Chapter 1167: Mara Sacred Flame

“Go!”

The fake Ye Qing created by the Yin Yang Qi leaped into the air and landed on the Mara Sacred Road. The next moment, blue flames burst out from underneath his feet and engulfed him.

“Hmm!”

On the ground, the real Ye Qing suddenly let out a muffled groan as blue flames poured out of his mouth, nose, and even pores. He had transformed into a ball of flames in just the blink of an eye.

“Brother!”

“Young master!”

Yi Pin and Old Man of Snowy Mountain cried out in alarm as soon as they saw this.

“I’m fine.”

Ye Qing waved to show that he was okay before examining the blue flames still pouring out of his body closely. He cracked a grin as he said, “So this is the Mara Sacred Flame. Interesting.”

The flames looked incredibly blue, pure, and holy. On the surface, it seemed perfectly harmless as it did not burn even a single string on his clothes. In reality, it was burning and invading his flesh and blood, true qi and mind.

To be specific, his flesh was being ripped apart piece by piece, his vitality was being snuffed out like a candle, his true qi was being extracted and consumed by some sort of formless energy, and his mind was being ground into dust. Anything and everything was sliding toward decay and primal chaos.

On top of that, he was afflicted by indescribable physical and mental pain. A weak-willed person would have broken down or succumbed to madness in an instant.

“Hmm hmm. ‘Breaking their flesh, scattering their true qi, and shattering their consciousness.’ Devi Rui was telling the truth after all,” Ye Qing murmured to himself.

Of course, the blue flame was no real threat to him. What he was really curious about was how the blue flames had seemingly ignored the laws of time and space and attacked his true body even though the one standing on the Mara Sacred Road right now was just a demonic thought body double.

Not only that, he was experimenting with all sorts of methods and trying to extinguish the blue flames, but spiritual power was the only thing that worked, albeit barely. Vigor, physical strength, true qi, astral qi. Nothing else worked.

It was because the blue flames seemed to hail from nothingness. It neither existed on this side or the other side. Since his vigor, true qi, astral qi and so on never made contact with the blue flames in the first place, of course they couldn’t isolate or extinguish it. And yet, the blue flames were definitely burning his flesh and blood, true qi and astral qi. It was quite the magical existence to say the least. Spiritual power was the one thing that could barely perceive the existence of the blue flames and suppress it that way.

“This Mara Sacred Flame really is quite something.”

Ye Qing remarked with a raised eyebrow before piloting his body double to move forward.

Every time his body double took a step forward, the blue flames a.k.a the Mara Sacred Flames would grow a bit stronger. Not only that, walking on the Mara Sacred Road felt like wading through a swamp or carrying many boulders on one’s shoulders. He could only move so fast.

Snap!

A short while later, after experimenting for a bit and finding nothing new, Ye Qing finally snapped his fingers and dispersed the body double.

Despite this, the Mara Sacred Flame burning Ye Qing did not disappear. It continued to burn anomalously.

“If I’m not mistaken, I believe this is the Non-existent Buddha Flame,” Yi Pin remarked with interest as he examined the Mara Sacred Flame burning Ye Qing.

“Non-existent Buddha Flame? What’s that?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

“In Buddhism, it is said that there is a flame that does not exist here, there, or anywhere in between. It exists in nothingness in a state of existence and non-existence, tangibility and intangibility.”

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Yi Pin said, “In summary, the Non-existent Buddha Flame is a magical, terrifying flame that exists in nothingness. It can be seen but not touched; felt but not handled. That is why it cannot be extinguished.”

“I believe that the Mara Sacred Flame is one of the few types of Non-existent Buddha Flame.”

Yi Pin circled around Ye Qing twice and clicked his tongue. “However, the Mara Sacred Flame burning you is clearly not as potent as the one mentioned in the legends. The true Non-existent Buddha Flame cannot be touched, handled, or perceived. It truly exists in a space that is neither here, there, or anywhere in between, and it is impossible to extinguish.”

“If I’m not mistaken, the reason the Mara Sacred Flame does not live up to expectation is because the Buddhist Emperor Mountain is damaged. As a result, its potency is greatly affected as well.”

“Neither here, there, or anywhere in between? That would explain this strange feeling.”

Ye QIng chuckled while creating a yin yang vortex composed of his demonic thought and Profound Yellow Mother Qi. It rotated slowly but consumed the Mara Sacred Flame burning him in no time at all.

“Alright, I’m going. Wait here until I’m done, you two,” Ye Qing said.

“Wait, you’re leaving? What about us?” Yi Pin felt his scalp crawl as he looked at the wall of innumerable Strangers surrounding them.

“Do you want to come up with me then?” Ye Qing asked.

“Of course not! Not everyone is as thick-skinned as you!” Yi Pin shook his head. Although the Mara Sacred Flame was much weaker due to the damage incurred by the Buddha Emperor Mountain, it made no difference to power level 5 small fries[1] like them whatsoever.

“Right?” Ye Qing clapped Yi Pin on the shoulder. “Besides, I’m going up there to plunder our enemies, not tour the place. I may not be able to protect you when a fight breaks out. No matter how you look at it, it is simply worse for you to come with me.”

“On the other hand, these Strangers haven’t attacked for the longest time, and I don’t think this will change anytime soon. Right now, this is probably the safest place in the entire Myriad Buddha Plains.”

“But what if the improbable did happen?” Yi Pin asked.

“Then Old Man of Snowy Mountain will protect you. Worst case scenario, there is still you.” Ye Qing smirked. “You can do it, brother. I believe in you.”

Yi Pin: “...”

I don’t think I can do it though! I really don’t!

“Alright, I’m really leaving now.”

Ye Qing looked at Old Man of Snowy Mountain and ordered, “Keep them safe.”

“Do not worry, young master. I won’t let anything bad happen to the Reverend,” Old Man of Snowy Mountain answered.

“See you later, brother. Take care.”

With that said, Ye Qing leaped high up into the air.

As soon as Ye Qing landed on the Mara Sacred Road, he was immediately engulfed by the Mara Sacred Flame.

“Damn. I should’ve known it would be worse than when I was using a body double!”

Ye Qing complained a bit before inhaling slightly. His force circulating throughout his whole body, he kicked off the ground and shot forward with a bang.

......

“Hah... hah...”

The old woman from Devi Ruyi’s group was panting heavily. The Buddhist light surrounding her body was weak, and the images of dragons and serpents were almost transparent. Her face was white, and her eyes were unfocused. She was trudging forward as if she was carrying a mountain on her back.

The Mara Sacred Road was originally a trial for the disciples and worshipers of the Mara Sect. Although the old woman, Jinpeng Moyun, and other devotees of the Mara Sect were exempt from the Mara Sacred Flame, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t suffer. Illusion, pain, sorrow, and so on, it was all a trial to temper a disciple’s Buddhist heart and Buddhist potential.

Naturally, the closer one got to the Buddha Emperor Mountain, the harder the trials would become. Only those possessing the strongest will and the firmest heart could withstand the trials and enter the Buddha Emperor Mountain.

Right now, the old woman felt as if her heart was being cut into pieces, and a mountain was weighing her down at the same time. Not only that, she was tormented by incessant whispers and strange illusions as well.

1. A Dragon Ball joke. ☜