Even Yang An, who was silently observing this scene from another courtyard, hadn't expected this.

'These bald donkeys' method of saving people is to shatter their skulls?'

'What are they trying to do?'

Blood flowed down ceaselessly, dripping onto the woman's neck and clothes.

In just the blink of an eye, the woman's upper body was covered in crimson blood, wet and dripping.

But the woman's expression remained unchanged. She was like a statue, completely unmoved, seemingly feeling no pain.

Jia Fugui's wife had already fainted. He held her in his arms and quickly called over a few servants to take her back to her room to rest.

"High Monks, my daughter, she..."

Jia Fugui watched with a nervous expression, unable to stop himself from asking.

But before he could finish, one of the Monks turned his head and shot him a glance, and Jia Fugui immediately fell silent.

"Your daughter is not the only one in the city with a hidden illness. The teeming masses all await our salvation. Say no more."

Although the Monk's words were calm and unhurried, they carried the weight of a warning, an authority that required no anger.

"Yes!"

Jia Fugui nodded repeatedly and shut his mouth, trembling with reverence and fear.

Before these High Monks of the Great Virtue Temple, even a wealthy merchant like him, well-off among the common people, had no right to speak. He could only continue to watch from the side.

After warning Jia Fugui, the two Monks exchanged a look. The Monk standing behind the woman rolled up his sleeves, reached toward the top of her head, and began removing the shattered bone fragments one by one.

An egg-sized hole had been cracked open in the woman's skull. The Monk plucked out the broken pieces of bone and casually tossed them on the ground.

It was a cruel scene. Many of the servants watching silently from the side wore expressions of fear.

After removing the bone fragments covering the hole, the Monk extended two fingers and plunged them straight into the woman's cranium. Soon, he pulled out a piece of her brain.

The Monk began to chant a passage of scripture again, then suddenly blew out a puff of glittering golden mist from his mouth.

The mist immediately enveloped the woman's head. Seizing the moment, the Monk squeezed the piece of brain, forcing out a dark object. It looked like a small, blackish polyp, about the size of a fingernail.

He tossed the polyp to the other Monk, who enveloped it with Mana and then stored it in a Storage Magical Artifact.

Having done this, the Monk took a round bead from his Storage Magical Artifact, placed the piece of brain back where it belonged, and dropped the bead into her skull.

By now, a great deal of blood had flowed from the top of the woman's head, forming a bloody froth. Her damp hair was matted together.

The Monk's hands were inevitably stained with blood, but he paid it no mind.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the bead was dropped in, the bleeding stopped instantly.

The Monk then placed his palm on the woman's head, rubbing it back and forth for several breaths before pulling his hand away.

The glittering golden mist surrounding her head was suddenly absorbed, flowing entirely into her cranium.

Then, the other Monk once again pressed a Secret Seal onto the woman's forehead.

The woman's head immediately slumped, and she collapsed to the ground.

After all this was done, the two Monks chanted in unison, "Amitabha."

"Your daughter will awaken in two days. Before then, you may go to the temple to make an incense offering and request some Elixir Pills, which will help her recover sooner. Remember, she must not consume any meat for forty-nine days.

Our work here is done. We will not stay any longer."

"Thank you, High Monks! I will certainly do as you say."

Seeing that his daughter was safe, Jia Fugui immediately knelt and kowtowed, thanking them profusely.

The two Monks said no more. They leaped into the air, tapped lightly on the Jia Family's courtyard wall, and their figures quickly vanished from sight.

Jia Fugui immediately got up and ran over to check on his daughter.

The woman on the ground was unconscious. The bloody hole was still in her head, but it was now covered by a thin membrane that prevented any more blood from seeping out.

He carefully lifted his daughter from the ground. A few quick-witted servants hurried over to help support her and carry her back to her room.

After letting go, Jia Fugui quickly summoned an old man and told him to prepare some gold and silver. It was clear he intended to head to the temple immediately to make an incense offering.

Before long, the courtyard emptied and fell completely silent.

In his room, Yang An withdrew his perception, lost in thought.

He had perceived it clearly: the two Monks had taken something out of Jia Fugui's daughter's head and put something else in. 'And that's how they cured her hidden illness?'

'This whole affair seems highly unusual.'

Moreover, when the two Monks had removed that strange thing from her cranium, he had sensed a peculiar aura.

It wasn't the aura of a Technique or a Magical Artifact. Instead, his perception picked up on a presence that he found deeply repulsive and loathsome.

Chaos, distortion, and a vague, almost surreal illusion.

This bizarre aura was somewhat like that of a Demon Fiend, but not entirely the same. It lacked the foul stench of a Demon Fiend.

'I wonder if that thing grew inside Jia Fugui's daughter on its own, or if someone deliberately put it there.'

"Her soul has changed!"

Just then, the Bow Lady's voice suddenly sounded in Yang An's ears.

"Are you talking about Jia Fugui's daughter?"

"Yes. It was originally mired in filth, but now it's clear again. Those two bald donkeys tampered with her soul!"

the Bow Lady said.

Hearing the Bow Lady's words, Yang An frowned deeply.

"Can a mortal's soul be contaminated even if they haven't started cultivating?"

"The thing they put inside her is most likely designed to absorb this kind of filth. They take it out when it reaches perfection and then put in a new one."

The Bow Lady's explanation seemed quite logical, and Yang An fell silent.

'I knew those bald donkeys were up to no good, but I never imagined they were using mortals' bodies as vessels to collect filth.'

'And from what one of them said earlier, Jia Fugui's daughter isn't the only one in the city with a hidden illness. That means there are many more.'

To mortals, it's a hidden illness that only the Great Virtue Temple can cure. But the Great Virtue Temple knows the real truth.

'What do they plan to do with this stuff they're collecting?'

There was no way to guess for now. Yang An could only suppress the question in his mind. No matter what, his priority was to get into the Great Virtue Temple first.

That evening, Jia Fugui returned from outside. He rushed back into the courtyard, clearly having obtained the Elixir Pills from the temple through his incense offering.

Yang An paid him no mind. The Jia Family's servants brought him his meal. As a "Fake Food," even though he had already entered the Fasting stage, he could still eat a little.

Throughout the night, a woman's wails echoed from the other courtyard. Perhaps it was the price of taking the Great Virtue Temple's Elixir Pills, or perhaps it was simply pain. Or maybe both.

Yang An, however, remained quietly in his room, focused on his cultivation and continuing to condense the Celestial Gnomon Light.

「Three days passed in the blink of an eye.」

News came from the Tree of Flesh and Blood. The Workshop Master had begun to notify Broken Hand, one of the Scripture Defector Association's members, to prepare for the container's activation to help him break through to Corpse Transformation.

The other members, including Yang An, remained silent, quietly awaiting the result.

They waited for another three days.

Not until 3:00 PM that day did the Tree of Flesh and Blood stir. A message from the Workshop Master announced the result to everyone.

"Success! Broken Hand has broken through to Corpse Transformation. However, it wasn't a complete success. Although he's passed the most difficult hurdle and no longer needs to worry about life and death, there are significant side effects."

The result was a mixed blessing.

Just as the Workshop Master had said before, it was possible to break through to Corpse Transformation, but it would likely leave side effects. And that was indeed the case.

"What are the side effects?"

The Workshop Master's message naturally caught the attention of every member of the Scripture Defector Association, and someone immediately asked. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"His physical body is very unstable and could separate from his Soul Body at any moment. The same goes for his mental state. It might take time for him to recover, but I don't know how long. It could be ten days to half a month, or it could be three to five years."

the Workshop Master's reply came.

Being able to overcome the fatal limitation of the Innate Flesh Mushroom and reach Corpse Transformation should have been a joyous occasion, but after hearing the Workshop Master's words, no one could feel happy.

If breaking through to Corpse Transformation left one in such a dangerous state, it meant they could still die at any moment, and more likely due to external factors.

"Anyone else who wants to try, reply to me as soon as possible. Don't worry. The most difficult problem has already been solved; the rest are minor issues.

Since I can help you successfully break through to Corpse Transformation, I can also find a way to help you resolve the side effects.

The Scripture Defector Association still has much to do, and I'm counting on all of you."

The Workshop Master sent the message to reassure everyone.

And it was just as the Workshop Master said. For those with the Innate Flesh Mushroom, breaking through to Corpse Transformation was the greatest hurdle. Since the Workshop Master had overcome that, they believed he could surely handle the mere problem of side effects as well.

Everyone was quickly placated and responded to the Workshop Master with renewed enthusiasm.

After Broken Hand, the second person who wanted to try was White Bird. She volunteered, and the Workshop Master gave her the usual three days to prepare, along with a reminder.

The Tree of Flesh and Blood fell silent once more, and Yang An withdrew from it.

'I never thought the Workshop Master could actually pull it off. I find him more and more inscrutable. Whether it's his power or his methods, the Workshop Master is always full of surprises.'

However, it was still too early for Yang An to consider this. The time wasn't right; he needed to continue observing.

Time flowed on once more, and in the blink of an eye, another seven days passed.

With the Workshop Master's help, the Scripture Defector Association's second member, White Bird, also successfully broke through to Corpse Transformation. Although she also suffered side effects, they were milder than Broken Hand's, leaving only some latent issues with her physical body and mind.

It seemed the side effects were the same for everyone, but the severity varied, with some being more serious than others.

After White Bird, a third member who had reached Late Stage Visceral Stone Perfection also replied to the Workshop Master, preparing to make their attempt.

Meanwhile, as he waited in Jia Fugui's residence, Yang An finally received news he had been waiting for: the Great Virtue Temple's Buddhist Assembly was about to begin.