The young monk's gaze darkened as he stared at Chu Xingchen.
The Faceless Great Buddha had been suppressed for a thousand years—yet in another sense, he hadn’t. In today’s cultivation world, there was no such thing as a "Soul-Devouring Pill." If such a thing existed, the Buddhist sect would have long known about it. Clearly, this was some unknown method being used to deceive him.
But strangely enough, judging by the Faceless Great Buddha’s momentary silence and his unsettled expression, it seemed he might actually have been fooled.
This young man before him wore an air of righteousness, practically wearing his noble intentions on his sleeve, his posture screaming "I am justice itself." Yet within moments, he was already setting traps for others.
If this man were allowed to grow, he would undoubtedly become even more troublesome than Bai Xuanling. A ruthless man was fearsome, but a ruthless man who knew how to scheme was downright terrifying.
The moral limits of such a person were likely nonexistent.
Still, despite understanding the situation, the young monk said nothing.
At the very least, Chu Xingchen clearly didn’t trust the Faceless Great Buddha. Whether the young Buddhist disciple lived or died wasn’t important to him—what mattered was ensuring the Great Buddha remained sealed here today.
The Faceless Great Buddha remained motionless, his featureless face fixed on Chu Xingchen.
He was making a choice—and it was one he was extremely reluctant to make.
Chu Xingchen sensed it immediately. The Faceless Great Buddha was willing to gamble his life for this chance. A thousand years of suppression… was hardly a leisurely retirement with meals and conversation.
More likely, it was an endless torment—hard benches, whips soaked in saltwater, a dark cell of suffering.
The negotiation had already begun. Whoever faltered first would lose the upper hand.
In that case…
Without hesitation, Chu Xingchen retrieved another pill from his spatial ring—the Supreme Ultimate Great Supplement Pill, Deluxe Edition—and shoved it into Yuan Kong’s mouth.
He was raising the stakes.
Let’s see who could endure longer. After all, it wasn’t Chu Xingchen who was in pain.
And it wasn’t like the Faceless Great Buddha knew that these pills couldn’t actually kill anyone.
Besides, Yuan Kong had endured pill torture before—he definitely had higher resistance than the Great Buddha.
"Your cultivation is quite high—didn’t expect you to last this long. Since my time is precious, I’ll give you a few more for free."
With an indifferent expression, Chu Xingchen pulled out yet another pill—the Supreme Ultimate Great Supplement Pill, Modified and Absolutely Disgusting Edition—and forced it into Yuan Kong’s mouth.
His tone was light, almost casual.
"Today, the Buddhist disciple and the Great Buddha will embark on their final journey together. Consider it a rare spectacle for all of you present."
The Faceless Great Buddha remained silent for a moment before his voice trembled slightly—perhaps even he couldn’t withstand Chu Xingchen’s pill torture.
"I bear no grudge against any of you here. I seek only to escape this suffering. I have no intention of harming anyone. This child is pure of heart—I don’t wish to harm him either. Sever my chains, and I will release him immediately."
Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow.
"Promises made with words? Oaths sworn to ghosts? If you kept your word, you wouldn’t have been suppressed by your own sect for a thousand years. The Soul-Devouring Pill’s antidote loses effect after three quarters of an hour. Even with your high cultivation, you can’t last more than an hour."
"And this disciple just swallowed three pills… Who knows how long he’ll last? If all you have are empty words, then save your breath. Just prepare to journey to the Western Paradise together."
Xu Jin, standing nearby, listened quietly. If nothing else, the one advantage of being Chu Xingchen’s ally was that you’d never lose in a war of words.
Even though no actual fight had broken out, his mood had improved considerably.
The moment Chu Xingchen arrived, control of the situation had shifted firmly into their hands.
The meddlesome Buddhist monks now stood obediently to the side, and the previously unyielding, even threatening Faceless Great Buddha was beginning to show weakness.
In the past, Xu Jin had disliked listening to Chu Xingchen speak—but that was when he stood on the opposing side.
Now, as an ally, he only wished Chu Xingchen would talk even more. His words were layered, his voice almost pleasant to the ear.
The Faceless Great Buddha hesitated, but not for long.
"I can return the disciple’s consciousness first, but my own consciousness will follow him. All you need to do is break my chains, and I will release him completely."
Chu Xingchen burst into mocking laughter.
"What kind of deal is that? Just moving the hostage to a different place to die?"
The Faceless Great Buddha’s blank face remained fixed on him.
"Then what do you consider sincere?"
Chu Xingchen’s smile softened slightly.
"After a thousand years of suppression, your mind must be addled. Haven’t you realized yet that, out of everyone here, you’re the least qualified to negotiate?"
"Do you not see the situation clearly? Look at the Buddhist monks standing at the entrance—they were ready to kill this disciple themselves. Clearly, the Buddhist sect doesn’t want him."
"My companion and I are from the Profound Sect. Do you think we’d treasure a disciple the Buddhist sect discarded? At most, he knows some Buddhist secrets that might be useful to us."
"But those uses… are merely convenient, not essential."
"If you release him, I might not stop you. But if you kill him, it won’t just be the Buddhist monks who come for you."
"Even if you somehow endure the Soul-Devouring Pill and break free from your suppression, do you really think you can escape the three of us?"
"Do you think it’s mere luck that only one Buddhist monk has arrived despite the scale of this battle? That the rest suddenly went into Qi deviation? No—it’s because our Profound Sect has intercepted their reinforcements."
"With a single message from me, at least one Profound Sect and one Buddhist Transcendent Realm expert will descend upon this place."
"Even at your peak, could you withstand the combined assault of two Transcendent Realm cultivators?"
"Every one of us has a way out. The only one who’ll die here is this disciple. But you—you’ll be the one to perish."
"Your task isn’t to negotiate with me. That only irritates me… and makes me want to kill you."
"The only thing you can—and should—do is beg."
"Beg me to spare your life. Beg for my mercy."
Silence fell after Chu Xingchen’s words.
Even the young monk at the entrance remained quiet. Strictly speaking, Chu Xingchen wasn’t wrong—though the Faceless Great Buddha’s situation might not be quite as dire as described.
But… it wasn’t much better either.
The only catch was that Chu Xingchen would have to commit to killing the Great Buddha, even if it meant cooperating with the Buddhist sect.
He had the power to do so—this was just another layer of pressure in their verbal duel.
Still, no matter how sharp his rhetoric, would this malevolent Buddha truly place his life in the hands of another’s mercy?
The young monk waited, whether for Bai Xuanling to falter, for Buddhist reinforcements to arrive, or for the disciple to die so that Chu Xingchen would draw his sword alongside him.
No matter the outcome, things were moving in the direction he desired—this evil Buddha must not escape. Even if it meant death, he must perish here.
Just as the young monk raised his gaze to see what the Great Buddha would say next—
The surrounding karmic power suddenly began to settle. The Buddha’s illusory paradise crumbled into dust behind him.
A faint voice emerged from the Faceless Great Buddha.
"I beg you… help me leave…"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
