109: Chapter 109 Harming Others Ultimately Harms Oneself

Seeing Chu Xuan seized by the Great Buddha and stuffed into its mouth, not only Fox, but also Chen Yao and the Bald Man nearby revealed a look of joy.

This was what they had discussed long ago; at the critical moment, they would have to backstab Chu Xuan to let the Strange Creatures inside him emerge to deal with the Great Buddha.

In their view, the most Chu Xuan had inside him was an A-Rank Specter. Although the strength it could exert would be limited if it rashly took control of his body, it would still be far stronger than the three of them, who were humans suppressed to Level 1.

While the snipe and the clam fought, the three of them would be the fishermen watching from the sidelines.

Although doing this still carried unknown risks, Old Wu's death had chilled their hearts.

Compared to continuing to be led by the nose by Chu Xuan and potentially being led into a pit, they were more willing to take such a risk.

However, the scene that unfolded next was completely beyond their expectations.

After Chu Xuan was stuffed into the Great Buddha's mouth, he actually vanished into thin air before the Great Buddha could even bite down.

No scene of a struggle between the two sides occurred.

“Where is he?”

Fox's seductive eyes filled with disbelief; for a fleeting moment, she seemed to see Chu Xuan's body turn into a single strand of hair.

But before she could snap out of it, the Great Buddha had already picked up its Buddhist staff and raised its hand to build up power.

Seeing this, Fox's hair stood on end. At the moment the Great Buddha threw the staff, she lunged to the side.

Boom!

With a loud bang, the Buddhist staff, radiating a dark light, struck the spot where Fox had been standing like a cannonball. Its sharp tip plunged nearly a meter deep into the bluestone tiles.

As dust billowed, Fox was merely grazed, yet more than half of her arm was gone. Her white bones were exposed, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Fox let out a muffled groan, enduring the intense pain as she tried to crawl away. But at that moment, the Great Buddha appeared out of thin air above her.

As it landed, it stomped ruthlessly on Fox's back. In an instant, more than half of her body was crushed into a pulp, and a large amount of crimson blood seeped out from under the Great Buddha's sole.

Fox could no longer hold it in and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

In the next second, the screaming stopped abruptly.

The Great Buddha leaned down, tore off the upper half of her body, crushed it into a pulp with its bare hands, and then stuffed it into its mouth, chewing the head and everything before swallowing it whole.

“Why is it like this?!”

In the distance, Chen Yao gritted his teeth and roared, his mind nearly exploding. He wasn't angry about Fox being killed, but rather that the plan had failed. With their numbers reduced, the hope of escaping was now extremely slim.

A cold gaze swept over. The Great Buddha pulled out its Buddhist staff once more and began striding toward Chen Yao.

“Baldy, let's find a way to smash this last statue first—” Chen Yao shuddered, but before he could finish his sentence, he realized the Bald Man had already turned and bolted.

“Damn it!”

Chen Yao cursed loudly. With the Great Buddha already upon him, he could only flee for his life, desperately and clumsily dodging the attacks.

Unfortunately, with the Bald Man gone, no one else attempted to enter the Ksitigarbha Hall. The Great Buddha no longer guarded the hall's entrance and had now locked onto Chen Yao.

After being repeatedly tainted by the Great Buddha's eerie aura, he finally couldn't hold on anymore. His skin burst open, and countless eyeballs squeezed out, one after another.

Chen Yao let out a low moan as his body rapidly transformed into something eerie. It seemed as though something terrifying was about to burst out of him, but before he could fully turn into a monster, a massive Buddhist staff came crashing down with a whistling hum.

Bang!

Blood splattered and eyeballs burst as Chen Yao was killed instantly. Then, the Great Buddha repeatedly stomped on him until he was nothing more than a pile of mangled flesh.

At the same time, a figure covered in incense ash poked his head out from a hiding spot, glanced at the Great Buddha from afar, and then quickly slipped into the Ksitigarbha Hall.

This person carried a messenger bag, held a short blade, and wore black-framed glasses—it was none other than Chu Xuan!

[Transcendent Skill: Clone. You can peel off any body tissue to transform it into a Clone. The Clone's Physique, strength, and agility attributes are 50% of your original body's.]

This one-time Transcendent Skill was one of the reward options Chu Xuan received for completing the mission to stop the Night Demon's advancement.

Chu Xuan had never trusted Old Wu, Fox, Chen Yao, or the others. He was particularly wary of Chen Yao, who was malicious and ruthless.

Just moments ago, Chu Xuan had noticed Chen Yao's ill intentions when he tried to pat his shoulder, so he stayed vigilant. When he realized that the other party likely possessed the [Mind Reading] ability, his guard was raised even further.

Facing a terrifying threat like the Great Buddha, Chen Yao still risked causing extra trouble to probe his mind; he was clearly preparing to make a move against him.

Later, when he casually proposed the plan to deal with the Great Buddha, the three of them actually agreed immediately without any objections.

Given such abnormal behavior, Chu Xuan had to prepare for the worst. So, under the pretext of relieving himself, he actually went out of their sight and plucked a strand of hair to create a Clone, performing a switcheroo.

This skill was even more marvelous than Chu Xuan had imagined. It didn't just create a naked person; by using Mental Energy, it could even manifest the original body's clothing, bag, short blade, and other accessories.

However, relatively speaking, those items were just for show and had no actual use. Only the Clone itself retained 50% of the original body's three main attributes, making it equivalent to an ordinary person.

Furthermore, the Clone's duration was limited, and it lacked independent consciousness. It couldn't use Transcendent Skills and required Chu Xuan's continuous consumption of Mental Energy to control its actions.

The advantage was that he could control it as easily as his own limbs, as if he were in command of his own body. Moreover, its visual perception could be shared with the main body, which was quite remarkable.

This was why the 'Chu Xuan' who returned didn't arouse suspicion. When Fox ambushed him, he showed no guard and didn't even have the slightest ability to resist.

In fact, even without Fox's backstab, the Clone's base attributes would have made it impossible to dodge the Great Buddha's series of attacks.

Their actions were unnecessary; it truly was a case of 'harm set, harm get.'

These thoughts flashed by in an instant. After Chu Xuan entered the hall, he didn't delay for a moment. He leaped onto the high platform, raised his short blade, and slashed down fiercely.

[You have slain the Specter: Parasite. Your spirituality value +20.]

[Current spirituality value: 81]

A roar came from the distance. In the next second, the Great Buddha's body appeared inside the hall, its massive head almost pressed against Chu Xuan's face.

The rotting, pus-filled Ushnisha on its head emitted an indescribable stench that desperately forced its way into Chu Xuan's nose, making him feel nauseated.

Faces surged beneath the tattered Cassock. Now that he was close, Chu Xuan could faintly hear them all roaring the same sentence:

“Come accompany me...”