Chapter 322: Chapter 277: Who are You?
The White-robed Bodhisattva swayed towards Granny Hong, her garment of white pure and saintly unmatched, the chanting solemn and grand, a feat not achievable by a single person. It would require at least dozens, if not hundreds, to chant together. More eerie was the fact that one couldn’t see the lips of the Great Bodhisattva moving at all.
But from Yang Xiao’s perspective, there was no saintly and compassionate Bodhisattva in white, only a corpulent corpse, rotting and oozing pus. The corpse had no facial features, and instead was covered with mismatched and variably shaped mouths all over its body.
Each mouth moved ceaselessly, uttering abstruse scriptures that unsettled the listener, crowding their mind with chaotic images, as if they had committed unforgivable sins, and their death was the only redemption.
After a moment of panic, Granny Hong let out a shrill scream, her voice like that of a night owl. The dozen or so ghost children kneeling and bowing were startled, forcing themselves to stand. With a moth-to-flame determination, they lunged at the White-robed Great Bodhisattva from different directions, turning into mummies upon contact.
As the ghost children rushed forward, Yang Xiao felt on the brink of a nervous collapse, his knees buckling, nearly falling to the ground. The figure of the White-robed Great Bodhisattva also faded significantly.
"Hahaha, fake!" Granny Hong’s flagging spirit surged once more, her doll-like face brimming with extreme madness, "You are fake, you stole this treasure!"
Yang Xiao managed a bitter smile inside. Indeed, the Ghost Bodhisattva was powerful, but extracting his own spiritual energy was the cost—and he hardly had enough to squander. If it were the previous owner of the magic artifact, namely the Southeast Protectorate True Person of the Black Buddha Mother Sect, then Granny Hong wouldn’t stand a chance. He recalled what the Qi Family girl had said: to kill the True Person, even a combined effort of the major families resulted in the loss of many experts.
Granny Hong had her insights, which was why after a brief clash, her opponent managed to see through her.
Knowing Yang Xiao was an imposter, Granny Hong held nothing back. She pulled out a Red Bridal Veil from her bosom. Meanwhile, a figure appeared out of thin air behind Granny Hong, bent and leaning on a cane, draped in red and wearing a Red Bridal Veil that covered the entire head. The left hand, wielding the cane, displayed a horrifying bluish-grey color, its nails sharp like knives.
Only then did Yang Xiao understand why she was called Granny Hong—it wasn’t that she looked old, but the ghost in her Resentful Eye was an old woman in red. He also clearly saw that the left hand holding the cane of the Red-clothed Old Ghost had six fingers.
And undeniably, the Red Bridal Veil in Granny Hong’s hand was her Resentful Eye.
Granny Hong violently threw the veil, which although not large, caught the wind and grew to dozens of times its original size, precisely landing on top of the Ghost Bodhisattva’s head, enveloping most of its body. Yang Xiao felt the connection between himself and the Ghost Bodhisattva weakening until, a moment later, the link in his mind finally snapped, and the figure of the Ghost Bodhisattva vanished instantly.
Yang Xiao, his footing unstable, leaned against a wall to prevent falling. But now he was at the end of his tether.
In contrast, Granny Hong was only slightly better off. The twenty or so ghost children were all gone, lying on the ground in various poses. The Red-clothed Old Ghost had vanished too. Granny Hong was panting heavily, but the triumph in her eyes was undeniable.
"Hey, hey hey," she laughed, "I was originally here for that thing. I never expected... I never expected a greenhorn like you to walk right into my hands. The magic artifact of the Black Buddha Mother Sect is really something, and that lantern in your hand—I’ll take it all!"
He could have used the Soul-Capturing Mirror to escape, but who could have imagined that summoning the Ghost Bodhisattva would drain all his spiritual power? Now, he couldn’t even remove the copper mirror from his Drama Robe.
"You dare kill me? I am a disciple under the Black Buddha Mother. Aren’t you afraid that the members of my sect will trouble you for killing me?" Yang Xiao threatened, "I’ll have you know, my sect is filled with experts. If you kill me, your entire family will not die a good death!"
Granny Hong’s response was to laugh uproariously, spitting a wad of thick phlegm at Yang Xiao, "You think you can scare me, kid? Everyone knows that the Southeast Protectorate True Person of the Black Buddha Mother has been vanquished by a union of the major families, and the magic artifact taken. I just didn’t expect the treasure of such a legendary figure to fall into the hands of a nobody like you."
Yang Xiao’s brow arched as he gleaned some key information from Granny Hong’s words—she apparently didn’t recognize him.
But that was odd. Wasn’t she after him? Then why would she travel a long distance to Rongcheng? Before, Granny Hong had mentioned she was here for ’that thing’. Could it be unrelated to the Soul-Capturing Mirror, that there was another treasure in Rongcheng that even a Great Heretic Cultivator like her would covet?
"Why waste words with him, just kill him, and let’s leave this place!" A man’s voice suddenly interjected, startling Yang Xiao. He looked in the direction of the voice but saw no one—there was only a grubby wall.
Someone else was hiding nearby! Yang Xiao was baffled; he had not expected so many Evil Cultivators to come. The Yu Yuan Sect had really gone all out this time.
"Shut up, you don’t need to teach Granny Hong how to do things!" Granny Hong’s face turned dark instantaneously, "You just take care of your own business, find that person, and you won’t be shorted a cent of your reward."
This invisible man seemed to fear Granny Hong too, for after being scolded, he dared not speak another word.
Granny Hong stepped closer and closer to Yang Xiao, the Red Bridal Veil no longer in sight. It was unclear whether she deemed it beneath her to use it against Yang Xiao, or if it had perished along with the Ghost Bodhisattva. Yang Xiao felt very strange at the moment; he could sense that the Ghost Bodhisattva was still there, not vanquished, but he couldn’t find or control it, as if it was hidden by some ancient and bizarre power.
Leaning against the wall, Yang Xiao slowly retreated, constantly vigilant of Granny Hong. Yet, in the next second, a gust of wind burst from behind his head, and Yang Xiao was tackled to the ground, only to see a filthy ghost child fall from the sky, tearing at his clothes.
Yang Xiao felt despair in that instant; he had not anticipated Granny Hong’s treachery. Despite having an absolute advantage, she had still hidden a ghost child for a sneak attack, which was utterly despicable!
The ghost child’s ability was to trade life for life: anyone touched by it would end up like Sun Qiya.
Yang Xiao had given up and waited for death, but a few seconds later, not only had he not died, but the ghost child who had been tearing at his clothes became slower and slower in its movements and eventually bled from all seven orifices, collapsing and dying immediately.
The scene stunned both Yang Xiao and Granny Hong, but slowly, Yang Xiao’s muddled mind cleared up, and a powerful psychic strength surged incessantly into his mind at an incredible pace, making him feel as if he had suddenly grown eight heads.
The source of this power was the very clothes he wore; Yang Xiao couldn’t be more aware that it was his beloved sister aiding him in secret. Feeling the surging psychic power within him, Yang Xiao clenched his fists, turned his head fiercely and looked towards Granny Hong.
With a lethal glance from Yang Xiao, Granny Hong involuntarily stepped back. She could sense the young man’s aura had changed, "Who... who exactly are you?"
"The dead don’t need to know so much." With a single thought from Yang Xiao, the connection with the Ghost Bodhisattva was reestablished, and in the next second, the wall to his right exploded, and the Ghost Bodhisattva burst out. The Red Bridal Veil which had been over the Ghost Bodhisattva’s head was tugged a few times and vanished instantly.
Without the restriction of the Red Bridal Veil, the Ghost Bodhisattva charged at Granny Hong. Ghost children hidden in the ceiling dived down to interfere, but before they could touch the Ghost Bodhisattva, they aged and died, turning into skeletons that scattered on the ground. The shrill sound of dozens, even hundreds of chanting voices was so piercing that Granny Hong had to cover her ears, bleeding from the seven orifices.
Once close, the Ghost Bodhisattva swung out a palm towards Granny Hong. At the critical moment, a phantom-like red shadow stood in front of Granny Hong.
But it was futile. Under the pressure of absolute power, all struggles were useless. The suddenly appearing Red-clothed Old Ghost was instantly shattered, and Granny Hong behind it was blown away by a palm, crashing heavily against a wall as Yang Xiao clearly heard the sound of bones cracking.
"Who are you? Who are you?!" Granny Hong clutched her chest and spewed out a mouthful of blood. Her body, weakened by the backlash from the Resentful Eye, was as fragile as a child of seven or eight years, perhaps even more fragile, and it could not withstand such a strong impact. At that moment, she was half-dead.
Yang Xiao didn’t care what she thought; all he wanted was to deal with Granny Hong quickly, considering there was still an Evil Cultivator hidden in the shadows.
The Ghost Bodhisattva winded up its fist and hammered down on the collapsed Granny Hong. Granny Hong tried her best to dodge to the side, but it was in vain; her lower half was hit and exploded into pieces.
With only her upper body remaining, Granny Hong swung out the Red Bridal Veil, smudging it on the Ghost Bodhisattva’s face. The Ghost Bodhisattva paused for less than a second before tearing the veil off. Granny Hong, seizing this brief opportunity, braced herself on the ground with her hands and lunged half a body at Yang Xiao, screaming wildly in the air, "Everyone will die, I will not spare any of you even as a ghost!"
Her eyes bulging and her braids scattering, Granny Hong’s skinny body inflated like a balloon, until with a "bang," she blew up. Flesh mixed with innards splattered everywhere.
Yang Xiao thought the blast would send him flying, but he was mistaken; the power of this human bomb was minimal, accurately saying it only blew Granny Hong herself into a mist of blood. Compared to the impact of the explosion, the flesh and blood that splattered on him was more disgusting.
Before the blood mist had cleared, a blurred figure burst out from it, raising its hand "bang bang bang" and firing several shots at Yang Xiao. Caught off guard, two bullets hit Yang Xiao’s body, knocking him to the ground. The figure quickly changed the magazine and ran over, intending to finish him off.
