Chapter 1792: Ghost Buddha

“Dad!”

Cao Erzhu sat up from the bed, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

He glanced around. Wasn’t this the blacksmith’s shop, only much more spacious than he remembered?

No!

Erzhu looked down and spread out his hands.

His hands were shorter, his feet were shorter, and his eye-level was lower. “Am I... shorter?”

Through the wall, the sound of hammering iron vibrated in his ears.

Hearing that sound, Cao Erzhu instantly snapped to attention, knowing it was time for practice. He instinctively hurried over and pushed open the door.

“Sorry, Dad, I overslept...”

His voice suddenly trailed off.

His dad was so burly, like a giant; even standing, Erzhu only reached his waist.

He hadn’t washed up or looked in a mirror, but the thought of his recent “shrinking” made Cao Erzhu’s mind race:

*Had I gone back in time?*

*Was this a dream?*

In front of the blacksmith shop, his shirtless dad wore only a cloak. It was early morning, and winter, so he clearly hadn’t started working yet and needed the warmth.

Usually, if he were about to swing the hammer, the cloak would definitely be removed as it would hinder his movements too much.

“Wait.”

Cao Erzhu quickly came to a realization.

His dad wasn’t drunk, which had only happened perhaps three or five times in the past two decades.

Considering his current height...

*Was it that time when I was thirteen?*

“I’ve gone back to when I was thirteen?”

It really seemed like a dream!

Cao Erzhu thought with clear awareness.

His dad across from him hadn’t spoken yet, but Erzhu could hear his own voice, surprisingly childish, saying something different from his thoughts:

“It’s mainly because I couldn’t sleep last night. I tossed and turned, so I picked up the miscellaneous newspaper that arrived the day before yesterday... Oh, I didn’t light a candle. I could see it with the window open, there was moonlight... And, I also have electricity.”

“What did you read that kept you awake?” His dad, terrifyingly sharp when sober, didn’t even turn around, seemingly seeing through his childhood lies with the back of his head.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I read it...” Little Erzhu mumbled timidly.

“Hmm?”

Just a hum from his dad was enough to make the little boy unable to bear it. He clenched his fists, wanting to shout but not daring to, and spoke in a voice he tried to keep calm:

“The Ten Honored Seats.”

His dad remained silent.

Cao Erzhu then heard his younger self say something he vaguely remembered:

“The small newspaper published another story about the Ten Honored Seats. This time it was about... Kuilei Han.”

He paused, then his tone grew excited, as if something he had suspected for years had finally been confirmed. He pointed a small hand:

“Dad, you are Kuilei Han!”

The blacksmith shop suddenly fell silent.

His sober dad seemed lost in thought.

Cao Erzhu faintly remembered the scene when he looked at his dad then—it was incredibly shocking!

His dad, so tall and imposing, gripped the hammer in one hand and remained silently for a long time, only glancing up at the door secured with a chain.

With a resounding bang, the large iron door was blasted away as if by a heavy object, flung across the street, its chains snapping.

Gale-force winds and snow poured into the shop, piercing to the bone.

Little Erzhu’s excitement was instantly doused. He shivered, both from the cold and from genuine fright.

“Who sold it to you?”

His dad held the hammer then, looking as if he was about to smash the person who sold it.

Little Erzhu dared not lie and immediately blurted out: “It wasn’t bought, Grandpa Liu at the village entrance gave it to me.”

Dreaming up to this point, Cao Erzhu carefully recalled.

That afternoon, his dad assigned him to hunt in Qingyuan Mountain.

For more than ten years after that, Grandpa Liu indeed was no longer in the small town. He couldn’t even remember a funeral being held for him.

“Hiss!”

He hadn’t understood as a child, but now, seeing the past through this dream-like perspective, Cao Erzhu felt he finally understood something.

“Erzhu, come here.”

The dream continued, and revisiting a hazy memory from the past through this third-person perspective felt quite magical to Cao Erzhu.

He felt that with just a thought, he could break free from the dream and wake up.

He consciously indulged in it.

Little Erzhu, a little fearful, walked over.

His dad squatted down. He rarely seemed so calm, if not gentle. He cupped the boy’s head with his large hand and said:

“Today, I’m going to talk to you about something, while I’m sober.”

“Do you know why Dad came to this shop, and why your sister was sent away to be raised?”

Little Erzhu shook his head.

His dad then picked up the large hammer, placed it on the ground, horizontally between them.

It was a large hammer with a straight handle and a round head. His dad reached out, measuring the handle with his hand, and said:

“This is a path.”

Little Erzhu nodded, indicating it wasn’t hard to understand.

“You walk on this path; you can’t turn back. You either stop or move forward. And now, you’ve reached this point.”

His dad’s finger slid from the end of the hammer’s straight handle all the way to the head.

“Blocked by the hammerhead...” Little Erzhu murmured softly.

His dad looked up, casting a surprised glance: “Exactly. Unless your fist is harder than the hammerhead, you won’t get past it. And if you can’t get past it, you die.”

“So that’s why Dad has been in the shop for over ten years...” Little Erzhu mused thoughtfully.

His dad put away the hammer.

His words were simple and easy to understand.

The point that Little Erzhu, and even the current Cao Erzhu, still didn’t quite grasp was...

What was that hammerhead?

And who was the person his dad feared so much?

His dad didn’t continue the topic, instead asking: “Erzhu, if one day you grow taller than me, become stronger than me, and have the chance to fight your old man, would you dare?”

Little Erzhu instinctively shook his head: “I wouldn’t hit Dad.”

“Would you dare to fight?”

“I can’t beat you...”

“Would you dare to fight?”

“No...”

His dad showed a look of disappointment, shook his head, and turned to leave. Little Erzhu, his stubborn temper flaring, stomped forward and shouted:

“Yes!”

“I would!”

“When that time comes, I’ll definitely flatten you!”

His dad stopped, kicked his foot, and the straight-handled, round-headed hammer spun hummingly on the ground, its head stopping perfectly beside his toe.

Little Erzhu looked down, his face puzzled, but he didn’t take a single step back until his dad in front of him sneered, saying:

“If you’re on the straight path and the hammerhead is me, one of us must die. I won’t go easy. Would you dare to fight?”

His perplexed expression turned into one of shock.

Little Erzhu looked up, stunned.

Cao Erzhu also looked up, stunned.

In his memory... he couldn’t recall if this part existed, much less what his answer was at the time.

Just as he was about to wait for his younger self to provide the answer and clarity.

“Clang—”

“Dad?”

Cao Erzhu shot up from the bed, drenched in cold sweat.

The sound of hammering from next door shattered his childhood memory and made his heart pound.

“Another nightmare...”

“Sleep really isn’t working out lately.”

Cao Erzhu yawned, rolled up his sleeves, wiped the sweat from his forehead, threw back the covers, and got out of bed.

Barefoot, he took only half a step before pushing open the door, then stooped and walked out.

“Morning, Dad.”

At the forging table, his dad was still wearing his cloak, holding the large hammer, seemingly lost in thought. “Practice.”

The iron door was still secured with a chain.

Through the cracks, the fierce wind howled outside.

It was only the beginning of winter, and snow was already falling in the small town, just like in his dream.

“Heh heh...” Cao Erzhu chuckled, scratching his head with a large hand, feeling incredibly happy.

Six months.

Counting carefully, seven or eight months had passed since Brother Xiaoshou fought Ai Cangsen, and the Central Domain had entered winter again.

After that, when he returned to the small town to look for his dad, his dad had actually come back to life and even rebuilt the house.

Amazing!

After half a year at home, daily blacksmithing, his dad quickly stopped drinking heavily.

This was simply a peaceful life. There was nothing happier in the world than this.

“Only...”

He glanced at the window, seeing a corner of the sky cracked, and observing the unowned holy power, sword intent, and soul shadows occasionally flickering outside.

Cao Erzhu knew that these happy times wouldn’t last much longer.

“Dad, I won’t practice today. I want to go for a walk,” Erzhu mumbled, washing his face and putting on his shoes.

Cao Yihan paused, as if completely unprepared for his foolish son’s refusal, and immediately turned his head.

Not only was he large and burly, but his face was also broad, covered with taut muscles. His tiger-like eyes narrowed, blazing with a piercing light.

This wasn’t a glare.

It was simply his sober state after not drinking heavily.

Even though Cao Erzhu knew this and had tried to adapt for a long time, he still couldn’t get used to it.

While rinsing his mouth, he felt a prickle down his spine. He awkwardly turned around and said, “Practice, I’ll definitely make it up the day after tomorrow!”

“Another nightmare?” His dad’s tone was calm; he truly wasn’t glaring.

“Yeah.” Erzhu nodded, then hissed, “But as soon as I wake up, I seem to forget what I just dreamed...”

“You’ve been sleeping a lot lately.”

“Have I?” Erzhu tilted his head, thinking, but before he could come to a conclusion, his dad said:

“The Ghost Buddha can influence you now.”

From outside the shop, a low thumping sound, like a heartbeat, occasionally echoed.

The force of this sound was so penetrating that it could pass through flesh and bone, directly reaching one’s heart, marrow, and soul.

Cao Erzhu’s hair stood on end, as if a ghost had tickled the soles of his feet. He shivered all over.

After this, he said, somewhat dispirited:

“I’ll be careful.”

Cao Yihan said no more. He put down the hammer, waved his hand, and walked towards the wine cellar:

“When you go out, remember to use Divine Punishment and Tribulation possession. Don’t be reckless.”

“The fact that the Ghost Buddha’s power can influence you proves that the Ghost Buddha Realm is no longer suitable for Spirit Refiners below the Half-Saint level.”

“Go stay in the Apricot Realm. And tell Xu Xiaoshou for me that I’m also resting today and won’t be teaching ‘Thorough Divine Sense’. Tell him to go find Bazun An and refine his ‘Famous Sword Technique’ further!”

*Brother Xiaoshou’s self-created ‘Famous Sword Technique’...* A flicker of excitement appeared in Cao Erzhu’s eyes. He bowed slightly and clenched his fists:

“Alright!”

“Bang!”

With the chain unfastened, the iron door was pulled open by the strong wind.

Cao Erzhu squinted, enduring the howling, fine snowflakes. He stooped and walked out of the blacksmith shop, closing the door behind him.

After half a year, the small town was no longer the simple and peaceful Changde Town.

Looking up, what sent chills down one’s spine in the streets was never the whistling cold wind, but the rampant sword intent, holy power, and specters.

“Hiss—”

In just the brief moment he poked his head out.

A human-sized, red-haired ghoul with a single horn and a large eye, its three-foot-long, sword-like claws, lunged forward with a horrifying shriek.

Cao Erzhu raised his hand and zapped it.

The red-haired ghoul couldn’t even scream. It dissolved into green smoke.

“Stay back, all of you!”

Cao Erzhu roared, purple lightning surging around him, filled with pure positive energy, perfectly countering these extremely negative spirits.

In fact, the red-haired ghoul wasn’t weak.

If that ghoul had attacked someone else, at least a Grandmaster couldn’t have withstood a normal blow, and some Dao Realm Thrones not skilled in soul arts might have been slowly killed.

It was truly because Divine Punishment and Tribulation was a natural counter to ghouls, and after half a year...

“Why don’t they just make me a Saint?”

Clenching his fists, Cao Erzhu still couldn’t understand. Wouldn’t it be better to just break through the restrictions?

In half a year, he had reached the same level as Brother Xiaoshou, both stuck at the peak of Spirit Refiner, Grand Void stage.

The path forward was blocked, and it was hard to defy fate and change destiny in a short time, so Brother Xiaoshou had, in half a year, forged his own path with the “Famous Sword Technique.”

Cao Erzhu couldn’t learn as much, nor could he fuse abilities. He simply continued to follow his dad, dedicating himself to learning “Divine Punishment and Tribulation.”

Learning had no end.

His dad’s realm, he feared, might be impossible to surpass in his lifetime.

“Whoosh!”

Just as he was thinking this, an unowned holy power swept past him.

As was his habit formed over several months, Cao Erzhu instinctively reached out to grab it, about to devour it.

“No, I’ll be corrupted...”

He quickly abandoned that option, uttered “Bolt,” and transformed into a streak of lightning, darting towards his destination—the location of the Ghost Buddha, the source of pollution.

It was commonly known in the Ghost Buddha Realm: unowned holy power could be freely absorbed, but if the Ghost Buddha’s whispers could influence someone, it was best not to consume it anymore, as one would be contaminated by the Ghost Buddha’s power.

What was the Ghost Buddha Realm?

Six months ago, Brother Xiaoshou and his dad, working together, reshaped the Ancient War God Platform and summoned the Divine Ruins. Starting from the Ghost Buddha, they encompassed nearly half of the Central Domain’s land and lakes, creating a “War God Realm.”

The War God Realm was half a domain wide, with supreme rules, and its upper limit could surpass Dao Manifestation, serving as preparation for war.

People flocked there one after another, but before they could even begin their spiritual cultivation, the Ghost Buddha stirred within days. Accompanied by that eerie heartbeat, it began weaving dreams and spreading its power. Before long, the entire War God Realm was contaminated.

To this day, everyone who couldn’t escape the War God Realm has turned into ghouls. Wild beasts on desolate mountains have vanished completely. All living beings, except those of high realm who might transcend, no longer dared to challenge the Ghost Buddha’s power for cultivation.

Naturally, the War God Realm gradually changed its name to the Ghost Buddha Realm.

What was the Ghost Buddha? It was Wuxiu, imbued with resentment!

Even after six months, its essence remained unchanged, but its outward appearance had completely transformed.

The Wuxiu of this moment no longer held the majestic solemnity it had after inheriting the will of resentment. Instead, its body was withered and rotting, with pus and foul odors oozing from its limbs and bones.

Demonic energy emanated from its head, coalescing into dense, unscattering demonic clouds high in the sky, their purpose unknown.

Ghostly energy overflowed from its body, transforming into sword qi that crisscrossed everywhere. This was much simpler to understand—a mere brush would wound, a direct hit would corrupt, and a moment of carelessness would lead to immediate assimilation into a ghoul by the sword qi!

Clearly, Wuxiu, though seemingly Wuxiu, was no longer truly Wuxiu.

Even if the will of the Resentful Saint Emperor still remained within, it was likely long since thoroughly infiltrated and consumed by various unknown forces.

“What exactly is it trying to hatch?!”

Cao Erzhu shuddered at the sight, feeling that if the Ghost Buddha continued to change like this, a great horror was about to emerge.

What about the promised year of protecting the Sacred God Continent?

In only half a year, half of the Central Domain had been polluted.

If the one-year mark truly arrived, would the entire Sacred God Continent be buried along with it?

“Hatch?”

Just then, a light chuckle came from behind him: “Does the young man mean that scoundrel, Resentment, can still procreate, and by laying eggs?”