Chapter 1126: Buddhist Amule
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Among the Secret Treasures, Xiao Chen was more interested in the Dragon’s Gate Totem and the Heavenly Dragon City, because he had heard of the others before and was no stranger to them.
However, this was the first time he heard of the Dragon’s Gate’s Totem and the Heavenly Dragon City.
After thinking about it, he handed the jade strip to Mo Chen. While he knew a little about refining Secret Treasures, compared to Mo Chen, who had the Book of Heavenly Works, he was definitely much inferior to her. It was more appropriate to hand this over to her.
As the saying went, “employ one’s talents to the fullest.” There was no need for Xiao Chen to monopolize everything.
After Mo Chen received the jade strip and took a look, she became extremely excited. This was probably the treasure in the entire Dragon’s Gate Treasure Trove that made her the happiest.
After opening the second embroidered box, Xiao Chen saw a mysterious black amulet made of an unknown material.
The Buddha image carved on the front of the amulet was quite unusual, different from the various Buddha images that Xiao Chen was familiar with. This Buddha image possessed eight hands, which covered its eyes, nose, ears, mouth, belly button, and heart; it looked bizarre.
“Mo Chen, what is this?” Xiao Chen asked Mo Chen, who was beside him.
Not too long ago, she had spent some time reading through the ancient records of Buddhism. She should have some ideas of what this was.
“This is a Buddhist amulet, an ancient Buddhist sect decorative item similar to Buddhist prayer beads and bracelets. However, this kind of Buddhist amulet is even more ancient. There were many kinds of Buddhist decorative items.” Mo Chen paused here for a moment, then continued, “In the orthodox Buddhist teachings, unless one was a highly ranked monk or the abbot, one was strictly barred from wearing decorative items.
“However, only Buddhist amulets were not truly considered just a decorative item. They were controlled by the high-ranked monks and given to the disciples of the later generations. They were also given to believers and could be used to attract luck and avert calamity, as well as all sorts of other uses.
“The Pitda Buddha is the one depicted in this Buddhist amulet. That is a Buddha known for attracting luck and averting calamity, protecting against disasters. Furthermore, the one you have is an eight-armed one, which is a very high standard. The two-armed variety is the most common. Not only can this protect the wearer from harm, but it also guards their mind, to prevent one from being tempted by lust.”
[TL Note: The Pitda Buddha originates from Thailand and is indeed known for attracting luck and averting calamity.]
For this item to be placed individually in an embroidered box, this Buddhist amulet had to be really effective. It should be a war trophy from destroying the Minor Leiyin Temple.
So far the two embroidered boxes did not disappoint Xiao Chen, so he could not help feeling anticipation for the third one.
He opened the third embroidered box and found an ancient book yellowed with age and looking very antiquated. He flipped it open and gave it a cursory read. Its contents took him aback.
This was a detailed record of how the Buddhist sect absorbed the power of faith and how to forge the Buddhist statues to receive the prayers of the believers. It also included the various ceremonies of many ancient Buddhist sects.
This ancient manual probably came from the Minor Leiyin Temple, the Immortal Holy Land destroyed ten thousand years ago.
The manual was very detailed, containing all the necessary information except how to convert the power of faith into cultivation.
However, that did not matter. Xiao Chen did not need this to cultivate. In his opinion, such cultivation did not belong to oneself and was something external. No matter how high this cultivation reached, it was of no substance.
What made Xiao Chen happy was that the mysteries of the Buddhist sect were no longer a mystery to him. This information would make it easy to find the weaknesses of the other party.
“What is that? You look very happy while reading it,” Mo Chen asked curiously when she saw Xiao Chen’s expression.
Xiao Chen handed the manual over with a smile. “Look at this.”
Mo Chen received the book and gave it two glances. Then, she exclaimed in pleasant surprise, “This is great! The information I obtained in the ancient records all contained only some vague details. With this, we don’t need to worry about Black Flame Island’s secrets.”
“Indeed, when we get out, I will destroy this fake Buddhist sect. Lying and cheating, doing things akin to robbery—furthermore, doing so with the mask of benevolence—they are a great threat to Heavenly Star Island.”
Mo Chen looked at the divine blood formation and asked, “However, what do you intend to do with this King Spirit Vein? Unless you ask for help from the Thunder Sovereign, the Supreme Sky Emperor, or an expert of that level, subduing this King Spirit Vein quietly would be too difficult.”
Xiao Chen entered deep thought with a frown. For now, he was at a loss.
He did not intend to refine the entire King Spirit Vein. With his current cultivation, swallowing a King Spirit Vein himself was way beyond his capabilities. He would only end up dying from taking in too much.
Xiao Chen needed to be at least a Martial Emperor before he could consume this King Spirit Vein.
What he wanted was the purity of the Spiritual Energy coming from the King Spirit Vein and the vast quantity of it to help him break through the bottleneck of Small Perfection quasi-Emperor. As for future cultivation, he could still use Holy Spirit Veins as long as they were of higher quality.
However, this King Spirit Vein was completely sealed right now. Once Xiao Chen broke open the formation, the mysterious phenomenon created with the appearance of the King Spirit Vein would trigger a lot of trouble.
Getting the Thunder Sovereign or the Supreme Sky Emperor to come and go would take a lot out of them, so that was not worth it.
Xiao Chen had no means to use this Spirit Vein. He could see it but could not obtain it.
Hehe! You really are an idiot. Do you not see the prayer mat in this secret room? Everything this secret room contains is a treasure. Don’t you find it strange for a prayer mat to be here?
Just as Xiao Chen was preparing to leave, to organize his thoughts and come up with an idea, Ao Jiao’s voice suddenly came from the Immortal Spirit Ring, mentioning something that both Xiao Chen and Mo Chen overlooked.
That’s right! Why would there be a prayer mat here for no reason? Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up.
Now, he recalled that when he was in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion, he had stumbled over a secret realm with a prayer mat connected to a Spirit Vein.
“Thank you, Little Ao Jiao.
Xiao Chen could not help laughing out loud. It turned out that the solution to the problem plaguing him was so simple. At this critical moment, Ao Jiao made a significant contribution.
He stepped over to the prayer mat and said to Mo Chen, “There is no need to rush our departure. This prayer mat might be connected to the King Spirit Vein. I should be able to use it to break through the bottleneck of Small Perfection quasi-Emperor.”
Mo Chen exclaimed with some surprise, “Your bottleneck requires a King Grade Spirit Vein to break through?”
“Yes. The purity of Holy Spirit Veins is insufficient. If I use those to break through the bottleneck and try to form the Heavenly Seal, the chances of success are low.” Xiao Chen sat down cross-legged on the prayer mat. After replying, he immediately closed his eyes.
He calmed himself and slowly started to circulate the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation. The instant he did so, the sound of endless gushing water immediately rang out in his ears.
This auditory hallucination was an indication of the vast amount of Spiritual Energy involved. Under the direction of the Purple Thunder Divine Incantation, the Spiritual Energy was like a dragon roaring as it poured into his meridians. This appeared extremely horrifying.
If Xiao Chen was not careful, his meridians might break.
The golden divine blood formation started to glow faintly, flickering with a nine-colored light. However, it did not leak out any Spiritual Energy.
Standing at the side, Mo Chen heaved a sigh of relief as she clutched the secret manual from the third embroidered box.
However, there was still a look of worry on her face. Xiao Chen needed a King Spirit Vein in order to break through to Great Perfection quasi-Emperor. How difficult would it be for him to break through to Martial Emperor? There were only four years left. The time was too short, simply way too short.
Mo Chen sighed to herself. After giving Xiao Chen another glance, she shifted quietly to the side and started reading in silence.
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When Xiao Chen was just about to break through his bottleneck, he was not aware that Heavenly Star Island already reached its most dangerous moment.
Originally, the Dragon’s Gate’s Heaven Locking Formation could last for three days. However, after Zhuang Zhenghe arrived and the Amitabha Buddha landed a palm strike on it, the situation rapidly deteriorated.
The defensive perimeter of the seven satellite islands all shattered, causing the range of the great formation to shrink significantly, forcing the defenders to retreat to Heavenly Star Island for their last stand.
Layer upon layer of Buddhist halo lights spread in the skies of the vast Heavenly Star Island. All the temples in the nearby satellite islands within five hundred kilometers resonated endlessly with the sound of scriptures.
The peaceful and benevolent sound of scripture echoed in the ears of all the cultivators who had retreated to Heavenly Star City. It sounded like a demonic tune, making them despair.
Previously, when fighting with the eight factions, after Heavenly Star Island’s group of people activated the Dragon’s Gate’s Heaven Locking Formation, they reached a point where their opponents could not do anything.
The partially restored Dragon’s Gate’s Heaven Locking Formation was not something that the eight factions could break.
Furthermore, Lan Shaobai’s group used the eight King Grade warships to charge out and fight the many people of the eight factions.
This harassment prevented the eight factions from focusing on breaking the formation. The defensive formations on the seven satellite islands were integrated, manifesting seven ancient azure-colored dragon images, each one guarding a direction and providing solid defense.
This defense rendered the eight factions impotent. They could only rage in shame as they watched Lan Shaobai’s group pop in and out, destroying their Sage Grade warships one by one.
However, at a critical moment, a loud and clear Buddhist sound rang out. Before the Heavenly Star Island’s side could understand what was going on, a golden Buddha hand descended from the sky. As it flickered with a dazzling light, it smashed heavily into the defensive barrier.
The Amitabha Buddha image appeared with ten thousand rings of halo lights. With the power of one palm strike, it opened cracks all over the defensive barrier.
A horrifying force leaked through the ruptures and surged in like a gale, knocking over many buildings on the satellite islands like they were sand castles.
Like the saying “when the wind passes, there is no trace, but the ruins of the aftermath fill the eyes,” the cities were demolished, reduced to ruins.
Although the barrier healed rapidly, Lan Shaobai’s expression changed drastically, and he decisively chose to retreat, shrinking the barrier and withdrawing to Heavenly Star City.
On the other side, the exceedingly frustrated eight factions instantly experienced a boost in morale. They charged forward ferociously, cooperating with the gigantic Buddha image in the air.
With the eight factions maintaining pursuit and expending a lot of effort to attack, they crossed the barrier and killed many people of Heavenly Star Island’s group.
After the barrier shrank by a hundred times, its strength increased significantly. Finally, the group from Heavenly Star Island managed to stabilize the situation.
However, this did not last long. Resonant sounds of scripture rang out from the nearby islands. The Amitabha Buddha image soaked in the Buddhist light experienced an increase in strength. It threw a palm strike every few moments.
When the gigantic hand descended, it blocked the boundless light of the sun, shrouding the entire Heavenly Star City in darkness and inspiring fear in everyone.
The seven azure-colored dragon images circling above Heavenly Star City clashed with the Buddha image in the air. Their figures turned increasingly illusionary; clearly, they would not be able to hold out for long.
A strong wind blew on the city walls. As Lan Shaobai looked at the seven Azure Dragon images failing, he frowned.
With only seven azure-colored dragons, the Heaven Locking Formation was too weak. If the great formation could be completely restored, there would be a thousand dragons. Even a Martial Emperor would give way in the face of superior strength. Heavenly Star Island’s people could advance or retreat as they pleased, not be trapped like they are now.