King Già Lâu La knelt before La Đa, head bowed, his voice filled with reverence: "Già Lâu La was unaware of Your Heavenly King's esteemed presence, and for any offense caused, I humbly beg Your forgiveness."

"King Già Lâu La?" La Đa looked at Già Lâu La, speaking indifferently: "You are Già Lâu La?"

King Già Lâu La was startled. He thought to himself, La Đa clearly recognized him, yet deliberately asked such a question, implying it was no ordinary matter. Still, he could only reply: "Indeed!"

"Yet, I have recently heard that you are a member of the Heavenly Gate Dao," La Đa said. "My Great Heart Sect disciples are those who serve the Peacock Ming King. I am unaware when you turned to the Heavenly Gate Dao, to serve the lineage of the Daoist sect. If you have already forsaken the Heart Sect, how then dare you still call yourself Già Lâu La?"

King Già Lâu La's expression changed slightly. He raised his head, a look of dismay appearing on his face: "Heavenly King, I..."

"You need not offer many explanations." La Đa's expression appeared extremely cold and impassive. "Già Lâu La, I shall now ask you but one question. You must consider your answer carefully."

"Whatever the Heavenly King asks, I will speak all I know and conceal nothing," Già Lâu La said without hesitation.

Sở Hoan clearly observed that when Già Lâu La spoke, his demeanor was not only respectful, but his eyes also carried a hint of fear.

"I ask you, are you now a Già Lâu La of the Heart Sect, or a disciple of the Heavenly Gate Dao?" La Đa stared intently into Già Lâu La's eyes. "Consider your answer before speaking."

Già Lâu La, however, did not deliberate much and immediately said: "Even if my soul were scattered and my spirit extinguished, in this life, I would still be a Già Lâu La of the Heart Sect."

"Good," La Đa said calmly. "If you are indeed a Già Lâu La, then I have the right to ask you a few questions, and I trust you will not deceive me."

"I dare not," Già Lâu La quickly replied, immediately regaining his composure. He raised a hand and said, "All of you, withdraw!"

Thiên Sơn Độn and the others were all present in the room. Hearing Già Lâu La's command, they dared not disobey and swiftly retreated. In but a moment, only three individuals remained within the chamber.

La Đa stared at Già Lâu La and asked, "If you are a Già Lâu La of the Heart Sect, why would you still join the Heavenly Gate Dao? When you first came to the Central Plains from the East all those years ago, were you not perfectly clear about your ultimate goal?"

Già Lâu La's eye twitched. He said, "We have never forgotten. Moreover, we have always painstakingly searched, but!"

"But what?"

A look of sorrow and anger appeared in King Già Lâu La's eyes. He glanced at Sở Hoan, but did not speak. La Đa said calmly, "You need not conceal anything. He is one of us. Speak whatever you know."

Only then did Già Lâu La speak, "I wonder when the Heavenly King arrived in the Central Plains?"

"That is not for you to ask," La Đa said indifferently. "Simply tell me why you abandoned the Heart Sect to join the Heavenly Gate Dao."

King Già Lâu La replied, "Does the Heavenly King know that the Saint King and his followers were all harmed in the Central Plains?"

Upon hearing this, Sở Hoan immediately recalled the time in the Heavenly Palace when La Đa and Vệ Đốc clashed, and Vệ Đốc had mentioned the Saint King. He still vividly remembered that year, the Saint King had brought his wife and a band of followers to the Central Plains, only for the Divine Physician Guard to uncover their traces. The Divine Physician Guard then launched a campaign to eliminate them, and on that very night, the Saint King's wife was about to give birth. In the end, the Divine Physician Guard almost captured the Saint King and his group in one fell swoop, but the Saint King and his wife chose to immolate themselves in blazing flames.

La Đa was already aware of this matter, yet his expression still turned grim.

Seeing La Đa's grim expression, Già Lâu La then said, "That year, we entered the pass precisely to find the Saint King, but after learning of his demise, we could only remain and plan anew."

La Đa frowned and asked, "Plan?"

King Già Lâu La hesitated for a moment before speaking. "We cannot but avenge the Saint King's blood feud. Does the Heavenly King truly believe that after learning of the Saint King's demise, we could calmly retreat to the Western Regions?"

La Đa pondered for a moment, then finally asked, "Then how did you plan?"

King Già Lâu La shook his head and said, "Heavenly King, I say this only to inform you: we have not abandoned the Heart Sect. Everything we have done is merely to avenge the Saint King and his followers. As long as we can avenge the Saint King's blood feud, even if it means we fall into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, we shall have no regrets." His voice was resolute, like iron being hammered.

La Đa said coldly, "In that case, is the Heavenly Gate Dao a part of your plan? Today, half of the Qin nation is plunged into misery and desolation, countless lost souls drift through the sky. Is this also an achievement of your plan?"

King Già Lâu La lowered his head and remained silent.

La Đa said in a deep voice, "I ask you, who is Thiên Công?"

"Even if the Heavenly King asks, I cannot speak of it," King Già Lâu La replied. "Unless he himself tells you, otherwise..."

Before his words had finished, Sở Hoan saw La Đa's figure flash forth like a phantom. In an instant, he was already before Già Lâu La. Già Lâu La was horrified; just as he raised his head, he felt La Đa's hand gripping his neck. La Đa's eyes flashed like lightning. Applying a burst of force, he pushed his arm forward. Già Lâu La's body flew backward like a kite, slamming into a wall with a dull thud. Immediately, Già Lâu La's body slid down the wall.

"No matter how you explain yourself, if you claim to be a Già Lâu La of the Heart Sect, yet act against Buddhist principles, that is to abandon the Heart Sect and fall into the Demonic Path. I am naturally justified in purging such Buddhist traitors." La Đa's voice was chilling. "If you do not admit to being a Heart Sect disciple, then the Heavenly Gate Dao's actions of harming the common people violate Buddhist tenets, and I must certainly exterminate such demons."

Già Lâu La struggled a few times on the ground, then painstakingly got back up. He knelt once more before La Đa, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He slightly raised his head. "If the Heavenly King wishes to kill me, I have nothing to say."

La Đa said coldly, "Do you think that if you remain silent, I will not know who Thiên Công is?"

Già Lâu La frowned slightly but still said nothing.

"The Già Lâu La tribe belongs to the Growth clan of the Heavenly Division," La Đa said. "That year, you escorted Heavenly King Tăng Trưởng and his people to the Central Plains. To stir up such a storm in the Central Plains naturally means you are inseparable from Heavenly King Tăng Trưởng. The Art of Other's Hearts was originally not a technique of your Già Lâu La tribe. Yet, he imparted it to you, so naturally, you have always obeyed his commands."

Già Lâu La's eye twitched slightly. A look of helplessness appeared in his eyes, but he still remained silent.

"I know that his Buddhist cultivation was still shallow, and his inner demons took root, making it difficult for him to control himself. Naturally, he wished to stir up waves in the Central Plains." La Đa sighed. "I have investigated, and the Heavenly Gate Dao only began spreading in the Central Plains six or seven years ago. That was less than two years after your arrival in the Central Plains!" He mused for a moment, then continued, "At first, I did not connect you all with the Heavenly Gate Dao. I still believed that even if you were foolish, you would not go so far as to forsake the Buddhist Sect and raise the banner of a Daoist sect. Moreover, the Heavenly Gate Dao's actions are irreconcilable with Buddhist tenets. If the Heavenly Gate Dao was truly orchestrated by your hands, then you have severed yourselves from the Heart Sect."

Già Lâu La opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but then held back.

"It was not until An Ấp, when the Emperor Mỹ Đế was discovered, that I realized our Heart Sect had become entangled in the Heavenly Gate Dao's rebellion." As La Đa spoke, he looked towards Sở Hoan and said, "Brother, you must still remember, yes?"

Sở Hoan naturally remembered.

During his time in An Ấp, Sở Hoan had investigated the matter of the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade and discovered the Hidden Dragon Den. Inside, numerous common folk were controlled by drugs, manufacturing weapons underground. It was then that La Đa discovered these people were controlled by Mỹ Đế.

Sở Hoan still remembered La Đa mentioning a person at that time, stating that individual's Buddhist cultivation was exceptionally profound. Recalling it now, he thought to himself, could the person La Đa spoke of be Heavenly King Tăng Trưởng?

He had just heard La Đa mention the Growth clan. And today, he already knew that among the Four Heavenly Kings of the Buddhist Heavenly Division, they were, in order: Eastern Trì Quốc, Southern Tăng Trưởng, Western Quảng Mục, and Northern Đa Văn.

Today, he had also confirmed that the Western Liang National Preceptor, Bì Sa Môn, was undoubtedly Heavenly King Đa Văn among the Four Heavenly Kings. And the Eastern Trì Quốc Heavenly King was none other than his own elder brother.

Now he knew from La Đa's words that Heavenly King Tăng Trưởng, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, had already come to the Central Plains many years ago. Moreover, King Già Lâu La seemed to be a subordinate of Heavenly King Tăng Trưởng.

Yet, upon this thought, a doubt arose. La Đa had just said that person's Buddhist cultivation was shallow, making it difficult to resist the invasion of inner demons. But earlier, he had also spoken of knowing someone whose Buddhist cultivation was profound. If this person was Heavenly King Tăng Trưởng, it seemed contradictory.

King Già Lâu La finally spoke, "So the Heavenly King has already learned of our connection to the Heavenly Gate Dao?"

"If I am not mistaken, the Heavenly Gate Dao only began spreading less than two years after your arrival. Thus, it must be that during those two years, you failed to find the Heavenly King's whereabouts and then learned of the Heavenly King's demise, which is when you began to orchestrate the Heavenly Gate Dao." La Đa slowly said, "I know that the rise of the Heavenly Gate Dao is certainly connected to you all. But even now, I am unsure if you simply took advantage of an already existing, yet inconspicuous, Heavenly Gate Dao, or..." His gaze turned sharp, like daggers, as he stared at King Già Lâu La: "Or was this Heavenly Gate Dao originally meticulously planned and executed by your own hands?"

Hearing this, Sở Hoan was inwardly greatly alarmed.

Già Lâu La looked at La Đa's cold face and finally said, "Heavenly King, no matter how the Heavenly Gate Dao came to be, if they oppose the Qin nation, is there truly any wrong in that?"

"Things have come to this, and you still refuse to admit that this violates Buddhist tenets?" La Đa said indignantly, "Già Lâu La, your inner demons are hard to dispel. It seems you have already fallen into the Demonic Path."

Già Lâu La let out a faint laugh and said, "The Heavenly King did not originally come to the Central Plains. We came to the Central Plains precisely to vanquish demons, to eliminate the greatest evil in this world. If, for this reason, I fall into Avici Hell and endure the suffering of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, Già Lâu La shall have not a shred of regret."

La Đa sneered, "Since that is the case, I shall cleanse the Heart Sect of its traitors." His single palm formed a blade-like posture, the opening stance of the Pure Land Blade Arts, and slowly rose. He stared at Già Lâu La. In an instant, the blade energy surged forth; a wave of forceful energy, like a crescent moon, struck towards Già Lâu La.

"Amitābha!"

Just at this moment, a Buddhist chant resonated. Amidst the chant, the roof "rumbled" with a loud sound. Tiles and debris flew wildly, falling down. As the crescent-shaped energy was about to strike Già Lâu La, a figure descended from the heavens. A burst of white light emanated from all around the figure, as if enveloped in a thin film, landing precisely before Già Lâu La.

The crescent-shaped energy struck the person with a "bang." A "boom" resounded as the crescent energy violently collided with the white film protecting the person's body. In between, a surge of pure, refined energy erupted. Sở Hoan clearly saw the white film ripple violently like water. La Đa, however, also staggered back two steps before stabilizing his posture.

"You have finally emerged!" La Đa stared at the person's back. "Separated for nine years, have you been well?"

This exclusive English rendition is graciously provided by truyen.free.