[The White Elephant Demon’s lips curl upward, and it can no longer suppress the smile on its face. Halfway through smiling, because it failed to endure the trial, it suddenly jolts awake and opens its eyes.]

[The moment its eyes open, it sees you standing by the couch, holding a glowing sharp weapon.]

[The White Elephant Demon rolls upright, making the couch creak loudly. Rubbing its sleepy eyes, it asks in puzzlement, Junior Brother, what is this?]

[Caught red-handed, Apostle, how do you answer?]

[1. Switch to the dragonborn Shell, reveal your ancient dragon true form, and say furiously: Hey! You bald thief, as a Senior Brother you are so stingy that you would not even gift your Junior Brother a ritual implement for entering the sect. In that case, hand over your life as compensation!]

[2. Switch to the Shell of Saio Chisoku-hime, strike a seductive pose, and say: Thanks to Senior Brother’s care, Junior Brother has newly shaped a beautiful female fleshly body, and has come specially to thank Senior Brother. I only hope Senior Brother will be tender with me.]

[3. Remain in the Child of Evil’s Shell, bend at the waist respectfully, and say: Senior Brother, Junior Brother has found a fine ritual implement. There is an old saying, a treasured sword is given to a hero, a ritual implement is presented to a Buddha, so I have come here to present it to my gracious elder brother.]

The blood-red text options before his eyes shook violently without pause, indicating that if he chose wrong, he would die and his Dao would vanish.

Lin Xun swept his eyes over them once. Without time to think carefully, he hurriedly pressed the option.

[You lower your head and bend at the waist, presenting the Demon-Suppressing Evil-Subduing Great Vajra Pestle with both hands as you say, Senior Brother, Junior Brother has been reading Buddhist scriptures for a long time and suddenly felt bored, so I wandered around the dojo.]

[Then I happened to see such a fine ritual implement in the Demon-Subduing Hall. Thinking of Senior Brother’s kindness, I brought this ritual implement to present to Senior Brother. I hope Senior Brother will kindly accept it.]

[Seeing the item in your hands shining with treasure light and indeed appearing to be an excellent ritual implement, the White Elephant Demon is just about to praise you with a smile and accept it, when it feels that something is off.]

[Rubbing its eyes, it looks more carefully and discovers that the thing in your hands is actually the core ritual implement of the Demon-Subduing Grand Formation.]

[The White Elephant Demon starts in alarm and hurriedly waves its hands, saying, Junior Brother, absolutely not, absolutely not! Why did you bring this thing here?!]

[This is the core ritual implement in the Demon-Subduing Hall, used specifically for converting newly entered disciples. If the Bodhisattva learns that you privately took it, she will definitely punish you severely!]

[Since the Bodhisattva has not yet returned, hurry and put it back exactly as it was. Otherwise even Senior Brother will be implicated by you…]

[You put on a suddenly enlightened expression and say, No wonder such a fine ritual implement was placed in the Demon-Subduing Hall. So that was the reason. Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother. Junior Brother will put the ritual implement back at once.]

[As you speak, before the White Elephant Demon can react, you hurriedly withdraw from the side room…]

Lin Xun grinned. In ancient times, there was Cao Cao presenting a dagger. Today, there is Lin Xun presenting a ritual implement.

He knew very well that time was tight now. He had to speed things up and complete a whole series of actions before the White Elephant Demon reacted.

[The White Elephant Demon watches as you jog all the way out of the side room. It scratches its head, always feeling that something is off, but for a moment cannot put its finger on it.]

[It secretly thinks that this dragon demon Junior Brother truly is a strange one. How could he be so foolish as to secretly take a public ritual implement and gift it to someone else?]

[The Bodhisattva is always saying that it is great and foolishly stupid, but now it seems that this newly entered Junior Brother is the true fool.]

[Eh? Could it be that the Bodhisattva simply likes dull-witted disciples? No wonder both it and Junior Brother are so favored. So the Bodhisattva actually has such a peculiar preference?]

[It lets out a sigh and thinks that although Junior Brother is somewhat stupid, at least his heart is not bad. When he found a good item, the very first person he thought of was it, his Senior Brother.]

[Forming an alliance with Junior Brother and jointly serving the Bodhisattva in the future seems without doubt to be the correct decision.]

[The White Elephant Demon shakes its head and lies back down, preparing to continue cultivating. By habit, it reaches toward its waist, but touches nothing.]

[Its heart jolts, and all drowsiness vanishes at once as it blurts out, Where is the permit?!]

[The White Elephant Demon hurriedly gets up and searches around the couch and side room, but cannot find it anywhere.]

[Sweat beads on its forehead as it says in confusion, How strange. Before sleeping, this permit was still at my waist. How could it disappear for no reason?]

[At this moment, it cannot help but connect it to Junior Brother’s earlier unnatural behavior, and a flash of inspiration suddenly strikes its mind…]

[The White Elephant Demon widens its eyes and cries out in shock, It remembers what was wrong! How did Junior Brother take out the core ritual implement of the Demon-Subduing Grand Formation?!]

[The ritual implement is protected by layer upon layer of Buddha light. Aside from the Bodhisattva herself arriving, no one can remove the core formation eye!]

[If the formation-eye ritual implement was taken out, that means the Demon-Subduing Grand Formation has already lost its effect. Could it be… could it be that this strange dragon demon was never converted at all?]

[The White Elephant Demon slaps its forehead and shouts, So that’s it, so that’s it!]

[This fellow most likely stole its permit as well. Junior Brother Dragon Demon was not presenting treasure just now, but trying to assassinate and ambush it while it cultivated!]

[With that thought, the White Elephant Demon cannot help but become furiously enraged. A blood-red killing light rises in its eyes, and all the muscles on its body swell into knotted masses…]

[It stretches out its hand in a summoning gesture, and two iron hammers fly out from its sleeve, growing from small to large until they transform into ten-thousand-jun lotus hammers grasped tightly in its hands!]

[With a swing of its iron hammer, the door of the side room and even the doorframe are smashed apart and sent flying. Burning with fury, it charges out of the Wondrous Light Hall like a wild beast!]

[Upon arriving in the dojo, it sees that the doors of both the Wondrous Dharma Hall and Wondrous Treasure Hall stand wide open, with chaos inside as though thieves had struck.]

[A sense of foreboding immediately rises in its heart. It hurriedly steps forward and inspects more carefully, only to find scripture cabinets and treasure cabinets toppled over in both halls, while the precious treasures and cultivation methods on the uppermost shelves have all vanished without a trace…]

[And the culprit behind all of this, that damned dragon demon beast, has also disappeared to parts unknown!]

[When the White Elephant Demon sees this situation, it is so furious that it nearly undergoes nirvanic extinction on the spot!]

[The Bodhisattva ordered it to guard the dojo and convert the dragon demon, yet now the dragon demon conversion has failed and the treasures of the dojo have been plundered by that dragon demon. If the Bodhisattva returns and does not skin it alive and rip out its tendons, that would already count as great compassion.]

[Its roar fills the entire dojo…]

[Beast! Hand over your life!]

[The White Elephant Demon jumps about in furious rage, but even after searching the entire dojo with its iron hammers raised, it still cannot find any trace of that damned dragon demon beast.]

[The White Elephant Demon rages helplessly in place for a long while, smashing the ground with its two iron hammers so hard that broken stones fly everywhere. Only then does the fury in its heart ease slightly.]

[Ferocity and killing intent flash in its tiny eyes as it thinks that the dragon demon stole its permit, and only then could it pass through the restrictions to enter the Wondrous Treasure Hall and the second floor of the Wondrous Dharma Hall to steal treasures and cultivation methods.]

[But this dragon demon absolutely cannot escape from the dojo protected by the grand formation. At present, there is only one remaining place that cannot be checked because it is sealed by restriction…]

[It flies to the corner of the dojo, arriving before the Demon-Execution Hall. On the hall doors and the dust-covered ground before the deserted hall, which has long gone untended and gathered dust, it sees unmistakably clear footprints and handprints, and there are only footprints going in, with none coming out.]

[Its heart immediately understands that this bastard is most likely hiding inside the Evil-Execution Hall!]

[Now that the White Elephant Demon has lost the Passage Ordination Permit, even if it wanted to enter the Evil-Execution Hall, it could not get in. Moreover, the Evil-Execution Hall is incomparably dangerous, and once one stays inside for long, it is essentially a one-way trip.]

[Only disciples who have committed monstrous faults, or evil demons burdened with grievous killing karma, would be imprisoned by the Bodhisattva inside the Evil-Execution Hall as a warning to others.]

[It shouts toward the hall doors, Dragon demon! If you come out immediately and return the treasures and cultivation methods, it can let bygones be bygones and forgive your offense. But if you remain stubborn and continue hiding inside the Evil-Execution Hall, then even ten lives would not be enough for you to die with!]

[The White Elephant Demon has already made up its mind that once this fellow comes out, it will skin him alive and tear out his tendons, then imprison his soul and torment it properly, first venting the malice in its heart.]

[If not for the Bodhisattva’s Dharma decree, it would definitely make this beast die amid endless pain.]

[…]

[Within the treasure hall, you faintly hear the White Elephant’s shouts in your ears, but the sound is hazy and indistinct, impossible to hear clearly.]

[Just as you are about to respond, the Extreme Evil Demonic Path Asura in front of you thrusts its steel fork viciously toward you!]

[You hurriedly twist aside to dodge. With a forward thrust of the Demon-Suppressing Evil-Subduing Great Vajra Pestle in your hand, now transformed into a long weapon, you pierce it clean through the heart and leave it dissipating into specks of black light.]

[Before you even have time to catch your breath, a longsword thrusts toward the small of your back. You turn and stab backward, killing the ambushing Asura where it stands.]

[You look around. Over a hundred Asuras have already surrounded you from all sides. Their eyes are filled with dense malice, and the corners of their wicked smiles nearly split to their ears, making one’s spine turn cold…]

[Though you are clearly within the Demon-Execution Hall, the surroundings resemble Avici Hell, with boiling oil cauldrons, crimson lava, and red-hot bronze pillars, while one gaunt, haggard walking corpse after another endures endless torment there.]

Lin Xun gritted his teeth.

Damn! There really is a reason this ghost place was listed as a forbidden hall.