Chapter 349: Until The Mad Wind Army Arrives (1)

Yi-gang’s vision blurred for a moment.

‘Focus, keep your mind as calm as a still lake. First the eyes, and then the ears.’

「An incomplete person experiencing Six Divine Powers is merely taking shortcuts. First, focus on what you can see.」

The advice from the Dalai Lama and Bodhidharma faintly echoed in his mind.

Yi-gang refocused.

The foggy blur that had clouded his vision gradually cleared.

“Quick as lightning…!”

As Yi-gang quickly regained control of his focus, the voice of the Dalai Lama, filled with admiration, was heard.

But even that voice gradually faded away.

It was similar to a dream where one realized they were dreaming.

If you tried to force yourself awake, you get pushed out of the dream.

Let the flow carry both mind and body, but always be aware that this is not reality.

It was a paradox.

Because it was a paradox, it was so difficult. Yet, for some reason, Yi-gang succeeded on his very first attempt.

Yi-gang once again concentrated on what was visible.

That village was definitely Rangachen Village.

While there might be many villages scattered across the vast plateau, the sharply rising back mountain and the architecture of the buildings made it unmistakable.

There seemed to be people in the village.

Through the windows, Yi-gang could see figures hiding in the shadows.

Each of them tightly gripped a spear or a trident-like weapon that could serve as a weapon. There were also women comforting the frightened children.

It was only natural. The Mad Wind Army, coming from far away on horseback, made no attempt to hide their presence.

Though they were not moving very quickly, a cloud of dust billowed up around them as they advanced.

The intimidation they exuded was beyond comparison to the nearby bandits who had once dared not approach the village.

No, it was not even on that level.

The bandits in the ranks of the Mad Wind Army carried the heads of people impaled on the tips of their spears.

Among them was also the head of a local bandit who had once strutted around with pride in this very village.

Yi-gang felt a deep sense of regret.

‘They should have run away!’

The direction where the Mad Wind Army and the bandits appeared was beyond the vast plains.

It had likely been some time since the villagers realized the approach of the Mad Wind Army.

If that was the case, why hadn’t they escaped by now? Why were they foolishly locking themselves indoors and hiding?

Yi-gang wanted to check the chief’s house and the village elder’s house.

But the Divine Eye, experienced through the Scripture of Inexhaustible Mind and Body, was not all-powerful.

With no other choice, he reluctantly turned his gaze back to the Mad Wind Army.

The bandits of the Mad Wind Army were dressed in desert clothing.

In order to block the sandstorm, they wrapped filthy cloth tightly around their faces and bodies.

Because of this, they looked like long-dead corpses that had just crawled out of the earth.

Amidst them, there was a carriage.

Sitting bored on top of the carriage’s roof was the man who could only be the Evil Cult’s Cardinal, Mang-hon.

‘Senior Brother Dam Hyun faced him.’

Dam Hyun had told Yi-gang about his encounter with Mang-hon’s followers in the Azure Forest.

Mang-hon, from afar, seemed to possess the bodies of his followers in order to lash out at them.

It was an incredible method, one so powerful that even Yi-gang, who had knowledge of the occult, could hardly imagine it.

One bandit followed Mang-hon closely.

When it came to the Mad Wind Army, they were clearly the combat division of the Demon Cult. However, their behavior towards the outsider, the Cardinal of the Evil Cult, was quite respectful.

They seemed to be conversing with each other. However, Yi-gang could not hear it.

He could imitate the Divine Eye, but not the Divine Ear.

Yet, it seemed imperative that he listen to their conversation.

Yi-gang focused even harder.

In the inner garden of Potala Palace here, he was trying to hear the sounds from thousands of miles away.

“…right?”

“…told you. …it.”

At first, the words were hard to hear. Their voices were muffled and cut off intermittently.

However, Yi-gang seemed to have a remarkable talent for using the Scripture of Inexhaustible Mind and Body.

On his very first attempt, he was able to borrow even the Divine Ear.

Mang-hon clinked the rings hanging from his lips and spoke.

“Kill them all, kill them and feed them to the others.”

“As you wish.”

The target was obvious.

It was certain that Rangachen Village would be the one to face this fate.

Yi-gang’s spine stiffened.

It was the moment when he focused his mind to observe Mang-hon more closely.

Mang-hon raised his head toward empty air.

Yi-gang’s gaze met his.

It was an impossible scenario, but Yi-gang felt a strange certainty.

“Where….”

Then Mang-hon lifted his pale hand.

Yi-gang noticed something peculiar about that palm.

It looked as if it were sewn together with a thread that was mending an unhealed wound.

The thread that was stitching it together snapped with a snap.

A dizzying sense of crisis rang in Yi-gang’s mind.

「Stop!」

With Bodhidharma’s deep command, Yi-gang’s consciousness was pulled upward.

“Hah!”

Exhaling sharply, Yi-gang looked around; he was in the inner garden of the Potala Palace.

Mang-hon lowered his right hand, which he had raised towards the air.

He clicked his tongue in apparent dissatisfaction.

“What’s the matter?” asked a bandit from the Mad Wind Army, running alongside, who had sensed something unusual.

Mang-hon suddenly felt irritated.

He briefly entertained the thought of sending the strike he had intended for the air toward this unnecessary bandit.

“Enough.”

But Mang-hon dismissed the thought.

They had already sent enough fear and reverence toward him.

Instead, he sat back in the carriage and thought.

He reflected on the unpleasant gaze of the one who had dared to observe him through space.

There were occult methods that could allow one to see from a great distance, but this uncomfortable sensation felt slightly different from the Taoist approach.

It was clear that this was the Six Divine Powers of Buddha, aiming at conquering demons.

And in this vast world, there were few who could unleash the Six Divine Powers.

Of all times, if he were to attempt observing Mang-hon…

“The Dalai Lama is making a pointless struggle.”

It was highly likely that the gaze coming from Potala Palace, where he was about to strike, was the one he had been sensing. Mang-hon concluded this.

He had planned to use the power of the Demon Cult to destroy Potala Palace.

It was truly a two-birds-with-one-stone plan, and a convenient one that involved using the Demon Cult’s lesser forces, not the ones he had carefully nurtured.

It was the perfect plan for Mang-hon’s personality.

The Dalai Lama was an adversary who could pose a threat to his teachings.

Although he, too, could read the secrets of the heavens and would be aware of his danger, Mang-hon didn’t care about such things.

“Second Spirit.”

Then, someone climbed the carriage wall like a spider.

“Watch the bandits prepare their prey. If possible, it’s better to feed them alive.”

“As you wish.”

To do that, Mang-hon had brought something from the great desert, something that had once terrified even the bandits and the elders of the Demon Cult.

Potala Palace would collapse in an instant.

As soon as Yi-gang emerged from the intense Scripture of Inexhaustible Mind and Body trance, he violently vomited.

The Dalai Lama, with an awkward smile, patted Yi-gang’s back.

Since he had experienced the Six Divine Powers to such an extent from the very beginning, it was only natural, and a brief explanation accompanied this fact.

Having vomited into the water collected in the indoor pond, cleaning it up would certainly be no easy task.

However, Yi-gang had no time to worry about such things.

The Cardinal and the Mad Wind Army had arrived at Rangachen Village.

The reason was obvious—it was for resupply.

If they were merciful, they would only steal some food and leave.

But it was impossible to expect such a thing.

The villagers of the plateau would be slaughtered by the bandit horde.

Yi-gang explained what he had seen and heard to the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama smiled bitterly.

“Om Mani Padme Hum…”

Was he muttering a mantra because there was nothing else he could do?

Yi-gang understood.

「…」

Even Bodhidharma was silent.

Even if he had noticed the disaster that was about to unfold far to the north, there was nothing he could do about it.

Yi-gang realized that if he rode out now, Rangachen Village would already be burnt to the ground.

Having heard the command “Feed them to the others,” it was possible that a cultic ritual had already been performed.

“Damn it…”

For the first time in a long while, Yi-gang felt an intense feeling of filth.

It had been a while since he felt this way.

「Seeing more and hearing more is the path of great hardship.」

Perhaps Bodhidharma had felt the same way.

Living in the caves of Mount Song, he had seen and understood the world far more than others.

Yi-gang quickly realized the reason for his filthy feeling.

‘Powerless.’

Powerless. Yi-gang hated that feeling most of all.

When he lost Sohwa, and even in the face of the inevitable, incurable fate of his birth, he had been powerless.

The red thread ring tied to his pinky.

Even though he knew the little child who tied that knot would be trampled to death by the hooves of the Mad Wind Army, Yi-gang remained powerless.

Perhaps it would have been better to bring Tsering here, to Potala Palace.

He had been lost in such depressing thoughts.

「Do not despair, young seeker.」

Bodhidharma’s voice carried a deep emotion.

He rarely showed any sympathy.

「Life is inherently a sea of suffering. All living beings are ultimately adrift on the sea of pain.」

‘…’

Yi-gang stood motionless above the artificial pond he had sullied.

He felt as if he were a lone island, enduring the waves by himself.

Then, the practitioner from a thousand years ago, Bodhidharma, made a promise to Yi-gang at that moment.

「I will impart the teachings to you. Use them as a raft to cross the sea of suffering.」

He promised to pass on his teachings to Yi-gang.

And Yi-gang, though briefly bending his body, was not one to be broken.

Powerlessness was the driving force behind his growth.

「Would you like to receive the teachings of Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Changing?」

‘…I will.’

“Go inside and rest.”

The Dalai Lama bid him farewell.

It could be considered a great relief.

It had been ten days since then.

Before Potala Palace, the frozen lake stretched out.

On the other side, the village chief of Rangachen Village, holding Tsering, appeared.

Yi-gang immediately took action as soon as he recognized the two figures in the distance.

He leapt out of the window.

Though they appeared as small as ants, he was sure it was the village chief and Tsering.

The distance from here to Rangachen Village was quite far, even on horseback, so it was impossible to tell how they had arrived.

The cold wind struck his face, and Yi-gang landed on the eaves protruding from the building’s center.

It only made a small thud sound.

Yi-gang jumped again and landed on the ground.

Without using the stairs, he easily vaulted over the railing.

He ran down the steep slope as if it were flat ground.

He swiftly crossed the slippery frozen lake.

Yi-gang spotted the village chief and Tsering, who were walking while pulling a yak.

The village chief’s face was very dark.

But Tsering was different.

It seemed that she was enjoying crossing the slippery ice, as she deliberately slid around playfully.

Then, she suddenly looked up and noticed Yi-gang rushing toward them.

“Hey! Mister!”

Yi-gang stopped abruptly as he arrived in front of them.

The village chief, seemingly drained of strength, collapsed to the ground.

Yi-gang quietly looked down at Tsering.

Did they not know what had happened to Rangachen Village?

Was that why the girl appeared so innocent and pure?

“You’ve… come a long way.”

“Yes…”

He couldn’t immediately ask how they had made it here.

Tsering smiled shyly and then sniffed her nose.

Then she lowered her head deeply.

Soon, Yi-gang realized that Tsering had already seen much.

Droplets of water fell from somewhere near Tsering’s lowered head, dropping softly to the ground.

“Hiing…”

Eventually, the girl burst into tears.

The village chief, who had collapsed to the ground, also buried his head in the dirt and sobbed heavily.

“The bandits… the villagers…”

“They’ve all been fed to the monsters!”

It was a heart-wrenching cry.

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