Star of Sanzang Returns to India

Chapter 36: Star of Sanzang—Return to India

Li Ye suddenly shouted at the group of humanoid figures after his thoughts concluded.

The puppet-like humanoids naturally wouldn't respond to Li Ye, and the beings he wanted to converse with weren't these puppets, but the existences behind them.

"The Holy Grail is here, are you planning to hide until the end?"

Li Ye scanned his surroundings, confirming the presence of the humanoids and the traces of the nameless Servant.

'A total of four Servant-class enemies—'

And that ghoul-like Magus had undoubtedly set up countless magic arrays in the shadows, making Li Ye feel that no spot on this land was safe.

'Can fight—'

Li Ye had already figured out the upper limit of the nameless Servant. If he continued fighting, only Li Ye would win. The details of the three humanoids were temporarily unknown, but judging from their magic power fluctuations, their level wasn't high.

"Are you sure you want to keep fighting me?"

With no response, Li Ye reactivated his Dragon Blood, but this time the extent was far beyond anything before.

Not only was the Dragon Blood within him fully revived, but Li Ye also used the Holy Grail's magic power as fuel and injected it into the Dragon Core, greatly increasing the Dragon Blood's concentration. Its revival power was akin to a Red Dragon's descent!

'!'

A piercing pain struck him, and Li Ye instinctively released his grip on his sword, staggering backward.

The change surpassed any previous instance; the only thing comparable to the current state of his Dragon Blood was the time he received the Lion King's blessing!

Not only did his eyes turn into vertical pupils, but even Li Ye's short black hair gradually turned into a golden hue like spun gold, growing wildly!

'What is this?'

The pain was secondary; what astonished Li Ye was the power and immense magic power surging within him.

This was different from the magic power provided by the Holy Grail; it was his own Dragon's magic power!

"Guh!"

Li Ye gritted his teeth, feeling a fierce wind rush towards him. It was the nameless Servant attacking again!

Meanwhile, the other three humanoids remained stationary, unmoving.

[The sword edge sliced through, piercing the neck directly. In an instant, blood gushed out.]

Li Ye suddenly looked up, his pale golden vertical pupils staring in disbelief at the nameless Servant right before him.

The scene flashing through his mind was exactly what the nameless Servant was about to do—

'Intuition, evolved?'

Li Ye, in a daze, slightly turned his body, dodging a sword strike from the nameless Servant that nearly pierced his neck, and naturally threw a punch.

The nameless Servant naturally sensed Li Ye's movement, countering with his palm against the fist, blocking it, and then intending to swing his sword at Li Ye again.

The moment the fist and palm met—

A fierce crimson light burst forth and instantly converged to a single point!

There was no grand display of power. First, his palm, then his flesh, internal organs, and bones. This time, the unleashed violence met no resistance!

Boom!

With a roar, the nameless Servant was bathed in blood in the sky.

After Li Ye punched through the nameless Servant's abdomen, sending him flying, the three humanoids seemed unable to sit still. They all rushed down the sand dune, heading straight for Li Ye!

And the nameless Servant, whose abdomen Li Ye had pierced, after being sent flying nearly a hundred meters, charged again despite his injuries!

'Is it regenerating?'

Li Ye could barely see that the fatal blood hole in the nameless Servant's abdomen was being filled with granulation tissue, as if it were about to heal completely!

As the three humanoids approached, curses spread beneath the yellow sand, enveloping Li Ye!

But Li Ye was not one to sit idly by. Facing enemies from all four directions, he instantly shot out.

Heading straight for the three humanoids!

In almost the blink of an eye, Li Ye pinned the central humanoid and smashed it fiercely into the sand!

Instantly, the yellow sand vibrated non-stop!

Gurgle, gurgle—

Starting from the humanoid beneath Li Ye, curses surged like water, instantly covering the yellow sand.

Forced to retreat, Li Ye was in a daze, as if he hadn't yet emerged from the effects of the Dragon Blood.

"Is this all you can do with your little tricks!"

Still in a daze, Li Ye was about to blow away these people along with the yellow sand when he suddenly sensed a familiar Spirit Core fluctuation rapidly approaching.

"Hya!"

A familiar, crisp shout rang out, and an iron-pillar-like dark iron staff swept out, sending the group of humanoid puppets flying!

A graceful figure, streaking past Li Ye's side, struck the nameless Servant's chest with a palm!

Bang!

The explosive roar stirred up a gale, sending the nameless Servant flying hundreds of meters with a single palm strike!

"Master Sanzang!"

This brought a surge of pleasant surprise to the dazed Li Ye, who thought Sanzang had finally finished her fight.

"Ya! Sorry to keep you waiting, little brother!"

Sanzang, her black hair fluttering, turned and smiled, playfully winking.

"Huh? Little brother, did you always look like this?"

Upon clearly seeing Li Ye's face, Sanzang tilted her head in confusion, as if seeing something incomprehensible.

Unable to understand what Sanzang meant, Li Ye, now recovered, struggled to maintain his Dragon Blood overload recovery state. "Master Sanzang, please help me take care of these people."

Before he finished speaking, Li Ye vaguely saw a flash of golden hair flicker across his forehead—

'?'

Only then did Li Ye realize that his once lustrous black hair was gone, replaced by golden locks, just like the Lion King's.

'Lion King?'

Thinking of this, Li Ye's expression shifted. The source of the significant changes in his body could only be the Dragon Blood, and the origin of the Dragon Blood was the Divine Spirit residing atop the Tower of the End.

Was this assimilation from the Dragon Blood?

Li Ye wasn't sure what he looked like now. Could he resemble King Arthur somewhat?

The possibility of side effects from the Dragon Blood was within Li Ye's expectations, but assimilation of his appearance was not.

Before Li Ye could ponder further on the bodily changes, Sanzang's refreshing laughter reached him.

"No problem! Leave it to me!"

Before her words even fell, Sanzang shot out like an arrow, heading straight for the nameless Servant!

In the blink of an eye, she clashed head-on with the nameless Servant. The swordsmanship that Li Ye had found so troublesome was like nothing against the more mature Sanzang, and she had him suppressed within a few rounds!

Seeing the nameless Servant tied up by Sanzang, Li Ye turned his attention to the three humanoid figures Sanzang had sent flying with a single staff strike.

With a flicker of his body, Li Ye vanished from his spot.

He charged straight for the nearest humanoid!

As Crimson Lightning flashed, Li Ye, now close, landed a punch on the humanoid's abdomen!

Bang!

The immense force that pierced through its body compressed the air to its limit, exploding suddenly!

Almost simultaneously, two other humanoids attacked Li Ye from the sides!

Li Ye slightly turned his head, grabbed the humanoid in front of him by the neck with his backhand, enveloped it in crimson magic power in an instant, and spun it around!

He actually used the humanoid as a weapon, smashing it directly into the humanoid on his left!

As the two humanoids made contact, Li Ye twisted his body to face the last humanoid, speaking at the same time, "Do you guys want the Holy Grail that badly?"

Screech.

Crimson arcs of electricity danced on the yellow sand. Li Ye's long arm shot out like a spear, punching through the humanoid's chest!

"The Holy Grail, you can't possibly hold it—"

Just then, the humanoid Li Ye had pierced slowly spoke, blood gushing uncontrollably. Li Ye's magic power instantly evaporated it.

"Do you really think you'll succeed? You're just cowards who barely escaped from My King's grasp—"

Li Ye, his golden hair flying wildly, looked at the gradually fading humanoid with a smile.

Suddenly, a surge of magic power emanated from the humanoid before him. Before Li Ye could drop the now-dead humanoid, a massive surge of magic power erupted beside him, the pervasive curse even threatening to materialize!

When Li Ye turned his head to look—

It was the other two humanoids, along with this one, detonating themselves!

BOOM!!

A terrifying explosion, laced with a large amount of curse, erupted beside Li Ye, sweeping across an area of tens of meters!

"Self-destruction, huh." Li Ye nodded slightly.

Screech—

Along with the curse, a fierce crimson light spread out, clearing the surroundings far and wide!

When the explosion subsided, all three humanoids had turned to ash, leaving only Li Ye standing in his original spot.

Sanzang's solitary figure also appeared before him. It was clear that the nameless Servant had decisively chosen to retreat after being outmatched by Sanzang.

Even Master Sanzang couldn't keep the nameless Servant.

"Ya, they got away—"

Sanzang pouted.

"You're Master Sanzang, aren't you?" Li Ye said with a smile.

"That's right, I am Xuanzang Sanzang! A Servant summoned here under the guidance of the Buddha, and my class is Caster, of course!"

Li Ye, who had anticipated this, nodded slightly.

However, Sanzang didn't seem to notice Li Ye's action and looked at him strangely. "Huh? No reaction? But never mind, I'll continue."

"I was summoned to a certain place a few days ago, and following the guidance, I came here along the Silk Road. To stop this unprecedented crisis of the Holy City's anomaly."

Speaking of which, Sanzang continued, "To be honest, as a Heroic Spirit, I was on my way back home from India. While I found it troublesome— but because this is the Buddha's guidance, I had no choice but to go. So I came! To this land of the apocalypse, Shambhala, with its sandstorms!"

Li Ye raised an eyebrow and finally couldn't help but interject, "Strictly speaking, this is Egypt—"

Sanzang said matter-of-factly, "Yes, it's obvious! Which means I'm lost! Oh well, such a minor detail is irrelevant. One must always maintain a broad mind, as vast as the Ganges River. That's the path to enlightenment, right?"

"As expected of Master Sanzang! Your words are truly golden, bringing me closer to enlightenment!" Li Ye couldn't help but give a thumbs-up after hearing Sanzang's words. "But it seems Master Sanzang already knows about this era? About the crisis of the Holy City's anomaly."

"I don't know! I just got here! I haven't seen many places yet, how can I know what the anomaly is without looking!" Sanzang said, chest puffed out proudly and naturally. "What's your name, young man? Thank you for your help just now when we were in a tight spot."

"You can just call me Li Ye. If anything, we're from the same hometown!" Li Ye said with a smile.

Sanzang, a renowned Buddhist monk from the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century, a person from the Celestial Empire.

"Li Ye, are you also traveling here?" Sanzang tilted her head and smiled. As fellow natives of the Celestial Empire, even if Li Ye's appearance had changed slightly, how could Sanzang not recognize him?

"Something like that. If Master Sanzang doesn't have anywhere to go next, would you be willing to come to the Holy City with me?" Li Ye invited after a moment of thought.

"Of course! I, Sanzang, will repay any kindness I receive as much as possible! And Master Sanzang is a traveling high monk, so it's only natural for me to guide you, who are lost, right?" Sanzang said with a smile, looking at Li Ye.

"Meeting Master Sanzang is my good fortune—" Li Ye said sincerely. He truly felt meeting Sanzang was his good fortune. Not only did the Buddhist aura emanating from Sanzang make him feel comfortable, but what made him feel even closer was their shared origin from the Celestial Empire. To meet a Heroic Spirit from the Celestial Empire while in a foreign land, what else could this be if not good fortune for Li Ye?

"This isn't good fortune! It's the Buddha's protection. You have the Buddha's protection, and specifically, it's me!" Sanzang said proudly. "Even though Wukong, Wuneng, Wujing, and the White Dragon aren't here, and I can't hear the Bodhisattva's voice, that's a separate matter! I am a high monk maiden, Xuanzang Sanzang, who will one day achieve Buddhahood! Just watch! I will save you with a 'thump' like the palm of Shakyamuni Buddha!"

I can tell, it's a very peculiar way of saving someone— Hearing this, Li Ye couldn't help but recall Sanzang's heroic and spirited battle demeanor, wondering who was actually doing the fighting on the journey to the West. Should I start a group chat?