The gigantic Corpse Buddha stood towering among the white bones like a mountain range, the aura it emitted faintly discernible, completely unlike a vessel connected to an Earth Immortal.
Xuanchengzi's eyes immediately reddened as his figure rapidly traveled underground, approaching within a thousand meters of the gigantic Corpse Buddha in the blink of an eye.
After transforming into mist, his appearance resembled a ferocious evil ghost, and several hundred Dao Soldiers could also be seen mixed within.
The Dao Soldiers appeared ordinary, but perhaps because they had been influenced by Xuanchengzi, their baleful aura had become even denser, accompanied by faint growls.
Seeing this, Huolongzi frowned and immediately increased his speed, circling ahead and using a spell technique to block the recklessly charging Xuanchengzi.
"Calm down, don't forget what Senior Brother Lingxiao said. The vessel has already been occupied by someone else."
But Xuanchengzi had already gone insane. His half-real half-illusory body displayed a twisted state, even severely injuring nearby Dao Soldiers.
He took a long breath and urgently replied, "Huolongzi, look at this vessel. They definitely don't even have the means to repair its injuries. What exactly are you hesitating for?"
Huolongzi hesitated for a moment. It really was as Xuanchengzi said. The gigantic Corpse Buddha's flesh constantly showed signs of decay, and its aura was obviously unstable.
Since the disturbance caused by the Buddhist qi began, at least more than half a month had already passed, yet the other party had not even achieved the most basic control over the vessel.
It was very possible that the faction inside the vessel was merely those foreign mortal races from outside the forbidden zone.
"Xuanchengzi, don't act rashly..."
Before Huolongzi could finish speaking, Xuanchengzi was already controlling smoke and dust as he fled toward the gigantic Corpse Buddha, quickly arriving beneath its feet.
The other Daoists closely followed behind, afraid that Xuanchengzi would cause too great a disturbance.
They excavated a cave more than ten meters wide underground, then restored their human forms and stood inside, discussing how to deal with the vessel.
According to Huolongzi, it would be best to wait until Daoist Lingxiao completed the reconstruction of his physical body, then find a way to drill into the gigantic Corpse Buddha's interior.
But Xuanchengzi could no longer restrain himself and had become extremely restless.
With a gloomy expression, he grabbed a Dao Soldier and violently abused it to vent his frustration. His gaze constantly swept over the gigantic Corpse Buddha, yet he discovered not the slightest abnormality.
"Huolongzi..."
"You want to wait for the Sect Master to reconstruct his body, but the Dao Soldiers probably can't last much longer."
"Your actions are too risky. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat."
The two began arguing because of their disagreement, while the Daoists beside them dared not interrupt.
Xuanchengzi casually threw the Dao Soldier's corpse at Huolongzi's feet. The corpse had only recently died, yet its flesh immediately became swollen.
Dozens of dull twisted faces emerged on the skin's surface, and the baleful aura mixed with resentment had nearly solidified into substance. It likely originated from the tens of thousands of mortals sacrificed during the refining of the Dao Soldiers.
In the end, Huolongzi still compromised. He discovered that the Dao Soldiers truly could not hold out much longer.
Not to mention the Dao Soldiers, even the Alchemy Path cultivators themselves had been deeply eroded by the Dead Man's Forbidden Zone, their physiques becoming neither human nor ghost.
It was also because of this irreversible corpse transformation that they were unable to leave the forbidden zone.
Huolongzi used all kinds of methods to probe the gigantic Corpse Buddha. After repeatedly confirming, he still could not detect even the slightest aura of living beings inside.
They then arrived at the surface and involuntarily looked toward the terrifying vessel while simultaneously casting spell techniques, remaining alert for any danger that might appear.
Huolongzi discovered that the gigantic Corpse Buddha was unexpectedly enormous.
Although he had never witnessed the scene of Great Compassion Maitreya Bodhisattva's Buddhist qi descending into the Dead Man's Forbidden Zone, how could the vessel possibly approach two thousand meters in height?
The gigantic Corpse Buddha's muscles were as hard as rock, and it possessed two heads, one large and one small, along with countless eyeballs of various kinds.
Under normal circumstances, as merely a temporary vessel, the Buddhist qi could not possibly have spent so much effort on the gigantic Corpse Buddha.
Either he was overthinking things, or the forces connected to the vessel far exceeded imagination.
The unease in Huolongzi's heart intensified more and more, but once the arrow was on the bowstring, it had to be fired.
The cost of using Scatter Beans Into Soldiers was too great. Even if the road ahead was a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, they could not retreat even slightly.
"Tsk tsk tsk tsk..."
Xuanchengzi nodded in satisfaction, then took the lead in rushing toward the gigantic Corpse Buddha's po gate.
The other Daoists somewhat felt that Huolongzi was being overly cautious, so they cast their spell techniques and followed behind Xuanchengzi.
Huolongzi sighed and hurried over while using Heavenly Eye to investigate the situation.
However, they did not find the location of the gigantic Corpse Buddha's po gate, so they could only settle for the next best thing and enter through the navel in its abdomen.
As for why they did not head toward the mouth or nose, it was mainly because they considered that the Mud Pellet Palace was definitely heavily guarded, so they decided to first understand the situation locally.
Xuanchengzi pointed with two fingers and only felt that after reconstructing his body, his true essence flowed extremely smoothly. He easily formed Dao golden light that sliced through flesh.
Huolongzi did not hurry inside. Instead, he stared fixedly at the insect eyes on the abdomen.
He believed that organs resembling flesh magic artifacts were not the style of Buddhism, yet there was faint residual Buddhist qi inside the vessel.
"Could it be that in merely two hundred years, Buddhism underwent some drastic transformation?"
While Huolongzi was thinking, Xuanchengzi had already cut open the flesh wall leading into the intestines and stomach, then directly walked inside without hesitation.
The moment he arrived in the intestines, he was stunned, as if he had entered another world.
"What the hell?"
Hearing Xuanchengzi muttering to himself, Huolongzi snapped back to his senses and ran into the intestines and stomach. A jaw-dropping scene entered his sight.
Lush green vegetation filled the intestines, and the sounds of beasts and birds could be heard.
Huolongzi completely shed his madness, his expression becoming intoxicated.
It was as if he had returned to the sect outside the forbidden zone, located deep within a mountain range. At the foot of the mountains were tens of thousands of mortals yearning for immortality, materials raised by the sect for refining Dao Soldiers.
At sunrise they would head to the mountain peak to absorb qi and cultivate, and at sunset they would return to the main hall...
Xuanchengzi's breathing became rapid. His desire to leave the Dead Man's Forbidden Zone grew even more intense, and even his body and soul showed signs of qi deviation.
His aura uncontrollably leaked out, causing the surrounding trees to snap and collapse.
"Xuanchengzi, this is definitely not a Buddhist method. If you still recklessly..."
Before Huolongzi could finish speaking, he noticed that Xuanchengzi's body had begun mutating. Not only had he grown more than a dozen useless limbs, but an infant's face had also formed on his abdomen.
Saliva dripped from the corners of Xuanchengzi's mouth. His gaze threateningly swept over the many Daoists before he headed deeper into the intestines.
Some Daoists, intimidated by their fear of Xuanchengzi, chose to accompany him.
This time, however, Huolongzi did not stop Xuanchengzi's actions.
Because after witnessing Xuanchengzi's mutation, for some reason his body and soul began stirring restlessly, and subtle mutations also appeared in his flesh.
Huolongzi could not help but think, "Daoist Lingxiao never said that Scatter Beans Into Soldiers would also cause such a condition."
Little did he know, this was the work of the Deformity Disease Seed.
Seeing Huolongzi staring at Xuanchengzi, Xuanling spoke to remind him, "Martial Uncle Huolongzi, should we head to the stomach region?"
"No need."
Huolongzi's voice was filled with exhaustion. Regardless of what drawbacks Scatter Beans Into Soldiers had, Xuanchengzi was simply courting death, a complete madman.
Naturally, he would not accompany Xuanchengzi to the grave.
Fortunately, Xuanchengzi had only brought more Dao Soldiers with him. Most of the Daoists at the same realm had not chosen to recklessly follow him.
"We'll go to the internal organs first, then move toward the Mud Pellet Palace. We'll receive Senior Brother Lingxiao after he finishes reconstructing his body, then make further plans."
"Senior Brother Huolongzi, why didn't you stop him? Xuanchengzi is clearly seeking his own death."
The middle-aged female Daoist named Tulingzi seemed somewhat indignant. If Xuanchengzi had not stubbornly insisted on his own way, three thousand Dao Soldiers would have been enough to sweep through the vessel.
Huolongzi did not reply and merely shook his head somewhat helplessly.
Immediately afterward, they began making preparations. Very soon, they cut through the flesh wall and left the intestines, and the jungle returned to peace once again.
Meanwhile, within the shadows of a corner in the intestines, an eye was watching everything.
The owner of the eye was Jiang Feng. He had already returned to the stomach world alongside the Yin Difference realm cultivators, while the Ghost Envoy realm cultivators were preparing within the various organs.
It was not because they were preserving combat strength.
Mainly because after Ren Qing refined the gigantic Corpse Buddha, he could already open entry and exit rifts at any location inside the gigantic Corpse Buddha.
As long as one held a portion of Ghost Shadow and communicated with the stomach world through divine sense, it was sufficient.
Having the Yin Difference realm cultivators remain on standby in the stomach world also made it convenient for them to provide support at any time.
Ren Qing secretly observed the responses of the Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators. He did not attempt to interfere and instead allowed them to formulate strategies on their own.
Among the incoming Alchemy Path cultivators, only four possessed strength equivalent to the Yin Difference realm. The remaining Dao Soldiers and Daoists were all at the Ghost Envoy realm.
After listening to Jiang Feng's description of the intruders, Li Tiangang could not help but wear a strange expression.
They had indeed planned to divide the Alchemy Path cultivators apart, such as by using Gu insects that affected the mind, or poisons mixed into the air...
Yet before they even acted, the other side had already started internal strife.
The only pity was that only one Yin Difference realm Alchemy Path cultivator had separated from the group. The remaining three had to be dealt with together.
Li Tiangang pondered for several breaths before speaking, "How about this. Li Yaoyang and Corpse Ghost, you two go eliminate the isolated cultivator."
Li Yaoyang nodded in agreement, his fingertips still fiddling with the Heavenly Dao Insect eggs.
Corpse Ghost's spine had already been parasitized by Crabmen, and his recultivation of the Corpse Refinement Method had already reached the White Zombie stage. The confusion in his heart no longer remained.
The two summoned a rift, but did not head toward the stomach region, seemingly waiting for something.
At the same time.
The moment Xuanchengzi arrived in the stomach region, he was deeply astonished by the situation inside.
A temporary camp resembling a small town stood nearby, and incomprehensible patterns were displayed across the stomach wall's surface.
Thousands of corpses covered the ground, and the foul smell of decay immediately assaulted the nose.
"Martial Uncle Xuanchengzi..."
The several Alchemy Path cultivators following Xuanchengzi somewhat regretted their decision.
The situation inside the vessel was simply too unexpected. Anyone with eyes could tell that something was wrong here, as if it were bait hanging from a fishhook.
A smile rose at the corner of Xuanchengzi's mouth as he muttered, "The cultivation path I stepped onto with the Bright Eye Pill, mere zombies... are nothing to fear!"
When he concentrated true essence into his eyes, he could clearly sense the yin qi emitted by the zombies.
However, after being reminded by Huolongzi, Xuanchengzi involuntarily calmed down somewhat.
He knew his own condition was somewhat abnormal, so he simply retreated into the temporary camp to stabilize his true essence while letting the Dao Soldiers take action.
"Kill!"
Tian Fang leaped into the air, and the several thousand zombies no longer concealed themselves, charging toward the nearest Dao Soldiers as slaughter immediately erupted.
Xuanchengzi looked somewhat disdainful. They were merely White Zombies whose intelligence had yet to mature. Could they really overturn the heavens? Huolongzi was simply too cowardly.