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There was a horrific scream as multiple heads suddenly wriggled out of the corpse wax. They all belonged to the old man’s, and they all seemed to be contorted in pain. The corpse wax itself shuddered like it had taken a huge blow. It would seem that the Soul Absorbing Gong was very effective against the Stranger.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

Always one to kick a dog when it was down, Ye Qing didn’t hesitate to hit the Soul Absorbing Gang again, and again, and again.

The heads started exploding one after another. The blanket of corpse wax falling toward Ye Qing were riddled with holes as well. They splattered lifelessly against the ground as if they had lost all of their vitality and strength. They didn’t move again.

It was at this moment Ye Qing noticed that the corpse wax inside his body had lost its potency as well. His true qi began flowing as smoothly as before.

He didn’t hesitate. Astral qi surging inside him like a raging sea, he turned his body into a furnace and burned it all into nothing. The corpse wax inside his internal organs, his veins, his flesh and his blood, not a single drop was left untouched.

Now that the biggest danger was resolved, Ye Qing continued to hit the Soul Absorbing Gong and unleashed his astral qi at the same time. The dark red Burning Wind swayed like a banner of victory as it swept across the entire space.

“Ahhh! Ahhhhh! AHHHHHHHHH!”

The corpse wax flew everywhere as the old man screamed on top of its lungs, but it was futile. Ye Qing had locked down this entire space with his Burning Wind. No matter where it ran to, the Burning Wind was always there to burn it all.

It took some time, but the corpse wax grew thinner and thinner, and the old man’s scream got weaker and weaker as well. When the last drop of corpse wax evaporated into nothing, his scream finally came to an end.

“Is he dead?” Ye Qing released his spirit and carefully scanned every nook and cranny of the area. Although he couldn’t sense the old man’s aura or any corpse wax, he didn’t let his guard down. Once was enough. He took out the Annon Sutra and checked the dragon-serpent runes. He let out a sigh of relief only when he confirmed that he had gained two silver runes from the battle.

The first silver rune had probably come from Rolling Pin, Furnace, Rice Jar and the rest of the band of comedic Strangers combined, and the second rune came from the old man.

“Phew… he’s finally dead.”

It wasn’t paranoia if they were really out to get you. The old man had lived even after he had blown the sonuvabitch into gas. Not only that, it had slipped inside his body as he breathed and affected the flow of his astral qi.

If his strength wasn’t as formidable as it was, or if he didn’t have a Hatred-class Strange Artifact that attacked the soul, he still would’ve won, but he might have to spend a week or two in the bed at least.

He didn’t think that another Astral Refiner—even one who had reached the ceiling of the Astral Refinement stage—could’ve killed this guy. Defeat him, maybe, and it was far more likely that they would be melted into corpse wax just like those three poor customers. Kill him? Absolutely not.

“Urk… that’s it, I’m deleting this battle from my brain except the beginning and the end. And I gotta go home and take a bath ASAP.”

Driven by morbid curiosity, Ye Qing sniffed himself and nearly threw up on the spot. He might have annihilated the corpse wax with the Burning Wind, but it was inevitable that some of the stench would linger. If he did not go home now and take a thorough bath, heavens only know what his men and more importantly, Qingyou would think of him tomorrow.

Ye Qing looked around for a bit and confirmed that the mysterious power that separated this alley from the real world had disappeared. He could clearly hear the sounds of footsteps and conversations from outside the alley and the surrounding buildings. After inspecting the area one last time and confirming that he hadn’t missed anything, he finally made his way to the Pacification Bureau.

Ye Qing didn’t head to his residence immediately after he returned to the Pacification Bureau. Duty came first, and his duty entailed him to report what just happened to Gu Suitang. The Vice Chief of Bureau was extremely pleased to hear this and did not hesitate to lavish him with praises.

Obviously, he didn’t mention that the Annon Sutra was the one who led him to the mysterious cook in the first place. He chalked it all up to the Incense of Fortune and pure coincidence. After all, a man’s gotta step on dog shit at least a few times in their life, much less dog shit luck, right?

With this, the case was finally wrapped up. The mastermind behind the zombie outbreaks had been destroyed, so there wouldn’t be any more zombie outbreaks. There were, of course, still the loose ends and the aftermath to handle, but that was for his subordinates to worry about. What was the point of being a boss if he didn’t delegate?

Ye Qing took a bath as soon as he returned to his room. When he had thoroughly washed the stink off his person, he hit the bed and was out like a light.

He had not had a good night’s sleep since he started investigating this case. The trip to the Strange Market had turned out to be far more tumultuous than he expected as well. It might not sound like much on paper, but he knew just how exhausting this past week had been. Now that it was finally over, of course he was going to catch all the Zs he had missed until now.

……

“Phew… the sky is bright, and the weather is clear. This is the perfect day to head out for a trip.”

Ye Qing was wearing a conical hat and stretching a little in front of the entrance of Luo Shui, the corners of his lips curled into a bright smile as he basked under the warm sunlight.

The reason he was leaving the commandery today was to visit the Thousand Buddhas Grotto, of course. He was going to use the Star Lotus and the Blood Jade Lotus to skyrocket through the cultivation levels.

It was dangerous to leave the commandery, of course. Even if he pretended that Wang Luori wasn’t looking for him anymore, it was practically guaranteed that he would encounter grave and unexpected dangers once he left the Pacification Bureau’s protection. Such was the world he lived in now.

That said, he had never planned on hiding under the umbrella that was the Pacification Bureau forever. Outside help was great, but the only one who could truly help him was himself.

But of course, that didn’t mean that he was just going to waltz out of there without any preparation whatsoever. He had informed Gu Suitang and only Gu Suitang about his departure. He also asked Faceless to transform into him and pretend that he was still in the Inspection Department. As long as he showed his face and took care of some trivial matters once in a while, that should be enough to fool his observers into thinking that he was still in the Pacification Bureau. No one would think that the real Ye Qing had left the commandery.

The Thousand Buddhas Grotto was called the Thousand Buddhas Grotto because it was filled with all kinds of Buddhist statues. There were the Bodhisattvas, the Wisdom Kings, the Yaksha and the Buddha himself; the Sleeping Buddha, Reclining Buddha, Sitting Buddha, Standing Buddha, Apsara and more.

Their appearance was also incredibly diverse. Some statues were smiling, and some were yelling. Some looked kind and benevolent, while some were wide-eyed with anger. Some were noble and righteous, and some were lustful and bizarre. Even their shapes and sizes were very varied. There had to be at least thousands of statues down there, which was why the Thousand Buddhas Grotto was also nicknamed as the “Kingdom of Buddha on Earth [1]”.

Of course, the nickname didn’t mean that the Thousand Buddhas Grotto was a true Kingdom of Buddha where peace and harmony reigned, and paradise was everywhere. It just meant that the grotto had a lot of Buddhist statues.

In fact, the Thousand Buddhas Grotto was filled with evil, Strangers and taint. It was a dangerous, living hell that only the strong, the brave or the foolish would dare to venture into.

According to the records, the Thousand Buddhas Grotto was a real Buddhist temple centuries ago, but one night, the entire structure sank into the underground for some unknown reason. The monks living inside the temple had gone missing as well. No one knew if they were alive or dead.

Over time, Thousand Buddhas Grotto became infested with all kinds of evils and Strangers. It eventually transformed into a Strange Realm and a forbidden land to all living things.

The entrance of the Thousand Buddhas Grotto was located at the foot of a mountain. From above, it looked like the ground had suddenly split apart into a dark, sinister crack.

When Ye Qing stepped through the crack, he was immediately assaulted by an unnatural chill. It was surprisingly dark inside the cavern even though the entrance was right there. It was as if a mysterious power was keeping out all of the warmth and light so that there would only be cold, dark and evil. The underground world or the surface world; the Kingdom of Buddha or the Kingdom of Demons.

Ye Qing followed a series of small trails and ancient corridors deeper into the grotto. It wasn’t long before he started seeing Buddhist statues of all shapes and sizes on both sides of the path.

Tok tok tok tok…

Suddenly, Ye Qing heard a series of distinct knocking sounds from deeper underground. He recognized it immediately.

“Someone’s tapping on a wooden fish…?”

Ye Qing stopped in his tracks and listened for a bit. It was a steady, fairly rapid rhythm that reminded him of monks tapping on a wooden fish while chanting a sutra.

“But why would there be such a sound in this grotto?”

Ye Qing frowned and made his way toward the source of the noise. He had just stepped past a collapsed Buddhist statue when he saw a monk wearing a moon white monk robe sitting crosslegged on the ground with his back facing toward him. He couldn’t see it, but the knocking sound came from directly in front of the monk.

A warm, golden light rippled out from the monk’s body in intervals as the knocking sound continued. It gave him a holy and welcoming feeling that wasn’t all that different from the rising sun.

The holy light and the melodious knocks of the wooden fish seemed to possess some sort of strange magic. It could pacify everything within a certain range.

Gradually, Ye Qing’s expression turned warm and gentle. His lips were curled into a peaceful smile as he slowly stepped toward the monk as if he had forgotten his caution, his doubt, and his violent impulses.

When Ye Qing was about three meters away from the monk, the monks slowly turned around to reveal a kind, amicable face. However, beneath the face was a centipede-like body that was covered in thin, long legs. As it turned out, the knocking sound hadn’t come from a wooden fish at all. It was the sound of the centipede tapping two of its legs together!

Even stranger was the fact that the centipede Stranger completely lacked the dark, sinister vibe of the Thousand Buddhas Grotto. Instead, it exuded an aura of peace, tranquility, and majesty not unlike the esteemed monks who had studied the sutras for decades and attained varying degrees of enlightenment.

In fact, no one would think that the monk was a Stranger if they only looked at his face or perceived his aura. They would’ve believed that he was a great, virtuous monk whose attainment in Buddhism could only be described as sublime.

The centipede Stranger’s smile grew increasingly kind and merciful as Ye Qing stepped closer and closer. He was wobbling on his feet as if he wasn’t completely in control of his faculties. And all this time, the centipede Stranger never stopped tapping its legs.

When Ye Qing was about an inch away from it, the centipede Stranger slowly opened its mouth to reveal a snake-like tongue. As the tongue slithered toward Ye Qing’s face, it abruptly split in half to reveal rows and rows of barb-like teeth. Then, the split tongue bit down on Ye Qing’s head horizontally.

The centipede Stranger’s kind smile never faded even as it tried to murder Ye Qing. To save a life was a merciful act. To take a life, too, was a merciful act.

Right before Ye Qing would lose his head, his lips abruptly curled into an evil smirk. Then, he pulled back and dodged the bite with millimeters to spare.

Clank!

Sparks flew, and there was a loud, metallic bang when the split tongue clamped together. Before the centipede Stranger could react, Ye Qing reached out and grabbed its tongue with his left hand.

Tok tok tok tok tok!

The centipede Stranger clearly recognized that it was in danger. It started tapping one half of its legs faster than ever before, increasing the intensity of the golden light and the strange power that seemed capable of pacifying any violence or bloodthirst. At the same time, it thrust the other half of its legs forward in an attempt to stab Ye Qing in the stomach.

The sudden outburst of power could have thrown most Astral Refiners off balance for an instant, and in a battle, an instant could make the difference between life and death. However, Ye Qing was completely unmoved by the pacifying power. Eyes looking as clear as a pair of crystals, he unleashed the Netherflame and burned the centipede Stranger’s tongue into ash in an instant. The unholy flame then continued to spread to its head.

At the same time, he swung his right hand downward and cut all of the attacking legs in one smooth motion. Then, he clenched his right hand into a fist and punched it right in the abdomen.

Boom!

The Stranger’s golden light was crushed into smithereens, and the Burning Wind consumed it all. Like a piece of rotten wood, the centipede Stranger started eroding at an unbelievable rate. One second before, holes suddenly appeared all over its body. One second later, all that was left of the centipede Stranger was dust.

1. I’m talking about earth, not Earth. Above Ground is an option but it sounds lame and is misleading because this is an underground grotto. ☜