Little Tathagata and the assembly of monster monks turned pale, each reaching out to snatch the flying scroll.
The scroll had been found by accident on the mountain by the monks, who, not knowing what kind of treasure it was or how to use it, offered it to the temple. Little Tathagata and the others had no idea what it did either, only that it was immensely powerful and swarmed with vengeful spirits, so they locked it away in the pagoda.
None of them expected this scroll to be the Ghost-Ear Witch God's artifact, known as the Book of Life and Death.
The moment a monk's hand touched the Book of Life and Death, his flesh began to rot away, leaving only bare bone in an instant. He hurriedly pulled back, and the others, seeing this, unleashed their own divine arts to intercept the scroll, but none could stop it. The treasure broke through layer after layer of supernatural defenses, flying straight for the golden bowl.
Little Tathagata shifted his stance, scooped up the golden bowl with one hand, and with the other formed a mudra. Instantly, his five fingers became mountains of thunder, crashing down upon the bowl in an attempt to refine the Ghost-Ear Witch God to death.
But just then, the Book of Life and Death flew over, and before it even touched Little Tathagata's hand, his flesh began to wither and age rapidly.
Startled, Little Tathagata swept his sleeve and flung the golden bowl away. The Book of Life and Death chased after it.
"Victor!"
Quinn took a single stride, moving with incredible speed to overtake the golden bowl. In midair, he pointed forward, and runes shot from his fingertip—vital energy forming dazzling sigils that flickered in and out of existence before him.
At the same time, Victor Bloom darted out, no slower than Quinn. His hands flashed as well, unleashing vital energy that transformed into sigils—each one a divine character.
Though every divine character was the same word, each was written in a different script—some bold, some sinuous, some sharp as blades, some flowing like water—showing the magical diversity and craftsmanship of their creators.
Quinn lunged forward, taking four rapid steps. With each stride, he pointed and tapped, sending out a teleportation rune. By the fourth tap, the runes interlocked like pearls on a string, forming a teleportation spell that sealed the mouth of the golden bowl.
With a resonant hum, the Book of Life and Death shot into the golden bowl, which was instantly swept up by the teleportation spell and flung more than twenty miles away, vanishing in a flash of light.
On the other side, Victor Bloom’s hands danced in the air, conjuring hundreds of divine characters that rained down on the bowl—each one the word 'seal' in a different, arcane style.
The 'seal' characters were utterly unlike any human writing—each naturally emanated a strange and formidable power. As Lord Yu’s disciple, a true god, Victor had mastered countless secrets that mortals could never touch.
Victor pressed seal after seal onto the bowl, layer upon layer, until the Ghost-Ear Witch God’s link to the Book of Life and Death was completely severed.
Quinn fished out ink and a scroll from his Glutton Dragon Pouch, tossing the scroll to Victor Bloom. With a crisp snap, Victor unfurled it—revealing a sheet of pristine white paper.
Quinn dipped his brush and painted at lightning speed, the tip flying across the paper to conjure a landscape of storm and thunder. He seized the golden bowl and slapped it into the heart of the painting, trapping it inside.
Within the painted storm, the golden bowl drifted and spun, buffeted by thunder and wind as if truly adrift in a tempest.
Quinn handed the brush and ink to Victor Bloom, who then inscribed a ring of square, powerful seal-script characters around the storm painting, locking the magic in place.
Quinn took out his personal seal from the Glutton Dragon Pouch and pressed it firmly onto the lower corner of the painting, leaving a crimson imprint of his authority.
Victor Bloom did likewise, producing his own seal and stamping it beside Quinn’s, the two marks side by side—a craftsman’s finishing touch.
Quinn rolled up the scroll. Both he and Victor let out a long breath, tension draining from their bodies. Meanwhile, Battle-Void, the Demon Ape, bounded over and plucked up the treasure scroll known as the Book of Life and Death.
Atop the Golden Summit, Little Tathagata and the assembly of enlightened monster-monks exchanged glances—astonished. Though Quinn and Victor Bloom’s cultivation was only middling, their teamwork was seamless, as if they’d rehearsed it countless times.
One sent the Book of Life and Death flying away, the other sealed the golden bowl to sever its connection. Quinn painted, Victor unfurled the scroll; then Victor inscribed seals, Quinn opened it up again, and finally both stamped their seals—each step perfectly coordinated, like a dance they’d practiced a thousand times.
Their coordination was so fluid and natural it was as if they were born to work together—every move flowing like clouds and running water, flawless and effortless.
From within the scroll came the Ghost-Ear Witch God’s mocking voice: “Quinn, do you dare speak your true name aloud?”
Quinn ignored the taunt, turning instead to Little Tathagata and the others. “The Ghost-Ear Witch God’s soul-witchcraft is unfathomable. If he learns your true name, he can bow away your very spirit. Little Tathagata, you don’t understand his danger, which is why you suffered. I went to Yin Mountain to destroy him, and now he nearly escaped your suppression. In my view, we should end him now, once and for all—only then will there be no future calamity. Destroying him is the true path to supreme merit!”
Little Tathagata hesitated, frowning. “The Ghost-Ear Witch God is entangled with countless vengeful spirits. If we can truly convert him, the merit would be boundless. To kill him outright, I fear…”
Quinn arched an eyebrow and said dryly, “I never knew there were big and little Tathagatas.”
Little Tathagata raised his eyebrows and said, "Cult Master Quinn, please return the golden bowl. I will lead the monks of the mountain to deliver him—I refuse to believe he cannot be converted."
Quinn handed over the scroll. Victor Bloom coughed, but Quinn shook his head. They simply didn't have the strength to charge out of Little Thunderclap Temple with the scroll; trying would only bring humiliation.
Victor Bloom had no choice but to let it go. He said, "Battle-Void, bring me the Book of Life and Death. I want a look."
The Demon Ape handed him the Book. Victor Bloom unfolded it and paused in surprise: the Book of Life and Death was not a book at all, but a sheet of incredibly thin paper—strangely metallic, gleaming with a mirror-bright luster.
Even stranger, the Book of Life and Death had no words and no patterns at all.
He gazed at the sheet and found he could see the person opposite him through its mirror-like surface.
"What kind of bizarre book is this..."
Suddenly Victor Bloom's heart thudded. Behind the Book was Selena, and her image appeared on the mirror-bright surface—then a line of writing: "Jing Yan."
Victor shuddered and quickly turned the Book toward Quinn. Selena's image vanished, replaced by Quinn's reflection. But the name was not Quinn Mu—it was Qin Fengqing!
"Cult Master Quinn!"
Victor Bloom's expression grew grave as he handed the Book of Life and Death to Quinn. Quinn quickly realized the artifact's function—and was deeply shaken.
The Book of Life and Death could reveal a person's true name. Every monster-monk on the mountain who had taken a dharma name would have it exposed by the Book!
"How could anyone resist something like this?"
He felt a chill down his spine—this treasure revealed one's true name, the very name that bound the soul!
Most monks at Little Thunderclap Temple were monsters. Before gaining spiritual awareness, they had no names; after awakening, they became monks and took dharma names.
Thus, their dharma name was their true name.
And what the Book of Life and Death revealed—was precisely their dharma name!
For instance, when Quinn was young, his close friend the Demon Ape had no name—he was simply called Demon Ape, or Big Guy by Quinn and Fox Ling'er. Only after joining Little Thunderclap Temple did he receive the dharma name Battle-Void.
In the Book of Life and Death, the Demon Ape's name appeared as Battle-Void.
So in the Book of Life and Death, his name was Battle-Void.
Quinn reflected Little Tathagata in the Book, and sure enough, his dharma name—Yuan Ding—appeared.
"With this treasure, wouldn't the Ghost-Ear Witch God be able to kill anyone he wanted? Even if not him, if that bastard Hansen Keane got his hands on it, he'd be unstoppable!"
A thought struck Quinn, and he tested the Book on Bruno the Dragon-Qilin. Next to Bruno's reflection, two characters appeared: 'Long Pi.'
"Bruno the Fat Dragon actually has a true name?"
Quinn was surprised—Bruno had been found by the Grandmaster in the Great Ruins, starving for days until the Grandmaster fed him and Bruno clung to him ever after. Who knew Bruno had a real name? Maybe the Grandmaster gave it, or perhaps his mother.
"This thing must be destroyed!"
Without hesitation, Quinn tried to tear the Book of Life and Death apart, but couldn't. Victor Bloom hurried over, and together they pulled, but still couldn't rip it.
"What are you two doing?" cried a yellow-browed monk.
Quinn drew his Sword Pellet, unsheathed the Worryless Sword, and slashed down. But even the Worryless Sword couldn't harm the Book; a dense cluster of runes flared up, blocking the blade.
The runes were strange indeed—Quinn barely caught a glimpse before they vanished.
"They looked like Netherworld script! Could this treasure come from the Netherworld itself?"
His scalp tingled—the Worryless Sword was his father Qin Hanchen's weapon, and Qin Hanchen was formidable enough to drive away the Star Lord. Yet even his sword couldn't damage the Book!
That meant the Book of Life and Death was at least equal to the Worryless Sword among divine treasures—possibly even greater!
So the Ghost-Ear Witch God's cultivation was on par with Qin Hanchen—or perhaps even surpassed him!
His power exceeded even the newly risen Everpeace Imperial Preceptor!
The yellow-browed monk stepped forward and reached for the Book, shouting, "Cult Master Quinn, this treasure belongs to Little Thunderclap Temple. Please return it to us."
Quinn rolled up the Book of Life and Death, stuffed it into his Glutton Dragon Pouch, and quietly hid it in the True Dragon Nest. Smiling, he said, "Little Tathagata, if you keep this on hand while converting the Ghost-Ear Witch God, aren't you afraid he'll summon it again? Best let me hold it for now."
Little Tathagata gave him a long look, recalled the yellow-browed monk, and said, "Let Cult Master Quinn safeguard it for a few days. If we succeed in delivering this demon god, we will earn supreme merit and transcend this world, escaping birth and death to become Buddhas and Patriarchs. Now for the real work—brothers, join me in delivering our fellow!"
"Amitabha!" the monks replied in unison.
Little Tathagata and the monks fetched ritual implements and hung them up, first stabilizing Quinn's painting, then layering formation arrays to block the Ghost-Ear Witch God's senses, and finally began chanting the conversion scriptures.