New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 49 Prefabricated Monsters, Shadow Clan

The Tiger Demon walked to the small pond in the front yard of the Vajra Temple. If he crossed the exquisite stone arch bridge, there would be steps leading to the first hall behind it.

The pond was a large, rectangular pond, and quite deep. Its walls were not only decorated with exquisite marble carvings, but also had a fence and various abstract stone animals that Yuan Zhu couldn't recognize.

Originally a wishing pond for feeding ornamental koi and turtles, now billowing deathly aura rises from it. It is clearly the "death energy hub" of Vajra Temple, spreading to all parts of the temple, twisting and corroding this ancient temple, and giving birth to a den of ghosts.

Today, the lotus, turtles, and koi fish are no longer visible in the pond. Instead, there is a reclining Buddha statue that was thrown in by someone.

The dark gold Buddha statue's material and style clearly don't fit in with the pond. It looks like it was taken from a temple and thrown into the pond to suppress or nurture something.

Today, the entire Buddha statue is three-quarters submerged in the pond. The portion that remains above water is etched and peeling, corroded by the deathly aura of the underworld. Furthermore, the reclining Buddha has no head, having been deliberately shattered, with a bloody, dead hand inserted into its neck, much like the Buddha's hand he had the pleasure of viewing before.

Looking at the 'corpse hand plant' growing on the neck of the reclining Buddha statue, Yuan Zhu exclaimed in amazement: "Huh? Could it be that there really is some kind of heavenly treasure here!?"

Different from all the 'Buddha's Palms' he had seen before, the 'corpse hand' on the neck of the reclining Buddha statue had completely lost its arm image and looked more like a special plant made of flesh and blood.

Its trunk (arm circumference) is over 20cm and about two to three meters long, curving upward along the water's surface. Its overall shape resembles a giant hand, palm facing upward and grasping.

From each side of the palm, two smaller arms, each measuring 1.5 meters, extended. One curved upward toward the sky, the other reached beneath the surface of the water.

On the surface of each thick and long finger, densely packed 'tiny arm branches', or 'palm-sized leaves', or individual 'finger caterpillars' hang down, half sinking into the pond.

On the tips of some dangling fingers, there grew tiny hands that twisted like worms, scooping up the muddy water from the pond to nourish themselves.

At first glance, it looks like a creepy conglomeration of countless arms, large and small, twisting and flexing. But if you squint, blurring your vision and turning on myopia mode, the image becomes much more vivid, like a fleshy coral swaying in the wind.

This flesh-and-blood plant frantically absorbed the breath of death from the 'Yellow Spring Pond', extending its numerous roots with blood vessels and meridians downwards, drilling into the reclining Buddha statue, twisting and revitalizing it bit by bit, and spreading along the Buddha statue at the bottom of the pond to the entire temple.

Yuan Zhu observed carefully and found that many "pocket-sized hands" the size of bean sprouts emerged from the cracks in the stone floor. There were also imperceptible slender hands in the cracks in the walls, flower beds, and on the surfaces of dry trees. They breathed in the Yellow Springs scent (blue mist) in the air and spewed out the polluted "Yellow Springs Buddhist Rhythm".

Then, he thought of the time when he was in the shadow world and looking up at the base of the Vajra Temple, countless root-like hands stretched out from between the stones, using their breath to transform the shadow world and create the scene of the Yellow Springs Hell.

The 'light blue Yellow Spring mist' that he needed and was able to absorb was crazily plundered and absorbed by this thing, and then transformed into the corpse-smelling Yellow Spring Buddhist rhyme, which was spewed out to pollute the environment!
"Could it really be a spiritual root from the underworld? But the pollution purity is too high. I can't touch it at all, let alone move it."

The Tiger Demon stared at the Corpse Hand Plant for a long moment, confirming it had no connection to him. The pollution index was so high that the [Immortal Scripture] frantically sounded an alarm, urging him to stay away. He instinctively didn't want to get too close, feeling an ominous sense of being consumed by the pollution.

Little Elf: "Lao Da, this thing is so evil and filthy! Its resentment is so great that it covers the entire temple. Worse still, it has occupied the spring of [Yellow Spring], polluting all the dead air. It really needs to be purified with fire!"

The tiger head and snake tail stared pitifully at the filthy Yellow Spring water, disgusted by its strong Buddhist corpse stench, yet also filled with greed and desire. This was an instinct born from the tiger demon's bloodline: a fondness for any energy related to the underworld and the netherworld, which could accelerate the tiger demon's growth and development.

"Ah, if there were such a spring in the world, your innate magical power of [Mountain King Ghost Cave] would come in handy."

Yuan Zhu's heart moved, and he asked, "What about now? It's not too late now. Can I activate this magical power?"

Snake Tail shook his head violently. "I can't do it. I simply can't. Not to mention your [Tiger Demon True Body] isn't fully mature yet. It's only in its larval stage, or in gaming terms, around Lv. 1-4. To activate [Mountain King God (Ghost) Domain], you need to be at least Lv. 25-30. Furthermore, the Mountain King God Domain requires 'living stakes and a large formation.' Do you have any human pillars? Do you have any ghost minions?"

This involved new and unknown knowledge, and Yuan Zhu suddenly became interested: "What is a living pile? What is a formation? Why don't I have any memory of these?"

"How can one awaken high-level bloodline memories during the larval stage? Moreover, the universe has changed, and the knowledge of magic arrays may not be useful. The living stake is the foundation of the magic array, and for you, it is a 'ghost + human pillar'. Select people with spiritual roots and magic power, arrange the five elements, select cultivators who have reached the foundation, refine them into human pillar magic weapons, bury them in the ground, inject ghosts to connect with the underworld, expand the magic array step by step, enhance the effect and area... and finally create a divine realm. One divine power will cost thousands of bones, and these thousands of bones are the 'human pillar'." The elf let his imagination run wild and described to Yuan Zhu the practice blueprint of the 'Ghost Tiger of the Underworld' in the neighboring Xiuxian universe.

"What a hardworking... No, evil ghost tiger demon!"

The Tiger Demon licked his tongue. He couldn't accept using humans as stakes, but if the deformed monsters and demons from Duling were used to refine the "human pillar magic weapon", he wouldn't be so opposed to it. Instead, he felt a sense of moral responsibility to do justice for the people.

Yes! This is the path I should take! Standing in the shadows, I look up to the light. I will become a multiverse warrior who transcends species limitations and contributes to society and humanity.

I came from Earth, not for anything else but to slay demons and save this inherently filthy world.

"Alas, it seems there is no chance."

Yuan Zhu looked at Youquan Pond with some regret, but he was unwilling to leave so easily. If he could mobilize the [Mountain God Devil] to mess around a bit, even if it didn't occupy the pond, just messing around and causing damage, it would still be a pleasure to himself at the expense of others.

Whether it is harming others or benefiting himself, he can always feel happy.

Elf: Ah yes! We multiverse warriors are all like this! Support the boss.

The elf, always concerned about his boss's mental health, sensed Yuan Zhu's troubled state of mind and immediately stepped in to offer some relief: "Master Lao, are you feeling uneasy unless you do something? This discomfort is hindering your ability to think clearly, and will affect your future cultivation?"

"Uh... not that exaggerated. But it does make me feel a little unwilling. I fought so hard to get here, only to leave empty-handed? Then my journey would be in vain."

The skeleton snake nodded vigorously and began to grumble, "Right! We should do something serious, otherwise our trip would be in vain. I have a plan, boss, listen to me."

"Say!"

Snake Tail looked around stealthily. After confirming that no one was around, its ruby eyes flashed with wisdom. With a stealthy touch, it whispered to the tiger demon, "Boss, you can spit into the pool and severely pollute this pool of Buddhist sewage. You can secretly mark your territory and leave your mark."

"???" Maomao tilted her head. Yuan Zhu didn't understand for a moment, "Why don't you explain it more clearly."

"Tigers pee, cats spit balls, marking territory, ruling the mountain!" the elf explained. "[Stomach Universe] has accumulated over 40 deformed monsters. You can't digest them now, and they're also consuming and polluting spiritual energy abnormally. I think it's better to abandon them all and vomit them into this pool. Let those half-digested 'deformed monsters and ghost reserves' compete with that corpse hand for nutrients and death energy... Even if they are eventually converted, they will only cause a huge mess! At the very least, it will harm others and not benefit yourself!" The poisonous elf proposed a bold and vicious plan: [Shadow Vomit Defiles the Buddhist Rhyme Spring]

"Is it feasible? I worked so hard to swallow the prey, spent over 30 hours digesting it, and you let it go so easily? What about my accomplices?"

"Letting it go like this is the best value for money!" The elf controlled the 'Furry King Bow' around his neck to automatically disintegrate and reconstruct into a feather fan and scarf, which he wore on his head. Using a small black arm woven with silk thread, he waved the feather fan, transforming into his military advisor form. "Please listen to me play for you."

"Firstly, the demons sealed and suppressed within our stomachs have complex origins, consisting of over a dozen contaminated products of rubbish evil gods. These demons are transformed from ordinary mortals, weak in strength and potential, but the source of their contamination is incredibly complex. Breaking them down and dissipating them is a tedious endeavor, so it's better to spit them out! Even if over a dozen different contaminants were to fall into this pool of Buddha-Rhythm Spring, regardless of their strength, they would still be enough to sicken the opponent to death. It's like adding a dozen or so random seasonings to a pure pot of soup, hehehe..."

"Secondly, although these monsters haven't been completely digested by the [Stomach Universe], they've been severely contaminated and processed by the 'Power of Shadow' over the past 30 hours or so, and have begun to transform into [Tiger Henchmen], gaining some of the attributes of Henchmen. Now that the [Henchmen's Divine Powers] have been completed, if these monsters were to regain their freedom, they wouldn't be able to contact their respective evil gods and receive no replenishment from the contaminated power. Instead, they would be corroded by the [Yellow Springs] in their current environment. Then, they would inevitably die and transform into ghosts. At this point, they could be considered to have spontaneously transformed into wild Yellow Springs Henchmen, self-processing and self-cooking."

In the eyes of the elves, the basic function of [The World in the Belly] is to digest, absorb, and transform... prey (ingredients) into minions.

Currently, Tiger Demon Yuan Zhu was too young, with limited digestive function, and he swallowed 40 servings of food but was unable to assimilate them. However, over the past 30 hours, his 'stomach acid' had successfully transformed (contaminated) the food, imbuing it with basic shadow contamination, turning it into a semi-finished food (a ghost).

If released now, they would be contaminated by the "evil spirit pollution, shadow pollution," and "poisonous taint of the Yellow Springs Buddha," and would inevitably die. After death, they would absorb the dead energy and spontaneously transform into "mutated wild ghosts." This is self-production and self-digestion outside of the digestive system.

He could make himself into a pre-cooked dish, more suitable for the Tiger Demon's gastrointestinal system, and wait for Yuan Zhu's return. He could also pollute and disrupt the pond, competing with the corpse-hand plant for the power of the underworld, and spread the pollution of more than a dozen evil gods to harass and destroy them.

If it returns next time, the Tiger Demon will undoubtedly be even stronger, with a more mature digestive system. Meanwhile, there will be dozens of unique "Yellow Springs Ghosts" (wild prepared dishes) waiting for it to hunt and taste again.

After hearing this, Yuan Zhu was immediately shocked. "Is this even possible? Then from now on, I might as well just stop digesting the minions and just make semi-finished products, then spit them out... let them ferment on their own, mutate wildly, and become more nutritious and mature before eating them."

"My king, what do you think of [Buddha]'s previous act of demonizing the people of Naye? And what about the Yellow Springs Buddhist rhythm flowing through the Diamond Temple right now, transforming countless Dharma-Handed Corpse Demons? You must not underestimate yourself. Although [Tiger Demon] is young and immature, he also has the characteristics of a demon. This 'semi-finished ghost food' is your own means of shadow pollution! Unfortunately, your purity is not enough to spread the pollution automatically on a large scale. You can only actively transform the semi-finished product and then release it..."

Imagine the Buddha spreading his "dirty blood," instantly contaminating countless civilians, allowing them to spread spontaneously, absorbing starlight to grow stronger, and then using Buddhist teachings to convert them into believers. And within this Vajra Temple, there's also a fully automated contamination process that can transform ordinary people into ghouls.

Looking at myself, I have to actively swallow the prey, turn it into a semi-finished prepared dish, and then release it back into nature, transforming myself into maturity... It seems that they are all the same, the only difference is the efficiency.

Yuan Zhu suddenly had an epiphany and asked, "To put it another way, let's look at it from the perspective of the pollution source or the anti-law demon. After these 'semi-finished ingredients' are released, they are no longer under my control and may even be hostile to me. But they have already been labeled as [Shadow. Henchmen] by me, and have the same properties. If I let them grow wildly, will the value of my recipes also increase? As I become stronger, they will ferment to become more nutritious and delicious. Not only will they be easily digested and absorbed, but I will also be able to obtain 'supernatural element information' beyond [Shadow. Henchmen], which is their original pollution properties?"

Even if the polluting properties of more than a dozen garbage evil gods are digested and absorbed, they are still of garbage grade and have no reference value. They will also make their own purity more chaotic and their potential lost.

But if we allow these monsters to transform in the underworld, after elimination and screening, those who survive will definitely be stronger and more outstanding.

At that time, they had both the 'ghost attributes' and their own improved and optimized 'other pollution characteristics'. After being recycled for the second time by [The Universe in the Belly], they became mine.

Yuan Zhu: "You said that the captain generously gave us uniforms and didn't force us to sign an anti-law with the [Mao Mao Wang]. He also supported us to continue to contact other extraordinary elements and cultivate 'power seeds'. Could it be the same principle? The uniforms are similar to the way we prepare these monster pre-cooked dishes. After they are contaminated by shadows, their original extraordinary powers are not affected, and they may even be deeply combined and mutated, giving me an opportunity to take advantage."

"When I return to this bubble world in the future, they will undoubtedly have absorbed enough [Yellow Springs Qi] to transform themselves into unique 'Specialized Shadow Henchmen'. I will then refine and absorb them, giving them a new batch of [Mutated Shadow Traits] that I cannot actively cultivate. Meanwhile, the Happy Home team members will evolve their own personalized 'exclusive uniforms' according to their own habits. For [Furry King], this means collecting various unique 'new seeds'. If I continue to sign a contract to further my studies against the law, these seeds will take root and sprout, growing into even stronger 'Pollution Traits', ready to be harvested."

"Huh...? Could this be the true purpose of the [Furry King]? If we zoom out a bit, the [Pale Law] can tolerate, even allow, the rampant growth of the [Anti-Law Demon God]. Is this also a similar mechanism? If I were the [Shadow Law], I could painstakingly spit out a batch of [Anti-Law Dregs], letting them absorb the [Yellow Spring Qi] to grow stronger again... and then eventually return to eat the buffet, further strengthening the foundation of the [Shadow Law]..."

Yuan Zhu: "Oh, we invented the truth about the world!"

Elf: "Congratulations, Boss! Congratulations, Boss! You have seen through illusions and grasped the true meaning of the world. You are incredibly talented and your wisdom is unparalleled!"

The tiger demon proudly swung its tail and said with restraint, "Humble, calm, and low-key. I've observed mist emanating from the Yellow Spring in the shadow world. This pond might have a secret connection to the shadow dimension. After throwing these pre-prepared vegetables in, let them grow and develop. Perhaps my 'shadow pollution' can help them penetrate the pond and the shadow dimension, adding a new batch of 'pre-prepared vegetable species' to the dead shadow world, escaping the Buddhist pollution?"

The shadow world he had entered previously was barren and dead, devoid of shadow creatures. However, the Diamond Temple was clearly eroding and transforming the shadow world, attempting to add Huangquan attributes and create a subordinate "hell" for the bubble world.

Then his 'wild prefabricated minions' are likely to take root in the shadow dimension, multiply and spread... The future of this bubble world is promising!

Thinking of this, the tiger demon hurriedly grabbed the pond fence with his front paws, stuck out a big head, and forced himself to get closer to the pond water while enduring the discomfort, and activated [The Universe in the Belly] in the reverse direction.

The tiger demon's stomach felt nothing, and he didn't open his mouth to vomit. Instead, his tail suddenly twitched, and he slammed into the shadows beneath him. Then, a giant shadow python emerged from the ground, its mouth wide open, and he began to regurgitate. "Wow, puke, wow..."

The elf spat out one flesh ball after another, emitting a strong scent of [Shadow Pollution], wrapped in a black membrane, and trembling rhythmically. Beneath the membrane of the flesh ball, the outline of a strange monster was coiled in a ball.

Pfft!Pfft!Pfft!
Large and small pitch-black evil fetal membrane balls fell into the pool one after another, and were quickly corroded and polluted by the thick death energy of the underworld. Their vitality dissipated visibly, and they emitted the "corpse ghost Buddha rhythm" and "ghost breath", transforming towards death.

The refining speed is much faster than his digestion speed!

Yuan Zhu didn't care, as the 'shadow tag' he had injected didn't disappear, nor did the monster's original 'pollution attribute'. Instead, it was squeezed by the pool water, forced to fuse for self-preservation. Meanwhile, the way the black fetal membrane absorbed the power of the underworld also revealed some characteristics of a 'ghost'. That was enough.

He didn't care if he succeeded or not. If it turned out to be a surprise, even if he failed, he could still trick the other party and severely contaminate the corpse hand plant.

This group of pre-made dishes were clearly not legitimate Buddhist ghouls, but rather wild, unconventional ghouls with complex origins... and they were gradually showing potential for transformation into shadows. Perhaps they could escape directly from the depths of the pond into the shadow dimension?
"Congratulations, my king, for creating uncontrollable wild minions! Let's run away! If they hatch, the first thing they might do is attack us."

Having done something bad, the Tiger Demon was in high spirits and said happily, "Don't panic! Let's go back to the main hall and search it out before running away. I heard that monks love gold, silver, glass, coral, agate... My life has been so hard, and now I've quit my job at the steam factory. I must make a fortune to support my family!"

After Little Tail finished spitting out the prefabricated monsters from [The Universe in the Belly], the Tiger Demon leaped over the stone arch bridge and rushed towards the main hall. At the very least, he would have to scrape off a layer of his golden body. He was in such a state of hardship!

　Today the backend changed the listing time again, postponing it to the 28th, New Year’s Eve… It’s such good luck that I probably won’t encounter this again in my lifetime.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)