Yellow Skinned Taoist Master

Chapter 86: Reviving Your Master Is Easy

The earth trembled faintly.

A rumbling echoed from the distance as dust billowed into the air.

Chen Huangpi looked in that direction and immediately wore the expression of a man who had seen a ghost.

"Huang Er, A Gui — what is that thing?"

"It's — it's a carriage?"

At those words—

Chen Huangpi froze.

He had never seen a carriage in person, only read about them in books.

But the vehicle hurtling toward him bore no resemblance to anything described in literature.

The carriage compartment stood four meters tall and seven meters long, lacquered entirely in crimson.A canopy crowned its top, its peak jutting upward like a lance. Strung upon it were eight shriveled human heads.

And what pulled the carriage was not horses—

But eight headless corpses, their flesh equally withered.

The sight was beyond macabre.

The head-carriage appeared and barreled straight toward Chen Huangpi.

"Huang Er! A Gui!"

Chen Huangpi barked a warning. A withered tree branch shaped like a sword materialized in his hand, and the power siphoned from the Magic Tree within his Kidney Temple surged into it immediately.

Ashen sword-qi gushed from the branch without cease.

Black smoke still coiled around Chen Huangpi's body.

That smoke likewise merged with the sword-qi, turning it ink-black in an instant.

But just then—

The head-carriage seemed to sense Chen Huangpi's killing intent. It stopped abruptly.

"Do not strike! Do not strike!"

The moment those words rang out—

The killing intent in Chen Huangpi's heart vanished. Beyond his control, he lowered the branch in his hand.

The Magic Tree's power retreated into his body.

Only the black smoke remained unmoved.

"Something's wrong — this head-carriage is wrong!"

The Brass Oil Lamp shouted. "The moment it spoke, I lost all desire to fight it!"

The Life-reaping Ghost added, "Contractor, be careful. This head-carriage seems to be a Calamity — and no ordinary one!"

They didn't need to tell him.

Chen Huangpi had already realized something was off.

He clenched his jaw and tried to summon his killing intent.

But the head-carriage emanated a demonic influence that made every effort futile.

"Rest assured, I will not harm you."

A voice dripping with false compassion echoed from inside the compartment. "I am the As-You-Wish Bodhisattva. I am generous, benevolent, and merciful. You need not be so wary of me."

At those words—

The eight human heads opened their mouths in unison.

"The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva, savior of all beings!"

"Come and worship — your wish shall be granted!"

The sound bored into his skull like a demonic chant.

Chen Huangpi's scalp crawled. He even felt the urge to prostrate himself in reverence.

This As-You-Wish Bodhisattva possessed the same kind of power as the Evil Buddha.

Both could beguile the mind.

But even the Evil Buddha had failed to make Chen Huangpi submit — let alone this self-proclaimed Bodhisattva, which was merely a Calamity-class evil spirit.

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva sat within the compartment.

Chen Huangpi refused to worship — yet it showed no anger.

Instead, it spoke with magnanimous compassion. "If I meant you harm, I would have acted already. Why waste words?"

"You wear that little ghost's skin, but you are in fact human."

"Your name is Chen Huangpi, isn't it?"

When Chen Huangpi said nothing, the Bodhisattva remained unperturbed. "Chen Huangpi, I am a Bodhisattva. I bear you no ill will. On the contrary — I've come to bestow upon you a heaven-shaking fortune."

"Though you will not say it aloud, I know you are thinking this fortune must be a trap."

'Of course it's a trap.'

Chen Huangpi ground his teeth, but the black smoke — the only thing unaffected — refused to obey him.

He knew the smoke was alive.

It had always responded only when his killing intent surged or his emotions roiled violently.

Right now, Chen Huangpi's heart was as calm as still water.

So the black smoke lay as dead and dormant as stone.

Unless something happened that could pierce through the Bodhisattva's demonic influence and ignite his fury beyond suppression!

At that moment, the Brass Oil Lamp couldn't hold back. "What kind of garbage Bodhisattva are you? 'Heaven-shaking fortune?' If you're so compassionate and selfless, the mound is full of evil spirits — why not go bestow fortune on them!"

"Sharp-tongued."

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva chuckled. "Since I proclaim myself a savior of all beings, evil spirits are beings too. Naturally, I have already granted them their fortunes."

"Those hundreds of evil spirits wished for a chance to evolve into Disasters. I granted it."

"Over a dozen Disasters wished to evolve into Calamities. I granted that too."

"And Yellow Peril — it wished to enter the third level of the God-Burying Mound. I fulfilled that as well."

"Now the only one left is you, Chen Huangpi."

"Come — tell me. What wish do you want fulfilled?"

Hearing this—

Chen Huangpi understood immediately.

He had almost believed the Bodhisattva could read minds.

But this was nothing more than verbal manipulation.

Otherwise, why bother asking what he wished for?

It had likely learned about him from Yellow Peril.

The thought filled Chen Huangpi with disgust.

But the Brass Oil Lamp seemed to remember something and urged, "Chen Huangpi, I actually think this As-You-Wish Bodhisattva makes a fair point. Don't you want to revive the Temple Master? Why not try making a wish?"

Chen Huangpi frowned. "It may be strange, but it's only a Calamity. How could it possibly revive Master?"

His master had told him: bringing someone back from the dead was extraordinarily difficult.

Because death was death.

The only way was to descend to the Yellow Springs, enter the Yin Lands, ascend Mount Luopo, and obtain the Soul-Returning Jade.

The Brass Oil Lamp retorted, "Who cares if it can or can't — there's nothing to lose by trying."

"Huang Er, are you serious?"

"Just follow my lead, and you'll break free of its influence!"

Hearing that—

Chen Huangpi's expression went dark. He faced the carriage and addressed the As-You-Wish Bodhisattva. "Can you truly fulfill my wish?"

"Of course."

"Then listen well."

Chen Huangpi's voice was cold as ice. "My master is dead. I want him alive again, standing before me. Make it happen."

"Simple enough. I'll fulfill your wish right now."

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva laughed three times, and then the head-carriage began to shake violently. All eight human heads on the canopy opened their mouths and spewed thick, grey smoke.

The smoke grew denser and denser, quickly smothering the carriage from view.

But inside the compartment—

A being with a horse's head on a human body, wearing a crown of eight wrathful demon faces, contorted its features to the extreme.

This was the As-You-Wish Bodhisattva.

More accurately, the title was self-given.

It was a Calamity.

But unlike ordinary Calamities.

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva, like the tomb guardian beast, had been a consecrated god that had turned into an evil spirit. It operated according to certain rules.

Its power was uncanny — it could grant wishes.

But whether the granted wish turned out well or badly was another matter entirely. Once a wish was granted, the Bodhisattva could claim one thing from the wisher — and even leaving the God-Burying Mound wouldn't save them.

What it claimed was life itself.

Once Chen Huangpi made his wish, the process could not be stopped. Even regret was useless.

Because not even the Bodhisattva itself could break the contract.

This was the power bestowed upon it through consecration — and also the shackle that bound it.

But now, the As-You-Wish Bodhisattva discovered something horrifying.

It could not fulfill Chen Huangpi's wish.

Inside the compartment, a mass of raw, bloody flesh was conjured by its power.

But no matter what it did, it could not shape it into the likeness of Chen Huangpi's master.

'What in the world is this boy's master?'

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva seethed. 'Could it be — an immortal, just like the one who created me?'

Outside the compartment, Chen Huangpi pressed, "As-You-Wish Bodhisattva, why hasn't my master been revived yet?"

The Bodhisattva replied, "Be patient. I'm searching for your master's soul. What does he look like?"

Chen Huangpi said, "Master has a kind face, an immortal bearing, and wears Daoist robes..."

"More detail."

The Bodhisattva's tone grew urgent. "The more detailed your description, the faster the revival."

"My master's hair and beard are completely white. His cheeks are thin with little flesh. His skin is much darker and more yellow than mine..."

Chen Huangpi described his master's appearance in exhaustive detail.

At the end, he added, "Oh — and my master has two heads. Identical ones. There's a third one that hasn't grown in yet. Don't revive the wrong version — I don't want the one with three heads."

Hearing this—

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva exhaled in relief. This level of detail was enough to fabricate a master for Chen Huangpi.

Still — what kind of master was this?

Two heads, with a third one budding?

Was this even human?

"Form!"

The Bodhisattva barked a command. The mass of flesh before it instantly took on a humanoid shape.

Clad in Daoist robes, a head sprouting from each side.

But it had no skin.

It wasn't a true revival — merely a fabrication conjured from nothing. And even that wasn't easy.

As the saying went: painting a dragon, one must dot the eyes.

The name was the finishing touch!

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva smiled. "All that remains is one final step. Chen Huangpi — what is your master's name?"

"Chen Shidao!"

"Very well, Chen—"

The Bodhisattva moved to call out "Chen Shidao, awaken!" — but stopped dead. The name could not leave its mouth.

Worse — it could no longer even remember what Chen Huangpi's master was called.

It only knew the surname was Chen.

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva's face twisted in dismay. If a wish could not be fulfilled—

It would suffer backlash.

"Say your master's name one more time."

"Chen Shidao."

"..."

"Again."

"Chen Shidao."

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva was growing frightened now.

Even with all its arrogance, it had to acknowledge: Chen Huangpi's master was a terrifying existence that exceeded its comprehension entirely.

It didn't dare continue.

But this skinless figure could hardly pass for a person.

'Forget it — I'll just give him a different name.'

'He needs to be surnamed Chen, and he's a Daoist — so I'll call him Chen—'

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva's expression changed violently.

The name it had chosen was Chen Daoxing.

But the instant it thought of it, the name vanished from its mind just as eerily as before.

Which meant another unfathomably terrifying being already bore that name.

Unspeakable. Unthinkable.

The Bodhisattva's horse-face went ashen. A dreadful premonition seized it.

It had already granted wishes to many evil spirits.

Some it had sent to the second level of the God-Burying Mound. Others to the third.

But then it had to encounter Chen Huangpi.

One request — and out came two names that could not be spoken.

Truly horrendous luck.

Outside the carriage, the smoke dissipated.

Before Chen Huangpi's disbelieving eyes—

A tall figure with two heads emerged from the fading haze.

"This humble Daoist was dead, was he not? Why have I appeared here?"

The figure wore Daoist robes. The moment it saw Chen Huangpi, its eyes reddened. "Disciple — you're the one who brought your master back to life, aren't you?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm your master — Chen Liujia! Silly disciple, how can you not recognize me?!"

This Chen Liujia had white hair and beard, wore Daoist robes, and sported two heads. To say it looked exactly like Chen Huangpi's master — well, it couldn't have looked more different.

There was no immortal bearing whatsoever.

Instead, everything about it felt wrong.

Its features were even grotesquely warped, as though someone had crumpled a face and reassembled it incorrectly.

Chen Huangpi's eyes reddened on the spot.

From rage!

He saw through it instantly — this Daoist didn't even have a soul. It was nothing but a hollow shell conjured by the Bodhisattva's power.

Absolutely unforgivable!

Chen Huangpi's jaw clenched so hard his teeth crackled. His voice was frigid beyond measure, each word dropping like a blade. "As-You-Wish Bodhisattva!!"

"This is your master!"

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva spewed a blast of smoke, forcibly amplifying its demonic influence to crush Chen Huangpi's killing intent, to make him accept that the wish had been fulfilled.

But—

This infallible ability had suddenly ceased to function.

It could not suppress Chen Huangpi's killing intent at all.

The As-You-Wish Bodhisattva cried out in terror. "This IS your master! This IS him!"

"How dare you?! I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Chen Huangpi's killing intent erupted beyond all control!

The black smoke around him surged skyward in a frenzy.

The wooden hairpin holding his hair snapped apart; every strand of his hair stood on end.

Torrents of essence and the Magic Tree's power poured recklessly into the dead tree branch.

The next instant—

A horrifying arc of pitch-black sword-qi cleaved the head-carriage clean in two.

Where the black smoke passed, the carriage was devoured without a trace.

The Bodhisattva's demon crown was split open. Its horse-head was gashed wide, and billowing grey dust erupted from its eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth.

Nor was that all — wherever the sword-qi cut, the black smoke clung to the Bodhisattva's body like a bone-deep parasite, consuming it in a feeding frenzy.

On top of that, the unfulfilled wish triggered its own backlash against the Bodhisattva.

At this moment, the As-You-Wish Bodhisattva was in the most wretched state of its existence.

It had to flee. It had to run!

To the deepest level of the God-Burying Mound — to the third layer!

Otherwise, it would die here at Chen Huangpi's hands today!

Because it could see Chen Huangpi charging toward it, eyes blazing red, that dead tree branch raised like a sword.

Wave after wave of jet-black sword-qi blotted out the sky, raining down like a curtain of annihilation.