Chapter 276: Chapter 239: Then This Lady is Really Looking Forward to It, Not a Single Thought Arises

「Late at night, in the Golden Thread Pavilion.」

Elder Zhuan Yu, who had been meditating in the Golden Demon Tower, slowly opened his eyes, emerging from his cultivation.

From the bloody hole in his chest, a seemingly boundless sea of blood boiled and churned, stirring up massive waves.

Threads of blood pulled away from it, quickly gathering before him to form a crimson, bell-shaped object.

TING-A-LING—

Elder Zhuan Yu raised his hand slightly. The bell hovered in mid-air before him, letting out a crisp chime.

In just two breaths’ time, a voice suddenly emerged from the blood-red bell.

"Master!"

Hearing this voice, Elder Zhuan Yu’s expression grew focused.

"Well?"

"I... I have failed, Master. I have already left Celestial Buddha City."

The panic in his tone was audible.

"For this Buddhist Assembly, Great Virtue Temple had twelve Corpse Transformation experts overseeing just Celestial Buddha City alone! Thousands of us participated, but fewer than a hundred ended up being chosen as ’fated ones.’ This is completely unprecedented!"

"Useless trash!"

Elder Zhuan Yu cursed in a low voice, though he was also slightly surprised by Great Virtue Temple’s methods this time.

Twelve Corpse Transformation experts might be nothing to him, but one mustn’t forget that the participants of the Buddhist Assembly all had Cultivation Levels below that of Corpse Transformation.

Using such a trial to screen for the so-called ’fated ones’—most of whom were at the Visceral Stone or even Fake Food stage—one could only imagine how difficult it was to pass.

’Great Virtue Temple is prioritizing quality over quantity!’

Elder Zhuan Yu narrowed his eyes, pondering the intention behind Great Virtue Temple’s actions.

"What about your junior brother?" he asked.

"Junior Brother successfully passed the Buddhist Assembly and is heading to Yan’an Temple for the Three Trials of the Heart," the voice answered truthfully.

Upon hearing this, a smile finally appeared on Elder Zhuan Yu’s face.

’I was right after all. That boy is fated to be with Great Virtue Temple!’

From the moment he first saw Yang An in Ten Directions City and noticed him using techniques related to Great Virtue Temple, he knew. The Temple’s techniques were never taught to outsiders, which meant Yang An must have some connection to them.

That was precisely why he had taken Yang An as a Direct Disciple—to use him to infiltrate Great Virtue Temple during its Buddhist Assembly.

’It seems this was truly a brilliant move.’

’To pass a Buddhist Assembly of this difficulty and enter the Three Trials of the Heart proves the boy is anything but ordinary. My gamble paid off.’

If he could pass the Three Trials of the Heart, he would become the most critical piece in the Golden Thread Pavilion’s plan.

"Since you’ve failed, just come back. Do not mention your junior brother to anyone. Remember this!"

"Yes!"

After receiving the acknowledgement, the blood-red bell dissolved back into blood and retracted into Elder Zhuan Yu’s body.

But after sitting for a moment and mulling it over, he felt it wasn’t safe enough.

’If Yang An manages to pass the Three Trials of the Heart and successfully enter Great Virtue Temple, then I should erase the memories of everyone involved!’

’Yes! Other than the upper echelon, no one can know of Yang An’s existence!’

...

「Celestial Buddha City. Yan’an Temple. Yin Huan Hall.」

In this bright yet hazy world, which felt like another dimension, rows of Golden Buddha Statues stretched out as far as the eye could see. They appeared solemn and majestic, yet they exuded a strange, eerie feeling.

Yang An gently raised his hand, his fingers touching one of the Golden Buddha Statues before him.

The Golden Buddha Statue was about as tall as he was, and it was shockingly, intensely cold to the touch.

’From this, one can see: Buddhas are cold, too!’

[Pseudo: True Dharma Realm’s Image]: Created by De Hou, the Abbot of Yan’an Temple. Forged from the Ten Zen, it is indistinguishable from the real thing. Those without Buddha Nature cannot discern its true nature; those without a Wisdom Root cannot comprehend its Zen mystery.

Cost of Use: Those who infuse it with Mana or attack it will be assaulted by Buddhist chants, suffering the pain of having their body and soul violently shaken, resulting in mental damage.

Status: Can be Purified! 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

An information box popped up before Yang An’s eyes as expected. The Golden Buddha Statue in front of him was a fake.

But upon seeing the contents of the info box, Yang An couldn’t help but grin and glance schadenfreudishly at the others nearby.

Sure enough, the people who had attacked the Golden Buddha Statues or infused them with Mana let out a series of miserable screams. They collapsed to the ground in agony, trembling like leaves in the wind.

Of the eighty-plus ’fated ones,’ a full half of them were now on the ground, leaving only the other half still standing.

’That’s the price of being crude.’

’Elegance, on the other hand, is timeless!’

Seeing that the thin incense stick above had already burned down by a quarter, he knew he had to speed up if he wanted to find the one True Buddha Golden Body among the ten thousand-plus Golden Buddha Statues.

An idea suddenly struck Yang An:

’Let’s go for a high-five!’

He didn’t pull his hand back. Instead, he kept it extended, sized up a row of statues, and then began to walk forward at a steady pace.

His palm brushed past several statues in succession, and a series of information boxes flickered into existence before him, disappearing just as quickly.

Although the info boxes appeared and vanished rapidly, Yang An only needed to glance at the first word. Finding the True Buddha Golden Body at this speed was no challenge for him.

SLAP, SLAP, SLAP, SLAP, SLAP...

It was the sound of his palm continuously sliding across the Golden Buddha Statues, fast and rhythmic.

Without pausing, Yang An quickly brushed past dozens of Golden Buddha Statues, but the result was the same every time—they were all fakes. The real one was not among them.

But he wasn’t worried in the least. There was still plenty of time; it would definitely be enough.

He changed direction and started walking again, repeating the same process.