Stranger Danger

Wang Yang sneered indifferently, “I mean what I said. To tell you the truth, there’s a certain item in this Thousand Buddhas Temple that I must have. If you obey my orders and help me obtain it, I can consider leaving you alive or even grant you an opportunity. I can convince my dad to make you a disciple and elevate you to the heavens.”

“But if you disagree, then I will do what needs to be done. One thing for certain, I guarantee that you will wish that you were dead.”

“You…” Ye Qing’s face contorted with anger and disbelief.

Wang Yang scoffed, “What? Are you thinking of attacking me? Do you seriously think you even deserve to be my opponent?”

Ye Qing’s eyes turned bloodshot, and veins popped all across his arms. There was hesitation, anger, and fear in his eyes. In the end though, it all morphed into helplessness and despair as he said, “Very well, Brother Wang. You better remember your promise.”

“Relax. I always keep my word. You won’t regret trusting me,” Wang Yang smiled arrogantly. He knew Ye Qing would accept; that he had no other choice but to accept. “Now, please take the lead.”

Ye Qing: “...” If I wasn’t faking it, I would regret trusting you this instant.

In the end, Ye Qing obeyed the order and took the lead. He was here anyway, so he might as well head inside and find out exactly what had Wang Yang so enamored. Frankly, he was quite curious himself.

Also, it really didn’t matter if he took the lead, the center or the rear, because he was strong enough to punt Wang Yang and Yang Xuan to the front if necessary. They thought he was their meat shield, but it was really the other way around.

And so Ye Qing forced down his disgust and carefully stepped on the road of corpses. It felt soft and slimy like he was stepping on a quagmire. He wanted to be anywhere but here.

Strangely, the corpses abruptly spun around and glared at them as soon as they stepped on the road. Every single one of them. Face facing upward, they glared daggers at the trio who were stepping on them or about to with hatred, greed, and anger.

“This road is surprisingly soft. Even the statues are soft,” Yang Xuan suddenly said behind Ye Qing. He turned around and saw Yang Xuan stomping the ground twice and touching the Buddha statue beside him curiously. He did not notice that he was stomping on a corpse’s face, and the corpse’s mouth split open as if it was going to bite Yang Xuan’s arm in half.

As for the Buddhist statue he was caressing, it was really three bodies twisted into a fleshy ribbon. Even their heads were pressed together so that only a small half of their faces were exposed. As Yang Xuan continued to caress the statue, chunks of rotten flesh fell off the corpses’ faces and bodies. Ye Qing even saw an eyeball falling out of the face.

Ye Qing: “...”

You are the definition of ignorance is bliss, brother. I didn’t even dare to step on their heads precisely because I’m scared they would give me a bite. If only you know how hard you’re tempting fate…

Luckily, the corpses ultimately didn’t attack them. After they passed through the road of corpses, they were greeted by a fantastical scene. There were small bridges with small, clear streams passing under them, beautiful pavilions and sumptuous decorations, solid stupas and magnificent towers; gold, jewelry, auspicious beasts and precious plants and more.

What was amazing was that it didn’t look extravagant or wasteful at all. It just looked calm and tranquil like a true paradise.

“Is… Is this place really a Kingdom of Buddha?”

Both Yang Xuan and Wang Yang were absolutely stunned by the sight before their eyes.

Oh, you sweet summer children, Ye Qing side-eyed the bewildered duo and shook his head in secret. A Kingdom of Buddha? No, it was still hell.

The bridge was sewn from countless tongues.

The crystalline streams were really streams of bright red, stinky blood. Countless bloated, pale white corpses were floating on it as well. The yin souls’ screams were neverending.

The buildings were buildings, but they were forged from flesh and blood instead of stone and mortar. Tentacles and faces covered the entire structure.

The gold and jewelry were really rotten heads, hearts, and various internal organs, whereas the flora and fauna were rotten limbs.

To sum it up, the sight was absolutely disgusting, but if he didn’t keep an eye on it, then he would be overcome with worry.

Thankfully, the strange things were harmless for now. For whatever reason, they weren’t attacking them yet.

And so they crossed over the tongue-sewn bridges, passed by the flesh-and-blood buildings, stepped over the broken limbs and rotten heads, and ventured deeper still into Thousand Buddhas Temple.

On a related note, Wang Yang and Yang Xuan couldn’t help but pick up some of the “treasures” and stuff them into their Nature’s Shell while they were passing through the area. It was… an eye-opening experience for Ye Qing to say the least.

As they were doing this, they even eyed Ye Qing warily as if afraid that Ye Qing would want a share of their loot.

“Har har…”

Ye Qing wisely stepped aside and allowed them to do as they pleased. Why on earth would he want to snatch heads, limbs, and hearts with them? He wasn’t addled! And thank goodness Wang Yang and Yang Xuan hadn’t suddenly discovered their conscience and invited him to join in, because it would have been really hard to say “FUCK NO!” without arousing any suspicion.

After Wang Yang and Yang Xuan were done picking up their “treasures”, they continued forward until they reached a gilt-gold statue of a Buddha. Tall, majestic, and sacred, it was holding a vitarka mudra and smiling kindly at the world.

Seated in front of the statue was a white-robed monk. He had graceful features that made him look gentle and wise. His robe was immaculately clean, and he was sitting atop a golden lotus while holding the virtarka mudra with one hand and the absolute mudra with the other. He was the picture of a sagely monk who had attained great wisdom and mercy. Their first impression of him was excellent to say the least.

“Attachment, aversion, ignorance, pride, the Seven Emotions and the Six Desires are all sins of a human. Since you managed to endure the Wind of Five Poisons without losing your mind, the Wind of Six Desires without losing your body, and the Winds of Seven Emotions and still retain your heart, you are all men of great wisdom and mercy. You all share a destiny with my Buddha.”

“Amitabha…”

As soon as he chanted the word, their shock, doubt, fear, anger and all other negative emotions were soothed until all that was left was purity and calm.

Oh man, this monk’s quite powerful, Ye Qing thought to himself while sucking in a deep breath. Thank goodness he had shielded his mind with spiritual power as soon as he saw the monk, or that single word might’ve been enough to sway him to whatever mumbo jumbo he was spouting.

What really stunned Ye qing, however, was that he was unable to sense any evil presence from the white monk whatsoever, much less see through the illusions like everything he had witnessed earlier.

In his eyes, the monk was exactly who he appeared to be: clean like he was fresh out of a bath and awe-inspiring like no one he had ever seen. The massive Buddha behind his back was also shining gold as if to say that this monk was a true enlightened monk.

Had he not seen the road of corpses, the tongue-sewn bridges, the flesh-and-blood pavilions, and the broken limbs masquerading as celestial plants and animals, he might actually have believed that the monk before him was an enlightened monk.

But he had witnessed hell with his own eyes, and he knew in his heart that there was no Kingdom of Buddha here. And if he wasn’t mistaken, the white monk before him was the culprit behind it all.

“Venerable Bhante [1]. It is nice to see you. May we know your name?” Wang Yang and Yang Xuan saluted him and asked.

“Amitabha. I am Jing Hu,” the monk answered, “though I am not a human. I am the temple spirit of the Thousand Buddhas Temple.”

“Temple spirit?” Wang Yang and Yang Xuan were just wondering how it was possible for someone to survive to this day when the Thousand Buddhas Temple had been destroyed for over a century, but this dispelled their doubts immediately.

The monk explained, “Everything is impermanent. A hundred years ago, Thousand Buddhas Temple was struck by a terrible calamity and sunk into the underground. Most of our temples were destroyed, but not the Thousand Buddhas Temple. It was why I was able to survive.”

“However, my fate is no less tragic than my fellow monks. As the temple spirit, I am immortal as long as the temple remains standing, but I am also unable to take a single step away from my place of power. For a hundred years, I have spent my time in solitude until the three of you show up. This poor monk is most honored to meet you all.”

“All meetings are destinies in their own right. Since you have overcome the trial of the three divine winds, it means that you share a destiny with my Buddha. Therefore, I shall grant you all an opportunity.”

The monk’s voice was calm and gentle, and yet every single one of them felt a flash of greed then.

“An opportunity, you say?” Wang Yang licked his lips. That was exactly why he was here, wasn’t it?

He had come by the news that a great opportunity lay in the depths of the Thousand Buddhas Grotto completely by accident. As of late, there were rumors in the counties and villages around Luo Shui claiming that some people had accidentally entered the depths of Thousand Buddhas Grotto and stumbled upon the opportunity of a lifetime. They had suddenly grown by leaps and bounds and became geniuses that astounded the world.

At first, he thought it was all rumors and paid it no heed, but during an excursion, he happened upon a familiar face. He was a Vessel Augmentor, but just a month ago, he was still a Qi Invoker.

So, he interrogated the guy until he finally divulged his secret. As it turned out, the rumors regarding the Thousand Buddhas Grotto were real after all.

The guy swore that the Thousand Buddhas Temple was a perfectly safe place, but just in case, he still brought some disciples and a bunch of fodder. He was starting to think that he was being overcautious.

It didn’t matter though. He could simply take out the extras when they left the place later.

It was at this moment the monk asked, “Do you know what my temple used to be, benefactors [2]?”

Wang Yang shook his head. Eager he might be, he wasn’t so eager he couldn’t keep his cool. “We don’t know. Please enlighten us, Venerable Bhante.”

The monk smiled. “The Thousand Buddhas Temple used to be a place of knowledge. All disciples who managed to overcome the trial of three divine winds and gain an imperishable soul, an unbreakable body, and an unwavering heart would be awarded with our Thirty Six Arts and a Dragon Tiger Marrow Purifying Pill.”

“Each and every one of our Thirty Six Arts is a Spirit Master stage martial art, and the Dragon Tiger Marrow Purifying Pill is a pill that can unlock more meridians, purify one’s marrow, solidify one’s fundamentals, enhance one’s growth, strengthen the body, and improve one’s talent. Upon consumption, it can restore one’s primal state and revert a nurtured body to a natural body. Naturally, this greatly enhances one’s gift for martial arts.”

“You may see why the Thirty Six Arts and the Dragon Tiger Marrow Purifying Pill were considered priceless treasures in our temple.”

1. the proper way to greet a monk respectfully. ☜

2. this is specific to monks and should not be confused with the usual benefactor. ☜