I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 186 A Thousand Ghosts Parade at Night, the Golden Ghost Arrives!

The surname Ouyang is not very common in this world.

Actually, compound surnames are quite rare in this world.

The images of Ouyang Lu and Ouyang Yu, the brother and sister, immediately flashed into Chen Mo's mind.

Chen Mo initially took in the brother and sister because they provided information about human-dragon sacrifices in exchange. At the time, they said they came from Qingyun Prefecture, which was near Nanyang Prefecture.

Later, when Chen Mo decided to go to Nanzhou, the brother and sister resolutely followed, even confessing to him that they were from Nanzhou. They had previously deceived the young master.

Chen Mo wasn't one to meddle, so he didn't ask any further questions. It was just something that happened on the way anyway.

However... it was only a fleeting thought for Chen Mo.

Li Huabai seemed to sense Chen Mo's suspicions, "Does Young Master suspect Ouyang Lu and his sister?"

Chen Mo nodded noncommittally: "Do you know the background of this brother and sister?"

Li Huabai shook her head: "Previously, I only thought these two were your people and didn't think much of it. However, there aren't many people with the surname Ouyang. If you have any doubts, I can investigate their background."

Chen Mo said, "This matter must be kept secret. We mustn't alert them. Otherwise, we might arouse their suspicion and ruin our plans."

Li Huabai: "Don't worry, young master, I know my limits."

Chen Mo nodded, took the booklet back to the living room and sat down. He carefully flipped through it and casually said, "Come in and sit down, everyone. Juan'er, make some tea."

Li Huabai and Su Yuqing followed Chen Mo to sit on the chairs on either side of the living room.

Juan'er put down her work with the shadow puppets, made tea for everyone, and then walked up to Su Yuqing, saying in a slightly coquettish tone, "Sister Su, Juan'er's shadow puppets are broken again."

Su Yuqing was very fond of Juan'er, so she stroked Juan'er's head and asked, "Do you want your sister to buy Juan'er a new one?"

"Yes, but you're very serious with me, young master..."

"It's okay, I'll take you there later."

"Hehe, thank you, Sister Su. Sister Su is so kind to Juan'er."

"You go and be your shadow puppet. I'll take you when I have time."

Juan'er immediately ran to fuss over the shadow puppets, and the living room returned to silence. Only the sound of Chen Mo turning the pages of a book could be heard.

Since it concerned the Ghost King's whereabouts, Chen Mo examined the book very carefully. After finishing flipping through the pages, he handed it to Su Yuqing, saying, "Xiaoyu, you should take a look too."

After carefully examining the pages, Su Yuqing said, "This information has detailed sources and notes, so it seems to be verifiable. It's mostly true. Miss Huabai, could you, based on these pages, tell me about the situation in Nanzhou a hundred years ago?"

Li Huabai said, "A hundred years ago, during the Tianbao era, there was no Rakshasa Shrine in Nanzhou. There were only two demon-suppressing forces: the governor's mansion inside the city and the Golden Dragon Temple in Qianfo County outside the city."

Chen Mo was taken aback: "Golden Dragon Temple?"

Li Huabai said, "Well, I grew up in Nanzhou since I was a child, and I also took care of the Black Mountain Tower, so I know a lot of the secrets of Nanzhou's past. A hundred years ago, Qianfo County was not called Qianfo County, but Jinfo County. At that time, there was only one temple in the county, Jinlong Temple, which was very popular. Even the numerous noble families in Nanzhou City would come to Jinlong Temple to worship and burn incense during festivals."

Later, for reasons unknown, Jinlong Temple fell into disrepair and ceased accepting offerings. Most of its monks were dismissed and sent home. Many of these monks were left homeless, while others, unwilling to return to secular life, established various temples throughout the county. This eventually led to a flourishing scene of thousands of Buddhist temples. The governor of Nanzhou renamed the area Qianfo County (Thousand Buddha County).

Chen Mo was unaware of this past.

When one Jinlong Temple falls, a thousand Buddhist temples are born.

The fall of a whale brings forth life in all things; nothing could be more fitting.

"and after?"

Li Huabai said, "Later, for some reason, seven great demon-suppressing families appeared in Nanzhou, known as the Seven Heroes of Nanzhou. And hidden behind the seven great demon-suppressing families is the Rakshasa Shrine. And that's how the Rakshasa Mother appeared."

I suspect that the birth of Rakshasa Mother is related to the Ghost King in the Great Snow Mountain outside Thousand Buddha County. And since Golden Dragon Temple perished around the same time, it's possible that its demise was also related to the Ghost King.

After hearing these words, Chen Mo fell silent for a long while before speaking, "A hundred years ago, the landscape of Nanzhou underwent a great transformation. It seems that the core of this change was... the Ghost King of the Great Snow Mountain."

"Miss Hua Bai, I'll need your help for a while longer. Try your best to find out as much information as possible about the Ghost King. If the trail through the Great Snow Mountain goes cold, try the Rakshasa Shrine, Cihang Hui'an Temple, and Jinlong Temple. You might find some unexpected information there."

Li Huabai nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, young master, I will hurry..."

Just then, a series of heavy footsteps sounded.

"Who said Kinryu-ji Temple has fallen?"

But then the round-faced fat man walked in carrying a plate of osmanthus cakes. Ignoring everyone's stares, he handed the cakes directly to Li Huabai with a big smile: "Hehe, Huabai, this humble monk personally made a plate of osmanthus cakes for you. Please try them."

Li Huabai glanced at Chen Mo, who was in the chief seat, and said somewhat awkwardly, "I appreciate Master Yuanfang's kindness. But I am not hungry."

Yuan Fang clearly felt as if his heart had been stabbed, but he still managed a forced smile: "It's still hot, it tastes best while it's hot. Hua Bai, try a bite. It's still your favorite flavor from when you were little. I even wore out a few fingernails trying to make this osmanthus cake."

Li Hua's face turned red, she was very embarrassed, and she glared at Yuan Fang: "There are outsiders here."

Yuanfang scoffed: "Huabai is unmarried, and I am an unmarried monk. Why should we care about other people's opinions? Ah, open your mouth, and I'll feed you."

As he spoke, Yuanfang picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and presented it to Li Huabai with a beaming smile.

Li Huabai, however, did not open his mouth.

The situation became awkward.

Yuanfang felt as if his heart had been stabbed again.

It hurts.

Wow, it's so cold!

Just then, Li Huabai realized that the atmosphere was not right, so he said, "If you want to eat, give it to the young master first."

hiss!
Yuan Fang turned to look at Chen Mo, his face turning green.

It's not just a matter of being stabbed in the heart; it's like being pierced by a thousand arrows.

I can clearly feel a million alpacas stampeding through my mind.

What the hell... why should I?

However, Yuan Fang still maintained his sycophantic integrity, bringing a plate of osmanthus cakes to Chen Mo and reluctantly saying, "Young Master Mo, please have some osmanthus cakes."

"Thank you, Master Yuanfang." Chen Mo thanked him, thinking that if he didn't eat first, Li Huabai might feel embarrassed to eat. He also meant to help others achieve their goal.

Before he could even reach for a osmanthus cake, Yuanfang glared at Chen Mo with eyes that looked like he wanted to devour him. It was as if he were saying: This is what I prepared for Huabai. If you dare to eat it, I'll fight you to the death.

no……

Sigh... Being a simp ruins your life.

Chen Mo had no choice but to put down the osmanthus cake and said with a smile, "I suddenly realized I'm not hungry, so I won't eat it."

Hehe ~
Yuan Fang smiled and brought the plate back to Li Huabai, saying, "Young Master Mo isn't hungry, Huabai, you can have it."

Li Huabai glared at Yuan Fang, "You have absolutely no sense of propriety."

After saying that, she snatched the plate herself, took a osmanthus cake and presented it to Chen Mo, saying, "Young Master Mo, please don't laugh at me. Yuan Fang is a rough man and doesn't know any manners. You have taken good care of me along the way."

Chen Mo was a little confused, so he took the osmanthus cake and took a bite.

"Sister Su, you should have some too." Li Huabai gave the osmanthus cake to Su Yuqing and Juan'er. Then she took a bite herself. "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."

Chen Mo said, "It's dangerous outside. The Hua family and Cihang Hui'an are both watching us. You need to be careful when you're out there."

"Thank you for your concern, young master. I understand." Li Huabai bowed and hurriedly left.

Master Yuanfang stood there, stunned, as if struck by lightning. He felt utterly humiliated, as if the whole world had abandoned him.

Then, Master Yuanfang raised his head and stared at Chen Mo: "You surnamed Mo, this humble monk will fight you to the death."

After saying that, Yuanfang reached out and grabbed at Chen Mo with one claw.

Chen Mo raised his hand to block.

boom!
The chair turned to dust the moment I sat down.

So strong!

Gao Di is also a ninth-level Transcendent Realm expert.

I never expected this sycophant to be so extraordinary.

Fortunately, Chen Mo was not afraid either. Having not moved his body for a long time, he threw a punch backhand.

boom! !

In an instant, the two fought their way from the living room into the courtyard, exchanging blows. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen rounds had passed, with strong winds sweeping across and figures crisscrossing.

Yuan Fang unleashed a Dragon Claw Hand and a Luohan Fist with ferocious force.

After fifty rounds, Yuanfang was finally defeated and fell to the ground.

no way.

Although Chen Mo was also a ninth-tier Transcendent Realm expert, with the enhancement of his Corpse Demon Dao cultivation, his health regeneration was almost uninterrupted. This was something Yuan Fang couldn't do. Moreover, Chen Mo hadn't even used his even more terrifying Corpse Demon Dao cultivation yet.

Yuan Fang, who had been knocked down, sat on the ground with a thud. After a while, as if he had made up his mind, he finally stood up and glared fiercely at Chen Mo: "Fine, fine, I can't beat you. I'll accept my defeat. Hua Bai is yours from now on."

After saying that, Yuanfang wiped away her tears, turned around and left. Her back view... seemed utterly despondent, as if she had no will to live.

Chen Mo: "..."

Chen Mo had seen plenty of sycophants in his past life.

But I've seen plenty of simps since I transmigrated. Like Xie Dong... but I've never seen one as uniquely devoted as Yuan Fang.

Eh……

A simp is emotionally fragile; he needs some comforting. Otherwise… who knows what kind of self-harming thing this Yuanfang might do.

Chen Mo quickly said, "Master Yuanfang, please wait."

brush.

Yuan Fang stopped in his tracks, glaring angrily at Chen Mo: "This humble monk has already given you the painting. What more do you want? Are you trying to humiliate this humble monk?"
Yes, this humble monk is indeed not as handsome as you, nor as dashing. My physique is also not as good. And I can't even beat you. Is it not enough for this humble monk to withdraw?"

Chen Mo wanted to laugh, but he approached seriously and bowed with one hand: "Master Yuanfang, you misunderstand. I have no such feelings for Miss Hua Bai."

With tears welling in her eyes, Yuanfang asked, "Really? Do you have someone you like?"

Chen Mo shook his head: "No."

Yuanfang's tears streamed down his face again: "What are you talking about if you don't have someone you love? How could this humble monk not know the principle that feelings can grow over time? You and Huabai have spent so much time together..."

Seeing that Yuanfang was about to burst into tears again, Chen Mo quickly changed his tune: "Alright, alright, Master Yuanfang, please don't cry. Actually, I already have someone I love."

Yuanfang clearly didn't believe him: "Don't try to fool this humble monk. A short pain is worse than a long one, so this humble monk should just give up on this idea."

Chen Mo was at his wit's end with this philandering monk, so he said, "See that woman in red in the living room? That's her."

Yuan Fang glanced at Su Yuqing, who was sitting dignifiedly in the living room, and his mood improved slightly: "Although it is common for men to have three wives and four concubines, young master already has a beautiful woman, why should you take away the one I love?"

Chen Mo patiently explained, "Master Yuanfang has misunderstood. Actually, the painting of Miss Bai had no romantic feelings for me."

snort!
Yuanfang snorted coldly: "Don't treat me like a three-year-old. The first bite of osmanthus cake that Huabai ate was for you. How could I not know Huabai's feelings for you? I'm not someone who can be easily fooled."

Chen Mo said, "It is precisely because Miss Hua Bai gave me the first bite of osmanthus cake that she has no interest in me."

Yuan Fang immediately became excited, "What's the significance of this?"

Chen Mo said, "For example, if a master takes his disciple to meet guests, and the disciple behaves improperly, would you scold him?"

Yuanfang said, "Of course he will. My disciple was impolite and deserves to be reprimanded."

Chen Mo: "If a guest is rude, would you scold them?"

Yuanfang: "Of course not. If I were to scold a guest, that would be rude of me. Eh, why is that?"

Chen Mo: "..."

So you deserve to be called a sycophant.

"Because you treat your disciple as one of your own. Just now, Miss Huabai asked me to eat the osmanthus cake first because she didn't want you to be impolite. It's just that Huabai expressed it rather subtly."

Yuanfang tilted his head and thought for a moment, then suddenly realized and his face was full of smiles: "So, you still prefer me to paint the white one?"

Chen Mo said, "If I didn't favor you, I wouldn't have brought us to your temple to stay. Hua Bai is considerate of you in every way, but you don't understand the key points and instead put Hua Bai in awkward positions at every turn. In the end, she feels uncomfortable."

Yuan Fang grew increasingly pleased with himself, and finally strode up to Chen Mo, clasping his hands together in prayer: "I was impetuous just now; it is Young Master Mo who sees things clearly. If you do not mind, from now on we will be brothers. You will be the elder brother, and I will be the younger brother, how about that?"

Chen Mo: "Master, you are a monk. Isn't it inappropriate for you to address people as brothers?"

Yuanfang said, "As long as Buddha resides in my heart, everything I do is appropriate."

Chen Mo nodded slightly: "Master is truly devout to Buddha."

Yuanfang didn't realize that this was sarcasm; instead, he was smug: "Of course, this humble monk has been immersed in Buddhism since childhood. Naturally, I am very devout to the Buddha."

Chen Mo: "..."

If Buddha knew he had a disciple like you, I wonder if he would be so angry that he would die.

Seeing that Chen Mo remained silent, Yuan Fang immediately changed his form of address: "Brother, I know quite a bit about the Golden Dragon. I'll help you find that damned Ghost King. In return, you can help me... win over Hua Bai's heart. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"

In my excitement, I even changed my self-reference from "this humble monk" to "I".

I wonder if Buddha knew...

Hearing this, Chen Mo didn't hold it against him: "Since that's the case, I think I'm destined to be with you, Master. However, I'm only seventeen years old. It's probably inappropriate for me to be your older brother. You can just call me Young Master."

Yuan Fang and Li Huabai were childhood sweethearts, so they must be over forty years old. Chen Mo didn't want a younger brother that old. The reason he looked young was mainly because he cultivated true qi and bloodline power, which nourished his body and prevented him from aging noticeably.

Yuan Fang was quite nonchalant. "Alright, a title is just an empty name. So be it, young master. Please, young master, I'll tell you all about the Golden Dragon Temple."

"Master Yuanfang, please."

"It's too formal for you to call me 'Master' anymore. Just call me Yuanfang."

The two men, arm in arm, entered the living room side by side, looking quite like sworn brothers.

Upon entering the living room, Yuanfang greeted Su Yuqing directly, saying, "Hello, sister-in-law."

Startled, Su Yuqing quickly stood up, about to explain, but Chen Mo stopped her with a look.

Without him.

If Yuanfang were to hear Su Yuqing's explanation, he would probably start crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide again.

The less trouble, the better.

Seeing the look in Chen Mo's eyes, Su Yuqing felt very happy and even made tea for Chen Mo and the other person.

Yuanfang took the teacup and took a sip of tea in a carefree manner. "To be honest, my father was a high-ranking monk at Jinlong Temple. Because Jinlong Temple closed down, he was dismissed and opened Baohua Temple here. Baohua Temple used to be very popular, but after my father passed it on to me, I was not good at managing it, which is why it has fallen into such a state. I hope you will forgive me for this."

Chen Mo asked, "Jinlong Temple has retired?"

"Yes. It's not a fall from grace, but a retirement. To put it bluntly, it means sending eminent monks out to establish temples and spread the Dharma, while Jinlong Temple lives off the rent. Don't be fooled by the thriving incense offerings of the thousands of temples in Qianfo County; more than half of the donations actually go to Jinlong Temple. Take my Baohua Temple for example, we don't receive much incense money, but the monthly rent is still a must. Every month on the full moon, Jinlong Temple sends someone to collect the rent."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo thought to himself: It seems Jinlong Temple is hiding something very well. Even after retiring from the limelight, they still collect donations. There must be something they're not telling anyone. Who knows, something shady might have happened at Jinlong Temple.

"Is the so-called rent in silver?"

"Of course not. It's incense pills."

"Incense pills? What are those?"

“Young master, you’re from Nanyang Prefecture, so you probably haven’t seen me before. Please follow me.” Yuanfang got up and went out.

Chen Mo got up and followed, giving Su Yuqing a look as he went out. The latter then followed as well.

After leaving the meditation room courtyard and walking along a desolate road, we arrived at the main hall, Baohua Hall.

A donation box stood at the entrance, but it was rotten, indicating that no worshippers had come to accumulate merit for a long time. Inside the main hall, directly in front, stood a huge statue of a Bodhisattva.

Below the image of the Buddha was an incense table with an incense burner on it, and three special incense sticks inserted in the burner.

These incense sticks are not straight, but rather resemble candied hawthorn skewers, with round protrusions.

Chen Mo found it very strange, "Why is this incense stick so peculiar?"

Yuanfang said, "These are incense pills. When temples receive incense from worshippers, the incense is poured into these gourd-shaped pills. Once each gourd-shaped pill is full of incense, it will fall off. This is exactly what Jinlong Temple needs."

Chen Mo roughly understood.

These incense pills are specially used to store incense.

Its effects are extremely miraculous.

Back in Nanyang Prefecture, when everyone worshipped Lord Jin Guang, the incense directly entered Chen Mo's body. But Jinlong Temple has somehow created an incense pill.

Chen Mo said, "Wouldn't that be troublesome?"

Yuanfang shook his head: "I don't know why either. But there is one advantage: each Buddhist temple has its own deity. When worshippers pay homage to the deity of each temple, the deity can absorb half of the incense offerings. The other half can be handed over to Jinlong Temple."

Shared offerings?

Shared benefits.

This is certainly a way to grow bigger and stronger.

But this isn't the previous life; there aren't so many restrictions. Jinlong Temple could clearly monopolize the incense offerings here, so why share them with another master?
and many more……

In Qianfo County, there are thousands of temples, and each temple has its own deity to worship.

Doesn't that mean... there are thousands of evil spirits in this place?
Chen Mo had lived here for quite some time, yet he hadn't noticed the presence of any ghostly energy.

It’s also strange.

Chen Mo voiced his doubts.

Yuan Fang said, "Young master, you are very perceptive. Thousand Buddha County is usually protected by the images of Bodhisattvas. Naturally, there is no ghostly aura there. Only on the day of the full moon in the middle of each month can one detect ghostly aura. At that time, the images of Bodhisattvas from various temples will also come out to perform rituals and hand over incense pills."

"Collecting rent on the day of the full moon? Are there any special customs associated with it?"

"At that time, the moon overhead in Qianfo County would turn red. But from outside Qianfo County, the moon would appear white. It was quite strange."

Chen Mo was quite surprised to hear this: "The incense pills have to be handed over by the Dharma Masters of each family in person?"

"Yes. Jinlong Temple will send people over to collect the incense pills from each household."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo couldn't help but look up at the enormous golden Bodhisattva image in front of him. He couldn't tell what kind of Bodhisattva it was, but it was gleaming with golden light and quite solemn.

In other words, on the day of the full moon, this image will appear and take the incense pills to the people of Jinlong Temple?

That sounds really creepy.

"Does Fang Yuan know which Bodhisattva this is?"

Fang Yuan shook his head: "I don't know. It was built when my father established the temple. Since then, our Baohua Temple has enshrined this Bodhisattva. Let's just call him the Baohua Bodhisattva for now." "Thank you for telling me, Fang Yuan." Chen Mo didn't linger and turned to leave.

Fang Yuan hurriedly caught up, "Young Master, I've already told you about Jinlong Temple. Do you think... has Young Master forgotten something?"

Chen Mo was taken aback, then he understood.

You want me to teach you how to pick up girls.

In fact, Chen Mo was a Taoist priest in his previous life.

I don't have much experience in this area myself, but I do know quite a few tricks of the trade.

"The year-end has just passed, and it's freezing cold. Hua Bai is out and about all day, so she's likely to catch a chill. Go find Li Qing'er and ask her for your size. Go buy a mink coat that fits Hua Bai. Remember, don't deliver it yourself, or it will seem contrived. Just give it to Li Qing'er. I think Hua Bai will like it very much. Who knows, she might even be wearing it someday."

Yuan Fang was overjoyed: "Young master, your insight is brilliant! I will go and make the arrangements right away."

After Yuan Fang left, Chen Mo and Su Yuqing walked side by side toward the meditation room in the backyard. Su Yuqing smiled and said, "I didn't realize before that you could advise others on how to win a woman's heart."

Chen Mo said, "I just learned it from a book and copied it. It's still better than Fang Yuan's stupid approach."

Su Yuqing smiled, "That young monk Fang Yuan is quite a character. By the way, since you suspect Ouyang Lu and his sister, should we invite them to the meditation room for a chat?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment and shook his head: "No need. I think that Ouyang Lu is a scheming person. We've always been cold to them. If we get close to him rashly, he might overthink things. Let Hua Bai investigate their background first."

Su Yuqing: "Young Master is very thoughtful."

Chen Mo said, "Go to the meditation room and get two black cloaks. Let's take a stroll around Baohua Temple."

The two donned cloaks to conceal their faces and left Baohua Temple under the cover of night.

Although Qianfo County is a county town, it does not have high and sturdy city walls. Instead, it is a huge complex of temple buildings. The surrounding area is lined with houses, including inns and shops, and countless wine flags flutter in the streets.

Even late at night, you can see worshippers everywhere, queuing up to enter various temples.

It was extremely prosperous.

Chen Mo and his companion observed more than a dozen temples.

Chen Mo still couldn't sense any ghostly energy, so he asked, "Xiao Yu, can you detect any ghostly energy?"

Su Yuqing shook her head.

Chen Mo: "In five days, it will be the day of the full moon. At that time, the moon in the sky will turn red, and the patriarchs of various temples will come out to hand over incense pills. Do you think this red moon... is related to the Rakshasa Shrine?"

Su Yuqing realized something: "Does the young master suspect that the Golden Dragon Temple is related to the Rakshasa Shrine?"

Chen Mo said, "Yes. We've been in Nanzhou for a while now. During that time, Miss Hua Bai has been investigating everywhere, but she still doesn't know where the Rakshasa Shrine is. This Rakshasa Shrine is truly bizarre."

"Does the young master suspect that Jinlong Temple is actually a Rakshasa Shrine?"

"The timing makes sense. The Rakshasa Shrine appeared, and the Golden Dragon Temple disappeared... There must be a connection between the two. But whether the Rakshasa Shrine is the same as the Golden Dragon Temple... it's hard to say yet. Let's go and see."

……

In the following days, every night, Chen Mo would take Su Yuqing out to inspect various temples.

Still, nothing has been found.

As for Juan'er, she was still busy making her shadow puppets. Ouyang Lu and his sister lived in the next courtyard and rarely went out. Ouyang Lu would occasionally come to chat with Juan'er.

Although Li Qing'er and Bai Ye also lived in the temple, they were extremely busy because of the Black Mountain Tower matter.

This evening.

After eating the dinner prepared by Juan'er, Chen Mo returned to his room to seclude himself.

Having thoroughly familiarized himself with the abilities of the human-corpse ghost, Chen Mo stopped.

Looking at the nine incense sticks, each with nine patterns, representing the perfect completion of one's natal incense in one's sea of ​​consciousness, and at the silver light emanating from the incense burner, he thought to himself:

"Yellow Page Ghosts and White Zombies possess white life energy, while Black Shadow Ghosts, Black Zombies, and human experts at the Transcendent Realm possess silver life energy. My silver life energy has been stuck at the Great Perfection stage for several months. I have yet to break through. There is an enormous barrier blocking me. If I rely on my own arduous cultivation, I'm afraid it will take at least ten years to even think about breaking through."

"Silver life energy, and the next level up is golden life energy. It corresponds to the Celestial Realm, the Fiend Ghost, and the Hairy Zombie. That's equivalent to two hundred years of cultivation. Soaring to the heavens in an instant."

"For me, the best way is to find a golden-skinned corpse demon, kill it, and then modify and harmonize it. That would be the breakthrough. But golden-skinned vengeful spirits are hard to find. Hua Bai has been searching for the Ghost King's whereabouts for the past few days, but has not received any useful information. It seems that the Ghost King's whereabouts will be hard to find for the time being."

"Besides, even if we find the Ghost King's whereabouts, with my current cultivation level of silver life energy, it's still impossible for me to fuse with such a powerful being."

Thinking about this, Chen Mo couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

The modification features are indeed powerful, but the more powerful the modification, the more of the original solution's essence is consumed. Even with compatibility, it still takes a long time.

For example, the ghost bones inside one's own body.

It's been over two years now, and the integration rate has remained stuck at 74%, making no progress whatsoever.

Ultimately, it's because I'm too weak.

If he were to find a golden vengeful ghost, he could likely merge with it quickly, given his current level of silver cultivation.

Without reaching the Golden Realm, Chen Mo ultimately dared not make any rash moves in Nanzhou.

After all, that Rakshasa mother is at least a Golden Realm cultivator. She might even be more powerful.

Chen Mo's main purpose in coming to Nanzhou was to use this larger stage to advance his cultivation to the golden level. Once his cultivation was sufficient, dealing with Rakshasa Mother would be a natural consequence.

If one's spiritual cultivation is insufficient, nothing can be forced.

Just then, Juan'er knocked urgently on the door.

"Young master, come out quickly! The moon has turned red!"

Yes, tonight is the night of the full moon.

"Juan'er, wait a minute, I'm coming." Chen Mo finished his practice, put on his brocade robe and coat, and also put on a black cloak, then pushed open the door and went out.

hiss!
As soon as I pushed open the door, I immediately felt an extremely biting chill.

It took me a while to get used to it. Looking around, I saw Juan'er lying next to the long table, holding a shadow puppet in her hand.

Chen Mo shook his head: "Juan'er, something unusual might happen tonight. No matter what happens, stay here and don't go out. Understand?"

Chen Mo gave a word of advice and walked towards the gate. Not hearing Juan'er reply, he turned back to look at her. "Juan'er, are you listening to me?"

Juan'er didn't answer. She sat there blankly, lost in thought.

Ok?
Chen Mo realized something was wrong and immediately rushed over to pat Juan'er on the shoulder, "Juan'er."

Bang!
Juan'er fell straight to the ground.

what?
Juan'er is a shadow ghost with eight levels of cultivation, yet...

Chen Mo immediately checked Juan'er's breathing and found it was normal. She was just... asleep.

"Juan'er".

Chen Mo called out twice, but Juan'er still didn't respond.

But their breathing is normal.

Normally, one shouldn't sleep so soundly.

Moreover, Juan'er is a ghost puppet; as long as she has the power of magic, she doesn't need to sleep.

Not right.

Just then, Su Yuqing walked in from the side room. "Young Master, something has happened. Li Huabai, Li Qing'er, and Bai Ye are all asleep. We can't wake them up no matter what we do."

Chen Mo immediately stood up: "What about the principles of 'roundness, squareness,' and 'laws'?"

"I went to check on them; they went to sleep early. They were sleeping very soundly and couldn't be woken up."

"Where are Ouyang Lu and Ouyang Yu, the brother and sister?"

"She's fast asleep too."

brush.

Chen Mo ran to the eaves and looked up to see a blood-red moon hanging high in the sky, its crimson light radiating blood.

The image of the Green Wolf Gang from that day involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Red moonlight...

Last time, it was just a large red lantern hanging 400 meters above the heads of the Green Wolf Gang; tonight, however, the entire moon has turned red.

It's clear that tonight's events are much bigger than the last one.

But why are I and Su Yuqing alright?
Is it because my body has also absorbed the red moonlight?

As for Su Yuqing... is it because of her high level of cultivation, or because she possesses the bloodline of a true dragon and is protected by the auspicious dragon energy?

"Xiaoyu, do you feel any discomfort?"

"No."

"Then let's go out and take a look." Chen Mo made the decision immediately and led Su Yuqing out of the meditation room.

When passing by Baohua Hall—

dong dong dong.

A sound of a wooden fish being struck suddenly came from Baohua Hall. It was exceptionally crisp and jarring in the quiet night. Moreover, it shook Chen Mo's spirit, causing his mind to become slightly chaotic, almost as if his soul was being snatched away.

"Weren't all the people at Baohua Temple asleep? Who's striking the wooden fish?" Chen Mo couldn't help but wonder.

Su Yuqing said, "This is probably no ordinary wooden fish, but a soul-snatching wooden fish. If everyone is asleep, it's fine, but if they're not asleep, they might have their souls snatched away after hearing the sound of this wooden fish."

dong dong dong.

The sound of the wooden fish rang out again, growing louder and louder.

Chen Mo quickly activated the Mind-Calming Technique to calm his mind. Suddenly, something occurred to him, "Could it be that the Bodhisattva Baohua has appeared?"

Su Yuqing wholeheartedly agreed, "That's most likely the case. Judging from the sound of that wooden fish... the other party's skill is probably quite profound. Young master, give me your hand."

Chen Mo extended his right hand.

Su Yuqing bit her finger and drew a talisman on Chen Mo's palm. "That way, they won't be able to find us. Let's turn into shadows and go take a look."

"it is good."

After saying that, Chen Mo and Su Yuqing transformed into two black shadows, hiding in the darkness, and slowly walked towards the direction of Baohua Palace.

Once outside the Baohua Hall, Chen Mo could clearly see the scene inside.

In front of the five-meter-tall golden Buddha, a wooden fish, seemingly made of spirit, was suspended in mid-air, with a wooden mallet gently tapping it, producing a "dong dong dong" sound.

However, no matter how Chen Mo activated his summoning power, he could not see anything there, as if the wooden fish was striking itself.

Immediately afterwards, a cold, desolate sound came from the wooden fish.

"You damn fool, it's time to pay rent! Get up and pay it now. Don't you want to live here anymore?"

The moment the words fell—

The golden Buddha suddenly turned ferocious, opened its eyes, and then, as if it had come to life, stretched.

The next moment, an old monk wearing a tattered, dark yellow robe emerged from the Buddha statue, chuckling, "Here I am. This dilapidated temple has hardly any worshippers; it's really a shame."

The old monk had a hideous face, covered in wrinkles, and was also a spirit. After emerging from the golden Buddha, he went to the incense table, took down a dozen or so incense balls, held them in his hand, and then, carrying the wooden fish drum, walked out while striking it, muttering:

"This humble monk, Baohua, has come to pay the rent. The rent is meager, so please, Buddha, do not be angry. I will bestow upon this humble monk a wisp of red moonlight."

The cold, desolate voice sent chills down one's spine.

Fortunately, the old monk didn't notice anything as he passed by Chen Mo and walked straight past. However, he left Chen Mo with an extremely chilling feeling.

Chen Mo immediately opened the panel to look at the old monk.

Since the original explanation contained little essence, Chen Mo didn't attempt to deduce it. However, he noticed the opponent's frame, which contained silver life energy. Moreover, the silver life energy was extremely dense, suggesting it was a Shadow Ghost approaching the Great Perfection level of silver.

This mere temple... it's already rare enough that a Yuanfang at the ninth level of the Transcendent Realm has appeared, but to have a ghost of the same level has also appeared.

It's really weird.

It should be noted that Hua Yunfeng, the governor of the Hua family in name only, is only at the sixth level of strength.

Unexpectedly, so many powerful ghosts were lurking in this Thousand Buddha County.

Moreover, this old monk Baohua even begged the Buddha to give him a wisp of red moonlight.
Who is Buddha?

Just then, Su Yuqing tugged at Chen Mo's arm: "Young Master, shall we follow them and take a look?"

"Ah."

After regaining his senses, Chen Mo led Su Yuqing and followed closely behind the old monk Baohua as they left Baohua Temple.

Once outside, the air grew even colder.

The red moon overhead grew even more crimson.

Pilgrims can be seen sleeping everywhere in the streets and alleys.

Some pilgrims were still prostrating themselves on the way when they suddenly fell asleep.

The oil lamps in every household also turned red.

The situation was exactly the same as what the Green Wolf Gang had encountered that day.

The only difference is that last time, the members of the Green Wolf Gang were all possessed, while the people here have simply fallen into a deep sleep.

Chen Mo and Su Yuqing stood side by side on the rooftop, seeing all the buildings in the entire county town... dotted with crimson. Corresponding to the red moon overhead.

This bizarre and terrifying scene was more than ten times more magnificent than the original Green Wolf Gang scene.

Chen Mo was slightly surprised: this red moonlight was truly eerie. It could actually turn the moon red and even dye all the oil lamps red, causing people to fall into a coma. Keep in mind, Qianfo County is a county town with a population of over 100,000.

This Jinlong Temple, how could it possibly put hundreds of thousands of people to sleep at the same time by using the red moonlight?

Such abilities are simply outrageous.

Even more terrifying is that the monks and nuns living here, as well as the pilgrims who have traveled from afar, simply felt as if they had taken a nap, and when they woke up, everything was as before. They had no idea what had happened here.

Just then, a piercing sound rang out.

“Bald monk Baohua, what’s the point of you staying in that dilapidated temple? You think you can get the Buddha’s red moonlight from this? You’d better just die of old age in there.”

Chen Mo immediately looked in the direction of the sound and was astonished to see an old monk in red robes walking out of a temple with flourishing incense offerings.

The old monk was a spirit, but he was extremely old, with a face full of wrinkles, and his robes were tattered. He was also carrying a bag full of incense pills. His words were sarcastic towards the old monk Baohua.

The old monk Baohua shouted, "Bald donkey Yuanbao, don't mock me. You're only doing better for now. Back when you were in dire straits, you even borrowed incense pills from me. If it weren't for my kind heart, you would have been driven out of Qianfo County by the Buddha long ago."

The old monk in red robes chuckled, "Hehe, I was just saying a few words. Don't take it seriously. Hurry up, let's go offer incense pills to the Buddha. If we're late and the Buddha gets angry, we'll be in big trouble."

Humph.

The old monk Baohua snorted coldly, but said nothing more. He probably knew the consequences of delaying the journey, so he followed the old monk in red robes.

Chen Mo and Su Yuqing followed closely behind the two.

Before long, old monks emerged from each temple.

Those who are in dire straits wear yellow robes.

Those who are successful wear red robes.

There were all sorts of old monks, over a thousand in total.

In an instant, the entire Thousand Buddha County was filled with a ghostly aura, obscuring the sky and the sun!

It's almost suffocating.

Even Chen Mo and Su Yuqing were terrified when they saw this situation.

Chen Mo, in particular, recalled the scene when he went to the Great Yin Mountain with Xiao Ye and saw 100,000 zombies. Those zombies were just zombies, without consciousness. But these thousands of old monks were all top-tier shadow ghosts with silver life energy.

That's really an exaggeration.

A county of a thousand Buddhas...a county of a thousand ghosts.

Su Yuqing spoke softly at this moment: "Young master, don't be afraid, they won't be able to find us. Let's follow them and see."

Chen Mo nodded and followed Qian Gui, listening to the endless sound of wooden fish, as they left the core area of ​​Qianfo County and headed towards a distant mountain.

dong dong dong.

As they approached the mountains, the old monks fell silent, their faces grave as they tapped their wooden fish drums.

Even their voices were identical.

The crisp sound of the wooden fish echoed throughout the heavens and earth.

Before long, they arrived at the foot of a large mountain. The old monks all stopped, tapped their wooden fish drums, and began to chant in unison:

"Buddha, we've come to offer incense pills."

"Please, Venerable Buddha, accept this incense offering with a smile."

"Please welcome the Venerable Buddha."

In that instant.

Footsteps came from the mountain, and soon people came down the mountain.

Da da da.

As the footsteps drew closer, all the old monks became solemn.

Two bald boys, about five or six years old, arrived.

A boy and a girl.

Chen Mo immediately looked at the pair of children and opened the control panel.

A box has appeared.

Gold frame.

These two children... are actually golden demons!

(End of this chapter)