The Buddhist chant resounded like a tiger's roar and a dragon's call.
Ethan Shu's rebuke, though seemingly gentle, carried the essence of the Buddha's Lion's Roar, embodying immense authority. It sent shivers down the spines of lesser beings, scaring demons and monsters into fleeing for their lives. The sound waves rang out like the deep chime of a great bell, echoing across Squire Li's estate.
From the east, south, west, north, and center, thick, ominous auras immediately surged forth. Five vicious ghosts in blue, red, white, black, and gold hues emerged from the ground, clawing and gnashing as they phased through walls, hurtling toward Ethan Shu.
"A little monk from the Buddhist temple!"
"Why would we flee? Not only are we not running, we'll feast on you instead!"
"Heh, heh, heh! I've never tasted monk flesh; today, I'll savor it."
"Kill him! Standard rule: strike first and claim the biggest share!"
The five ghosts appeared, arrogant and savage. Having roamed Qingyu Town, devouring humans at will, they had become unrestrained and lawless, possessing a boundless viciousness. Rather than fearing Ethan Shu's profound Buddha aura, they sought to end his life and devour him.
"Foolish spirits, short-sighted and brazen!"
"Today, I'll show you the boundless power of the Buddha and what it means to be in the presence of true might!"
Ethan Shu raised his purple-gold monk staff, pouring his powerful Buddha energy from his Supreme Freedom Relic into it.
Then… he struck it down heavily.
Boom!
The ground trembled violently, sending the stone tiles flying and filling the air with dust. Those inside and outside the house stumbled, almost falling, thinking it was an earthquake. The purple-gold staff struck the ground like an anchor of immense weight, its copper rings clanging loudly.
The expanding sound waves carried Buddha's resonance, slashing through the air like a divine blade, diminishing each ghost's strength by a decade. Ripples of righteous Buddha sound waves stripped away their evil energy, reducing them to their original forms.
The previously massive, terrifying ghosts instantly shrank. Before they could reach Ethan Shu, they were reduced to five ghostly children, screaming as they scattered into the night.
"Now you want to escape? Did this monk grant you permission?!"
Ethan Shu's demeanor changed from warm and gentle to fierce and resolute in his duty to subdue demons—unyielding and merciless.
"Bodhi Finger Strike!"
Ethan Shu's fingers flicked like blossoming lotus petals, releasing streams of golden energy infused with immense Buddha power. The five diminished ghosts, now reduced to mere ghost children, were no match. As the Bodhi Finger's power struck them, they vanished into nothingness before they could even scream.
The Wealth-Gathering Five Ghosts, destroyed in a flick of the finger!
A system prompt chimed in his mind:
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have killed the Red Ghost, earning 400 cultivation points!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have killed the Blue Ghost, earning 400 cultivation points!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have killed the White Ghost, earning 400 cultivation points!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have killed the Black Ghost, earning 400 cultivation points!"
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have killed the Yellow Ghost, earning 400 cultivation points!"
Eradicating the five ghosts earned him 2,000 points in total!
Although the five ghosts combined would be as formidable as a demon with six or seven hundred years of cultivation, they were utterly outmatched by Ethan Shu, who was now at the mid-stage of the Relic Realm.
He could destroy them with a flick of his finger!
Inside the room, Squire Li, who had been terrified by the sudden appearance of the savage ghosts, trembled uncontrollably. Yet, in the blink of an eye, the fearsome ghosts were subdued by Ethan Shu, the swiftness of the act leaving Squire Li stunned.
Ethan Shu called out firmly, "The ghosts are gone, souls have returned. Squire Li, snap out of it!"
Squire Li jolted, his vacant eyes regaining clarity.
"Just now… what were those?" he asked, still shaken.
Ethan Shu nodded. "They were the very ghosts who were bringing you wealth."
Pale-faced and trembling, Squire Li stammered, "I relied on such evil spirits to grow rich all these years… I… I…"
A whirlwind of emotions flooded Squire Li's heart, shame, anger, and fear blending into a complex brew.
With a hint of scorn, Ethan Shu remarked, "A benign Five Ghosts of Wealth formation only alters fortune slightly. But this malicious Wealth-Gathering Five Ghosts setup brings immense wealth and constant prosperity."
Squire Li's business had long expanded beyond Qingyu Town; otherwise, he could never have amassed such fortune.
In regret, Squire Li said, "If I had known the Five Ghosts of Wealth meant employing such evil spirits, I wouldn't want this wealth at any cost. I'd throw it all away!"
"It's not too late," Ethan Shu replied.
"Not too late?" Squire Li's eyes filled with hope as he looked at Ethan Shu.
"I understand now. A hundred taels of gold for the temple, to restore its statues and continue its incense offerings!"
Ethan Shu shook his head. "That merely settles our karma. The rest of your wealth can be used for good deeds."
"Squire Li, as a virtuous man of nine lifetimes, your lifespan is long, and you have ample time to make amends, to accrue merit, and to fulfill your destiny."
Squire Li, eyes bright with determination, replied, "Saint Monk, I will remember every word you've said!"
"Good. Now, let us remove the karmic tumor from your son and then bring the true culprit, Daoist Master Kuxuan, to justice."
"Squire Li, do you have any lotus roots in the house?"
"Lotus roots? Yes, I believe so! I'll have the servants bring them right away!"
Pushing open the door, Squire Li called for Ah Fu and the others, instructing them to bring all the lotus roots from the kitchen.
Ethan Shu added, "Along with the lotus root, I'll need sesame oil and an oil lamp."
Curious, Squire Li asked, "Saint Monk, with your profound Buddhist skills, can't you simply remove the karmic tumor? Why do you need sesame oil, a lamp, and a lotus root?"
Ethan Shu glanced at him. "Karmic burdens come from the workings of Heaven. If it were merely a dead soul's karma, it could be easily dispelled with the Rebirth Mantra. But for a living person like Li Moxuan, the Rebirth Mantra cannot be used for purification."
"As for why I need these items, you'll soon see."
With an expression that seemed to say "the Buddha's wisdom cannot be questioned," Ethan Shu's words only deepened Squire Li's curiosity.
How, indeed, could the karmic burdens of a living person be purified outside of doing good deeds?
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]