Chapter 52: Danyangzi

"Thunder?" The five other giant Buddhas, including Jian Dun, simultaneously looked up. Immediately, they noticed that the crescent moon, which had been visible just moments before, had vanished from the sky.

The entire sky was enveloped by dark, swirling clouds. A continuous sound emanated from within them—it strongly resembled thunder, but it was definitely not thunder.

"Cough, cough." Li Huowang, feeling his breath constricted, coughed a few times before stumbling and falling to the ground.

As he lay on the ground, looking up at the sky, Li Huowang finally saw his master again within the black clouds. He looked as hideous as ever.

His skin was covered in bloody black feathers, and where his head should have been, it was split open, revealing three faces of different ages.

At that moment, his bloated body was not only adorned with his own organs but also with several other organs that were entirely inhuman.

A nightmarish, dark, glistening form, pus-like vertical pupils, foul everted internal organs, and sinister coiling tentacles—all these grotesque elements were encircled by a pristine white ethereal scarf that floated in the air.

Furthermore, these revolting things were not static; they constantly shifted and transformed into even more horrifying forms with every passing moment.

After only a brief glance, Li Huowang's eyes became bloodshot, his forehead was covered in bulging veins, and his entire head began to swell to the size of an old man's birthday caricature.

"No, I can't look anymore..." Extremely weak, Li Huowang quickly averted his gaze, which made him feel slightly better.

But it wasn't much better; the continuous bleeding could still claim his life.

He extended a trembling hand, retrieved several blood-staunching pills from his waist, tossed them into his mouth, and swallowed.

The blood flow in his body began to slow, and the bleeding visibly decreased.

But this wasn't enough. Li Huowang then took out some vitalizing pills he had refined in Qingfeng and put them into his mouth.

A sudden "rip" of flesh tearing made Li Huowang look up.

He saw that his master had begun to move. The grotesque Dan Yangzi, like a lizard, was sprawled on a giant Buddha's head, easily tearing off a plump ear with one of his three gaping mouths.

After a furious roar, the epidermal hands behind the Buddha quickly curled into claws and lunged at Dan Yangzi.

But to everyone's surprise, Dan Yangzi's various grotesque and bizarre organs suddenly swelled, violently tearing off all the fleshy hands.

Immediately after, Dan Yangzi's three massive mouths yanked at the edge of the wound, creating a large, profusely bleeding gash. Then, his three heads plunged inside.

"Ah!!" The Buddha shrieked in despair, his huge hands frantically tearing at his own skin, attempting to pull something out from within. However, it was futile; his plump body began to cave inward and shrivel.

Within a few breaths, he collapsed heavily, bleeding from all seven orifices. Immediately afterward, his corpulent belly burst open like a blossoming flower.

When the blood-soaked Dan Yangzi appeared before the other Buddhas, the grim-faced Jian Dun dared not underestimate him. He immediately pulled out a Buddhist scripture made of human skin.

"Om~ Ma~ Ni~ Pad~ Me~ Hum~" As the cross-legged Jian Dun chanted the Six-Syllable Mantra, the blood-red scriptures on the Buddhist text quickly vanished, reappearing instead on Dan Yangzi's body.

The organs on Dan Yangzi's body covered by the scriptures began to tremble uncontrollably and started to proliferate.

However, the proliferation quickly gave way to rapid shrinking, which accelerated until Dan Yangzi completely vanished from his spot.

Jian Dun, cold sweat pouring down his face, breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing this. Fortunately, he had prepared a contingency, or the trouble would have been immense.

Immediately after, as he began to chant the Six-Syllable Mantra backward, the human-skin scripture in his hands began to display text once more.

Seeing that not a single character was missing, Jian Dun was about to close the book when it suddenly exploded. The scriptures scattered everywhere, and the terrifying Dan Yangzi astonishingly burst forth from within.

No one had anticipated this. As Jian Dun instinctively gaped, Dan Yangzi's three heads, like drills, plunged directly into his throat.

A tearing sound rang out, and Jian Dun's neck instantly swelled to the size of his head—this was just the beginning.

Feeling excruciating pain, the desperate Jian Dun heard chewing sounds from within his own body!!

"No!!" Accompanied by Jian Dun's unwilling cry, Dan Yangzi burst through his chest cavity. All three of his massive mouths pulled simultaneously.

The remaining three Buddhas tried to struggle, but it was futile. After only a few sounds, their efforts were replaced by the cracking of bones and the tearing of flesh.

Half an incense stick later, all seven Buddhas had vanished, leaving behind only steaming bloodstains on the ground.

Just as Li Huowang looked towards the blood-soaked Dan Yangzi, Dan Yangzi turned around. His three faces, from different periods, simultaneously revealed a terrifying, meaningful smile. "My child..."

With a soft "poof," Dan Yangzi's body dissipated like smoke.

Time slowly passed. The moonlight reappeared in the sky, casting a silver veil over everything on the forest path. All was settled.

Li Huowang, clutching his neck, painstakingly sat up and looked at the others still surrounded by tree trunks. At this point, they were nearly paralyzed with fear, huddled together in stunned silence.

As if knowing what they were thinking, Li Huowang quickly and weakly explained, "Don't be afraid, all of you! Dan Yangzi is truly dead. He won't use you as a medicine primer anymore."

However, Li Huowang's words did not lessen the fear on their faces by an iota. The Daoist disciples were already crying in terror.

Finally, it was Bai Lingmiao, the closest to him, who spoke. Her face was even paler now. "Senior Brother Li, what... what Dan Yangzi? We didn't see anything."

Li Huowang swallowed hard. "You didn't see Dan Yangzi, who just killed those Buddhas? Is he transparent in your eyes?"

Suddenly, new conjectures formed in Li Huowang's mind.

Just then, Gou Wa, huddled behind the big man, began to tremble even more violently.

He dared not look at Li Huowang, only closing his eyes and shouting with a tearful voice, "Senior Brother Li!! There was no Dan Yangzi! It was just you, from beginning to end!"

"What?" Li Huowang endured the pain and touched his face, where some sticky liquid adhered.

Continuing to feel downward, he also noticed long tears on both sides of his mouth, as if he had just opened his mouth extremely wide.

But none of that was the main point. The most crucial thing now was that he felt very, very, very full.