「Tai Lan Country. Banku. Thonburi Square.」

Ghost Night gazed at the rapidly approaching helicopter in the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.

’The number of souls I’ve harvested is nowhere near enough. A proper fight would be a bit of a workout, and that’s just too much trouble. I should speed things up. After all, an opportunity this good is hard to come by...’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

He mulled it over for a moment and instantly made his decision.

A single Monk King wasn’t much of a threat to him, but it was always better to conserve strength when possible. Besides, under the strict control of *that* person, the Seven Mo Luo’s movements were severely restricted. They were forced to operate from the shadows, collecting usable souls only from death row inmates and various battlefields. An opportunity to harvest soul magnetic fields on this scale was incredibly rare for him.

However, just as he was about to command his three Feathered Serpent Shadows to act more quickly, something happened in the square that made his expression tense.

VMMMM!!

In the heart of the chaotic square, a column of golden light suddenly shot toward the sky. Within it, countless specks of gold converged, gradually forming a humanoid figure bathed in gold. Dressed in monastic robes, its features vaguely resembled those of Monk King Rajana. The figure emanated a pure, serene aura, like a Divine Buddha walking among mortals.

Once the golden figure was fully formed, it slowly stepped out of the pillar of light. It surveyed the scene, its eyes downcast, a look of profound compassion and sorrow in them.

It was a golden avatar, manifested from a magnetic field!

"Alas."

He pressed his palms together before his chest and murmured a Buddhist mantra.

VMMMM!!

As the mantra left his lips, a ring of golden magnetic light radiated outward, enveloping the immediate area.

Golden lotuses bloomed from the ground. Bathed in the golden radiance, the transparent, ghost-like Spirit Bodies were ensnared, unable to move a muscle.

’His true body is so far away, yet he can project a magnetic field avatar from this distance?’

’The mind goes where it will, unhindered in all ten directions. One of the Six Buddhist Spiritual Powers... the Divine Foot Skill? Heh. This old monk actually has some skills.’

Ghost Night instantly understood what ability his opponent had just used.

According to the legends of the Buddhist Sect, those who achieve the supreme Fruit Position will spontaneously manifest Divine Powers. There are six such powers in total, collectively known as the Six Buddhist Spiritual Powers.

The feeling of being watched and targeted that he had felt earlier came from another of the Six Buddhist Spiritual Powers: the Celestial Eye.

Legend has it that the Celestial Eye can perceive the life, death, suffering, and joy of all beings across the Three Realms and Six Paths, and can see all shapes and colors in the mortal world without any obstruction.

But in truth, this was an exaggeration.

While the Celestial Eye allowed its user to see through walls by adjusting their eyes to receive light-based magnetic signals, seeing for thousands of miles at a glance remained impossible.

In practice, the ability worked by keenly sensing changes in magnetic fields to perceive distant objects. When facing an enemy, it could even be used to see through to their vital points and weaknesses in their magnetic field.

As for Master Zama, who was currently presiding over the Jade Buddha Temple, the Divine Power he used to communicate remotely with Rajana and Boku was Telepathy, another of the Six Spiritual Powers. It allowed him to perceive the minds of others and even lock onto their magnetic fields. Within a certain range, he could achieve Heart Sealing Heart, a feat remarkably similar to the Chief Commissioner’s own ability.

In reality, however, Master Zama was not a Saint Awakening. He had only come to master this terrifying ability after blinding himself in his youth and assiduously cultivating Telepathy for many years.

The remote magnetic field projection that Monk King Rajana was now displaying was the Divine Foot Skill, another of the Six Spiritual Powers. Legend claimed it granted the user the ability to appear anywhere they wished, freely and without obstruction.

However, this Divine Power was not as limitless as the legends suggested. It could only be used within a certain range. Furthermore, the farther away the user’s true body was, the weaker the manifested magnetic field would be. As a result, this avatar created by the Divine Foot Skill only had a magnetic field with a range of about a dozen meters—nowhere near enough to save everyone in the square.

But the Divine Fragment quickly located the source of the Calamity: the Feathered Serpent Shadows.

"Demon!"

The golden avatar thrust its palm forward, blasting out a golden, runic seal. It slammed into the nearest Feathered Serpent Shadow, which was instantly incinerated by the blazing light. The shadow struggled and shrieked as it dissolved into black smoke.

As a minuscule fraction of Ghost Night’s own power, a single Feathered Serpent Shadow was not particularly strong.

’Tsk. If that’s how it’s going to be, I’ll just have to speed things up a bit.’

A cold smile touched Ghost Night’s lips. With a light tap of his foot, he leaped into the air and shot toward the square.

Rattled by Rajana manifesting a Golden Body via Divine Foot Skill from over ten kilometers away, he finally decided to stop being so complacent. He would get a little serious before the old monk’s true self arrived.

VMMMM!!

Just then, his second Feathered Serpent Shadow was destroyed by the Golden Body.

’You like to fight, don’t you? Let’s see if you can keep up.’

Ghost Night smirked. Suddenly, his long shadow began to twist and writhe violently, as if countless eggs were hatching within it.

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!!

In the next instant, a virtually endless tide of Feathered Serpent Shadows erupted from his body. Like a pandemonium of demons, they swarmed madly toward the surrounding crowd.

AHHHH!!

Countless terrified screams erupted. The fleeing citizens were attacked by the Feathered Serpent Shadows and dropped to the ground one after another. Their Spirit Bodies quickly floated up from their physical forms, becoming a part of Ghost Night’s power.

The Golden Body took in this horrific scene. A sharp glint flashed in its compassionate eyes, and it prepared to strike again.

However, a figure appeared before it could act.

Countless Feathered Serpent Shadows spilled from his shadow. The majority of them converged behind him, combining and swelling in size.

Three meters...

Four meters...

Five meters!!

A colossal Feathered Serpent Shadow, formed from the countless smaller ones, loomed like a prehistoric beast, staring with infinite malice at Rajana’s Golden Body.

"Old monk, you think a mere avatar from your Divine Foot Skill can stop me? Send your real body. A resilient soul like yours should be quite delicious."

A smile touched Ghost Night’s lips. The colossal Feathered Serpent Shadow behind him suddenly lunged, swallowing the Golden Body whole.

Aboard the distant helicopter, Rajana’s eyes snapped open. A strange light flickered within them, and the look of compassion on his face deepened.

He knew that the people in Thonburi Square were likely doomed.

Just as he feared, when his helicopter arrived over Thonburi Square, the once-bustling plaza was deathly silent. The ground was littered with bodies, all physically unharmed but completely lifeless. A dense swarm of ethereal figures that had drifted from the corpses now wandered aimlessly across the square.

And there, in the center of Thonburi Square, Ghost Night sat leisurely atop the head of the colossal statue of the King of Thonburi. He casually beckoned to the wandering Spirit Body of a little girl. With a gentle application of Magnetic Field Power, he crushed it, kneading it into a small ball. His eyes fixed on Rajana in the helicopter, he smiled, then casually tossed the balled-up Spirit Body into his mouth.