Yu, you're amazing!" Anu cheered, jumping onto Tang Yu. Taking on a thousand enemies at once—even if they were just zombies—was incredibly impressive!

"They were just small fries; it wasn't much effort." Tang Yu ruffled Anu's hair and set her down. "I've used nearly half of my true energy. From here on, I'll have to rely on you and the Princess."

"Don't worry, the Red Ghost King is no match for Ling'er!" Lin Yueru confidently took the lead, guiding the group to break down the gates of the General's Tomb and stepping inside.

Just as they entered, the tomb trembled, and a coffin slowly began to rise from the ground.

"Seal Talisman, Celestial Master Talisman, Earth-Cracking Talisman, Falling Rock Talisman!"

Before the coffin could even fully rise, Ling'er unleashed a series of talismans, wrapping the coffin tightly and sealing it back into the earth, preventing even a sliver of spiritual energy from escaping.

Tang Yu and Yueru twitched. Given the tremors, they had expected some powerful boss to burst out for a fight. How could it be buried back into the ground without even a bubble being raised? And with the array of talismans Ling'er had used, it was unlikely that whatever monster was inside would survive more than a year.

Poor little boss—wasn't its death a bit too tragic?