One more catty, one more attribute point

Seeing the Buddha of Increasing Influence's face plastered with a feigned, insincere smile, Yong Ku felt a surge of anger rushing to his head, turning his eyes blood red. He bellowed furiously, "For your own selfish desires, you've killed so many people in the monastery. Even now, do you not have a single thought of repentance?"

"Repentance?" The Buddha of Increasing Influence showed a look of surprise, tilting his head and asking in confusion, "I don't think I did anything wrong. Why should I repent?"

"The armored cavalry of the Great Zhou Dynasty is approaching, and the strength gap between us and the enemy is vast."

"Even if I didn't kill them, these people would have ended up dead at the enemy's hands. Since they were going to die anyway, why not let them die with more meaning? With my breakthrough in cultivation and the assistance of those people, the spearheads of the immortal sects and noble families were thwarted, ensuring the continuation of the Temple of Respect's lineage."

"Given the current situation, isn't this the best answer?" The Buddha of Increasing Influence shook his head with a sigh, his expression somewhat helpless, "Pity that those people were too short-sighted to understand my earth-shattering wisdom. They refused to cooperate willingly, offering up their lives, and thus forced me to act personally, resulting in such an ugly scene."

"Yong Zhen, Yong Ku." The Buddha of Increasing Influence solemnly called the names of the two brothers, "The ones who are wrong are not me, but them."

"You! How preposterous! How preposterous!" These words nearly smoked Yong Ku with rage. He trembled all over, yet for a moment, he was speechless.

Fortunately, his elder brother Yong Zhen remained calm and said coldly, "Buddha of Increasing Influence, you have made a grave mistake and fallen into the demonic path. My junior brother and I will personally put an end to you here, sending you into the eighteen levels of hell, never to be reborn, in order to appease the spirits of our predecessors."

"End me, never to be reborn?" The Buddha of Increasing Influence laughed as if he had heard a joke, his lips parting in a wide grin, "Merely two ants threatening the true dragon in the sky. Don't you find that funny? I'll just stand here still, what can you do?"

"Is that so?" Yong Zhen's mouth curled into a cold smirk, "You're still as arrogant and conceited as ever."

"Hmm!?" As soon as Yong Zhen finished speaking, the Buddha of Increasing Influence suddenly felt an intense, extreme threat.

He barely had time to think.

Reacting subconsciously, he tapped the ground with the tip of his foot, his blood-red robe swirling as he explosively retreated backward.

Boom!

Simultaneously.

Golden light burst forth from the crown of Yong Zhen's head.

Sacred, vast chants of the Buddha echoed from the void, resounding in the great hall.

The surroundings of the grand hall trembled, and large amounts of dust fell from the ceiling. In the darkness lurking demonic creatures gave out cries of terror, beating their wings, attempting to flee from the grand hall. But their reactions were too slow, and as the Buddhist light flashed, these demonic creatures were evaporated inch by inch, turning into ash that dispersed.

Within the golden, holy light, an old monk emerged, his form emaciated and his face taut with anger, stepping forward from his battle-torn gray robe.

He appeared somewhat ethereal, his gaze falling distantly upon the Buddha of Increasing Influence.

"How is this possible!?" The Buddha of Increasing Influence's face distorted in shock, "How could there be such a powerful living Buddha on Skull Plain!"

Both were Cultivators in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Yet the old monk, only a spiritual imprint, brought the Buddha of Increasing Influence an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Boom!

"Demon, you shall be extinguished!"

The old monk's voice boomed like spring thunder, swinging a punch forward.

It seemed an ordinary punch without any technique or form. However, the Buddha of Increasing Influence felt as if he were an insect trapped in amber, with no way to escape or resist, left only to await death. In the face of this life-and-death crisis, the Buddha of Increasing Influence managed to slightly turn his head aside with all his strength.

Pffft!

The golden punch shot up into the sky.

Half of the Buddha of Increasing Influence's head exploded.

Crimson blood and white brain matter.

It had not yet splattered when it evaporated into mist, dispersing into thin air with the power enveloping it.

"It worked!" Seeing this scene, Yong Ku was overjoyed, nearly jumping on the spot.

"Hold on!" But Elder Brother Yong Zhen sensed something amiss, his breathing tense as he stared at the Buddha of Increasing Influence, as if witnessing an unbelievable event unfolding.

"Elder brother?" Yong Ku was puzzled.

Then, following where his elder brother's gaze was fixed, his own face turned extremely grim.

The Buddha of Increasing Influence, despite having half of his head blown off by a punch, did not fall immediately. Instead, he stood suspended in mid-air, perched above the Buddha's lotus pedestal.

Blood-drenched robes whirled in the rushing wind, flames flickered around them. On the Buddha of Increasing Influence's half-head, crimson flesh bulged and squirmed, quickly forming a new, soft red pate.

The Buddha of Increasing Influence's erstwhile peaceful demeanor was gone.

His body radiated murderous energy, with his skin still forming on the skull, blue veins and flesh exposed, his eyes a ghastly red. Gone was any semblance of a living Buddha, replaced by the figure of an incarnate demon.

"How dare you two rebels even attempt to assassinate me! You shall be executed!" the Buddha of Increasing Influence roared furiously. If he hadn't just advanced to the Earth Immortal Realm and awakened an undying nature, that punch from the old monk would have undoubtedly killed him instantly.

"One false move, such a pity, such a shame!" clenching his fists, Yong Zhen's face showed a mix of rage and helplessness.

Following the strike, the spiritual imprint left by the old monk gradually dissipated.

Heaven and earth were turned upside down; the overwhelming force had arrived.

Even if this old monk possessed the ability to communicate with heaven, he was helpless to reverse the raging torrent. In the end, all that remained of him in this world was but a single sigh.

"Hmph!" Seeing the old monk's lingering power disperse, Zeng Guang Buddha sneered with a ghastly expression, "I want to see, without this old man, who amongst you can kill me! Who else poses a threat to me!?"

"Die, rebel!"

Boom!

Zeng Guang Buddha struck out in anger, violently reaching forward with a grasp.

His arm swelled rapidly, the skin splitting, turning into a demon-like crimson giant palm, stirring up a howling wind.

Like a titan python on the hunt, it spanned the sky, with the candles on either side violently trembling as it crushed down onto Yong Zhen and Yong Ku.

Bang!

First a loud blast, then intense pain followed.

The ceiling above the great hall shattered and exploded.

Against the backlight of crimson lightning, a burly figure, accompanied by a shower of ash and wood chips, dramatically descended from the sky.

Splat!

That person's large foot stomped down, and Zeng Guang Buddha's deformed arm was blown apart instantly, sending blood plasma spurting around the great hall.

Then, with a loud laugh, the person threw a powerful long punch forward without any warning.

"Su Heng!" Zeng Guang Buddha's face changed as he recognized the uninvited guest. Feeling the overwhelming force emanating from Su Heng, his pupils trembled violently, and he gasped for air. Without time to think, he raised his intact other hand in an attempt to block.

But it was completely futile.

Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, their powers were not even remotely in the same league.

Zeng Guang Buddha felt as though he had been harshly struck by a comet from beyond the skies; his arm exploded in an instant, followed by his chest, neck, and lower abdomen. The powerful force whistled through, shattering his entire body continuously. He turned into a handful of bloody flesh as he was blasted backwards.

The towering monastery walls collapsed with a crash, with the buildings behind them exploding one after another, engulfing the area in thick smoke.

In the end, Zeng Guang Buddha's mutilated body 'plop' sound plunged into a boiling blood pool. Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

There came a series of piercing shrieks from within.

A mass of ugly demons, about half a person tall and resembling bats,

flapped their wings, screaming in panic as they flew into the sky, casting large shadows amidst the flickering blood-red lightning.

The scene before them became abruptly clear.

Gusts of wind blew past, carrying the scent of blood, while Su Heng's clothes fluttered in the wind.

"The living dead waste, not even able to catch my punch, dares to proclaim invincibility, who gave you the audacity." Su Heng sneered, retracting his gaze. He turned around to see Yong Zhen and Yong Ku standing somewhat bewildered in front of the great hall.

Yong Ku was hesitant at this moment.

On one hand, Su Heng was an enemy, but on the other, he had indeed rescued them from a dire situation.

On the contrary, his senior brother Yong Zhen quickly came to terms and stepped forward to bow, gratefully saying, "Thank you for your life-saving grace, senior!"

Su Heng noticed the spirit markings remaining on Yong Zhen's forehead, and his eyebrows furrowed, soon understanding what had transpired. The two young monks were really nothing in his eyes. Su Heng had no intention of making things difficult for them, simply saying, "Leave quickly, what follows is none of your concern."

"Understood!" Yong Zhen said, "Thank you, senior."

Yong Ku opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but Yong Zhen reached out to pull him, forcibly dragging him away from the great hall. The two brothers turned around and soon disappeared in the blood-colored shadows in the distance.

Once the two had left, only Su Heng remained in the vast hall. The flickering lights from the dragon columns on either side, beyond the walls, the Arhat sculptures had ghastly expressions, their lips and teeth stained with blood. Under the backlight of the bloody lightning, the atmosphere seemed particularly eerie.

However, Su Heng did not care, his eyes swiftly swept over these Arhats.

Flap flap!

A gust of wind blew through, and dark clouds surged.

Several bats on the eaves flapped their wings and entered the hanging blood-colored vortex.

"Come out, how much longer must I wait for you!" Su Heng said with a cold smile, suddenly turning around, his sharp gaze fixed on a corner inside the great hall.

Where it seemed empty, but the darkness was so thick it felt tangible. As Su Heng's words fell and echoed, droplets of thick blood fell from the broken beams, gathering on the ground into a pool of crimson.

The blood pool bubbled and boiled, emitting bubbles.

Amidst the thunderous roar of lightning, a figure wearing a blood-red robe with a handsome yet enchanting face and two horns among the crimson hair appeared.

As soon as he appeared, the Demonic Qi from his body spread unrestrained, covering the skies and spreading outwards. A vast array of blood-colored runes emerged, resonating with the surrounding environment, taking advantage of the time and place. This made his already formidable aura even more terrifying and profound, inscrutable.