Stranger Danger

Chapter 226: I’m Just Playing With You

“You seem to have a lot of good stuff, human.”

The Fog Demon was crushed, but not defeated. Multiple faces spawned from the scattered fog—all of them Ye Qing—as it said, “I’m so glad because they’re all going to be mine eventually. Keep up the resistance, human! Kekekeke…”

The Fog Demon cackled as if the Boundless Mara Buddha’s powerful attack did no real damage to it.

Unperturbed, Ye Qing unshackled another portion of the Boundless Mara Buddha’s strength. Its demonic qi grew thicker and thicker until it burst into flames.

The demonic flame was dark yet holy, dead yet vigorous. Somehow, the paradoxical energies were existing in harmony.

“Boundless Mara Buddha—Boundless Demonic Flame”

The Boundless Demonic Flame crashed down on the Fog Demon like the tidal wave. There was no room for it to dodge even in its current form.

“Argh!”

The Fog Demon let out a bloodcurdling scream as soon as it made contact with the fire. Somehow, it was burning even though it was supposed to be intangible.

“Aaaaaaaargh! What the hell is this flame? How the hell is it burning me? Owwwwwwwwww!” The Fog Demon screeched in pain as the fire ate away at its foggy body.

“There is no way I’m going to die to this!” The Fog Demon roared, and every wisp of Nine Nethers Demonic Qi in Sky Gate Abyss surged toward it as if drawn by its shout.

“Mara Buddha!”

“Mara Buddha!”

“Mara Buddha!”

The Boundless Mara Buddha let out a loud and powerful chant, and the Nine Nethers Demonic Qi were either scattered or outright extinguished by the Boundless Demonic Flames before they could empower the Fog Demon.

Countless chains shrouded in Boundless Demonic Flames whipped out from behind the Boundless Mara Buddha and cut through both the Fog Demon and the ground like tofu. The gorges they left behind were at least thirty meters deep.

“Ahhhhhhhh! It hurts! It hurts! I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die any second now!”

The Fog Demon continued to wail amidst the Boundless Demonic Flames, but despite its loud claims, it still refused to die. If anything, its cries were growing louder and louder over time.

Why isn’t it dead yet? I’m not going to last at this rate, dammit!

It looked like Ye Qing was holding the upper hand, but in reality he wasn’t doing well at all. Demonic qi was gushing out of his body like crazy, his eyes kept clouding no matter how many times he blinked it away, and his expression was flitting between madness and struggle.

Worse still, his mental space was covered in taint right now. His desires were running rampant, and demonic qi was everywhere. The only reason he hadn’t succumbed yet was because the “Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method” was maintaining his last vestiges of sanity.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to last long though. The rate at which he was accumulating corruption was much higher than the rate “Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method” was cleansing it. If he couldn’t defeat the Fog Demon before his mind was completely corrupted, his soul would fall apart, and he would transform into the Boundless Mara Buddha’s puppet.

The Boundless Mara Buddha was powerful even though he hadn’t completely unsealed its power. Right now, it was on the same level as an early-stage Spirit Purifier. However, the price could only be described as severe. It had only been a dozen or so breaths since he unsealed it, and already he was close to the point of no return.

The reason he was running out of steam so quickly was partially because his spirit was exhausted from executing Hellfire Red Lotus Saber Art twice in a row earlier. But even if his spirit was in optimal condition, he couldn’t have last more than a hundred breaths.

He didn’t have a choice though. It was do, or die.

A while later, Ye Qing was completely shrouded in demonic qi. The vicious snarl on his face had also become permanent. However, the Fog Demon’s voice had finally fallen silent. It would seem that it was finally dead.

Is it… dead?

Ye Qing thought a little disjointedly. He was just barely clinging to his consciousness right now. Despite this, he was glad to see that the damn Stranger had finally died.

“Fwah! I live again! Hahahahahaha! Are you surprised?”

It was at this moment the Fog Demon’s voice boomed from the demonic flames once more, and it was full of delight and wickedness. “I was just playing with you. If you could maintain these flames for a full incense stick, then maybe you could’ve killed me. But you’re only seconds away from the brink, aren’t you? Why must you torture yourself so?”

The Fog Demon’s voice grew increasingly delightful. “This is for the best though. There is nothing more I like than a despairing soul and a corrupted body. Hahahahahaha!”

“Motherfucker!”

The last bit of hope in Ye Qing’s heart was snuffed out, replaced by resentment and the unwillingness to die like this. The last bit of clarity vanished from his eyes, and he screamed, “If I must die, then you’re coming with me!”

As if it could sense Ye Qing’s feelings, the chains surrounding the Boundless Mara Buddha fell away completely. At that moment, the demonic qi gushed out like never before, and the world darkened ominously as if cowering in fear.

“MARA BUDDHA!”

“MARA BUDDHA!”

“MARA BUDDHA!”

For a time, it sounded like the grandiose yet horrifying chants would never end. Then—

“Are you stupid? Kids these days!”

A loud roar boomed from somewhere, and it was so powerful it actually overwhelmed the Boundless Mara Buddha’s chants. Then, a man appeared in the distance. He moved so fast that he left sonic booms and annihilated all the demonic qi in his way. He appeared in front of Ye Qing in just the blink of an eye. He was none other than Gu Suitang.

“Seriously!”

Gu Suitang shot a disgruntled look at Ye Qing and slapped him on the back of his head. It looked like he was venting, but it really shattered the demonic qi entrenched in Ye Qing’s mental space. It should’ve extinguished the Patrolman’s incredibly frail mind as well, but somehow, he didn’t take any damage whatsoever.

As soon as the demonic qi was gone, Ye Qing’s clouded, vicious-looking eyes regained their clarity instantly. The Emperor Fuxi’s dharma also slowly picked itself up and shone its warming, nurturing light throughout his mind once more.

“Chief? I was…”

The first thing Ye Qing saw after returning to consciousness was Gu Suitang. As the man looked very displeased, he couldn’t help but flinch a little.

Slap!

Before he could even say a word, Gu Suitang slapped Ye Qing on the back of his head once more. It was such a blow that even with his body, he nearly tripped and fell. A different person would’ve fallen completely unconscious.

Ye Qing: “...”

What are you hitting me for? What did I do?

“Save your excuses for later and focus on nurturing your mind. I’ll kick your ass later,” Gu Suitang threatened before looking at the Boundless Mara Buddha in the sky. The Strange Artifact was completely out of control at this point, so it fired a wave of demonic qi and Gu Suitang and Ye Qing.

“Hmph! A Soulstealer-class Strange Artifact thinks it can corrupt me?”

Gu Suitang harrumphed and casually swung his arm in front of him. The tidal wave of demonic qi was cut in half just like that.

The Deputy Chief abruptly disappeared and reappeared in front of the Boundless Mara Buddha. The ground where he was standing abruptly caved in as if it couldn’t withstand his weight and pressure.

“MARA BUDDHA!”

The Boundless Mara Buddha lowered its left hand and attempted to crush Gu Suitang with the reverse swastika mudra. The Boundless Demonic Flames burned so hot that it created a mirage of a living hell above its flames. So much demonic qi was rolling off the Buddha’s body it was incredible the deputy chief didn’t seem affected in the slightest.

With this attack, the Boundless Mara Buddha would exorcise the Deputy Chief of Bureau into hell.

“Chief, watch out!”

Ye Qing turned as white as a sheet. He could sense just how powerful the attack was even from this distance. He let out a cry of warning, but before he could even finish, Gu Suitang pushed himself off the ground and faced the palm head on.

If the sky would fall on top of me, then I would crush it with my fist.

If a demon dared to stand in my way, then I would smite it with my fist as well.

His fist punched right through the gigantic palm and brought him in front of the Boundless Mara Buddha. Just like before, he threw another punch.

RUMBLE!

It was like the punch of a god or a demon. The gigantic Buddha was smashed into a million pieces, exposing the Strange Artifact within.

The Boundless Mara Buddha hurriedly flew away from Gu Suitang. It was almost as if it was sentient and could tell just how powerful Gu Suitang was.

“Hmph!” Gu Suitang snorted and used Earth Contraction. He abruptly appeared in the Boundless Mara Buddha’s path and caught it with a firm grip.

The Boundless Mara Buddha burst into flames and struggled with all its might. Impatient, Gu Suitang tightened his grip and clenched the Strange Artifact so hard that its body cracked ominously under pressure. The demonic qi dissipated immediately, and just like that, the Strange Artifact was under control once more.

Suddenly, Gu Suitang looked in Ye Qing’s direction with a livid expression. He then tossed the Boundless Mara Buddha straight at him!

Ye Qing was stunned. He thought Gu Suitang was so displeased with his behavior that he wanted to kill him. He wanted to dodge out of the way, but the Strange Artifact was moving so fast that he couldn’t do anything. By the time he wanted to react, the Boundless Mara Buddha had already slipped past his cheek and deafened his eardrums.

The resulting explosion was so potent that it sent Ye Qing stumbling a few steps forward. For a time, he couldn’t see anything because of the dust clouds.

When the dust clouds dissipated, he saw Gu Suitang standing behind him inside a deep, massive pit. He was clutching a wisp of black qi with his right hand and keeping the struggling Boundless Mara Buddha pinned with his left leg.

“The Fog Demon?”

When Ye Qing saw the wisp of black qi in Gu Suitang’s hand, he abruptly realized that Gu Suitang wasn’t planning to kill him at all. It was the Fog Demon he was targeting. The bastard must have been trying to corrupt him while he was distracted, and Gu Suitang was battling against the Boundless Mara Buddha. However, Gu Suitang noticed it at the last moment and neutralized its threat.

“Bastard! Even now, it’s lusting for my body!”

Ye Qing cracked a joke to hide his fear. Considering his current condition, there was a real chance the Fog Demon could have entered his mental space and killed his mind before he could react. Thank goodness Gu Suitang was here to save him.

“Thank you for saving my life, Chief,” Ye Qing thanked him before warning, “But be careful. That Fog Demon is ridiculously powerful and extremely tricky. You don’t want to let it slip through your grasp.”

Even as he spoke, the Fog Demon had tried turning intangible, dissolving into wisps of fog, and creating illusions to escape Gu Suitang’s grasp. But for some reason, it just couldn’t escape Gu Suitang’s hand almost as if it was magic.

“Don’t worry. It’s just a Nine Nethers Demon. It would take much bigger demons than it to escape me.”

“Nine Nethers Demon?” Ye Qing voiced his doubt.

Gu Suitang explained, “A Nine Nethers Demon is a kind of monster that is born in the Nine Nethers. You may treat it as some sort of special demon.”

“However, most Nine Nethers Demons are extremely powerful. I bet that this one was hurt by the sword qi when it passed through that crack and into our world, which is why it is a lot weaker than it should be. Otherwise, it would’ve taken you over long before I could save you.”

“Oh! No wonder it’s so damned hard to kill!” Ye Qing exclaimed in realization. If Gu Suitang’s assumption was correct, he had been fighting a wounded version of the Fog Demon this whole time. He could only imagine how powerful it was at its prime.

Heavens! This world is fucking terrifying!

“What’s wrong? Are you scared? weren’t you the guy who dared to venture into Sky Gate Abyss alone?”

Although Gu Suitang’s tone was harsh, icy, and seemingly sarcastic, Ye Qing knew that he was really concerned for his safety. He broke into a grin. “Hahaha, that’s because I knew you would come to my rescue no matter what. Otherwise, I would never dare to enter this place alone.”

“Heh. You wouldn’t dare?”

The corners of Gu Suitang’s lips twitched a little. Ye Qing’s praise was clearly working, but he maintained his stiff expression and uttered, “I think you would put a hole in Luo Shui’s sky if given the opportunity.”

“No way! I’m the most obedient employee there is!” Ye Qing defended himself.

Gu Suitang laughed incredulously. “Can you not besmirch the word ‘obedience’? I can hear it rolling in its dictionary.”

Ye Qing: “...”

“We’ll speak of your disobedience later. First, tell me what happened.”

Gu Suitang looked at the crack and asked, “The King of Sky Gate and Child Emperor said they were going to widen a crack leading to the Nine Nethers using the Black Tide and flood Luo Shui with the Nine Nethers Demonic Qi or something, but that is all I know. What the fuck were those fuckheads planning?”

“It’s like this…” Ye Qing proceeded to tell Gu Suitang everything he encountered after coming to Sky Gate Abyss.

Ye Qing’s story was simple, but Gu Suitang couldn’t help but feel shocked, scared, and relieved all at the same time when he listened until the end. If Ye Qing hadn’t stumbled upon the Way of Taiping by accident, if he hadn’t followed Actor and Matchmaker to the site, and if he hadn’t destroyed the Twelve Sky Gods and Demons Array, Luo Shui would have faced its greatest disaster in history.

His Pacification Bureau would never be able to wash away the dishonor even if they all died in defense of Luo Shui, and he, the Deputy Chief of Bureau, would forever be remembered as the sinner who allowed it to happen.