Chapter 312: Suppressing the Mara Buddha

Chapter 312: Suppressing the Mara Buddha

"You're their master?"

Gu Suitang stopped in his tracks when he saw the man behind Fang Xiaoman and Ye Qing.

“It was you?”

If his first exclamation was both a question and confirmation, then his second exclamation was lined with shock and disbelief. It was because the man standing behind Fang Xiaoman was none other than Wang Luori’s second disciple, the “Silver Flute” Bai Song.

Bai Song wasn’t the most famous or even the strongest disciple among his lot. In fact, he was a moderate, humble, and gentle-natured man who resembled a student of the White Horse Academy far more than what one might expect from Wang Luori’s disciple.

Wang Luori himself was displeased by this, but Bai Song was deeply loved and respected by the disciples of Sunset Hill. He also enjoyed a great reputation outside Sunset Hill. Even Zhang Lanjiang, the headmaster of White Horse Academy himself, called him a gentleman behind closed doors.

Earlier, Gu Suitang had tried to figure out who in Sunset Hall might be the Mara Buddha. Almost everyone including Xue Beikun, whom Ye Qing had sworn wasn’t an enemy, was on his list of suspects. The one person he never suspected was Bai Song, but he was wrong.

Bai Song smiled. “It is I.”

“I’ll admit, you’re the last person I suspect has anything to do with this!” Gu Suitang sneered. “Finally willing to show your face after I took out all your dogs? Who on earth are you?”

Bai Song remained smiling. “I am Mara Buddha.”

“If you are Mara Buddha, then who is Bai Song?” Gu Suitang asked.

Bai Song—or rather Mara Buddha replied, “There has never been a Bai Song. There is only Mara Buddha.”

“Hahaha! I see. No wonder!”

This meant that Mara Buddha had been hiding at Sunset Hill as Bai Song since the beginning. No wonder he was able to convert Wang Luori into his worshiper. The Hill Lord probably had no idea that Mara Buddha even existed until the very last moment.

“Mara Buddha, Mara Buddha. Sounds like a monk, but why do you have hair?” Gu Suitang looked Mara Buddha up and down wantonly.

“The mortal shell is a fickle and transient thing. Those who obsess over their mortal shell may not meet Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha himself, Benefactor Gu.”

Mara Buddha smiled as a thin crack abruptly split from his forehead all the way to the bottom. As the human skin rolled off to each side like fabric, a wrinkly old monk wearing a black monk’s robe stepped out of the shell that was Bai Song.

The old monk had a kind face and wore a Buddha’s smile, but the presence he gave off could only be described as evil. Demonic and Buddha light mingled as one as hallucinatory, corruptive black lotuses descended from above.

“Attachment is the poison that kills the world and tortures humanity. Take you for example, Benefactor Gu. Had you chosen to worship me from the start, you wouldn’t have needed to suffer such pain, would you?”

“Nothing I can do about my nature. I acknowledge that I’m a shallow guy who only sees things skin deep.” Gu Suitang shrugged. “If you were a cute lady, then maybe I might have said yes. But no, you’re an ugly old fuck. The mere idea of being thought of as your worshiper makes me want to puke, much less becoming one for real.” Ñøv€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

“This is my advice for you, but an ugly fuck like you shouldn’t be going around hurting people. You in particular should just do us all a favor and hang yourself.”

Mara Buddha’s merciful smile slowly turned demonic. “Why must you be stubborn, Benefactor Gu? Benefactor Fang is my hostage, and you are far from being in top shape. There is no chance you might turn things around. Why must you struggle to the bitter end?”

“Hahaha! Says the cowardly rat who sends his dogs to die instead of challenging me himself! There’s no one I despise more than spineless, balless cowards like you!”

Gu Suitang spat, “Come get me if you can, bitch.”

There was nothing complicated about his answer, but it was precisely why Mara Buddha couldn’t accept it. “Impossible. You took a solid blow from my “Demonic Palm of Gautama”, and your internal organs were infected by my demonic qi. There’s no way you could have healed so quickly even if you have access to the best medicine in the world.”

“You’re right. The best man-made medicine in the world couldn’t save me. But a miraculous one? That’s a different story.” Fang Xiaoman smiled.

It was at this moment Mara Buddha sensed something and looked in Gu Suitang’s direction. His eyes widened when the deputy chief suddenly began healing at a visible rate. Even his weakened energies were rapidly recovering.

“The Water of Life?!” Mara Buddha exclaimed in shock.

“Surprise! Do you like it?” Gu Suitang grinned widely.

“Impossible! I am certain that the Luo Shui Pacification Bureau doesn’t have the Water of Life.” Mara Buddha shook his head as if he was trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Then, he recalled something and looked at Ye Qing. “Unless...”

“Yep! I found some in the Demon’s Tomb and shared it with Chief Fang and Chief Gu,” Ye Qing admitted without hesitation.

This was the reason he was confident that his plan would go without a hitch. There was no such thing as cure-all, but the Water of Life was a pretty close one. At the very least, it was good enough to heal Fang Xiaoman to full health, which it had.

However, Ye Qing had told Fang Xiaoman to feign weakness. It was so that they could fish out Mara Buddha. Although they were certain that Mara Buddha would be present for the birthday feast, they still didn’t know who he was or where he was hiding. Just now at Sunset Hall, they couldn’t even tell if he was hiding in their midst. That was why Fang Xiaoman couldn’t reveal his recovery overly quickly. Otherwise, there was a high chance Mara Buddha would choose to cut his losses and escape.

It had proven to be a wise decision. Paranoid and cautious, Mara Buddha had waited until all five of his Spirit Masters were dead, Gu Suitang was battered and seriously injured, and he was absolutely certain that his chances of victory were one hundred percent before he finally revealed himself.

That was fine though. That was also the moment he was most unguarded. As a result, Fang Xiaoman was able to catch him by surprise and even deal him a serious blow. So far, their plan was a resounding success.

“It was you?” Mara Buddha’s eyes glinted dangerously when suddenly, another question occurred to him. He looked at Fang Xiaoman and asked, “No, no. If you regained your strength, then why did you hide it? There should be no reason for you to do so.”

“Unless... you already knew that Wang Luori’s birthday feast was a ploy. In fact, you knew of my existence and were waiting for me to show myself! Otherwise, you wouldn’t have waited until now to act!”

“That’s correct. We knew from the start.” Fang Xiaoman answered honestly as he was an honest man.

“But how did you know? The boy might have told you about me, but there is no way you would know that I was hiding in Sunset Hill, much less plotting to capture you all in one fell swoop!”

The answer came to Mara Buddha even as his eyes widened slowly in shock and realization. “There is no way, unless someone leaked my plans to you!”

“It was me[1].” Xue Beikun’s voice rang behind Mara Buddha. At the same time, a wolf howl deafened everyone’s ears, and the sky began raining blood. Countless spear forces fell from the sky and engulfed Mara Buddha instantly.

As if on cue, Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang charged Mara Buddha as well.

Rumble rumble rumble!

The ground shook, and the wind howled. Words couldn’t describe the battle that took place afterward.

If the fully healed Fang Xiaoman was Ye Qing’s first trump card, then Xue Beikun was his second. His role was very simple. When the time was right, Xue Beikun would coordinate with Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang to kill Mara Buddha.

He refused to believe that Mara Buddha could survive being attacked by three top-tier Spirit Masters in his state.

“MARA BUDDHA!”

A few breaths later, a mournful and angry voice boomed out from the center of the battlefield. There was a huge explosion, and Fang Xiaoman, Gu Suitang and Xue Beikun were sent flying into the air. Their faces were white, and their auras were unsteady. Even Ye Qing was pushed backward by the sudden gust of force.

A huge, blackened pit appeared where the four men had fought earlier. The surrounding buildings had completely collapsed into rubble as well.

1. Ironic that it took mind control to unite humanity, isn't it? Reminds me of Worm. ?