Chapter 565 - 332: A Divine Stratagem Forged Together: A Buddha’s Corpse as Fuel

A cloyingly sweet, pink miasma lingered in the forest year-round. It could break down one’s mind, luring them into serene illusions before they were ultimately devoured by the woods.

At this moment, a merchant caravan of a dozen or so Martial Artists was being "escorted" by a group of three-meter-tall Withered Wood Walkers, trekking laboriously over a path of bone dust.

This merchant caravan was called the "Gold Diggers," an exploration team cobbled together by a second-rate financial group from East Sea City.

Their leader was a middle-aged man named Hu Kaishan. He was at the Third Layer of the Enlightenment Realm in his Cultivation, known for being shrewd and highly experienced.

"Boss Hu, this place is just too damn creepy." A young team member, his face pale, gripped his weapon tightly. "Are we really going to do business with these... ghostly things?"

Hu Kaishan lowered his voice, a sharp glint in his eyes. "What’s there to be afraid of?

The native Divine beings in Dragon Abyss are poorly informed. They only know that the ’Military God’ is formidable and that he drove off the Black Ape God.

We’re operating under the banner of the ’Military God Cooperation Association’ now, which makes us special envoys!

No matter how tyrannical this vile Buddha is, would he dare disrespect the Military God?

We’ll be polite, and if we can trade for a pile of rare Spiritual Materials, this trip will make us rich!"

Another Mercenary chimed in:

"Exactly!

The native Divine beings in Dragon Abyss aren’t a monolithic bloc. Wasn’t the God of the Viper Tribe wiped out?

Let’s be polite, use his name as a shield, and trade for some unique Spiritual Materials. We’ll make a killing on this trip!"

They had come this time because they’d heard of the Vanguard Corps’ resounding fame and thought they could leverage that reputation to trade with the surrounding, seemingly less powerful tribes.

After all, the rules of Dragon Abyss treated all Foreigners equally: fail to reach Tier Five within a year, and it was a dead end.

Not everyone had the audacity of Ye Jinghong to walk the Divine Dao. For ordinary Martial Artists and merchants like them,

building good relations with the natives and engaging in mutual trade was the surest path to survival.

Soon, they were led to the deepest part of the Bone Decay Forest.

A massive, fleshy lotus platform, over thirty meters in diameter, was rooted in a viscous layer of humus, squirming slowly.

In the center of the lotus platform sat a three-meter-tall, gray Golden Body. It had a dignified, sacred appearance, yet it exuded an indescribable strangeness.

This was the master of this place—the Rot Body Buddha.

"Foreigners..."

A chaotic consciousness, a mixture of Sanskrit chants and the hissing of plants, echoed directly in the minds of everyone in the caravan.

Hu Kaishan’s heart clenched. He quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands in a fist, and said:

"Honorable Lord Rot Body Buddha, we are a merchant caravan from the ’Military God’s’ base in the Cyan Miasma Swamp. We hope to establish a trade relationship with you and have no ill intentions!"

He intentionally stressed the two words "Military God."

"Military God...?"

The Rot Body Buddha’s consciousness first echoed with a hollow Sanskrit chant, as if mulling over the word.

Immediately after, the chant was interrupted by a hiss like rustling plants, turning violent and contemptuous:

"A Pseudo-God who steals faith, a fool mired in the karma of slaughter... is also worthy of being called a ’God’?"

"That weakling, Hiss, was killed in a sneak attack. That only proves her own incompetence.

Do you think I’ll be intimidated because you bring up a dead weakling?"

Cold sweat beaded on Hu Kaishan’s forehead. He hadn’t expected the being to be so arrogant, showing such disdain even for Hiss, who was also a Tier Four Divine.

"You are right, my Lord. Hiss naturally cannot compare to you."

Hu Kaishan quickly seized the chance to backtrack. "We have also heard that even the mighty Lord Profound Prison of the Silent Ridge is helpless against your domain."

These words seemed to please the Rot Body Buddha.

"Hmph, that old tortoise... One day, I will turn its shell into the base for my lotus platform and ferry its soul to paradise!

Its pathetic Gravity Law is nothing but a stubborn rock before my ’Realm of Ten Thousand Flowers’ Withering and Flourishing.’ It will eventually be corroded and Assimilated!"

The Rot Body Buddha’s consciousness suddenly grew haughty:

"You Foreigners are nothing more than newborn maggots in this world. If you want to live, you must understand the rules."

"Seeing as you have some sense, hand over half of your supplies as a ’passage fee.’

In return, I will permit you to gather the useless bone-plants on the outskirts of my forest."

The expressions on Hu Kaishan and his men instantly soured.

Half their supplies? This wasn’t trade, it was blatant extortion!

"My Lord, this..." Hu Kaishan tried to argue.

"Either you hand it over, or... you can stay behind and become nutrients for this forest."

The Rot Body Buddha’s tone was devoid of any emotion. The surrounding Withered Wood Walkers made CREAKING sounds as their hollow eye sockets lit up with red light, and they closed in in unison.

A chill washed over the caravan members, and their faces turned ashen.

They finally understood. All that talk of using a powerful name as a shield was a joke in the face of absolute power and territorial advantage.

This Evil God didn’t play by those rules.

Just as Hu Kaishan was about to grit his teeth and accept his losses, the Rot Body Buddha, sitting enthroned on its lotus platform, suddenly shuddered.

Its tightly closed eyes trembled violently, and for the first time, an emotion of shock and uncertainty appeared in its chaotic Will.

"Who?!"

An extremely faint spatial fluctuation had appeared without any warning right in the center of its Divine Realm!

As the master of this place, not even the slightest stir within its Divine Realm could escape its notice.

But this fluctuation had appeared too quickly, too bizarrely, as if from thin air!

The Rot Body Buddha’s Will instantly shifted from shock to fury, its chaotic Sanskrit chants and hisses exploding at the same time:

"How dare you skulk in my sacred ground! Get the hell out here!"

Before its voice had even faded, the massive, fleshy lotus platform trembled violently, and the gray Golden Body seated upon it vanished on the spot.

All that remained were the utterly dumbfounded Hu Kaishan and his men, staring at each other in bewilderment.