Twisted Dreams

Chapter 377 - 445: The 8th Apostle, Master of Xie Qilin, Ghost Buddha—Mu Bowen

The elder monk was taken aback:

"Benefactor, you..."

Spiritual Power erupted from Li Yang, like a volcanic eruption.

The surging Spiritual Power ran rampant through the forest.

A terrifying power descended, and Li Yang transformed his appearance.

A round hat, a suit, a skeletal body.

This was the appearance of the Death God.

The black Soul Fire flickered in Li Yang’s eyes, and two runes appeared.

He extended his index finger bone towards the elder monk:

"I’m keeping you alive for a reason; I don’t plan on letting you die just yet."

The elder monk knew too much, and Li Yang wanted to get some clarity.

For example, the intricacies of the Hunter Guild and the Celestial Race.

Li Yang needed to know how many Wandering Ones the Hunter Guild had left in this world.

The Celestial Race would invade in the future, and he had too little information on the enemy.

Moreover, this elder monk was another Tier Six besides himself in this world, with strong power—how could he just die?

The elder monk realized what Li Yang wanted to do and hurriedly said:

"Benefactor, upon meeting you, I would have no regrets even if I were to die.

Benefactor, please do not sacrifice your Soul Power to save me!

You might not know, but Soul Power is extremely hard to cultivate; using even a fraction of it depletes it.

If you lose Soul Power for my sake and delay your cultivation, I would be the culprit for eternity!"

Li Yang ignored the elder monk, and his Soul Power condensed into a rune in mid-air through his finger bone.

To others, Soul Power is indeed rare.

But to Li Yang, it’s not valuable.

As long as Fallen Angels and Believers exist, Soul Power is inexhaustible.

If a Death God were stingy with Soul Power, what kind of Death God would he be?

The mysterious soul-filled rune imprinted onto the elder monk’s forehead as he watched in shock.

"Such pure Soul Power! How is it possible?!

Besides the chairman, who else would have such powerful Soul Power!

The chairman even passed this technique to you!"

Overwrought, the elder monk clasped his hands, using his Spiritual Power to stabilize the soul imprint Li Yang bestowed upon him.

The soul imprint on the elder monk’s forehead emitted a black light, and the Power of Death filled his soul form.

The elder monk chanted Buddhist hymns.

The power within him changed.

No longer the golden Buddhist light, but rather the jet-black Power of Death.

The elder monk, once casting gold light through magic, now resembled a Ghost Buddha.

The elder monk, restored, bowed solemnly to Li Yang:

"Thank you for saving my life, Benefactor!"

Li Yang curled his lips into a faint smile:

"Don’t rush to thank me; gaining my power comes at a price."

Anyone who gains something from Li Yang must pay an equivalent price.

And that price often turns out to be freedom.

The elder monk could continue living solely because of Li Yang’s Death God imprint.

This Death God imprint was Li Yang’s method of control over the elder monk.

In other words, though the elder monk retained self-awareness, his control ultimately lay with Li Yang.

The elder monk didn’t mind this:

"If it means doing more for this world, becoming your puppet would not betray my cultivation."

Li Yang furrowed his brows.

He didn’t quite like this kind of virtue-signaling.

The elder monk smiled:

"In fact, I met you a long time ago."

Li Yang:

"Oh?"

The elder monk said:

"Lejia City, Great Compassion Temple."

Li Yang remembered.

At the foot of the Great Compassion Temple was an ancient tomb.

The first revival of relics occurred within that ancient tomb.

Li Yang scrutinized the elder monk, saying:

"Back then, a senior monk outside the Great Compassion Temple stopped developers from demolishing the temple."

The elder monk nodded:

"That was me."

Li Yang raised an eyebrow:

"That senior monk died at the temple gate."

The elder monk said softly:

"I study both Buddhism and Taoism.

The Daoist Ancestor’s ability to become The Three Pristine Ones in a single breath was something I envied greatly.

I imitated the Daoist Ancestor; though I cannot become The Three Pristine Ones, I can divide myself into two.

My flesh and soul each have different consciousnesses.

In our era, the flesh took the name ’Elder Buddha’ and suppressed the Undersea Celestial Race.

The soul took the name ’Mu Bowen’ and reincarnated onto a newborn who perished.

In the Great Compassion Temple, I hoped to gather disciples to prepare for the future Celestial Race invasion.

When I saw your power in the ancient tomb, I knew it was time to abandon my mortal body.

By the way, I had a prized disciple named Xie Qilin.

It’s just, I haven’t seen him for so long, I don’t know how he’s doing.

If he had been nurtured by you, he would have undoubtedly..."

"He’s dead." Li Yang stated candidly.

The elder monk’s mouth fell open, sorrow filling his eyes:

"So that’s it. I suppose he didn’t listen to my advice after all."

Li Yang pondered for a moment before saying gravely:

"You did indeed take in a good disciple."

Xie Qilin was truly a prodigy of his time.

If not for bad luck, he really could have achieved great things.

Li Yang looked towards the mountain below, saying:

"From now on, you shall be the eighth Apostle of my Demon Club."

With the elder monk present, the next Blood Moon event could be bigger.

The spiritual power of this one elder monk nearly equals that of all the other Apostles combined.

East Sakura, the Philippines, Moon South Country, and across Asia, Blood Moon events could be held simultaneously.

The elder monk clasped his hands and bowed slightly:

"At your command, Benefactor."

...

South Sea, Jinmu Cafe.

Su Manman sat dazedly by the window.

The events of tonight had hit her quite hard.

In her mind was an important person, only she forgot who it was.

According to the elder monk, that important person was the chairman, the Scavenging Elder.

No wonder Li Yang, in his dream, saw the elder monk’s scene in a cafe.

The chairman apparently enjoyed coffee very much.

The young man sitting by the window back then was probably the chairman in his younger years.

Li Yang entered the cafe and sat in front of Su Manman.

Su Manman opened her mouth, wanting to ask something but not knowing where to start, not uttering a word.

Li Yang stared into Su Manman’s eyes and asked:

"Who are your parents? Do you remember?"

Su Manman was momentarily stunned and shook her head:

"I don’t remember."

Li Yang nodded, not surprised by the answer, though slightly disappointed.

He wanted to verify something about the era of Spiritual Qi.

According to the elder monk, the era of Spiritual Qi was once an era of technology, where everyone could awaken their Talent, and there was a Security Administration.

Li Yang couldn’t help but think that the era of Spiritual Qi wasn’t a past era, but rather... a future era.

Those Wandering Ones and the chairman weren’t from the past but from the future.

If Su Manman came from the future, her hacking skills would make sense.

Future hacker technology would undoubtedly crush current information technology.

It’s a daring thought.

If the chairman were indeed so powerful, traveling back in time from the future, then maybe he could really achieve it.

The Spiritual Energy Revival he created happens to form a temporal closure with the future era when everyone becomes Extraordinary.

Now, he’s building that era of Spiritual Qi!

He is the source of the era of Spiritual Qi!

If he knew Su Manman’s family history, perhaps he could confirm his suspicion.