Urban Martial Saint

Upon hearing Ye Qing’s words, Broom Star didn’t respond as he usually did. He simply smiled slightly. Extending a small hand, he pointed to the chair in front of him and said, ”Please sit.”

Seeing Broom Star’s gesture, Ye Qing only then remembered that the person before him could no longer be viewed as a child. He slowly sat down, took a look at Broom Star, fell silent for a moment, and suddenly asked, ”Did you know I was coming?”

It was so late, and Broom Star was sitting alone in the courtyard. Moreover, there were two cups of tea placed on the table before him, undoubtedly waiting for someone. But was the person he was waiting for Ye Qing? If he was waiting for Ye Qing, then how did he know Ye Qing would come? After all, Ye Qing had just returned to the estate before heading over, even if Broom Star received the news at that moment, he wouldn’t have had time to prepare these things, right?

Broom Star glanced at Ye Qing and said, ”Not only did I know you were coming, but I also knew you brought me something.”

”Something?” Ye Qing was even more astonished, for he hadn’t brought anything with him. How could Broom Star say such a thing? Moreover, Broom Star seemed quite different now compared to before. Although he always had a peculiar aura, now it seemed as if a layer of wisdom had enveloped him. His eyes, which appeared to be filled with compassion, seemed capable of piercing through all of life’s mysteries.

”That’s right, it’s something!” Broom Star looked at Ye Qing, slowly extended his hand to point at Ye Qing’s shirt pocket, and said, ”The thing is right here!”

”Here?” Ye Qing was even more astonished, for he had a phone in his shirt pocket. Could the thing Broom Star wanted possibly be the phone?

While thinking this, Ye Qing reached into his pocket, preparing to take out the phone. However, as soon as he reached in, he felt a pressing sensation on his chest, as if a spherical bead was being compressed against him. Ye Qing hesitated for a moment, suddenly recalling that when he defeated the giant octopus monster, he had found a spherical bead from a hundred meters deep underwater. At the time, Ye Qing had thought this bead was a Buddha’s Relic, so he brought it out. But afterwards, the bead seemed ordinary and did not merge into his body, which proved it was not a Buddha’s Relic. Ye Qing hadn’t figured out what this object was, so he brought it out.

Ye Qing’s clothes at that time were nearly torn apart, so after leaving the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, he switched into a new outfit. The bead was casually placed into his shirt pocket. Preoccupied with the matters of the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates, Ye Qing had essentially forgotten about this bead. Confronted now by the bead, Ye Qing remembered the matter, simultaneously filled with shock and astonishment: Could this bead be the object Broom Star mentioned? But how did he know Ye Qing had this bead?

With a sense of curiosity, Ye Qing took the bead out and handed it to Broom Star, asking, ”Is this the thing you were referring to?”

Broom Star accepted the bead, slowly rubbed it in his hand for a while, his face full of compassion. After a while, he finally put down the bead, looked up at Ye Qing, and said softly, ”Do you know what this is?”

This was a question Ye Qing had pondered many times without any answers. Now that Broom Star raised it, Ye Qing immediately felt that Broom Star surely knew the origins of this bead. He shook his head at once and countered, ”Do you know?”

Broom Star gently flicked the bead with his finger, immediately causing it to emit a soft golden light, the very same golden light Ye Qing had seen previously. Except after obtaining the bead, the light vanished. Ye Qing thought he might have had an illusion due to being underwater for too long, but evidently, it wasn’t an illusion; this bead truly could emit golden light. Yet why did the bead emit light with just a gentle flick from Broom Star?

”This item is called the Honored Buddha!” With a single sentence, Broom Star transformed Ye Qing’s astonishment into even greater astonishment. Ye Qing stared at Broom Star with wide eyes, not uttering a word for quite a while. Not only because the object had a name akin to the Taoist Sovereign, but crucially, because Broom Star truly recognized this bead!

At this moment, Ye Qing was more certain than ever that Broom Star was far from being a mere child. A child couldn’t possibly have such a breadth of experience or knowledge. After all, even Fu Qingping didn’t recognize this bead!

”Honored Buddha!” After quite a while, Ye Qing finally regained his senses. He looked at Broom Star and spoke softly, ”What is it?”

While posing the question, Ye Qing was also contemplating another matter. If he could understand the Honored Buddha, by analogy he might also understand the Taoist Sovereign. The Honored Buddha and Taoist Sovereign likely belonged to the same class of things.

Broom Star didn’t answer but instead asked in return, ”Have you heard of the Nine-Headed Buddha Body?”

”Nine-Headed Buddha Body?” Ye Qing was slightly surprised and curiously asked, ”What is that?”

”Buddha is the Holy Lord, its nine heads immortal, and its golden body indestructible,” Broom Star said. ”The Buddha birthed nine heads, consolidating the world’s wisdom and observing all of life’s phenomena. On the day of the Buddha’s demise, the nine heads separated. Though the Buddha departed, the nine heads remained, thus the Buddha’s golden body remained undestroyed.”

Broom Star’s words left Ye Qing even more bewildered, utterly astonished. Although he spoke thus, Ye Qing still hadn’t grasped what exactly the Nine-Headed Buddha Body meant. However, in the Huaxia language, ”head” means a skull. Could the Nine-Headed Buddha Body imply the Buddha had nine heads? That’s impossible, right? Having nine heads would make it a monster. Ye Qing had heard of conjoined twins with two heads but nine heads?! That defied logic. Moreover, it was unthinkable for the Buddha, revered as the Holy Lord, to have nine heads. Thus, Ye Qing felt these nine heads conveyed a different meaning.

”What does the ’nine heads’ really mean?” Ye Qing asked.

Broom Star seemed to see through Ye Qing’s bewilderment, saying, ”The nine heads are said to be a cultivation technique from the Buddhist Sect.”

Perhaps to make it clearer to Ye Qing, Broom Star continued to explain: ”It is said that, on the day of the Buddha’s demise, all its power concentrated, safeguarding its brain’s memories, later splitting into nine parts. This is the true meaning of the nine heads.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Qing suddenly understood. It turned out the nine heads referred merely to the division of the Buddha’s power and memory, not literally having nine heads. Yet thinking about it, this was still quite shocking. At the brink of death, the Buddha was able to protect its memory with its power, splitting it into nine parts. Just how strong would its power have to be? Moreover, how exactly was this memory safeguarded?

Ye Qing had not reached that realm of understanding, so he naturally couldn’t comprehend the reason behind it. However, he had heard about Wu Tianchi, who was of such a type, using power to protect his memory, then entering another person’s body, thus continuing to pass down his memory to prolong life, essentially a form of longevity. If Wu Tianchi could use his power to protect his memory, then surely the Buddha could do the same?

Yet, what puzzled Ye Qing was this: If the Buddha’s power protected its memory, what was the aim? Could it be that the Buddha intended, like Wu Tianchi, to occupy another’s body for revival? If this were truly the case, why hadn’t there been any tales of the Buddha for over ten thousand years? Furthermore, with its power and memory split into nine parts, would it still be the original Buddha if passed down?

Despite obtaining Broom Star’s explanation, Ye Qing’s perplexity not only failed to diminish but actually grew. From entering the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master onward, Ye Qing had witnessed countless unimaginable events.

The matters of the gods and the Immovable Bodhisattva Seal puzzled Ye Qing greatly. And upon hearing about the Nine-Headed Buddha Body, Ye Qing felt somewhat numb. The appearance of increasingly astonishing events made Ye Qing more susceptible to accepting such bewildering occurrences.

Yet acceptance aside, Ye Qing’s curiosity continued undiminished. He truly wished to unravel these mysteries. In ancient times, what indeed transpired among the Buddhist and Taoist Magic and those so-called gods?

”Nine heads immortal, golden body indestructible!” Broom Star softly spoke. ”It is said that by gathering all nine heads of Buddha, one can find the Buddha’s indestructible golden body—this is the matter of the Nine-Headed Buddha Body!”

These words shocked Ye Qing further. The Nine-Headed Buddha Body didn’t refer to a person but a matter. Gather the nine heads and you can find the Buddha’s golden body!?

This affair was even more startling than the previous matters at the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master. After all, compared with the Buddha, Guiguzi was of another tier entirely. The Buddhist and Taoist Magic were the originators of the Three Teachings Sects. Guiguzi was merely a successor of Dao. Compared to Buddhist and Taoist Magic, Guiguzi was merely a descendant, and how could his tomb possibly compare to the Buddha’s golden body?

In truth, without needing a comparison, just matching Guiguzi’s tomb against the Demon Hiding Cave in Mount Beimang demonstrates the discrepancy. Although Demon Hideout Cave is known by all, and countless have entered it, entering is one thing, but who can ever harm the Devouring Demon Flower within the cave? The cave has no mechanisms, the only trap being the Heart Demon Great Array. The rest are extensions of the Great Demon King’s power, blocking millions from entry. Besides, though many have entered the cave over the years, none has ever reached the Demon King’s coffin. That says everything. Comparatively, the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master pales to Demon Hideout Cave, which is a true forbidden zone!