Chapter 192
Chapter 192
Amid Ghost Buddha Faceless’s anguished roars, the dark clouds above him scattered at tremendous speed.
More and more black qi poured out of his body, and his entire form gradually turned transparent.
Masters Numu and Kongchan knelt before Ghost Buddha Faceless and began reciting the *Sutra of the Fundamental Vows of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva*.
“Throughout myriad worlds and lands, some have hells and some have none; some possess the Dharma of the Buddha and some do not.
“The same holds even for shravakas and pratyekabuddhas. It is not limited to the retribution of the hells alone.”
The young monks, wandering ghosts, and spirits all knelt and kowtowed.
“We respectfully see our patriarch off to rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss!”
At that moment, a baby ghost quietly crawled out of the ground.
Cunning filled its face. While everyone was caught off guard, it crept over to a seated skeleton and smashed the bones apart with one palm.
Then it transformed into a stream of black smoke and fled into the distance.
The sudden turn left everyone too stunned to react.
Ghost Buddha Faceless had already faded by more than half. He stared blankly for an instant, then reached out with trembling hands, trying to catch the fragments of bone blowing away on the wind.
“Senior… Brother!”
That was right. The skeleton had belonged to Ghost Buddha Faceless’s eldest senior brother, Master Fajie.
“Senior Brother!”
Ghost Buddha Faceless threw back his head and roared.
Black clouds rapidly gathered overhead. In the blink of an eye, heavenly thunder exploded across the sky-but when its bolts struck the clouds, they could not break through!
Yin winds howled. The blood moon in the sky swelled visibly until it was the size of a millstone, hanging at an angle behind Ghost Buddha Faceless.
The black qi that had been dispersing in every direction rushed back into his body.
And that was far from all.
Ghost Buddha Faceless opened his mouth and instantly devoured every remnant soul and vicious spirit within a hundred li. Not even the ghosts who had gathered nearby to hear the sutras escaped.
He reached out with a deathly pale hand and grasped at empty air. The remaining bones of the fellow disciples he had once bitten to death all merged into his body.
Amid a deep rumble, the toppled statue of the Buddha behind him rose from the ground.
But there was no compassion left in this Buddha. Its face was hideously twisted, and tears of blood streamed from both eyes.
Bronze mask, black blade, blood-red robe-Ghost Buddha!
The bloodstained letter floated beside him, pulsing with black qi.
“All beings suffer? Kekekeke! To be born is suffering! To live is suffering upon suffering! I am merciful. I shall deliver every last one of you!”
Ghost Buddha raised his right hand, ghostly qi coiling around it, and prepared to strike all the living beings before him.
Master Kongchan hurriedly stepped forward and flung his kasaya over Ghost Buddha’s shoulders.
“Namo Amitabha Buddha! The sea of suffering is boundless, but the shore lies wherever one turns back! You must not do this, Patriarch! Wake up!”
Ghost Buddha looked at the young monks kneeling before him, their faces filled with concern and attachment. Then he looked at Master Kongchan, whose beard was white as snow and whose eyes brimmed with tears.
Clutching his head, Ghost Buddha let out an agonized roar.
“Heaven’s Way is unjust! The Buddha has no mercy! The fault was mine alone-why must my senior brother be left without even his bones?
“Leave! All of you, leave now! Return to Jinguang Temple! Until Wuxin comes out, none of you are permitted to leave!”
As he roared, the thunder grew louder and the yin winds more violent.
Ghost Buddha turned with difficulty. Ghostly fire flickered in his eyes as he glared coldly at Master Numu.
“You! Get! Out!”
With that, he transformed into a streak of blood-red light and chased after the fleeing baby ghost.
Every living creature touched by that light along the way instantly became a bleached skeleton.
“Kekekekeke!”
On Hemp-clad Mountain, Hemp-clad Grandmother abruptly opened her eyes in the middle of her cultivation.
“What has come out? What tremendous baleful qi!”
Bai Wuwei, still on the road, stopped short and stared gravely into the distance.
“Ghost Buddha Faceless?!”
In the little courtyard, Deaf Granny, Hu Qingshan, and the others all raised their heads at once.
“A great evil has entered the world!”
Hua Jiunan’s face turned grave.
“Granny, you just used a secret art. Please stay here and rest. I’ll go with Sixth Brother Hui and Brother Chang to have a look.”