White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 66 The Skull Appears in the Picture
The white fox kept turning her head from side to side, curiously looking at the many images of various beings on the stone wall. There were many strange human figures that she had never seen before, some with smiling eyes, some glaring angrily, and some with cold mockery...

The white fox was so mesmerized by the sight that she began to stagger, feeling dizzy and then fainting.

Seeing it lying on the ground, Bai Wuxiang couldn't help but laugh. The White Bone Cave was the place where he, the Demon God, was born. The images of all living beings on the wall contained the true meaning of the Demon God. Although they didn't have any great supernatural powers, they were of great use to help demons and monsters comprehend magic.

He stood up, took the little white fox into his arms, gently combed its white fur, and then leisurely stepped out of the cave.

The morning sun shone brightly in all directions, piercing through the clouds and mist on Skull Mountain, and a few rays of sunlight shone on the side of the locust tree.

Bai Wuxiang walked through the sunlight without any hesitation; this bit of yang energy posed no threat to him whatsoever.

The formless demon god resides within his body; he walks the world only in the form of a white skeletal demon.

If Bai Wuxiang's skeletal body encounters an enemy he cannot defeat, then Wuxiang will have to emerge.

The strange phenomenon of the tribulation in the Yunze Mountains last night could not be hidden from that mountain lord. He looked at the changes in the energy outside Skull Mountain. Skull Mountain and Yunze Mountains had severed their earth veins, which meant that from now on, Skull Mountain, where he was, would no longer belong to Yunze Mountains.

In contrast, Skull Mountain lost the protection of Lord Yunze Mountain and became an "evil mountain" exposed to the demon hunters in the mortal world.

He gazed at the mountains shrouded in increasingly dense clouds and said softly, "I'm afraid Skull Mountain will never have peace again."

Bai Wuxiang flashed and stood between Skull Mountain and Yunze Mountain Range. A wide and deep valley suddenly appeared here, and the water of the underground river gradually emerged, turning the valley into a marsh.

"It seems that even the mountain lord who is willing to protect all demons doesn't want to talk to me. I've become an even more annoying being than the demons themselves."

He laughed and made a self-deprecating remark, then stretched out his right palm and ran it across the mountainside, leaving three characters on the stone as if a ghostly claw had pierced through it: "Youchuan River".

Since the other party had so clearly distanced themselves from him, Bai Wuxiang wouldn't say anything more. Although he still looked like just a skeleton demon, the formless demon god within him was someone even the Mountain Lord wouldn't dare to provoke, someone who could defy the might of heaven and thunder.

Bai Wuxiang didn't have too many worries. Wuxiang needed to grow, and the white bone demon body also needed to accumulate demon power. If he just stayed in the deep mountains, it would be difficult to obtain enough resentment and emotions.

Resentment is what the Resentment Pearl needs, while the seven emotions and six desires are the power that the Formless needs.

The only way to quickly acquire these powers is to delve into the human world.

Bai Wuxiang appeared on Skull Mountain. He looked at the chaotic energy of the human world and smiled. "It's time for the world to know the name Wuxiang."

……

Outside Zhangyang City, after a winter of hibernation, the nearby villages are now filled with followers of the Wuxiang Shangjiao sect.

On a clear early summer morning, shouts could be heard coming from a valley near the mountain.

The black crow descended from the sky, folded its wings, and stood on the branches of a tall birch tree, its white crow eyes staring at the group of men below.

There were over a hundred men here, all shirtless, divided into several formations. Some were carrying machetes, others had swords at their waists, and still others were archers carrying quivers.

Liu Dazhu stood in front of the crowd, looking at the well-trained team with shock in his eyes.

He said incredulously, "Brother... these people were just a group of farmers who only knew how to till the land a few months ago, how come they look like soldiers going into battle now?"

Brother, you're amazing!

Dressed in a white robe and wearing a jade crown, Li Xiangzhi held a bone staff, stroked his mustache, and replied with a smile:

“As long as there are good generals, there will be no shortage of good soldiers. These people were just uncivilized farmers before, but after my enlightenment and teaching over the past few months, they have changed somewhat.”

However, when it comes to actually charging into battle, killing enemies and beheading them, they still get stage fright.

"Wouldn't that be a waste of effort? The food donated by the believers isn't enough to feed so many freeloaders!" Liu Dazhu worried.

"Hehe, the officials in various places are corrupt, and apart from the garrison troops stationed nearby, there are hardly any good soldiers left to guard the city. The imperial soldiers may look impressive, but in reality, Nanzhao has been plagued by problems for many years, and those soldiers are even worse than us."

They lack armor, warhorses, and other such items, and our weapons are inferior to theirs. But as long as we have the morale, we can overwhelm them with sheer force.

Li Xiangzhi said confidently, "After another month of training, we can launch an attack on the city!"

Liu Dazhu felt a surge of excitement upon hearing this, but he was also a shrewd man—otherwise, he wouldn't have become the leader of the gang—and said worriedly:
"But these farmers are used to being honest and law-abiding. How could they possibly follow us and fight against the imperial army?"
I fear that when they see the officials, a single rebuke will be enough to make them surrender and abandon their armor.

"Heh heh, the imperial court has been keeping the people ignorant for years, so it's naturally deeply ingrained. But compared to the court's ignorance, the belief in ghosts and gods is far more convincing!"

Li Xiangzhi led Liu Dazhu and several others to a flat platform.

A clay statue of a god, over three zhang tall, stood in the center of the platform. The statue was entirely gray-white, with a human figure wearing a robe, but its face was blank.

"With the name of the God of No Form, I am no longer afraid that these foolish people will not believe in my God of No Form and will not obey my orders as their leader."

Li Xiangzhi looked at the formless clay statue of a god, reached out and patted it, and laughed: "The talk of ghosts and gods is the easiest way to bewitch people's hearts!"

"But it's a bit difficult to completely convince nearly a thousand people in these villages with just a stone statue," Liu Dazhu pondered. "If we fail to fool them, we'll probably be arrested and handed over to the authorities by these village elders and village heads."

"Hehe, don't worry, I have a way." Li Xiangzhi laughed smugly, "What if there really is a formless god in this world?"

Does God really exist?

The people present couldn't help but widen their eyes. Although these street thugs and bullies didn't really believe in gods and Buddhas, they still held a deep reverence for these supernatural matters.

Half a month later, in Xiaoyeling, Li Xiangzhi, dressed in white robes, stood solemnly under the statue of a god. Beside the platform stood his eleven sworn brothers, all dressed in white robes, following behind him.

Around the platform stood a dense crowd of villagers.

There were strong, sturdy men, as well as thin, bony old men, bewildered village women, and curious children.

As dusk fell and the setting sun disappeared behind the mountains, everyone looked with awe at the statue with its hands clasped together.

The cult leader said that the God of No Form will appear tonight to enlighten them!

Finally, the sunlight was swallowed by darkness, and all was silent.

Standing on the high platform, Li Xiangzhi shouted at the top of his lungs, "Welcome the God of No Form to descend upon the mortal world and enlighten us all!"

"Boom~"

A thunderbolt flashed across the heavens, illuminating the statue. Eerie blue flames floated on the surrounding platforms, neither rising nor falling, silently suspended in mid-air. Witnessing this miraculous scene, the crowd knelt in excitement, chanting, "Welcome, Formless God!"

The mixed chanting was also interspersed with various different sounds of kneeling.

"May the Great Immortal Wuxiang protect my son and keep him safe!"

"The Great God Wuxiang has appeared! Please enlighten us so that we may have food to eat!"

"May the Bodhisattva Wuxiang protect my son! May the Bodhisattva Wuxiang protect him! Let my son get well soon!"

……

Amidst the calls, the villagers prayed for what they desired in their hearts. The noisy shouts and prayers startled even the black crows, which flapped their wings and landed on the clasped arms of the statue, staring blankly at the clusters of firelight.

These noisy and chaotic sounds also reached Bai Wuxiang's ears, far away in Skull Mountain.

He frowned slightly. This sorcerer was indeed quite capable, proficient in these strange arts, able to predict the weather, and had gathered thousands of followers under his own name!
This number may seem to be only a little over a thousand elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people, but just by virtue of his position as the leader, he can command so many people. Even the most powerful martial arts masters and ordinary monsters and ghosts would not dare to offend him lightly.

The faith of these thousands of people was directly applied to Bai Wuxiang. If he were just an ordinary demon or spirit, he would probably be forced to cooperate with this sorcerer.

The worship of incense is not as simple as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; it is mixed with all kinds of human desires, and the relationship between gods and believers is very much like the relationship between a king and his people.

Water can carry a boat, and it can also overturn it.

Unless they are ancient gods with extremely high levels of cultivation, they can remain unaffected by even the greatest backlash from faith.

Fortunately, the current Bai Wuxiang is not the same as the one from the past.

This person probably realized that the Wuxiang statue in Xiaohui Village possessed the abilities of mountain spirits and demons, so he turned around and set a trap for himself, using benefits to lure him into helping Li Xiangzhi succeed in his rebellion.

A cold smile curled at the corner of Bai Wuxiang's lips. He sat cross-legged on the stone platform, and a thousand-legged Buddha statue crawled out from his crown chakra and disappeared.

The formless demon god passed through layers of mountains and descended over Xiaoyeling in a matter of breaths. The enormous demon god's face suddenly opened its huge mouth and devoured the faith of thousands of believers.

Then it returned directly to Bai Wuxiang's body, completely ignoring Li Xiangzhi.

Faith can be considered a derivative of the seven emotions and six desires of living beings. After the formless devours it, it can increase its power and will not be devoured by faith.

Li Xiangzhi, standing beneath the statue, glanced around and was surprised to find no demonic spirits appearing. Could it be that he had miscalculated and that the title of the God of No Form was merely empty rhetoric?
Having offered him so much faith and incense, how could he not appear before the people to appease them?

The black raven on the statue's arm received the message, spread its wings, and flew away, but it did not go far, only lingering near Li Xiangzhi.

The master said this person's spirit is extraordinary; if he were to cultivate resentment, it would be incredibly pure and immense. He must protect him, lest other demons get there first.

In Skull Mountain, the Demon God Wuxiang returned to his body, and Bai Wuxiang opened his eyes and woke up.

Having devoured the faith of thousands of people, Wuxiang also grew stronger, its body increasing from the initial thirty-six zhang to forty-two zhang in height.

The formless demon god is without form or shape; the only measure of its power is the extent to which it can manifest its form and influence the forces of heaven and earth.

Even with a thousand followers, it only grew to a few feet tall; it seems this demon god could only be born in chaotic times.

However, as he observed the changes in the human world's energy, although the Southern Zhao Dynasty was in turmoil, the Formless Demon God sensed the changes in energy and believed that the dynasty would last for at least several decades before its demise.

That proves that it is not yet time for the Formless Demon God to descend the mountain and devour everything.

However, the name of Wuxiang can begin to spread in all directions, attracting many causal disturbances, so that he can sit back and absorb the resentment, cultivate his demonic power, and replenish himself.

Aside from taking advantage of Li Xiangzhi's rebellion to make his own plans, the only other thing he could rely on was that painting from several years ago.

Bai Wuxiang possesses the memories of the young master of the Bai family. In his previous life, he was also a wealthy young man with considerable knowledge of poetry and literature. When the painter Yao Zhengze first created the work, he knew it would be extraordinary. With the addition of his own illusion magic, it would definitely become a masterpiece that would be passed down through generations.

But so far, not a single ripple has appeared, which must mean something went wrong along the way.

We'll still need to use some of our own methods.

Bai Wuxiang stirred up the concept of formlessness in his heart. He comprehended three aspects of the four attachments from Buddhist scriptures: no self, no person, and no sentient being.

Only the most profound and mysterious aspect of the lifeless being remains uncomprehended, and this aspect is the great Buddhist wisdom regarding the great principles of the passage and change of time.

However, the first three phases are enough to make Bai Wuxiang's primordial spirit extremely terrifying. Even if they are thousands of miles apart, as long as there is a medium of phase, he can split himself into different forms.

He unleashed the demonic power of the formless being, and with the help of the spirit-communicating power of the Vengeful Spirit Pearl, his mind fell into stillness.

After an unknown amount of time, Bai Wuxiang's consciousness gradually cleared. He awoke from his confused state and found himself standing in a painting.

And this painting is none other than the scroll "The Formless Crossing of Ten Thousand Bones"!
He twisted his body, and a skeleton on the Skull Mountain in the painting also moved strangely.

Inside this secret room, candles burned eternally, and a two-foot-tall Medicine Buddha statue was enshrined on a sandalwood table. The painting "Formless Salvation of Ten Thousand Bones" hung on the wall behind the Medicine Buddha statue.

The skeleton in the painting twisted its body, becoming more and more lifelike. After a quarter of an hour, the moving skeleton actually crawled out of the painting!

The skeleton first stretched out its ten fingers and pried open a crack in the painting, then slowly pulled its head out of the painting.

Bai Wuxiang was prying at the exposed part of the skeleton's body when suddenly the stone slab of the secret chamber opened, and footsteps could be heard.

The little skeleton that his divine sense had descended upon quickly withdrew its hands and feet and crawled back into the painting.

A robust middle-aged man strode in. He wore a dark red long robe with cloud patterns and a purple-gold crown. He had regular features and exuded an air of authority with every gesture.

Behind him followed a disfigured man with hideous scars on his face. The two stopped in front of a sandalwood table. The middle-aged man slowly sat down and said, "Have you brought back the person I asked you to capture alive?"

The scarred man clasped his hands and knelt down, saying, "Reporting to Master, I have failed in my duty. I only managed to capture three people. That Sword Master Mingjin was hiding his strength and was already a top-tier expert. Not only did I fail to capture him, but I was almost captured by him as well!"

Behind the middle-aged man, on the painting of the formless figure, the eyes of the tiny skeleton, like dust particles, turned. Bai Wuxiang pondered, "The Golden Sword..."

"Why does that sound so familiar?"

(End of this chapter)