Stranger Danger

Chapter 303: Humanity Remains the Same

Chapter 303: Humanity Remains the Same

“Finally. The exit.”

With Xue Beikun, a late-stage Spirit Master to protect him, Ye Qing encountered no more trouble as he journeyed toward the north. Finally, he found the exit before the day turned into night once more.

The exit was really an exit. It was a rift between space-time that led to the outside world. All he needed to do was to walk into the rift, and he would be back in Luo Shui.

Ye Qing didn’t leave immediately after finding the exit though. Instead, he searched for a safe spot close to the rift and sat down.

There were a few reasons why he sat here. One, he was hoping to kill Wang Luori. With Xue Beikun under his control, he had a one hundred percent chance of ending Wang Luori if the bastard showed up. Killing him in the Demon’s Tomb would save him a lot of trouble as well.

But of course, this rift wasn’t the only exit. Not even close. It was completely up to luck whether Wang Luori would leave the Demon’s Tomb via this exit or not. If he was lucky, then all was well. If not, then it was fine too. He was just giving it a try.

Two, he wanted to practice the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”. He needed to absorb a human’s Five Poisons, Six Desires, Seven Emotions, Eight Fears, Nine Terrors and so on to practice the cultivation art and strengthen his demonic thought, and the Demon’s Tomb was the resting place of the Progenitor Demon, Rahu and countless more titans of the Dark Ways. The demonic qi of this place was pure and abundant, which made it the perfect place to practice the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”. It would be a shame to miss this opportunity.

After he was ready, Ye Qing ordered Xue Beikun to guard him and keep an eye out for any sign of Wang Luori. Then, he began practicing.

As soon as he started practicing the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”, Ye Qing’s pupils slowly turned as black as ink, infinite and unfathomable. At the same time, the demonic qi in the air flowed into his body like a typhoon.

In Ye Qing’s headspace, the demonic seed floating before his mind began spinning lightly. The typhoon happening outside his headspace was happening inside as well. Like a whale, the demonic seed devoured both his spirit and the demonic qi with unbridled gluttony. The patterns on the seed’s surface grew increasingly complicated and enigmatic as a result.

The demonic seed’s devouring speed only increased over time. Soon, the typhoon outside his headspace had become so thick they looked like black rivers.

Still, the demonic seed devoured it all like a black hole. It was never satisfied no matter how much demonic qi it devoured. One thing for certain, it kept growing more and more profound.

If this was anywhere else, Ye Qing would be forced to stop practicing already. There was only so much demonic qi in the air.

Ye Qing forewent his stray thoughts and focused fully on practicing then.

Like a whirlpool in the middle of the sea, Ye Qing continued to absorb demonic qi at a prodigious rate. At the same time, he was causing all sorts of strange phenomena. Sometimes, heavenly demons could be seen dancing wildly in the sky. Sometimes, one could hear the whispers of celestials and gods. They were all illusions, but their influence was very real. Desires sprung like a wellspring, and few people in the area could calm their mind. To say that he was causing a scene would be an understatement.

The phenomenon was such that even Xue Beikun, a late-stage Spirit Master, was unable to withstand its disruptive influence for long. He had to move far, far away.

“What on earth did the boy get? How is it so terrifying?”

Inside the Boundless Mara Buddha, the Fog Demon was quaking in fear as well. The guy was just practicing, for Nether’s sake. If this was the level of phenomenon he could trigger at rest, just how terrifying he would be when he actually used it in battle?

“Motherfucker. Just how lucky can he get? And when am I ever going to get the chance to break free?”

When the shock had passed, the Fog Demon felt a deep sense of doom and gloom shrouding over it.

......

“Oh, look! An unusual phenomenon! It must be the birth of a treasure!”

“Hahaha, it looks like today is my lucky day. I wasn’t expecting to run into a treasure while I was leaving!”

“Wonderful. I need to get there immediately!”

The phenomenon Ye Qing created didn’t escape the notice of the nearby warriors, of course. They all thought that it was a phenomenon created by the birth of a treasure, and they all homed in on his location like flies to honey.

But as soon as they got within a certain range, most of the warriors suddenly fell into insanity and began fighting among themselves. It wasn’t long before they killed each other.

Those who came later saw the bodies, but not everyone was a believer of common sense. Or rather, once you had gained a certain amount of power, the word became so much more vague than what it used to. In any case, countless more rushed to Ye Qing’s location and died.

There were warriors who were strong to resist the demonic thoughts and illusions, of course, but Xue Beikun was there. He killed them and dumped their bodies among the fallen as well.

Gradually, people got the message and stopped coming after the “treasure” completely. If only they knew that the so-called treasure was really just a fellow warrior practicing his cultivation art, and the man himself had no idea of the massacre he unwittingly caused.

Yes, Ye Qing had no idea. Right now, he was completely focused on practicing the Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra. The demonic seed had finally sprouted after all the demonic qi it absorbed, though it was still just a bud.

Over time, the bud bloomed a single petal. When the petal was fully unfolded, it was like a dam had broken. Demonic thoughts instantly filled half of his headspace like a lake, and a single black lotus floated on top of it. It was overflowed with seemingly infinite power.

It was at this moment the Fog Demon spoke to him mentally, “You done yet, boy? We need to go now unless you plan to stay here for eternity.”

Already? It only felt like a few hours to me. Ye Qing felt a little disappointed, but he couldn’t deny that he had gotten what he wanted.

Since the demonic seed had bloomed into a demonic lotus with a single petal, this meant he had officially become an initiate of the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”. He had converted all of his spiritual power into demonic thought. This would allow him to use “Heavenly Demon Captures The Soul” much better than before.

“What are you dilly-dallying about, boy? Do you actually want to grow old in the Demon’s Tomb or what?” The Fog Demon urged again since Ye Qing hadn’t responded to it.

“I’m back,” Ye Qing replied simply before opening his eyes. His pupils were black as the night, strange and evil-looking, seemingly capable of sucking out a person’s soul with a glance. The phenomenon in the sky grew increasingly dense and scary as his powerful demonic thought scanned his surroundings.

Ye Qing blinked, and the unnatural blackness and evil in his pupils faded away. The phenomenon also disappeared like it was never there. It was almost as if everything that had happened was a dream.

Ye Qing looked up. The sun was setting, and the sky was looking a little darker than before. The demonic qi in the air was creating all sorts of strange illusions.

“Has it been a full day and night already?” Ye Qing murmured to himself before hurrying toward the exit. The demon’s Tomb would remain connected to the outside world for three days before slipping to heavens-know-where. If he didn’t get out while he could, this would be a short-lived web novel.

Not long after he left his hiding spot, Xue Beikun walked up to him and greeted, “Young master.”

“Hmm? Why are there so many dead bodies at this place?” Ye Qing suddenly noticed that there were a lot of dead bodies in the surroundings. It looked like they had killed each other as well. Did he miss a war while he was practicing or something?

“They died because of you, young master!” Xue Beikun answered.

“Excuse me?” Ye Qing was very confused.

“It’s like this...” Xue Beikun proceeded to tell him everything that had happened.

“Holy shit. I had no idea that would happen.” Ye Qing rubbed his nose. Who would’ve thought that the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” would cause such a commotion?

The reason was twofold. One, the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” was a mysterious and incredibly potent cultivation art. Two, there was an excessive amount of demonic qi in the Demon’s Tomb.

He didn’t feel any guilt toward their deaths though. If they hadn’t lost themselves to their greed, they could’ve withdrawn while they still could. In this world, the price of succumbing to one’s greed but lacking the power to fulfill it was death.

“Did you see Wang Luori?” Ye Qing tossed the incident out of his mind and asked.

Xue Beikun shook his head. “No.”

“Forget it then.” Ye Qing sighed. He always knew there was a chance that his ploy might fail.

When they reached the rift, Ye Qing noticed that it had become a lot narrower than before. It was just wide enough for a single person to pass through. Had he arrived even a few minutes later, he might not be able to pass through the gap. Xue Beikun certainly wouldn’t be able to.

Right before he stepped in, Ye Qing took one last look at the fading sunset of the Demon’s Tomb and smiled.

Goodbye, Demon’s Tomb.

Goodbye, master!

With that, he exited the rift and never returned.

......

“Urgh, I feel like I was being spun around in a washing machine...”

“Where is this? Pan Hill? What the hell—right. The Demon’s Tomb.”

An indefinite amount of time later, Ye Qing finally recovered from his dizziness and scanned his surroundings. It took him a while to identify where he was.

Pan Hill was a moderate-sized hill about five kilometers from the city. It was famed for its beautiful scenery and relaxing environment. Unfortunately, the hill had collapsed into rubble, and the rest of the place looked to be in poor condition as well.

Pan Hill was hardly the only victim. Entire forests were gone just like that. Lakes and ponds were but dry basins with not a drop of water in them. Bigger mountains than Pan Hill had collapsed completely, and the earth had split into new chasms and caves.

This happened when the Demon’s Tomb had manifested in Luo Shui. Its unnatural power had warped its surroundings and caused an unthinkable amount of damage.

Ye Qing didn’t linger. He rushed toward Luo Shui after finding his bearings.

Pan Hill was pretty close to the city, so it only took him a moment to reach it. Obviously, he split up with Xue Beikun on the way to avoid drawing unnecessary suspicion.

Upon entering the city, Ye Qing found that, despite the destroyed lands beyond the walls of Luo Shui, the city itself was just as bustling and prosperous as before. The atmosphere was a little tense, but that was it.

“Thank goodness.”

A wide smile spread across his face as he said this. Honestly, he was terrified that he would come back and find a sea of bodies and tortured screams everywhere. Luckily, his fear turned out to be groundless.

Luo Shui was still Luo Shui,

And humanity was still humanity.

Everything was as it should be.

After restoring his appearance to normal, Ye Qing made a beeline for the Inspection Bureau and confirmed that Wawa, Kung Fu Frog and Faceless were all safe and sound. Then, he ran to the Pacification Bureau.

“You’re back, Joyless! Are you alright?” Gu Suitang strode up to Ye Qing as soon as he saw him.

“I’m fine, chief. Thanks for your concern.” He could feel just how much Gu Suitang cared about him. He didn’t hesitate to pay the deputy chief his due respect.

Since cultivating the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra”, Ye Qing realized that he could now perceive the emotions of the people around him such as joy, anger, sorrow and more.

“Hahaha! As long as you’re fine!” Gu Suitang laughed and gave Ye Qing a couple of hard slaps across the shoulder.

The sensation was most familiar to Ye Qing, but at the same time, it wasn’t. When Gu Suitang noticed that Ye Qing wasn’t perturbed by the shoulder slap in the slightest, he asked curiously, “Did your body grow stronger while you were inside?”

Then, his eyes widened all of a sudden. “Your cultivation is different as well. You’re a Spirit Purifier now?”

“You have sharp eyes, chief,” Ye Qing admitted. There was no need to hide this from the deputy chief.

“It looks like your journey to the Demon’s Tomb was a fruitful one!” Gu Suitang guffawed. He truly was happy for Ye Qing from the bottom of his heart. “So, how much dragon-elephant strength do you have now?”

“Around five!” Ye Qing answered honestly.

“Not bad, not—wait, what? Five dragon-elephant strength?” Gu Suitang abruptly realized what Ye Qing just said and exclaimed in shock, “Did I hear you wrong, or did you say it wrong?”

Ye Qing smirked. “You heard me correctly.”

“But... But you were just a journeyman! How the heck did you suddenly have five dragon-elephant strength?”

Gu Suitang still couldn’t believe his ears despite Ye Qing’s assurance. “Are you sure you went to the Demon’s Tomb and not the Celestial Realm?”

He, Gu Suitang, had never skipped a day of practice unless he was grievously wounded or something. Despite this, it had taken him decades to gain the five dragon-elephant strength. But Ye Qing wasn’t even twenty yet, and he was already on the same level as he was. It made him feel like all those decades of hard work were for naught!