So it turns out I'm the demon!

They retrieved the coffin nails, tossed the woman's body aside, and suddenly a series of urgent and noisy sounds came from outside the courtyard.

Jiang Mu walked out of the courtyard gate.

Then, Deputy Commander Zhao Xianzheng was seen leading a team of demon slayers, rushing up the stone steps.

Upon seeing Jiang Mu standing outside the door, Zhao Xianzhen was initially overjoyed, but then, with a look of shame on her face, she rushed forward and anxiously asked:

"Master Jiang, are you alright? How are your two friends?"

"They're fine," Jiang Mu said calmly.

"It's alright, it's alright..."

Zhao Xianzheng wiped the sweat from his brow, let out a long sigh of relief, and then hurriedly asked, "By the way, Hall Master Jiang, have you seen Steward Ye? Something terrible has happened in the city!"

"I saw it."

Jiang Mu turned to the side and gestured with her chin towards the courtyard behind her. "Look, she's sleeping in there."

go to bed?

Zhao Xianzhen was taken aback.

What time is it? What is Manager Ye doing here taking a nap?

He peered suspiciously into the yard.

The next second, Zhao Xianzhen seemed to be frozen in place, his face filled with disbelief.

He saw Ye Zhifei's body.

"This...this..."

Zhao Xianzheng felt her legs go weak and her brain buzzing.

He staggered forward, rubbed his eyes repeatedly, and after confirming that the corpse was indeed Ye Zhifei, he was about to turn around and ask her questions.

Suddenly, his gaze swept over another headless corpse not far away.

Abbot Jingtan!

Zhao Xian was struck dumb, gasped, and asked in a trembling voice, "Master Jiang... what exactly happened?" The head of Hailing Prefecture and the Buddha had both died here.

The sky has fallen!

Jiang Mu spread his hands, looking completely innocent, and said:

"Don't even mention it. I was trying to save a friend, but Abbot Jingtan suddenly went mad and started fighting with Manager Ye. Neither of them could stop, and then they both died."

"what?"

Zhao Xianzhen was stunned.

Looking at the two corpses, and then at Jiang Mu who was radiating murderous intent, a complex expression appeared in his eyes.

In the end, he didn't ask anything, but lowered his voice and said urgently:

"Master Jiang, quickly take your friends and leave this place."

Many people in the city have gone mad; there are at least tens of thousands of them, and they're rushing this way. If we don't leave now, it will be too late!

"Is this caused by incense rain?" Jiang Mu raised an eyebrow slightly.

Zhao Xianzhen nodded and said:

"Those people have long been bewitched by the evil magic of the wicked monk Jingtan. Once they are bathed in the rain of incense, their fanaticism is amplified, and they fall into fanaticism. Now, all they can think about is rushing here to avenge their Buddha. Hall Master Jiang, you should quickly take the two young ladies and leave this place, or it will be too late!"

"The people of this city..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mu clicked his tongue in deep emotion.

If tens of thousands of mortals with bloodshot eyes rushed at him, he really couldn't just chop them all up like grass.

Leaving aside whether he could actually kill him, I'm afraid a divine punishment would strike him down.

"We can only wait until Si Rumeng is done and then make a quick getaway. What a crappy city, it's full of lunatics."

Jiang Mu cursed under his breath.

Just then, the noise from afar drew closer.

Countless monks with bloodshot eyes, brandishing knives and clubs, rushed towards them hysterically, shouting "Exterminate demons and protect the righteous path!" Behind them followed a dense crowd of pilgrims and believers.

Jiang Mu lightly touched the ground with her toes and landed on the eaves of a side hall, looking down into the distance.

Upon seeing this, even he couldn't help but gasp.

The mountains and fields were teeming with people.

Like a black ant colony covering all the steps and mountain paths, stretching as far as the eye could see.

These believers included people of all ages, men and women.

Clutching hoes, kitchen knives, and carrying poles, their eyes burned with the same fervor as they roared.

"Master Jiang, hurry! I'll take some men to stop them!"

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Zhao Xianzhen gritted his teeth and led a group of pale-faced demon slayers, bracing themselves for the danger, and charged forward into the crowd, forming a human wall on the slope outside the courtyard.

"Fellow villagers, calm down!"

"Abbot Jingtan is a wicked monk; he secretly harmed..."

However, Zhao Xianzhen's explanations seemed weak and ineffective in the face of these believers who had completely fallen into madness.

The monks swung their clubs at them.

The people rushed forward like zombies.

Zhao Xianzhen and his demon-slaying envoys were hesitant to kill the people, and as a result, their formation was broken up in the first encounter.

Several demon slayers were tackled to the ground by the angry mob, who punched and kicked them.

In the blink of an eye, they were swallowed up by the sea of ​​people.

"Womanly compassion."

Jiang Mu looked at the chaotic scene below and snorted coldly.

His figure disappeared from the eaves and appeared in front of Zhao Xianzhen and the others in the next instant.

Swish!

Two dark red blade beams shot out.

The monks at the front felt a chill on their necks, and their heads rolled off their shoulders.

Blood splattered on the faces of the believers behind them.

The once bustling and lively scene suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

Zhao Xianzhen opened his mouth, looked at the two monks whose heads had been separated from their bodies, and then looked at the murderous aura surrounding Jiang Mu. In the end, he said nothing, but just sighed deeply.

The people and believers behind them all froze in place.

"A bunch of fools."

Jiang Mu stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the dense crowd of believers. His voice, imbued with star power, boomed in everyone's ears like rolling thunder: "The 'Buddha' you worship as a god is nothing but a lewd monk and demon in a cassock!"

He abducts your daughters and sisters to the backyard to use as a vessel for his sexual exploitation, draining their essence and blood before hanging them from the roof beams.

He drains your lifeblood to fulfill his sorcery!

You bunch of idiots! You got sold out and you're still counting the money for the seller. Now you're actually coming to me to fight for this piece of rotten meat? You say he's a Buddha, but who has he saved?

Did he save the girls he ruined to death, or did he save you bunch of idiots who were kept like pigs and still counting money for him?!

After a brief silence, an even fiercer resistance suddenly erupted from the crowd.

A burly man at the front, his eyes red with anger, roared:

"You're talking nonsense! You demon, don't you dare throw filth on the Holy Buddha! If he dies, you demon won't live either!"

"Yes! You killed a living god of my Hailing Prefecture, you will surely be punished by heaven!"

"Don't be afraid of him, everyone. There are many of us, and the Holy Buddha is watching over us from heaven. By slaying the demon, we will surely be reborn in the Pure Land after death."

With a few extreme voices leading the way, the fervor that had just been subdued by the bloodshed reignited like a raging fire fueled by oil. The crowd was in a frenzy.

The crowd surged forward again.

Jiang Mu gritted her teeth, also feeling a bit of a headache.

hemp eggs.

They really can't scare these brainwashed lunatics.

Are they really going to start a massacre?

These people are ultimately victims. They were exploited by the wicked monk and even helped him count the money. Killing them was not enjoyable and it was disgusting.

Just as Jiang Mu's eyes gradually turned cold, he hesitated whether to kill a few more to forcefully intimidate these madmen.

"Buzz"

Suddenly, a flawless white light burst forth from behind him, shooting straight into the sky.

The beam of light shot out from the main hall, piercing through the glazed tiles and flying eaves, and soaring straight into the sky.

The faint, ethereal chanting of Buddhist hymns could be heard from the sky.

Immediately afterwards, a golden-white light slowly bloomed in mid-air, its halo rippling outwards in concentric circles like water.

Wherever the light passed, lotus petals drifted down from the void.

Each petal radiates a gentle, warm Buddhist light.

When it lands on a person, it transforms into a wisp of warmth, making one unconsciously want to shed tears.

At that moment, everyone was stunned.

Even Jiang Mu couldn't help but look up.

A woman in white slowly rose from the lotus petals, her clothes fluttering and her long hair cascading down like a waterfall.

He was surrounded by concentric circles of holy golden wheels of merit.

Several colorful ribbons unfurled gracefully from behind her shoulders, drawing arcs in the air with unparalleled elegance.

Each ribbon is adorned with a slowly rotating phantom of a lotus flower at its end.

It's Si Rumeng!

She held a vase in one hand and made a teaching mudra with the other, her eyes slightly lowered.

The once alluring and seductive tree spirit's face has now shed all its bewitching charm and worldliness, leaving only a compassionate and inviolable dignity in its eyes and brows.

"Bodhi...Bodhisattva!"

"It's a true manifestation of the Bodhisattva!"

The crowd below erupted in chaos, and then, like wheat being cut down, a large number of them knelt down in a rush.

Countless people wept bitterly and kowtowed frantically.

Jiang Mu looked up at the woman bathed in holy light in the sky, and was also dumbfounded.

That vixen Si Rumeng, she actually managed to get him to do it?

Moreover, the presentation and special effects are far more professional than that of the previous bald monk.

Si Rumeng floated in mid-air, her jade bottle slightly tilted.

A ray of moonlight spilled down from the mouth of the bottle.

Her eyes lowered slightly, sweeping over the kneeling masses below, and her red lips parted slightly:

"All beings suffer, and the Buddha saves them."

You are all lost in the sea of ​​suffering, your eyes are blinded and you cannot see the other shore. This is not your fault, but the result of your own karmic obstacles.

Great sorrow and great suffering are all predetermined.

From this day forward, I will protect you all; disperse.

The chanting of Buddhist prayers, carrying the power to soothe the soul, clearly reached the ears of every person.

The people below kowtowed frantically.

Tears streamed down their faces as they mumbled "Bodhisattva is merciful" and "Bodhisattva saves us from suffering."

Si Rumeng glanced at Jiang Mu, then gently waved her jade-like arm.

"Boom!"

The statue of the Holy Buddha Jingtan in the distance suddenly collapsed.

Thick, translucent vines burst forth from the ground, rapidly intertwining and coiling in mid-air.

In just a few breaths, a colossal Bodhisattva statue, tens of feet tall, was reconstituted on the ruins.

The face of the statue was exactly the same as that of Siru Meng in mid-air.

With lowered eyes and a gentle smile, she looked down upon all living beings.

As the statue was completed, the remaining unclaimed incense offerings and the devout prayers of the people below drifted in from all directions and merged into the jade tree Bodhisattva statue.

The people kowtowed even more frantically.

After a long while, they dispersed one by one, turning back every few steps.

A crisis that was giving Jiang Mu a headache was resolved so easily by Si Rumeng.

Zhao Xianzheng and the group of demon slayers behind him were all dumbfounded.

Looking at the living Buddha in mid-air, and then at the Yushu God statue rising from the ruins, my head was buzzing.

Where did this Bodhisattva come from?

"Alright, stop looking."

Jiang Mu turned around and said to Zhao Xianzhen, who was still in a daze, "Manager Zhao, take your men and leave. Remember to go to the front yard and take Ye Zhifei's body away."

Furthermore, I will personally submit a report to the Commander-in-Chief later, confirming that you will be in charge of the position of Governor of Hailing Prefecture from now on.

Jiang Mu pointed to Si Rumeng in the sky and continued:

"Furthermore, this Bodhisattva will become the guardian deity of your Hailing Prefecture. She will help you guard this place and resist the great demon."

All you need to do is guide the people to offer incense and worship her on time.

Zhao Xianzhen was taken aback.

His face immediately turned bright red, and he trembled with excitement.

He had waited half his life to be promoted from deputy head to head, and today it actually happened!

He wouldn't underestimate Jiang Mu's importance in the headquarters.

As long as Jiang Mu is willing to recommend him, there's a high probability that nothing unexpected will happen.

Zhao Xianzheng hurriedly clasped his hands and said:

"Zhao Xianzheng is deeply grateful for Lord Jiang's guidance and support. Lord Jiang has rid Hailing Prefecture of a scourge today; I will never forget it!"

Having said that, he ordered his men to wrap Ye Zhifei's body in a cloth and carry it away, then led the group of demon slayers away from the temple without looking back. Soon, in the dilapidated backyard, only Jiang Mu and his two companions remained, along with Si Rumeng floating in the sky.

Jiang Mu looked up at Si Rumeng, who was still suspended in mid-air, surrounded by a radiant Buddhist light, and rolled her eyes in annoyance:

"Alright, stop posing there and get down here right now."

In mid-air, Si Rumeng, her robes fluttering, looked down at Jiang Mu on the ground, her eyes flickering slightly, a surge of emotions rippling within her. At this moment, she had completely merged with the thousand-year-old white jade statue.

Not only did she cleanse herself of demonic energy with the Buddha's light, but she also seized the opportunity to usurp the vast incense offerings and blessings accumulated by Jingtan Temple over the past century. She could clearly feel that her cultivation had been completely stabilized at the tenth-level Great Perfection!

Those hidden dangers and risks of backlash deep within the soul are gone.

What does this mean?

This means that she will no longer need to rely on the broken bronze Buddha lamp in Jiang Mu's hand to prolong her life!

She, Si Rumeng, is a tenth-tier demon king and now a living bodhisattva in Hailing Prefecture.

We are no longer subject to anyone's control!

Si Rumeng was an extremely proud female demon queen by nature.

If she hadn't been driven to the brink of despair, her soul on the verge of dissipation, how could she, a dignified tenth-order demon, have been so humiliated as to become a human boy's henchman, calling herself "Dream Slave"?

At this moment, the sea is wide enough for fish to leap, and the sky is high enough for birds to fly!

Without that damned Buddha lamp to hold her back, she could finally stand up straight.

If it were in the past, given her personality, the first thing she would do upon regaining her freedom would definitely be to teach this arrogant brat a lesson.

He was rubbed on the ground.

We will make them pay back tenfold for the humiliation they suffered!

Let him taste what it's like to be trampled underfoot.

but……

Si Rumeng looked at Jiang Mu's handsome face.

For some reason, the image of this man teleporting in front of me without hesitation and using his back to shield me from the deadly Buddhist light when we were on the verge of death flashed through my mind.

I remember him cleaning the evil talismans off the Buddha statue one by one, and lighting the lamp to calm her mind...

In an instant, the resentment and murderous intent in Si Rumeng's heart, like the lingering snow after a blown-away snowflake, could not be gathered up again.

She sighed inwardly.

"That's enough."

Si Rumeng's eyes regained their coldness and arrogance as she thought proudly to herself,

"Let's consider this a mutually beneficial transaction. Jiang Mu, Jiang Mu, considering that you risked your life to protect me today and helped me attain enlightenment, let's settle our scores and owe each other nothing."

From now on, you go your way, and I'll live my life like a carefree immortal.

You can only look up to me!

Thinking of this, Si Rumeng slightly raised her chin, preparing to declare her independence to this mortal in a clear, noble, bodhisattva-like voice. However, her lips barely moved.

"Splash!"

Suddenly, a crisp clanging sound of chains rang out in the void.

Immediately afterwards, four illusory iron chains appeared out of thin air and wrapped around her fair wrists and ankles.

With tremendous force, it pulled in all directions.

The female bodhisattva, who had just been dignified and ethereal, was suddenly stretched into a "大" (big) shape in mid-air.

? ? ?

Si Rumeng was stunned.

Her holy face went blank, her mind a complete void.

No!

How can this imprison me?

She desperately tried to break free by channeling her surging cultivation power, but the four chains seemed to be welded directly to the very essence of her soul, remaining completely immovable. No matter how much she struggled, it was all in vain.

Damn it!

You're messing with me, aren't you?!