"Proprietor, have you ever heard about the Buddha-Worship Glazed Tower in Celestial Buddha City? Are there any famous figures there?"

The caravan soon left the vicinity of Yinfeng Mountain. Only after leaving the area did everyone finally let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, nothing else happened on the subsequent journey. They had all been on pins and needles, jumping at every shadow.

Aboard the carriage, Yang An asked the caravan proprietor with keen interest.

"Please, don't call me that. My name is Jia Fugui. Immortal Master, just call me by my name."

The caravan proprietor, Jia Fugui, said with trepidation, not daring to put on airs in front of this Immortal Master.

'I didn't expect this proprietor's name to also be Fugui. What a coincidence.'

Yang An thought of his own Corpse Slave, who had the same name.

"The Buddha-Worship Glazed Tower is filled with High Monks. They are masters far beyond the reach of people like us. However, all of us in Celestial Buddha City know of their existence. They are the ones who protect the common folk in our city."

Jia Fugui's face filled with piety. It was clear that because they received the Great Virtue Temple's protection, they were all its devout followers.

Due to his preconceived notions, Yang An did not have a good impression of the Great Virtue Temple.

The White Buddha Temple in Dingzhou's Jiunan Town was also a branch of the Great Virtue Temple, yet it was involved in sordid dealings, colluding with Demon Fiends. 'Not a single one of those bald-headed asses is a good person.'

'Back when I was still in Han State, the Great Virtue Temple came to the Life Crane Sect, and a great battle broke out. That one incident was very revealing. The Cultivation Methods practiced by those Monks from the Great Virtue Temple didn't look like some secret scriptures of the Buddhist Sect at all. They seemed more like Demon Fiends.'

'Clearly, these Cultivators from the Buddhist Sect were no different from any other Cultivators.'

"The Glazed Tower enshrines one Grand Master and three Masters. The Grand Master is called Zen Master Qing Nan, and the three Masters are De Yu, De Chan, and De Sheng! Every single household in Celestial Buddha City keeps incense burning for them, never letting it stop. We make our offerings to the great Zen Master and the three Masters."

Jia Fugui explained slowly. After mentioning their names, he quickly shut his eyes, pressed his palms together, and chanted a few lines of scripture.

It seemed that for him, just speaking their names was an act of great disrespect, and his chanting was a plea for forgiveness.

Yang An nodded at this.

'These peculiar names are all Buddhist Dharma names.' The thought also reminded him of Grand Abbot De Lan and Zen Master Qing Yin, whom he had met before.

'If the Dharma names correspond to their Cultivation Level, then it would make perfect sense.'

'Grand Abbot De Lan was a Cultivator at the Corpse Transformation realm, while Zen Master Qing Yin, who led the attack on the Life Crane Sect, was a Great Power at the Zombie God realm.'

'In other words, inside Celestial Buddha City's Glazed Tower, there is at least one Zombie God and three at the Corpse Transformation realm.'

'By the standards of other State Territories, their position as guardians of the Glazed Tower and Celestial Buddha City is equivalent to that of a State Lord.'

Yang An then asked about the Buddhist Assembly. However, as a commoner, Jia Fugui had no chance to be involved with such matters and couldn't provide much information.

According to him, though, the triennial Buddhist Assembly was the liveliest time in Celestial Buddha City. Many Immortal Masters and visiting Monks could be seen then.

At this time, many people would choose to stay indoors, afraid of accidentally offending one of these Immortal Masters. The City Lord's Mansion would also enforce a very strict curfew on the common people.

Given Jia Fugui's station, this was all the information he could provide, but Yang An thanked him nonetheless.

Ten days later, the caravan finally arrived at Celestial Buddha City.

As the capital city of Cyan Lotus State, Celestial Buddha City was quite grand. Even from a distance, the thick scent of burning incense was already wafting through the air.

The city was towering and imposing. Its walls were densely packed with Buddhist Shrines enshrining countless statues of Buddha, all of which radiated a thick, sacred aura and a brilliant glow.

A candle was lit before each Buddhist Shrine. Alongside them were many melted stubs, the red wax trickling down the crevices of the wall like blood.

Even from outside, one's gaze was immediately drawn to the towering Glazed Tower standing sentinel within the city, like its guardian deity.

The caravan paid a hefty sum of Silver Coins to enter the city with its cargo. Yang An followed them inside Celestial Buddha City, his brow furrowed in a frown.

The moment he entered, the scent of incense grew even more overpowering. It was so pungent that it stung his eyes and made him feel unwell.

He also saw many commoners on the streets. Some chanted abstruse scriptures as they walked, while others knelt in pious prostration, kowtowing toward the Glazed Tower.

Even the children on the street had characters that looked like Sanskrit tattooed on their bodies and faces.

To an outsider, the city might have seemed peaceful and harmonious—a rare haven of tranquility. But to Yang An, it was utterly bizarre.

These commoners were acting as if they had gone mad, their behavior deeply unsettling.

'The Great Virtue Temple protects these people and only asks for their faith in return. But what's the use of faith? Could it be connected to the Great Virtue Temple's Cultivation Method?'

Yang An had heard of the path of faith through incense offerings in both his past and present lives.

'But I don't believe this is a normal form of faith. There must be a secret here, one that I can only uncover by getting inside the Great Virtue Temple.'

Jia Fugui was considered a wealthy man in Celestial Buddha City. The risks of his trade as a traveling merchant allowed him to accumulate wealth quickly, ensuring he lived a better life than most commoners.

Yang An had planned to take his leave after arriving in Celestial Buddha City, but Jia Fugui warmly invited him to stay at his home to wait for the Buddhist Assembly, expressing his gratitude for saving his life.

He was in an unfamiliar city, and his Cultivation Level was only at the Fake Food realm. He could sense countless other cultivation auras within the city. After a moment's thought, Yang An agreed. It would serve as a temporary base.

There were still over ten days until the Buddhist Assembly. He decided to lie low and see how things unfolded.

In the vast Celestial Buddha City, Jia Fugui's home was a sizable mansion. It even contained a small garden, a testament to his substantial wealth.

Jia Fugui led him into the home. Throughout the mansion's courtyards, there were Buddha statues everywhere, complete with offerings of incense and candles.

Yang An swept his gaze across the area. He counted no fewer than twenty statues in plain sight—along the corridors, in the corners, and in the courtyards. They were everywhere.

Besides incense and candles, there were also offerings of fruit and meat.

'This is the first time I've ever seen meat used as an offering for Buddha statues,' Yang An thought. 'And it's raw meat, at that.'

Even the courtyard walls were engraved with Sanskrit scriptures, painted over in striking red lacquer.

'It's madness,' he thought. 'Their faith has driven them mad.'

After arranging for Yang An to rest in a secluded courtyard, a servant rushed to Jia Fugui's side and whispered a few words in his ear. Jia Fugui's expression changed, and he excused himself before departing.

With his perception, and at such a close distance, Yang An naturally heard it clearly.

The servant had said, "The young miss has gone mad again!"

Yang An extended his perception and discovered a crowd gathered in another courtyard of the mansion, mostly composed of servants from the Jia household.

However, he paid it no mind. It was Jia Fugui's family business, after all. He did, however, notice a faint, unusual aura.

After entering the room in the courtyard Jia Fugui had arranged for him, Yang An initially planned to use the opportunity to condense more Celestial Gnomon Light.

His Cultivation Level was sealed, so active cultivation was out of the question for now. Besides, his Mora Buddha's Acupoint was constantly refining Mana on its own, so that wasn't a concern.

The Nine Forces Shocking Dragon technique didn't cause a huge disturbance, but this was Celestial Buddha City. With the Buddhist Assembly approaching, the city was teeming with Cultivators. To avoid detection, Yang An had no plans to practice it.

That left the Celestial Gnomon Light as the most suitable option.

He instructed the servants in the Jia Mansion to leave him undisturbed. Inside the room, Yang An had just sat down cross-legged when he froze.

His mind buzzed, as if something had invisibly struck the back of his head.

'This familiar feeling... It's the Tree of Flesh and Blood!'

Yang An suddenly recalled that the six-month period the Workshop Master had mentioned had already passed.

'The Tree of Flesh and Blood is active now. Does this mean the fusion of the Forbidden Artifact Fragment was successful?'

He immediately immersed his consciousness in the Tree of Flesh and Blood within his mind, and he once again saw the familiar trunk with its countless branches.

Half a year had passed. Perhaps because of the work on the Forbidden Artifact Fragment, all the members of the Scripture Defector Association had been silent, with no messages whatsoever.

Looking at the Tree of Flesh and Blood now, it didn't appear to have changed much. Yet, Yang An thought he could smell a faint scent emanating from it.

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the scent was like the decaying stench of a disemboweled creature. It was slightly strange and hadn't been there before.

On the Tree of Flesh and Blood, a mask-shaped fruit covered in stripes immediately caught his attention.

A few bloody marks had appeared on the fruit, indicating that the other members of the Scripture Defector Association had already received the message.

'It really is a message from the Workshop Master. Looks like the Forbidden Artifact Fragment fusion was a success.'

Yang An immediately touched the fruit with his consciousness, and the Workshop Master's familiar voice soon emanated from within.

"The Forbidden Artifact Fragment has been successfully fused. The container's transport ability is active again. We will now begin the next phase of our plan. I will attempt to help you all advance to the Corpse Transformation realm. There will certainly be risks involved, and even if you succeed, there may be lingering side effects. You must be mentally prepared."

Shortly after the Workshop Master's message was sent, other fruits of various shapes appeared on the Tree of Flesh and Blood as the members of the Scripture Defector Association sent their replies.

"We aren't afraid of side effects, and we aren't afraid of risks! If we can't break through to the Corpse Transformation realm, we'll be stuck at the Visceral Stone realm for the rest of our lives. We even have to suppress our Cultivation Level, unable to advance an inch. The alternative is death. Faced with death, we'll definitely take the chance!"

This was the message from Broken Hand, and the others all echoed his sentiment.

The members of the Scripture Defector Association all possessed the Innate Flesh Mushroom physique. The price for their power was suppressed during the early stages of their cultivation, but it doomed them to never reach the Corpse Transformation realm. If they tried, the price would erupt, and they would lose control and die.

This was their only hope.

Faced with death, they would naturally choose hope.

Soon, the Workshop Master also sent a new message.

"That's what I was waiting to hear. In that case, everyone report your current Cultivation Level. I need a test subject to cooperate with me, and they must be at a level close to Late Stage Visceral Stone Perfection!"