The power of the residual soul was weak, yet the faithless man seemed to have a lifetime of words to share.
As Elder Miaohui listened, tears streamed down her face, while the others remained respectfully silent.
Unfortunately, before the residual soul could speak for long, his body gradually became transparent and slowly faded away, like a projector losing power.
Finally, the residual image vanished, and the last vestige of the faithless man’s existence in this world disappeared completely.
Elder Miaohui stared blankly at the spot where the faithless man had vanished, her mouth agape, weeping silently.
The wooden fish was a gift from her to the faithless man. He believed that every time he struck the wooden fish, he was accumulating merit for her. Thus, he worked tirelessly, eating and sleeping little, in the hope of accumulating enough merit to persuade her to abandon monastic life and return to the mortal world. Eventually, the wooden fish, unable to withstand the constant impact, was broken by him.
The truth was now as clear as day.
The dead could not explain themselves, and so Elder Miaohui had misunderstood him for a full eighty-seven years.
Her love had turned to hatred, leading her to madness and the state she was in now.
She even realized now that she had indirectly aided the descendants of the human trafficking organization from that time, namely Qi Dongqiang.
Furthermore, she had been an accomplice in the destruction of the Emei sect.
All these sins stemmed from misunderstanding. Realizing this, the repentant Elder Miaohui felt her sins were grave and regretted her actions immensely.
She slowly sat down cross-legged and softly recited Buddhist incantations, "Amitabha..."
"Master..."
Wen Yuxian and Master Guanyun stepped forward, taking Elder Miaohui's arms on either side.
In their memories, although their master had been troubled by unresolved issues, she had always been extremely caring towards them.
They were the last people who wished to see their master fall into such a state, even if she had harmed the Emei sect.
"Guanlan, Guanyun, all of this is my fault," said Elder Miaohui.
With her head bowed, as if her spirit had been drained, Elder Miaohui finally displayed the frailty of a centenarian.
The two disciples did not know how to respond, merely sighing inwardly at the cruel twists of fate.
"Help me to the coffin," Elder Miaohui said in a low voice. "I wish to personally conduct rites for them."
In reality, the souls of her husband and daughter were long gone, making the rites meaningless. Yet, Elder Miaohui still wished to do so, as if to bid her husband and daughter a final farewell.
The two disciples helped Elder Miaohui to the side of the coffins. Elder Miaohui bent down and gently caressed the two skeletons with her fingertips, as if stroking her husband's chest and her daughter's cheek.
Afterward, she sat cross-legged and began to chant scriptures. Her chanting was melodious yet sorrowful, and while it was meant to bless the departed, it sounded more like a eulogy.
Yan Shouyi watched silently from the side. Zhuge Ji, limping, walked up to him and whispered, "President, now that Elder Miaohui knows the truth, she should no longer be an obstacle for us."
Yan Shouyi grunted in agreement. "Once her emotions stabilize, we will ask her to dismantle the Lotus Array."
He had been worried about a major confrontation with Elder Miaohui. Although his own strength was unfathomable, he still felt uncertain facing a centenarian like Elder Miaohui.
The former sect leader of the Emei sect, even if not as powerful as the Celestial Master Zhang Yin, was surely not a trivial figure.
Not to mention that Elder Miaohui had fallen into demonic ways and was now a true Asura, whose power Yan Shouyi had experienced firsthand.
After a long while, Elder Miaohui completed the rites and stood up with the support of Wen Yuxian and Master Guanyun.
She turned to Yan Shouyi and said, "Li Genmiao trapped you in Mount Emei and then publicized the news of you slaughtering the Emei sect. Currently, the orthodox sects and the folk cults are at odds with each other, and you need to go out and take charge of the situation."
Upon hearing this, Yan Shouyi knew that Elder Miaohui had found peace and decided to mend her ways.
"I am not siding with Li Genmiao; quite the opposite. I founded the Twelve Yuan Chen myself, but later Li Genmiao sought me out and persuaded me, so I brought the Twelve Yuan Chen under his command."
As she spoke, Elder Miaohui handed him a booklet.
"If you wish to know the whereabouts of the other Twelve Yuan Chen, all their information is in this booklet. I have committed heinous crimes, and even if the Buddha does not condemn me, I have decided to remain in contemplation within Mount Emei until my death. Therefore, I must entrust you with resolving the matters of the Twelve Yuan Chen."
Yan Shouyi’s eyelids twitched. While Elder Miaohui’s return to righteousness was a good thing, why was he now tasked with cleaning up her mess?
Shouldn’t she resolve the mistakes she made herself? Besides, her strength far surpassed his, and she understood the other Twelve Yuan Chen better than he did…
However, in the grand scheme of things, these concerns became insignificant.
What Yan Shouyi hoped for now was that Elder Miaohui would quickly dismantle the Emei Lotus Array, allowing him to send out the news and resolve the issue of the Twelve Yuan Chen as soon as possible, thereby easing the conflict between the sects.
"The other two formation eyes of the Emei Lotus Array, one is at the bottom of the Xiāoxiàng Pool, and the other is at..."
Elder Miaohui's words suddenly faltered.
Master Guanyun worriedly waved her hand in front of Elder Miaohui and asked with confusion, "Master? What is wrong?"
"The other formation eye… the formation eye is at..."
Elder Miaohui's eyes were vacant, her intended words stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken for a long time.
Wen Yuxian, fearing that Elder Miaohui had become mentally disoriented from the shock, quickly called for Master Guanyun to help Elder Miaohui sit down.
Yan Shouyi, however, sensed that something was amiss.
Elder Miaohui's aura was not right…
In Yan Shouyi’s perception, Elder Miaohui's body was like a black hole, with strange black energy emanating from all around her. The surrounding negative energies were being absorbed by her ceaselessly.
Suddenly, with a "bang," the two skeletons in the coffin violently shattered into dust!
This dust, carried by the wind, floated towards Elder Miaohui, who was sitting on the ground!
"Master?" The two disciples were greatly alarmed, not knowing what had happened.
The next second, another shattering sound was heard. But this time, it was not bones that broke, but the statue of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra in the Wuliang Hall!!
The colossal statue crumbled, also turning into dust, which, along with the ashes from the incense burner in front, surged towards Elder Miaohui's body!
"Not good!"
Yan Shouyi suddenly shouted, "Grandmother, Great Aunt, retreat quickly!"
The two elders immediately retreated, and at the same time, they finally understood what was happening.
They saw the shattered skeletons and the Buddha statue pouring into Elder Miaohui’s body. The muscles in her neck and back rippled, and then two more heads and two more arms grew out!
This scene was all too familiar – wasn't it the "Asura Dharma Form" that Shi Kui had displayed before?
Overwhelmed by grief and unable to bear the torment of her pain, Elder Miaohui's psyche fractured, and she fell into madness!
She had completely descended into the Asura realm, becoming a true Asura!!!