The Unruly Immortals

"Upon seeing this, the practitioner leaped with joy. He saw himself riding the Vajra platform, following the Buddha, and in the blink of an eye, he was reborn in that land. Once born there, he beheld the Buddha's physical form, complete in all marks; he saw all the Bodhisattvas, complete in both form and mark...."

The Buddhist scriptures read aloud by Li Huowang gradually grew louder, and under the support of the chanting, his face seemed to be shrouded in a sacred Buddhist aura at this moment.

At first, it was only his voice, but before long, the monotonous chanting began to echo.

Voices of chanting praises, both high and low, joined in unison with Li Huowang.

These voices came from the plump nuns and venerable masters around, their faces revealing the same devotion as seen on Li Huowang's face.

Simultaneously, the sound of temple instruments like dharma bells, hand chimes, and wooden fish resonated from the surrounding temples and houses.

Accompanied by these instruments, Li Huowang's chanting became more and more imposing and increasingly imbued with Buddhahood.

This unique sound began to alter things that should not be changed by sound, such as the colors around which started to gradually distort, as if covered by a thick layer of dark yellow filter.

As time passed, the chanting grew louder and louder, and everyone, including Bai Lingmiao, the child, Gao Zhijian, and even the child in Master Jingxin's arms, began to sing along.

Under the growing volume of the sound, the awe-inspiring Insect Bodhisattva in the pit started to move.

It slowly floated towards the top of Li Huowang's head, accompanied by the chanting. At this moment, the buzzing of the flies' flapping wings also began to harmonize with the rhythm of the chanting.

When the chanting reached its climax, the Flesh Bodhisattva suddenly opened its pitch-black eyes and swiftly descended. The buzzing green-headed flies instantly enveloped Li Huowang completely.

The sound of the flies' wings began to tremble frantically, overlapping with the chanting echoing from all around.

All people and the millions of flies were at this moment firmly linked in spirit, indistinguishable from one another.

People understood the thoughts of the flies, and the flies understood the thoughts of the people.

As a thought arose in Master Jingxin's heart, the flies covering Li Huowang reassembled, forming a Bodhisattva seated on a lotus throne, holding a Cleansing Bottle, with its voice drowning out Li Huowang's, leading the others in continued chanting.

However, the solemn scene did not last long, as it was interrupted by a thunderous sound, and everyone turned in unison; the sky was split open.

Master Danyang, with three heads and a body covered in a variety of repulsive organs, hovered on a cloud with an ethereal air, his three pairs of eyes mockingly fixed on the entire An Ci Nunnery below.

"Hehe... child... you're possessed..."

Without any nonsense, all the plump, older nuns, including Master Jingxin, quickly pulled out a string of pure gold Buddha Beads from the folds of their greasy, fatty flesh.

They wrapped the beads around the bases of their thumbs, the left and the right, and then bent their index fingers and thumbs toward the center of their palms, forming the Amitabha seal with dignity and promptly thrust their hands upwards towards their heads.

"Reflect on the Buddha! Reflect on the Dharma! Reflect on the Sangha! Reflect on the Precepts! Reflect on Giving! Reflect on the Heavens! Monks who practice the six reflections attain an infinite number of dharani doors!"

The buzzing sound surged, forming black flies in Buddha's image that soared into the sky, enveloping waves of Buddhist sounds as they flew towards Master Danyang in the air.

Looking at the black tsunami before him, Master Danyang's three faces simultaneously showed an extremely mocking smile. With a cloud underfoot and fairy floss floating beside, he surged forward to meet the oncoming flies.

With a violent swing of his squirming tentacled palm, a flesh-and-blood coin sword, crafted from eyeball tentacles and flesh, sprang forth from the palm of his hand.

He flung the flesh-and-blood coin sword, and bits of meat flew out, causing any fly's flesh that was splattered upon to twist rapidly.

Face after face of Master Danyang, each one screaming and wriggling, replaced the heads of the flies, quickly turning to strike back at their fellow flies.

Below, Li Huowang sat cross-legged with a solemn expression and remained unmoved, continuing to chant Buddhist scriptures louder with each repetition.

Under the catalysis of the chanting, all the white maggots writhing on rotten food within Nian Ci Nunnery rapidly turned into flies, fanning their moist wings and rushing into the immensely chaotic sky.

In no time, the sky became a pinnacle of chaos, the fierce battle even bringing forth a dark rain of dead flies.

In the face of the increasingly intense situation, Jingxin remained calm and composed; since she had agreed to help Li Huowang, she naturally had full confidence in their success.

Li Huowang slowly brought his hands together and sang in a low, compassionate voice, "Embrace the true dharma, forsake the three separations, as all forms dissolve into the realm of emptiness, thus do the Bodhisattva's countless vows merge into this one, well done, well done."

As the ethereal sound of Buddha chanting resonated, a ray of light pierced the torn sky, descending from the heavens, thoroughly transforming him into a Buddha free from sorrow and joy.

The moment Li Huowang's body was bathed in golden light, the horrifying organs of Master Danyang in the sky were also gilded, moving very slowly.

Seizing this opportunity, the swarms of flies quickly took advantage, swarming him until he was completely engulfed.

"Buzz buzz buzz..." The mass of flies continued to expand and finally reformed into a great Bodhisattva of the Cleansing Bottle, seated upon a lotus, slowly descending toward the ground.

With every inch closer to the ground, the Bodhisattva shrank a little more, and the celestial phenomenon tearing the sky weakened accordingly.

The sounds of chanting, the wooden fish, and the bell tolls all gradually began to soften.

On the ground, two portly nuns held brushes the size of mops, their tips laden with incense ash from the incense burner, staring with expectancy at the fly nuns, waiting for something.

Seeing this scene, greed flashed in Master Jingxin's heart. Under normal circumstances, all that was left was to wrap things up, and then the thing inside the flies would belong to her.

"This thing is quite rare as well, I wonder what it tastes like."

Just when she thought everything was moving in a positive direction, that's when the unexpected happened.

Li Huowang, enveloped in golden light, suddenly began to cough, and the coughing grew more violent.

"What's going on, I can't feel his thoughts anymore! That young man has actually cut off our pure heart!" a senior nun exclaimed in shock.

No sooner had she spoken than Li Huowang, clutching at his throat, opened his mouth wide in a very nauseating retching noise.

Next, everyone present witnessed an unbelievable sight: from the mouth of the Taoist clad in a red robe, several writhing black tentacles, dripping with viscous liquid, emerged from deep within his throat.

That was Black Taishui, yet not entirely; at the base of one tentacle dangled half a face—that of Master Danyang!

"Oh no! The Buddha's not dead! He hasn't fully attained Buddhahood! The Buddha has been mingling with Black Taishui all along, hiding inside Li Huowang's stomach! We were mistaken! This is the real deal!"