My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

The Buddha statue moved.

It took a step.

The step landed on the ground with a loud "thud".

The entire corridor was trembling, and plaster was falling off the walls in a rustling sound.

A deep footprint was left on the ground, the blue bricks shattered, and cracks spread outwards.

It walked towards Ye Qingfeng.

The pace was slow, and each step felt as heavy as a mountain.

But the oppressive feeling, with more than twenty arms swinging behind it, was like the Thousand-Hand Guanyin.

But those weren't compassionate thousand hands; they were bloody, mangled hands with eyes in their palms, hands that sent chills down your spine.

It walked to a distance of about two zhang from Ye Qingfeng and raised one arm.

That arm was the thickest of all, with half a monk's robe sleeve still hanging on it.

The cuffs were tattered and stained with blood, revealing dark blue veins underneath.

His arm slammed down towards Ye Qingfeng!

There were no fancy moves, no fancy techniques, just a pure, brutal, and incredibly powerful smash!

Ye Qingfeng turned to the side, and the punch slammed into the wall behind him.

"boom--!"

A huge hole was smashed in the entire wall!

The blue bricks shattered, stone chips flew everywhere, and the arm pierced through the wall, disappearing into the darkness behind it.

Ye Qingfeng looked at the hole, then at the arm.

The force was indeed great.

It's abnormally large.

As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a muffled groan behind him.

Looking back, I saw that Shen Zhaoyue had rushed forward at some point!

Grasping the goose-feather knife, she rushed to the side of the Buddha statue while its arm was embedded in the wall and began hacking wildly at its torso!

The sword flashed.

"Puff puff puff puff—"

Each cut pierced into that flesh and blood.

The blade cuts into the muscle, severs the fascia, and creates a deep wound.

Dark red blood gushed from the wound, splattering on her body and face.

Shen Zhaoyue ignored everything and just kept cutting.

She didn't know what this thing was, or whether cutting it would be of any use.

All she knew was that the thing was standing there, that it wanted to kill them, and that it couldn't be allowed to live.

"Die! Die! Die!"

She gritted her teeth and shouted as she slashed down with each stroke of the blade.

The wound from the first cut is healing.

New granulation tissue sprouted from the edge of the wound, like countless tiny maggots wriggling.

Granulation tissue intertwined and filled the wound.

Three breaths later, the more than one-foot-long cut disappeared, leaving only a shallow white mark.

The wound from the second cut healed in two breaths.

The third cut, the fourth cut, the fifth cut—each cut healed faster and faster.

Later, as soon as the blade left, the wound closed up, as if it had never existed.

Shen Zhaoyue slashed more than a dozen times, but not a single wound was left on the Buddha's body.

She paused for a moment.

In that instant, an arm swept across.

That arm, like a giant pillar of flesh, slammed into her with a whooshing sound!

"Bang!"

Shen Zhaoyue was sent flying and crashed into the wall on the other side of the corridor.

The wall was dented, leaving a large crater. She was embedded in the wall, and large mouthfuls of blood gushed from her mouth.

The goose-feather saber flew out of his hand and landed with a clang in the distance.

She struggled to move, with at least three ribs broken, unable to lift her left arm, and her vision blurred intermittently.

The Buddha turned around to face her.

That compassionate smile was directed at her, and from those two dark, hollow eyes, black tears of blood flowed even faster.

It raised its other arm—

......

"stop!"

A loud shout came from the other end of the corridor!

Lü Yang burst in!

He was covered in sweat, his clothes were disheveled, and his hand holding the sword was still trembling.

He had been waiting outside the temple for a long time, but he couldn't wait any longer, so he drew his sword and rushed in.

Then he saw the giant Buddha statue made of flesh and blood.

His legs went weak instantly.

What is that?!

A body two zhang tall, with over twenty arms, devoid of skin and flesh, eyes in its palms, and a compassionate smile streaming with bloody tears...

His stomach churned, and he almost vomited.

But he did not kneel.

He gritted his teeth, gripped the Autumn Water Sword tightly, and forced himself to stand there.

He recalled the words of the immortal master: "If you see any unusual movements, come and assist."

The immortal master is inside.

He can't retreat.

......

Ye Qingfeng raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw Lü Yang rush in.

This kid has some guts.

He moved swiftly and appeared beside Shen Zhaoyue.

The sweeping arm missed its target, and Ye Qingfeng had already retreated three zhang away with Shen Zhaoyue.

Shen Zhaoyue was being held by the back of her collar, her body limp and blood bubbles were still coming out of her mouth.

Ye Qingfeng looked down.

Three ribs were broken, the left arm was fractured, and there was internal bleeding from the shock.

The injury was serious, but not fatal.

He looked up and gazed at Lü Yang.

Lu Yang was gripping his sword, his legs trembling, his eyes fixed on the giant Buddha.

Ye Qingfeng skillfully tossed Shen Zhaoyue toward Lü Yang.

"then."

Shen Zhaoyue flew in an arc through the air towards Lü Yang.

Lu Yang hurriedly dropped his sword and caught her in a flurry of activity.

The two staggered back a few steps, almost falling together, but fortunately, a force appeared out of nowhere and protected them.

"She...she..." Lu Yang stammered, holding Shen Zhaoyue in his arms.

"Take her aside," Ye Qingfeng said.

Lu Yang was taken aback: "Immortal Master, you—"

"Step back."

The voice wasn't loud, but it was undeniable.

Lu Yang opened his mouth, looked at the dying Shen Zhaoyue in his arms, and then at the flesh-and-blood Buddha walking towards them.

He gritted his teeth, picked up Shen Zhaoyue, and retreated towards a safe place.

......

In the corridor, only Ye Qingfeng and the Buddha remained facing each other.

The Buddha stopped walking.

That compassionate smile was directed at him, but black tears of blood flowed silently from her dark, hollow eyes.

More than twenty arms rose at the same time, and the eyes in their palms all opened, staring at him alone.

Ye Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm.

He looked at the monster formed from flesh and blood, at the eyes in those palms, and at that smiling face dripping with blood and tears.

After a moment, he spoke:

"bring it on."

The Buddha strode forward and walked towards him.

In the corridor, the flesh-and-blood Buddha took its second step.

"Thump—"

The ground trembled, and several more pieces of plaster fell from the wall.

Its two-zhang-tall body moved like a small mountain with every step it took.

More than twenty arms swung slowly behind it, their palms' eyes turning in unison, always fixed on Ye Qingfeng.

Ye Qingfeng stood still, without retreating.

He's watching.

Look at the monster's movements, its attack methods, and its eerie slime that can extinguish the Samadhi True Fire.

He knew this thing was difficult to deal with after the flame was extinguished.

Samadhi Fire is his most proficient skill at the moment. If even that is not working, then ordinary spells will probably be even less effective.

But we have to give it a try.

The Buddha stopped when it was about 15 feet away from him.

That compassionate smile was directed at him, the curve of her lips still the same curve that symbolized compassion for all living beings.

But in those two black, hole-like eye sockets, black tears of blood flowed even faster, streaming down her cheeks.

It dripped onto its bloodied and mangled chest, making a soft "hissing" sound, like boiling oil dripping into water.

It raised its two arms.

One of them grew from the right scapula, as thick as an adult's thigh, with bulging veins.

The other one came out from between the left ribs, and was relatively thinner, but the fingers were exceptionally long, with black nails that were curved like hooks.

Both arms came crashing down on him at the same time!

They moved up and down, sealing off his space to dodge.

Ye Qingfeng shifted his feet and moved three feet to the left.

The two arms brushed against his robes and fell to the ground—

"Boom!" "Boom!"

Two loud bangs rang out almost simultaneously! Two large craters were smashed into the ground, blue bricks shattered, and gravel flew everywhere!

Cracks spread from the edge of the pit outwards, all the way to the base of the wall, and the entire corridor was trembling!

Just as Ye Qingfeng regained his footing, a third arm swept across from the side.

He raised his hand, his fingers forming a sword shape, and a sword aura shot out from his fingertips!

"laugh--"

The sword energy pierced that arm, cutting a wound about an inch deep.

Dark red blood gushed out, but new granulation tissue immediately sprouted from the edges of the wound, wriggling, intertwining, and healing—in the blink of an eye, the wound disappeared.

The arm didn't stop, and continued to sweep towards him.

Ye Qingfeng turned to the side, his arm brushing past his chest, the resulting gust of wind causing his robes to flutter loudly.

He seized the arm, used the momentum to flip over, and landed three zhang away from the Buddha.

After regaining his footing, he looked down at his hands.

His palms felt a little numb; when he grabbed that arm earlier, some of the sticky substance from it got on his hand.

That force was cold and sticky, like countless tiny insects burrowing into the skin.

With a thought, he channeled his spiritual energy into his palm, forcing the sticky fluid out.

"This thing..." He stared at the large Buddha statue, his brows furrowing slightly.

The Buddha turned around to face him.

That smiling face remained compassionate, yet tears of blood still flowed.

It strode over again.

......