I am the Snake Taoist

Dust and fallen leaves covered the prayer mat. A large cauldron stood before the temple, filled with ash.

The dilapidated temple's roof leaked, and the beams were riddled with wormholes.

Yet, the Buddha statue within remained perfectly intact, untouched by the passage of time.

Not even a speck of dust marred it, creating a stark contrast with its surroundings.

Qin Qiu scrutinized the statue. It was the same eerie Buddha he had seen in the village. Clearly, the monks of the Five Senses Temple were responsible for these strange occurrences.

After a thorough search of the dilapidated temple, Qin Qiu found nothing of significance and continued his ascent up the mountain.

Along the mountain path, countless eyeballs, tongues, and ears were scattered on both sides.

These body parts were all damaged to varying degrees, as if they had been forcibly torn off and discarded.

However, having witnessed the organ-filled forest at the mountainside, Qin Qiu's tolerance for such sights had significantly increased.

He walked along the path without the slightest reaction, observing the scene with utter indifference.

Finally, he reached an uphill slope. Qin Qiu could sense an immense Buddhist malevolent aura emanating from the top.

Although it was not as potent as his own, it was far stronger than that of Wan Shi and the others.

It had at least reached the level of the Fourth Malevolent Fate Realm.

Qin Qiu cautiously proceeded upwards.

The surrounding eerie wind and the Buddhist aura created a contrasting sensation, causing an inexplicable chill and raising goosebumps all over his body.

It was an arrangement similar to an altar, but instead of stones, it was constructed from corpses.

The corpses were stacked tightly together like building materials, and more corpses hung from the surrounding trees by grass ropes.

These suspended corpses swayed gently in the eerie wind, as if they were still alive and dancing.

Qin Qiu covered himself in malevolent aura and gradually approached.

The corpses varied in age, spanning a wide range.

What they had in common was the absence of eyes, ears, and tongues, leaving only three empty holes in their faces.

Perhaps they had all been disemboweled, leaving them weightless, as they hung from the trees like sunny dolls dangling from the eaves.

Bones scattered throughout the forest, blood forming small streams.

This was the true depiction of this place.

The corpse altar was only a ring around the perimeter, with an empty space in the center.

A monk was sitting cross-legged within it.

The monk sat cross-legged amidst the pile of corpses, his robes spotless white, untouched by any blood.

Yellow talismans were affixed to his ears, nose, and eyes, with strange runes drawn in crimson lines.

Even as Qin Qiu observed him from such close proximity, he seemed completely oblivious.

If Qin Qiu hadn't sensed the active Buddhist malevolent aura emanating from him, he would have thought he was just another corpse.

"That's right..."

Black Dragon spoke, his deep voice sounding as if a long-held belief had finally been confirmed.

"Uncle Long, do you recognize this eerie ritual?"

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be a charnel ground."

"The charnel ground is a bizarre Buddhist ritual, a very special existence in Buddhism."

"All five major Buddhist sects have records of this ritual, but they all tacitly avoid using it."

Qin Qiu interjected at the right moment, "Because it's easily criticized by the world?"

"Exactly!"

Black Dragon continued, speaking.

"This charnel ground requires corpses to create the environment, allowing Buddhist disciples to meditate and cultivate within it. It is said that they can use the resentment of the corpses to communicate with the gods."

"They borrow the power of the gods to seek further advancement and increase their own Buddhist nature."

Then Black Dragon turned his gaze to the monk in the corpse forest.

"The monks of the Five Senses Temple have clearly improved upon the charnel ground method."

"They bewitched the villagers, making them worship the Five Senses Extinguishing Evil Ascending Heaven Buddha in their homes, and then gathered them in the back mountain for sacrifices."

"Finally, they used them as raw materials for the charnel ground."

"At the same time, they abandoned the parts that the Five Senses Temple considered to be dross, and ultimately made it look like this."

The dross that the Five Senses Temple considered to be? Naturally, it referred to the eyes, noses, and ears on the mountain path, as well as the organs at the foot of the mountain.

Qin Qiu had no doubts in his mind.

No wonder he hadn't seen anyone in the village before, but there were signs that people had lived there.

It turned out that they had all run to this desolate mountain to worship Buddha.

Afterwards, the house was covered in dust, probably because they were hung on the trees, and no living person went back to clean the house, so it was naturally covered in dust.

"Then why are the organs at the foot of the mountain? But the eyeballs are scattered on both sides of the road at the top of the mountain?"

Qin Qiu couldn't help but wonder.

"I don't know either. Who knows what these lunatics from the Five Senses Temple are thinking."

"But I guess it should be used to lead the way for the Five Senses Extinguishing Evil Ascending Heaven Buddha. The eyeballs and tongues along the way are scattered on both sides of the road, like bait..."

Black Dragon said uncertainly.

Qin Qiu couldn't help but imagine a white-robed monk with a perverted smile on his face, dragging a disemboweled corpse, walking and gouging out eyeballs, pulling out tongues, and tearing ears.

"This perverted sect... It really makes people..."

Qin Qiu sighed.

"In fact, all major sects have similar techniques, so don't be too surprised."

"But this time you've come to the right place."

"This Buddhist stuff has some things in common with our Witch Vein, such as the resentment of the corpses all over the sky. You let the Snake Demon come out to absorb it, which can strengthen the ferocity of the Snake Demon and improve its strength a little!"

Black Dragon said excitedly.

Qin Qiu summoned the Snake Demon, but it hid on the other side to absorb it.

Qin Qiu hid in the dark to protect the Snake Demon secretly.

Unless absolutely necessary, Qin Qiu really didn't want to deal with these perverts.

Black Dragon said speechlessly, "That bald donkey monk is not as strong as you, what are you afraid of him?"

"Uncle Long, this is called being careful to sail for ten thousand years!"

Qin Qiu looked at Black Dragon with a serious face.

Then Qin Qiu hid in a tree hanging a corpse, hiding in the depths of the leaves, looking at the white-robed monk below.

And so, the night passed without a word.

At the break of dawn, the Snake Demon reported that the resentment in this place had begun to decrease.

Qin Qiu hurriedly recalled the Snake Demon and sped off towards the direction of the Black River.

You can't let people catch you stealing things, otherwise who knows what these perverts can do.

It was just that Qin Qiu didn't notice when he left, that the white-robed monk's mouth, sealed by the yellow talisman, curled up into a smile.

Qin Qiu ran all the way, erasing his traces, and even changed direction seven or eight times.

With this degree of caution, people would believe that he was being tracked by a major sect like Medicine Valley.

After running for more than ten days, Qin Qiu stopped at the gate of a town.

The stone town gate looked very imposing and had an ancient charm.

The words [Mo Family Town] were engraved on it!