42: Chapter 42 The Buddha's power is boundless; reciting my true name will avert calamity.

The scene shifts.

Outside the headquarters of the Black Snake Society, on the enormous plaza.

One hundred thousand ragged, terrified civilians had already been roughly herded into the plaza like lambs awaiting slaughter.

Their hands and feet were tightly bound with coarse hemp ropes, and they were packed densely together, kneeling on the cold, hard concrete ground.

Directly in front of them stood the hundred-meter-tall statue of the [Black Snake Taboo].

Under the gloomy sky, the statue appeared exceptionally ferocious.

Looking from afar, the statue was pitch black all over; its coiled serpentine body seemed as if it could come alive at any moment. Its pair of crimson stone eyes gazed down coldly upon the humble sacrifices at its feet.

Before the stone pedestal of the statue.

The three Vice Presidents of the Black Snake Society, twenty-two captain-level Ghost Controllers, and over a thousand core members knelt in a circle, their faces filled with fanaticism.

At their head, Liu Tiesheng had now changed into a black sacrificial robe embroidered with golden serpent patterns.

He held three ghostly incense sticks as thick as an arm in his hands.

The incense was dark red throughout, with thick, viscous liquid still dripping from it.

"Omniscient and omnipotent Lord..."

Liu Tiesheng raised the ghostly incense high, his voice hoarse and fanatical.

"Please partake of this fresh flesh and blood, please listen to these despairing cries..."

"Grant us your protection, grant us your power, let us bathe in your shadow... for all eternity!!"

As his words fell.

All the members of the Black Snake Society cried out in unison:

"Praise the Lord! Praise the omniscient and omnipotent Black Snake Taboo! Praise the great ruler of the Black Domain!!!"

Their voices were deafening, filled with madness and sickness.

And behind them, the Black Snake Society's security teams had already raised their butcher knives and firearms.

Their faces were one by one expressionless.

This was not the first time the Black Snake Society had offered living human sacrifices.

The civilians, the poor in this city... in the eyes of the Black Snake Society members, they were all livestock being raised in pens.

They sheltered the livestock, gave them food and water to survive... precisely so that when needed, they could be used for sacrifices, for slaughter.

"No... please don't..."

"We beg you... let us go..."

From within the crowd, desperate cries and wails rose and fell.

A little girl, only five or six years old, huddled in her mother's embrace, trembling all over.

Her large, clear eyes were filled with fear and confusion.

She couldn't understand why she had to be tied up here, why she had to suffer all this, because she had never done anything wrong, she had always listened to her mother... "Mommy... I'm scared..."

The girl's mother was a young woman with a sallow, emaciated face.

Though she herself was terrified to the extreme, she still held her daughter close, comforting her in a trembling voice:

"Don't be afraid... Shishi, don't be afraid... Mommy is here..."

"Close your eyes... it will be over soon..."

However, her comfort did nothing to soothe the little girl's fear.

Right at that moment.

A Black Snake Society Ghost Controller with a stubbled face and yellowed teeth walked over, grinning cruelly, holding a long knife still dripping with blood.

He stopped in front of the mother and daughter, looking down at the adorable little girl, the cruelty in his eyes almost overflowing.

"Tsk tsk, such a tender little lamb must be very delicious."

He reached out a rough, large hand, wanting to pinch the girl's cheek.

"Don't touch my child!!"

The mother, finding strength from somewhere, suddenly bit down hard on his hand.

"Ah! You bitch!!"

The Ghost Controller cried out in pain and kicked the mother to the ground.

Then.

He raised the knife in his hand, aiming it at the still-crying little girl.

"It's alright, little one."

"Uncle will help you find release."

"Close your eyes... then you won't be scared."

As he said this, his voice became very gentle, but his twisted face was more contorted and terrifying than a demon from Hell.

"The sacrifice... begins!!"

From the high platform, Liu Tiesheng gave the order.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out.

Blood splattered.

The first row of civilians had already fallen like wheat being cut.

The shadow of death instantly enveloped the entire plaza.

The little girl, seeing the butcher's knife about to fall, closed her eyes in despair.

"Mommy..."

She instinctively called for her mother, tears continuously streaming down.

Suddenly!

Hummm!!!

A strange humming sound abruptly rang out deep within the minds of many civilians.

The sound was not loud.

But it carried an indescribable penetrating power, as if it came from the past, from the future, from a higher plane of existence.

The sound directly ignored the barriers of space, resounding deep within everyone's Souls.

Immediately after.

The sound condensed, transforming into a grand, sinister, and utterly coercive and seductive, bizarre note!

"All living beings suffer... as if dwelling in a house of fire..."

"Take refuge in my Dao... and you may attain liberation..."

"Recite my name long and often... and be reborn in the Pure Land..."

"I am... the Buddha of Rebirth!!"

The voice had a metallic quality to it, each word like a giant hammer splitting a mountain—immensely vast, immensely powerful!!

On the plaza, everyone's movements froze.

The Ghost Controller who had raised the butcher's knife felt an irresistible force immobilizing his body; the knife in his hand simply could not be brought down.

"What... what is this sound?!"

Liu Tiesheng's face changed drastically as he looked around in terror.

But for those civilians in despair.

This voice was no different from a true divine oracle.

"The Buddha of Rebirth... could it be the legendary deity?"

"Has a deity come to save us?"

Someone murmured in despair, even beginning to fantasize.

"na mo... the supreme Buddha of Rebirth..."

Someone, it's unclear who, took the lead in reciting a phrase.

Immediately after.

Like a single spark starting a prairie fire.

More and more people began to recite along.

The little girl huddled in her mother's arms also trembled her small mouth and recited along:

"na mo... Buddha of Rebirth..."

With this childish prayer.

Boom!!

A chaotic Buddhist light, black as ink yet shimmering with a strange luster, materialized in front of the little girl.

Within that Buddhist light was contained a taboo rule, and even more so, a majestic will akin to that of a deity!!

Clang!!

The Ghost Controller before the little girl, hearing the Buddhist Chant, grew even more vicious in his gaze.

He activated his Rule Ability, forcefully swinging the long knife in his hand down, directly chopping at the little girl.

However, as the long knife fell, it only produced a crisp metallic clang, then was directly sent flying away.

"What?!"

That Ghost Controller was greatly shocked.

Not just him.

Throughout the entire plaza, all those who piously recited the honorific title had faint black light shimmering around their bodies.

The bullets shot at them, the butcher knives swung at them, were all blocked by this layer of black light.

"How is this possible?!"

"A ghost! It must be?!"

The members of the Black Snake Society all wore ugly expressions.

And at this moment.

Within the dimly lit main hall of the temple in Rebirth City.

On the panel deep within Lin Chuan's consciousness, the Power Of Will value was skyrocketing at a terrifying, frenzied rate.

[Acquired Power Of Will +100!]

[Acquired Power Of Will +500!]

[Acquired Power Of Will +10000!]

[...]

The desperate prayers of one hundred thousand people converged into a massive amount of Power Of Will!

In just a single breath, Lin Chuan's panel had increased by 2 million Power Of Will!

...At this moment.

The plaza at the Black Snake Society headquarters.

As the one hundred thousand people prayed and recited.

The originally overcast sky was suddenly enveloped by an even deeper darkness.

Dark clouds churned, with no sign of thunder.

Only a suffocating sense of oppression descended from the heavens.

"That... what is that?!"

Someone pointed at the sky in terror.

They saw, above the thick layer of clouds.

An extremely bizarre light slowly pierced through the darkness.

That light was indescribable.

It seemed to contain all the colors of the world, yet also seemed to be only the purest black.

Dark red, golden yellow, deep purple... countless colors intertwined and twisted within it, finally condensing into a chaotic black light.

With the appearance of this black light.

Rolling Buddhist Chants resounded between heaven and earth.

"Om... ma... ni... pad... me... hum..."

The sound was grand, solemn, yet also carried a sinister quality that made one's Soul tremble.

Immediately after.

The clouds parted.

An enormous, sky-covering Buddha face slowly revealed itself before the world.

It was a face as black as ink.

Its features were blurred, its facial features indistinct.

On the Buddha face, those enormous eyes streaming with bloody tears were like two crimson moons, gazing down with pity upon the masses below.

Around that giant face, faintly swirling were countless illusory shadows of suffering, wailing vengeful spirits, and circles of black light-wheels radiating an aura of destruction.

It resembled a dark deity! Yet also seemed like an Evil Buddha from Hell!

At this moment, whether it was the civilians kneeling on the ground, or the executioners holding butcher knives... all felt their breath stop and their hearts pound wildly.

Even the statue of the [Black Snake Taboo], which had always been regarded as sacred and inviolable, before this terrifying Evil Buddha.

Seemed so small, so insignificant.

"I am... the Buddha of Rebirth."

The Buddha's voice sounded again, like a great bell tolling, like ocean tides roaring, yet also like countless demons shrieking and howling... "All who believe in me shall receive protection."

"All who oppose me shall fall into the Avici Hell."

"amitabha buddha..."