“Young master!”

Old Man of Snowy Mountain cried out in panic when he saw this. He tried to rush to Ye Qing’s rescue but was stopped by Yi Pin.

“Calm down. He’ll be fine.”

Yi Pin looked a lot more at ease compared to Old Man of Snowy Mountain.

Jinpeng Moyun and the old woman felt no good will toward Ye Qing whatsoever, so they were more than happy to see this happen.

However, their smiles quickly froze on their faces. It was because an arrogant voice said,

“The fuck you’re looking at?”

Yi Pin: “...”

Old Man of Snowy Mountain: “...”

Jinpeng Moyun: “...”

The old woman: “...”

If this wasn’t arrogance, what was?

No one could say a thing for a time. In fact, a hint of nervousness peeked out of everyone’s face. They were afraid that they would be caught up in the aftermath of Ye Qing’s insolence.

Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened. A few breaths later, the heads pulled away from Ye Qing, circled the sky some more, and finally retreated into the darkness.

The group collectively let out a sigh of relief after they were sure that the three-headed snake was gone.

Jinpeng Moyun and the old woman were glaring at Ye Qing though. It was clear that they blamed him for his insolent words.

“The fuck

you’re looking at?”

Ye Qing immediately shot back.

The old woman: “...”

Jinpeng Moyun: “...”

Does he have a screw loose in his head?

“Luck as one wants…”

It was at this moment Devi Ruyi walked up to the eaten golden warriors while chanting an unknown sutra under her breath. A moment later, she waved her hand once.

White flame immediately burst out of the skeletons, soft and gentle. Slowly, the skeletons crumbled into powder, and the warriors’ souls floated into the air.

“Boundless Buddha, return to the Kingdom…”

Devi Ruyi pressed her hand together and chanted.

“Boundless Buddha, return to the Kingdom…”

“Boundless Buddha, return to the Kingdom…”

“Boundless Buddha, return to the Kingdom…”

The rest of the group also bent their backs and chanted in unison.

Amidst the soft chanting, the souls of the golden warriors seemed to regain their sentience. Over time, their resentful, angry expressions transformed into peaceful smiles, and they slowly disappeared into nothing.

The white flames burning their remains slowly died down as well.

“Interesting.”

Beside the group, Ye Qing’s lips curled into an enigmatic smile.

No one seemed to notice it, but he saw clear as day that the souls had not, in fact, faded into nothing. They had been absorbed by Devi Ruyi.

Seemingly sensing his gaze, Devi Ruyi turned around and shot him a smile. She looked as pure and flawless as ever.

“Oh right, Devi. Can this old Taoist ask you about something?”

Seeing that Devi Ruyi was done with her business, Yi Pin finally asked her a question.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

As if she could guess Yi Pin’s thoughts, Devi Ruyi asked gently, “Are you curious about the giant snake, householder?”

“Exactly.”

Yi Pin did not try to beat around the bush. He asked directly, “What on earth was that snake, and how did you know that we would be fine if we closed our eyes?”

Jinpeng Moyun, the old woman, and everyone else looked at Devi Ruyi as well. Clearly, they harbored the same doubt and curiosity.

“The snake is one of the thirty six Protector Gods of my Mara Sect. We call it the Myriad-eyed Snake King.”

Devi Ruyi explained, “In the ‘Mara Descension Sutra’, it is said that the Buddha Emperor is served by thirty six Protector Gods. One of them is the Myriad-eyed Snake King. A giant snake with three heads and countless eyes, the Myriad-eyed Snake King could see any and all evil that exists in this world. If someone is disrespectful toward the Buddha Emperor, or if they are riddled with sin, then meeting the Myriad-eyed Snake King’s eyes would cause their ill kama to transform into snake pupils and appear on their body.”

“The only way the snake pupils might disappear is to close one’s eyes and repent. Otherwise, the snake pupils would give birth to snakes of sin who will feast on the sinner’s flesh and blood.”

“To put it simply, closing your eyes and not looking into the Myriad-eyed Snake King’s eyes will protect you from its influence.”

“I see!” Everyone exclaimed in realization.

“Your knowledge is most impressive, Devi,” Jinpeng Moyun praised Devi Ruyi with increasingly passionate eyes.

Some of the monks and golden warriors even knelt on their knees and kowtowed in the direction of the giant snake, submissive and reverent.

“Hah.”

Internally, Ye Qing was sneering. It wasn’t because he thought that Devi Ruyi’s story about the Myriad-eyed Snake King was stupid, however. He was looking down on the kowtowing warriors and monks.

Whether the legend was true or not, the giant snake most definitely wasn’t the true Myriad-eyed Snake King. It was just a Stranger conjured by some sort of evil, anomalous power.

Not only did these people fail to recognize the truth, they were giving away their knees and head freely to a false Buddha. How ironic and amusing it was!

To be fair, the giant snake definitely shared some close similarities to the true Protector God. It even inherited its power and characteristics. He reckoned that it had something to do with the Mara Sect ruins sealed underneath the icy plains.

Ye Qing did not expose the truth though. If he, an outsider, could recognize the truth, there was no reason to think that Devi Ruyi, the one person who should recognize this more than anyone else, wouldn’t. And yet, she had chosen to stay silent about it. So be it. He saw no reason to stir the pot, nor was his business to intervene in their internal politics.

“Where do you think we should go next, Devi?” Ye Qing looked at Devi Ruyi and asked.

Devi Ruyi shook her head before replying, “I don’t know. This is the first time I came to the Myriad Buddha Plains. This is also the first time I encountered a situation like this. I do not know what we must do to leave the Myriad Buddha Plains.”

“Do you have a plan, young master?”

“If even you don’t know, then how could I?” Ye Qing shook his head.

He seriously didn’t know. Logically speaking, the easiest way to escape the Myriad Buddha Plains was to wait for daybreak. Once the light returned, the anomalies affecting the icy plains would disappear naturally.

The problem was that this was no ordinary night. It was an unnatural phenomenon caused by the Light Devourer. It would take two weeks at the minimum for light to return to the Myriad Buddha Plains, and who knows what they would encounter during this time?

“Let’s take this one step at a time.” Ye Qing sighed. “I’ll be counting on you, Devi.”

“No, we’ll be counting on you, scion. Ruyi only wishes that she possesses your immense strength,” Devi Ruyi paid him a compliment smilingly.

“You’re welcome.” Ye Qing smiled and changed the subject, “By the way, why have you come to the Myriad Buddha Plains? Is it for a pilgrimage, or?”

“No, it is not,” Devi Ruyi answered. “Emperor Qian Yuan of Wei will be celebrating his one hundredth birthday very soon, and the Great Peng Kingdom is invited to attend. Prince Moyun and I were chosen as the representatives.”

“We decided to pay our respects to the Myriad Buddha Plains since we are passing through the area. It is also because the Myriad Buddha Plains is a testament of the history of the Mara Sect, and many of our Buddhas and ancestors are buried here.”

“We did not think we would run into such a situation though.”

“I see.” Ye Qing nodded before asking her a couple more questions. Devi Ruyi answered them all. On the surface, it looked like they shared a friendly relationship with each other.

“Now that I think about it, there is something fundamental I forgot to ask. Where is the Great Peng Kingdom situated, pray tell?”

“The Great Peng Kingdom is—”

Devi Ruyi was just about to answer him when Jinpeng Moyun walked over and interrupted in an unfriendly voice, “You may direct any questions regarding the Great Peng Kingdom at me. Do not disturb Devi Ruyi anymore than is necessary!”