Serena Clearbrook's face twisted abruptly, becoming hideously grotesque. The little girl's body began to swell, her lower half emitting a hissing sound as jointed, bony legs tore through her skirt, stabbing into the ground with a metallic clang. Her body grew thick and long, transforming into a giant centipede made entirely of bone!
Her upper back arched with bone armor jutting high, hunching her figure. Arm after arm made of bone unfurled, each finger tipped with razor-sharp claws!
Antler-like bone spurs curled from the back of her head, her face furrowed with ravines and horror beyond words. Her mouth unleashed a piercing shriek—the combined screams of countless women—rasping together as she snarled, "Get in here!"
Quinn Shepherd looked up at the bone-covered centipede woman, surprise flashing across his face. He shook his head and said, "Not going in."
The monster in the temple roared furiously, her many legs skittering as she circled the hall again and again. Suddenly, she lunged for the temple gate—at that moment, a clattering sound rang out. The oasis shook, and thick chains rattled violently.
Quinn quickly looked over and saw that one end of the chains was sunk deep into the river, coiled around the massive golden Buddha inside the temple. The other end was locked onto the monster herself.
Golden rings hung from the monster's body, and the chains were fastened to these rings. Each time she tried to charge out the temple door, the chains yanked her back.
She clawed and raged, but could never set foot beyond the temple's threshold.
Quinn sat down calmly, resumed his breathing and qi circulation, and cultivated the Overlord Three‑Core Art to restore his strength.
After a while, quiet fell behind him. Unable to break free from the chains, the monster suddenly turned and rushed toward the golden Buddha, shrieking, "Curse you, bald thief! You’ve trapped me here! Are you trying to starve me to death? That kid didn’t offer you incense—why won’t you let me eat him?"
The Buddha statue stood unmoved as she crashed against it. Enraged, the monster circled the statue again and again, scattering heaps of white bones behind it.
Quinn glanced back, secretly startled to see that all those bones were human. Who knew how many people had died in this broken little temple!
After a while, the monster quieted down, carefully picking up each bone and hiding them behind the golden Buddha, her bloodshot eyes fixed fiercely on Quinn outside the temple.
"Bald thief, meat delivered to the door... meat delivered to the door..." she muttered, lurking behind the temple gate and staring at the back of Quinn's head, drool streaming like a brook.
Soon after, she shifted back into the form of the little girl Serena Clearbrook, her clothes half undone, giggling, "Boy, come be shameful with me—"
Quinn's willpower was ironclad; he ignored her completely. At last, his strength returned, and his yuanqi was restored to its peak. After a day of bitter training, he could feel his qi had grown yet again.
A thought stirred in him; he gathered his qi, silently recited the demonic chant, and once more rammed against the Spirit Embryo Wall.
"Qike Duo, Samoye, Prajna Prajna Samoye, Qike Duo Prajna Samoye..."
His yuanqi had just slammed into the Spirit Embryo Wall when a thunderous rumble erupted from the ancient temple. Strange markings beneath the Buddha's gold leaf blazed with streams of blood-red light, and the gilding itself shone brilliantly!
Boom—
Amid the violent tremors, the Buddha statue—once gilded over bronze—suddenly opened its eyes. A boundless aura erupted, and Quinn heard a thunderous, majestic voice in his ears: "Heretical demon! How dare you recite a demon-god mantra before me and defy all law! I shall subdue you with Buddhist true words!"
The monster's face twisted in terror as the golden Buddha raised its hand, yanked the chains, and dragged her helplessly to its feet.
Thud.
Crushed by the Buddha's overwhelming presence, the monster collapsed to her knees—right in front of the statue—unable to move.
"Om mani padme hum! Om mani padme hum! Om mani padme hum..."
The golden Buddha opened its mouth, chanting waves of Sanskrit—a true living Buddha intoning scripture. The monster screamed in agony, as if her soul were being crushed by invisible force.
Outside the temple, Quinn was battered by the Buddhist mantra, his mind thrown into chaos. Yet at that instant, his yuanqi crashed against the Spirit Embryo Wall, and from nine heavens above, a divine chant descended—like gods reciting scripture far beyond the sky.
The divine chant collided with the Buddha's Sanskrit, swelling in power to rival it, greatly easing the pressure on Quinn's qi.
"Perfect timing!"
Without hesitation, Quinn joined in, loudly reciting the demonic chant: "Qike Duo Samoye, Prajna Prajna Samoye, Qike Duo Prajna Samoye! Qike Duo Samoye, Prajna Prajna Samoye, Qike Duo Prajna Samoye!"
Inside the temple, the Buddha's chant thundered: "Om mani padme hum! Om mani padme hum!"
At the same time, the god-sound from Quinn's brow grew louder: "Guan, Ming, Duan, Jing, Wu, Si, Jiang, You! Tian, Shi, Dui, Xi, Wei, Ling, Nu!"
All three voices collided, and the barrier at the center of his brow—the Spirit Embryo Wall—vanished instantly!
Quinn seized the moment, driving the Overlord Three‑Core Art at full force, surging all his yuanqi toward the Spirit Embryo Wall!
Splash—
The Yong River surged, waves crashing against the shore. At that very moment, Quinn's Spirit Embryo Wall shattered with a deafening splash, letting his yuanqi flood into the Spirit Embryo Treasury!
Then, even more violent yuanqi erupted from his Spirit Embryo Treasury, surging through every limb and bone, flooding even his hair and skin—every strand of hair stood on end!
The Spirit Embryo Wall—gone without a trace!
Breakthrough!
Quinn froze in shock, stopping his demonic chant. The god-sound vanished, and within the temple, the golden Buddha's mantra fell silent, returning to stillness. Only the monster beneath the statue remained, refined by the chanting into near lifelessness, sprawled motionless on the ground.
The invisible barrier at the center of Quinn's brow—the one blocking his Spirit Embryo Treasury—finally vanished, revealing the treasury with nothing left in its way!
[Irrelevant system message skipped.]
"Did I really break through?"
Quinn couldn't contain his joy, cheering in front of the temple.
He'd drunk countless cups of Four Spirit Blood, yet never awakened the Overlord Body. Now, with god, demon, and Buddha voices battling, he'd finally broken through—the sense of achievement swelled in his small chest.
Soon, Quinn calmed down and thought, "Spirit Embryo Wall, Spirit Embryo Treasury—if it's a treasury, there must be treasures the gods left for me..."
He closed his eyes and 'saw' the dazzling golden light at his brow. Cautiously, his awareness 'entered' the mysterious treasury, which turned out to be a strange space filled with golden radiance—like an ancient, blessed grotto-heaven.
His consciousness dove in; the Spirit Embryo Treasury was like a sea of light, golden brilliance everywhere, a true fairyland. The light nourished his awareness, making him feel wonderfully at ease.
He flew through this golden ocean for what felt like ages, but found nothing at all.
"Isn't this supposed to be the Spirit Embryo Treasury? Why is there nothing inside? Did the gods take my treasure away?"
Quinn wondered, now that his Spirit Embryo Treasury was open, where was the actual treasury?
Suddenly, he spotted a lone statue rising from the sea of light—awkward and solitary.
"Why is there a statue in my Spirit Embryo Treasury? Is this the treasure?"
Astonished, Quinn's awareness circled the statue, examining it from every angle. Only then did he realize it was no stone carving at all.
This 'statue' was neither quite jade nor stone—crystal clear yet somehow soft to the touch.
Strangest of all, the effigy looked eerily like him—except it resembled Quinn as a toddler, barely two or three years old!
"A statue of me in my Spirit Embryo Treasury? Did the gods know what I'd look like and carve a likeness to hide here?"
Bewildered, Quinn let his awareness gently touch the statue—only to feel his consciousness sucked inside, utterly beyond his control!