Stranger Danger

Chapter 425: Qi of Ultimate Purity

Chapter 425: Qi of Ultimate Purity

Dont worry. If I live, you live. Ye Qing smiled confidently.

The subtext was if he dies, the Fog Demon dies as well.

Ho-hum. Lets see what you got then. You better not come crying to me for help when your method fails later! The Fog Demon harrumphed. It was definitely going to make Ye Qing regret his decision later!

Trust me, you wont be disappointed.

Right after Ye Qing said that, he charged into a group of Strangers while yin and yang energy circulated around him. A bunch of rumblings later, the place was completely cleared out of Strangers.

Ye Qing let out a sigh of relief deeply before consuming a drop of Natures Water and restoring himself to peak condition. Then, a goblet appeared in his hand. It was filled with wisps of clear qi instead of wine, however.

The clear qi was bluish in color and perfectly pure. Light and ephemeral, it also emanated the air and intent of dao.

Is that the Qi of Ultimate Purity?! The Fog Demon exclaimed in surprise. It completely forgot that Ye Qing possessed the item.

Ye Qing had used it to intimidate Yi Pin when he was extorting the item, so the Fog Demon was aware of the item. It just forgot about it until now.

The Qi of Ultimate Purity should help clear my thoughts and put me in a state of nirvana, no? Ye Qing smirked.

The Qi of Ultimate Purity was one of the primordial spiritual qi and possessed the ability to calm ones mind, solidify ones spirit, eliminate ones karmic hindrance, and purify their thoughts. To put it in simpler terms, it could bestow someone perfect clarity of the mind and protect them from any negative influence. It was the perfect solution to his current situation.

Of course the Qi of Ultimate Purity can protect you from the fogs influence, but are you sure you want to waste such a valuable treasure in this place? The Fog Demon replied reluctantly.

Ye Qing shrugged. A valuable treasure is only valuable if you use it. Plus, what use is it to me if Im dead?

Without further ado, Ye Qing inhaled deeply. A wisp of Qi of Ultimate Purity, bluish and dreamlike, rose from the goblet like smoke and entered his nostrils.

As soon as the Qi of Ultimate Purity entered his body, Ye Qing felt a gentle and refreshing energy spreading inside his body. It felt like bathing inside a cool mountain spring, soothing and calming. His stray thoughts, his worries, his distress and more, they all disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Like still water, his heart was devoid of desire or emotions, and like a mirror, his mind was perfectly clean and unblemished.

Despite the strange state, Ye Qing was perfectly aware of himself and his surroundings. Like an indifferent god who had broken free from the chains of mortality, his consciousness sat loftier than the nine heavens themselves. He felt like everything and nothing at the same time.

Ye Qing put away the goblet and stepped forward. He had no aim, no thoughts, no desire he must fulfill no matter what. He just walked.

The world around him began fizzling out like a TV with poor or no signal, but far more unusual, colorful, and dreamlike. Ye Qing paid no attention to them, however.

If I do not see, then it doesnt exist.

If I do not think, then it is not there.

The strange and colorful reality began crumbling upon itself. When it was completely gone, a grayish, narrow chamber appeared around him, and at the center of the chamber was a coffin.

The coffin didnt look too different from the fake one he saw earlier. It was the same shape and size, and it wasnt lidded. However, no fog was pouring out of the coffin, nor was there a pair of eyes threatening to crush him where he stood.

There was only a corpse. A bloated, rotten corpse. A corpse that looked just like any other drowned corpse that was submerged in water for too long.

Something was odd, however. Wisps of fog would exit its mouth and nose from time to time. It almost looked like it was breathing.

Ye Qing came to a stop when he was one meter away from the coffin. He didnt go further because he had a feeling that something bad would happen if he got any closer to it.

Without hesitation, Ye Qing pulled Longing, Hua Mei and Jue Yans objects out of his Nine Heavens, causing the three women to appear one after another.

When they saw the coffin and the corpse inside it, shock, joy, surprise, anger, hatred, disgust, fear and more emotions flitted across their features in an instant. Then, they charged the corpse without even looking at Ye Qing.

Longings painting rapidly grew in size, and the peach blossom trees grew out of the painting and filled the entire chamber with pink petals.

Jue Yans bronze mirror spat out a seemingly endless amount of black hair that towered over the corpse like a black tide.

And Hua Meis pipa played a loud and forceful war song that was furious, hateful and bloodthirsty all at the same time.

Sensing danger, the fog flowing out of the corpses mouth and nose abruptly thickened significantly. It was also far more anomalous and dangerous than before.

Ye Qing didnt hesitate to jump away from the fog. As it spread out, the fog ripped through the peach blossom forest and tidal wave of black hair like nothing, and threw the pipa song into disarray. Then, it engulfed all three women before they could react.

That wasnt all. More fog began pouring in from everywhere. It looked like the corpse was withdrawing it unto itself, the source of its strength.

In the end, the fog was so thick it was almost solid. Although Ye Qing was just a meter away from the battlefield, he couldnt see what was going on inside of it.

That said, the fog would disperse from time to time and leak a gust of aura that could only be described as terrifying. Clearly, Longing, Hua Mei and Hue Yan were fighting against the corpse.

Ye Qing didnt try to intervene because he knew full well that there was nothing he could do to help the girls. To rush into the fog was to commit suicide.

Boom!

A dozen or so breaths later, the ball of fog abruptly exploded, exposing the three girls and the corpse at the center.

It looked like the girls had won. The coffin had exploded into smithereens, and the corpse had been ripped apart into several pieces. Its head was being held by Longing, its feet by Hua Mei, and its arms by Jue Yan. Only its torso was left on the floor.

That said, the girls werent faring much better. Longings painting looked like someone had taken a knife to it, and the gorgeous peach blossom forest inside the painting was completely withered. Strange wisps of fog could be seen slithering between the trees and adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Deep within the forest, Longing was barefooted and stepping on the corpses head.

Jue Yans bronze mirror was completely covered in cracks, and fog was slipping out of it all the time. Inside the mirror, Jue Yans sea of black hair had turned into a sea of gray hair instead. Ye Qing could vaguely see a pair of legs being trapped within the hair.

As for Hua Meis pipa, the strings were completely snapped. There were severed fingers curled around the broken strings, and blood was dripping out of the stumps.

All three items were floating in the air, unmoving. It looked like Longing, Hua Mei and Jue Yan were suppressing parts of the corpses body inside their objects.

Suddenly, a massive amount of fog poured out of the torso where its head, arms and legs used to be. Instead of dispersing, it wrapped tightly around the torso.

Longing cried urgently from inside her painting, Scion Ye, you need to destroy the torso now! If it manages to escape, then we would be back to square one!

Ye Qing narrowed his eyes a little but didnt act immediately.

Scion Ye, were using all of our power to suppress its head and limbs right now. We literally cannot spare the strength to suppress its torso as well. Moreover, its no longer in danger after it abandoned its head and limbs! Longing said hurriedly. Please, Scion Ye! Its going to escape any second now! If you dont act now, then it would be too late!

Got it. Ye Qing finally accepted her plan and took one step forward, appearing right in front of the fog-shrouded torso. Then, he clenched his left fist and punched the torso with all his might.

The Netherflame spread, and the Burning Wind howled. Fire was stronger when in the presence of the wind, so the Netherflame quickly transformed into a fiery cyclone and pressed against the fog from all sides.

Some of the fog were pulled into the cyclone and burned into nothing. In fact, it fueled the Netherflame and made it even stronger. However, Ye Qing noticed that the torso at the eye of the storm was still fine. Any Netherflame that got too close to the corpse would gradually disappear as if some sort of invisible power was protecting it.

Frowning, Ye Qing swung his arm downward and split the cyclone in half. A crimson light fell straight toward the corpse.

However, a clump of fog caught the saber force before it could hit its target. Then, it gradually disappeared. At the same time, the fog surrounding the torso grew thicker and smaller over time.

Technically, the fog wasnt growing smaller. It was the torso slowly moving away from Ye Qing and into a different space with the fog. That was why it looked like it was shrinking.

As for how it was doing this, Ye Qing had no idea.

Scion Ye, quick! That corpse is about to escape! Theres no time! Longing pressed with deep urgency and fear.

You cant let it escape, Scion Ye! Otherwise, everything would be for naught!

Kill it now!

Hua Mei and Jue Yans urgent voice reached him as well.

Ye Qing understood the folly of allowing your enemy to escape, of course. Without hesitation, he dashed toward the torso at top speed.

His first two attacks were just probing attacks, and it confirmed that the corpse was much weaker than it used to be. Losing its head and its limbs had robbed it of most of its strength.

It looked like the torso was only a single step away from him, but in reality, he wasnt able to reach it even after dashing after it for a few breaths. Not only that, the torso launched another clump of fog at him in an attempt to stall him.

Ye Qing didnt try to dodge out of the way. He simply swung Red Sleeve and cut the fog in half using the Hellfire Red Lotus Saber Art. The attack had failed to slow him even a little.

A few breaths later, Ye Qing finally reached the torso. He made a grab with his left hand, and a torrent of Netherflame crashed onto his target. Even as the fog kept the Netherflame at bay, the torso was withering rapidly like it couldnt withstand the supernatural temperature of the Netherflame.

Unfortunately, the corpse shrank yet again and somehow broke out of the Netherflames range. It was still moving toward some sort of unknown space.

Unwilling to let it go, Ye Qing raced forward and caught up to the torso once more. Then, he abruptly clenched his fingers into a fist.

The space around the torso exploded, and the withering body finally crumbled piece by piece. As it disintegrated, Ye Qing unleashed another wave of Netherflame and burned it all into ash.

Boy, watch out!

Ye Qing thought it was finally over when suddenly, the Fog Demon shouted beside his ears. Sensing something amiss, Ye Qing immediately backpedaled as quickly as it could. However, he had just moved a muscle when a wisp of fogdarker, stranger and more evil than any other fog Ye Qing had seen to dateburst out of the Netherflame and flew toward Ye Qing faster than he could retreat.

Growling, Ye Qing unleashed Divide and summoned a mountain of fist force in front of himself. At the same time, he surrounded his body in thick energies of yin and yang.

Not only that, the Mara Buddha appeared behind Ye Qing, roared, and made a grab for the wisp of fog.

It was all futile. As if it was existing in a different space, the fog easily passed through the astral qi, the Mara Buddhas palm, and the yin and yang energies before entering Ye Qings body.