Chapter 839: The Seven Kill Stele

The corpse opened its eyes, revealing a sea of crimson. The surrounding mist became hazy and distorted, chaotic and indistinct.

Meng Qi’s vision blurred, and his Yuan Shen felt slightly dizzy. Then he saw countless threads extending from the outside, piercing through the chaos, and tightly attaching to the glabella of that massive corpse.

His consciousness or Primordial Spirit descended along the threads, entering the Mystic Pass. The corpse spontaneously produced a drop of blood, which merged with them to form a physical body, landing upon the mountains and rivers.

Just as Meng Qi was trying to get a clearer look, the scene kept shifting rapidly. At one moment, a powerful Primordial Spirit emerged from the glabella, following the threads; at another, the corpse was stimulated, turning completely translucent; and then those enormous eyes, vividly crimson yet utterly lifeless, reappeared once more.

Frowning slightly, Meng Qi pondered inwardly: “Because the corpse opened its eyes, the surrounding time became chaotic, and past events, if deeply imprinted, were all reflected backward?”

So, the essence of the fragments was a corpse, a powerful corpse that completely transformed its inner world into a universe?

So, the physical bodies that Nan Gong Chong and others had descended into were not truly “creations from void,” but derived from the blood of this massive corpse?

So, the physical transformation of Wu Youming and others was also indirectly facilitated by this power?

Understanding this, Meng Qi soared into the air, heading straight for the terrifying corpse—flying directly toward its glabella.

The distance between them was very close. As soon as Meng Qi moved, he was already above it, clearly seeing those crimson eyes!

There were no pupils; endless crimson waves rippled, filled with killing intent and death. In the center of this crimson sea, stood a hazy stone tablet that seemed to belong to no worldly realm. Above the tablet hovered four familiar figures Meng Qi recognized: the Female Emperor, the Foolish Monk, the Taoist Master, and the Black Mountain Demon!

They were actually inside the corpse’s eyes?

The corpse opening its eyes was not a resurrection of the dead, but a transformation triggered by stimulation?

…

The matter was suspicious, and even Grandmasters could not escape its grasp. After thoroughly questioning Qin Shuanglian and others, the Taoist Master wasted no time and, together with the Foolish Monk, headed toward the ghost village.

This location was not far from the Taoist Master’s residence, but it was near the mountains where wild beasts roamed, always the most remote and neglected place.

Inside the village, the houses were old and many were in ruins. White cloth hung at every household, and strings of paper money adorned the trees. There were no people, and the silence was terrifying. The wind occasionally swept through the village, swirling and lifting the paper money into the air, evoking a spine-chilling sensation.

However, the Taoist Master and the Foolish Monk were extraordinary individuals who had seen more ghosts than an ordinary person had dogs. Their minds were strong and unshaken. After observing the changes in the natural energies, and combining the information from Qin Shuanglian and others, they quickly deduced the source of the eerie phenomena.

At the mountain’s base stood an ancient tomb, revealed by an earthquake and excavated by the villagers, who had taken its treasures. Since then, they had died one after another, and even the Taoist priests and Buddhist monks who came to exorcise the ghosts could not escape. Thus, the village earned its name, “Ghost Village.”

The ancient tomb had already been explored by Qin Shuanglian and others. At the burial site of the tomb’s owner, no coffin was found—only a crack that seemed to extend deep into the earth. A Grandmaster from the Taoist Master’s sect had once entered the tomb for investigation but died shortly afterward. Fang Zhi was aware of the cave and had likely entered it as well.

“Amitabha Buddha,” the Foolish Monk softly chanted, holding the Sutra of Earth Store’s Soul Redemption.

As he flipped through the sutra, the Foolish Monk began to chant rapidly. Each character transformed and flew out, radiating golden luster, illuminating the surroundings like a Buddhist paradise, dispelling all negative and deathly energies.

The ground cracked open, seeds sprouted, and lotus flowers bloomed.

The Foolish Monk stepped onto the lotus flowers, surrounded by luminous sutra texts, and entered the crack.

The Taoist Master held his long sword, wearing a high Taoist cap. Behind him, dragons and tigers roared, seemingly manifesting Tai Chi and transforming Yin and Yang, following closely behind the Foolish Monk.

He was not afraid of evil ghosts but trusted in the power of the Sutra of Earth Store’s Soul Redemption. After all, his first battle after achieving the rank of Grandmaster was deep within the “Ghost Capital,” where he subdued the Ten Ghost Kings, eliminated hundreds of thousands of negative entities, and permanently sealed a rift leading to the Netherworld, restoring peace to the human world.

These two Grandmasters, seasoned in countless battles, naturally possessed intuitive awareness. They did not underestimate the place, proceeding cautiously and vigilantly.

The crack was long and deep, its interior dark and cold. Mental probing was like sending an ox into the sea—the deeper they went, the colder and more sinister it became.

Suddenly, the Taoist Master and the Foolish Monk found themselves in an exceptionally wide underground cave—wide enough to build an imperial palace.

In a corner, a few streams of yin spring water flowed, emitting a chilling coldness that filled the cave with a thin mist, the very mist that seemed to devour their mental energies.

The Taoist Master and the Foolish Monk carefully inspected the cave but found nothing unusual.

Suddenly, the Foolish Monk’s concealed eyes flew open, emitting a faint golden, crystal-clear glow that illuminated all directions within his divine vision. Yet, he still discovered nothing.

At this moment, the Taoist Master let out a cold snort, slapping his left hand onto the back of his right hand. His Taoist robe billowed, and streams of pure light surged forth. Gradually, a large character “Kill” materialized in the void behind him, its hue faint and not yet fully formed.

“There’s definitely something strange,” he muttered, slightly shaking his upper body. Behind him, the dragon and tiger roared, coiling into a ball that enveloped and dissolved the “kill” character.

The Foolish Monk pondered for a moment, then sat cross-legged, taking out a withered yellow wooden fish. Placing it alongside the Sutra of Earth Store’s Soul Redemption in front of him, he began to tap it with a dull sound while silently chanting the sutra:

“Namo Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Mahasattva…”

“…Already crossed over, to be crossed over, not yet crossed over… Already accomplished, to be accomplished, not yet accomplished…”

“From this day forward, within hundreds of billions of aeons, in all worlds, all hells and the three evil paths, I vow to rescue and liberate all suffering beings from the hells and evil destinies—beasts and hungry ghosts. Until all these beings attain Buddhahood, I shall not attain perfect enlightenment.”

The Buddhist chants grew louder, grand and solemn, pure and liberating. Golden light emerged from the void, illuminating the cave, dispelling the thin mist. Golden Bodhi petals drifted down, and springs gushed from the ground, accompanied by gold, agate, crystal, and other treasures.

Boom!

Suddenly, the ground trembled violently, and the cave shook as if pulled by the sutra.

The Foolish Monk abruptly raised his head, his eyes emitting Buddhist light, and behind him appeared the compassionate and golden image of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. The Sutra of Earth Store’s Soul Redemption floated up and flipped to the last page.

Opening his mouth, he slowly uttered each word, as if the Buddha himself was preaching, his voice like thunder:

“Hell shall not be empty; I shall not become a Buddha. Until all sentient beings are saved, I shall not attain Bodhi.”

Boom!

With the thunderous sound, the earth cracked rapidly, as if some giant had opened his eyes!

Within the “eyes” was an endless sea of blood. In the center of the sea stood a hazy stone tablet that seemed intangible.

On the front of the stone tablet were inscribed words:

“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Each “kill” grew more bloody, more grotesque, and more filled with deathly intent.

“The Seven Killings Tablet!” The Taoist Master recalled the warning from the head of the Cangtian Sect.

This stone tablet was actually here?

As thoughts raced through his mind, the Taoist Master and the Foolish Monk simultaneously flew into the sea of blood, giving their all.

Although they did not know the purpose of this stone tablet, the fact that the Black Mountain Demon had pursued it so desperately indicated its extraordinary nature. It absolutely could not fall into enemy hands!

At that moment, a pale, slender hand descended from the sky. The four fingers were together, and the thumb pressed against the middle finger, resembling a bird’s beak. Together with the black-robed figure behind, it looked like a proud phoenix rushing forth, flames burning the heavens, directly evaporating a layer of blood sea.

“The Female Emperor…” The Taoist Master had already prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. With a swift diagonal slash of his sword upward, the dragon and tiger images behind him connected head to tail, spinning rapidly. His true energy and the power of heaven and earth merged seamlessly, forming an impenetrable barrier.

(Note: The repetitive “天地” (heaven and earth) in the original text appears to be an error or placeholder. I’ve condensed it into a natural English expression while preserving the intended meaning of harnessing cosmic energies.)