Chapter 1156: The Calabash Celestial

Jinpeng Moyun asked the wizened old man, “Tell me, which direction do we need to go to leave the Myriad Buddha Plains?”

“Kekeke... I want ten.”

The old man looked friendly at first glance, but his evil, spine-chilling cackle instantly changed that impression.

“You will have it,” Jinpeng Moyun replied, “but if I find out that you are lying, then you will wish that you were dead, understand?”

“Keke...”

The old man let out another cackle before looking at Devi Ruyi and the others with a greedy expression. Mist that looked like saliva was dripping down the corners of his lips.

The next moment, the old man split into ten wisps of smoke and flew toward the group.

Nine of them flew toward nine golden warriors, and the tenth and last wisp flew toward Ye Qing.

The nine golden warriors collapsed on the spot. Their bodies were perfectly unharmed, but their souls were nowhere to be found.

At this point, it became clear what the old man was demanding from Jinpeng Moyun. It was souls.

When the tenth wisp was a few inches away from Ye Qing, it suddenly veered off course as if sensing something.

Seeing this, Ye Qing made a grab for the smoke while smirking devilishly. “Leaving already? But I haven’t even made your acquaintance yet!”

Sensing danger, the smoke hurriedly scattered itself and tried to escape into space. It was the same for the other nine wisps of smoke.

Their efforts were futile though. As Ye Qing lowered his palm and curled his fingers slowly, the surrounding air forced every escaping wisp of smoke into his palm.

No matter how the smoke changed its form or struggled, it was unable to escape Ye Qing’s palm.

It was as if his hand was a prison unto itself.

“Let me go!”

The next moment, the smoke converged into the old man’s face. He glared angrily and warily at Ye Qing.

“I see! You’re a Calabash Celestial!”

Ye Qing ignored his yells and said curiously after a moment of observation.

“If you know who I am, then let me go already!”

The old man threatened, “You’re inside an Anomaly right now. Without my guidance, there is no chance you’ll get out of this place alive!”

“Are you threatening me?”

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Ye Qing lifted an eyebrow and tightened his fingers a little. Profound light shone, and the old man immediately started screaming as if he was being burned alive.

“Tell him to release me, Jinpeng Moyun, or not a single one of you is going to leave this place alive!”

The old man screamed in Jinpeng Moyun’s direction with a contorted expression, “Tell him to release me

now

, Jinpeng Moyun!

Argh!

”

“Release him.” Jinpeng Moyun ordered coldly while looking at Ye Qing. “Otherwise, we won’t be able to leave the Myriad Buddha Plains.”

“Seriously? You actually believe this thing?”

Ye Qing shot him a weird look before saying in an exaggerated tone, “Not even dogs would believe this thing, you know that?”

Jinpeng Moyun: “...”

I suspect you’re insulting me indirectly, but I have no proof.

“Do you know a better way then?” Jinpeng Moyun asked.

“No, but being completely clueless is still better than being swindled to death, don’t you think?” Ye Qing countered. “If you allow it, this thing will devour you whole, bones and all. I would rather rely on myself than trusting him.”

Jinpeng Moyun fell silent for a moment. Then, he nodded indifferently. “Makes sense. Kill him then.”

“No! No! Don’t kill me! I won’t lie! On my name, I swear I won’t lie to any one of you!” Panicking, the old man hastily swore an oath.

“Your name isn’t worth shit, old man. Who doesn’t know that a Calabash Celestial is a liar through and through?” Ye Qing replied indifferently while increasing the intensity of his profound light.

“I would not! I would not! If I lie, may my soul scatter into nothing, and reincarnation forever denied to me!”

Sensing death breathing down his neck, the Calabash Celestial swore the oath with all his heart before pleading, “I swear! I swear I won’t lie to you! I swear!”

“Really? You swear you won’t lie to us?” Ye Qing asked.

“Really! Really! I won’t breathe a single lie!” The old man pleaded.

“Should I trust you this once?”

Ye Qing rubbed his nose as he wondered out loud, but before the old man could even breathe a sigh of relief, he added, “Nah, forget it. I still think you’re untrustworthy. I’d rather you just die.”

Ye Qing clenched his fingers, and terrifying power exploded inside his palm. The smoke surrounding the old man’s body began disintegrating inch by inch.

“Ahhhhh! Don’t! Don’t kill me! I won’t lie to you! No one is more trustworthy than me—go west! West is how you’ll survive this crisis!”

The old man was so terrified that he began weeping. “Oooh, don’t kill me, don’t kill me...”

“Fine, you pitiful thing. I’ll trust you this once.”

Ye Qing finally released the restrictions he placed around the old man, but the Calabash Celestial still did not dare to run away. He was that scared.

“Remember. If this is a trick, I promise I’ll make you wish you were dead.”

“I wouldn’t! I wouldn’t!” The old man hurriedly stammered a promise.

“Get lost.” Ye Qing tossed the old man away like he was garbage.

The old man hurriedly turned into smoke and flew back to Jinpeng Moyun. “Wait.”

The Calabash Celestial was about halfway there when suddenly, Ye Qing’s voice rang again. The smoke wobbled and nearly dissipated on the spot.

“What... what else do you need, scion?”

The smoke turned into the old man, and the old man asked in a fearful voice.

“Return those people their souls,” Ye Qing ordered indifferently.

“Of course, of course...” The old man opened his mouth, and nine transparent silhouettes flew out into the open. They flew back into their respective bodies and, after a few breaths later, woke up.

“Can... Can I leave now?” The old man asked carefully after that.

“Mm. Go.” Ye Qing waved.

“Yes, yes. Thank you, scion!” The old man hurriedly transformed into smoke and slipped into Jinpeng Moyun’s calabash again. Then, the calabash automatically flew into the air and attached itself to his waist. Right now, it was the perfect model of obedience.

Jinpeng Moyun looked at Ye Qing, and Ye Qing returned a smirk, saying, “Well done.”

“Hmph.”

Jinpeng Moyun harrumphed and pretended that he did not hear Ye Qing. He turned back to his men and declared, “Let’s go. West is where salvation lies.”

Everyone including Devi Ruyi began walking toward the west.

Ye Qing did not get angry despite Jinpeng Moyun’s less-than-satisfactory response. Instead, he walked up to Yi Pin and asked in a small voice, “So? What’s the verdict?”

“I can’t say. I performed a divination earlier, and it says that a dragon carves a great path toward the west. This proves that the west is where fortune lies.”

Yi Pin opened his hand and revealed five copper coins standing vertically on his palm. They were all pointed toward the west.

“However, there is another layer of meaning behind this result. ‘And yet the west is also where the soul goes.’ That is a sign of misfortune.”

“Meaning?” Ye Qing asked.

“Meaning that fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin. The west is very likely where the exit lies, but it can also be the death of us,” Yi Pin answered. “The rivers of fate are muddied here though. This is as far as I can divine our fortune.”

Ye Qing mused thoughtfully, “I guess the Calabash Celestial wasn’t lying after all.”

“Maybe, but it’s in its nature to deceive. You must not believe its words completely,” Yi Pin warned.

“I know.” Ye Qing nodded.

The Calabash Celestial was a Disaster-class Stranger. Born from the rivers of fate, it took the form of a spirit calabash. An incredibly rare Stranger, it possessed the power to observe ebb and flow, fortune and misfortune, life and death. Similar to a fortune teller, the people called it the Calabash Celestial.

Although the Calabash Celestial had the word “celestial” in its name, it was an evil demon through and through. It fed on human souls and usually chose to attach itself to a powerful human warrior. However, it adored using its ability to trick its master into killing themselves using half-truths. This was so that it could consume its master’s soul.

That was why a Calabash Celestial’s words could not be fully trusted. Everything it said could be a truth, a lie, or somewhere in between. It could save or take one’s life. It was impossible to say until an outcome was reached.

That said, a Calabash Celestial was also paranoid and cowardly by nature. That was why he worked together with Jinpeng Moyun to scare it into divulging the truth.

Of course, the Calabash Celestial was still a Stranger, an intelligent Stranger no less. Possessing intellect equal to that of a human, it was both cunning and devious. That was why its words could not be fully trusted even after Ye Qing had scared it shitless.

“Let’s go.”

After the brief conversation, Ye Qing, Yi Pin, and Old Man of Snowy Mountain followed behind the group and headed toward the west.