Chapter 1160: The Chime In The Dark

“Phew... how is it not over yet? Just how many Buddhas does the Mara Sect have?”

Standing amidst a pile of corpses, Ye Qing let out a murky breath that swam back and forth in the air like a dragon. It did not fade until a long, long time later.

Jinpeng Moyun appeared beside Ye Qing and answered, “The Mara Buddha Emperor commanded three hundred and ninety six million Buddha Realms. Naturally, the number of Buddhas he commanded is like the amount of sand there exists in an eternal river: endless.”

Ye Qing’s breath was as even as his appearance was flawless, but Jinpeng Moyun could not boast the same thing. His complexion was pale, his aura was erratic, and his clothes were in tatters.

“And that makes you proud because?” Ye Qing rolled his eyes at the prince before asking, “Anyway, do you have a plan?”

“There is no end to the Strangers residing in the Myriad Buddha Plains. Realistically speaking, there is no way we can kill them all.”

Jinpeng Moyun said seriously, “Also, did you notice? The quality of the Strangers is increasing.”

“Indeed. At first, the large majority of the Strangers are Phenomenon-class. Now, most of them are Disaster-class. Assuming that this trend continues, it won’t be long before Ancient-class Strangers show up,” Ye Qing said while rubbing his nose.

Jinpeng Moyun: “...”

That is an inconvenient truth I could have done without.

“What do you propose we do then?”

“As you say, we cannot fight the Strangers forever, so I guess it’s time we meet up with Devi Ruyi!”

Ye Qing added after some quick thinking, “Also, we should cripple the Strangers instead of killing them if possible.”

“Got it.” Jinpeng Moyun nodded. The duo then took off and chased after the group.

Although half a teatime had passed since the group left the battlefield, and the entire Myriad Buddha Plains was covered in darkness, Ye Qing had attached a wisp of demonic thought on Yi Pin and Old Man of Snowy Mountain. Thanks to this, they were able to catch up with the group without any trouble.

When they arrived, they noticed that Devi Ruyi’s group wasn’t looking too healthy. It was because they had been assaulted by the Strangers as well.

They had already lost over half of their golden warriors in the first place, and now only a handful of them were left. Over half of the monks were dead, and both the old woman and Old Man of Snowy Mountain were drenched in blood.

Yi Pin and Devi Ruyi were the only two people who were doing fine.

Yi Pin was fine because he had never fought in the first place. Devi Ruyi was actually powerful though.

This was the first time Ye Qing witnessed Devi Ruyi employing her true strength. The woman was walking through the Strangers while surrounded by white lotuses that seemed capable of transforming into anything and everything.

Sometimes, wind and thunder would take form. Sometimes, water and fire would manifest. Sometimes, sabers and spears would skewer the enemy. Sometimes, swords and halberds would cut the opposition in half. And sometimes, Buddhas, gods, and demons would descend. Wherever she went, evils receded, and Strangers bowed their heads in submission. She looked both anomalous and powerful.

“‘The one who is immune to all evils is Ruyi (My Will), the one who is ever-changing is Ruyi, the one whose every dream come true is Ruyi. My will is the will of the heavens, and the will of the heavens is the heart of the Buddha.’ That is Ruyi’s Way.”

When Jinpeng Moyun noticed that Ye Qing was observing Devi Ruyi’s battle, he helpfully provided him with an explanation.

After they fought shoulder to shoulder with each other, Jinpeng Moyun’s impression had improved considerably. He would not have bothered to explain things to Ye Qing otherwise.

“It is quite impressive,” Ye Qing praised. He could not help but recall a quote as he watched Devi Ruyi’s Magia: “Ruyi Ruyi, my will be done.”

“But of course! Ruyi’s talent is among the best of the best even compared to all the Devis who came before. She is the Maya Devi reborn[1], boundless and infinite!” Jinpeng Moyun declared proudly.

“Ugh, stop simping already. It’s not like she can hear you. C’mon, let’s go help them already.”

Ye Qing strongly believed that simps did not have a future, so he rolled his eyes at Jinpeng Moyun before diving into a group of Strangers.

Jinpeng Moyun shot Ye Qing a glare, but he too rushed to Devi Ruyi’s aid.

With Ye Qing and Jinpeng Moyun’s aid, it took the group little time to repel the Strangers. Yes, repel.

On their way here, Ye Qing and Jinpeng Moyun had experimented a little and found out that the Strangers would automatically back down after they took severe injuries. New Strangers would appear to replace them, but they were more or less on the same level as the Strangers they injured. The quality of the Strangers would not increase like if they had killed them instead.

Ye Qing did not know why this was the case, but it was a useful revelation regardless. It was too bad they discovered this only after they had killed enough Strangers that even the weakest Stranger of a wave was a Disaster-class. It was very annoying to say the least.

Anyway, after the wave of Strangers was repelled, the group hurriedly rushed ahead while the next wave of Strangers hadn’t appeared yet.

Unfortunately, they weren’t able to go too far before more shadows emerged from the darkness.

“Just how much longer is this going to continue?”

Yi Pin massaged his forehead while saying wearily, “At this rate, we’re all going to die here.” Devi Ruyi, Jinpeng Moyun and everyone else were looking worried as well.

It was bad enough that they could not leave the Myriad Buddha Plains, but the waves of Strangers were endless as well. At this rate, they were going to die from exhaustion even if they somehow survived the Strangers.

There was one person who stood out among the group though. He was Ye Qing. Not only did he look calm and collected, he seemed to be listening for something.

“Aren’t you afraid, brother?” Yi Pin asked curiously.

“No? Should I be afraid?” Ye Qing answered honestly.

It was only then Yi Pin recalled that his companion was a monster of unparalleled strength and stamina. He would probably wear out the Strangers first before they wore him out.

Even if that wasn’t the case, he still had the Earthly Sovereign Bell. If worse came to worst, he could just summon the Strange Artifact, ring it twice, and snap the entire Myriad Buddha Plains and all the Strangers in it in half. And who would suffer the most at the end of the aftermath? Them, of course.

No wait, Ye Qing and I are a team. He’ll save me no matter what happens, so why am I being scared for no reason?

“Phew, the collective hysteria got me for a second there. Oh well, I’ll just treat it as sympathy for the weak.”

And so Yi Pin put away his worries and wore his signature smile once more.

Jinpeng Moyun and Devi Ruyi happened to be watching Yi Pin when his expression did a one-eighty, so they were completely confused. What was wrong with the old Taoist? One moment he looked worried, and the next he was grinning like a madman. Did the fear get to him after all?

Yi Pin did not know what Jinpeng Moyun and Devi Ruyi were thinking, though he wouldn’t have given a damn either way. He looked at Ye Qing curiously and asked, “You look like you’re listening for something, brother. Are you?”

Yi Pin noticed that Ye Qing had been acting strangely from the moment he rejoined the group. From time to time, he would stray away from the group alone and hold a hand to his ear as if he was listening for something. If he didn’t know better, he would think that the young man was going insane.

“I’m listening for a chime,” Ye Qing answered.

“Chime? What chime?” Yi Pin looked utterly confused.

“Shh!”

Yi Pin was going to say something more when Ye Qing suddenly shushed him and perked up. “You hear that? It’s a chime!”

A dozen breaths later, Ye Qing’s words came true. Everyone heard a strange ringing sound.

Ring ring...

Ring ring...

Ring ring...

The bell chime sounded exceptionally clear and melodious amidst the darkness.

Unfortunately, the next wave of Strangers had arrived as well.

1. Maya (/ˈmɑːjə/; Devanagari: माया, IAST: māyā), also known as Mahāmāyā and Māyādevī, was the queen of Shakya and the birth mother of Gautama Buddha, the sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. ☜