Urban Martial Saint

The temperature in the secret chamber caused Ye Qing to break out in a sweat, and it made him question the power within him. At that exact moment, the Buddha’s relic in his right palm began to tremble slightly. With this tremor, Ye Qing clearly felt that the power of the Buddha’s relic was slowly stirring, as if awakened.

Ye Qing was startled. He already knew about the two powers within him from the day before. Every day, the power of the Buddha’s relic would surge as if it was about to explode his entire body. When the power of the Buddha’s relic emerged, the power of the Devouring Demon Flower would appear simultaneously to protect his body. Thus, within Ye Qing’s body, these two forces clashed daily, making it an excruciating process to endure.

Fortunately, these two powers only appeared once each day, and the time of their appearance was fixed, so Ye Qing simply needed to retreat into seclusion at the right moment to endure this period.

However, today’s situation was somewhat different. The time had yet to come for the two powers to emerge, yet the Buddha’s relic was already stirring. What could this mean?

”Ye Qing, what’s wrong?” Seeing Ye Qing’s uneasy expression, Huangfu Ziyu asked with concern.

”I’m fine, just a bit tired. I need to sit down for a moment.” Ye Qing waved his hand and withdrew to the nearby sofa to sit down. Although they had entered the secret chamber, Broom Star was inside the inner chamber, and they were currently only in the main hall of the chamber.

Huangfu Ziyu helped Ye Qing to sit down and hurriedly poured him a glass of water, but Ye Qing gestured for her to put it down. This time, the power of the Buddha’s relic had truly started to activate, and his right palm was clearly filled with a formidable force, as if it was ready to rampage through his body at any moment.

Based on previous experiences, when the power of the Buddha’s relic emerged, the Devouring Demon Flower’s power would also appear to protect Ye Qing’s body. However, this time the situation was different. After the power of the Buddha’s relic appeared, the power of the Devouring Demon Flower showed no signs of movement, as if it remained dormant or had completely disappeared. This caused Ye Qing great concern. If it continued like this and the power of the Buddha’s relic ran wild, without the protection of the Devouring Demon Flower, the power of the Buddha’s relic could quite literally tear his body apart.

Ye Qing had managed to survive and was slowly regaining his ability to walk, which had given him hope. However, the current predicament left him feeling somewhat desperate. Was he going to be overwhelmed by the power of the Buddha’s relic right here?

”Ye Qing, what’s really going on with you?” Huangfu Ziyu couldn’t help but ask again, as Ye Qing’s expression became increasingly grim, and his forehead was covered in large beads of sweat, which made her very worried.

Ye Qing was now unable to even speak, and the scorching heat waves around him made him feel as if he were standing in a furnace. The most crucial part was that the power of the Buddha’s relic within him was continuously growing stronger, clearly preparing to assault his body. At this rate, Ye Qing’s life would likely end here.

”Ye Qing, are you feeling unwell?” Huangfu Ziyu asked urgently. ”Stay seated here and don’t move. I’ll go get Mr. Bai Li.”

With that, Huangfu Ziyu quickly ran out of the secret chamber. Bai Li Xi happened to be nearby, and in such a situation, he was the best person to turn to.

Ye Qing slowly leaned back on the sofa, while the power of the Buddha’s relic continued to surge and boil within him. Fortunately, for the time being, it was only circulating in his right arm and had not rushed into his body. If that power were to enter his body, it would be disastrous; this powerful force could tear his body apart. Even the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s indestructible demon body was destroyed, let alone his physical body!

However, as the power of the Buddha’s relic raged and surged, the power of the Devouring Demon Flower remained absent, as if there was no intention to stop the Buddha’s relic. If the power of the Devouring Demon Flower did not appear, Ye Qing would truly be doomed. Even if Bai Li Xi came, what could he do? The power of the Buddha’s relic couldn’t be controlled by Bai Li Xi!

The surging power, combined with the assault of heat, left Ye Qing’s head slightly dizzy. He struggled to keep himself from fainting, but this also made him more acutely aware of his condition. The power of the Buddha’s relic was pushing him to the brink of despair. A powerful force had already reached its peak, threatening to flow into his body and tear it apart at any moment.

At this critical moment, a mysterious voice suddenly emerged from the inner chamber in the distance: ”Guanyin Bodhisattva, practicing profoundly Prajna Paramita, perceives that the five skandhas are all empty, alleviating all suffering and distress. Shariputra, form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from form. Form is precisely emptiness; emptiness is precisely form; perception, conception, volition, and consciousness are also like this. Shariputra, all phenomena have the aspect of emptiness, which is non-arising, non-ceasing, non-defiled, non-pure, non-increasing, and non-decreasing.”

The ethereal voice was like a preaching from an enlightened monk, yet the child’s innocence was evident in its tone. With the onset of this voice, inexplicably, the power of the Buddha’s relic within Ye Qing slowly receded, returning entirely to the relic itself. The power that had almost torn Ye Qing’s body apart gradually dissipated, absorbed by the Buddha’s relic once more.

As this power was reabsorbed by the Buddha’s relic, the prior sensation of scorching heat vanished, and Ye Qing returned to a normal state, regaining his consciousness. A realization struck Ye Qing: the heat he felt was inseparable from the Buddha’s relic.

The voice from the inner chamber continued, and at this moment, the Buddha’s relic in Ye Qing’s right palm was also quietly stirring, though with no apparent power fluctuations.

Ye Qing glanced down at his right palm, where the Buddha’s relic suddenly emitted golden light again. With this golden light, the Buddhist chant faintly reached Ye Qing’s ears, as if transcending space-time to present this ancient Buddhist sound to the world once more. Strangely, the Buddhist chant gradually synchronized with the mysterious voice from the inner chamber, even sharing the same pattern. Aside from the differing sounds, every other aspect overlapped perfectly, a peculiarly strange occurrence.

Ye Qing realized that this voice from the inner chamber must be emanating from Broom Star. It meant that during the most critical moment, Broom Star had saved his life. Furthermore, the sutra recited by Broom Star could seamlessly merge with the Buddha’s chant of the Buddha’s relic, confirming Broom Star’s deep connection with the Buddhist sect. Possessing a Buddha Heart indeed speaks volumes!

Freed from this predicament, Ye Qing immediately felt safe. He stood up and walked directly into the inner chamber, catching sight of Broom Star sitting cross-legged.

The scene was much the same as before, with the Purple Lotus Karma Fire still burning Broom Star’s body, yet he showed no sign of pain. The most baffling aspect was that he had been sitting there for so long without eating or drinking and felt no hunger at all, which only deepened Ye Qing’s curiosity.

Moments ago, when Ye Qing was on the verge of being torn apart by the power of the Buddha’s relic, Broom Star had astonishingly recited a sutra that timely suppressed the power of the Buddha’s relic, saving Ye Qing’s life. This intrigued Ye Qing even more about him.

Standing nearby for a while, Ye Qing couldn’t resist crouching down and quietly asked, ”How... how are you?”

On previous occasions when Ye Qing had entered, he had asked Broom Star the same question, but had never received a response. This time, it was different. As soon as Ye Qing finished speaking, Broom Star opened his eyes. He gazed at Ye Qing for a long moment, then slowly stretched out his hand towards Ye Qing.

Ye Qing was uncertain about Broom Star’s intentions, and asked with some confusion, ”What’s wrong?”

”Your right hand,” said Broom Star.

Ye Qing looked at Broom Star, hesitated slightly, but ultimately extended his right hand. However, he was careful not to approach Broom Star too closely, having experienced the pain of the Purple Lotus Karma Fire before, he was unwilling to endure such pain a second time.

But although he was wary of the Purple Lotus Karma Fire, it didn’t mean Broom Star wouldn’t approach him. As soon as Ye Qing extended his right hand, Broom Star immediately grabbed it, enveloping it with the Purple Lotus Karma Fire.

”Ah!” Ye Qing exclaimed in surprise, instinctively trying to withdraw his hand. Oddly enough, once his hand was grasped by Broom Star, the power of the Buddha’s relic began to faintly oscillate, opposing his own power. When he attempted to pull his hand back, the power of the Buddha’s relic pinned it within Broom Star’s grip, making it impossible for him to retract his hand.

”What’s going on?” Ye Qing was thoroughly baffled. This situation was strangely bizarre—could it be that the Buddha’s relic was cooperating with Broom Star? Was the Buddha’s relic so favorably disposed towards one who possessed a Buddha Heart?

Broom Star paid little mind to Ye Qing’s puzzlement, staring intently at the golden light emitted by the Buddha’s relic in Ye Qing’s palm, which grew increasingly intense as though responding to Broom Star. Moreover, what puzzled Ye Qing most was that despite having his hand enveloped by the Purple Lotus Karma Fire, he felt no pain; the fire seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever.

Originally, Ye Qing intended to withdraw his hand due to fears of the Purple Lotus Karma Fire’s power, not wanting to be burned. However, since it didn’t seem to harm him, he no longer worried and simply let Broom Star hold his hand.

”Is there something unusual?” Seeing Broom Star engrossed, Ye Qing looked at his right palm and explained, ”This is a segment of the Buddha’s relic from Shakyamuni of the Buddhist sect. When I killed the Corpse Ghost Dragon with it, the Buddha’s relic somehow entered my body.”