“It’s an imitation of the Brahma Tower and the Great Scholar Scripture Slip!”
A well-informed passenger recognized the treasures used just now by the Enlightenment-Stopping Buddha Child and Wang Bian. Among the Mount Sumeru lineage of the Buddhist Sect, their town-suppressing treasure was called the Brahma Tower. It was said to be as heavy as a small world, unimaginably weighty.
When hurled with full strength, even a Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivator would not dare take it head-on. Rumor had it that it possessed the ability to tear open space itself, allowing its wielder to travel freely through it.
The Great Scholar Scripture Slip, though not as exalted as the Brahma Tower, was also an authentic Immortal Artifact belonging to the Confucian Sect. As long as one inscribed a word upon it — for example, “Still” — the slip could immediately immobilize its target.
If the word “Battle” was used, it could transform into a Confucian Protector and engage in combat. There were also other characters such as “Speak,” “Hasten,” and “Escape,” giving it wide versatility. Of course, both of these were Immortal Artifacts.
The Buddhist Sect and Confucian Sect would never actually let their own disciples carry authentic ones out of their lands, so they naturally gave them imitation copies as protective gear.
“Even if they’re imitations, that’s already formidable. Even if not authentic, they still count among the ranks of Dao Artifacts!”
Everyone on the ship was full of awe. Dao Artifacts were unimaginably precious; even if every single person on the boat sold themselves off, they could not afford even a scrap of one. Across the Nine Provinces, treasures were categorized into four grades.
The first grade was Spirit Tools. Generally speaking, every Foundation Establishment cultivator could own one. Their power wasn’t overwhelming — only sharper and sturdier than ordinary weapons, with little spiritual mystery. The second grade was Dharma Tools. A Nascent Soul cultivator could spend half his family fortune to acquire one.
Naturally, their power surpassed that of Spirit Tools; they could communicate with their owner’s mind, be controlled from afar, and even possess faint intelligence capable of automatically defending the master. The third grade was Dao Artifacts. Forging such items was exceedingly difficult, for it required deep understanding of the Great Dao itself.
For example, the Great Zhou Imperial Family’s Dao of Time, Mount Sumeru’s Dao of Space, or Meng Chun’s Dao of Dreams — such comprehension was required. Furthermore, the materials capable of bearing a Dao were incredibly expensive, beyond the capacity of ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivators. Usually only Union Stage cultivators, rich beyond reason, could afford them.
The fourth grade, naturally, was Immortal Artifacts. Within the Nine Provinces, none could forge such things. The existing ones — aside from the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal, which was forged by the Dao Ancestor before his Ascension — were all brought down from the Immortal Realm by former Immortals. Their number was extremely small, only a few in total.
Among Immortal Artifacts, the most famous were of course the Dao Sect’s Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal, the Buddhist Sect’s Brahma Tower, and the Confucian Sect’s Great Scholar Scripture Slip.
“This Great Scholar Scripture Slip is indeed an imitation. But the Brahma Tower…”
The Holy Maiden Jing Xin hesitated, turning her gaze toward Jiang Li, seeking confirmation. She herself possessed a Dao Artifact called the Twelve-Petaled Azure Lotus, so she naturally understood the difference. For some reason, the Brahma Tower did not feel like a mere Dao Artifact to her.
Jiang Li nodded slightly, his brow faintly furrowed.
“You’re not mistaken. That Brahma Tower is the genuine one. For the Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru to value this new Buddha Child so highly as to actually let him carry it out… that’s a little too much.”
The passengers, of course, had no real understanding of the difference between Immortal and Dao Artifacts. They merely relied on common sense — no sect would let disciples carry away their sect-guarding treasures — and so they naturally assumed that the Enlightenment-Stopping Buddha Child and Wang Bian had imitation items.
In truth, Wang Bian’s was indeed a replica, but the Buddha Child’s Brahma Tower was the genuine article. The problem lay in the fact that the Buddha Child’s cultivation base was still shallow; he could not unleash even a fraction of its true power.
However, if he truly encountered danger, the Brahma Tower would automatically protect him and smite his foe. Even a Union Stage cultivator, upon clashing with its might, would undoubtedly perish in bitterness.
“Still, these two young ones rely so heavily on external treasures at their age — that’s not good. Do the true disciples of those two great sects really need artifacts just to deal with a mere flying eagle demon?” said Jiang Li, shaking his head slightly, concern flashing in his eyes for the current state of cultivation in the Nine Provinces.
“Not just them,” the Holy Maiden Jing Xin replied softly, “other cultivators nowadays are the same. They’ll bankrupt themselves just to buy a weapon or treasure. Every time they meet an enemy, they rely on it first and forget to temper their own real strength. But… a weapon is truly easy to use; how can everyone be like you, leaving your Great Halberd to gather dust without using it?”
“I understand perfectly well what you mean. It’s just that…”
Jiang Li sighed and stopped mid-sentence. Seeing how pitiful Jing Xin’s expression looked, he decided not to continue lecturing her. Meanwhile, the eagle demon was still enduring the combined spiritual pressure of the two young men.
One moment its heart felt boundless compassion, the next it burned with righteousness — its spirit was nearly split apart. As the Enlightenment-Stopping Buddha Child and Wang Bian continued chanting louder, more fervently, they grew completely immersed, forgetting their surroundings, intent solely on redeeming or enlightening the eagle demon.
The passengers on the ship heard their voices and, drawn unconsciously, drifted into two groups. One group gathered behind the Buddha Child, reverently worshipping the Buddha, reciting scriptures in unison. They felt their whole lives had been sinful, so they emptied their purses to offer donations, promising to perform good deeds henceforth, praying for a better rebirth next life.
The other group clustered behind Wang Bian, filled with a surge of patriotic and filial fervor. They vowed that once they returned, they would dedicate themselves wholly to their country or sect, even to the point of dying without regret.
“I don’t recall the Buddhist or Confucian sects having such evil tendencies. Is this… forced brainwashing?”
The Holy Maiden Jing Xin looked on with wide eyes, finding the sight eerie beyond measure.
“It’s nothing serious. Once these two stop chanting, the spell of confusion will fade,” Jiang Li explained calmly.
He had seen enough across the world to know that this kind of thing was common among such sects. The scriptures of both the Buddhist Sect and Confucian Sect indeed had strong mind-influencing effects. If one lacked control and care in their recitation, it could easily lead to mass brainwashing incidents.
Once, a high monk of the Buddhist Sect, lost in meditative chanting while traveling, inadvertently bewitched an entire small town’s populace into following him. The monk kept walking eastward over the sea, and his devotees followed — none of them knew how to swim, and all drowned in the East Sea.
When the monk realized his grievous sin, he surrendered to despair and willingly fell into the Demonic Path. The Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru could not bear to personally act against his disciple, so he had asked Jiang Li to put an end to him.
That unfortunate monk had been the previous Buddha Child — the very man Daoist Nun Qingyu once secretly loved. Jiang Li stood up.
“Still, this must be stopped. These two youngsters’ ‘Dharma’ has strayed from orthodoxy. If they continue down this path, they’ll soon slip into demonic deviation.”
The eagle demon, upon hearing this, cried out desperately, “Hey, hey, hey! Are you lot Buddhist and Confucian followers or some heretical cults? Changing people’s minds by force like this?
Look behind you! Just look behind you, I said!” The two young men, however, were already competing inwardly to see who could first redeem or enlighten the eagle demon.
Then the eagle saw someone among the crowd stand up — one of them quietly stepped forward, reached both of them, and struck each of their heads with a sharp hand-chop.
“Two foolish brats! Wake up! You’ve strayed from the proper path. Another step forward, and you’ll fall into the Demonic Path!”
The Enlightenment-Stopping Buddha Child and Wang Bian jolted awake, finally aware of what they had done. Seeing the two crowds behind them, shame flooded their hearts. They quickly dispersed their Magical Power, restoring the entranced passengers to normalcy.
“May we ask who you are, Senior…?” the two asked respectfully, bowing deeply in gratitude for being freed from confusion.
“Jiang Li.”
The two froze, eyes wide as saucers. Even the eagle demon’s eyeballs nearly popped out. It had randomly chosen someone to rob— and somehow encountered both a Buddha Child, a Confucian Sect Walker, and now even the legendary Human Emperor Jiang himself?!
Was this immense luck… or the worst misfortune imaginable?
(End of Chapter)