Chapter 479: The Book of Life and Death
Little Rulai and the group of demonic monks who had attained enlightenment changed their expressions drastically, each reaching out to grab that scroll of scripture.
That scroll of scripture was a precious volume accidentally obtained by a monk on the mountain. Not knowing what treasure it was or how to use it, they had presented it to the mountain gate. Little Rulai and the others also did not know the scroll's purpose, only that its power was immense, and that countless vengeful souls were entangled around the book. Therefore, they had suppressed the scroll within the pagoda.
Unexpectedly, this scroll turned out to be something belonging to the Sorcerer God of the Underworld, with a name called the Book of Life and Death.
As soon as a monk's palm touched the Book of Life and Death, he saw his own hand begin to rot, instantly turning into white bones. The monk hastily withdrew his hand. Seeing this, the other monks each deployed their divine abilities to intercept and block, but none could stop that precious scroll. It shattered through layers of divine powers and flew toward the golden bowl.
Little Rulai sidestepped, reached out to scoop up the golden bowl, and with his other hand formed a seal. As the seal technique was unleashed, his five fingers instantly became like mountains—a mountain range formed of bolts of lightning—crashing down into the golden bowl, intending to first refine the Sorcerer God of the Underworld to death.
But at that moment, the Book of Life and Death flew over. Before it even neared Little Rulai's hand, it rapidly aged.
Little Rulai was startled. With a sweep of his sleeve, he tossed the golden bowl away. The Book of Life and Death chased after the bowl.
"Brother Xu!"
Qin Mu took a step, moving with extreme speed to catch up to the golden bowl. Midair, he pointed his finger forward, and streaks of runes flew from his fingertip. The runes formed from his primordial energy blazed brilliantly in the air, flickering on and off before him.
At the same time, Xu Shenghua also shot forward, his speed no slower than Qin Mu's. His hands flew in motion, and his primordial energy burst forth, transforming into runes—divine script runes.
Although these divine script runes were all the same character, each was written in a different style.
Qin Mu took another step, pointing with his other hand. After running four steps and pointing four times, the teleportation runes linked together seamlessly, forming a teleportation divine ability that sealed the mouth of the golden bowl.
The Book of Life and Death hummed as it plunged into the golden bowl, then was swept up by the teleportation divine ability and sent flying more than twenty miles away.
On the other side, Xu Shenghua's hands flew, and hundreds of divine script runes landed one after another on the golden bowl. Those runes were all the character "Seal."
The "Seal" character in divine script was completely different from human script, naturally carrying a strange power. After all, Xu Shenghua was a disciple of the Jade Lord, and the Jade Lord was a god. Naturally, he had obtained many wondrous techniques impossible to acquire in the lower realms.
Xu Shenghua placed several hundred seals on the golden bowl in succession, instantly cutting off the connection between the Sorcerer God of the Underworld inside the bowl and that scroll, the Book of Life and Death.
Qin Mu pulled out his brush and ink from his Gluttony Pouch, drew out a scroll, and tossed it to Xu Shenghua beside him. Xu Shenghua unfurled the scroll with a *shua* sound—it was a blank sheet of paper.
Qin Mu lifted his brush and began to paint. His brush strokes flew swiftly as he rapidly painted a scene of wind and thunder. He grabbed the golden bowl and slapped it into the painting.
The golden bowl drifted unsteadily within the wind and thunder of the painting.
Then, holding the scroll, he handed the brush and ink to Xu Shenghua. Xu Shenghua lifted his brush and wrote on the wind-and-thunder painting, drawing a ring of square sealing divine script runes around its border.
Qin Mu took his seal from the Gluttony Pouch and stamped it in the lower corner of the painting.
Xu Shenghua also took out his seal and stamped it beside Qin Mu's.
Qin Mu rolled up the scroll. The two of them breathed a sigh of relief. On the other side, the Demon Ape had already flown over and retrieved that precious scroll called the Book of Life and Death.
On the Golden Summit, Little Rulai and the group of enlightened monks exchanged glances. Neither Qin Mu nor Xu Shenghua had particularly high cultivation, but their coordination was flawless.
One had teleported the Book of Life and Death away, the other had sealed the golden bowl to cut off the connection. Qin Mu had lifted his brush to paint, while Xu Shenghua had helped spread the scroll. Then Xu Shenghua had done the sealing while Qin Mu spread the scroll. Finally, the two had each stamped their seals.
This coordination was as smooth as flowing clouds and water, as if they had practiced it a thousand times.
"Surnamed Qin, do you dare to speak your true name?" the voice of the Sorcerer God of the Underworld came from within the scroll.
Qin Mu ignored him and said to Little Rulai and the others, "The Sorcerer God of the Underworld's abilities are unfathomable. As long as he knows a name, he can worship away one's soul. Rulai, you didn't know his true power, which is why you suffered a loss. I originally went to the Yin Mountain to eliminate him. This time, he nearly escaped from your suppression. In my opinion, it's best to kill him quickly to avoid future trouble! Eliminating him would be a great merit!"
Little Rulai hesitated, then said, "The Sorcerer God of the Underworld is entangled with countless vengeful souls. If we can convert and redeem them, it would be supreme merit. Killing him directly would probably..."
Qin Mu frowned and said, "Only now do I realize that there are distinctions between greater and lesser Rulais."
Little Rulai raised an eyebrow and said, "Chief Qin, please return the golden bowl. This old monk will lead the monks of the mountain to convert him. I don't believe he is so stubborn as to refuse enlightenment."
Qin Mu handed the scroll to him. Xu Shenghua coughed, but Qin Mu shook his head. They had no strength to fight their way out of Little Thunderclap Monastery carrying the scroll. Forcing their way out would only bring humiliation.
Xu Shenghua had no choice but to give up and said, "Brother Zhan Kong, bring that Book of Life and Death over. Let me have a look."
The Demon Ape handed him the Book of Life and Death. Xu Shenghua unfurled it and was slightly startled. He saw that the Book of Life and Death was not a book at all, but an extremely thin sheet of paper. This paper was strange, like metal, giving off a metallic luster, extremely bright and reflective.
But even stranger was that the Book of Life and Death had not a single word or any pattern on it.
When his gaze fell upon it, he could even see the person opposite him through the mirror-like paper.
"What kind of strange book is this..."
Xu Shenghua's heart suddenly trembled. Behind the Book of Life and Death was Jing Yan. On the mirror-like paper, Jing Yan's figure appeared, followed by a line of text: "Jing Yan."
Xu Shenghua's hair stood on end. He quickly turned toward Qin Mu, and saw that Jing Yan on the Book of Life and Death had disappeared, replaced by Qin Mu's figure. The name that appeared was not "Qin Mu" but the three characters "Qin Fengqing"!
"Chief Qin!"
Xu Shenghua's expression turned grave as he handed the Book of Life and Death to Qin Mu. Qin Mu quickly discovered the function of this book as well, and his heart shook violently.
This Book of Life and Death could not only reflect his name, but also the names of all the demon monks scattered across the mountain, as long as they had taken a title!
"What kind of thing is this? Who can resist it?"
His hair stood on end. This treasure reflected one's true name—the real name!
The monks of Little Thunderclap Monastery were mostly demons. Before they gained spiritual awareness and opened their intelligence, they had no names. After gaining spiritual awareness and opening their intelligence, they became monks and took Dharma names.
Thus, their Dharma names were their names.
What the Book of Life and Death reflected was their Dharma names!
For example, Qin Mu's childhood close friend, the Demon Ape, originally had no name. He was just called the Demon Ape, and Qin Mu and Fox Ling'er also called him Big Guy. It was only after he joined Little Thunderclap Monastery that he obtained a title: Zhan Kong.
In the Book of Life and Death, the Demon Ape's name was Zhan Kong.
Qin Mu aimed it at Little Rulai. On this Book of Life and Death, even Little Rulai's Dharma name appeared, called Yuan Ding.
"With this treasure, the Sorcerer God of the Underworld could kill anyone he wanted! Not to mention the Sorcerer God of the Underworld—even that bastard Banguo Cuo, if he received this bestowed treasure, would be invincible!"
His heart stirred. He used the Book of Life and Death to shine it on the Dragon Qilin. On the Book of Life and Death, beside the Dragon Qilin, two characters also appeared: "Long Pi."
"Fatty Dragon actually has a name?"
Qin Mu was surprised. The Dragon Qilin had been found by the Grandmaster in the Great Ruins. He had been starving for many days, and after the Grandmaster gave him some food, he had latched onto the Grandmaster. He hadn't expected the Dragon Qilin to have a true name either. He didn't know if the Grandmaster had given it to him or if his mother had.
"This thing must be destroyed!"
Without further ado, Qin Mu pulled hard to tear it, but he couldn't tear the Book of Life and Death. Xu Shenghua quickly stepped forward, and the two of them grabbed the book and pulled, but still couldn't tear it.
"What are you two doing?" a yellow-browed monk quickly called out.
Qin Mu took out his sword pellet, drew the Carefree Sword, and slashed down with one strike. But even the Carefree Sword couldn't damage this precious book. A series of runes appeared densely on the book's surface, blocking the Carefree Sword.
These runes were extremely peculiar. Qin Mu only had time to glance at them before they disappeared.
"They look like the script of the Netherworld! Could this treasure come from the Netherworld?"
His scalp tingled. The Carefree Sword was a treasure of his father, Qin Hanzhen. How powerful was Qin Hanzhen? Even the Star Lord Zhen had been severely wounded and forced back by him. And his sword couldn't even harm the Book of Life and Death!
This meant that the Book of Life and Death was at least a divine or demonic treasure of the same grade as the Carefree Sword, possibly even higher!
That would mean that this Sorcerer God of the Underworld's cultivation was on par with Qin Hanzhen, or even surpassed him!
His strength was even above that of the newly ascended god, the National Teacher of Yankang!
The yellow-browed monk stepped forward, reaching out to grab the Book of Life and Death, and shouted, "Chief Qin, this treasure belongs to my Little Thunderclap Monastery. Please return it to us."
Qin Mu rolled up the Book of Life and Death, stuffed it into his Gluttony Pouch, and quietly tossed it into the True Dragon Nest. He smiled and said, "Little Rulai, when you convert the Sorcerer God of the Underworld, aren't you afraid he will activate the Book of Life and Death again? Let me keep it for now."
Little Rulai gave him a deep look, called back the yellow-browed monk, and said, "Let Chief Qin keep it for a few days. We will convert this demon god, gain supreme merit, and then we can transcend this realm, free from birth and death, and become Buddhas and Patriarchs. The important matter comes first. Fellow disciples, join me in converting this senior brother!"
"Good!" the monks said in unison.
Little Rulai and the monks retrieved various ritual implements, first securing the painting Qin Mu had made, then setting up layers of formations to block the Sorcerer God of the Underworld's senses. Only then did they begin chanting sutras to convert him.
Xu Shenghua's eyes flickered, and he said in a low voice, "Chief Qin, should we leave?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "I can't leave. If the Sorcerer God of the Underworld isn't converted, I won't feel at ease."
The Demon Ape nodded and said, "Death, peace."
Qin Mu smiled and said, "Big Guy speaks sense! It's a pity that Little Rulai insists on converting him. In my opinion, it will be extremely difficult."
Xu Shenghua stood up and said to Jing Yan, "The Chief is concerned about the world, but we are carefree wanderers. There's no need to stay here."
Jing Yan nodded, and the two of them walked down the mountain.
Qin Mu said leisurely, "I have mastered the Eighteen Forms of the Sword, and you have merged the Seven Star Divine Treasury and the Six Harmonies Divine Treasury into one. You don't want to learn this sword technique of mine, but I still want to learn how you merged the Seven Stars and Six Harmonies."
Xu Shenghua stopped in his tracks, turned back, and smiled, "I thought the Chief was proud and aloof, indifferent to fame and fortune, and wouldn't bring this up. You want to learn? I'll teach you!"
Qin Mu revealed a smile. "You don't want to learn my Eighteen Forms of the Sword?"
"No!"
Xu Shenghua said very bluntly, "My swordsmanship is not very good. My main focus is not swordsmanship."
Qin Mu's face instantly darkened.
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