Using entries to cultivate immortality in chaotic times

"That..."

Sitting beside the Deceit Buddha, the Li Family Master silently raised his right hand, "My wife and children were all killed by you just now."

"Nonsense!"

The Deceit Buddha immediately roared in anger, "How could it be me that killed them, it was clearly..."

But upon seeing Chen Qiu's expression, he quickly shrunk his head and whispered, "Anyway, it wasn't me who killed them, and besides, you fool, didn't you realize that you're the only normal person in the entire Li Family? Those family members of yours aren't your family at all."

"Don't try to pin this pot on me."

"Your Li Family has been haunted by evil spirits for several years now, with many people dying in succession, and it was at that time these evil spirits possessed your family members. You only met me then and invited me back to the Li Family, with my presence, these evil spirits didn't dare to plague 'Hong City' for years and were suppressed within the Li Family Ancestral Hall."

"The woman who spoke earlier was possessed by an evil spirit, she's not on my side."

"Her rank is too low."

"My mind is so sharp, how could I possibly use your family as bargaining chips? That's just stupid. I haven't done anything in the Li Family over these years, I've just been trading with you. You asked me to resurrect your family, and I did it, what did I do wrong?"

"Really?" Fat Long lightly raised an eyebrow and said, "Although I'm not in the third seat, I'd like to chime in. Your resurrected family members don't seem like normal people to me."

"Naturally."

The Deceit Buddha rolled his eyes in irritation, "That's resurrection, do you think it's as common as eating cabbage, to say resurrect and it's done? I merely recreated several identical bodies based on his memory and then filled them with that memory, it's just that as soon as they were created, those evil spirits possessed them."

"But that has nothing to do with me; this was not included in the terms of the trade."

"You're a swindler."

The scholar sitting aside said indifferently, "If it isn't truly resurrection, then don't call it resurrection."

"How can that be swindling?!"

The Deceit Buddha's voice, tinged with anger, raised immediately, "What do you mean by swindler? If I take your money for jade and sell you copper, that's swindling. If I take your money for copper and sell you copper, how can that be considered swindling?!"

"This is a fair exchange; the chips I collected are completely equivalent!"

"And who says that a physical resurrection isn't resurrection? If not, could he ever again find a woman exactly like his deceased wife in his lifetime?"

"Fair point."

Fat Long nodded again, feeling that something wasn't quite right, but at first glance, there seemed to be some sense in it.

"Besides—"

The Deceit Buddha rolled his eyes in annoyance, "He knew about this as well, how can you say I deceived him?"

"Ah?"

The Li Family Master shook his head, full of confusion, "What do I know?"

"So annoying."

The Deceit Buddha scratched the back of his head in irritation, then slapped the back of the Li Family Master's head, and as a golden light flashed, the confusion in the Li Family Master's eyes gradually faded, replaced by clarity.

The Li Family Master looked at Chen Qiu and his companions with eyes full of apology, "My apologies, esteemed Immortals, this fault lies with me."

"It's a long story."

"Several years ago, the Li Family mysteriously fell under a haunting by evil spirits, often hearing screams in the courtyard deep at night, hair growing out from under the beds now and then, and bloody handprints frequently appearing on the paper windows under the moonlight."

"I tried innumerable methods but still couldn't drive away those evil spirits."

"Gradually, more and more of the Li Family died in strange accidents, and those who remained were clearly different, like they had become other people. I was utterly powerless and could only watch as it all happened, waiting for death in despair."

"Yet, for some reason, those evil spirits didn't harm me."

"Then, one day, I somehow acquired this statue of the Deceit Buddha and brought it back to the Li Family Ancestral Hall. Afterward, I suddenly found that the usually unruly evil spirits became much quieter."

"Upon discovering that I could trade with this statue of the Deceit Buddha, I resurrected my dead family members, albeit with just their shells and memories, and those memories were filled based on my own recollections."

"Thus, I sealed my memories, leaving only those of joyful moments with my family, and I rebuilt the Li Family."

"A Li Family where only I am a normal person."

"I know it's not right, but I just wanted to stay with my family, and indeed, we did have a few happy years. Only recently did I begin to realize that something was off about these family members, and that's when I started seeking help from the Immortals."

"Actually... I shouldn't have sought help."

At this moment, the Li Family Master's eyes were full of regret, but soon he regained his composure and said with a bitter smile, "But it doesn't matter, once the Immortals leave, I can do it again, let the Deceit Buddha help me resurrect my family members."

"Heh, wishful thinking."

The Deceit Buddha sneered, "I've already been cut off from any opportunity with you, and you still think about joking around with me. After this matter is over, we'll meet again if fate allows."

"..."

With a face full of confusion, Fat Long gazed vacantly into the distance for a long time before muttering, "What a mess, let me sort this out."

"First, there are three groups in the Li Family: the evil spirits, Deceit Buddha, and the Li Family Master, right?"

"And the Li Family Master knew about all this but wanted to deceive himself, so he sealed his family members and continued to live with a bunch of family members who were possessed by evil spirits, in order to enjoy the happiness of family life, right?"

"And you, Deceit Buddha, your role in this was to make a fair exchange, right?"

"Exactly!"

The Deceit Buddha nodded earnestly, "So do I count as an Evil Demon?"

"But you ate human flesh."

"What are you talking about, don't you Human Race also eat members of the Devil Clan, of the Dragon Clan? I'm not part of the Human Race, what's wrong with me eating human flesh? Besides, I didn't eat it, human flesh is sour, who would like that stuff."

"Then what did you do with all that blood and flesh?"

"Hey, hey, hey, what you're saying... Everything in the world needs to abide by the basic rules of Heavenly Dao, okay? Do you think manufacturing those bodies can just happen out of thin air? Of course, it requires certain raw materials, alright?!"

"I used his blood and flesh for his own business, is there a problem?!"

"So what species are you from?"

"I'm an Evil Demon."

"..."

"..."

Fat Long and the scholars all look on in silent expressionlessness.

"I need to clarify something."

The Deceit Buddha raised his left palm and spoke seriously, "Evil Demon is my identity, my profession, my species, like the Human Race, it's a neutral term, but 'Evil Demon' in your Human Race's words carries a lot of negative connotations, there's a big difference."

"It's like night and day."

"In the Evil Demon clan, there are good ones and bad ones, just like there's a clan called the 'Holy Spirit Clan'. Does it mean everyone in that clan is a Saint? Among the Evil Demons, I'm not one of the good ones, nor one of the bad ones, but I absolutely abide by the rules, I adhere to fair exchange."

"Of course, Evil Demon is just a temporary identity for me."

"If fate allows us to meet again in the future, perhaps you'll have to respectfully address me as Evil God."

Speaking of this.

The Deceit Buddha hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a hoarse voice, "You might not understand, but it's not a big deal to share this, it's an open secret anyway. To reach the highest point, one must set a rule for oneself and then continuously adhere to that rule."

"Only by relying on that rule can one reach the highest point smoothly!"

"And each rule can only allow one person to ascend to the highest point."

"This path is a single-plank bridge, in the high tiers of the Immortal Realm, two people who follow the same rule are eternal adversaries who won't stop until one of them is dead."

"And my rule is... fair exchange."

"So don't use words like evil or good to describe me unless I'm dead, I will never break this rule, for breaking it would be like... cutting oneself off from the Immortal Ascension Road."