Chapter 357

"I'm saying, you lot clearly treat everything as a ghost, don't you?" Ao Yulie said from the side. "Even a bear is a ghost, killing a few people is a ghost — who isn't a ghost, then?"

"... Lord Ao is right!" Tianhe Jin wore a smile across his face, utterly devoid of integrity.

Yu Kongyuan said nothing, sinking into contemplation.

Whether it is a ghost or not doesn't actually matter; what matters is who exactly these scripture-fetchers of ours are.

Who chose them to go fetch scriptures?

What do their similar appearances, their peculiarities, and the voices in their minds signify?

Tianhe Jin's words made Yu Kongyuan start pondering the meaning of their existence, entering the realm of philosophy.

Having achieved his aim, Tianhe Jin didn't say more.

He hadn't thought to sow discord or anything. The purpose was simple: just to make this naive simpleton Yu Kongyuan not so carefree — a classic case of harming others without benefiting oneself.

Seeing you this happy makes me unhappy; you unhappy makes me happy.

But influenced by Tang Luo during this time, after pondering for a while without result, Yu Kongyuan immediately turned into a woman of action, jogging to catch up with Tang Luo and asking, "Master Xuanzang, who exactly are we scripture-fetchers?"

"Hm?" Tang Luo turned his head.

"Have you ever considered it? About our origins." Yu Kongyuan asked.

"I have..." Tang Luo said, "So I plan to make a trip to the Western Pure Land to take a look; there should be answers there."

Simple and crude as ever.

Yu Kongyuan nodded: "I understand."

If lost, then forge ahead bravely! That's what Master Xuanzang means.

Translated: "When in doubt, just brute-force it first."

If the brute-force succeeds, worries vanish; if it fails, death brings even more worries.

"Worthy of Master Xuanzang! Decisive and firm! Undisturbed by those chaotic thoughts!" Tianhe Jin, not to be outdone, immediately went up to flatter him.

"I'm no longer a scripture-fetcher now, so I have no sensing toward the Western Pure Land, our destination," Tang Luo said. "We'll have to rely on you to perceive the direction."

"Absolutely no mistake!" Tianhe Jin guaranteed solemnly.

Yu Kongyuan also nodded along.

"Let's go," Tang Luo said.

The Ghost Prison is the old site of the Flowing Sand River; even just a small part of it, the "valley" covers no small area.

The ghosts inside are truly numerous, absolutely deserving the name "Ghost Prison."

The place Tang Luo and company entered had no ghosts, only because the Snake Ghost had cleared them out and occupied it.

That place was tantamount to its territory; no ghosts dared rashly enter.

As they left the Snake Ghost's territory, various ghosts — some eerie, some fierce, some seeming human yet not — appeared in an endless stream.

Yu Kongyuan, born into a great household, could also be considered widely knowledgeable, knowing many ghosts.

But of the ghosts in the Ghost Prison, at least six out of ten kinds were unheard of and unseen by her.

She simply couldn't tell the attack methods, weaknesses, and such intelligence of these ghosts.

Fortunately, Tang Luo didn't need any of that intelligence at all.

Just push flat and advance.

Yu Kongyuan and Tianhe Jin's sensed direction was consistent: proceed northwest along the Ghost Prison.

If it were another group, they'd likely walk along the top of the Ghost Prison, avoiding danger as much as possible.

But to Tang Luo, these ghosts aren't ghosts at all — they're all merit power; he wishes they'd mindlessly rush his face, just push straight through all the way.

"Help..."

Dawn had arrived; a voice came through the cold wind.

Tang Luo and company saw a woman, stumbling as she ran toward them.

Barefoot, hair disheveled, clothes tattered, revealing much snow-white skin; faintly visible was a beautiful face wearing a terrified expression.

One could clearly see this one likely also came from some great household, well-fed and well-kept, figure full and curvaceous.

"Master! Disciple is willing to share your worries!" Ao Yulie stepped forward.

"... Fine," Tang Luo nodded.

Ao Yulie quickened his pace a step, shouting loudly: "Female 'Bodhisattva', fear not, your Young Master Jade Dragon comes to save you."

Gave himself a makeshift nickname on the spot.

Jade Dragon Third Prince, or Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon Horse — not too suitable here; when in Rome, do as the Romans do, changing the title isn't bad.

"Young Master—" the woman's voice was coquettish; seeing Ao Yulie striding over, she also quickened her pace, face full of delighted surprise.

The two were like Cowherd and Weaver Girl on the Magpie Bridge, dry tinder and blazing fire, embracing directly upon meeting.

Judging by Ao Yulie's enraptured expression, this embrace was evidently quite comfortable.

But the next breath, Ao Yulie's face changed, his body violently twisting to the side while shoving away the woman in his arms, retreating two steps.

"... Oh?" Tang Luo's previously casual gaze landed on Ao Yulie.

"Young Master, what's wrong?" The woman stood five meters from Ao Yulie, wearing an infatuated smile.

She slowly raised her hand; her left palm was stained with what seemed to be traces of blood tinged with a hint of gold.

She stuck out her tongue, slowly licking the blood traces on her palm, demeanor intoxicated.

Ao Yulie swiped a hand across his own waist, saw blood on his hand; his "clothes" had been sliced open, the wound on his waist not deep, some fresh blood flowing out.

Injured!

The dignified Jade Dragon Third Prince... alright, he Ao Yulie got injured.

This woman's strangeness — never mind Ao Yulie, even Yu Kongyuan this kindhearted young girl could tell.

Ghost Prison, a woman suddenly pops out screaming for help — just short of writing "I'm dangerous" in big letters on her face.

Ao Yulie charged up eagerly, of course not because he had truly lost his wits to lust and fallen for the trap.

Rather, it was a rare sight to see a good-looking "female ghost," so he decided to make a move.

The other ghosts of the Ghost Prison — where could they compare to this suddenly-appeared female ghost for entertainment?

As a result, he fell for the trap.

That woman's sneak attack — Ao Yulie detected it, but couldn't be bothered to dodge.

Wanting to break through his, Ao Yulie's, defenses — it wasn't that simple; stab all you want, if you pierce through, it counts as Ao Yulie's loss.

Immediately after, Ao Yulie felt a stabbing pain; had he not dodged in time, that strike just now would have been enough to gouge a bloody hole in his body.

This bit of injury — to Ao Yulie it didn't amount to much.

Blood flowed a little then stopped; at the wound, dragon scales could faintly be seen emerging, covering the wound.

That woman was currently enjoying the dragon blood, licking it with great relish.

Ao Yulie's expression turned grave to the utmost, as if a storm might descend at any moment.

"Little White Dragon, you've embarrassed the sect again." Tang Luo spoke faintly.

What one fears comes true — Ao Yulie's body gave a shake, and he shouted loudly: "Master, give me a chance!"

This kind of heat-of-the-moment impulse, volunteering eagerly, charging up enthusiastically only to be slapped back — it was undoubtedly a deeply humiliating matter.

Embarrassing the sect, proving insufficient strength; insufficient strength means strength must be improved.

Wanting to improve strength in a short time, the best method is special training.

Special training — that means Tang Luo personally making a move, experiencing "Master's caring iron fist" — a tragic memory Ao Yulie didn't want to recall.

"If it's no good, then forget it." Tang Luo said, "Although you're terrible, you weren't originally a combat type anyway."

"Really?" Ao Yulie blanked for a moment; if possible, he naturally hoped to get off with a light punishment.

"What do you think?" Tang Luo's face wore a smile.

Ao Yulie's body shook once more, and he said solemnly: "Master, I understand!"

Finished speaking, he turned to look at the woman who had finished licking the dragon blood, and said in a low voice: "Yaojing, come on!"

A thick dragon tail extended from behind, giving a slight swipe against the ground, leaving deep cracks.

Both eyes turned into golden pupils; a pair of sharp dragon horns extended from his forehead; both hands were also covered in scales, a pair of dragon claws revealing ferocity and sharpness.

The shoes on his feet also vanished, likewise turning into a pair of dragon claws.

Against this kind of enemy, the current dragon-man state was more suitable than a full dragon form.

Never eaten pork, but at least seen a pig run.

He, Ao Yulie, had traveled west all the way; the number of times he'd made a move was only once or twice.

After becoming one of the Eight Heavenly Dragon Horses, even fewer; when there was action, it was all cases of bullying little kids.

But the battles and killings of his Master and Eldest Senior Brother — he'd seen no small number of those.

From the time just leaving Eagle Sorrow Ravine, the beatings he'd taken were also not few.

In a certain sense, it also counted as rich experience.

"Interesting." The woman looked at Ao Yulie in dragon-man form and smiled, "Young Master might as well come back with this servant? This servant guarantees to let Young Master enjoy supreme bliss before death."

Ao Yulie didn't answer; his dragon claw moved slightly, and a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, landing on the woman in an instant.

The lightning struck true; Ao Yulie pressed his advantage without relenting, a claw grabbing toward the woman's head.

A howling sound of tearing air rang out, sharp and piercing.

Atop the dragon claw was wrapped a mass of white mist — a mass of violent wind, capable of shattering gold and splitting stone as simply as cutting tofu.

The woman's not-yet-fallen charred head was seized by Ao Yulie.

The woman's body jerked back violently, her head breaking free from the demonic claw, putting distance between herself and Ao Yulie.

Only a few streaks of firelight could be seen flaring up.

That was the firelight produced by two hard objects colliding and rubbing at high speed.

"White bone?" Ao Yulie frowned.

The charred flesh and blood on the woman before him seemed to shed like clothing, revealing bones white as jade.

In the pitch-black eye sockets, a gloomy red light rippled.

On the skull, there were five black cracks, piercing straight through the skull — the marks left by Ao Yulie's dragon claw just now.

As for that mass of violent wind, striking against the white bone, it had almost no effect, unable to leave even a white mark.

The controlled wind, rain, thunder, and lightning — they were converted from magic power.

Against opponents far weaker than himself, they were naturally invincible.

Ao Yulie's true, most powerful "weapon," his offensive means, was still his true dragon body.

Gaining the upper hand again, Ao Yulie didn't pause in the slightest; in an instant he appeared before the white bones, grabbing toward her ribs, intending to tear her into a pile of bone fragments.

The white bones' "mouth" gaped slightly; the gloomy red light in the hollow eye sockets suddenly dimmed.

Ao Yulie instantly felt his body sink; the woman's weeping voice entered his ears, and simultaneously, the scroll he carried on his person unexpectedly kicked up a fuss.

Even while rolled up, a "hiss hiss hiss" sound rang out loudly.

Combined with the woman's weeping voice, it gave Ao Yulie a feeling of being swallowed up, of sinking into depravity.

Both claws were within arm's reach of the white bones, yet they fell into a "quagmire," unable to advance an inch.

Not only that, but a sense of grief even burst forth from his chest cavity, spreading, nearly causing Ao Yulie to fall into sorrowful memories.

Ao Yulie's face hardened, and he was about to erupt with power for an all-direction, no-dead-angle counterattack.

A hand reached out from his shoulder, striking later but arriving first, seizing the lower half of the white bones' skull.

Forcibly lifting her mandible upward.

"Making a racket like this will waste this poor monk's merit." Tang Luo spoke, his palm closing.

Hard bones shattered together with the dim red light inside them.

Spine, ribs, hand bones...

All the bones turned into a cloud of flying ash and fell at the same time.

Only the sound of "laughter mixed with tears" remained, a mere "half-voice," coming to an abrupt halt.