Chapter 1121: Meng Family's Action Report on Eradicating the Ruthless Sect in the Buddha Country

"Life-buying money?" The Bodhisattva statues came alive, surrounding the merit box with great curiosity, having never heard of such a thing. "It probably didn't exist in ancient times; it was invented during the Dagan or Dayu periods," Lu Yang explained.

Lu Yang felt a connection between the bag of spirit stones and his lifespan; the other party was attempting to purchase his lifespan with these stones.

"'Life-buying money' is a wicked longevity-extending ritual. Typically, a bag of money is left in a graveyard or at a crossroads. Whoever picks up the money allows the other party to take their lifespan, essentially a forced transaction."

"How dare they try to buy Senior Brother Lu's life!" the women exclaimed indignantly. "This is absolutely lawless. Let's find out who's behind this."

"Set the rule: locate the owner of the 'life-buying money'."

Night fell. Crows cawed raucously from dry branches, their eyes dull, turning only after a long pause.

This was an abandoned cemetery outside Jin'an City, where unidentified bodies were buried. Yin energy and resentment lingered, making even daring thieves hesitate to linger, fearing ominous encounters.

Suddenly, a withered arm broke through the earth, wrapped with exactly 108 beads around its wrist, conforming to the number of the Great Heavenly Cycle. "Heh heh, someone else has picked up this old man's money," a voice chuckled.

The ground trembled and collapsed, revealing the owner of the withered arm: a gaunt old man, reduced to skin and bones. He looked less like a human and more like a skeleton draped in human skin. "Now that you've seen this old man's money, your life belongs to me."

The old man opened his eyes and found himself being stared at by one man and six women.

"Is it him? He's so ugly," Jiang Lianyi remarked with disgust. The old man reeked of decay, an incredibly unpleasant smell.

A flicker of confusion crossed the old man's eyes, but he quickly found the central figure, his gaze settling on Lu Yang. He sensed that Lu Yang was the one who had taken his 'life-buying money'. "It's you, then. You seem knowledgeable, able to recognize this as 'life-buying money' and even clever enough to find help."

The old man's laugh was hoarse. "It's useless. This is an art of cause and effect. The only way to resolve it is to give the money to someone else." "Who are you?" Lu Yang asked with interest.

"Who am I?"

The old man stood up, his body trembling, finding the question highly amusing. His laughter was filled with desolation and the weight of ages, as if mocking himself and the mortals lost in the vast, mundane world.

"Heh heh, I've lived too long; I've forgotten who I am." Lu Yang paused in silence, then quietly rolled up his sleeves.

"My name is Zhuang Yumi, known as Daoist Yu. I am 198 years old, at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and skilled in corpse-herding techniques. I grew up without parents, scavenging for a living, spending my days among insects. One day, by chance, I found a cultivation method in a pile of refuse..."

Daoist Yu knelt on the ground, his face bruised and swollen, slap marks particularly prominent. Snot and tears streaming down his face, he recounted his tragic past. "You're only a little over a hundred, stop pretending to have Alzheimer's and not remember your name!"

Lu Yang glanced around. He was the only one younger than Daoist Yu; all six women were much older. "Alright, alright, stop rambling. Hand over the corpse-herding technique." Lu Yang had no patience for his long story. "Y-yes, alright."

Daoist Yu was utterly terrified by Lu Yang's methods. This was at least a powerful expert at the late Core Formation stage; he had rarely encountered anyone at that level in his life, and now he had stumbled upon one.

He didn't even dare to look at the six women surrounding Lu Yang, fearing his eyes would be gouged out. These six women were so beautiful they seemed inhuman, like legendary immortal fairies.

Lu Yang quickly skimmed the corpse-herding technique. It was indeed from the Corpse-Herding Sect, though it was an incredibly incomplete remnant, seemingly obtained by Daoist Yu by chance. "Since we've met, tell us quickly where you learned the 'life-buying money' technique, and then choose how you wish to die." Lu Yang believed in leniency for honesty. Daoist Yu said in a low voice, "Senior, are you truly going to annihilate me?"

When it came to bravado and courage, he was second to none!

"Though I cannot defeat you, your six Dao companions are all here. Can you truly protect them all?"

Daoist Yu flicked his wrist, and the 108 beads glowed. This was his Natal Magic Treasure. Each bead was inscribed with a different spell: basic fire control, basic water control, and so on—a total of 108 spells. When used in combat, these spells combined, making him virtually impossible to guard against.

"Hey, hey, hey, you can't just say things like that!" Lu Yang's expression changed dramatically, and he swiftly slapped Daoist Yu dead, lest the old man utter more blasphemous words. After searching his soul, Lu Yang understood how Daoist Yu acquired the 'life-buying money'.

"It turns out there's a 'Soul Organization' secretly operating in the Buddhist Kingdom. Its members are skilled in soul and corpse-related magic. The organization has a strict hierarchy, divided into four ranks: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. Each higher rank signifies a higher tier of power. There are ten Heaven-rank members, from Heaven One to Heaven Ten, all exceptionally powerful. This old man was a Yellow-rank member, considered an outer peripheral member of the Soul Organization."

"He purchased his 'life-buying money' technique from within the Soul Organization."

"Furthermore, the Soul Organization is notoriously cunning, with countless real and fake strongholds. Although this old man was a member, he didn't know the location of their true headquarters."

"So, does that mean we can't find the Soul Organization?" Yun Mengmeng gestured animatedly. She had wanted to show off her skills in a big battle. With four ranks—Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow—and members like Heaven One, Heaven Ten, the Soul Organization sounded incredibly powerful.

"We really can't find them, but we don't need to." "Huh? Why not?"

"A few years ago, when the Meng family and Xitian Temple searched for members of the Heartless Sect hidden in the Buddhist Kingdom, they somehow found and destroyed the Soul Organization's main lair. This old man's rank was too low, so the Meng family didn't uncover his tier."

At this point, Lu Yang pulled a small booklet from his identification jade token.

The women gathered around and saw that the booklet was titled "Meng Family's Operation Report on Eliminating the Heartless Sect in the Buddhist Kingdom."

"After the operation, the Meng family held a commendation ceremony, and I was invited. This is the report given by Old Meng's father, Meng Potian, at that assembly."

As Lu Yang flipped through the booklet, he voiced his confusion: "That's strange. I don't recall any mention of a 'Soul Organization' when I read the operation report. How could this old man claim the Soul Organization was destroyed by the Meng family?"

Lu Yang reread it, confirming his memory was correct.

"Is it here?" Qing He pointed to an inconspicuous line in the report.

"'During this operation, in addition to apprehending elders of the Heartless Sect, our Meng family also disbanded over ten other illegal organizations, including the Soaring Dragon Cult and the Heavenless Alliance.'" "But it doesn't mention the Soul Organization?" Yun Mengmeng asked, puzzled.

"Could the Soul Organization be among those 'over ten'?"