Stranger Danger

“To think you managed to kill Xiong Kuohai right under my nose. Not bad, Bodhisattva,” said the mysterious Sakyamuni with a smile that didn’t reach the eye. He had already figured out how Joy Bodhisattva managed to kill Xiong Kuohai.

Joy Bodhisattva replied indifferently, “You flatter me, Sakyamuni Myriad Shadows.” She looked terrible, but her expression was calm, and her tone was as indifferent as ever.

“Sakyamuni Myriad Shadows?!”

Everyone was astonished to hear this. The Way Lord was the master of the Way of Taiping, and he was served by four Sakyamunis. They were Heavenly Soul Breaker, Earthly Soul Destroyer, Myriad Shadows and Thousand Faces. Each Sakyamuni was immeasurably powerful and a named warrior on the Earth Champions Ranking.

Of the four, Heavenly Soul Breaker was the strongest, Earthly Soul Destroyer was the strangest, Myriad Shadows was the most enigmatic, and Thousand Faces was the most unknowable.

Heavenly Soul Breaker was said to be a half step away from becoming a Sage and becoming a god-on-earth. Hence, he was the strongest. Earthly Soul Destroyer cultivated the Way of Taiping’s Deity Possession Art and could summon gods to possess his body. Therefore, his power was as incredible as it was unpredictable. Myriad Shadows was a shadowy, indiscernible entity that no light could illuminate, which was why it was the most enigmatic. And finally, Thousand Faces could change their appearance however they liked. They could be male, female, old or young. No one knew their appearance, their age, or even their gender.

In conclusion, the four Sakyamunis of the Way of Taiping were notorious and powerful titans of the Dark Ways. There was no one in the jianghu who hadn’t heard about them, and they were nothing the likes of Ji Donglei, Huo Ruyu and Joy Bodhisattva could compare.

Although Ji Donglei knew that the Way of Taiping was behind Xiong Kuohai and said as much, he did not think that it would be Myriad Shadows, one of the four Sakyamunis of the Way of Taiping.

The likes of Wei Changhe and and Gold Ingot were lost and terrified after Xiong Kuohai perished, but the appearance of the Sakyamuni injected a new burst of strength into their bodies.

As for the survivors who were celebrating the death of Xiong Kuohai, they felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice over their heads. They felt cold all the way to the core.

“You did recognize me. I was right after all. Someone was following me that night.”

Myriad Shadows looked at Joy Bodhisattva and asked, “I’m curious. Since you knew about Xiong Kuohai’s plan and even my presence from the start, why didn’t you run away or expose me in front of everyone? Why did you cooperate with me and play this farce all the way to its climax? Are you so arrogant as to think that you can defeat me with these remnants who are poisoned by the Burning Heart?”

“Of course not.” Joy Bodhisattva clasped her hands in salute.

Hmm? She admitted to it? What is she planning? Ye Qing thought curiously. He thought for sure that Joy Bodhisattva would feign ignorance and pretend that she hadn’t manipulated everyone present to her advantage. After all, that would turn everyone against her, and she would have no ammunition to use against Myriad Shadows.

“Huh? You admit it?” Even Myriad Shadows sounded a little surprised. He wondered what the woman was cooking.

“Why would I fear admitting something I did?” Joy Bodhisattva replied indifferently.

“You… You used us?” Ji Donglei was so angry that his eyes were bloodshot, and his entire body was shaking.

“I’ll kill you!”

Huo Ruyu let out a guttural roar and charged toward Joy Bodhisattva with reckless abandon. She had woken up a while ago, but the Five Qi Auspicious Cloud Altar was no longer present. Unable to suppress the Burning Heart any longer, especially hearing that Joy Bodhisattva had tricked and manipulated her from the very beginning, dark flames began pouring out of her nostrils, her mouth, her eyes and other orifices profusely.

Her flesh began withering and dissolving into ash, but Huo Ruyu paid it no heed. Whatever rationality remained in her heart had been completely replaced by anger and hatred. Right now, all she wanted to do was to kill Joy Bodhisattva.

Joy Bodhisattva didn’t even look at her, however. When Huo Ruyu got close, she lifted a finger and tapped the woman on her forehead.

Huo Ruyu was already on her last legs, not to mention that she was just a mindless beast right now. A hole appeared on her forehead, and both the breath in her mouth and the light in her eyes abruptly extinguished. Her mind was destroyed just like that.

“You… you…”

Ji Donglei and the rest of the warriors stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief. They could not believe that Joy Bodhisattva actually killed Huo Ruyu. At least a dozen people lost control of their emotions and combusted into ash on the spot.

“Why are you doing this, Joy Bodhisattva? Just why?!”

Huo Ruyu’s death and Joy Bodhisattva’s betrayal finally punched through Ji Donglei’s formidable mental defenses. He abruptly screamed on top of his lungs while flames leaked out of his body.

It was only now he realized that they were pawns from the beginning until the end. Both Xiong Kuohai’s and Joy Bodhisattva’s.

How lamentable!

How pitiful!

At that moment, his hatred for Joy Bodhisattva far exceeded even his hatred for Xiong Kuohai.

It wasn’t just him, of course. It was everyone.

“Interesting. How interesting!”

Myriad Shadows’ smile grew a little more genuine as he watched Joy Bodhisattva with great interest. “I want to hear your answer as well. Why are you doing this? Without their aid, your chances of killing me are exactly nil… not that there was any chance you rabble could have killed me.”

Despite Ji Donglei’s roar, Joy Bodhisattva did not so much as glance at his direction. She said indifferently, “I had never planned on killing you, Sakyamuni. All I was aiming for from the start was Xiong Kuohai.”

“Hmm? Xiong Kuohai?” Myriad Shadows looked confused. “But why?”

Joy Bodhisattva answered simply, “I wish to cooperate with you.”

“Cooperate?” Myriad Shadows hesitated for a moment before exclaiming in realization. “Oh! You wish to replace him?”

“That is correct,” Joy Bodhisattva admitted.

“Interesting.” Myriad Shadows smiled when suddenly, his tone grew utterly scornful and disdainful. “But why should I cooperate with you? What makes you think that an ant like you deserves to cooperate with me? I can literally crush you with one finger right now. What makes you think that I would cooperate with a useless, worthless ant?”

Joy Bodhisattva did not get angry despite Myriad Shadows’ insult. “You are wrong, Sakyamuni. You may be strong, but you won’t be able to defeat me easily. Besides, I know you don’t really want to kill me.”

As soon as she finished, vitality suddenly flowed out from inside Joy Bodhisattva and mended her wounds at a visible rate. In just the blink of an eye, her aura had climbed back to its peak almost as if she had never been injured in the first place.

“The Nature’s Water?!” Myriad Shadows was surprised yet again. “I did not know that you possessed such a treasure! Still, you didn’t think that you could beat me just because you have regained your strength, did you?”

“Of course not.” Joy Bodhisattva replied indifferently, “But do not forget that this is Blissful Mountain, Sakyamuni. This is my domain.”

“And?” Sakyamuni Myriad Shadows taunted.

“Observe, Sakyamuni!” Joy Bodhisattva made a hand seal, and the Buddhist, Bodhisattva and celestial statues spread across Blissful Mountain began shaking slightly. As golden light filled the entire place, countless array lines and restrictions spread out from the statues and formed a massive, mysterious array that encompassed the entire Blissful Mountain.

When the array took form, the golden light grew even brighter and shot into the air. It scattered in eight different directions—east, west, north, south, up, down, left, right[1] and took the form of eight Bodhisattvas.

Each Bodhisattva had a different appearance and gender. One female Bodhisattva was holding a kalasa and a prithvi mudra with a smile on her face; a male Bodhisattva was holding a wisdom spellsword and wearing a wrathful expression; another female Bodhisattva was making a boundless mudra with a kind, benevolent expression; another male Bodhisattva was carrying a vajra on his shoulder with a cold, indifferent expression…

The eight Bodhisattvas looked down on the crowd while a terrible pressure encompassed everyone. They looked like gods who were pending orders to lay down divine judgment upon the insignificant masses below.

“This is the Buddhist Hall of Joy’s defense array, the Eight Realms Bodhisattva Evil Suppressing Array. At full strength, it is equal to one strike from a half-step Sage.”

“Therefore, you cannot crush me like an ant.”

Myriad Shadows did not say anything. He simply glanced at the eight Bodhisattvas in the sky with a hint of disdain.

Joy Bodhisattva noticed his reaction and added, “Of course, this does not mean that you lack the power to kill me.”

1. Don’t ask me how left and right even works in this scenario. ☜

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