Chapter 100: Evil Dhammapala

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It soon became dark. The Mountain God Temple at the top of Funiu Mountain was firmly closed just like before. The lanterns shown with faint, pale lights. Mu Yi hadn’t turned on the copper lamp. It was very quiet.

There was actually nobody in the Mountain God Temple. Peng Mi and her sister were in the forest behind the temple. Nian Nuer was there with them and would protect them. She was just a little stronger than some ferocious ghosts without the bamboo tree, that was her own strength. In the forest, she was much stronger.

Only fierce ghosts and stronger ghosts could compete with her inside of it. Therefore, the bamboo forest was the safest place at the top of the mountain. Nian Nuer wasn’t happy about protecting the two women but she didn’t refuse. She obeyed Mu Yi because she didn’t want him to have any problems.

Mu Yi wanted to have a lively battle without being disturbed. He wanted to feel like he did during the battle against Qiu Yuetong at the top of Little Frost Mountain. The battle hadn’t been as exhilarating as the one about to come because he hadn’t killed her. He hadn’t want to, but he wanted to now.

Mu Yi wasn’t worried that he would get lost in the emotion he was feeling. He knew what he wanted from this encounter. He was determined to progress and he trusted himself not to fall to the dark side. He wanted to battle without restraints.

Mu Yi heard a cry that broke the silence of the night. He opened his eyes a bit startled by the sound.

Is that…? He thought.

He wasn’t sure whether it was the master but even if it wasn’t him, Mu Yi had to remain vigilant. He got up and started moving. This battle was extremely important for him.

He soon heard the sound of feet approaching. A few twisted silhouettes appeared in Mu Yi’s field of vision. It was nighttime but it was almost the time of the full moon. It was quite bright at the top of the mountain.

When he looked closer, he frowned because it was the people he had killed during the day. They all still looked dead. Their muscles were stiff and they couldn’t walk properly. They seemed to be being controlled by someone.

Someone who controls corpses? thought Mu Yi.

He realized why the enemy had sent people to die after having seen how strong he was. It wasn’t to check his full strength. He wanted Mu Yi to kill those people. The enemy’s real goal was to create the small army.

They arrived at the top of the mountain with staggering steps. They looked wretched and miserable. Their bodies were swollen. There were black bubbles on their hands and they smelled like rotten fish.

Mu Yi felt pressured when he saw them. They were extremely slow and they couldn’t chase him if they battled. However, the one controlling them was hiding in the darkness. Mu Yi moved back a bit and stayed alert.

The enemy noticed that Mu Yi was moving away and shouted. The corpses became even more swollen. Mu Yi’s heart started pounding and he started running as fast as he could. The corpses exploded. Dark blood, pieces of flesh, and white bones splattered everywhere, including in Mu Yi’s direction.

Mu Yi saw that and realized he didn’t have time to hide anymore. He didn’t want to have any of the dark blood on his body. However, he had given the Ghost King Banner to Nian Nuer. Mu Yi took out the copper lamp at the last minute and pushed all his mind strength into it.

The copper lamp glowed brilliantly. The flame inside had grown big already. When the dark blood entered the halo of the copper lamp, it burned and vanished into nothing. Mu Yi didn’t stop moving. He looked at the copper lamp.

He knew that the dark blood was something scary. If it had landed on his body, the consequences would have been too dreadful to contemplate. The blood vanished and everything stopped. Mu Yi was in the middle of a lot of bones. Some bones even landed next to his feet. The flesh had disappeared though.

The sounds had also stopped. However, Mu Yi didn’t relax. His enemy was dangerous. Some new sounds spread through the air. Mu Yi turned to look and saw a giant walk up the mountain in the moonlight. The reason Mu Yi thought he was a giant was because he was one zhang tall. He seemed rather sturdy. The person’s arms were bigger than Mu Yi’s waist.

He was carrying a chair on which a man in white clothes was seated. The man’s legs were crossed and he had one foot poised in the air. He seemed to be around twenty years old but he looked evil and careless. He was holding a white jade flute in his left hand.

There was someone else behind the giant. It was the one who had come before with the very prominent ears. Mu Yi had told him he should tell his Master to come personally. He looked satisfied as if his revenge was about to be handled. They arrived in front of him in no time.

“Mu Yi, acknowledge allegiance to me, the Dhammapala and I will spare your life,” said the man in the chair.

He didn’t sound like a monster. His voice was soft and graceful. It was restrained like a woman from Jiangnan. If Mu Yi couldn’t see him, he would have thought he was a woman.

“Acknowledge allegiance to you? Then become an obedient follower of the Church of the Thousand Children?” said Mu Yi coldly.

“No, you just need to listen to my orders. I promise I will grant you a very high social status. Many people will follow you,” said the man.

He was trying to convince Mu Yi. However, the one with the big ears was behindhim. He had wore a fanatic expression as if the man in the chair was a god. Mu Yi felt like he was about to fall into a trance as he listened to the man. It was as if the man had the power to make people acknowledge allegiance to him simply by speaking to them.

The copper lamp glowed brightly again. It had activated itself automatically. Mu Yi came back to his senses and looked at the evil young man. His body was covered in cold sweat. He had been careful but still he had almost submitted to the man. If he hadn’t had the copper lamp, he would have already fallen under his control.