Chapter 51: Shadow Storage, Eggplant World Salvation
Released the [Tiger Demon] form, 1.89m Yuan Zhu wearing a pitch-black racing suit, stepped back onto the cobblestone path. The tiger evil aura had not yet dissipated.
Looking up at the sky, the stars twinkled. His right hand’s tiger mouth locked the throat of a Golden Bodhisattva, half-dragging it along the ground, looking ferocious and domineering, like holding a single-footed golden figure ready to fight someone.
As he stepped forward, the sleeve wrapping his right arm wriggled restlessly, splitting into pitch-black threads that spread and crawled across the clothes’ surface, extending downward, climbing along the glove onto the Bodhisattva statue, gathering more and more.
They first intertwined into strands, using brute force to bend and press all eight arms of the Bodhisattva—whether raised high or lifted—tight against its body, standing at attention! Then they extended like plastic wrap, layer by layer packaging the Bodhisattva statue, wrapping it into a blurry black cylinder.
Game Sprite came online synchronously: “Boss, perhaps I can add a portable personal storage space to your human form?”
Yuan Zhu paused, his tone full of distrust: “You have that ability?”
“I don’t, but you do. The principle is simple too: using the uniform’s shadow manipulation ability, stuff the Buddha statue already packaged by ‘shadow threads’ into your shadow for temporary storage. This bubble world’s space rules are crude, shadow apertures too easy to exploit, you can easily tuck the package into the shadow layer for carrying. But your physical body needs to bear this weight.”
Using shadow storage, bearing the Bodhisattva statue’s own weight with the physical body, yet freeing up hands and feet, like an invisible yet substantial backpack—also counts as an improvement. At least it doesn’t affect combat performance, and no need to carry it on the back as an obstruction.
He asked again: “Can this technology be applied in the real world? Storage space, every traverser’s must-have dream.”
“Never tried, but probably can’t. Moreover, shadow storage isn’t as safe or dignified as imagined. In ordinary people’s eyes, this might be profound spatial ability. But in the eyes of strong ones who can observe shadows, shadow storage is like a homeless person carrying a net bag of scraps on the street. Behind the seemingly glamorous facade, it’s turning your shadow into a net bag carried personally, bottom exposed at a glance, even stealable or directly plundered from the shadow layer. Neither confidential nor safe.”
Yuan Zhu imagined himself carrying a shadow net bag he thought others couldn’t see, stuffed full of instant noodles, snacks, toys, spoils of war, weapons. Everything exposed, yet standing there nonchalant, fighting enemies to decide victory or death—it felt inexplicably shameful.
No, too vivid an image.
“Can’t this crappy ability be improved?”
Game Sprite argued vehemently: “Carrying a net bag with real strength, what’s shameful about it? Those storage bags, mustard seed secret arts in the cultivation universe—all similar principles, illusionary techniques fooling mortals. Besides, I think your teammates currently can’t see through Boss’s foundations, so you can totally show off in front of them.”
Ignoring the Game Sprite’s incitement, Yuan Zhu tried stuffing the packaged Bodhisattva into the shadow under his feet. As shadow power spread beneath, his shadow rippled, and it was really pressed in bit by bit.
When the Bodhisattva statue disappeared, his body suddenly sank, invisible pressure enveloping his whole body, all-around no-dead-angle blessing. But the pressure at his feet contacting the ground didn’t increase; this heavy burden targeted only his own physical body, not interfering with the outside. But it seems guidable and transferable via ‘shadow manipulation’?
“Hmm? Perhaps it can be used as a fitness method.”
Game Sprite: “Once you become even stronger, this pressure will gradually fade, and you can adjust and amplify it yourself.”
Boom!
He suddenly bent his knees into a half-squat, slamming a fist heavily into the ground, cracking the stone slabs with spiderweb fissures.
This punch, Yuan Zhu only mobilized a little shadow power from the uniform, mainly to boost defense, protecting finger bones and joints. More was manipulating shadows to channel the Bodhisattva statue’s pressure into his arm, outputting it all at once—effect looked pretty good.
“This punch, 100kg of golden Buddhist Dharma blessing! How do you defend?”
“Golden Bodhisattva Fist! Actually using shadow pressure so flexibly, just like a homeless person swinging a net bag full of bricks to smash passersby, turning burden into power! Boss, your imagination in the shadow path is truly unbounded, flexible and ingenious, peerless genius!”
“Shut up!” Too shameful, even the image was visualized.
Yuan Zhu angrily stomped the ground, using uniform + Golden Bodhisattva’s shadow conduction to crack and dent the hard stone slabs, following which the fissure spread farther and farther, extending dozens of meters without stopping, intensifying instead, shaking the entire street’s ground to split, then endlessly causing buildings to collapse, sky falling earth sinking…
“Whoa, Boss is heaven-defying! Boss is awesome! This is the true golden Buddha foot technique…”
Yuan Zhu shocked his head up, cursing inwardly: “Damn! Stop the forced praise, this really wasn’t me.”
In the distance, from the plaza direction hosting the Buddhist ceremony, now only a green sky-piercing vine could be seen, under endless starlight’s pull, swaying its slender trunk unsteadily, emitting starlight illuminating internal leaf vein pipes, anti-science anti-gravity rising from the ground, swaying left and right yet steadfastly growing upward, seeming to pierce the clouds, pierce the firmament.
“……Buddha……Tomato……!”
As the sky-piercing vine rocketed toward the starry sky, above Na Ye Buddhist Kingdom also rang a grand low majestic chant. Under starlight, ahead of the vine, a ‘giant’ woven from countless starlight vines similarly rose from the ground.
Compared to the towering luminous vine, it was much shorter, only about a dozen stories tall. But contrasted to Na Ye City’s typical one- or two-story houses, still a sky-piercing giant, simply true Buddha descending.
Yuan Zhu dodged the cracking earth, uniform cuffs spraying black threads sticking to a nearby wall. Using the contraction pull’s reaction force, like Spider-Man leaping high, landing on a low wall. A few bounding leaps, easily climbing a two-story building, standing on the roof gazing afar: “Wood Style. True Several Thousand Hands. Top Buddha Transformation?!”
“No, it’s Tomato Buddha Transformation!”
Countless starlight vines rose from the ground, like blood vessels, like flesh, intertwining into half a calf, constructing bones and nerves, continuously splicing upward, weaving torso, arms, ultimately a bright red fruit-like giant Buddha head. Human features, but that full head of Buddha fleshy topknots were clearly enlarged ‘blood-red Buddha cocoons’.
Boom!
Giant Buddha pressed hands together, chanting lowly: “Namo Abbot Duowen Star Buddha Tomato!”
The original flesh flower petal head vanished, gestating a ‘blood-colored Buddha head’ indistinguishable from human. The original vine-composed body also swiftly merged into one, transforming into normal human skin tone and flesh organization.
Only at shoulders, knees, elbows, chest……etc. key joints or parts, embedded growing bright red gems. Close observation, clearly giant Buddha Tomatoes with human faces.
They each smiled serenely, expressions peaceful not eerie, making the Buddha Tomato look instead a bit like Ultraman transforming.
“Boss, this version of Abbot Duowen Buddha Tomato looks much more pleasing, majestic and dignified human-like. Except that head of ‘blood-colored Buddha cocoon topknots’ somewhat evil, overall can score 80 points, more proper than the Golden Bodhisattva we picked up!”
Game Sprite via Yuan Zhu’s view, clearly saw this version of ‘giant Buddha Tomato’. Way better than previous grotesque style, like a major villain from the land of light.
“My Buddha is merciful, this poor monk has sinned! Should not with selfish desire, demon-dye Na Ye Buddhist Kingdom, seek to fuse sentient beings into Buddha, nearly falling into demonic path. Now Abbot Duowen Buddha Tomato repents profoundly, returns from lost path, willing to mend sky fissures block earth sinking with this body. Cut off outer heaven demonic creatures’ path, suppress Yellow Springs corpse ghosts’ calamity, reshape human world order, wish humans and tomato clan harmoniously coexist, Buddhist Dharma forever prosper. [Stars Magic Net], activate!”
At this time, that huge blood-colored kesa also infinitely expanded in the air, huge fabric folds outlining skin textures, ultimately becoming a huge ferocious old monk ghost face, blocking the descending starlight: “Abbot Duowen you dog thief, you’re full of shit!”
“Namo Arujhati Venerable! Benefactor Long Yin Abbot, Abbot Duowen is dead. This poor monk is the consciousness fusion body of countless star Buddha Tomatoes inspired by Buddhist Dharma, inheriting his flesh clothes and alms bowl, [Abbot Duowen Star Buddha Tomato]! This life not for becoming Buddha, only to guard Na Ye City sentient beings’ happiness and safety.”
“Dog thief, new trick again? Wahahaha, I want you dead!”
Blood kesa blocked starlight projection, emitting mournful wailing cries, with hundreds of small kesa ghosts flying chaotically. Ultimately all swarmed toward the dozen-story-tall ‘Abbot Duowen Buddha Tomato’, wrapping it tightly.
Long Yin Abbot opened blood-basin kesa giant mouth, chomping at the Buddha Tomato flesh, countless blood-red tomato juices spraying from the sky, Buddha bathed in blood, yet face serene, unmoved.
“Benefactor Long Yin, why not quickly convert?”
Giant Buddha Tomato utterly ignored pain, spread arms wide in an embracing motion, capturing the blood kesa frenziedly gnawing on body surface. No resistance or attack, just tearing at the ‘blood kesa’ on his chest, ruthlessly stuffing into the chest wound.
Huge palms deeply pierced chest, tomato juice plasma constantly surging splashing. Like waterfall flowing, dyeing blood kesa dark red, gushing onto the ground, nourishing soil, growing more tomato vines.
Long Yin Abbot variously cursed and struggled, but all tightly held by giant Buddha Tomato, suppressed by sky full of starlight, bit by bit stuffing ‘blood kesa’ into chest wound, a desperate life-for-life suicide seal attitude.
In no time, the tomato juice Buddha blood-soaked ‘blood kesa’ grew sluggish, resistance weakening, ultimately fully stuffed into the chest by Buddha Tomato, bulging a huge lump, like ten months pregnant in chest cavity, protruding a unwilling ‘Long Yin ghost face’, just like that sealed and suppressed inside the body.
