Stranger Danger

Ye Qing, Wang Yang and Yang Xuan’s eyes bugged out when they heard this. A Spirit Master stage martial art was the key to becoming a Spirit Master. Why was Wang Luori stuck at the threshold of half-step Spirit Master stage for over a decade? It was because Sunset Hill didn’t have a Spirit Master stage martial art anymore. Or rather, they used to have them until they lost it for one reason or another.

This meant that Sunset Hill, one of the three most powerful factions in Luo Shui, didn’t have a single Spirit Master. It was also why White Horse Academy and Blood Shadow Castle were considered superior to Sunset Hill; because both factions were helmed by Spirit Masters. It was embarrassing for Sunset Hill to say the least.

To own even one Spirit Master martial art was like owning a ladder that would take you to the heavens. Mind you, there was no such thing as a shortcut to hard work, but if you did put in the work, then there was definitely a chance you might become a Spirit Master.

As for the Dragon Tiger Marrow Purifying Pill, it was no less valuable than a Spirit Master martial art. Humans ate the Five Grains [1] and made contact with impurities on a daily basis. Therefore, their body was naturally murky like muddy water. It was what people called a “nurtured body”. A “natural body” was a pure body that was free of taint and naturally compatible with the Ways like a stream of sweet spring water.

The Dragon Tiger Marrow Purifying Pill could eliminate one’s impurities, restore one’s primal state, and return their nurtured body to a natural body. To give an example, a weak idiot who ate a Dragon Tiger Marrow Purifying Pill would still be an idiot, but they would gain extraordinary talent in martial arts.

Metaphorically speaking, the Dragon Tiger Marrow Purifying Pill was like a wind blowing underneath you and supporting your weight as you scaled the ladder that led to the heavens. In other words, the pill was the perfect complement for the martial art. So long as the practitioner didn’t commit suicide, they should have no problems becoming a Spirit Master whatsoever.

Wang Yang and Yang Xuan were so excited that their eyes were bloodshot. They would have rushed the monk already if their last thread of reason wasn’t holding them back.

As for Ye Qing, hah! He was neither naive nor blind to the reality of the situation. Even if this temple was a perfectly normal temple, there was a saying called, “There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.” He would not have believed the monk’s claim easily.

There were only two types of people in this world who would offer free lunch. The first type was the people who raised you, and the second type was the people who were scheming against you. Obviously, the monk couldn’t be the first type.

It was at this moment the monk continued, “The Thousand Buddhas Temple might be no more, but this poor monk doesn\'t wish our legacy to be forever buried as well.”

“Since the three of you are destined with my Buddha, I shall teach each of you one of our Thirty Six Arts and bestow you a Dragon Tiger Marrow Purifying Pill. In return, I ask you to bear mercy in your hearts, defeat evil, and deliver all living from suffering.”

“Amitabha…”

The monk pressed his hands together in a prayer and chanted the name of the Buddha once more. Buddhist mantras filled the ears, and golden lotuses sprouted from the floor, giving him a sacred and dignified appearance.

“Thank you, Venerable Bhante!” Both Wang Yang and Yang Xuan exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

“The Buddha is merciful, is all. Please, come closer!” The monk beckoned them smilingly.

Wang Yang and Yang Xuan’s minds were completely dominated by their desire for a Spirit Master stage martial art and the Dragon Tiger Marrow Purifying Pill, so they didn’t hesitate to stride toward the monk as quickly as they could.

Yang Xuan was just an idiot, but Wang Yang shouldn’t have lowered his guard so that he never even considered the possibility that the monk might be lying to him. However, his acquaintance had told him that there was no danger in the Thousand Buddhas Temple, and the monk had used his strange ability to dismantle all of his caution and wariness like a gentle breeze. As a result, he was completely unguarded right now.

Ye Qing followed behind the duo as he slowly mustered his spirit. He might not be strong enough to pierce the veil from a distance, but up close was a different story. He wanted to know exactly what kind of Stranger the monk was, and more importantly, escape at first notice if the danger turned out to be beyond even his ability to overcome.

As he slowly got close to the monk, his appearance and the hall itself slowly took a different appearance. The golden light was replaced by infinite darkness and gloom, and he could vaguely see the true face of the temple. The floor and the building itself was made from countless corpses, and every single one of them was facing outward. Their expressions were hateful, and their mouths were agape and leaking blood.

The Buddha statue inside the temple was real, but instead of gold it was pitch black in color. Its body was covered in evil and twisted patterns, and its face was contorted into a nefarious, savage, and unsettling smile. It was weeping blood from both of its eyes, and they steamed when they dripped down its cheeks and landed on its left hand.

Speaking of the Buddha’s left hand, its palm was facing upward and carrying countless tortured souls. Their agonized wails added to the ambience of this hellish place to say the least. Its right hand was facing downward, and beneath it were countless humans and other living creatures, all kneeling on the floor and kowtowing to the Buddha statue in fear.

On one hand, thousands of ghosts were submitting to the Buddha’s will, and on the other hand, thousands of living creatures were kowtowing to it in submission.

It was both the Demon and the Buddha!

It was a given, but the monk beneath the Buddha statue looked different as well. Previously, the monk looked handsome and almost out of the world. Now, all Ye Qing saw was a man so skinny he resembled a withered corpse.

The corpse’s expression looked peaceful, but one of his eyes was tightly shut, while the other one was wide open and pitch black. The blackness in his eyes flickered like a tiny demonic flame and emitted a twisted, unsettling light. It was also overflowing with darkness, madness, and violence.

Logically, anyone would want to look away from the eye immediately, but it possessed some sort of bewitching power that made his victims want to sink into the darkness permanently.

Strangely, the corpse’s torso was rightly wrapped in chains. His limbs were chained up as well. However, most of Ye Qing’s attention were drawn to the seven people kneeling in front of the withered corpse; the seven people he couldn’t see until he had gotten close. Since they were all dressed like scholars, Ye Qing reckoned that they came from White Horse Academy. In fact, he was willing to bet they were Cheng Youlan and her companions’ escorts and fellow disciples.

All seven people had been disemboweled, and their internal organs such as their heart, lungs, liver and more were nowhere to be seen. And yet, they were somehow still alive and staring reverently at the withered corpse.

It was also worth noting that the corpse was clutching a heart in his hand, bright red blood dripping between his fingers.

“Gulp…” Ye Qing couldn’t resist a chill as he gulped. If it wasn’t clear enough before, it was clear now that the corpse in front of him was the origin of all the strangeness inside the Thousand Buddhas Temple.

Suddenly, every hair on Ye Qing’s body stood on end. He felt as if some great, unspeakable terror was about to happen. When he looked up, he saw the withered corpse tilting his head, opening his closed eye, and staring straight at him.

Boom!

At that moment, His scalp turned numb, and his blood froze in its veins. He felt like he was struck by lightning as infinite terror and darkness suddenly seized his very being. All kinds of horrifying images such as a mountain of corpses, a sea of blood, vengeful spirits, tortured souls and more poured into his head and attempted to corrupt, no, wipe out his mind.

Ye Qing’s mind wavered, and his consciousness faded in and out like a light bulb. Before he knew it, he was stepping toward the withered corpse uncontrollably.

He had just taken two steps when suddenly, the Annon Sutra injected a chill into his mind. Ye Qing immediately regained a sliver of awareness, realized what was about to happen, and visualized the “Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method” immediately. Golden bright filled his head, and all of the terror and taint were immediately washed away like dust.

That wasn’t all. As Ye Qing’s spirit was powerful, Emperor Fuxi’s dharma manifested in real life and shone its purifying rays on everything like a blue sun. The yin qi in the temple immediately started melting like snow, the faces on the walls and the floor began screaming on top of their lungs, and the darkness, taint, and horror of the Thousand Buddhas Temple was finally laid bare.

Wang Yang and Yang Xuan were right in front of the withered corpse when suddenly, they snapped back to reality and saw the truth with their own eyes.

“Uwaaaaaaah! What the hell is this!?” Yang Xuan’s eyes bugged out as he screamed like a bitch.

Wang Yang’s expression was not much different from his. He was stunned and angry because his dream had shattered in the worst way imaginable, but by far the biggest emotion that currently gripped him was fear. Pure, unadulterated fear.

It was at this moment the demonic flame in the withered corpse’s eyes flared. His mouth wasn’t moving, but an eerie, mind-shaking chuckle escaped through his lips as he made a grab for Wang Yang.

Wang Yang subconsciously tried to back off, but the White Horse Academy disciples on the floor abruptly spun around and grabbed his legs with all their might.

At the same time, a couple of arms stretched out of the floor and caught his ankles as well.

“Fuck!”

The short delay was all it took for the withered corpse’s hand to hang over Wang Yang’s head like a massive, demonic claw.

But Wang Yang wasn’t out of ideas yet. Ruthlessness flickered behind his eyes as he grabbed Yang Xuan’s arm—the Astral Refiner still hadn’t recovered from his shock yet—and pulled him in front of him.

“Senior brother, you—no!”

It was too late by the time Yang Xuan snapped out of it. The withered corpse had already grabbed his head. His angry shout was abruptly cut short, and his scalp suddenly split apart and landed on both sides of his feet. The Astral Refiner let out a dying wheeze as blood poured out of his body not unlike how Ye Qing usually ripped the blood of his foes out of their bodies. He was covered in blood in just the blink of an eye.

While this was going on, Wang Yang unleashed his White Flame of Nothingness and incinerated the hands and bodies clinging to his legs. Then, he jumped away from the withered corpse.

“Who on earth are you?”

Wang Yang would have to be an absolute retard if he still didn’t realize that he had been tricked after seeing the sea of corpses around him and hearing the wails of countless tortured souls. The so-called opportunity-of-a-lifetime was just something the withered corpse made up. He must have taken control of his victims’ bodies and used them to spread rumors to lure people like him to their deaths.

Some people might think that a simple rumor couldn’t possibly draw so many people to their deaths like moths to flames, but those people must live in a greenhouse. Countles warriors were spilling rivers of blood over some random rumor and uncertain opportunity everyday.

It wasn’t like the withered corpse was spreading rumors blindly either. He had specifically chosen distant counties and villages because it was safer, and targeted jianghu wanderers or members of insignificant sects to be his rumormonger because people like them died or went missing by the droves every day. Their deaths wouldn’t concern the administrative division or the Pacification Bureau one bit [2].

Therefore, this Stranger must be an intelligent-type Stranger. It was one of the most ruthless Strangers both Ye Qing and Wang Yang had ever met as well.

“I already told you, didn’t I? This poor monk is Jing Hui, kekeke. Since the Buddha has brought us together, why don’t you stay with me a little longer, benefactors?”

When the withered corpse let out an eerie cackle, every corpse within the structure began struggling to their feet. The very ground beneath their feet began undulating as countless arms reached toward Wang Yang. They looked like wheats swaying to the wind, except there was nothing pleasant or relaxing about their appearance whatsoever.

1. soybeans (菽), wheat (麥), proso millet/broomcorn (黍), foxtail millet (稷) and rice (稻). ☜

2. Life is cheap and untrackable in the ancient times, truly. ☜