"Buddha as Paramita, receive the precepts..." The words echoed in the gloom, heavy and strange, suffocating the air itself.
"That’s about enough, Ethan."
The Monk’s Vestment sped on, the trees vanished from view. I stretched out my arm, raised the Deathbane Aura Dagger, and sliced into my own arm.
A sharp sting—the Deathbane Aura Dagger cut my arm, blood streaming out. I held my arm out, letting the blood trail behind as the Monk’s Vestment flew onward.
I nodded, stepping onto the soft Monk’s Vestment. The sensation was all too familiar—Uncle Mo once flew me with a blood-red scarf. Even now, the memory chills me to the bone.
"Just don’t go too fast."
"Don’t worry, Ethan. If we go too fast, how will we lure out the Starving Wraiths?"
I nodded, rolled up my sleeves, and pulled them to my elbows, my fingers brushing against the Bodhi Beads I'd hidden there.
With a whoosh, the Monk’s Vestment beneath my feet slowly lifted into the air, gliding into Starvation Woods. The Starving Wraiths scattered in all directions.
"Master Owen, the Buddha’s radiance on you..."
"Ha!" Brother Owen shouted, grabbing a handful of Bodhi Beads and scattering them around. Crackling sounds erupted as wisps of blue smoke rose.
I nodded, recovering a bit. A Starving Wraith lunged at us—I raised my condensed Deathbane Aura Blade and, as it reached out, slashed down.
The Monk’s Vestment flew toward the giant statue. Suddenly, a green light flared, and a huge wail erupted from the statue’s mouth.
A wretched scream tore through the night as the Starving Wraith was struck, its body smoking and writhing as it crashed to the earth.
As the Monk’s Vestment nearly crashed into the statue, Brother Owen quickly changed direction. My blood sprayed into the statue’s mouth as he steered us to the right.
Suddenly, the Starving Wraith on the ground jerked upright. Its jaw was stripped of flesh, exposing bone-white teeth and blood-soaked gums. Howling, it lunged straight at us.
"Ethan, hold on tight," Brother Owen said. I gripped his clothes tightly.
Brother Owen handed me a pouch of Bodhi Beads. As we burst out, the Wraiths guarding the area noticed us at once. I grabbed the Bodhi Beads and hurled them at the ghosts without hesitation.
In an instant, the Wraiths swooped at us, snarling. The Monk’s Vestment dove toward the ground; I timed my jump, raised the Deathbane Aura Blade, and leapt.
Gradually, the woods ahead opened up, and only then did I notice the wailing behind us growing even louder.
I opened my eyes and glanced back. Instantly, I was left speechless—my mouth agape. Behind us, on the ground and in the sky, a vast swarm of Starving Wraiths chased after us, their faces twisted in agony.
"That’s about enough, Ethan."
The kasaya sped on, the trees vanished from view. I stretched out my arm, raised the small blade of malice, and sliced into my own arm.
A sharp sting—the blade cut my arm, blood streaming out. I held my arm out, letting the blood trail behind as the kasaya flew onward.
"Fresh, tasty human flesh..."
Suddenly, Brother Owen began to shout, catching my attention. I blinked and looked at him.
Brother Owen clearly slowed down, then shouted again.
"Ethan, since they’re all here, we need to lure every ghost in this place out."
I nodded. The scene behind us was gruesome—my dripping blood landed on some Starving Wraiths, and the others instantly pounced, tearing into the bloodied ones.
Screams and wails filled the air, merging into a hellish chorus.
"Ha!" Brother Owen shouted, grabbing a handful of bodhi seeds and scattering them around. Crackling sounds erupted as wisps of blue smoke rose.
I nodded, recovering a bit. A Starving Wraith lunged at us—I raised my condensed Deathbane Aura Blade and, as it reached out, slashed down.
The kasaya flew toward the giant statue. Suddenly, a green light flared, and a huge wail erupted from the statue’s mouth.
"This doesn’t look good, Qingyuan. We’ve gone too far—time to get out of here."
As the kasaya nearly crashed into the statue, Brother Owen quickly changed direction. My blood sprayed into the statue’s mouth as he steered us to the right.
Below us, a dense swarm of Starving Wraiths filled the ground and sky. I turned—screams erupted as Starving Wraiths poured out of the statue’s mouth, surging toward us.
"Not good, not good, Ethan—it’s a Blue Wraith. There’s a Blue Wraith inside!"
Brother Owen handed me a pouch of Bodhi Beads. As we burst out, the Wraiths guarding the area noticed us at once. I grabbed the Bodhi Beads and hurled them at the ghosts without hesitation.
In an instant, the Wraiths swooped at us, snarling. The Monk’s Vestment dove toward the ground; I timed my jump, raised the Deathbane Aura Blade, and leapt.
"Fools, you think you can escape..."
A low, heavy voice echoed through the air. Suddenly, a barrage of screams nearly shattered my eardrums.
The kasaya spun wildly beneath us, speeding through the air. I squeezed my eyes shut, clinging to Brother Owen’s clothes, my head spinning and nausea clawing at every nerve.
"Manifest, Bodhisattvas encircling, manifest, boundless Buddha realms, manifest, the source of all Buddha realms, tenfold Buddhas, Bodhi Paramita..."
With a thunderous bang, I opened my eyes. A burst of green light was blocked by a small golden Buddha statue, and we shot through the glow.
[Irrelevant system message skipped.]
For a split second, I saw a pair of eyes like a wolf’s staring at me.
"Don’t even think about running. You dare defy Taisui? Courting death."
That voice echoed again.
With a sputter, Brother Owen coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Master Owen, are you alright?"
"It’s fine, I can still hold on. When the chaos breaks out, we’ll make a run for it—back to Midway Town."
I nodded, recovering a bit. A Starving Wraith lunged at us—I raised my condensed Malice Sword and, as it reached out, slashed down.
With a miserable scream, I severed both its hands and sent it tumbling down. Behind us, the green glow raced closer.
"Ethan, get up here!"
"Master Owen, we’re here..." Before I knew it, I saw the main road—and several prison carts.
With a crash, Brother Owen’s body slammed into a tree branch, sending us flying.
"Ethan, use this. I’ll focus on steering."
Brother Owen handed me a pouch of bodhi seeds. As we burst out, the Wraiths guarding the area noticed us at once. I grabbed the bodhi seeds and hurled them at the ghosts without hesitation.
In an instant, the Wraiths swooped at us, snarling. The kasaya dove toward the ground; I timed my jump, raised the Malice Sword, and leapt.
I crashed to the ground, rolling several times. As I scrambled up, a Wraith lunged at me—I drove my sword into its chest without hesitation, then ran toward the prison carts.
There were other ghosts passing through as well.
With a crash, I smashed one of the prison carts.
"If you don’t want to die, run to the woods on the west side—now!"
Ignoring the Wraiths chasing me, I kept smashing the next prison cart.
The commotion grew louder—I heard it, the Wraiths heard it, even the passing ghosts heard it. The Wraiths chasing me paused, staring at the woods, but I kept breaking the prison carts.
"Run to the woods on the west side if you want to live!"
I shouted again at the top of my lungs.
At last, the Starving Wraiths burst from the woods like a swarm of white ants. In an instant, not only the lesser ghosts but even the Wraiths screamed in terror—especially at the sight of so many Starving Wraiths flying overhead.
With another crash, I smashed a prison cart as fast as I could. Most of the female ghosts had already entered the woods.
Brother Owen was still struggling, floating in the air, flying toward me.
"Damn it, what are you staring at? Hurry up and catch those female ghosts! Stop standing around!"
It was one of Boss Ma’s men, drifting up the road from the foot of the mountain. Even faced with so many Starving Wraiths, he showed no fear—brandishing his sword, he charged ahead.
A tide of screams erupted as the Starving Wraiths surged down. The distracted ghosts were instantly torn apart. The airborne Wraiths tried to stop them, slaying many Starving Wraiths, but there were too many—they were quickly overwhelmed and couldn’t stop the escaping female ghosts.
"Ethan, get up here!"
With a rush, the kasaya flew to me. Brother Owen reached out, and I grabbed his hand, jumping aboard.
"Into the woods, now!" I shouted. The green glow had appeared—the Blue Wraith from Starvation Woods was chasing us.
I couldn’t worry about anything behind me—I focused on what was ahead.
"Thank you, sir, thank you..."
As we flew into the woods, I heard a female ghost below expressing her thanks.
I smiled faintly, but suddenly, the kasaya beneath Brother Owen lost its power, and we plummeted to the ground.