Chapter 144
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Chapter 144: The Origin of the Golden Bead
The situation was somewhat unexpected. They had been progressing well with the team when suddenly they encountered a statue of a Buddhist Arhat.
Guang Jin shouted out in excitement because this Arhat statue was extremely special. It was said that there was once a Miao De, the Auspicious Elder, who guarded the Buddhist nation for three thousand years. When the Elder ascended and departed, the Buddhas built this Arhat statue to express their gratitude for his deeds.
However, they found that building an Arhat statue outside the Buddhist nation would lead to its rapid decay, and only statues built within the Buddhist nation could be preserved. Over time, this created a consensus that seeing the Arhat statue of Miao De meant seeing the Buddhist nation, and the statue itself had become a symbol of it.
Xiuhuan mocked, “You little demon, are you blind? What Arhat statue? Did you make it up in your head?”
“No, I see it too. There is indeed an Arhat statue, just like a fierce Vajra, holding a demon-slaying staff,” Li Hui replied, looking around and realizing he was the only one standing in the misty area; everyone else had vanished, including the Yin-Yang Nine Heads.
“I can assure you, there is no Arhat statue,” Xiuhuan raised his voice. “Don’t let this illusion affect you; have you two become foolish monks?”
Guang Jin retaliated, “How could there be no Arhat statue? It really exists, standing right…”
At this point, Guang Jin hesitated, for the statue seemed close yet appeared to be separated by layers of mist, making it difficult to accurately judge the distance, indicating something was off.
But Li Hui was convinced: “No, the Arhat statue really exists, but it’s not far away; it’s a projection created by the Golden Bead on my arm. Guang Jin, since you have some knowledge of the Buddhist nation, can you guess the origin of the Golden Bead?”
“Uh, a projection of the Arhat statue of Miao De?” Guang Jin pondered deeply, when suddenly the statue moved. It vigorously shook its arms, generating ripples, and when it stopped, it surprisingly revealed two brand-new arms from behind, much thicker than normal arms.
“A Four-Armed Arhat?” Guang Jin shouted in panic. “No, this isn’t a Golden Bead at all; it’s the merit fruit cast off by Miao De, the Auspicious Elder when he became an Arhat, known as the Arhat fruit. Don’t think it’s something good. It’s like that old aloof monk Shan Que trying to seal his murky thoughts in me to enhance his cultivation. It is said that the Arhat fruit embodies substantial merits, with good, evil, greed, anger, murder, hatred, and ignorance all intertwined, containing only one breath of kindness; the other six breaths are not good.”
Managing to suppress his panic, Guang Jin explained, “Perhaps the Arhat fruit can help initially, but if you can’t resolve it with kindness and merit afterward, just wait to suffer! However, I don’t quite understand; it’s said that the manifestation of the Arhat fruit into a Four-Armed Arhat signifies entering the second stage. After that, there are six arms, two heads, three heads, and other stages, representing the accumulation of substantial merits, gaining resistance to the negative thoughts of greed, anger, and others. Following that path leads to completely subduing six thoughts, allowing the Arhat fruit to become a supreme treasure.”
Li Hui suddenly stopped and looked at the shallow gray stripes covering the sky and the ground, nodding. “I understand now!”
Xiuhuan asked, “What do you understand?”
“It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? I inadvertently stepped into a formation that can trigger negative emotions in Cultivators. The reason I am so calm is because of the Golden Bead’s evolutionary power.”
Xiuhuan sneered, “You have the Mystical Yellow Path Talisman. This formation doesn’t compare; you can break through it in an instant, without even depleting talisman power.”
Li Hui shook his head. “Understanding what the Golden Bead is all about is significant for me. Using the Mystical Yellow Path Talisman isn’t as stable as being able to resist the confusion of external forces at all times. Moreover, listening to Guang Jin suggest that the Arhat statue manifesting four arms signifies the accumulation of substantial merit.”
Where did substantial merits come from? Just from doing a few good deeds? Be realistic; that’s impossible. Li Hui naturally thought of the golden light that the silver snake bracelet emitted each time it consumed Buddhist artifacts.
Now it was clear; that golden light was likely the merit, or what should be called Merit Golden Light, gradually accumulated from the cultivation of Buddhist artifacts. The Merit Golden Light was precisely what could suppress the negative aspects in the Golden Bead. Now that the Arhat projection grew four arms, if the silver snake bracelet continuously consumed Buddhist artifacts, would it reach six arms or two heads, or three heads?
It’s important to know that the Ideal Body wasn’t without weaknesses; it was relatively passive against formations that affected emotions or added states until the Bosa stage merged with certain Heavenly Treasures and Earthly Treasures to alleviate those conditions. Thus, collecting Buddhist artifacts might be a shortcut to enhancing the Ideal Body…
Li Hui focused and suddenly shouted, “Break!”
The Four-Armed Arhat shook its arms, and the shallow gray stripes spread across the ground and sky surged like waves, causing the mist to dissipate instantly.
Looking back, he saw many people tangled in fights, some screaming for help, paralyzed with fear. Clearly, they had become ferocious and timid under the influence of the formation. Even the Yin-Yang Nine Heads began to bite each other, appearing exceedingly wild, unlike their usual obedient selves.
“So this formation can affect the Yin-Yang Nine Heads,” Li Hui pondered. It was better to expose these weaknesses early than to drag everyone down in a critical moment. Perhaps one should intentionally enter some restrictions and formations to hone adaptability?
Half an hour later, Hongmo Zhengfang suddenly changed his expression, looking at Qian Qiu Yue in complaint. “What’s going on with your junior disciple? He can’t even detect such a simple restriction and formation; what can we expect from him?”
Qian Qiu Yue raised an eyebrow. She had been observing Li Hui from a distance. Although she couldn’t see the details, she generally understood the team’s progress.
It was indeed as Hongmo Zhengfang said; the team had suddenly turned into headless flies, colliding into restrictions and formations, and they had made many mistakes that shouldn’t have happened, slowing their progress.
When Hongmo Zhengfang and Qian Qiu Yue led their group closer, they suddenly heard sounds of breaking air overhead, accompanied by a piercing female voice mocking from above. “You’re really embarrassing our sect! Hongmo Zhengfang, you stupid fool. The old man paid such a great price to create the best conditions for you, and you let that jerk Zhenglun snatch away your opportunity. Hahaha, it’s only fitting for you to crawl around with these Spirit Motion dogs. Let me tell you, in ten days, the sect will unleash magic puppets. If you can’t reach the first deployment point, you know what that means!”
Hundreds of giant black eagles spread their wings, carrying Cultivators forward.
This group had actually tamed a number of black eagles and had ways to ride them, completely avoiding the prohibitions laid out on the ground.
Through the magical dragon eyes, Li Hui observed a blood-browed woman sitting atop a colossal eagle’s head, her sideburns stained crimson. Furthermore, on the backs of numerous black eagles behind her, he recognized Lian Luosha, Mo Xinghe, Bai Yulian, Gao Yuhu, Zhang Tianhua, and his Oath-Bound Brother Qian Duohai.
“They have actually gathered together!”
Suddenly, Li Hui retreated back; he noticed that the Cultivator who had just been standing next to him had faded away.
Hongmo Zhengfang utilized the Slave Seal, swapped positions with the Cultivator, and appeared right in front of Li Hui, coldly saying, “Kid, have you had enough fun? I don’t have time to waste with you here. Now, I give you a choice: hand over a sufficient number of talisman flags, or I will kill all these ants…”
