Chapter 20

Qin Shaoyou did not hesitate, turned around, and slashed, severing the black tentacles that entangled his feet.

However, more black tentacles stretched out from the thick fog, attacking him with their sharp and claw-like movements.

Qin Shaoyou fully mobilized his blood qi, making his long saber dance like a flower, to fend off the attacks of the black tentacles.

At the same time, he strained his eyes to look toward the source of the black tentacles, trying to figure out what was attacking him.

In the thick fog, a spherical object could be vaguely seen floating in mid-air.

It was a human head still dripping with blood!

Strands of bone-chilling resentment emanated from the eyes, ears, and mouth of this human head, transforming into black tentacles, making it look incredibly eerie and terrifying.

The dripping blood head opened its mouth, spewing out rolling resentment while grinning wickedly: "Didn't expect it, did you? Even if my head is cut off, I won't die!"

Although Qin Shaoyou couldn't clearly see what the spherical object in the fog was, after hearing its words, he immediately recognized its identity: "U Benliang?!"

"It's me."

The floating U Benliang's head looked at Qin Shaoyou with eyes full of hatred.

"You killed the Five Immortals worshipped by my family and so many of my family members. All of you must die, not a single one will escape!"

Then, it began to chant a strange scripture.

This scripture sounded very familiar to Qin Shaoyou, similar to the one chanted by the human head fruits on the ugly meat tree in the prison.

"Is this the Black Lotus Sect's killing scripture? Are you also a demon of the Black Lotus Sect?"

Qin Shaoyou's expression turned serious as he chopped at the black tentacles, which resembled venomous snakes, and questioned.

U Benliang not only nurtured demons but was also a believer of the Black Lotus Sect?!

He could come back to life and transform into a demon, having killed countless people and accumulated a great deal of the Black Lotus Sect's so-called 'Buddhist power.'

Qin Shaoyou soon discovered that the killing scripture chanted by U Benliang's head did not have the effect of driving people to madness and bloodlust, but it did increase the strength and speed of the black tentacles formed by the resentment, making them increasingly difficult to deal with.

This put Qin Shaoyou in a dilemma: Should he fire the cloud-piercing arrow to call for reinforcements?

U Benliang's head, however, sneered.

"Demons? Foolish! The Black Lotus Sect is the only savior of this ugly world! Only you foolish and stubborn people would see the Black Lotus Sect as demons. Well, today I will use your blood, flesh, and lives as sacrifices to witness my enlightenment and become a Black Lotus Buddha!"

Over the years, U Benliang had conspired with demons to kill many caravans and travelers.

The demons devoured the flesh and blood of these people to enhance themselves, while the U family grew stronger through the wealth obtained from the caravans and travelers. U Benliang, through the Black Lotus Sect's 'killing cultivation,' absorbed the resentment and hatred of the dead.

U Benliang had not yet achieved enlightenment because he was afraid of being exposed and also wanted to kill more people to accumulate more Black Lotus Buddhist power, so he could achieve a good position in one go.

But now, he could no longer delay and had no other choice.

Because he was already 'dead' and was only barely surviving by relying on the Black Lotus Buddhist power he had accumulated over time.

This state could not last long. If he did not quickly achieve enlightenment and become an Arhat, Bodhisattva, or Buddha, he would burn out his last bit of life and die completely!

Qin Shaoyou, hearing U Benliang's words, responded with a cold snort: "When you were alive, I could kill you. Now that you're dead, why would I be afraid of you? Whether you turn into a demon, a monster, or an evil Buddha, I will kill you again!"

While speaking harshly, Qin Shaoyou no longer hesitated and reached out to fire the cloud-piercing arrow.

At this moment, he could no longer afford to speculate.

At the same time, more resentment poured out from U Benliang's head's eyes, ears, and mouth.

The cold resentment filled the U family fortress, suppressing everyone's movements and making them feel a chill all over, but it made the demons hiding in the darkness outside the fortress, like wolves smelling blood, become restless.

For a moment, the area around the U family fortress was filled with the sounds of ghosts wailing and wolves howling.

Zhu Xiuzai, Ma Heshang, and others realized the severity of the situation and left the U family members they were fighting to rush toward the location of Qin Shaoyou and U Benliang.

However, before they could arrive and before Qin Shaoyou could fire the cloud-piercing arrow, U Benliang's head suddenly let out a painful howl.

Then, the skin and muscles on its face rapidly cracked and fell off, being devoured by the rolling resentment.

Qin Shaoyou stopped his action to fire the cloud-piercing arrow, realizing that this was the backlash of the resentment!

It turned out that although U Benliang had learned the Black Lotus Sect's killing scripture, he had not learned it completely.

Or rather, the person who introduced him to the Black Lotus Sect deliberately did not teach him the complete scripture.

U Benliang only learned the method of killing and absorbing resentment but did not learn how to truly convert this resentment into Black Lotus Buddhist power.

Therefore, he needed to visit the Black Lotus Sect's master every few months, offering wealth to receive the master's 'blessing.'

U Benliang thought he was favored by the master, but he did not know that the master was controlling him through this method.

The so-called blessing was actually the master absorbing the resentment he had accumulated and returning a small amount of Black Lotus Buddhist power as a sweetener.

In the master's eyes, U Benliang was just a 'reservoir of resentment.'

U Benliang had no choice but to continue, as the blessing was addictive. If he did not go at the appointed time, he would feel extremely uncomfortable, and only by going and receiving the master's blessing could he feel at ease.

"Why is this happening? Why? I should have become an Arhat, Bodhisattva, or Buddha... Why..."

Before his tongue fell off, U Benliang's head asked in a voice filled with sobs.

Then, his tongue and the flesh in his mouth fell off, and he could no longer speak.

The uncontrolled resentment continued to backfire, ultimately corroding and devouring U Benliang's head, skin, and bones.

Qin Shaoyou watched with a look of regret.

If U Benliang had been executed as a demon, a new recipe might have been created...

Unfortunately, his actions were not as fast as the resentment.

At the same time, the resentment that had devoured U Benliang transformed into countless black venomous snakes, attacking the living beings inside and outside the U family fortress.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Qin Shaoyou gathered his focus, shouting loudly, and without firing the cloud-piercing arrow, his long saber flew to fend off the resentment snakes attacking him.

Zhu Xiuzai, Ma Heshang, and others were also attacked by the resentment at the same time and engaged in battle.

Ma Heshang, while fighting, also chanted scriptures loudly, trying to pacify and guide the resentment.

Compared to them, the U family members suffered much more.

Many did not even have time to react before being attacked by the resentment, instantly turning into cold corpses.

This could be seen as a resolution of their karma, paying for the evil they had committed.

After wreaking havoc, the resentment gradually dissipated.

Fortunately, this was only the resentment U Benliang had accumulated over a few months, not over a decade. Otherwise, the duration of the havoc and the destruction would have been much greater, turning large areas inside and outside the U family fortress into ghost zones!

Qin Shaoyou panted heavily, his long saber and armor already having multiple dents and cracks.

All of this was due to the corrosion by the resentment.

Fortunately, Qin Shaoyou's cultivation had reached the Muscle and Bone Realm, where his muscles were like bells and his bones like iron, otherwise, even with armor, he would have been seriously injured.

"Are you all okay? No one is hurt, right?" Qin Shaoyou shouted loudly.

At this moment, the mirage pearl, having consumed the fresh blood from several demon corpses, no longer released fog.

The fog, blown by the night wind, began to dissipate outside the fortress.

The visibility inside the U family fortress was gradually recovering, but it was still unclear at a distance.

So communication still relied on shouting.

Zhu Xiuzai, Ma Heshang, and others responded:

"I'm fine!"

"I'm a bit injured, but it's not a problem!"

"Who would have thought U Benliang was a demon of the Black Lotus Sect? Fortunately, his cultivation was not complete, and he failed to achieve enlightenment through killing, which backfired on him. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

"We are not seriously injured, but the U family has suffered heavy casualties."

Qin Shaoyou, hearing the responses from his subordinates, breathed a sigh of relief and immediately gave orders: "Ask the U family where the medicine is, bring it to treat them, and then tie them all up! Any who resist, kill without mercy!"

"Yes!"

The strongmen all accepted the orders and immediately took action.

Zhu Xiuzai and Ma Heshang came to Qin Shaoyou's side, seeing that he was not seriously injured, and both breathed a sigh of relief.

Ma Heshang's armor was already mostly shattered, exposing his well-defined muscles.

He looked around vigilantly to prevent any U family members from making a desperate attack on Qin Shaoyou and asked: "Sir, should we fire the cloud-piercing arrow to call for the night watchmen from nearby towns for help?"

"No!"

Qin Shaoyou and Zhu Xiuzai said in unison, stopping him.

Ma Heshang was taken aback, looking at Qin Shaoyou and then at Zhu Xiuzai, with a look of "You two are hiding something from me."

Zhu Xiuzai patted his shoulder.

"Monk, given Sir's usual cautious nature, if he were going to fire the cloud-piercing arrow, he would have done it long ago. Why would he wait until now?"

Ma Heshang thought about it and realized that Qin Shaoyou not firing the cloud-piercing arrow today indeed did not match his usual style.

If he did not fire it initially because the situation was sudden and he did not have time, then after the U family members 'returned,' there was plenty of time and opportunity.

Why didn't Qin Shaoyou fire the cloud-piercing arrow?

Is there something I haven't noticed?

Ma Heshang was full of questions, feeling that this was more difficult to handle than fighting demons.

Zhu Xiuzai leaned in close to Qin Shaoyou and whispered: "Sir, I boldly guess, are you worried that those summoned by the cloud-piercing arrow might not be reinforcements but... enemies!"