Chapter 92: Chapter 92: The Skull in the Lotus Platform_1
When the lotus platform was chiseled open, a mass of crowded skulls appeared before Wang Linchi, the stench hitting him unprepared.
The next moment, the skulls fell to the ground, rolling around as if they were alive.
Wang Linchi quickly stepped back.
The condition of these skulls was exactly the same as the Headless Ghosts—jet black and skin stretched taut over bone.
The eyes had already rotted away, leaving only shriveled eyelids. Wang Linchi was somewhat puzzled as to why the skin hadn’t decomposed and instead seemed normal.
The skulls squeezed out one by one from the break in the lotus platform, then rolled and tumbled chaotically on the ground.
Meanwhile, Wang Linchi also noticed that the Headless Ghosts outside the Great Hero Treasure Hall had once again gathered around, completely blocking the exit.
It seemed the Headless Ghosts could not enter the Great Hero Treasure Hall, only clustering anxiously at the entrance.
When the Headless Ghosts arrived, the monks’ skulls also rolled towards the entrance. However, they seemed unable to cross the small obstacle of the threshold, no matter how they tried.
The heads and bodies were like two sides of an unbridgeable chasm, fundamentally unable to cross over and reunite.
After observing for a while and seeing they were stuck in this process of trying to reunite, Wang Linchi shifted his attention back to the lotus platform itself.
He had originally planned to flee the moment the Headless Ghosts reunited with their skulls, but now it seemed there was no need.
The mastermind behind this had used some means to prevent the Headless Ghosts from entering the Great Hero Treasure Hall and to stop the skulls from leaving it, ensuring they could never meet.
Wang Linchi’s gaze fell inside the lotus platform. He saw that within the hollowed-out platform, a giant Buddha statue’s head was single-handedly supporting the entire statue.
According to his calculations, if this Buddha head were removed, the lotus platform would inevitably collapse. What would happen then to the Buddha statue sitting atop it was self-evident.
This is malicious, utterly malicious. Wang Linchi’s expression turned grim.
Clearly, the instigator, after wiping out the sect, feared someone might discover and solve this, so they deliberately left this setup.
Solving this was also simple: one just needed to support the Buddha statue while removing its head.
The idea was simple, but implementing it was beyond Wang Linchi’s abilities.
Since the lotus platform was hollow and relied on the Buddha head for support, then as part of the design, the main Buddha statue itself was undoubtedly solid.
A solid stone Buddha statue nearly five meters tall—how could Wang Linchi possibly support it? Perhaps a Mountain Copper Level Awakener could manage.
He could kill a Mountain Copper Level Awakener, but that didn’t mean he possessed a Mountain Copper Level Physique.
Fanciful and Fickle could be used to blow up the Buddha statue, but it couldn’t provide Telekinesis. That would be like asking a bomb to be a gardener and expecting it to tend the garden well. If the garden didn’t get blown up, it would already be a testament to the bomb’s diligent efforts.
Wang Linchi was also feeling a bit of a headache at this point; the situation indeed seemed rather difficult to handle.
It wasn’t that there were no other solutions. For instance, he could have craftsmen from Black Rain City come and build a suitable support structure. This would fix it in place, and then they could repair the lotus platform to ensure the load-bearing points were secure.
The problem was, with Headless Ghosts outside and monks’ skulls inside, what craftsman would dare to come? Even if they dared, they wouldn’t be able to get in; the Headless Ghosts blocked the entrance to the Great Hero Treasure Hall.
As for the idea that returning the skulls to the Headless Ghosts would cause them to die—who would believe such a thing? Wang Linchi himself didn’t believe it. He was more inclined to believe that Headless Ghosts reunited with their heads would transform into even more terrifying demons and evil spirits, rather than peacefully accompanying Buddha to the Western Paradise. Why invite trouble for himself?
If I have to rely on myself, it doesn’t seem impossible. The work might just take a bit longer.
Wait, I still have to deal with the Headless Ghosts. Otherwise, even if I repair the Buddha statue, I might not be able to complete the mission.
The Headless Ghosts were blocking the door. Where would the incense offerings come from? Rebuilding the golden body was not something Wang Linchi alone could manage. It wasn’t that he couldn’t; it’s just that it would take too long. It might even take three to five months to finish. He couldn’t accept that kind of time commitment.
So, deal with the Headless Ghosts first, then deal with the Buddha statue. Wang Linchi quickly decided on his plan.
Then, looking at the constantly hopping skulls, Wang Linchi felt these skulls should be the key to dealing with the Headless Ghosts.
He had tried using Fanciful and Fickle to bombard the Headless Ghosts. It wasn’t that there was no effect, just that it was largely ineffective.
Copper Skin and Iron Bones wasn’t an exaggeration; they were genuinely tough. He had even used five hundred points of spiritual power with his Fanciful and Fickle, yet he couldn’t kill a single Headless Ghost.
Instead, the enemy continued to jump around vigorously, as if unharmed.
Later, according to Wang Linchi’s research, it wasn’t that the enemy was unhurt, but rather that they recovered quickly after being injured, and the damage they took was also greatly reduced, by about ninety percent.
This wasn’t the Headless Ghosts’ own ability but a protective force field in Rooster Crow Temple that shielded the Headless Ghosts. This protection not only had these functions but also enhanced the Headless Ghosts’ power.
Wang Linchi tentatively suspected that it was likely a radiation field formed by the residual power within the Buddha statue.
For instance, the ’Shakyamuni’s Fundamental Mantra for Destroying Evil Destinies’ he had heard before. He might have only heard a fragment of it, but these Headless Ghosts probably listened to it daily, perhaps constantly.
Wang Linchi walked up to the entrance of the Great Hero Treasure Hall, reached out, and picked up a monk’s head. This thing showed no inclination to attack, nor did it possess any offensive capability.
Even when Wang Linchi held it in his hand, it just struggled forward, seemingly wanting to leave the Great Hero Treasure Hall, but it was blocked by some invisible force.
This force was not only at the threshold but enveloped the entire Great Hero Treasure Hall; Wang Linchi couldn’t take it out.
He also considered tricky maneuvers, such as putting it into a Storage Soul Device first. However, this was simply wishful thinking, as the head couldn’t be put in. It was most likely anchored within the Great Hero Treasure Hall by the radiation field created by the Buddha statue.
This anchoring, from Wang Linchi’s observation, wasn’t a restraint but more of a protection.
From this, it could also be inferred that although the monks’ heads eagerly wished to reunite with the Headless Ghosts, this reunion was probably not a good thing.
For example, completely degenerating into demons and evil spirits?
This was just Wang Linchi’s guess; there was no corresponding evidence at the moment.
Are the skulls and bodies matched? If a Headless Ghost leaves the force field, would its skull then lose its protection?
Wang Linchi thought of this. After a monk dies, there would definitely be only one head and one body, so...
Wait a minute, why is there one extra skull?!
DAMN IT!!! Wang Linchi suddenly realized this.
After counting the Headless Ghosts and the monks’ heads, Wang Linchi found the numbers actually didn’t match up.
This was really messing with his composure. Things had been progressing smoothly, but then, SNAP, a problem arose. How could he tolerate that?
Whose is the extra skull? Or where has the missing Headless Ghost gone...
In this situation, it wasn’t necessarily that there was an extra skull; it could also be that a Headless Ghost was missing.
Wang Linchi carefully examined them and then discovered a very familiar-looking skull.
"Why does this thing look a bit like me?" Wang Linchi picked up a skull from the corner. Apart from being bald, black, and emaciated, it really looked exactly like him.
The extra one is mine? It couldn’t have just been generated, could it?
As Wang Linchi was thinking, he turned to look at the lotus platform again. At some unknown point, the Buddha statue’s head within the lotus platform had vanished.
Yet the Buddha statue itself remained sitting steadily on the lotus platform, without the slightest sign of collapsing.
"Oh, so the extra skull was yours," Wang Linchi said, looking at the Buddha statue again, a sudden realization dawning on him.
This Buddha statue, like the monks, had become a demon or evil spirit.
The Buddha statue’s head had transformed to look like Wang Linchi’s head and was now struggling in his hand. Its expression and appearance were no different from the other monks’ heads.
Wang Linchi carried the head and walked towards the Buddha statue.
At this moment, the Buddha head struggled even more fiercely. If it were a Secret Realm Native, they wouldn’t have been able to hold onto it at all.
But Wang Linchi was different. Among Battle-type Awakeners, he might be considered to have the strength of a weakling, but compared to ordinary people, he already possessed innate Divine Power.
The gap between the Transcendent and the Ordinary was like the gap between Soul Kinds and currency in the Dajing Court. Ordinary people could never afford an Excellent Level Soul Kind in their entire lifetime, but Black Iron Level Battle-type Awakeners generally had several or even more each.
"You seem to resist returning to the Buddha statue. Let me guess, you’re scared, aren’t you?"
As Wang Linchi walked towards the Buddha statue, he spoke to the head, hoping to get some information from it. However, the Buddha head was tight-lipped, only struggling without speaking.
Even Wang Linchi began to suspect, Could this thing be mute?
That was indeed a possibility. After all, while it looked like a monk’s head, it was actually the stone-carved head of the Buddha statue. Whether it even had vocal cords was questionable, let alone if it could open its mouth to speak.