Chapter 70
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Two Great Heroes Unite
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From the darkness within the Heavenly Buddha Hall, a single shadow slowly revealed itself.
As the early evening breeze blew in from outside the Heavenly Buddha Hall, long white hair fluttered.
Clad in tattered brown robes, it was none other than U Gyeongcheon—but not the U Gyeongcheon of before.
The murky eyes that had oozed discharge now sparkled with a deep blue-black hue like the night sky on a clear day, and the once stooped back stood straight as a poplar tree in summer.
The wooden staff he had held was nowhere to be seen.
With a dignified posture, hands clasped behind his back at his waist, he stepped out and gazed at the torches lit by the Azure Heaven Dragon Guard Corps stationed at the base of the fortress walls in the distance.
Then he opened his mouth and murmured.
“You’ve arrived right on time. Now send in everything we’ve prepared as is. If there are any of Commander Seo’s forces joining along the way, bring them in together.”
It was the same far-transmission voice technique he had displayed before, and the one listening was none other than Azure Dragon Divine Palm Wi Jonggi.
After exchanging a few more words, U Gyeongcheon stood beside the Eastern Heaven Lama.
The Eastern Heaven Lama raised one hand, guiding the way.
“Come. Let’s head inside and eat first. I’ve been on edge all day, and I’m famished. Heh heh…”
“Very well. It’s been over sixty years since I last ate something in peace.”
The two paid no heed whatsoever to the people kneeling prostrate at their feet and disappeared through the side door.
Though quite some time had passed since arriving here, the soldiers of the Azure Heaven Dragon Guard Corps under Wi Jonggi’s command maintained their strict discipline and formation.
Wi Jonggi’s face brightened as he stood glaring at the Potala Palace ahead, his stern expression illuminated by the flickering torchlight.
He immediately issued a command.
“Bring the cult leader’s carriages forward.”
At the center of the Azure Heaven Dragon Guard Corps’ camp were dozens of wagons loaded with various supplies.
Among them were five wagons personally packed by U Gyeongcheon.
Those very wagons now advanced.
Four of them were no different from the others, wrapped tightly in yellow oilcloth and sealed, but one in particular carried only a single strange object.
It resembled a coffin.
A long blackwood box was loaded atop it, dangling loosely.
“You there. You’ll have to deliver those. Escort them in as well.”
Wi Jonggi gave the order to Demon-Subduing Divine Emissary Musujong, who stood beside him.
“I shall obey your command with utmost respect.”
Musujong bowed from horseback, accepting the order, then spurred his mount forward to take charge.
He selected one company of a hundred cavalry from his subordinate thousand-man cavalry unit to escort the five wagons, then incorporated Commander Seo’s warriors, including Go Ipa and Ananta, into the formation.
At that very moment, as the column set off toward the Potala Palace, the massive fortress gate swung open, revealing Commander Seo’s warriors herding countless livestock ahead of them.
Deep within the Potala Palace, in the Eastern Heaven Lama’s private chambers.
U Gyeongcheon took a sip of fresh yak milk first, then set down his cup.
Before him lay roasted lamb and boiled yak meat without any special seasonings, along with an abundance of dried fruits, wheat cakes, and more.
“The fare here is rather sparse, so it may not be entirely to your taste. But with this great occasion today, please enjoy.”
The Eastern Heaven Lama sat across from U Gyeongcheon, tearing into a piece of meat with one hand.
The room contained only the two of them.
“This is the most delicious food I’ve had in sixty years. Hahaha…”
U Gyeongcheon’s complexion had completely transformed as he gnawed on a lamb leg, bone and all.
His gray hair remained, but the wrinkles that had creased his face were entirely gone, and his eyes now blazed with vital energy.
“It’s a pity there’s no liquor. A day like today calls for getting thoroughly drunk with you, Cult Leader U…”
The Western Regions’ harsh climate made alcohol scarce.
They had once brewed small amounts from barley and millet, but the Eastern Heaven Lama himself had banned it for quite some time.
“Wait just a moment. Did you think I’d come unprepared for that? Heh heh…”
Sure enough, the door soon opened, and several serving maids entered carrying jars of liquor.
These were the items unloaded from the five wagons Wi Jonggi had sent, just arrived.
Among them were various famed liquors from the Central Plains, packed full in jars—naturally, tasting the liquor came first.
Soon, the two filled large bowls with the potent brew and began toasting and drinking.
“Kha… Brother. I could never forget the liquors of the Central Plains.”
The Eastern Heaven Lama drained his large bowl in one go and cried out in delight.
“Worry not, little brother. I can supply you with enough to last a lifetime. Aren’t you the savior of my life? Kahaha…”
Before long, the two were addressing each other as brothers.
“By the way, thanks to you, brother, I’ve encountered a supreme opportunity myself—what could be more fortuitous than that?”
“Indeed. That hideous thing did one good deed before departing, so my heart is light as can be.”
It was exactly that.
Rousing the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art to draw out the Residual Blood Demon Thread Parasite from U Gyeongcheon’s body and guide it into his own had been no great difficulty.
The Residual Blood Demon Thread Parasite had never fully detached from U Gyeongcheon’s body before.
A tendril as thick as a child’s finger had roamed freely within him before burrowing into the Eastern Heaven Lama’s forearm.
Having feasted on U Gyeongcheon’s body for over sixty years, the parasite knew his condition best—and it needed a new host to survive.
The problem lay within the Eastern Heaven Lama’s body, where pure Buddhist inner energy surged fiercely.
The moment it burrowed in and began traversing the meridians toward the dantian, it sensed something gravely amiss.
The Eastern Heaven Lama cultivated several arts—Great Vajra Divine Art, Dragon Elephant Prajna Art, Great Thunderclap Blood Buddha Divine Art, and more—but the foundational heart method was the Vajra Divine Qi Scripture, rooted in the Buddhist Diamond Sutra.
And the Western Regions’ supreme heart method, the Vajra Divine Qi Scripture, shared no fundamental difference with Shaolin’s Yijin Jing or Xisui Jing. For the Residual Blood Demon Thread Parasite that had just found this new nest, it was an unbearable ordeal.
Thus began the bloody battle between the Eastern Heaven Lama and the Residual Blood Demon Thread Parasite.
A life-or-death struggle, with the issue being the newly cultivated Great Thunderclap Blood Buddha Divine Art.
Originating from the Thunderclap Temple in Tianzhu, this so-called Buddhist art contained such ferocious demonic energy that it was perfect for the parasite to latch onto.
After immense hardship, upon reaching the Eastern Heaven Lama’s dantian, the parasite recognized and awakened the latent energy of the Great Thunderclap Blood Buddha Divine Art.
Believing it stronger than the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art that had tormented it thus far—and that by harnessing its innate demonic nature, it could dominate not just the host’s body but his mind as well.
One might question how a mere parasite could achieve such a feat, but this Residual Blood Demon Thread Parasite was no ordinary creature—it bordered on a demonic beast.
Moreover, having absorbed the true qi from U Gyeongcheon, an absolute master beyond the Profound Realm, for sixty years, its latent power had already elevated it to that of a demonic entity.
The Eastern Heaven Lama, confronting it with the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art rooted in the Vajra Divine Qi Scripture, was utterly shocked.
The Great Thunderclap Blood Buddha Divine Art energy, which he had only recently cultivated and was still difficult to control, began rampaging wildly.
Realizing it was the work of what he had deemed a mere parasite, he raised his Dragon Elephant Prajna Art to over tenfold to counter.
But the Great Thunderclap Blood Buddha Divine Art, now under the parasite’s manipulation, freely traversed the acupuncture points before infiltrating even his three core meridians.
And the Eastern Heaven Lama’s eyes began to slowly turn an eerie red.
This was beyond mere qi deviation—he was becoming fodder for the demonic beast entirely.
At that precise moment, U Gyeongcheon regained his senses and perceived the Eastern Heaven Lama’s state.
The instant the parasite, which had embedded its tendrils in his dantian and siphoned his vital blood for decades, withdrew, he had briefly lost consciousness.
Regaining his wits, U Gyeongcheon hurriedly moved behind him, placing his palms on his back.
Moments later, his entire body glowed with white radiance as he projected his Northern Sea Divine Art into the Eastern Heaven Lama’s body.
Among all martial arts under heaven, the Northern Sea Divine Art was the most profound and terrifying—and its most fearsome power was the ability to manipulate an opponent’s inner energy at will.
Even its derivatives, like the Star Absorption Art or Energy Dissolving Art, could dominate the world; the parent art’s might was akin to that of a god.
U Gyeongcheon’s Northern Sea Divine Art effortlessly tracked the parasite’s location.
And it confronted the fiercely surging Great Thunderclap Blood Buddha Divine Art energy guarding it.
The parasite had already absorbed a significant portion.
Yet the Northern Sea Divine Art could manipulate any inner energy under heaven—and within another’s body, it was utterly invincible.
U Gyeongcheon used the Northern Sea Divine Art to subdue the Great Thunderclap Blood Buddha Divine Art energy and suppress the Residual Blood Demon Thread Parasite.
While it had been untouchable within his own body, in another’s, it was merely a pest.
Of course, this feat was possible only for one who had mastered the Northern Sea Divine Art to its pinnacle.
Yet, having subdued the parasite, U Gyeongcheon resolved to leave it within the Eastern Heaven Lama’s body.
Not alive, but by annihilating the demonic entity while transferring its latent power entirely to him.
This, too, was impossible without the Northern Sea Divine Art.
The Eastern Heaven Lama, intuiting U Gyeongcheon’s intent telepathically, began absorbing the suppressed parasite’s power.
After a grueling four hours of combat, it concluded.
Thus, the Eastern Heaven Lama finally completed the twelvefold Great Thunderclap Blood Buddha Divine Art and stepped into the Profound Realm.
“And now, brother, what will you do? Having fully escaped that Hyeonjin’s restrictions, it seems no one in the current world can match you.”
The Eastern Heaven Lama asked U Gyeongcheon with a rather flushed face.
U Gyeongcheon’s face was flushed with drink as well.
Empty liquor jars were scattered around them.
“I shall now set my sights on the world.”
Moments later, U Gyeongcheon declared it soberly, his face free of intoxication.
Hearing this, the Eastern Heaven Lama’s drunkenness vanished too.
“Heh heh… As expected of U Gyeongcheon. This brother is in awe. Kahaha…”
“Come with me. To the east.”