Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

The moment this monster appeared, the other monsters nearby, sensing its presence, all turned away, intending to move away.

A snake-like monster reacted a beat too slow and was about to escape when it was grabbed by the humanoid monster, which brutally tore its body open and began to gnaw on the flesh inside.

This was the first time Ning Xiu had ever seen a demon attack other demons, so he couldn't help but focus his gaze on it. This humanoid demon's aura was almost infinitely close to that of a third-grade demon; if he could kill it, he would likely gain a considerable amount of general proficiency.

"The Black Swamp Bull Demon! Wasn't it imprisoned on the twenty-first floor? Could it be that the loss of control in the Demon Locking Tower has already affected floors above the twentieth? This is a big problem."

"Why haven't the abbots and the others arrived yet? If this continues, we really won't be able to hold out on our own."

Upon seeing the appearance of that humanoid monster, many monks' expressions became even more somber.

This Black Swamp Bull Demon was captured seventy years ago by a holy monk from the Great Lingyin Temple during his travels. Because it was different from ordinary demons, it could not be eliminated, so the holy monk imprisoned it in the Demon Locking Tower.

Initially, the Black Swamp Bull Demon was only imprisoned on the eleventh floor, but over the past seventy years, although it had been imprisoned, its strength had continued to increase. So the monks reinforced the layers one by one and moved it up to the twenty-first floor.

The escape of the Black Swamp Bull Demon meant that the situation inside the Demon Locking Tower was far more serious than the monks had imagined.

As the Black Swamp Bull Demon devoured the snake demon whose flesh it had torn apart, it saw the snake demon suddenly flinch and escape from its control in the blink of an eye.

Despite suffering such severe injuries, the snake demon showed no signs of weakness or impending death, seemingly possessing an immortal body.

"The demons imprisoned in this Demon-Sealing Tower seem to be quite extraordinary," Ning Xiu thought to himself, before walking directly toward the Black Swamp Bull Demon.

The demons that Dalingyin Temple can't kill, I will kill.

As soon as Ning Xiu, who was sixteen feet tall, approached, he immediately attracted the attention of the Black Swamp Bull Demon. Having been imprisoned in the Demon Locking Tower for seventy years, the Black Swamp Bull Demon's resentment had reached an extremely high level.

Upon seeing any living creature, it has only one thought in its mind: to kill and destroy.

With the snake demon having escaped, Ning Xiu, who had come to its doorstep, became its biggest target.

In an instant, the Black Swamp Bull Demon kicked out with all its might, transforming into a gust of wind as it charged towards Ning Xiu.

The bull demon's two sharp horns are its hardest weapons. When the bull demon charges, most people's first reaction will be to avoid its sharp edge and then attack from the side.

But Ning Xiu did something that left all the monks in disbelief.

He immediately put down the Thunder Hammer in his hand, grabbed out with both palms, and accurately grasped the horns of the Black Swamp Bull Demon.

hum!

The impact of the Black Swamp Bull Demon clashed with Ning Xiu's physical strength. Although Ning Xiu managed to suppress the force of the impact, his own body was also constantly retreating, leaving two long tracks on the ground.

Ning Xiu's feet were embedded in the stone bricks of the ground, but this did not slow him down at all, and he continued to back away.

The hard stone bricks were no match for Ning Xiu. They shattered quickly wherever they went, and Ning Xiu was forced to stop his retreating figure only after being pushed back nearly twenty feet.

The force of the Black Swamp Bull Demon's charge had completely dissipated.

"Ugh!" Seeing that Ning Xiu was holding its horns and it couldn't move at all, the Black Ze Bull Demon opened its nostrils wide, spewed out white steam, and throbbed its muscles, trying to break free from Ning Xiu's control.

But how could Ning Xiu give him that chance? As Ning Xiu's arm muscles bulged and his inner force poured into his arms, a powerful force instantly erupted from his body, slowly lifting the Black Swamp Bull Demon off the ground.

When he reached the highest point, Ning Xiu forcefully slammed his arms down, and the struggling Black Swamp Bull Demon immediately slammed into the ground, creating a crater.

What followed was a barrage of fierce punches.

Ning Xiu raised and swung his fists repeatedly, pounding the Black Swamp Bull Demon's head with a rapid, relentless barrage, each blow landing squarely on the flesh, leaving the Black Swamp Bull Demon utterly unable to mount any resistance.

Soon, the Black Swamp Bull Demon went from furious struggle to weakness and exhaustion, and finally it was on the verge of death, even its roars became as faint as mosquitoes.

The monks around who witnessed this scene were all too shocked to speak. Ning Xiu's behavior was too simplistic and brutal, relying entirely on brute force. In fact, he was even more like a demon than the Black Swamp Bull Demon.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom!

After taking dozens of punches containing Ning Xiu's internal energy, the Black Swamp Bull Demon's aura completely ceased. Something unknown to Ning Xiu also disappeared from its body. It was because of the disappearance of this thing that he was able to kill the Black Swamp Bull Demon.

[Defeat monsters to gain +5000 General Proficiency]

After easily killing the Black Swamp Bull Demon, Ning Xiu ran back to pick up his Thunder Hammer and began searching for his next hunting target.

The exact number of demons imprisoned in the Demon-Sealing Tower is a question that even most of the monks of the Great Lingyin Temple probably don't know the answer to.

Just as Ning Xiu and the monks were working together to stop the escaped demons from leaving the Demon Locking Tower, an extremely powerful and terrifying aura suddenly erupted from inside the tower.

This aura was like a mountain looming overhead, or a surging, raging tide, making one feel a vague sense of pressure that made it hard to breathe.

Ning Xiu stared in horror at the direction of the Demon Locking Tower. Was another powerful demon about to be born?

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Demon-Sealing Tower suddenly broke in two, its thirty-story structure instantly crumbling, with numerous spiderweb-like cracks densely covering its surface.

It looks like it's in imminent danger, and the entire tower could collapse at any moment.

Outside the golden light shield enveloping the Demon-Locking Tower, several eminent monks, including the abbot of Dalingyin Temple, arrived at the scene. They all looked solemnly at the Demon-Locking Tower, which had existed in Dalingyin Temple for hundreds of years.

"Has the Holy Monk Huojia lost control? How did he cause such a commotion?" a high monk said with a frown.

"He hasn't left the Demon-Sealing Tower yet, so the situation is probably still under the control of the Fire Saint Monk. However, judging from the current situation, the Fire Saint Monk's inner demons must still be affecting him. Let's hurry and help him."

"it is good."

The five eminent monks immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and began chanting the Heart Sutra for Subduing Demons.

When Buddhist and Taoist monks reach the upper three ranks of strength, their chanting of scriptures often carries a trace of the great power of Buddhism. The scriptures and teachings become tangible, and their power is incomparable to that of monks in the middle and lower three ranks.

The moment the five high monks began chanting sutras, streams of golden lotus light flowed from their mouths, dispelling the inky blackness in the sky that had been affected by the Demon-Locking Tower.

The sky began to clear again, and the demonic aura was dispelled by the combined power of the scriptures recited by the five high monks.

This situation quickly attracted the attention of all the monks present. When they saw the figures of the five eminent monks, everyone's face showed an excited smile. They had finally seen their backbone arrive.

"It's the abbot! And Master Nanshui and the others."

"It's finally here."

With the combined chanting of sutras by the five eminent monks, the strange phenomena caused by the overflowing demonic energy from the Demon-Locking Tower were quickly brought under control, and everything returned to normal.

However, what everyone was still worried about was what exactly had happened inside the tower.

……

"What's the point of chanting scriptures or practicing Buddhism? Even if you chant for a lifetime, you'll never achieve anything. Why not follow your heart and walk with me? I can make you a Buddha or an ancestor, no less than anyone else."

The thirtieth floor of the Demon-Sealing Tower.

The old monk's face was half kind and benevolent, and half ferocious and sinister, creating a striking and vivid contrast with the bridge of his nose as the central axis.

While the old monk closed his eyes and silently recited Buddhist scriptures, the other half of his face kept making tempting sounds, but the old monk remained unmoved.

"You want to use your Buddhist heart to plant a demon, saying that you want to use this to deliver all the immortal demons in the Demon Locking Tower, but your real purpose is not to reach the First Rank. As long as you submit to me, you can easily reach the First Rank! What are you still thinking?"

The old monk's robes were now tattered and torn, and black veins were clearly visible spreading across his emaciated body. On the old monk's chest, a black tumor the size of a fist had bulged out.

At this moment, the black tumor was beating like a heart.

When the clear Buddhist chanting came from outside the pagoda, the old monk's expression immediately brightened, and his whole spirit became much lighter. On the other hand, the demonized half of his body was contorted in pain, gritting his teeth and saying, "You bunch of bald monks! Your chanting is like flies buzzing in my ears!"

"Although this old monk's choice to plant the demon in the Buddha's heart does indeed harbor a trace of greed, hoping to break through the first-grade realm that I have been unable to reach for so long, if this old monk's actions will cause trouble for others, then this first grade is better left untouched." The Holy Monk Huojia opened his eyes and said calmly.

“Since I was born from your Buddhist heart, this matter is no longer up to you to choose. You have no choice but to accept it, old monk.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the black tumor on the chest of the Holy Monk Huojia suddenly burst open, revealing a bright, empty hole.

The next moment, a small arm emerged from the hole, followed by the head of a child who looked no more than three or four years old.

The moment the child appeared, the aura of the Holy Monk Huojia vanished completely.

"You think it's that easy to plant a demon in a Buddha's heart?" the child sneered with an evil expression, then spread his arms and struggled to crawl out of the Fire Saint Monk's body.

This was a boy with a penis, only about one or two feet tall, whose appearance was strikingly similar to that of the Holy Monk Huojia, as if they were carved from the same mold.

However, judging from his expression and demeanor, those familiar with the Venerable Monk Huojia knew that this was definitely not his style.

The boy tore off the tattered robe from the holy monk Huojia and put it on himself. He then rushed toward the tower wall not far away, smashed his head through the already crumbling wall, and rushed outside.

This unusual activity immediately attracted the attention of everyone outside the Demon-Sealing Tower.

Seeing a three- or four-year-old kid fall from the sky, anyone would be astonished.

However, upon sensing the aura emanating from this person, everyone present with strength at the third rank or above instantly and instinctively adopted a highly vigilant stance.

This little brat is actually a first-grade Buddhist or Taoist!

boom!

The moment the boy landed, he crashed directly into a monster that was directly below him and had no time to dodge.

The monster let out a mournful cry, and wisps of gray smoke rose from its body, which the boy inhaled into his nose.

The moment the wisp of gray smoke left his body, the man stomped on it, instantly crushing the monster's head, killing it instantly without any ability to resist.

Upon seeing this scene, Ning Xiu suddenly realized that when he killed those demons earlier, he felt that something seemed to have disappeared from their bodies, and now it seemed that it must be this gray smoke.

Once this gray smoke disappears from the monster's body, it will no longer possess immortality.

Ning Xiu never expected that, besides himself, this child also possessed a similar ability to kill demons.

"Slurp~~~"

After regaining his footing, the boy took a deep breath, and a large amount of gray smoke that had been billowing from the bodies of the surrounding monsters all flowed into his mouth, filling him with a look of contentment and satisfaction, an indescribable sense of ease.

Upon seeing this, the five eminent monks, including the abbot of Dalingyin Temple, all stood up from their spots.

"It's the aura of the Holy Monk Huojia; he has successfully broken through."

"Is this what it looks like when a Buddha's heart is filled with demonic influence? How did it turn into a child?"

"This……"

The Holy Monk Huojia has been in the Demon Locking Tower for decades, because his strength has long reached the point where he can survive by absorbing dew without needing to eat.

No one has entered the Demon-Sealing Tower to visit the Holy Monk Huojia in recent years, so even the abbot has a rather vague impression of him.

However, within the Great Lingyin Temple, the senior monk Huojia is currently among the most senior in the entire temple. This venerable elder has now transformed into a child who looks to be two or three years old.

The extent of this rejuvenation is really hard to accept.

The "Buddha's Heart Spreads Demonic Influence" technique is considered a secret method in Buddhism and Taoism, specifically used when it is difficult to break through to the upper three ranks. A monk can only use it once in his lifetime.

It involves using a person's seven emotions and six desires to induce the formation of a demon within the body. Finally, one must resist the demon with a strong will and not let it control you. In this way, you can obtain a brand new body and achieve a breakthrough in strength.

Before entering the Demon Locking Tower, the Holy Monk Huojia was a second-grade Buddhist and Taoist master. Now that he has appeared with the aura of a first-grade Buddhist and Taoist master, it has been proven that his Buddhist Heart Demon Seed Planting has been successful. However, it is hard to say who is currently in control of this new body.

If it is the Holy Monk Huojia himself, then the Great Lingyin Temple will have another top-level Buddhist and Taoist master to oversee it, greatly increasing its strength.

Conversely, if the inner demons of the Holy Monk Huojia prevail, then things become quite troublesome.