Estranged - Chapter 89

Proofread by P. & Snake

The capital of You, the most well-adorned capital in the world.

This place had the most beautiful Buddhist pagoda and temple, the most exquisite palace, the tidiest arrangement of houses.

It was rumored that a special, precious spice had been mixed into the glazed roof of the Imperial Palace that was faintly glowing in the night.

During the day, the entirety of the You Capital seemed to be bathed in yellow glitter, as if the city was made of gold. People could see the glow even before they reached the gates of the city.

Writers had spent quite a bit of paper extolling the beauty of the city. Many people who loved meddling into things mentioned the Capital of You, the Capital of Luo and the Capital of the Zhaoyue dynasty in one breath, writing voluminous literary texts describing them and coming to the conclusion that the You Capital was unrivaled. This opinion was widespread. While there were also many who disagreed, these dissenters could only use the wasteful extravagance of the You Capital as an argument. They would likewise point out that officials were practically consuming the people’s life-blood and voice other criticisms like these, yet they could not deny the grace of the city.

Now, however, this capital, that had once been praised by everyone, had already turned into the capital of evil spirits.

Thousands of souls were roaming about, and millions of ghosts were wailing in unison. Flames and blood had been scattered all over, permeating the night, and the pitch-black sky had been painted blood-red. The heavy stench of blood could not be dispersed, every human in sight had already turned into a ghost, and ghosts were feeding on humans. Now, the difference between them had all but disappeared.

This place was not a land of Buddhism, but a devil’s hell.

Su He could not wake from this nightmare.

Even when the glow of a sword intercepted the evil spirit with bloody foam in its mouth that was rushing at Su He, he was still staring at his savior in a daze. Su He’s expression was listless as if he had forgotten how to speak.

Hè Xiyun had no time to care for Su He’s reaction, or lack thereof. She shouted at him to run, slashing at another evil spirit.

In fact, she was also puzzled. How could the magnificent You Capital turn into a place like this overnight?

She had not followed Changming and his companions to the formation. Hè Xiyun knew that her cultivation level was too low, so she would have only been dragging them down. That was why she had voluntarily stayed at the You Capital in case an emergency would occur. Changming told her that if something happened to the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, it would probably affect the You Capital, plunging it into chaos, in which case she should leave quickly and run away. Hè Xiyun had thought that he was exaggerating, and did not attach much importance to these words.

Now it was obvious that she had acted too naively.

For many years, the You Capital had been cloaked with the shadow of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, and seeds of a great calamity had already been planted there. The moment these seeds were irrigated, they had taken deep roots there. And once they had started growing, there was no stopping them. They were like a plague spreading through the lands and contaminating them.

The Ghost King and Changming’s predictions were coming to life.

The disaster had gone well beyond Hè Xiyun’s imagination.

Wherever she looked, not a single living person was visible.

Could it be that the whole city had fallen into the enemy’s hands?

An evil spirit appeared out of nowhere, interrupting her line of thought. She had no time to tend to anything else, slashing her sword towards the enemy.

If she had been in Yuru Town several decades ago, she would have noticed the similarities between the two disasters. It was, however, even worse now in the You Capital. For all the liveliness of Yuru Town, it was not as big as the You Capital, populated with thousands—

Su He gathered his courage and will to survive, rushing behind Hè Xiyun to save his life. But his vigor was depleting, and he started to lose control over his body. His legs went soft, and he fell onto the ground.

The You Capital was paved with flat green slabstone of the highest quality all around, and normally a carriage would pass through its street with no trouble. When Su He fell to the ground, however, he noticed that a black liquid was oozing from the gaps between the slabs, and the water was actually blood. It had soaked his hand that had touched the ground.

Yin qi was pressing in on him from behind, as an evil spirit was already close at hand!

He only had enough time to turn around and take a look. It was the last scene Su He saw in his life.

An evil spirit with blood dripping from the corners of his mouth was launching itself at him.

The back of Su He’s head hit the ground heavily.

Hè Xiyun had rescued Su He once before, but did not manage to do it for the second time. Even as Su He’s body was being eaten alive, she could not help him.

Tens of evil spirits heard the noise and surrounded her. Hè Xiyun promptly leapt up, landing on the roof. However, it was a futile effort, since the demons, although appearing to have corporeal form, could pierce through walls and fly up to the sky. Her sword’s qi was powerful enough to drive away eight or ten of them, but a swarm of thousands poured in, surrounded by vortexes of black flames, wailing and howling. Hè Xiyun’s line of sight was filled with ferocious evil spirits, and no matter how many she killed, there was no end to them. The barrier of spiritual power around her body weakened a bit, and evil spirits were hitting against it again and again, forcing Hè Xiyun into making a mistake. A breach appeared in the barrier, and the evil spirits slid in with roars, the black fire enveloping everything!

This is bad!

Hè Xiyun’s heart almost stopped, and she felt powerless. Her fingers relaxed, and her sword fell onto the ground as she was falling down from the roof.

The flames followed her, biting at Hè Xiyun’s ankles with a hideous grin, looking forward to eating her like they had Su He and the others. Her body was full of spiritual power, which made it even tastier.

In a flash!

A golden light lit!

A 卐 character descended to the ground, shattering the black flames around Hè Xiyun’s body into pieces!

“Every appearance is little more than a lie. Would evil spirits dare to act audaciously in front of my Buddha?”

Hè Xiyun heard a voice resembling a fair wind.

It was not loud, and sounded plain, as if speaking an unquestionable truth. It rang out as if it were a clear, translucent piece of jade.

The black flame scattered, swallowed by the golden light.

He had tall hair and wore wide robes, his body slim and straight. There were Buddhist beads on his neck, and a cane in his hand.

He came towards her from the golden light. Hè Xiyun was staring at him as if she was looking at a deity.

He stopped in front of her for a moment, made sure that she was not wounded seriously, and walked away. Hè Xiyun came back to her senses, hurriedly got up and walked up to him lamely.

“Thank you very much for saving my life! Dare I ask the honorable daoxiong’s name?”

“This poor monk is Sun Buku.”

His intonation was gentle and tactful, but his voice sounded like a peal of thunder to Hè Xiyun.

“You… Your honorable self is Zen Master Buku, the head of the Qingyun School?!”

“Yes.”

Originally, Hè Xiyun had thought that encountering Changming and the Ghost King was already a thrilling adventure, yet now she had witnessed how the situation had changed in the You Capital, with one incident following another. In the end, she had even met this important figure of the Buddhist sects.

She felt that it was suspicious, but did not know what to ask just now.

Evil spirits and ghosts swarmed after them, but with Sun Buku in front of her, Hè Xiyun did not need to do anything at all.

Wherever the golden light went, not a trace of the enemies was left.

Hè Xiyun had some time to rest. But she saw the city was littered with dead bodies, some half-eaten, some disfigured beyond recognition, staining the ground red. Who would have thought that one day the capital of Buddhism that was burning incense and praying all the time would fail to obtain the protection of the gods? These people were eaten alive while pleading for the blessings of Fozuns and worshiping their ancestors, and one was left to wonder how they had felt before they died.

The Hell of Eternal Suffering broke loose here, yet not a shadow had appeared from the Wanlian Buddhist Temple. Could it be that the Ghost King’s words were all true, and everything was connected with the temple?

The Hell of Eternal Suffering: the last layer of Buddhist Hell

Although Hè Xiyun was not a Buddhist cultivator, and had no particular ties to the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, she had not expected their monks to bring disaster to the common people of their own lands, letting them wallow in the mire of evil spirits and demons. She only believed it because she had seen it with her own eyes.

The You Capital was a large city, and there were more cultivators than just the two of them. Other cultivators kept gathering around them. When Hè Xiyun was three zhang away from the Zhuque gates on the southern side of the Imperial Palace, there were already seven or eight cultivators gathered there.

Zhuque gates: the Vermilion Bird gates. The Vermilion Bird is the symbol of the south

Three zhang: 10 m

However, apart from Sun Buku, they were riddled with wounds, and would hardly be effective in combat. Perhaps, if their enemy had been just a bit stronger, they would not have made it here.

Hè Xiyun felt her legs becoming heavier. Her bitten thigh was swollen and unbearably painful, and the scorching pain had spread all over her body. Yet she was adamant that she would not die here today, and her will made her move forward.

She had even managed to survive the Yellow Springs. Hè Xiyun refused to die in this place.

Eight people were standing in front of them.

They were all wearing kasaya, and holding different weapons.

Kasaya: robes worn by a Buddhist monk

The Treasure Vase, the Treasure Parasol, the Pair of Fish, the Lotus, the Right-turning Shell, the Auspicious Knot, the Banner of Honor, and the Wheel of the Law.

Eight symbols of Buddhism, link

“Are these… the Eight Sages of Wanlian?!” someone cried out involuntarily.

Sages: the eight “sheng”s of Wanlian, the same “sheng” as in Shengjue. Shengjue’s name is (was) literally “sacred feeling”, smth like inspiration

Hè Xiyun could hardly keep it together as she was staring at them.

The eight people were not standing far away, but seemed as profound as an abyss and as high as a peak. They were obstructing the way like an impenetrable barrier.

Profound as an abyss and high as a peak: virtuos

According to rumors, the cultivation bases of the Eight Sages of Wanlian were lower than Shengjue’s, but they were the elders with the highest cultivation levels in the Wanlian Buddhist Temple. Normally, one could only catch a glimpse of their heads and feet, as they rarely roamed the world.

But now, they were standing close at hand, blocking their way just like highway robbers.

Hè Xiyun’s heart sank.

She and the rest of them stopped.

Only Sun Buku smiled faintly and went forward.

…

A slim yet strong hand obstructed the Ghost King’s way.

One hand could not stop the Ghost King. What restricted his movements was the force that followed the hand.

It’s Yun Weisi!

Xu Jingxian was pleasantly surprised.

His turbulent spiritual power made the Ghost King retreat by a couple of steps, and in a flash, the two of them had started battling in the sea.

The Ghost King’s blood-shot eyes glared at Yun Weisi, extremely violent and wicked, with no trace left of his past harmless appearance.

After all, he was the King of Ten Thousand Ghosts. When he released his oppressive qi, few people could withstand it.

But Yun Weisi did.

The resistance of the water did not impede their movements, on the contrary, the water was surging more and more violently with their spiritual powers, creating a huge whirlpool around them.

A black fire lashed forwards, but was stopped by the Chunzhao Sword. Its qi slashed the flames apart, and the brilliant light rushed at the Ghost King.

The Ghost King’s attention had been diverted from the pillar. He roared without concealing his wish to grind Yun Weisi into dust. He balled his fists and relaxed them again, and the sword’s glow was suddenly ripped apart by the black flames with a rumble. The black fire mixed with the whirlpool, enveloping the two of them!

Don’t try to stop me!

You’re the same as me!

I saw it. You also can’t obtain something you want!

Since you’re going to turn into a demon sooner or later, why are you forcing yourself to stay human?!

When you turn into a demon, you’ll be free to act as you please, and obtain whatever you want!

Stop restraining yourself! Scram!

Yun Weisi could hear the Ghost King’s rage.

He was uttering words one by one, like a drumstick striking his heart repeatedly.

Yet he remained expressionless. When he folded his fingers into a sword seal, his hand was not trembling at all.

Because—

Right behind him, there was what he could not get, what he wanted the most—

That person.

Changming flew towards the iron pillar, the sword’s glow igniting in his hand. Following his order, the sword launched at the pillar.

No! Don’t chop it off, that’s not the core of the formation, that must be a trap!

Hé Qingmo shouted, exerting the utmost strength.

The Ghost King had also become madder.

The sword’s glow almost touched the pillar.

Xu Jingxian saw the water suddenly become muddy, and not just because of the vortex and the black flames. When the sword cut the pillar in half, as if the pillar separating the sky and the earth was destroyed, everything turned upside down and started to spin. The black fire that kept her tied down had disappeared, but she could not control herself, as the powerful current of water carried her away.