Stranger Danger-Chapter 1165: Mara Sacred Road

If Ye Qing were to manifest his yang god and spirit in full force, one would notice that his yang god no longer gave off an evil, muddied feeling like it had before. Instead, it had become more enigmatic and majestic than ever before.

The sea of spirit inside his headspace had turned monochrome in color. Black was yin, and white was yang. The black and white colors embraced each other in a perfect circle and rotated slowly, forming a gigantic vortex of tai chi in the air that evolved primal chaos and nothingness. Immense power constantly cycled through the vortex and manifested myriad manifestations for seemingly all of eternity.

The Yin Yang Qi was all-inclusive, so the true qi and astral qi inside his body had been converted into Yin Yang Astral Qi as well, which drastically increased their quantity and quality.

Besides that, his reforged yang god had drastically increased his spiritual power and gave birth to a Magia known as the Yin Yang Spell Eyes.

The Yin Yang Spell Eyes could identify the essence of all things and see through all illusions. Its ability to identify the essence of all things could improve one’s cultivation, and its ability to see through all illusions could effectively eliminate or dodge calamities.

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At the adept level, the Yin Yang Spell Eyes could even see through the cycle of rebirth, yin and yang. Life and death could be determined in one glance.

In conclusion, it was all too easy for the Yin Yang Spell Eyes to pierce a mere illusion. So, just like Yi Pin, he saw the Buddha Emperor Mountain for what it was as soon as he activated the Magia.

Before he activated the Yin Yang Spell Eyes, the Buddha Emperor Mountain looked immeasurably vast, mysterious, and majestic. But now? Ye Qing saw that it was covered in cracks and missing a lot of parts. Instead of majesty and grandioseness, it exuded an air of tragedy, chaos, and taint instead.

But even in this state, the Buddha Emperor Mountain’s aura still felt incredibly powerful and terrifying.

“This is just a portion of the Buddha Emperor Mountain. It’s probably one of the pieces that were left behind after the Sky Master Ancient Buddha and Evergreen Monk had shattered it into pieces.”

Yi Pin clicked his tongue in wonderment as he stared at the Buddha Emperor Mountain in the sky, “Tsk tsk. If a broken fragment of the Buddha Emperor Mountain can exude such power, I can scarcely imagine how powerful it was when it was whole. It deserved its reputation as the ultimate treasure of the Mara Sect.”

“In fact, I reckon that the anomalies plaguing the Myriad Buddha Plains are largely caused by this fragment.”

“The fragment of the Buddha Emperor Mountain, huh?” Ye Qing licked his lips as something began to stir restlessly inside him.

He meant that literally. Inside his headspace, the Earthly Sovereign Bell had been ringing softly yet endlessly the moment it saw the Buddha Emperor Mountain. It did not take a genius to figure out that the Earthly Sovereign Bell was deeply interested in the fragment and the power it contained.

“You haven’t even finished digesting the God Continent Cauldrons yet, and now you’re coveting the Buddha Emperor Mountain? Are you the Earthly Sovereign Bell or a glutton?” Ye Qing rolled his eyes mentally while scratching his nose.

In the end, Ye Qing massaged his forehead and muttered under his breath, “Stop ringing already. I’ll give it a try, okay?”

He didn’t have a choice. The kid wants his food, and as the parent, he could only do his best to fulfill his wish, no?

“Hey, are you planning to…?” As if he could hear Ye Qing’s thoughts, Yi Pin asked in a low tone.

“Mm.” Ye Qing did not deny it.

“Heh. This won’t be easy.” Yi Pin shook his head wryly.

“I know.”

Divine artifacts like the Buddha Emperor Mountain were usually intelligent and boasted unpredictable Magia.

For starters, it looked like the Buddha Emperor Mountain was right in front of them. In reality, it could be tens of thousands of kilometers away. Only the Buddha Emperor Mountain knew where its true body was hiding right now.

Besides that, Devi Ruyi, Jinpeng Moyun and the old woman were present. As disciples of the Mara Sect, there was no way they would allow the Buddha Emperor Mountain to fall into an outsider’s hands.

As usual, trouble found its way to him.

“Do you want to, ah, seize the initiative so to speak?” Yi Pin glanced at the trio and said meaningfully.

“There’s no hurry. I think it’s better if we wait and see what happens for the moment,” Ye Qing answered after some quick thinking.

“You think they might lead us to the fragment?”

Yi Pin glanced at the trio as well and cracked a smile. “That’s a definite possibility alright.”

It was clear that the Buddha Emperor Mountain hadn’t appeared by accident. It was most likely because Devi Ruyi, Jinpeng Moyun and the old woman had successfully studied the “Buddha Emperor Mara Heart Sutra of Deliverance and Peace”.

Therefore, it was exceedingly likely that Devi Ruyi, Jinpeng Moyun and the old woman could perceive the fragment’s existence and location. All they needed to do was to follow them, and they would find the fragment eventually.

Things turned out to be even easier than Ye Qing or Yi Pin imagined, however. Without warning, the Buddhist corpses abruptly exploded into a shower of blood and gore. Then, the pieces of flesh and blood—golden and flawless even in their current state—flew into the air and formed a dazzling golden bridge that connected the earth and the sky.

There was no doubt that the endpoint of this bridge was the Buddha Emperor Mountain.

“The Sacred Road! It’s the Mara Sacred Road!”

The old woman exclaimed in shock and excitement while staring at the flesh-and-blood bridge that led to the heavens.

“Flesh and blood shall forge the divine way to the sacred mountain; the faithful will meet the Buddhas and study the unparalleled arts of Mara,” Devi Ruyi whispered under her breath. Waves were billowing deep within her clear, pure eyes as well.

According to the scriptures of the Mara Sect, back when the Mara Sect was at its greatest heights, and the Buddha Emperor Mountain was still intact, the Buddha Emperor Mountain used to manifest itself on the day of the Buddha Emperor’s Birthday. Countless faithful would fight to burn their minds and dissolve their flesh to forge the Mara Sacred Road, and those who possessed the potential to become Buddha would walk the Mara Sacred Road, enter the Buddha Emperor Mountain, and receive the blessing of the Mara Buddha Emperor. These fortunate ones would receive the inheritance of Mara and leap to the heavens in one step so to speak.

Unfortunately, this never happened again after the Mara Sect took a grievous blow, and the Buddha Emperor Mountain was destroyed. Both the Buddha Emperor Mountain and the Mara Sacred Road became a thing of the past; a myth that only existed in the Buddhist scriptures.

Before today, no one had anticipated that they would witness the legendary Buddha Emperor Mountain or the Mara Sacred Road. Assuming that the Buddha Emperor Mountain truly lay at the end of this road, they simply needed to tread the golden road to receive the Buddha Emperor’s blessing and the inheritance of Mara.

“This is clearly the decree of the Buddha Emperor, Ruyi! No matter what, we must bring the Buddha Emperor Mountain back to the kingdom! We must return the guardian artifact back to the Mara Sect!”

Jinpeng Moyun declared with a look of religious fervor, “If we can bring the Buddha Emperor Mountain back to the Mara Sect, the old glory of the Mara Sect will be within our reach! It will surely bless the Mara Sect for eternity!”

“That’s correct. That is why we must ensure that it doesn’t fall into the hands of outsiders,” said the old woman as she turned around to stare at Ye Qing and his group warily.

Devi Ruyi and Jinpeng Moyun turned to look at Ye Qing as well. The atmosphere immediately became tense and heavy.

Ye Qing cracked a grin and asked on purpose, “What is the meaning of this?”

Jinpeng Moyun fell silent for a moment before saying, “This is the sacred artifact of my Mara Sect. Apologies, but we simply cannot allow anyone or anything to… affect our desired outcome. Please, take your leave!”

“Leave?”

Ye Qing looked at Jinpeng Moyun like he was an idiot. “Are you serious? Look outside.”

It was only now Jinpeng Moyun noticed that the darkness beyond was filled with countless Strangers. Together, they formed a perimeter so tight that not even a fly could pass through.

The only good news was that the Strangers did not try to approach or attack them. They were all looking at the Buddha Emperor Mountain with reverence.

“Knowing your strength, there is no way these Strangers can stop you.”

Jinpeng Moyun continued, “If you leave now, I, Jinpeng Moyun, promise that you will receive the friendship of the Great Peng Kingdom and the Mara Sect. When this is all over, we promise to give you a handsome reward.”

“Friendship? Reward?”

Ye Qing smirked. “And what if I say no?”

Jinpeng Moyun’s stare turned murderous. “If you say no, then we will have to do what is necessary.”

Ye Qing taunted him, “Tsk tsk, we were fighting side by side just a moment ago, and now you’re going to kill us? Ungrateful much? Also, did you forget that I was the one who led you here already?”

“You’re the one who rejected our friendship,” the old woman interrupted.

“Sure I did. Why would I appreciate the olive branch extended by an ingrate who’ll stab me right after I saved them like, at all?”

Ye Qing retorted with disdain before looking at Devi Ruyi. “Are you of the same mind as your companions, Devi Ruyi?”