Stranger Danger

Chapter 1163: The Buddhist Corpses Came Alive

Ye Qing smiled but said nothing.

He was telling Yi Pin the truth. He did not know that the Black Bull Who Carries Buddhas could intimidate the Strangers. The reason he sought out a bell chime was purely because that was the hint he received from the Annon Sutra: “Seek out the chime, and you shall live.”

Yep. When in doubt, consult the Annon Sutra.

When he and Jinpeng Moyun were covering the group’s retreat earlier, he had taken a moment to ask the Annon Sutra how they could leave the Myriad Buddha Plains.

The Annon Sutra had played dead in the Kunlun Ruins, but here? It punched down like a champ and gave Ye Qing one of the clearest hints he had ever received in his life: Seek out the chime, and you shall live.

There was no doubt regarding what the word “chime” meant. Anything that sounded like a bell ringing would qualify. As long as he could locate that, he would live.

That was why he kept an ear out for a bell chime on the way here.

That was also how he knew that the black bull and the Buddhist corpses were probably the key to leaving Myriad Buddha Plains.

There was no need to inform the others about this though.

Xu Kailu was the only one who remained deeply worried.

“Relax, Young Xu!”

Yi Pin was a busybody. As soon as he saw the dark worry etched on Xu Kailu’s face, he immediately tried to console the youngster. “You see them? They’re the elites of the Mara Sect. You will be safe so long as you are with them.”

“Worst case scenario, you still have us, so don’t worry, okay? Gimme a smile!”

Xu Kailu forced himself to crack a smile that was uglier than a cry. “Yes, this junior is worried over nothing.”

“Er… you can drop the smile now. You’re going to scare the others if you keep it up.” Yi Pin gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“This junior—”

Xu Kailu wanted to say something more, but a sudden chorus of laughter cut off his words. “Hahaha… I saw the Buddha Emperor! I saw the Buddha Emperor!”

Ye Qing, Yi Pin, and the others turned to look. A monk was, for whatever reason, suddenly dancing on his feet and laughing like a madman.

The next moment, fleshy tentacles burst out of his skin and caught two golden warriors sitting next to him. They were pulled into the monk’s now gaping stomach he could react and—

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

There was a curt scream that was quickly silenced by more crunches. It was bloody, gruesome, and horrifying.

The monk was overflowing with excitement even though he had just eaten his companions, however. In fact, he looked like he was relishing a delicious meal!

It was said that madness was contagious. The monk was still laughing when a couple more monks joined in on his insane laughter.

“I am enlightened! I am enlightened! Mara Buddha!”

“Hahaha… I see now, I see now. I have seen a Buddha, and now I am become a Buddha!”

“One thought leads to the blossom, and the other the Buddha. If I don’t go to hell, who will?”

……

The monk yelling that he had become a Buddha began growing many pairs of abnormal eyes from his bald head. Anyone the eye saw instantly exploded in a shower of limbs and gore.

The monk yelling that he had become a Buddha burst into flames and burned into a pile of ashes, whereas the monk who was screaming, “If I don’t go to hell, who will?” outright ripped off his own neck.

In just a scant few breaths, every single monk had gone insane for some reason. They either committed suicide or transformed into anomalous creatures that was worse than ghosts.

When the malformed monks tried to charge them, Ye Qing tapped his fingers and transformed his demonic thoughts and true qi into chains. They wrapped around the malformed monks and pinned them in place.

A frown quickly appeared on Ye Qing’s face, however.

Even when shackled, he found himself unable to stop the monks from warping further. Not only that, they were growing stronger with every bit of change.

Perhaps the scariest part was the fact that Devi Ruyi, Jinpeng Moyun and the old woman had no idea this was happening. They remained engrossed in the “Buddha Emperor Mara Heart Sutra of Deliverance and Peace” as if they couldn’t hear or feel the commotion at all.

“Interesting…”

Ye Qing lifted his eyebrows and invaded the monks’ headspace with his demonic thoughts. He would find out what had transformed these monks into aberrations himself.

The instant his demonic thoughts invaded the monks’ headspace, he was immediately greeted by a pair of humongous pupils. They were so big that they resembled the sun, and they were glowing brightly like the moon. Overflowing with power, it exuded infinite mysteries and eeriness.

One look was enough to prick Ye Qing’s eyes like needles. Worse, a terrifying stream of power was flowing into his headspace because he looked at the pupils.

“Hmph!”

Ye Qing let out a grunt, and his yang god looked down from his Paranirmita Vasavartin Heaven. Like a god, his gaze alone was enough to crush the anomalous power streaming into his headspace and even the giant pupils in the monks’ headspaces into bits.

The instant the pupils crumbled, the monks’ transformation immediately came to a halt. However, their consciousness was no more.

In short, they were dead.

“Did you kill them, brother?” Yi Pin asked in a hushed voice after Ye Qing withdrew his finger.

“It wasn’t me.”

Ye Qing shook his head. The reason the monks suddenly transformed was most likely because of the giant pupils he saw earlier. If he had to guess, they transformed probably because they were unable to withstand the pupils’ power, and their minds and bodies became corrupted as a result.

They were dead the moment they lost control and transformed into aberrations.

Buzz!

They were still speaking when a brilliant light suddenly shone from Devi Ruyi’s direction. It took the form of an eight-armed Devi wielding a snow lotus, a golden bell, a silver sword, a bronze bell, and more items. She wore a benevolent, joyous, and sympathetic expression.

She was the Mayadevi, one of the eight Bodhisattvas of the Mara Sect.

As if on cue, the Buddhist corpses’ chanting grew loud and grand. It also meant that its corruptive powers were that much stronger. The few surviving golden warriors and Xu Kailu immediately grew dazed and unfocused, and their lips began chanting an unknown Mara sutra.

“Awaken!”

With a thought, Ye Qing invaded their minds, stripped away the Buddhist sound’s influence, and protected their consciousness.

“Look!”

Maybe it was because of the Buddhist sound, or maybe it was because of Devi Ruyi. One way or another, Buddhist light began shining from Jinpeng Moyun and the old woman as well.

A Buddhist light filled the air, the silhouette of the Peng King Nirvana Great Lord appeared behind Jinpeng Moyun’s back, whereas a hermaphroditic Bodhisattva covered in dragons and snakes appeared behind the old woman. It was none other than the Twin Dragon Snake Bodhisattva.

The next moment, the Mayadevi, Peng King Nirvana Great Lord, and Twin Dragon Snake Bodhisattva clasped their hands together in prayer and faced toward the Buddhist corpses on the black bull’s back as if they were sentient, chanting.

The Buddhist chants intermingled with each other. It was a mixture of singing and yelling, and yet it sounded both melodious and solemn.

Ye Qing wondered if it was his imagination, but the Buddhist corpses seemed to be regaining their complexion under the effects of the Buddhist light and the Buddhist sounds.