Stranger Danger

Chapter 311: Namo Maratabha

Gu Suitang launched a punch at the ground in front of him like he was cutting off a river. At the same time, his astral qi hardened into solid walls that prevented Lu Fanjiang, Du Yuanhu and Bai Xinran’s attacks from reaching him.

His fist moved an inch forward, and the energies attacking him immediately surged back to their owners with the force of a raging tide.

All three attackers groaned in pain as they were treated to a taste of their own medicine. But before they could respond, Gu Suitang grabbed the edges of the pocket world around him and literally ripped it into shreds.

The roving dragon that was the core of the pocket world tried to escape, but Gu Suitang was too big and fast for it. Casually, he caught the dragon’s tail, pulled it close, and crumpled it into a ball.

“Pwack!”

The damage to his Yin God caused Bai Xinran to throw up a mouthful of fresh blood. He staggered away from Gu Suitang as his face turned as pale as a ghost.

Not done yet, Gu Suitang unleashed a Break Through straight at Lu Fanjiang. In response, Lu Fanjiang launched a series of palm strikes at the same time his River Crossing Dragon Koi summoned a bunch of blue waves.

Each palm strike and tidal wave was stronger than the last, and nine consecutive palm strikes later, the waves looked big and tall enough to flood the Sunset Hill itself. An endless river was suspended high, high up in the sky, and a gigantic koi was swimming proudly at the peak.[1] It looked threatening to say the least.

“The Palm That Crossing Rivers and Seas”

Gu Suitang’s fist force was able to punch through several waves, but they just kept coming without end. In fact, the heart of Lu Fanjiang’s “The Palm That Crossing Rivers and Seas” lay not in its towering stature, but its endless quality. Like a tide, the waves were endless so long as the ocean still existed.

On the opposite side, Du Yuanwu’s saber intent rippled out like a shockwave as he brought down his saber. Everything in the saber force’s path—wind, dust, and even space itself—was cut in half. It was an attack that could cut the heavens, cut the earth, cut a soul and a life.

“Art of Life Cutting: To Cut A Life”

Gu Suitang was caught in a deadly pincer attack of two Spirit Masters, but he didn’t seem to be aware of the fact. Growling, he slammed his foot against the floor—the ground sinking a few inches lower as a result—and gathered so much strength that his arm grew a size bigger. Then, he thrust his fist forward an inch.

This time, his fist was able to punch through the ceaseless waves. It slammed squarely against Lu Fanjiang’s chest, broke his bones, and caused bits of his internal organs to spray out of his mouth. The man shot backward like a cannonball until he crashed into a wall.

Gu Suitang managed to overcome Lu Fanjiang, but he was too late to block Du Yuanwu’s “To Cut A Life”. As a result, the sabersman was able to score a deep wound that stretched from his left shoulder all the way to his right waist.

No blood flowed from the wound, however. There were only wiggling muscles.

Gu Suitang trembled from the impact, but he spun around with impossible speed and smashed his arm into Du Yuanwu’s body like he was swinging a whip. The sabersman’s right shoulder broke just like that, and there was enough force to send him slamming into a nearby pillar[2]. Such was the impact that entire chunks of the pillar were blown away.

“Hahaha! Spirit Master or not, small fries will always be small fries!” Gu Suitang let out a bark of laughter and channeled his vigor. The horrific wound behind his back immediately started healing at a slow pace.

Gu Suitang’s Yin God was merged with his physical body as he was a body-tempering warrior. As a result, he was unable to conjure a massive tidal wave like Lu Fanjiang or an all-cutting saber like Du Yuanwu. But in exchange, he gained an immense amount of vigor and impossible strength. There was theoretically nothing he couldn’t break with his fists so long as his opponent’s cultivation level didn’t overwhelmingly exceed his.

“Xinhu, Brother Jiang! What’s taking you so long?” Bai Xinran shouted. He was stunned how Gu Suitang was able to overcome and injure all three of them in a single exchange. Deciding that their chances of defeating him by themselves weren’t good, he instinctively looked to Bai Xinhu and Jiang Huanjian for assistance. If the duo could capture Fang Xiaoman, then they would be able to use him as a hostage.

Fang Xiaoman had taken a huge blow from their master. While the Pacification Bureau wasn’t lacking in miraculous medicine and expert doctors, there was no way the Chief of Bureau could recover in just a few days, not to mention that their master assured them that his wounds couldn’t be healed.

Logically speaking, Bai Xinhu and Jiang Huanjian should’ve captured Fang Xiaoman already. In reality, they were still locked in a struggle for dominance.

As this was Sunset Hill, Wang Luori had of course arranged for some reinforcements. Bai Xinhu and Jiang Huanjian were doing battle with Fang Xiaoman, while Wang Luori’s three disciples—his first disciple Lu Yuan, his second disciple Bai Song, and his third disciple Xu Wushang—were tackling Ye Qing.

The Chief of Bureau and the Patrolman were outnumbered five to two, but it was the group of five who were at a disadvantage. If Fang Xiaoman was going about even with Bai Xinhu and Jiang Huanjian because of his injuries, then Ye Qing was absolutely crushing his opponents.

Wang Luori was a terrible man, but he had pretty good luck with his disciples. His first disciple, Lu Yuan was a Half-Step Spirit Purifier and a fist practitioner. His style was aggressive and oppressive, and he had the personality to match it. They called him the “Killer Fist”.

His second disciple, Bai Song was a late-stage Astral Refiner whose personality was the complete opposite of Lu Yuan’s. Humble, polite and mild-tempered, he once passed the imperial examination with flying colors and became a licentiate. He was called the “Silver Flute” because it was his signature weapon.

His third disciple, Xu Wushang needed no introduction. Nicknamed the “Little Sword King”, he was the wooden, unsociable swordsman who had tried to intercept Ye Qing when he first arrived at Luo Shui.

Together with the dead Wang Yang and Xiao Yang, the five of them were known as the Five Heroes of Sunset Hill. Each and every one of them was a genius who possessed the talent to become a Spirit Master in the future, if not better.

Right now though, the trio was like helpless chicks before Ye Qing. Bai Song had taken a punch to the chest and was currently lying face down on the floor. Only the heavens knew if he was still alive. Xu Wushang had taken a Lightning Bolt to the shoulder and was barely breathing. Lu Yuan was the only one who was still standing, but that was literally all he could do as Ye Qing battered against his defenses. His pride and joy, the “Killer Fist” couldn’t even tickle Ye Qing’s protective astral qi, and he looked like he was seconds away from following in Bai Song and Xu Wushang’s footsteps.

Bai Xinran was surprised, to be honest. He knew that Ye Qing had left the Demon’s Tomb as a Spirit Purifier, but that was like two days ago. Even considering the gulf between cultivation levels, he was sure that the young man couldn’t have grown too strong.

Reality proved him wrong, however. In fact, Ye Qing was like a whole new person after ascending to the early-stage of the Spirit Purification Realm. In fact, he looked like he could go toe-to-toe against his younger brother, Bai Xinhu, a late-stage Spirit Purifier.

“You’re stubborn to the very end, old mule! In that case, you shall experience my master’s power firsthand!”

It was at this moment Wang Luori let out a low growl. His eyes slowly turned pitch black, and dark, demonic rays of light shone out of his person, evil and disturbing. Paradoxically, Wang Luori was wearing a pitying, Buddha-like smile on his face like he was pitying all who was suffering in the mortal coil.

“The mortal coil is a sea of suffering, and the world of mortals a filthy place. The only way to break free from the pain is to worship the Mara Buddha! Namo Marakaruna[3]!”

“Namo Marakaruna!”

“Namo Marakaruna!”

“Namo Marakaruna!”

Bai Xinran, Lu Fanjiang and Du Yuanwu all repeated the chant. They too wore a merciful smile on their faces and began emitting a demonic glow. A low, almost imperceptible Buddhist mantra began chanting from somewhere.

Basking in the light of the Mara Buddha, the trio began healing from their wounds and growing stronger. The light also seemed to strip them of their fear and drove them to attack Gu Suitang with reckless abandon.

Gu Suitang was never afraid of a good challenge. He clashed head on with the four Spirit Masters.

Before the demonic light and Buddhist chanting had appeared, the four Spirit Masters were like children before Gu Suitang. Now, they were unimaginably stronger. As if that wasn’t enough, Gu Suitang quickly noticed that demonic light and the Buddhist chant possessed the ability to disrupt one’s energies and mind. For a time, they were locked in a stalemate.

Wind blew, forces exploded, and rocks flew all over the place. What was a grandiose, magnificent-looking hall a while ago was now a shadow of itself. The pillars were broken, some sections of the walls were completely missing, and every combatant was covered in horrific wounds.

Wang Luori’s neck spun a hundred and eighty degrees to the back, half of Lu Fanjiang’s body was pulverized, both of Du Yuanwu’s legs were broken, and Bai Xinran’s heart was literally gouged out of his chest.

In the end, Gu Suitang was able to overcome all odds and come out victorious, but not without a huge cost. Practically every part of his body was covered in wounds so deep you could see his internal organs. He looked like a blood-soaked popsicle to put it mildly, and it was a testament to his resilience that his guts hadn’t spilled out of his stomach. His right arm was spun round and round like mahua[4], and his left elbow all the way up to his hand was completely missing its flesh.

This particular injury was caused by Du Yuanhu’s “Art of Filleting”. The sabersman’s signature martial art was the “Art of Life Cutting”, but that didn’t mean it was the only martial art he knew. The “Art of Filleting” was the cruelest and inhuman saber art he practiced. The good news was, he would never practice it again.

“Hahaha... trash, all of you! You can’t defeat me even after your dog fart of a master gave you powers you don’t deserve! What a waste of time you are!”

Gu Suitang grabbed his right hand with his bony left hand and forcefully twisted his right arm back to normal. One would think that he was just turning a screw as his face showed no signs of pain whatsoever. There was only unlimited arrogance and scorn for his enemies.

On the other side, Ye Qing was defending Fang Xiaoman from Bai Xinhu and Jiang Huanjian’s attacks. Fang Xiaoman had long since run out of stamina and was currently doing his best to recover his energy, while the three Sunset Hill disciples were lying on the ground, unmoving. It was impossible to say if they were alive or dead.

Logically, Ye Qing should’ve succumbed to the two late-stage Spirit Purifiers a long time ago. In reality, Bai Xinhu and Jiang Huanjian found him harder to crack than even a fucking tortoise. Although he was only an early-stage Spirit Purifier, his astral qi was immense, his movement art was sublime, his body was strong, and even his spirit was outstanding. He literally didn’t have a single weak point they could exploit.

As if that wasn’t enough, they would sometimes fall into a trance and experience all sorts of hallucinations. If they weren’t long-time veterans with a galore of combat experience, Ye Qing might have defeated them already! An early-stage Spirit Purifier!

But of course, Ye Qing couldn’t trounce them like he had with the three Sunset Hill disciples either. In fact, he couldn’t have held on for this long if it wasn’t for the “Heavenly Demon Captures The Soul”. There was no denying that he was at a disadvantage right now.

Having crippled[5] all of his opponents, Gu Suitang finally found the window to lend Ye Qing and Fang Xiaoman a hand. It was at this moment a silhouette appeared behind Ye Qing and reached out to tap his head.

Ye Qing’s demonic thought pulsed fiercely and warned him of the danger. He immediately gathered his astral qi and formed a solid wall around him. However, the unknown intruder’s finger pierced through his defense like paper and made direct contact with the back of his head. He even heard the intruder chuckling, “You’re the thief who stole my Strange Artifact.”

On the outside, it looked like the intruder’s attack was weak and powerless. In reality, a storm was raging inside his headspace. Unholy chants both demonic and Buddhist came together to form the word “Mara Buddha”, and it corrupted every inch of headspace in a traceless but unstoppable fashion. His eyes immediately turned murky and out of focus.

The intruder ignored Ye Qing after incapacitating him. He then grabbed Fang Xiaoman’s skull with his right hand and smiled at Gu Suitang. “Benefactor Gu, there are many people in this world who are drowning in the sea of suffering because they are foolish and clings to attachments. You are one of them. If you don’t worship this poor monk, then you may never break free from the mortal coil.”

“Namo Marakaruna...”

1. Let’s just pretend the author wrote that they busted their way out of the hall while fighting, or that this is an open hall, or that this is a SUPER high hall. ?

2. Looks like they’re still in the hall. Looks like it’s the most impossible answer of them all, a super high or open hall that might as well be a stadium. I swear, they never make it easy to translate... ?

3. Meaning the Mara Buddha is merciful. ?

4. A kind of swirly doughnut, so you can just imagine how bad his arm. ?

5. Yep! They’re still alive. ?