"The stench of blood is overwhelming."
"I almost thought we'd entered the Chaotic Zone."
As they drew closer to the Heavenly Sound Temple, the metallic tang of blood grew thicker in the air. It gave Chen Chang'an and Da Huang an eerie sense of déjà vu, as though they’d stepped back into the lawless lands of the Chaotic Zone.
"A sacred Buddhist sanctuary should be pure and holy."
"Then why does this place feel like… a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood?" Da Huang frowned, his expression twisted in disgust.
"Don’t just feel it—look for yourself."
Chen Chang'an’s face remained impassive as he flicked a finger, sending a streak of sword energy slashing across the ground, splitting the earth open in a long fissure.
The moment the crack appeared, the scent of blood intensified, flooding Da Huang’s senses.
"Is that… blood?"
Da Huang watched as a thick, crimson liquid slowly seeped from the crevice—human blood.
"Just how many people had to die for this?"
"Too many."
For the earth to be saturated like this, the death toll must have been staggering. Though the surface seemed undisturbed, the ground beneath was steeped in layers of congealed blood.
"Haven’t you noticed? Ever since we got here, the only people we’ve seen are monks. No one else."
Chen Chang'an’s words struck Da Huang like a revelation. It was true—lately, apart from monks, there had been no trace of ordinary folk.
Did this mean that within the domain of the Heavenly Sound Temple, only monks were allowed to exist? Were all others slaughtered for refusing the cloth?
If so… that was beyond cruel.
And was it even necessary? Couldn’t they have just driven them away?
"Let’s move ahead. There’s movement up ahead."
Chen Chang'an’s senses picked up something unusual hundreds of kilometers away.
"Hurry up!"
"Move faster, all of you!"
"Have you not eaten today?"
"Listen well—you are all sinners!"
"Being allowed to stay and build the Sacred Buddha’s golden statue is an honor!"
"And yet you dare slack off?"
A portly monk glared at the laborers before him, his eyes bulging with fury.
Thud!
One of the workers, exhausted from endless toil, collapsed to the ground. The others barely reacted, their faces blank with indifference.
This was a common sight. What had once stirred concern now only elicited numbness—they all knew what happened to those who fell.
Sure enough, as soon as the man hit the ground, a few monks hurried over to inspect him.
"Looks like he’s done for."
"Dispose of him, then. Useless waste."
"You two—throw him over there."
"Yes."
The monks hauled the unconscious man away and tossed him onto a nearby pile of corpses.
The mound of bodies had nearly reached the height of a small hill, the stench of decay thick in the air. The monks, long desensitized, turned and left without a second glance.
"How many people is this?"
"Damn it, even the Chaotic Zone has never seen something like this!"
The Chaotic Zone had its share of bloodshed and slaughter, but never had corpses been stacked so high.
Da Huang estimated the death count here had to be in the hundreds of thousands.
And that was just the dead. The living—forced into labor—numbered in the millions.
And these were only the ones they could see. What about the rest?
What about those who died even earlier?
Da Huang was someone who held no reverence for life and lacked any emotions, yet even he found the actions of these monks excessive upon witnessing such a scene.
Meanwhile, Chen Chang'an gazed at the towering framework of the giant Buddha statue in the distance, hundreds of meters high, and let out a cold laugh.
"Truly, a Buddha relies on gilded adornment."
"Is the Sacred Buddha of Tianyin Temple trying to erect a golden statue hundreds of meters tall?"
The more he learned, the more disgusted he became. Chen Chang'an now harbored utter contempt for this so-called Buddhist sect.
Not only were they hypocrites, but beneath the surface, they were downright vile.
"Destroy it."
"I despise such falsehood."
Had this Buddhist sect acted with integrity—even if they were outright villains—Chen Chang'an wouldn’t have cared, so long as they didn’t provoke him.
Take the Dragon Emperor Palace, for example. They were just as wicked, but since they didn’t cross Chen Chang'an, he had no reason to seek them out.
Good or evil, their actions meant nothing to him.
Chen Chang'an was never the type to take it upon himself to save the world.
But the sheer duplicity of this Buddhist sect filled him with unbearable revulsion.
"Destroy it. Damn it, I hate these kinds of people too," Da Huang growled.
"Let’s go!"
"Who goes there?"
The moment Chen Chang'an and Da Huang appeared, the leading monk’s expression twisted in alarm.
Such speed! How had they approached without him sensing it?
"Your executioner."
Chen Chang'an wasted no words. He struck instantly, beheading the leader.
At the same time, Da Huang showed no mercy either. His figure blurred as he moved, crushing every supervising monk with a single slap.
The sudden turn of events left all the laborers stunned.
Silence stretched endlessly. In that moment, their eyes were vacant, their minds blank.
"Get back, all of you!"
Chen Chang'an’s sharp command snapped them out of their daze. Though they didn’t understand his intentions, they obediently scrambled away.
Once they had retreated to a safe distance, Chen Chang'an flicked his wrist. A streak of sword energy shot forth, slashing toward the unfinished golden Buddha.
BOOM!
The deafening collapse of the golden statue struck deep into the souls of those present.
It was as though the boulder crushing their hearts and the chains binding their spirits had suddenly shattered.
"The golden Buddha has fallen!"
"Hahahaha! The golden Buddha has fallen!"
"Wuuu… I—I don’t have to work anymore!"
"Those damned monks finally got what they deserved!"
"But what now? The monks are dead, the Buddha is destroyed… Will we all be killed for this?"
Emotions ran wild—some were overjoyed, some exhilarated, some wept uncontrollably, while others feared the inevitable retribution from the Buddhist sect.
"Go. Meeting me was your good fortune."
At Chen Chang'an’s words, many finally remembered that this man before them was their savior.
"Thank you, benefactor, for saving us. But… you’ve made an enemy of the Sacred Buddha of Tianyin Temple."
"The Sacred Buddha’s power is immense, his wrath terrifying. He will never let you go."
"Benefactor, you must flee too."
"Yes, leave quickly! Otherwise, the Sacred Buddha will hunt you down."
Hearing their words, Chen Chang'an smiled. It seemed his efforts weren't wasted on people who still cared for others in such circumstances.
"I never intended to let him go anyway."
"You may leave now."