Urban Martial Saint

Recalling the disappearance of the two Buddha’s Relics earlier, Ye Qing instinctively raised his hands to see if this relic had entered his body. However, in his hands, he could only see two relics and not the third, leaving Ye Qing somewhat surprised. Could it be that this relic hadn’t entered his body?

As the thought crossed his mind, Ye Qing suddenly felt a power slowly gathering in his left foot, similar to the feeling when he received the previous relics. His heart skipped a beat; could it be...

Though everyone was still fighting, Ye Qing couldn’t be bothered with anything else at the moment. He quickly turned his back to the crowd, took off his shoes and socks, and after a careful look, sure enough, at his left ankle was a round bead, emitting a faint golden light, identical to the Buddha’s Relic he had just seen. Meaning, this relic really had entered his body, not into his hands but settled in his ankle.

Looking at this Buddha’s Relic, Ye Qing no longer felt the shock he did before. Having already absorbed two relics into his body, Ye Qing had experienced all the shock he expected. Now, seeing this relic enter his body, he felt it was a given. For some reason, he felt it would’ve been strange if this relic didn’t enter his body.

Having located this Buddha’s Relic, Ye Qing stopped dwelling on it. He didn’t understand the relic’s significance anyway. Yet, thinking back to the werewolf statue, or King Raph, Ye Qing recalled another possibility.

When Ye Qing arrived, the relic was floating inside that sphere, illuminating the cave, hovering above the werewolf statue’s head. Ye Qing was puzzled back then about the sphere’s origin and why it was floating above the statue’s head. However, when Ye Qing climbed the statue to grab the sphere, he even pierced the statue’s eyes with the Tianzhu Sword. The statue showed emotion but no resistance, making Ye Qing assume it was merely a statue.

But when Ye Qing removed the sphere and pulled out the relic, something strange happened. The immobile statue suddenly seemed to come alive, attacking Ye Qing from behind like a reanimated corpse. Ye Qing was baffled at the time, not understanding how the statue moved. But on reconsideration, Ye Qing thought of a possibility. The relic hovered above the statue’s head as if it was meant to suppress it. After the relic was taken, the statue began moving, implying it couldn’t act without the relic suppressing it.

This thought wouldn’t occur to someone else, but Ye Qing recalled encountering similar situations before. Outside the chamber where Patriarch Bodhidharma passed away, by the underground river, there was a stele used to suppress a demon. That made him wonder if the Buddha’s Relic was used to suppress the werewolf statue.

Yet, how was the relationship between this werewolf statue, or King Raph, and the Church? How did the Church members recognize King Raph, whose history dates back thousands of years? The Church people are at most a hundred years old, so how did they identify him? Moreover, King Raph seemed formidable in life, and without Ye Qing’s internal Buddhist and Taoist powers, he couldn’t harm King Raph.

King Raph requiring suppression by a Buddha’s Relic suggests his strength surpassed the Corpse Ghost Dragon in life. But why was this terrifying figure turned into a statue and suppressed in this cave?

Linking this place to Guiguzi’s tomb, Ye Qing’s first thought was Guiguzi’s doing. From the murals, Ye Qing gathered that King Raph’s werewolves were humanity’s enemies. It’s conceivable that Sage Guiguzi defeated King Raph and used the relic to suppress him here. Why didn’t Guiguzi kill King Raph directly but left him here? And if the relic was removed, King Raph could move, posing a future threat. Why did Sage Guiguzi leave such a risk?

The more he pondered, the more questions arose for Ye Qing. But without knowing King Raph’s origins, he couldn’t discern the true situation. The information acquired here fueled Ye Qing’s desire to find Guiguzi’s tomb, hoping it held all the answers.

”Ah!” At this moment, amidst the chaos, came a cry of agony. Ye Qing turned to see a Church member struck down while fighting a Japan ninja, who was also severely injured. Yet, the ninja remained standing, indicating they had gained the upper hand.

The Church group was fewer in numbers compared to the Japanese ninjas, and the Great Lord had used a forbidden move earlier, delaying his power recovery. So, in direct confrontation, the Church was at a disadvantage. If the fight continued, the Japanese ninjas would likely kill them!

The Great Lord furrowed his brow, aware of the unfavorable situation and the fight’s likely outcome. He took a deep breath and shouted, ”Everyone retreat, don’t clash hard with these Japanese ninjas anymore!”

The Church members, already weary of fighting, immediately retreated upon receiving the Great Lord’s order, hurriedly heading for the exit.

The Great Elder, imagining the things left by Guiguzi, wouldn’t sit idly by as they fled. Seeing the Church retreat, he quickly called his followers to pursue them. Having barely gained the upper hand, they weren’t going to let the Church escape. Otherwise, with the Great Lord’s regained strength, another battle would be tough.

Seeing the Church retreat, Ye Qing felt a stir inside. Logically, the Church was incredibly excited upon seeing King Raph, eager to retrieve his corpse, but why did they suddenly retreat?

Additionally, the cave, though large, was enclosed. Even if the Church withdrew, it was only pursuing a chase with the Japanese ninjas, not escaping far. In such a scenario, their retreat was thought-provoking; what were the Church members up to?

Ye Qing first glanced around the cave, intuitively sensing that the Church’s retreat was to draw people out intentionally. Or, the cave contains something they didn’t want the Japanese ninjas or Ye Qing to discover. But Ye Qing had searched the cave twice and found nothing, indicating there wasn’t anything noteworthy.

If the cave was unproblematic, then something was wrong outside. Did the Church lead the Japanese ninjas out for a trap against them?

Ye Qing frowned slightly; both the Church and Japanese ninjas were his adversaries, yet he hoped they would destroy each other. If the Japanese ninjas fell for the Church’s trap and were eliminated, Ye Qing would be left alone to face the Church. The best outcome was mutual destruction between both parties, allowing Ye Qing to reap the benefits.

Thinking of this, Ye Qing didn’t dare linger in the cave and quickly rushed out. The Church members and Japanese ninjas were already halfway out, fighting while retreating. The Church was clearly unwilling to fight, while the ninjas intended to resolve the Church quickly.

After rushing out, Ye Qing observed the fighting sides and kept an eye on the cave’s surroundings. Wen’er and Fu Qingping still stood at the Gate of Life, relieved upon seeing Ye Qing emerge. Ye Qing had instructed them to retreat in case of danger. Though he didn’t know if the Gate of Life would let them out, it was the only option. With neither focused on him, they didn’t require Ye Qing’s attention for now.

Ye Qing nodded at them, focusing more on the other doors. In the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation, there are eight gates; the Open Door they entered, the Gate of Life for exit, and the Death Gate not to enter. Having entered one of the five remaining gates and encountered King Raph, what lies behind the other four?

Behind the door he entered was King Raph; Ye Qing could almost conclude the others wouldn’t be ordinary either. One surely hides Guiguzi’s tomb, and what else lurks behind the other doors? Strange things or extraordinary beings?