Chapter 383: Chapter 268: I’m the Buddha’s Son, How Could I Be a Devil?

The crowd of onlookers was horrified, scattering and keeping their distance as if the Joyful Shrine Association had already begun.

Yang An watched the onlookers’ expressions change from start to finish and couldn’t help but feel a little puzzled.

’Aren’t there the Three Great Prohibitions? These people can’t attack anyone with a lower Cultivation Level than them, so as long as I don’t provoke them, I should be fine. What’s there to be afraid of?’

The Zen Master who had obtained a Ninth Grade Holy Shrine laughed openly. His laughter was unsettling, sounding both thrilled and malevolent.

’If that’s a laugh a Monk can make, I’ll eat my hat.’

Yang An looked away.

’In a single round of twenty Zen Masters, there was one Ninth Grade and fifteen Eighth Grade. I can’t even imagine what this bunch will do at the Joyful Shrine Association tomorrow.’

The people after them went up, round after round.

Soon, all the Zen Masters had obtained their Buddhist Shrines, and the number of Ninth Grade Holy Shrines had reached a staggering twelve!

Joyful laughter filled the area around the statue, but outside, the onlookers retreated even further.

"His Highness the Buddha Prince, please proceed."

The moment had finally come. A Zen Master looked at Yang An with a strange expression in his eyes.

"I forfeit!"

Yang An said without hesitation.

The moment the words left his mouth, everyone present stared at him, stunned and incredulous.

Forfeit?

This was likely the first time anyone had ever heard of someone forfeiting, and what’s more, the one choosing to do so was the temple’s new Buddha’s Son.

Facing everyone’s stares, Yang An remained perfectly calm and prepared to leave.

But just as he turned around, a voice sounded from behind him.

"His Highness the Buddha Prince, I urge you to reconsider. If you forfeit, you will no longer be protected by the Three Great Prohibitions, and... you yourself will become a part of the Joyful Shrine Association."

"???"

Yang An froze and spun around.

’I can understand not being protected by the Three Great Prohibitions, but what does it mean to become a part of the Joyful Shrine Association?’

’Could it be...’

A sudden jolt went through Yang An. ’If I become a part of the Joyful Shrine Association, does that mean anyone can attack me to vent their Demon Barrier?’

The Zen Master who had spoken simply watched him with a silent smile, then made an inviting gesture toward the statue of the Seeking Shrine Buddha.

The people around him looked on as if watching a comedy, though they were restrained enough not to laugh out loud.

Yang An took a deep breath. ’If that’s the case, I have no choice.’

He had no choice but to brace himself and walk toward the statue. He finally stood upon one of the marks, closed his eyes, and extended his perception to touch the statue.

In an instant, Yang An’s consciousness was submerged in a hazy world.

He was floating high in the sky. Looking up, he saw a boundless expanse of clouds and mist that blotted out the sun, casting a gloomy pall over everything.

And beneath his feet was a boundless black sea.

That’s right—the water of the sea was black and bottomless.

Having arrived here, Yang An didn’t know what to do next. He simply stared at the sea below, his gaze completely captivated.

The deep sea was filled with a boundless, malevolent aura.

This malevolent aura was different from the rancid, decaying stench of a Demon Fiend. It was more like an amalgamation of countless resentments, brimming with every kind of negative emotion.

Merely sensing this aura caused a strange emotion to well up within Yang An—an intense desire to destroy everything, including himself.

Fortunately, he was only slightly affected by the aura. He steadied his mind and quickly returned to normal.

In the next instant, a colossal wave erupted from the churning surface of the sea. It rushed toward Yang An like a tsunami, resembling a monstrous black beast opening its abyssal maw, ready to devour him whole.

Yang An instinctively tried to use a Technique, only to realize he was merely a projection of his consciousness here and could do nothing.

Watching the massive black wave about to crash down and swallow him, he found he couldn’t even run. All he could do was passively endure it.

BOOM!

A deafening roar filled Yang An’s ears as he was instantly swallowed by the monstrous tide.

The seawater passed through his form, and an indescribable pain coursed through every part of Yang An’s being, as if it were scouring him from the inside out.

At the same time, however, white, viscous tendrils of liquid were scoured from his body. They slowly gathered in front of him, coalescing into the rudimentary shape of a Buddhist Shrine.

Yang An was somewhat surprised, watching the Buddhist Shrine take form before him even as he endured the agony.

’So this is the process of Seeking Shrine?’

’I thought I wouldn’t be able to obtain a Buddhist Shrine, but I never expected one to actually form.’

’But why is this Buddhist Shrine... different from everyone else’s?’

’Outside, I saw the Buddhist Shrines everyone else got. Without exception, they were all black and square.’

’But the Buddhist Shrine in front of me is white, and it’s hexagonal.’

’Even the Golden Buddha Statue enshrined within it is different from the others.’

’Theirs was that bizarre Seeking Shrine Buddha, a statue intertwined with a fiendish entity.’

’But mine is a kindly and serene Golden Buddha Statue, not the Seeking Shrine Buddha.’

’How could it be different?’

At this point, Yang An paid no mind to the pain, even though massive quantities of black seawater were still continuously passing through his form.

As more and more of the white, viscous liquid was scoured from his being, the Buddhist Shrine rapidly took its final shape.