"Wait! Didn't the demon ancestor's heart break free from the Seal?"
"But the Grand Array didn't trigger..."
The evil charming youth was first startled, then overjoyed.
The big fat man looked at the handsome middle-aged man and asked with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Sword Master, was this the risk you mentioned earlier?"
"You almost killed all of us!"
The Sword Master nodded slightly, not denying it.
He said, "We have been trapped here for 300,000 years. Instead of waiting in despair, it's better to take a bold gamble."
"amitabha! Good, good!" The White-browed Old Monk clasped his hands together, praying.
"From today onwards, this Old Monk and all you benefactors no longer need to exhaust our cultivation to suppress this thing."
"It is truly gratifying!"
However, Zhao Manzi frowned deeply and stepped forward to look at the infant in the Old Monk's arms.
"But have you ever considered that the demon ancestor might possess a body and return to life?"
"How could the demon ancestor's heart be willing to be used by others? It will surely corrupt this little baby."
"With his weak Divine Soul, I'm afraid..." he said.
"Why not dig this heart out again?" The evil charming youth raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Anyway, it has already escaped the Seal and will no longer trigger the killing array."
The big fat man nodded, indicating approval: "Flower Thief's words make sense."
"The Grand Array is still there, and with our current strength, I don't know how many more years it will take to break it."
"If we let him grow, we might not be able to suppress the demon ancestor who has possessed a body and returned to life."
"Then what are we waiting for?" The Sword Master snorted coldly, raising his hand and directly pulling the infant from the Old Monk's hands.
His fingertip reached for the infant's heart, about to gouge out the demon ancestor's heart.
But at that moment, the little infant actually became active, reaching out a chubby little hand to grasp one of the Sword Master's fingers.
The little infant giggled and opened his eyes, curiously looking at the Sword Master in front of him.
The Sword Master snorted lightly, immediately tossed the infant to Zhao Manzi, and then turned away.
"You do it, you fellow love to eat people, this child is for you to eat!"
Zhao Manzi looked at the little infant, and seeing him reach out to him, couldn't help but smile.
"He doesn't look tasty, Fat Master, you do it!"
Zhao Manzi then tossed the infant to the big fat man.
The big fat man didn't even look, directly tossed him to the evil charming youth, Flower Thief.
Flower Thief awkwardly held the little infant, seemingly feeling uncomfortable no matter how he held him, unable to find a normal posture.
The little infant was like a hand grenade in his hands, he immediately threw him to the White-browed Old Monk.
"I...I hate children the most, Great Master, you do it!"
The White-browed Old Monk held the little infant, gently rocked him a few times, soothing his emotions.
Then he looked up at the four people in the hall and smiled, "After all that, he still returned to this Old Monk's hands."
"But this Old Monk is a Buddhist monk, and his hands are never stained with blood."
"Let's just let this poor little baby live."
"Old Monk, stop pretending to be merciful!" Flower Thief chuckled.
"Wasn't the Xu country massacred by you? Back then, the Xu country had at least tens of billions of people, and the blood on your hands is the most among us here!"
"Killing tens of billions of people, you didn't even bat an eye."
"Now you're asked to dig out a heart, and you're still dawdling."
The White-browed Old Monk quietly looked at the evil charming youth, but said nothing.
Flower Thief was unnerved by his gaze and sullenly walked to the side.
Although he was sharp-tongued, if it came to a fight, he knew his limits and would definitely not be a match for this Old Monk.
"The Chaotic Holy Body is not a false reputation; observe carefully."
"The demon ancestor's heart wanted to corrupt his Divine Soul, but it was blocked by the divine charm inherent in the Holy Body."
"It originally intended to usurp the host, but it overlooked the power of the Chaotic Holy Body, and now it is instead enveloped by the Holy Body, unable to escape." The Old Monk added.
"This Old Monk will then construct a second barrier for him with the Golden Soul Curse, which should ensure he is not corroded by the demon ancestor's heart."
"So, there's no need to gouge out his heart; let him live!"
The four did not speak, but the Old Monk knew they had tacitly agreed.
"From today onwards, we will take turns looking after the child."
"When he grows a bit older, we will impart our respective skills to him."
"If he can learn all the abilities of the five of us, then the demon ancestor's heart's backlash will be nothing to worry about in the future."
Seeing that they still didn't speak, the Old Monk added, "This Old Monk will take your silence as agreement."
He carefully flipped through the swaddling clothes wrapping the infant and found two characters embroidered in gold thread—Fang Ling.
"This little baby's surname is Fang and his given name is Ling; from now on, we'll call him Little Fang Ling!" he added.
...
Time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, five years passed.
In the grand hall, the Old Monk sat withered before a Buddha statue, chanting scriptures.
Suddenly, a small head peeked out from behind a pillar, giggling.
The little child, who looked about five years old, tiptoed towards the Old Monk and then suddenly launched an attack.
"Star River Boundless Fist!" Fang Ling shouted, punching the Old Monk's back.
Although he was only five years old, as he swung his fist, there was a breaking wind, seemingly possessing immense power.
The fist wind transformed into a Star River, swaying and striking the Old Monk's back.
The Old Monk, who was chanting scriptures, slowly opened his eyes, then flicked his white eyebrow, directly hoisting Little Fang Ling into the air.
Little Fang Ling, suspended in mid-air by the white eyebrow, was terrified and quickly begged for mercy: "Master, quickly put me down, I know I was wrong!"
"I won't dare to do it again next time, wuwuwu..."
However, the Old Monk did not relent and even spun his white eyebrow.
Little Fang Ling was like a yo-yo, spun dizzy and disoriented.
"Master...I'm about to throw up, don't blame me if I accidentally throw up on you later."
"I really can't take it anymore!" Fang Ling shouted, already feeling his stomach churning.
With a thud, the Old Monk's eyebrow suddenly retracted, and he directly fell onto the golden floor tiles.
The Old Monk stood up and looked at Little Fang Ling who was sprawled on the ground.
"How long have you been learning this Star River Boundless Fist?" he asked.
Fang Ling sat up and mumbled, "About two years, Manzi Master taught me two years ago."
"Is it really bad? Manzi Master said he only practiced for three days before he could use it."
The Old Monk chuckled: "Your Manzi Master is boasting to you; he practiced for at least three hundred years to learn this move."
"This is the ultimate technique of the Star River Sect, the strongest Sect in the Body Refining lineage back then!"
"Star River Sect? Where is this Star River Sect?" Fang Ling asked curiously.
"I don't know, perhaps it no longer exists, or it's hiding in some unknown place." The Old Monk replied.
"Your Manzi Master came from the Star River Sect back then."
"However, later your Manzi Master became too brutal, eating people everywhere, offending many major powers."
"And then your Manzi Master was expelled from the Sect by them, and they also chose to Seal their mountains and live in seclusion."
"Is my Manzi Master a bad person?" Fang Ling asked again.
"Yes, here, besides your Master, everyone else is a bad person." The Old Monk chuckled, "That's why we're locked up here and can't get out."
"Your Manzi Master likes to eat people."
"Your Fat Master is full of poison."
"Your Sword Master likes to kill people and refine swords."
"And your Master Hua, he's the most disgraceful; he used to be the most notorious Flower Thief in the world."
"Flower Thief? What does that mean?" Fang Ling mumbled.
"I like picking flowers too! All the flowers in the backyard have been picked by me, and they smell so good."
The Old Monk: "You'll know when you're older."
"His 'picking flowers' and your 'picking flowers' are two different things; you must never follow him in the future!"
"They are all big bad people, so Little Fang Ling, you should spend more time with Master, and chant scriptures with Master more often."
"You bald donkey, stop spreading rumors!" At this moment, Flower Thief stormed in angrily.
"Little Fang Ling, your Master is lying to you, the four of us are good people, he's the bad one."
"Back then, anyone who didn't convert to your Master would be beaten to death on the spot by him; he's the one who killed the most among us!"
Fang Ling ran to the Great Master's side, his small hands clutching his monk robe, smiling as he looked at Flower Thief Xiao Luosheng.
"Master Hua, don't lie to me, I'm not a three-year-old child."
"Master is usually the kindest; he can't even bear to swat a mosquito, he's not like what you say."
"You little brat, you actually don't believe me!" Flower Thief's face darkened with anger upon hearing this.
The Old Monk, however, burst into laughter, raising his hand to stroke Fang Ling's small head.
"Little Fang Ling is truly intelligent; he already has the ability to distinguish right from wrong."
"Come, Master will teach you that move again; you must learn it early and be the first to inherit my ultimate technique!"