Chapter 194: Saber King and Venerable Buddha (2)

“Ugh! Creating an organization isn’t that easy.”

“I know. The larger the organization, the more manpower, resources, and timing must all align perfectly.”

However—

“At present, the Black Lotus Union has everything except wealth. And wealth naturally follows if the other two are in place.”

…That was true.

If we could gain control of Luoyang, securing financial resources wouldn’t be a problem.

The issue was—

“Nothing has been confirmed yet. We don’t know how long those two will stay involved.”

Though the Saber King and Venerable Buddha had willingly stepped forward to help Baek Sang-ah…

That didn’t mean they could remain here indefinitely.

The Black Lotus Union would eventually disappear.

It was just that its eventual disappearance had been pushed much further into the future than I had expected.

“There are two directions we can take from here.”

I held up two fingers.

“One is to follow the original plan—clash with the Wudang Sect, and then have the Sword King clean up the mess.”

“And the other?”

“To actually build it properly. A third demonic alliance closely tied to the Heavenly Demon Cult.”

Cheon Yura tilted her head.

“Should we keep asking him to lead the Black Lotus Union?”

“…If we say something like that, he might actually swing a sword at me.”

I shook my hands frantically.

We couldn’t keep Baek Sang-ah as a mere figurehead forever.

Eventually, we would have to bring in a true expert from the main cult or somewhere else to act as a core leader.

‘Honestly, it would be best if the Saber King took over, but that damn wanderlust of his makes that difficult.’

In the end, the best option would be to bring in a Grand Demon-level master with the main cult’s support—someone whose existence was still hidden from the outside world.

Of course, that’s only if we were seriously planning to run this organization properly, despite how absurdly it came into being.

Just then—

“Excuse me.”

A deep and resonant voice came from outside.

“Are you there, Benefactor Jin?”

“……!”

I recognized the voice and quickly stood up.

Even Cheon Yura, rarely flustered, tidied her clothes in haste.

One of the Three Lords who had truly reached the pinnacle, beyond all other martial masters.

The Venerable Buddha, Lord Clear Justice.

He had come looking for me.

Dressed once more in his usual yellow robes, the humble old monk pointed to me and requested a private conversation.

“Benefactor Jin, could you spare me a moment for a private talk?”

***

The first impression I had of Lord Clear Justice was this—

A degenerate monk.

Really, what else would you call a monk who showed up for a first meeting holding a bottle of liquor?

To make matters worse, he had accepted a position as the Left Guardian of the Black Lotus Union in Saber King’s scheme without hesitation.

‘He honestly looked like someone who didn’t give a damn about anything…’

But now, the Venerable Buddha sitting in front of me bore no resemblance to that first impression.

As Lord Clear Justice picked up a steaming cup of tea, he spoke gently.

“Thank you for making time for me, Benefactor.”

“Not at all. If it’s the Venerable Buddha requesting, I’d make time even if I didn’t have any.”

With his noble grace and serene aura, the monk looked like a living embodiment of Buddha himself.

…If only the contents of that teacup weren’t actually grain alcohol.

The fragrant “tea” warmed him as he nodded in satisfaction.

“The tea in Luoyang has such a splendid aroma. It truly feels like a symbol of this ancient capital’s thousand-year history. Hohoho!”

“…Please, let’s get to the point.”

My respect for the Three Lords was steadily chipping away.

“Hmmm.”

Lord Clear Justice paused briefly.

Then, his eyes—buried deep in wrinkles—gleamed faintly.

And a question that pierced straight to my core came forth.

“What does Benefactor Jin think of the concept of reincarnation as described in Buddhism?”

Twitch!

What was he getting at?

“I don’t know? I’ve never really been to a temple.”

“Fufufu, of course.”

He chuckled quietly and continued.

“This world flows within the great cycle of samsara. Whether in the age of myth or the age of ignorance, the world revolves within this immense framework, where the three realms touch and laws emerge.”

“……”

“Yet, even within such a world, there are those who seek to pierce through toward the ‘outside’, and others who, from the ‘outside’, pierce in.”

As I remained silent, he took a small sip of his tea and added—

“You, Benefactor, are a truly dangerous being. Far more than any other I have encountered.”

I raised my head and met his gaze directly.

“You possess… a special kind of sight, don’t you?”

“That’s correct.”

He did not deny it.

Even from our first meeting, I had sensed it. The monk’s clear eyes shimmered with a mysterious power unlike anything I had seen before.

He pointed to his own eyes with a finger.

“Thanks to these eyes, which see the underside of the world, I have seen and experienced much since I was young.”

It was what had allowed him to rise to the rank of the Three Lords, and it was why he understood just how dangerous those hidden behind the veil truly were.

His eyes sank with gravity.

“You who have come from the outside—what is your true purpose?”

“And why are you so certain I came from outside this world?”

Swoosh.

The finger that had been pointing to his eye now moved toward my chest.

“Because the golden power you hold within your heart does not belong to the laws of this world.”

Damn it.

I cursed internally.

This was exactly why I didn’t want to use my second ability.

No matter how well I hid it, it would always get exposed eventually.

“That power isn’t something bestowed by divine possession. Your karma is intertwined with the outside, which is why I am certain of your otherworldliness.”

Indeed, the source of this power was a goddess from another dimension—what he said was true.

Lord Clear Justice’s expression dimmed.

“Originally, Benefactor, your mere existence would bring grave harm to the karmic order of this world… yet, for some reason, I cannot be certain of that.”

“That’s because the source of this power, as you described, is not an evil being.”

“Indeed. If the Greatly Compassionate Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva truly existed, I imagine it would feel similar to this.”

Well, she may be incompetent, but she is still, technically, the Goddess of Light. That might be plausible.

‘He’s seen through this much already—there’s no point in lying.’

I confessed my purpose to Lord Clear Justice without hesitation.

“I want to make my one woman happy.”

“Hm?”

He blinked, momentarily surprised.

“That is the only ultimate goal of my life. I have no other purpose.”

“Hoho… Then, your goal is love, Benefactor?”

“Something like that.”

I affirmed, my gaze unwavering.

“Love, huh.”

Lord Clear Justice rolled my words around in his mind for a moment.

Then, he glanced toward Cheon Yura, who stood a little ways off, quietly watching us.

It seemed he instantly understood the nature of our relationship.

A sigh escaped his lips.

“Love is the human emotion that most clearly reveals the dual extremes of nature. When it takes the wrong path, it becomes karmic fire, burning not just oneself, but everything and everyone around.”

I responded somewhat awkwardly.

“…You speak as if you’ve experienced love yourself, Lord?”

It was a throwaway remark, said without thought.

But the answer was unexpected.

“Hoho, has it been… perhaps seventy years now? Before I entered Shaolin, I was quite the charming young man around Dongting Lake.”

“…….”

“There was a time when I indulged in every pleasure of the world, experiencing the lowest depths of human existence. Those experiences ultimately led me to Shaolin. Such are the mysterious workings of fate.”

Wait… this guy isn’t just a drunk monk—he was a defrocked monk?!

A reasonable suspicion surged inside me.

“And… that was also the time when I first became aware of their existence.”

“……!”

For just a moment.

The briefest instant.

Was it an illusion? Or did I really feel an inexpressible hatred flicker deep within his eyes, despite his gentle facade?

Though time had long buried it, the ember of that hatred still lingered, tormenting the heart of even this high monk who had reached enlightenment.

Lord Clear Justice gently folded his hands and bowed his head.

“I detected no falsehood in your words, Benefactor. So I shall believe you.”

“…….”

“Please, do not forget that heart that seeks to protect others. You have my support.”

“Even if I’m a member of the Demonic Cult?”

“Whether one walks the Demonic Path or the Orthodox Path, the road always leads to the same Immortal Way. What does it matter?”

As expected—someone at his level would naturally understand.

“I actually have decent relations with both the Dao Zun Benefactor and the Demon Lord Benefactor. We work together to keep them in check.”

“…I see.”

“This is a small token in exchange for taking your time.”

He pulled a booklet from his robes and handed it to me.

‘What is this? It feels… sacred, somehow.’

It looked old and worn on the outside.

But this was clearly no ordinary booklet.

Just like the Divine Demonic Physique Records I’d obtained before, something about the book itself had been treated with a foreign process!

I slowly checked the title on the cover.

And was stunned.

– Yikgeun Saesu Gyeong (易筋洗隨經)

Classic of Muscle Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

No way—what the hell?!

“……!!”

As I stood frozen in shock, unable to form words, the Venerable Buddha smiled faintly and spoke.

“Benefactor, did you know?”

“…Know what, exactly?”

“That the original Classic of Muscle Changing and Marrow Cleansing is closer to a medical manual than a martial art manual.”

Though widely believed to have been written by Bodhidharma during the Tang dynasty, the origin of the Classic of Muscle Changing and Marrow Cleansing predates even that.

“The current Shaolin version focuses on harmonizing the body’s chaotic energies through Buddhist inclusiveness and unity.”

Chaotic, huh…

Calling the Heavenly Demon’s power and divine power ‘chaotic’ feels a bit dismissive, though.

“However, the original version wasn’t written just for harmonization—it was created to reach the dimension of the Formless Realm, the Arūpaloka, beyond all material constraints. A remnant of what people now call the Mythic Age.”

In Buddhist cosmology, the Formless Realm exists above the Realm of Form—a realm unbound by the material.

“Then this book…”

“Even if power belongs to a different set of laws, in the presence of a greater principle, all things eventually unify.”

The Venerable Buddha quietly closed his eyes.

“It should be quite helpful for your current condition.”

It was true.

Though I had forcibly fused two incompatible forces—

The core problem remained unsolved, and I still lived with a time bomb inside my body.

With trembling hands, I lifted the Classic of Muscle Changing and Marrow Cleansing.

“How could you possibly give something like this to me…?”

“While the Classic of Muscle Changing and Marrow Cleansing certainly holds truths of a higher plane, it’s not something that creates invincible internal energy like secret techniques from other sects. For those who don’t need it, it’s no more than a tool for mental training.”

True, the Classic of Muscle Changing and Marrow Cleansing was considered Shaolin’s greatest secret manual.

But in reality, the representative techniques practiced by Shaolin monks were the Immovable Diamond Heart Method and Great Strength Arhat Divine Art, both part of the 72 Ultimate Arts.

“Also, I have a personal request to make once this situation is over. Consider this a form of… bribe.”

A request, huh…

I couldn’t quite suppress my unease.

He may have downplayed the value of the Classic of Muscle Changing and Marrow Cleansing, but this wasn’t something you just handed out on a whim.

‘Just what kind of request…?’

More importantly, the fact that it came from the Venerable Buddha himself meant it would undoubtedly be difficult.

“The request I wish to make is…”

The Venerable Buddha paused for a moment, then continued.

“…related to the other reason the Taiji Sword Lord came to Luoyang.”

“There’s another reason?”

And then, from the Venerable Buddha’s lips came a name I had never expected.

“Benefactor… do you know of a place called Heaven of Sacred Spirits?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep