Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing rummaged through his pockets but couldn’t find the Buddha’s Relic anywhere. Could it have fallen somewhere?

Just as Ye Qing was about to return to the stone corridor to search, he suddenly noticed the black flowers in the stone chamber beginning to move.

Ye Qing had been wondering how these black flowers appeared. Could they be mobile? Now, seeing the black flowers start to move, Ye Qing was immediately intrigued and didn’t have time to worry about the Buddha’s Relic. Instead, he closely observed the black flowers, wanting to understand what was happening with them.

Those black flowers slowly swayed, beginning to fold in their own unique way. The stems and flower heads folded backward, while the roots rose slowly. The slender leaves on the stems fell to the ground, subsequently supporting the entire flower, resembling four legs.

Once this transformation was complete, the roots of these flowers lifted upward, facing forward. Suddenly, the roots opened wide, as if the bud had suddenly blossomed. The roots spread open to reveal something round, appearing like a face.

Seeing this, Ye Qing nearly gasped in shock. What emerged from the roots indeed resembled a face, complete with eyes, a mouth, and tendrils, looking much like a small insect. The slender leaves appeared to be legs, supporting the plant. The thick stem seemed to form the body of this insect, while the rear swung black flowers now curled like a bud, hanging behind the stem, resembling a rather large tail!

After transforming into this form, those slender leaves touching the ground started to shift like legs, silently leaving the area and entering the stone corridor. During this period, Ye Qing stared in amazement at everything, completely forgetting what he was supposed to do.

It was only then that Ye Qing understood the meaning of the blood-written words someone had left before. In those words was the character for ’insect,’ which Ye Qing hadn’t understood at the time. Now, he finally comprehended it. That character referred to these black flowers, which transformed into a monstrously mobile insect. Truly bizarre! Was this the Instantaneous Blossom? But was it a plant or an animal? Instantaneous Blossom turned out to be a mobile insect?

Ye Qing was filled with shock, and it took him a long time to regain his senses. By that time, the black flowers in the stone chamber had vanished, leaving only the lifeless body of Wan Yan Yong. Wan Yan Yong lost his life here, ultimately gaining nothing. Until his death, he never understood what had happened, nor the peculiar nature of the Instantaneous Blossom.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Qing turned and walked back into the stone corridor to take another look at the black flowers. However, the corridor now lay empty, not a trace of the flowers in sight, as if they had never appeared.

Unable to find the black flowers, Ye Qing did not persist. He turned on his flashlight and began searching the corridor for the Buddha’s Relic. Yet, despite his lengthy search, he found nothing. The Buddha’s Relic seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving Ye Qing puzzled.

Earlier, he distinctly remembered having the Buddha’s Relic and placing it in his pocket. During this time, only Wan Yan Yong had entered the stone chamber, and no one else. So where could the Buddha’s Relic have gone? This was incredibly strange.

After mulling over the situation, Ye Qing still could not figure out where the Buddha’s Relic had disappeared to. Since he couldn’t find it, he decided not to dwell on the matter. Heading back into the stone chamber, he picked up a silk cloth from the ground. This cloth came from the wooden box that held the Buddha’s Relic and was inscribed with writing, though he didn’t know what it said.

Though the cloth had been stored for a considerable time, it had been kept preserved within the compartment of the wooden box and showed no decay. The writing on it was clear. Ye Qing read through it carefully and finally understood the origins of the Buddha’s Relic.

It turned out that the Buddha’s Relic was something the Master of Du Wang inadvertently acquired from an ancient temple after emerging invincible from the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates. At the time, the Master of Du Wang was unparalleled, a supreme force. However, upon obtaining the Buddha’s Relic, he was unknowingly influenced by Buddhist powers. From then on, he carried the Buddha’s Relic with him and came to Mount Duwang, establishing the Doomsday Sect. He dramatically changed his former ruthless persona, setting down rules for the Doomsday Sect: any wrongdoers entering the sect would not have their past misdeeds pursued. The intent was to promote the Buddhist ideal of conversion and the philosophy of laying down arms to become a Buddha immediately.

Knowing his end was near, the Master of Du Wang wanted to hand over the Buddha’s Relic to a highly skilled Buddhist master. However, at that time, Xiaolin Temple was lacking in capable individuals, and handing the relic over to them might not safeguard it and could bring disaster instead. If someone with ulterior motives obtained the Buddha’s Relic, it would be an unnecessary catastrophe. Thus, the Master of Du Wang left the Buddha’s Relic in his tomb and set up mechanisms to test those who entered. Only someone from the Buddhist Sect could obtain the relic, and it required someone who practiced the Vajra Indestructible Body; otherwise, they would perish under the Instantaneous Blossom.

The Master of Du Wang’s intention was to protect the Buddha’s Relic. Only those from the Buddhist Sect who had practiced the Vajra Indestructible Body could take it, ensuring that only top experts, capable of safeguarding the relic, could acquire it. That was his main reason!

Understanding the intention behind the mechanisms, Ye Qing admired the Master of Du Wang even more. For a person to set such a clever mechanism to protect the Buddha’s Relic even in dying moments was indeed extraordinary!

Looking further, Ye Qing found another line of small characters at the bottom of the silk cloth. Studying it carefully, he saw it was just a sigh—time to attend the appointment. A warning to future generations: do not enter the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates!

The moment Ye Qing read this line, his heart skipped a beat, reminding him of an earlier encounter with the Divine Doctor, An Shiping. At that time, Divine Doctor An Shiping had claimed to have an appointment to attend, staying in Shenchuan City only briefly before leaving. Additionally, he also warned against entering the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates. Here, the Master of Du Wang left similar words: to attend an appointment and advise others against entering the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates. Why were their words so similar?

Moreover, there was no body within the coffin of the Master of Du Wang. Where had his remains gone?

Ye Qing took a deep breath, observing the empty coffin, feeling the situation was highly unusual. Two individuals who had entered the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates both spoke of attending an appointment and warned others not to enter the gates. What sort of appointment was it? Were they both keeping the same appointment? Having entered Heaven Earth Man Three Gates and achieved the status of a Supreme, why did they then advise others against entering?

Ye Qing was filled with questions. Yet, after scrutinizing the silk cloth multiple times, he found nothing more. The cloth contained limited information about the Buddha’s Relic and ended with the Master of Du Wang’s sigh, leaving no clues, making it impossible to decipher what the Master was referring to.

”Heaven Earth Man Three Gates?” Ye Qing murmured, holding the silk cloth with a slight frown, ”What exactly is inside? Why do those who entered later advise against it? So many strive to enter, yet those who have been inside seem to hold such an attitude?”

The darkness of the stone chamber remained silent. No one could answer Ye Qing’s questions, nor could anyone resolve his doubts. After pondering for a long while without an answer, Ye Qing finally gave up. The information he had about the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates was too scarce to deduce what lay within. It seemed only by gathering more information could the truth be unveiled.

Ye Qing once more searched the stone chamber for the Buddha’s Relic, but ultimately found nothing. Helplessly, he left the famed instruments he had acquired in the stone chamber. These famed instruments were useless on the outside for the time being, and if Du Canglang took them, it would be a loss. Storing the famed instruments in the stone chamber ensured they couldn’t be taken by others. If Ye Qing ever had the chance, he could return to retrieve them. After all, he realized he could easily access the stone corridor.

As for the secret manuals, Ye Qing left several, only pocketing three of the smallest ones, which were thin and hard to detect, convenient to carry out.

Once everything was arranged, Ye Qing lifted Wan Yan Yong’s body and moved it into the stone corridor. Although Wan Yan Yong was deceased, Ye Qing didn’t want his remains tainting the stone chamber.

(Two chapters owed from before have been added tonight.)