Reborn as a lotus, she initially refuses to hand it over to the state.

Meanwhile, in the main hall of Kutuo Temple, Zhang Xuanling was about to continue examining the array patterns when his expression suddenly changed.

"retreat!"

Everyone immediately retreated.

Suddenly, a thin crack appeared in the ground in the center of the hall.

Gray incense ash rapidly gushed out from the crack, and then a section of golden-black finger bone emerged from the soil.

The finger bone was only half a piece, yet it exuded an extremely eerie aura.

Half sacred, half decaying, the sound of the wooden fish suddenly stopped, and the entire hall became eerily quiet.

The next second, the faceless Buddha statue, which had its back to the crowd, actually moved.

In that instant, everyone felt as if something was gripping their hearts tightly.

Chen Xueli subconsciously wanted to look up.

Chen Wuji pressed her head down and said in a deep voice, "Don't look at its face."

Chen Xueli's voice tightened: "Grandpa, doesn't it have no face?"

Chen Wuji said coldly, "Your martial arts have not yet reached the level of unity of essence, energy, and spirit. This source of pollution can easily control your mind. Guard your mind."

Chen Xueli quickly lowered her head, her back covered in cold sweat.

The hall was silent for a few seconds, then a deep, hoarse voice came from behind the faceless Buddha statue.

"Zhen Gu, return."

Zhang Xuanling's face was grim, and he said in a low voice, "This is not the Buddha's bone itself speaking, but rather the corrupting will behind it conveying a message through the Buddha statue."

Su Wan asked in a deep voice, "What exactly does it want?"

Zhang Xuanling said solemnly, "According to ancient records, each generation of Kutuo Temple has a Buddhist monk guarding the seal. It will probably not be so easy for this source of pollution to break the seal."

Su Wan asked, "Is this source of pollution trying to find the monk guarding the seal?"

She wasn't stupid; she immediately understood the meaning behind Zhang Xuanling's words.

Zhang Xuanling nodded without refuting it; in fact, that was probably the case.

Lin Qingxue suddenly stared at the hands of the faceless Buddha statue.

In her eyes, the Buddha statue was holding half a string of broken black prayer beads in its palm.

She pointed to the prayer beads and said, "That Buddha statue has prayer beads in its hand."

Zhang Xuanling's pupils contracted, and he said, "It seems that's indeed the case. There should be a string of these prayer beads. The other half isn't here right now, so there's still no way to break the seal on the thing underground."

Just then, the voice from behind the faceless Buddha statue rang out again: "Ten thousand people in the city can all be used as incense."

Su Wan's expression changed drastically; this was no longer an implication, but a threat.

If the monk guarding the seal cannot be found, the source of pollution will continue to pollute the ordinary people of Linjiang City, consuming their minds and spirits like incense offerings.

Chen Wuji sneered, "A piece of rotten bone dares to threaten people?"

Just as he was about to take a step forward, Zhang Xuanling immediately shouted, "Brother Chen, don't go near the crevice!"

Almost the instant the words were spoken, the gray incense ash in the crack in the ground suddenly began to churn.

Instead of rushing towards the crowd, the incense ash condensed into withered Buddha hands, spreading towards them.

Zhang Xuanling and the others' expressions changed instantly. Before they could say anything, Chen Wuji took a step forward and unleashed his fist intent.

He shouted, "Want to break the seal? Have you even asked my fists first!"

boom!

With a single punch, the foremost gray Buddha hand exploded on the spot, scattering gray incense ash, which quickly coalesced again.

A blue lotus light shone from Lin Qingxue's palm, and a ray of blue light shone over it, causing the incense ash to sizzle as if it were being burned.

Chen Xueli gritted her teeth and stood in front of a stone Buddha. She was afraid, but she still stood firm according to the method Chen Wuji had taught her.

Plant your feet firmly on the ground and breathe deeply.

When the sound of the wooden fish rang out again, her mind only swayed slightly; she wasn't dragged into it.

A gray Buddha's hand reached out to grab the stone Buddha behind her.

Chen Xueli's face turned pale, and she gritted her teeth and threw a punch.

She hit the Buddha's Hand a few times.

Although she didn't shatter it directly like Chen Wuji, she still managed to stop it.

Chen Wuji caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye and was somewhat satisfied. He smiled and said, "Not bad, you didn't embarrass me."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xueli's heart warmed, and her courage grew: "Grandpa, I can protect you!"

Zhang Xuanling's talisman paper flew about, and the talismanic flames formed a line of fire in front of the temple gate: "Don't let them touch the stone Buddha. Every stone Buddha that breaks will weaken the seal!"

Su Wan and several members of the Ninth Bureau guarded the other side, but the number of gray Buddha's Hands kept increasing.

Incense ash kept seeping out from the cracks in the floor of the main hall.

Just as everyone was feeling increasingly pressured, a beam of azure light suddenly shot out from between Lin Qingxue's eyebrows.

The azure light transformed into countless points of light, directly enveloping the gray incense ash that had emerged from the cracks. Before the ash could even coalesce, it was enveloped by the azure light.

next moment.

Large areas of gray pollution were forcibly swallowed up.

For the first time, the voice behind the faceless Buddha statue in the main hall paused.

In the center of Heilong Lake.

The seven lotus leaves of Chuzhou swayed gently.

The system notification sound kept ringing.

"Ding, successfully absorbed the leaked aura of the polluted Buddha bone, purification successful, evolution points +90000."

"Ding, devoured the residual mental pollution, purification successful, evolution points +70000."

Chu Zhou also learned about the situation at Kutuo Temple in Linjiang City through the Azure Lotus Mark.

His expression shifted: "Kutuo Temple? Interesting. I wonder if what's sealed down there is a real Buddha relic or a fake one?"

In the underground ancient city, when the strange stone heard Chu Zhou's words, it immediately said with some sarcasm: "True Buddha bone? Even at the peak, the strongest Buddhist cultivators would only be at the ninth level of cultivation in your world's cultivation system."

Ninth rank?

He's only at the ninth rank?

Chu Zhou was speechless; this strange rock was really arrogant.

Ninth-tier strength is a level that Chu Zhou has not yet reached in this world.

But coming from the strange stone, it sounded like something you'd see anywhere on the roadside.

Chu Zhou said calmly, "Little Stone, judging from your tone, you were very powerful in your prime?"

The strange stone sneered, "At my peak, I could suppress mountains and rivers with a single thought. A mere ninth-level Buddhist cultivator is nothing more than this in front of me."

Chu Zhou was silent for a moment, then asked, "And now?"

The sound from the strange rock abruptly stopped.

The underground ancient city suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, the strange stone finally snapped angrily, "Lotus Demon, can you please stop bringing up things that are hard to swallow?"

Chu Zhou calmly said, "I am merely reminding you to face reality."

The strange rock was so angry that it flashed with a blood-red light.

"If I hadn't been sealed away, a little lotus demon like you wouldn't even have the right to see me."

Chu Zhou said, "It's a pity that Ruofei isn't here."

The strange stone was speechless. Damn it, you're just infuriating! Can't I even have a moment to vent?

Chu Zhou continued, "Right now, you are merely my strategist."

The strange stone immediately flew into a rage: "I am not your lackey!"

Chu Zhou thought for a moment: "Then it's a talking little stone."

"Lotus Demon!"

The strange stone was so angry that its very essence began to fluctuate. It was a forbidden existence, yet it was just a talking little stone to Chu Zhou?

This is an insult to Him.

Seeing this, Chu Zhou said leisurely, "Don't get excited. If you get excited, I'll get itchy hands."

Upon hearing this, the strange stone fell silent instantly. It knew all too well what kind of person this lotus demon was; if its essence were to leak out, this guy would really dare to take advantage of it.

After a long while, the strange stone finally managed to utter, "You're shameless."