39: Master, I have realized it, please come and save me

“Alright, stop laughing, listen to Mr. Shi!”

Mo Ya shouted at his cackling subordinates, his gaze falling upon his capable general.

“Mo Da, you three brothers are responsible for guarding these two-legged sheep. Remember Mr. Shi’s instructions: wait until the Mirror Demon slays one, then throw the second one in. Try to delay for as long as possible.”

“Everyone else, assist Mr. Shi in deciphering the formation on the ninth floor!”

“Yes, Sir!”

Mo Da rumbled in response, his two dark green eyeballs rolling on his scaly face, exuding an oppressive aura no less than Xie Jinyu’s.

His two brothers behind him were equally burly, the bloodstains on their bone knives long since congealed into black scabs, and their imposing presence was not weak either.

The Night Watch Division members were roughly pushed into a line, like a flock of sheep being herded, and driven to the front of the pagoda.

Chen Ziliang, squeezed in the middle, secretly glanced at the three Nether race members behind him and whispered, “Brother Lu, do I really not need to detonate myself with them? With your speed, if you can escape to the Mist Zone, you’ll have a chance to shake them off.”

Lu Ming was carefully observing the pagoda in front of him and didn't move his head when he heard this: “With your meager strength, detonate what? Give those beasts a fireworks show? Don’t be ridiculous.”

Chen Ziliang’s words were blocked.

“But…”

Seeing that they were about to reach the entrance of the pagoda, his nose began to sweat with anxiety.

“We’re just going to be thrown in there to buy them time. How is that any different from aiding evil?”

“Aiding evil?” Lu Ming finally turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Chen Ziliang’s solemn face, his tone somewhat playful: “Are you planning to revoke my human status later, kid?”

“Brother Lu, I didn’t mean that…” Chen Ziliang’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

Lu Ming narrowed his eyes, his voice extremely low, audible only to the two beside him: “Alright, later, after I kill that Mirror Demon, you find a way to distract these three.”

Kill that Mirror Demon?

Brother Lu, what nonsense are you talking about?

Chen Ziliang even suspected he was hallucinating. Just as he was about to ask, Mo Da’s roar already boomed: “Are you dawdling, waiting to die? All of you, get in!”

Lu Ming was pushed into the pagoda. The moment his feet stepped inside, he didn't forget to turn back and instruct Chen Ziliang: “Remember my words, and stop thinking about detonating yourself!”

“Clang——”

The heavy wooden door was locked from the outside, isolating the roars and yellow sand.

However, the darkness and chill Lu Ming expected did not arrive; what greeted his eyes was a bright illumination.

The scent of sandalwood and butter oil lingered in his nostrils. Three thick, gilded incense sticks burned on the offering table, and the flickering flames on the candlesticks on either side lit the room clearly.

The floor beneath his feet was like a pristine mirror, reflecting his tall figure.

In the center of the main hall was a colossal golden Buddha.

“Thump, thump, thump…”

Beneath the lotus pedestal, a string of levitating prayer beads swayed gently with a tapping sound.

Lu Ming followed the sound and saw an dark red kasaya sitting on the meditation cushion in front of the Buddha statue!

The kasaya floated in mid-air above the cushion, its collar buttons loosely hanging, but its hem spread neatly, as if an invisible monk was sitting beneath it.

The string of prayer beads rested in the crook of the kasaya’s left arm, each bead polished smooth and shining.

The tapping sound came from there, as if someone was closing their eyes, reciting scriptures while twirling the beads with their fingertips.

“Buddha has no inherent form; its form is that of sentient beings. Buddha’s form exists because sentient beings create it in their hearts!”

“Joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, desire—the seven emotions are all reflections in a mirror.”

“Buddha is Buddha, demon is Buddha, and benefactor can also be Buddha!”

The Mirror Demon’s voice was deep and extremely penetrating, like that of an enlightened monk.

The prayer beads in its hand spun as fast as a waterfall, and the “thump, thump” of the wooden fish became a continuous downpour.

This made Lu Ming somewhat annoyed: “Alright, Master, I understand, come and deliver me!”

The sound of the wooden fish abruptly stopped.

The Mirror Demon slowly stood up, its voice beginning to become ethereal: “This humble monk, whose dharma name is Mingjing, is here to guard the Pagoda of Seven Treasures by order of my Venerable Master…”

Still chanting?

Lu Ming impatiently interrupted it: “Can you please stop rambling? Come on, hurry up and kill me!”

“You! You common mortal!” The Mirror Demon completely lost its composure, its voice becoming utterly sharp, “This humble monk painstakingly explained the profound truths of Zen, yet you treat it as a joke?”

The kasaya suddenly burst open, and a surging surge of energy instantly locked onto Lu Ming.

His reflection on the floor suddenly began to twist.

A figure slowly crawled out.

Its appearance was identical to Lu Ming’s, only lacking a certain human quality, its dark pupils devoid of luster.

When it grinned, the curve of its mouth stretched to its ears, far beyond the limit of human bone structure, revealing teeth that were unnervingly white and neat, making it extremely eerie and chilling.

“Benefactor, please see, Buddha is originally the form of all sentient beings, and you too can become a part of Buddha.” The Mirror Demon raised its hand to caress its cheek, the movement of its fingertips across its skin stiff like a marionette.

“However, before that, let this humble monk see what abilities you possess!”

Before its voice faded, the Mirror Demon suddenly vanished from its spot.

Lu Ming felt a chill down his spine. When he swung his blade in a backhand, the edge sliced through the air, and the gust of wind it created stirred the incense ash on the offering table.

“Looking for me?”

The voice came from above his head.

Lu Ming looked up and saw the Mirror Demon clinging to the ceiling like a gecko, its limbs twisted at unnatural angles, but its head hung straight down towards the ground, its dark pupils fixated on his movements.

It looked exactly like the evil ghost clay sculptures nailed to the beams in temples, yet it wore a face identical to his, making one’s stomach churn.

The Mirror Demon chuckled, its laughter mixed with the “thump, thump” of rolling prayer beads, making one’s temples throb.

Immediately after, its figure vanished again.

“Got you!”

A pale hand suddenly reached out from the reflection on the floor, and the Mirror Demon’s triumphant laughter reached his ears.

“Now, I have your talent too!”

“Huh?”

The Mirror Demon’s laughter abruptly ceased.

Damn it… Buddha is merciful! Why is it a mining talent?

But it was too late. Its talent was just like that; once the replication was complete.

Unless the original body being copied died, it would forever remain in this form.

“Surprised?” Lu Ming’s lips curved into a wild grin, and his gaze towards the Mirror Demon was full of mockery: “What’s wrong with mining? Do you dare to look down on working people?”

Sizzle!

A destructive aura suddenly erupted from Lu Ming, and crimson lightning crackled.

The Mirror Demon’s face, identical to Lu Ming’s, instantly contorted into a mess, as if it had swallowed a live fly, its dark pupils churning with shock and fury.

Just as it was about to let out a roar, it saw Lu Ming pouncing like an arrow released from a bowstring.

“Can you withstand the iron fist of the working people?”

Lu Ming’s fist, wreathed in crimson lightning, smashed towards the Mirror Demon’s face, the air sizzling from the destructive aura…