Stranger Danger

Chapter 194: Five Flames Seven Birds Fan

Ye Qing and Wang Yang gasped when they looked at the pit on the ground. Literally everything from the edge all the way to the bottom of the pit were corpses and bones.

Just how many people had died in this temple?

“Mara Buddha…”

“Mara Buddha…”

The demonic voice resounded once more, and the corpses inside the pit suddenly came to life. They piled on top of one another and formed several humanoid corpse giants about thirty meters tall.

The giants were all shaped like a monk, and their posture was similar to the giant behind the withered corpse’s back: left hand facing upward to hold up hell, and right hand facing downward to master humanity.

“My Mara is merciful…”

“My Mara is merciful…”

The corpse giants mouthed demonic, mind-warping curses to stun Wang Yang while bringing down their right hands to crush him. However, Wang Yang obviously possessed a Strange Artifact that protected the mind because he only blanked out for an instant before regaining his sanity. A feathered fan immediately appeared in his hand.

The feathered fan was penta-colored—red, orange, blue, black and purple—and looked like it was made from the feathers of five types of unique birds. The colorful lights intermingled with one another while seven extraordinarily handsome divine birds sang and danced among them, causing ripples to manifest across space.

The moment the penta-colored fan appeared, the cold, chilly temple suddenly became unbearably hot and scalding.

Whoosh…

Wang Yang flapped his fan lightly, and a penta-colored flame immediately burst into existence. At the same time, the seven divine birds flew toward the corpse giants while dragging long tail feathers behind them.

Wherever the divine birds went, the taint was purified, and the yin qi was annihilated. The five-colored flames especially burned it all into ashes.

“That’s the Five Flames Seven Birds Fan, one of the Seven Treasures of Sunset Hill. Its reputation is well deserved.”

Ye Qing looked envious as he examined Wang Yang’s fan critically. The so-called Seven Treasures of Sunset Hill referred to its seven signature Strange Artifacts. They were the Sunset Crown, Hundred Flame Pot, Seven Bejeweled Glazed Lamps, Five Flames Seven Birds Fan, Heaven Patrolling Sun Ship, Yin Yang Fire Calabash, and Eastern Purple Cloud Stele.

All seven Strange Artifacts had their own incredible uses, and even the most mundane of them all was a Hatred-class Strange Artifact. The large majority of them were Soulstealer-class Strange Artifacts, and the greatest of them all, the Eastern Purple Cloud Stele, was said to be a Half-Step Phenomenon-class Strange Artifact.

These seven Strange Artifacts were the reason why Sunset Hill could stand toe-to-toe with the strongest factions in Luo Shui despite owning no Spirit Masters.

The Five Flames Seven Birds Fan was a Hatred-class Strange Artifact. Said to be made from the tailfeathers of the five divine birds—the blue luan, the fire crane, the flamingo, the fire phoenix and the purple phoenix—and the soul essences of seven divine birds, the Five Flames Seven Birds Fan could supposedly repel all evil. It was especially famous for its offensive power.

But of course, the Five Flames Seven Birds Fan cost a lot of power to use as well. Wang Yang had only swung the fan a couple of times before his face turned pale, and his aura became incredibly weak. The divine birds and the flames were all growing increasingly transient.

“What are you waiting for? Do whatever it is you need to do quickly! I can’t hold on for much longer!”

Wang Yang was enraged when he glanced at Ye Qing and noticed that the guy was watching from the sidelines and doing seemingly nothing at all.

I’m literally giving my all here, and you’re just standing there doing nothing? If I die, then you die as well!

“Calm, Brother Wang.” Ye Qing shot him a mysterious smile. “Our chance will show up very soon.” So please sacrifice yourself a little longer.

“You better not be lying, Ye Pingshan!” Wang Yang uttered through gritted teeth. Although he didn’t understand what this “chance” Ye Qing was talking about, he didn’t think the young man would lie to him. Their fates were currently bound to one another after all.

Besides, it wasn’t like he didn’t have other trump cards. If Ye Pingshan was lying to him, he didn’t mind sending him to hell first before he followed afterward.

It was at this moment the demonic voice resounded throughout the temple. However, it sounded angrier and harsher than before.

Countless corpses and flesh-and-blood amalgamations crawled out of the walls, the roofs and other areas. They surged toward Wang Yang like a sky of locusts.

When Wang Yang was buried under the tidal wave of corpses, Ye Qing abruptly bounded in the opposite direction toward a certain wall.

He wasn’t running particularly quickly, but it had this wonderful cadence where the strength applied and the distance between each step were exactly the same. He stepped forward like a raging torrent that couldn’t be stopped; stomped the ground like a booming thunderclap.

It was at this moment the withered corpse noticed Ye Qing’s movement. The demonic flame in his eyes suddenly flared wildly as if in fear or anger.

The demonic voice resounded throughout the temple, and the corpses actually abandoned Wang Yang and pounced toward Ye Qing instead. Even the Buddha statue behind the withered corpse had extended its hand to flatten Ye Qing like a pancake.

Ye Qing paid no heed to the incoming danger, however. United in both mind and body, every corpse who tried to impede him or block his path were shredded without a sound.

When he was one meter away from the wall, he finally unleashed his punch. Burning Wind howled, and dark red flames swayed. The incredible force evaporated both heaven and earth like a dream.

“Cloud Vaporization Style”

BOOM!!!

The wall of corpses shuddered for a moment. Then, dark red flames began seeping out of the cracks and burning all of the bodies, tortured souls, yin spirits and more into ash. It wasn’t long before the wall abruptly crumbled into pieces.

As soon as this happened, a devastating storm rushed in and blew an entire swathe of corpses into ashes right before they could reach Ye Qing. The statue’s palm was melted bit by bit into ash as well.

It was none other than the three divine winds.

“Mara Buddha!”

“Mara Buddha!”

The withered corpse seemed to be terrified of the divine wind. It roared angrily and tried to block the hole with a new wave of corpses, but it was too late. The entire temple began quaking unsteadily as the three divine winds rapidly ate away at its flesh, blood and bones.

Ye Qing smiled as he stood in the middle of the three divine winds, unwavering. “I knew it. The three divine winds are the bane of his existence.”

It was clear that someone had defeated and chained up the withered corpse in this temple. He also saw burn marks that belonged to the three divine winds on the withered corpse’s body. As he cultivated the Burning Wind, he recognized the burn marks it left behind almost immediately.

Looking at the clues, Ye Qing deduced that someone had sealed the withered corpse in this place, and the three divine winds outside the temple of flesh, blood and bones was how they kept him sealed. In fact, Ye Qing would go as far as to say that the seal was set up this way so as to inflict punishment upon the withered corpse. The purpose was to rot his flesh and blood, chill his core, and burn his mind for eternity.

As for why they had built this temple of flesh, blood and bones, it was obvious. It was to prevent the three divine winds from annihilating the withered corpse and releasing him from his suffering.

Therefore, their crisis would be resolved so long as he broke a part of the temple and allowed the three divine winds to come in.

As for why he ordered Wang Yang to hold back the corpses for a bit and waited until now to act, it was one, to deplete Wang Yang’s strength and two, to use him to draw away the withered corpse’s attention. This would minimize the chances of the withered corpse noticing his intention too quickly and weaken the wall as much as possible.

It was clear that his plan had worked. The entire temple was eroding like a dilapidated house that was being beset by a terrible storm. Holes kept appearing all over the place, and its edges were being shaved away with every passing second. In the end, it crumbled completely.

“Argh!”

After the temple had crumbled, the three divine winds blew in harder than ever before. The withered corpse screamed as the Buddha statue bent down and held him tight against his bosom. This was the one moment it acted like a true Buddha, sacrificing itself to protect the withered corpse.

It couldn’t last forever though. The three divine winds kept blowing away at the statue’s yin qi until eventually, its whole body started crumbling bit by bit like a sandy dune that was being eroded from the top.

The withered corpse wailed and struggled with all his might, but the chains pinning it in place glowed coldly with runes. It was unable to break free no matter what it tried.

“It’s no use,” Ye Qing said with a smile. The Buddha protecting the withered corpse wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer, and the withered corpse himself was unable to escape to a safe place. His fate was as good as sealed.

It was at this moment Ye Qing sensed a sudden outburst of killing intent. He turned around just in time to see Wang Yang grinning savagely and throwing a punch at his head. The Wind Repelling Carp was swimming above his head and keeping the three divine winds away from him.

“Hahaha! Die!”

Shock flickered across Ye Qing’s features as if he hadn’t expected Wang Yang to backstab him at the last moment. However, it was immediately replaced by ruthlessness and fatalistic determination. He actually ignored the punch aimed at his head and threw a counterpunch at Wang Yang’s chest instead.

Bang!

Bang!

Muffled groans escaped both men’s lips. Ye Qing’s neck let out an audible crack he was sent flying into the depths of the three divine winds. Wang Yang’s chest caved in as he was sent crashing into the ground, hard.

“Pwack!”

Wang Yang spat out a mouthful of fresh blood as he climbed back to his feet. His face was pale, and his aura ran rampant for a bit. He was clearly hurt pretty badly.

“Hahaha! You’re a few years too young to get one over me!”

Wang Yang paid his injuries no heed, however. In fact, he looked overjoyed.

He was the kind of guy who killed anyone who dared to provoke him in any way. Moreover, he had picked up a terrifying aura from Ye Qing earlier, making it clear that he had hidden his strength. It was one thing if Ye Qing was his subordinate, but a strong and intelligent enemy must die no matter what.

Only then could he be sure that he wouldn’t return to haunt him later.

This was why Wang Yang had attacked Ye Qing as soon as the crisis was over. He didn’t even care if he took a heavy blow in return.

“Cough cough!”

Wang Yang coughed a couple of times because his laugh had pulled at his injuries. Besides that, the protective shield keeping him from the three divine winds had shrank considerably as well. It was clear that the Wind Repelling Carp was rapidly running out of strength.

“It’s time to leave,” Wang Yang muttered while perceiving the gradually strengthening winds and glancing at the withered corpse. He abruptly turned around and raced toward the exit.

Although this whole trip had turned out to be a dud—no, a death trap even—he had paid back all the grievances he had received, and he himself was still alive. It could’ve been worse, which was why it was time to go home.

Thanks to the Wind Repelling Carp, Wang Yang had no problems leaving the Thousand Buddhas Temple. It wasn’t long before he was completely gone.

Meanwhile, the three divine winds were still eroding away at the Buddha statue. It was mere moments away from complete collapse now. The withered corpse beneath it howled in fury as its demonic qi kept dissipating, but eventually, his savage expression grew calm and tranquil. His evil, crazed-looking eye had turned back to normal as well.

“He thought he could kill me with just that? What a fool. Still, it’s time for the show to begin.”

It was at this moment a silhouette slowly walked out of the three divine winds and shot the exit of the Thousand Buddhas Temple a smirk. Then, he rode the wind and left the temple in the blink of an eye.

“My Buddha is merciful. People these days are so impatient. I was going to give you an opportunity, but now, I can only wait for the next destined one.”

“This poor monk doesn’t have much time left though. Amitabha…”

Not long after Ye Qing was gone, the withered corpse suddenly opened his eyes and let out a wistful sigh. The man himself was exactly the same man as before, but he lacked the demonic qi he exuded earlier. He also gave off a peaceful and enlightened feeling not unlike a great monk who had achieved enlightenment.

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