Patrol Captain

Lotus Dharma Realm.

Chen Yuan's body returned to normal size. He held a three-pointed, double-edged spear with the tip pointing backward. A golden dragon coiled around his body, roaring and howling. His armor shone with dazzling divine light, resisting the surging gale of the Golden-Winged Roc.

His third eye, gleaming with cold light, shone with an aura as deep as an abyss. He stared at the person opposite him with a fierce gaze that showed no sign of backing down!

In his third eye, the image of the crystal-clear divine light flowed and reflected in the void.

"Are you the Golden-Winged Roc King?"

Several miles away in the void, the Golden-Winged Roc suddenly flapped its wings, and with a whoosh of wind, its golden feathers fluttered like flowers and leaves.

The golden light blazed intensely, then suddenly shrank, transforming into a human form, its very presence exuding the power of wind and thunder.

As the golden light faded, a figure in a long, dark robe with gold patterns trailed on the ground, its hem billowing like wings fluttering through the clouds. The robe was embroidered with cloud patterns, as if imbued with the fierce winds of ten thousand miles.

The figure had a handsome and imposing face, with sharp, angular eyebrows that slanted outwards, eyes like golden pupils that held the sun and moon, golden hair and eyebrows, and two large earrings hanging by his ears.

Three golden feathers grow in reverse between his eyebrows, like Sanskrit characters, seemingly there yet not there. The moment he raises his eyes, the Buddhist light around him suddenly turns sharp, like the wrathful gaze of a Vajra.

He stood with his hands behind his back, with a phantom-like figure unfolding behind him. A lotus platform was just beginning to bloom beneath his feet, and golden wings covered the sky above his head. His extraordinary appearance was vast, with light emanating from his head and body. He possessed both wisdom and merit, and his majestic and sacred aura was so powerful that people dared not look directly at him, yet could not help but feel awe.

"One day, I sat before the Buddha, contemplating the vast universe. I saw a martial saint fighting two celestial beings in a bloody battle under the sky, a battle that shook the heavens and the earth."

"To have met such a sage today is truly remarkable!"

The Golden-Winged Roc King's voice was as calm as a still lake, yet it seemed to conceal immense power. However, he did not come up with a tense atmosphere. His divine light and oppressive aura were much less intense. Instead, he talked about the past and praised the king.

However, Chen Yuan did not relax in the face of this old monster from the Western world. His tone appeared casual, but he was secretly gathering his strength.

"You flatter me, King Peng. I am already fortunate to be alive!"

"I wonder if you are perhaps looking for some Buddha relic from me, Chen?"

Upon hearing this, the Golden-Winged Roc King chuckled, flicked his sleeve, and waved it.
"hehe."

“That wicked disciple stole the Buddha’s relics from under my tutelage and smuggled himself down the mountain, bringing shame upon me. It would be a great pleasure for me to help him kill this traitor to his sect. How could I possibly turn my back on him like that?”

As he spoke, his sharp, golden eyebrows drooped downwards, and a calmness appeared in the corners of his usually domineering eyes; his tone was indifferent.
"As for the Buddha's relics, they were originally under my protection, but were greedily taken away by my disciples. I am ashamed of this and have been ridiculed by all the Buddhas and great figures. I must take them back."

At this point, the Peng King changed the subject,
"However, I cannot let you exert your efforts for nothing, so I will make some compensation."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow. This Bodhisattva-level old monster was so easy to talk to?

"Oh? I thought all the people of Mount Sumeru were like this Arhat Gaya, so lacking in manners!"

As he spoke, his gaze swept to the side and rear of the Golden-Winged Roc, where the Arhat Gaya stood with his hands clasped together. He sneered, then withdrew his gaze and returned it to the Roc King.
"Since King Peng is so understanding, why don't you tell me how you intend to compensate me?"

Since the people of Pure Land are shameless, he feels no pressure at all.

The Golden-Winged Roc King's eyes flickered, and he raised a hand, flipped his palm, and flung out a golden feather, which slowly flew towards Chen Yuan.

"This body of mine is merely a part of my spirit descending; I have no other possessions on it."

"If you crush this feather, it can mark the coordinates in the void and be sensed by me. If you have time, crush this golden feather, and I will open a void teleportation to try to satisfy you."

When the golden feather flew over, Chen Yuantian's Heavenly Eye swept over it and actually sensed a remarkable spatial fluctuation within it, which secretly surprised him.

Legend has it that the Golden-Winged Roc is a bird known for its unparalleled speed. When this speed-based supernatural power is cultivated to a high level, it can even traverse space, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, and mastering the laws of the void.

If even a single feather on this Bodhisattva-level Peng King is so powerful, one can infer that he is probably unfathomable.

As Chen Yuan's eyes flickered, he considered the pros and cons. Suddenly, his Heavenly Eye swelled and shot out a beam of glazed divine light, freezing the golden feather in place. Then, he flicked one finger, and an arc of lightning leaped out, striking the feather and enveloping it.

Therefore, multiple restrictions were set up.

When the time was right, he flicked his sleeve and drew the feather in from a distance.

Having done all this, Chen Yuan flicked a spear in his hand, raised his gun, clasped his hands, and remained calm.
"In that case, I will await the arrival of King Peng on a chosen day!"

"Farewell."

After speaking, Chen Yuan glanced indifferently at Garaja Arhat, then stepped into the air, his aura exploding and soaring into the sky.

Upon reaching a high vantage point, its third eye emitted divine light, piercing through the heavens and tearing a black rift in the void. Beyond the rift, sparse stars could be faintly seen.

With a flash of six-colored divine light, Chen Yuan rushed into the rift and disappeared into the Lotus Dharma Realm.

Within the Dharma Realm, Arhat Gaya remained expressionless and silent throughout, only glancing up at Chen Yuan as he departed, uttering a Buddhist chant, and then looking towards the Golden-Winged Roc ahead.
"This humble monk thought that King Peng would engage in a magical contest with General Chen and demand the Buddha's relics, which is not like King Peng's style at all."

The Golden-Winged Roc stood with its hands behind its back, its golden eyes narrowed to tiny points, sharp and profound, unfathomable, its voice deep and resonant.

"I have observed this man's past and future, and all I see are mountains of corpses and seas of blood. This kind of person cannot be dealt with by force, or it will be a fight to the death."

"Moreover, I sense that something is watching this place."

"Why bother with something that's just an inanimate object?"

"The true Dharma is difficult to discern on Mount Sumeru now, so it's best not to stir up other disputes."

"Furthermore, if you were to descend the mountain this time and establish numerous Dharma altars and lineages, without the support of the imperial court and local powers, it would be like a castle in the air."

"After this, I will meet with him alone."

This Roc King seems to be wise and discerning, understanding the situation in the outside world, and thus uttered these words.

After saying this, the Peng King's humanoid avatar suddenly blazed with golden light and vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye.

Luo Han Jiaye clasped his hands together and lowered his head, then looked up, a hint of obscurity flashing in his eyes, before his feet trembled.

The golden body faded away, turning into a layer of golden dust that spread in all directions. Wherever it passed, the lotus Dharma realm dissipated. Outside, it was still dark and windy, and the ancient temple was still quiet and secluded, seemingly unaffected.

Chengdu, Yunding Mountain, Daofusi.

In the dead of night, the mountains were silent, but from time to time, the cold glint of iron armor and pairs of gleaming eyes could be seen, like lurking tigers.

At the summit of Yunding Peak, in the Great Hall of Heavenly Patrol, a dim yellow light peeked out from a quiet room behind it.

The candle wick flickered, casting dappled light on the window paper and obscuring the dark patterns on the hem of an old man's black robe in the hall.

The old man sat cross-legged between four screens, his eyes closed and his face wrinkled, looking like a weary old man in his twilight years.

Around it, a dozen bronze mirrors, each the size of a moon disc, floated in mid-air and slowly rotated. The mirrors were all tilted upwards, and the silver wires inlaid on the edges gleamed coldly in the candlelight.

In each mirror, an image flashed by. In one mirror, a group of armored soldiers were patrolling with torches in hand. The scales on their armor flickered in and out of the light, and the crunching sound of their boots crushing dry leaves seemed to float into the room through the lens.

In the adjacent bronze mirror, a blue-armored general is in a tent camp, holding a candle and writing a secret letter. On the table, a slender hand is grinding ink. The owner of the hand is hidden in the darkness where the light cannot reach. The letter contains the words "Your Highness".

There is also the darkest side, silent and still, where occasionally a rack full of armor flashes by before being swallowed up by even deeper darkness.

Just then, it seemed as if a draft had slipped through the crack in the door into the quiet room. The flames inside suddenly dipped, as if about to be extinguished by the draft, before leaping back up in an instant.
At that moment, the image on one of the bronze mirrors suddenly froze, and then the silver threads on the edge of the mirror suddenly lit up, illuminating the quiet room.

Then, the scene in the bronze mirror shifted, revealing a secluded mountain forest with an ancient temple in the middle.

In the center of the quiet room, Helian Shan, who was sitting cross-legged, twitched his eyelashes slightly, then suddenly opened his eyes, flicked his fingers in the air, and moved the bronze mirror in front of him.

Helian Shan looked at the image in the mirror, a look of doubt appearing between his brows. Where was this? Ci'en Temple?
This surprised him somewhat.

However, Helian Shan perked up, made a hand seal, and pointed at the mirror. A point of silver light shot from his fingertip towards the mirror, and the image in the bronze mirror rippled as if a boulder had been thrown into it.

Then, suddenly everything went black!
The screen disappeared.

Helian Shan frowned, tried to react several times but still couldn't capture the image, so he suddenly stood up.

There's something strange about this.

"Somebody come!"

He opened his mouth, his voice not loud, but outside the quiet room, the once peaceful night was soon filled with clanging sounds, and heavy armored figures appeared outside.

"Master Imperial Master!"

A chilling sound came from outside.

"Send someone to Ci'en Temple to investigate, and also summon General Qitian." Helian Shan remembered that he had Qitian keep an eye on Ci'en Temple because a holy monk from the Western Land had come there. He was very famous and gave a sermon, which was accompanied by many miraculous events.

Just as a response came from outside, the image in the bronze mirror reappeared.

This time, however, Chen Yuan's figure appeared prominently on the screen.

"Lord Helian, are you okay?"

Chen Yuan's indifferent voice came from the mirror.

Upon seeing Chen Yuan, Helian Shan's gaze relaxed, his furrowed brows slowly smoothed out, and he spoke softly to the outside.

"Wait!"

"It's okay."

"You will remain on standby."

"Yes!" The figure outside the door quickly disappeared, and silence returned.

Helian Shan sensed something, and with a flicker, he disappeared from the room, reappearing atop the eaves of a tower on the west side of Cloud Peak.

There, Chen Yuan stood atop it.

"Lord Chen's sudden visit in the middle of the night, no wonder you're here to try and make trouble for me, are you?"

Helian Shan made his appearance and got straight to the point.

Chen Yuan, dressed in casual clothes but still wearing the same white robe as during the day, turned to the side and asked, "What do you mean by that, Lord Helian?"

Helian Shan thought Chen Yuan was holding a grudge because of their previous unpleasantness and was being sarcastic, so he said directly, "Why beat around the bush, Lord Chen? You sent your confidant to see me during the day to have me deal with the matter of the Northern Liang Demon Suppression General colluding with the Western Region demons. Is Lord Chen here to supervise me?"

He was referring to what happened during the day.

Chen Yuan suddenly realized that the imperial advisor had misunderstood him, and he shook his head.
“Chen’s visit in the middle of the night was not for this matter; he had other business.”

"Just now, I came from Ci'en Temple and had a brief exchange with that holy monk. There are some things I need to tell Lord Helian."

Upon hearing this, Helian Shan's wrinkles tightened around his eyes.
"It is said that this monk came down from Mount Sumeru in the Western Lands and has made quite a name for himself in Chengdu in a short time. I secretly investigated him on the first day he entered Chengdu and guessed that he was an Arhat. I couldn't find any other information, so I could only send people to keep an eye on him."

"After all, Chengdu is full of hidden talents, and I can't keep an eye on this person forever."

"Lord Chen, is there something you wish to say?"

Helian Shan's eyes gleamed with a murky light.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan realized that he had come to seek out this veteran of three dynasties in order to find out some information about the Buddha's relics and the Golden-Winged Roc, so as not to be tricked by him.

So he spoke.
"Old Imperial Preceptor, do you know anything about Buddha's relics?"

It had no beginning and no end; it just came up suddenly with this question.

Helian Shan narrowed his eyes. "I know. The imperial court has enshrined it, or rather, there are related legends in every dynasty. The Buddha's relics are the core of the Buddha's life's merits and vows when he passed away. According to the scriptures, after the Buddha's reincarnation, his remains were divided into 84,000 relics, which were distributed by his disciples to various places in the world to build pagodas for enshrinement and to pass on the Dharma. However, with the passage of time and wars, many of them disappeared. The Dharma did not manifest, and those that remain in the world are extremely rare. Most of them are on Mount Sumeru in the west, where they are strictly guarded."

"Among them, some are extremely important. The simplest way to determine their importance is by their size. After all, a Buddha's bone is divided into 84,000 parts, and the larger and more complete the bone, the more valuable it will be."

Helian Shan felt comfortable being addressed as "Old National Teacher" by Chen Yuan, and explained to Chen Yuan the legend and origin of the Buddha's relics.

Believe it or not, this old imperial advisor, who lived through three dynasties, knew quite a lot.

After listening and understanding the relevant information, Chen Yuan would naturally have leverage in negotiations.

"What are the special uses of this Buddha's bone relic?"

Chen Yuan asked about the crucial point.

Helian Shan immediately looked at Chen Yuan meaningfully, "You have to have it first. Only those who have it can understand it. I have seen it before, but I do not have the fortune to do so. Or you can ask the great masters in Buddhism."

"Furthermore, Lord Chen said he had fought with that holy monk from Ci'en Temple. What happened?"

Chen Yuan didn't want to say too much about this matter.

Asking too many questions only makes these things seem a bit tricky.

He remembered that among the seven immortal kings outside Chengdu, there was an Arhat who had died and been resurrected.

Perhaps I can get some information and then decide how to deal with this Buddha relic. It's a finger bone relic, guarded by the Golden-Winged Roc, a Bodhisattva-level powerhouse, so it must be extraordinary, even though the other party doesn't seem to care that much.

"There are some things that are not convenient to tell you yet. They involve the karma of Mount Sumeru and should not be publicized. The old national teacher only knows to pay attention to Ci'en Temple. Also, please take good care of the matter of the Holy Sect that Chen asked me to handle."

"Farewell!" (End of Chapter)