CHAPTER 373: CHAPTER 373: THE FALSE GOLDEN BODY DHARMA ASPECT

Once there is a shortcut to obtain a thousand years of lifespan for free, Monk Guang Hui no longer has the patience or desire to cultivate diligently.

The immediate priority is finding a way for the Immortal Peach Tree to gain enough spiritual power so that a thousand years later, before his lifespan is up, there will be enough immortal peaches for him to enjoy alone.

Thinking hard but finding no solution, he recalled the Evil Cultivators he had slain during his travels – those who gained power directly by devouring cultivators. If such a method were applied to the Immortal Peach Tree, wouldn’t it quickly generate enough spiritual power to bear more fruit next time?

Moreover, using this method, he wouldn’t be directly devouring other cultivators himself, and wouldn’t have to worry about any side effects; it was a win-win situation!

Thus, Demon Monk Guang Hui turned a perfectly good Nine Nether Peach Tree into a man-eating monster rooted in thousands of skeletons. When the immortals peaches were about to mature and needed nutrients for the next phase, he would lure cultivators over with promises of fortune, only to turn them into fertilizer for the peach tree.

This move yielded great results. Not only did the Immortal Peach Tree bear more fruit, but its branches also grew fresh buds and flourished.

Guang Hui became greedy and calculated that by consuming all the immortals peaches this time, he could gain two thousand three hundred years of lifespan, and with the next harvest, he could gain another two or three thousand years...

This endless cycle would allow him to share longevity with heaven and earth!

To attract more people, he leveraged his identity as a Buddhist cultivator to persuade the Demon Realm Alliance to set up the market right under a teleportation gateway, making it easier for more cultivators to arrive and become fertilizer.

However, the roots of the peach tree modified by evil techniques were too fierce, so Guang Hui didn’t dare provoke them. He always hid in the tightly sealed Tiger Ear Cave, waiting for the dust to settle outside before coming out to harvest all the immortal peaches and tidy up the aftermath.

This plan was flawless. He was happily waiting to come out and harvest the peaches while also imagining how many peaches the next harvest could yield. He then heard chaos outside, and the entire mountain began to shake.

Guang Hui sensed no dangerous aura from the roots outside, so he came out of the cave to see what was happening.

To his surprise, the sky had fallen!

Where’s the tree? Where’s my large, thriving Immortal Peach Tree?

The tree was gone, the peaches were gone, and even the dilapidated Wo Hu Temple that sheltered his presence was gone!

Outside, there was a group of creatures that were neither human nor cultivators, and as soon as a larger monster appeared, it unleashed a booming sonic attack, causing him to stagger and clouding his mind.

The pavilion disrupted his secret! It was exposed through the sonic attack!

Yin Fiend ghostly energy swept in instantly. Seeing this, Guang Hui knew things were bad, and immediately prepared to use escape techniques to flee.

"Demon Monk, face my strike!" Jiang Yuan would never give him a chance to escape!

Whether attempting to flee or retaliate, either way, the opponent had already begun casting, what are they waiting to interrupt?

A Vast Mountains and Rivers attack was thrown his way, and Guang Hui felt the spiritual energy around him suddenly vanish. His body halted, unable to cast the escape technique he was about to use.

Unyielding, he tried to counter-attack only to be hit firmly, unable to cast any magic.

"This is outrageous!" Having lived for thousands of years, Guang Hui always masqueraded as an untainted enlightened monk, never facing such rude treatment. Provoked, he realized that if he didn’t turn the situation around, he might end up perishing here.

Unable to use his life-saving skills, he ignored exposing his identity and put his hands together, reciting Buddhist verses.

"Om!"

It seemed as if a solemn bell had rung, and the sound of Buddhist chants reverberated throughout the world.

Under the gaze of everyone, a figure resembling the Angry-eyed Vajra Dharma Aspect emerged from Guang Hui. This colossal golden body Dharma Aspect emanated an aura of sacred majesty, causing all cultivators who looked up to hold their breath with a stifled gasp.

[Fake Golden Body Dharma Aspect: Demon Monk Guang Hui personally altered the broken Heavenly Level cultivation technique "Unmoving Bright King Spell," resulting in this fake golden body Dharma Aspect. It appears golden but is actually the image of his inner greed, ineffective in counter-attacks. Recommended to strike the main body]

[Lifespan +2 years]

[Lifespan +2 years]

...

The system continuously popped up notifications. Jiang Yuan, whose eyes were already bloodshot, glanced at them without much thought, only extracting key points like "fake" and "strike the main body."

Absorbing the Demon Monk’s lifespan clearly wasn’t as satisfying as absorbing that of the Nine Nether Peach Tree. Though frenzied, he wasn’t stupid. Knowing the blood bar didn’t affect lifespan purification, he chose to fight to near-death before swallowing all the opponent’s lifespan in one go and ordered Yu Hu’s warriors to attack simultaneously.

Vast Mountains and Rivers!

Interrupt the casting and retaliatory moves, pinning him down completely!

Soul-Devouring Demon Skill!

[Lifespan +2 years]

Basic attack with Soul Refining Banner!

Yin Sha’s ghostly wails ceaselessly pierced through the Buddhist monk’s body, chanting with hands joined, as his blood bar visibly decreased.

"Golden Body Dharma Aspect" was not to be outdone either, slightly bending its massive body to grasp the mutated fierce ghost skull with its left hand, while its right hand, now transformed into a human bone and skeleton shaped "Vajra Pestle," smashed towards Jiang Yuan relentlessly.

[HP -80]

[HP -100]

...

Dammit! The "exoskeleton armor" state has pain sensation! Though it’s like being hit through a thick cotton layer, it’s different from the previous state with no sensation, further stimulated by the scrolling red messages agitating the already frenzied Jiang Yuan.

Driven by a heart of viciousness, he endured the pain without caring about the fake golden body, staying determined on his target while rotating skills, taking moments to pull out an elixir from his storage bag to regain health.

The loyal and strong Yu Hu warriors surrounded the helpless demon monk and unleashed their powerful attacks.

They beat Guang Hui so hard that even his potion couldn’t restore his blood bar; unable to escape, he could only hope the golden body Dharma Aspect could explode the opponent, allowing him to counter-kill.

The grand confrontation between the golden body Dharma Aspect and the monster’s immense body intensified the mountain shaking.

Fortunately, both sides appeared evenly matched and remained restrained, so there wasn’t much leaking aura. The daring and curious cultivators standing on the opposite square were unaffected, even having the leisure to gossip and each holding up a memory stone to record the thrilling scene.

"The golden body Dharma Aspect has been revealed; it must be Guang Hui! This can’t be faked!"

"No wonder he’s called a demon monk, who knows how many cultivators he lured to their deaths here with immortal peaches!"

"Such maliciousness can still cultivate to a golden body Dharma Aspect? Buddhism has truly fallen."

"It’s probably fake, right? Look, the Angry-eyed Vajra is clearly Guang Hui’s own appearance!"

"And the Vajra Pestle has turned into a human bone staff, where’s the slightest bit of Buddhist nature? It’s utterly evil!"

...

Hu Zhile watched in dread, whispering, "Elder Bai, what realm must a demon monk reach to cultivate a golden body Dharma Aspect?"

"It’s unrelated to realm." Before Bai Yunqi could respond, Xie Chenyuan solemnly said, "It’s merely the effect of the demon monk’s cultivation technique, not an actual golden body Dharma Aspect. At best, it’s an intimidating weapon; we should retreat because the mountain seems unable to withstand the impact and is about to collapse."

Only then did the others realize, their attention fully drawn to the monsters and demon monk, they hadn’t noticed the continual rockfall from the mountaintop. The earth remained trembling, and with ongoing combat, it might not last long before collapsing!

"Where are the Venerable Family members?" Bai Yunqi was anxious.

But in reality, from discovering the immortal peach trap to the entire group being trapped, to monsters appearing and slicing the peach tree, battling the demon monk, the whole process took but half a cup of tea’s time.

The trapped included tens of thousands stretched across the mountains, with many unable to use teleportation talismans, unable to sword fly swiftly due to excess lifespan loss, or relying solely on paper crane rescue.

Seeing the intense battle atop the mountaintop seemingly causing Wo Hu Mountain to collapse, with a sky filled with fleeing cultivators, finding the Venerable Family members in the chaos was no easy task!