Stranger Danger

Chapter 538: The Purple Sun Overwhelms Bliss

“I have my own fire. Let’s see if your lampfire is greater than my Purple Sun Trueflame!”

Ye Qing opened his mouth and exhaled a jet of purple flame. If the Lampholding Protector’s lampfire was beautiful, dreamlike, and seductive, then the Purple Sun Trueflame was powerful, ferocious, and indomitable.

As soon as the Purple Sun Trueflame appeared, it was like the morning sun was rising from the east.

The bliss Kingdom of Buddha, the celestials and the Bodhisattvas—they all burned into ash in an instant.

The nine women etched on the surface of the oil lamp immediately began screaming at the top of their lungs. The people inside the lampfire perished, and the world itself was falling apart.

The destruction was too much. Cracks appeared all over the oil lamp’s surface, and a muffled groan escaped the Lampholding Protector’s lips. Her face looked terribly pale, and bright red blood poured out of her orifices freely. The next moment, the oil lamp dissolved into a beam of light and entered the Lampholding Protector’s head.

At first, her eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe that this was happening. Then, she began clutching her head with both hands and screaming at the top of her lungs. Purple flames could be seen leaking out of her eyes, ears, nose and mouth.

The Lampholding Protector fell still a few breaths later. She was still alive, but she might as well be dead considering her current state.

“The Purple Sun Trueflame?”

“The Purple Sun Trueflame!”

On the other side of the battlefield, both Master of Swords and Ouyang De could clearly see flickers of purple in the sky and feel the Purple Sun Trueflame’s terrifying heat.

“What an unlucky child,” Ouyang De muttered under his breath. Although they were enemies, he couldn’t help but empathize with the Lampholding Protector.

The Lampholding Protector’s “Blissful Rebirth Sutra” was a mental illusion art rooted in her Yin God, the Blissful Lamp. Combined with her Dance of Whims and Wishes, it could be used to bewitch the minds of her foes or a distraction tool if the opposition proved too much for her. It was such a powerful cultivation art that it made her nigh invincible against most enemies under the Grandmaster stage.

Unfortunately for her, the Purple Sun Trueflame was one of the fiercest and most yang fires in the world. Impervious to evil and the bane of all things yin and dark, it was the perfect counter to the Lampholding Protector’s “Blissful Rebirth Sutra” as the martial art was steeped in the Dark Ways despite its Buddhist origins. Add to the fact that the Lampholding Protector was overly careless and thought that Ye Qing couldn’t harm her through her “Dance of Whims and Wishes”, she was incapacitated before she could even use a single strange Artifact.

The Purple Sun Trueflame had severely damaged her Yin God and her “Blissful Rebirth Sutra”. She was still alive, but she would never return to her full strength unless she had a fortuitous encounter. But considering the circumstances, it would be a miracle if she lived to see the sunset.

“I didn’t expect you to have a helper this strong, Ouyang De,” Master of Swords uttered coldly as an earth yellow sword revolved around him, its sword qi vaguely taking the form of a qilin and protecting him from harm. Not only that, the area within a hundred meters of him had transformed into an ice land. This was caused by the Sword of the Water Virtue of the North.

So far, Master of Swords had employed three swords—the Sword of the Fire Virtue of the South, the Sword of the Earth Virtue of the Center, and the Sword of the Water Virtue of the North—against Ouyang De. The Sword of the Earth Virtue of the Center was his defense, and the other two swords his offense.

Unfortunately, his assault hadn’t yielded any fruit so far. His attacks tickled Ouyang De at best, while he was rapidly running out of strength.

“I wasn’t expecting this myself,” Ouyang De replied honestly.

The reason he dragged Ye Qing into this mess was because he thought that Ye Qing was one of the helpers Joy Bodhisattva hired to protect herself. And how did he arrive at this conclusion? It was due to their earlier interaction, of course. It was such a nonsensical, comedic exchange that it had to be a coded conversation of some sort. There was just no way such a conversation could actually happen in real life, much less between two people who had zero connection with each other until then, right?

He himself wasn’t here by coincidence. Why would anyone in their right mind willingly stick their nose into Endless Sand and the Buddhist Hall of Joy’s business? He might be weird, but he wasn’t crazy. It was because he owed Joy Bodhisattva a favor, and the woman knew a long time ago that there was a brewing plot against her. It was why she secretly employed him to protect her.

This was why he had passed the Joy Arhat and the Lampholding Protector to Ye Qing. They were on the “same” side after all, so why should he do all the hard work while Ye Qing sat on the sidelines?

Besides, he could tell that Ye Qing was hiding an unknown amount of strength beneath his weak cultivation. Even if he was no match for the Joy Arhat and the Lampholding Protector, he was sure he could stall them long enough for him to kill Master of Swords. It was the perfect plan.

He never imagined that Ye Qing would take out one of his opponents first before he could wrap up his own battle, however. This was why he adored pleasant surprises.

“Hmph. You think you’ve won?” Master of Swords said coldly.

“Haven’t we?”

Ouyang De could have ended the battle already, but he did not try to rush things because the upper hand was firmly in his grasp right now. His enemy was the one who needed to kill Joy Bodhisattva as soon as possible, while he only needed to stall long enough for Joy Bodhisattva to break out of her predicament. If Master of Swords himself wasn’t in a hurry, why would he?

“The Lampholding Protector has lost, and the Joy Arhat is no match for my young friend. Master of Curses can’t join the battle because he needs to maintain the God Sealing Curse. As for you, you only have two swords left. This battle is over once you’ve used them.”

Ouyang De took a puff from his smoking pipe and declared arrogantly, “If you’re in my position, won’t you think that you’ve already won as well?”

“I would.” Master of Swords nodded in agreement. Although the “Five Virtue Sword of Star Deities” was very powerful, it also consumed a lot of strength to use. At his current strength, five swords was his absolute limit. Once he had unleashed five swords, he would barely have enough energy to make a run for it, much less continue his fight against Ouyang De, so the old man’s deduction was spot on.

However…

Master of Swords wasn’t a smiling guy, but his lips slowly curled upward as he said, “Your judgment is impeccable, but you’re wrong about one thing.”

The taste of smoke in Ouyang De’s mouth suddenly became less delicious. “And what might that be?”

“You will know very soon.” Master of Swords chuckled.

The Half-Step Grandmaster made a sword seal with his hands, and another sword shot out of his back and into the sky. This one had an emerald green blade and leaves growing out of its hilt. A deity wearing a star crown, a pair of vermillion sandals, and a long robe with green clouds and longevity cranes manifested in the sky. He was holding a jade strip in his hand and carrying a Seven Treasure Sword and a white jade pendant on his waist.

He was the Wood Virtue of the East, “Hua Xing”.

An unbelievable amount of vitality spread throughout the world. Grass suddenly sprouted out of the barren ground beneath the deity, and the dead trees nearby suddenly gained new life. It was like the coming of spring.

The Wood Virtue of the East, “Hua Xing” was the star god that governed the world’s flora. Naturally, he was overflowing with life force.

The manifestation of Hua Xing gripped his Seven Treasure Sword and swung not at Ouyang De, but at Master of Swords himself. The Half-Step Grandmaster was flagging after unleashing three swords, but as soon as the emerald green sword energy entered his body, his energies immediately soared back to the peak once more.

Not done yet, Master of Swords gripped his final sword slowly moved his hand backward and gripped his final sword. It was none other than the Sword of the Metal Virtue of the West, the sword that was said to possess the power of killing.

As the sword slowly left its sheath, the world fell cold and silent like autumn. The fresh plants the Sword of the Wood Virtue of the East grew a moment ago instantly withered and died. It was like the reaper himself had come to claim Ouyang De.

Sensing danger from the sword, Ouyang De dropped his playful demeanor and gathered his own energies. His power gradually became thick, vast, unshakeable, and indiscernible from the world itself.

For a moment, the duo simply stared at each other. Both men were waiting for the other person to make a move first. Then, the terse stand-off was interrupted by a sudden arrival.

He was a young monk wearing a moon white robe. An actual moon was suspended behind his head, and his aura was warm and soothing like that of an enlightened monk. Every time he took a step, a ray of moonlight would descend from the sky and illuminate the endless facades of the red dust and the infinite variations of the blissful world.

The monk looked like he was moving at a snail’s pace, but in reality, he crossed over sixty meters of distance in just the blink of an eye. He was headed straight for Joy Bodhisattva!

“The Wisdom King of Joy?!”

Ouyang De finally realized what Master of Swords meant. He thought that Master of Swords, Master of Curses, the Joy Arhat and the Lampholding Protector were his only enemies, but he was wrong. They had a fifth he wasn’t aware of, and he was the true culprit who masterminded the collusion between Endless Sand and the Buddhist Hall of Joy. The Joy Arhat and the Lampholding Protector were just lackeys.