Stranger Danger

Chapter 756: Palace In A Lake

Ye Qing wondered if it was just his imagination, but Murong Xianxian seemed to be growing more and more human and lifelike as they spoke.

It wasn’t like Murong Xianxian had changed her mannerisms or anything, but before, her every smile and frown—while beautiful—did not truly resemble a human’s. It felt a lot more otherworldly like she was a Stranger, a ghost, a demon. It was cold, disturbing and eerie.

That was no longer the case. She truly felt like a living, breathing human now.

Buzz…

It was at this moment a terrifying aura shot into the sky. Such was its power that they could feel it even from where they were.

The aura was vast, profound, and exuded glimmers of Buddhist light. It was as deafening and obvious as the howl of a dragon elephant. However, a thick amount of yin qi was mixed in it as well.

“Is that… the Half Buddha?” Ye Qing asked while perceiving the aura in the air.

“You know the Half Buddha Chen Miaozeng?” Murong Xianxian seemed surprised by this.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you about this, but I accidentally came across Ning Xiliu’s memories earlier. There were scenes of the three Sages’ battle against the Dark Overlord, which is why I’m aware of his existence.” Ye Qing proceeded to tell Murong Xianxian about his encounter with Ning Xiliu.

“I see. You are a fortunate man, little brother.” Murong Xianxian praised him before answering his question, ‘You are correct. The aura does belong to Chen Miaozeng, and that place is where he passed away.”

“Chen Miaozeng was a legend during his time. He wasn’t a Buddhist, but he obtained a Buddha’s truth and forged his Dao with it. He is a non-Buddhist who became a Buddha, which is why they call him the Half Buddha.”

“With Chen Miaozeng’s talent, he could have become even stronger than he was. Unfortunately, he did not survive the battle against the Dark Overlord.”

“Even so, his aura is most terrifying. I can only imagine how powerful he was when he was still alive,” Ye Qing said wistfully. “Can Cui Qiuyuan really suppress him? He only has his yang god now.”

If Cui Qiuyuan was at his peak, then of course he wouldn’t fear a dead Sage. However, Cui Qiuyuan had suffered additional injuries before he fully recovered and even lost his physical body to him twice. He truly wondered if the Trueman could suppress Chen Miaozeng’s body in his current state.

Murong Xianxian did not seem worried in the slightest, however. She declared, “It will be fine. He has Repentance.”

Before she even finished, a streak of red light dispelled the sky of buddha light and the deafening roar in an instant. Its aura also became much weaker than before as if suppressed by something.

The red light was obviously Repentance.

“Cui Qiuyuan is a master at manipulating corpses and controlling spirits. If he obtained Half Buddha’s body, he would become so much stronger than before. Aren’t you afraid that he would slip out of your control, big sis?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

“He’s just a dog. No matter how much he grows, he will never be anything more than a dog,” Murong Xianxian replied easily. “A dog will never have the courage nor the right to bare its fangs at its masters, and that is all he is, a dog!”

Ye Qing shrugged. He was making conversation. If even he could ruin Cui Qiuyuan without too much effort, he could not imagine the eight-hundred-years-old Murong Xianxian would fail where he succeeded.

Ye Qing did not say anything else after that. Both him and Murong Xianxian simply stared at the distant sky as if waiting for something, or rather, someone.

About a teatime later, a man emerged from the horizon. It was a muscular man who, despite being a monk, had a full head of hair. He looked exactly the same as the Half Buddha Chen Miaozeng in Ye Qing’s memories.

A powerful pressure enveloped Ye Qing and Murong Xianxian long before he got close. Neither of them reacted in the slightest, however.

When Chen Miaozeng was ten meters away from Murong Xianxian, he stopped in his tracks and saluted her. “I did not fail you, miss.”

It wasn’t actually Chen Miaozeng who was speaking, of course. It was Cui Qiuyuan.

“Well done. Tell little Qu that we are moving. We will be visiting a couple places.”

Murong Xianxian waved, and Repentance flew over from a distance. It sank into the hole in her forehead until only the head of the nail was peeking out of the wound. It looked like a bindi[1], and it did not look out of place in the slightest. If anything, Murong Xianxian looked even more attractive than she already was.

“As you command, miss.” Cui Qiuyuan saluted her and strode into the hall.

It was worth noting that Cui Qiuyuan had not looked at Ye Qing even once since he submitted to Murong Xianxian. Those who didn’t know better would think that they were just strangers.

A short while later, Cui Qiuyuan emerged with Qu Langhuan behind him. Qu Langhuan shot Murong Xianxian a nervous look before bowing to her, greeting, “Miss…”

“Save the pleasantries. Let’s go.”

Murong Xianxian glanced at Qu Langhuan once before taking to the skies. Ye Qing and everyone else followed right behind her.

After the group disappeared into the horizon, the floating palace began crumbling bit by bit as if it had lost the power source that had kept it afloat. As the pieces fell, they disintegrated into dust and scattered into the wind.

……

“What is this place?” Ye Qing asked.

The group was currently hovering before a huge, mirror-like lake. The water was so clear you could see it all the way to the bottom.

It was also why everyone except Murong Xianxian was confused. It was clear at first glance that there was absolutely nothing inside the lake.

Murong Xianxian smiled. Instead of answering, she made a number of hand seals.

The group’s eyes slowly widened. It was because the lake water slowly but surely transformed into a massive palace; one that was completely made of water. It was quite impressive to say the least.

“Back then, Li Hentian recruited some of the best craftsmen in the world to construct five buildings. They were the Eastern Yi Wood Garden, the Western Geng Metal Pavilion, the Southern Li Fire Tower, the Northern Gui Water Palace, and the Central Wu Earth Hall. Their purpose was to store his treasure hoard.” Murong Xianxian explained while staring at the water palace in front of her.

“This is the Northern Gui Water Palace, and it is mainly used to store all kinds of rare artifacts, antiques, calligraphy and painting.”

“Come.”

Murong Xianxian took the lead and began walking toward the palace. Somehow, the water was as firm as solid ground. When they arrived at the entrance, the doors automatically slid open to admit them. Murong Xianxian stepped inside, and Ye Qing and the others followed closely behind.

The interior of the Northern Gui Water Palace was made of water just like the exterior. Like mirrors, they were perfectly transparent and flawless. One could see out from inside the palace, but not the other way around.

Besides that, countless items enveloped by water were floating in the air. There were ancient texts, broken seals, expensive paintings, bronze ensure, stone cauldrons, stringless ancient qins and more. They dazzled the eyes to say the least.

Ye Qing reached out and touched an ancient qin that were about to float past him. The ancient qin stopped in its tracks, and the water surrounding it transformed into various ancient seal scripts. They introduced the ancient qin’s background and origin.

“This is the ancient qin, Stringless. It was once the instrument of the Qin Sage, Ruan Ji. It could play five notes that sound as sweet as a phoenix’s cry, one that could draw a hundred birds to pay homage to it[2].”

Murong Xianxian had somehow walked next to him while he was absorbed in his thoughts. She asked, “Are you interested? I can give it to you if you want.”

Ye Qing shook his head without hesitation. “Nah. Music and I do not mesh well. The Qin Sage’s instrument would be a complete waste in my hands.”

Stringless might be a legendary artifact for the literati or warriors who practiced music as their primary art, but it was without a doubt useless to him.

“The two of you may pick a few items from this pile as well.”

Murong Xianxian looked at Cui Qiuyuan and Qu Langhuan and said, “A good number of these items once belonged to ancient sages, great powers, and Gods-On-Earth, and they’re as rare as they’re useful to a warrior’s growth. Even in the worst case scenario, you can still sell them for a lot of money. I’m sure you can make use of them.”

“Thank you, miss.”

Cui Qiuyuan and Qu Langhuan thanked Murong Xianxian deeply. They were both excited about this opportunity.

1. A bindi, worn in Hindu, Buddhist, and other dominant Southeast Asian religions, is a small red dot applied on the forehead between the eyebrows using a red paste. ☜

2. Referring to the idiom “A hundred birds pays homage to the phoenix.” ☜