Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 19 Ksitigarbha Sutra

The evil Buddha's belly contained a great many things.

The dozens of bottles of pills were originally full, but when the sword light cleaved the evil Buddha, many bottles shattered. Although Chen Ye tried his best to salvage them, many pills were still contaminated by the corpse fluid and became useless.

Most of the remaining pills were human blood pills. These pills could not only help condense the dantian and sea of ​​qi, but also serve as a source of spiritual energy and could treat minor injuries. They were exactly what Chen Ye needed now that he was deaf. However, these blood pills had severe side effects, so Chen Ye was not in a hurry to take them immediately.

There were also some bottles and jars containing antidotes, poisons, and Gu worms, which alone made Chen Ye, this penniless man, beam with joy.

Besides the elixir, there were also two spirit talismans.

One of them had already been broken by the sword energy and lost its effectiveness.

The other spell Chen Ye recognized was the most classic Blood Burning Curse of the Demonic Sect. It used blood as fuel, and once ignited, it would burn until the flesh and blood dried up. It was an extremely vicious spell.

Mo Ci had taught Chen Ye the Blood Burning Spell, so Chen Ye naturally understood its principles. However, it was extremely difficult for him to cast it, because the spell was too troublesome and complicated. It required a long time to prepare before it even started, not to mention that it needed a massive amount of spiritual energy to support it. It was not something that a mere Qi Sea Realm cultivator could cast.

This talisman is definitely a good thing, so Chen Ye put it away first.

Exchanging two sword talismans for this Blood Burning Curse is a bit of a loss. After all, Qinghe swordsmanship is the best in the world, and the sword talismans of the Qinghe Sword Sect are naturally much more valuable than these common ones.

If this is all the loot we find, then this treasure hunt would be a huge loss.

Fortunately, there are other treasures.

A long, jet-black banner, a piece of crystal-clear amber, and a seemingly ordinary thread-bound book.

The black banner is the Myriad Souls Banner, a demonic artifact. It seems that every demon has one, but it is much better than the crude one that Chen Ye made himself.

After putting away the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, Chen Ye picked up the amber to study it.

I almost threw it away as soon as I got a good look at what was inside the amber.

Within the palm-sized piece of amber was a child, appearing to be about seven or eight years old, curled up, shrunk and sealed inside the amber. Upon closer inspection, the child's entire body was covered with runes smaller than the tip of a pin.

"A cursed spirit child?! This is actually prepared specifically for possession!"

Chen Ye couldn't help but tremble. The piece of amber in his hand was truly cruel and vicious.

Demonic cultivators are known for their wickedness; killing to cultivate their skills is commonplace, and the need to possess another's body after their physical body is destroyed is even more frequent. Chen Ye's master, Mo Ci, had possessed multiple bodies, each time damaging his soul and weakening him further.

Forcibly possessing a body is too damaging to the soul. Is there a way to reduce the damage caused by possession? Of course there is. This evil cursed spirit child is a vicious magic weapon used by the demonic sects for possession.

By simply refining a child of similar bloodline into amber, one can directly possess the child's body at crucial moments.

How can I have a child who is closely related to me by blood?

It's simple, just have the baby yourself. As for who to have the baby with and how to have it... well, the Demonic Sect has plenty of methods for that.

One person is far from enough; you need at least dozens to find a suitable candidate.

When the child reaches six or seven years old, their mind will be destroyed. They will be made completely mentally impaired through methods of fear or nightmares, leaving them alive but powerless to resist, and then sealed in amber.

To maintain the vitality of the physical body, it is necessary to nourish it with blood and flesh from time to time to ensure that the body does not decay.

The child sealed in the amber is still alive, but is no different from being dead.

The evil spirit child does not need to be carried around. Once the demon's physical body is destroyed, its soul will be drawn by the inscribed array and automatically descend into this amber. It can be re-hatched within a few days and complete the possession as quickly as possible.

This cursed spirit child is considered a top-grade life-saving spell in the demonic sects, but it's too vicious. Even Chen Ye's master, Mo Ci, had only heard of it and couldn't bear to use it himself. There are differences between demons; someone like Mo Ci is neither good enough nor bad enough. He's not ruthless enough to be evil, but he lacks the resolve to be a good person, so he ends up in a rather miserable situation.

Cultivating immortality absolutely cannot follow the middle path, because achieving immortality is about that one in ten thousand chance. Both the righteous and demonic paths have predecessors who have ascended to immortality, but the unorthodox paths, which waver left and right, have never been known to have anyone achieve immortality.

Although one's temperament is unrelated to one's cultivation, those who are more resolute are often more likely to overcome difficulties and obstacles. Things are often just about right, but when it comes to the crucial moment, one always falls short by a little.

And this point, perhaps, is the difference between immortals and mortals, the difference between life and death.

Chen Ye silently warned himself not to repeat the same mistake, and then he brought his mind back to the present.

Now he knows the purpose of this corpse pit and the evil Buddha: to protect and feed this cursed child so that the demon can escape with his life in a critical moment.

No wonder this evil Buddha had so many good things inside; it turns out that the demon was preparing for his own rebirth by possessing another body.

With elixirs, talismans, and magical treasures, one can immediately protect oneself after possessing another's body.

"These days, those who want to be involved in the demonic path not only need to be ruthless, but also cautious."

Chen Ye sighed, then became worried about Su Chunyi. The demon who could create evil cursed spirit children was no ordinary person, and he wondered if that young lady Su could defeat him.

"Wait, if Miss Su kills that demon, won't he immediately try to possess her body?"

Chen Ye suddenly felt the amber in his hand getting hotter and hotter. If this great demon were to be reborn in front of him, he would be doomed.

Either throw this amber away or destroy it completely; otherwise, a great disaster may befall us.

Chen Ye carefully set the amber aside and took out his last prize: a seemingly ordinary thread-bound book. However, the book had been soaked in water, and the writing had completely blurred, making it impossible to read what was written. The material also seemed unremarkable, just the most common kind.

But if it were just ordinary stuff, why would it be placed with so many precious treasures?
Chen Ye examined it carefully and finally discovered something unusual.

There seems to be a faint white mark on the cover of this book. If you wipe it gently with your hand, the white mark will fade a little.

Only this white mark? This made Chen Ye feel that something was wrong.

Why does such an ordinary book only have this mark, while the rest of the book is intact except for the illegible writing?

If it were an ordinary book, after being read many times, it would always have some missing corners or creases, so how could it look like new?
"These white marks...could they have been just cut?"

Chen Ye was startled by his own thought. Su Chunyi's sword talisman could even split open an evil Buddha made of pure gold, yet it could only leave a scratch on this book.
Chen Ye tried to tear the book apart with force, but found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't damage it in the slightest.

He took out his dagger again and tried to stab it with all his might, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pierce any page or even leave a trace.

Chen Ye exclaimed in shock, "This book is the real treasure!"

No wonder it was placed inside the evil Buddha's belly. Even if you can't decipher the inscriptions, just stuffing it into your clothes would make it an impenetrable armor.

However, the true value of this book ultimately lies in its text. The content recorded in such precious materials must be extraordinary; perhaps it is a legacy left by some demon lord?
With a try-it-out mentality, Chen Ye infused his spiritual power into it.

Logically speaking, this move shouldn't have any effect. Since it's encrypted in some way, how could it be cracked so easily?

But today seems to be Chen Ye's lucky day.

As Chen Ye infused his spiritual energy, the indistinct characters transformed into golden light and floated in mid-air.

"With compassion and accumulated virtue, I vow to save all sentient beings. With the golden staff in my hand, I open the gates of hell. With the bright pearl in my palm, I illuminate the entire world. In the sound of wisdom and in the auspicious clouds, I serve as the great witness and benefactor for the suffering beings of Jambudvipa. With great compassion and great vows, with great holiness and great mercy, I am the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha Mahasattva."

Chen Ye was stunned after reading it; it seemed to be the Ksitigarbha Sutra!
(End of this chapter)