Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
This golden rock was brought back by Daji not long ago as a souvenir. In return, Li Nianfan gave her the golden gourd.
The surface of it was not bad. It was quite moist. Unfortunately, it was not a regular shape. There was no point keeping it. Li Nianfan was prepared to use his palms to mold it into something rounder.
The golden rock was quite eye-catching. Jiese was attracted by it as it caught his eye. Instantly, he halted. His eyes widened in shock. “This is…the relic?”
Li Nianfan looked at Jiese strangely. “The relic of Buddhism? This is it?”
He handed it to Jiese.
Jiese received the rock. He sized it up in his palm. He was frowning deeply.
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
He was suspicious. “I’ve never seen a relic before. I’ve read about it in scriptures. If it’s a relic, it shouldn’t be this ordinary. It should be harder.”
Li Nianfan nodded. He thought the same as well.
This was a magical world, so a relic must at least glow. However bad it was, it should at least have some glow circulating it. The relic should not be easily destroyed, but this stone did not seem very hard.
Unless it was intentionally hiding its features. In fact, it might be making itself look less hard.
However…this was somewhat impossible.
Li Nianfan took the relic back from Jiese. Seeing that Jiese was staring at the golden rock in his hand with some longing, Li Nianfan could not help smiling.
Mentioning a relic, he recalled that he could use this golden rock to carve out a golden Buddha. Now that he was friends with Jiese and Yun Yiyi, he could be considered as their matchmaker. Hence, he should give them a gift.
A golden Buddha would be quite suitable.
Li Nianfan weighed the golden rock in hand. Under the sunlight, its size was suitable and it had some patterns on the surface. Although the size was not regular, one could carve out a Buddha statue from it. He felt that it was suitable.
He got into action.
He took out a carving knife and tried to make a dent on the rock. It did not take a lot of effort.
“Ha-ha, it’s not so hard indeed!” Li Nianfan smiled.
Jiese smiled, too. However, his smile was forced. It was more of a painful smile as he had to watch the rock go under the knife.
He could vaguely feel that the element in this stone was somehow in sync with his elements.
Was this a relic? He felt that this stone was pretending.
“Amitabha.”
Jiese felt complicated. Finally, his lips twitched as he prayed to calm his unsettled heart.
The journey with the expert had always been a test for him. He thought he was able to repress his seven emotions and six desires, but with just one dish of the expert or two sentences from him, or even an item from him, his heart was moved.
Was this the expert?
It did not take long before the relic was dented and stabbed by Li Nianfan. It had marks all over.
Jiese looked away from the relic. He could not take it any longer.
For the rest of the journey, Li Nianfan finally found something to do. Whenever he felt like it, he would take out the rock and carve it. Gradually, it started to reveal a shape.
In the beginning, Jiese would not look at it. However, at one point, he accidentally saw Li Nianfan carving and he was very shocked. He could feel that with every carve executed on the stone, there was a Buddha glow along with a True Buddha surrounding the relic. The thickening Buddha glow was stabbing his eyes.
Furthermore, as the relic in Li Nianfan’s hand was formed into a shape, the glow became more significant. There was even an urge to worship the statue. It seemed that it was no longer a statue but an actual Buddha!
Just by watching from the side, the gust of True Buddha was able to enter his body, rapidly improving his understanding of Buddhism.
After his meal, Li Nianfan took out the carving knife as usual and started carving.
Jiese sat up accordingly on his knees. His palms were clasped together as he faced the statue. He was looking serious and formal.
“It’s almost done, this is probably the last session.” Li Nianfan smiled. He had the statue in hand. Although it was not complete yet, the face of a meditating Buddha had appeared with a golden glow around it. Although it was not big, it exuded a memorable Qi that was hard to miss.
“You watch me carve every day. What do you think about this statue?”
Jiese said sincerely, “Mr. Li’s very skilled. You’ve done wonders on this. It seems as if Buddha actually resurfaced, how stunning!”
“Ha-ha-ha, you’re a good bootlicker, but you’re quite right, it’s not easy.” Li Nianfan smiled happily. Then, he said in a playful tone, “Are you about to say that this item is destined to be with you?”
Jiese looked down and said, “Indeed.”
Li Nianfan said effortlessly, “Have it, then.”
Jiese jumped. He looked up at Li Nianfan with a look of disbelief and anticipation.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course,” Li Nianfan said calmly. “If not, why would I carve out a Buddha? I was a half-matchmaker for you and Miss Yun. Of course, I have to give you something.”
Jiese gulped. His determined Buddha heart was moved. In his eyes, there were tears.
He was emotional and mostly touched.
He put his palms together and closed his eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Li.”
Yun Yiyi was very happy. She bowed and said, “Thank you, Mr. Li.”
“It’s a small matter, don’t be too polite.” Li Nianfan waved it off. After a moment, he asked curiously, “Jiese, have you heard anything about why Buddhism was destroyed in the past?”
Li Nianfan really wanted to find out what happened after the ‘Journey to the West’. The catastrophe was quite powerful.
Most importantly, he was quite scared. He wanted to know what was behind all these.
From the previous attack, he could tell that the people behind this were not letting it go yet. It was likely for them to suddenly appear and wipe out these troublemakers. It was apparent that he was surrounded by a bunch of troublemakers!
He had close relations to the dragon, phoenix, and Buddhism. He even gave away the scripture. However, he did not expect Yuecha to be able to attract a bunch of people who would shave their heads based on the Diamond Sutra.
Thinking closely, he did have good relations with the Underworld. There were also a bunch of Immortals who were ready to rebuild the Heavenly Temple.
Gasp…
Were these bunch not troublemakers?
He thought he was ensuring his safety by becoming friends with these people. Somehow, he got himself in danger! Now that he looked back, he realized how terrifying it was!
If it was not for his Deluxe Merit and being surrounded by powerful people, if it was not for them being friendly and on good terms with him, Li Nianfan would cut all contact with them and hide away with Daji.
He was a small and insignificant ordinary man, it was not good to attract attention.
“I did hear something,” Jiese said in an unhurried tone. “The concept of Buddhism contrasted the Demons. In the previous catastrophe, the Demons prospered and became so unbelievably powerful. They destroyed Buddhism right away and intended to rule the world. However, they were repressed.”
“That’s it? Anything else?”
“I don’t gossip.”
“Isn’t the Lawless of Demons dead? Why are the demons so powerful still?” Li Nianfan frowned. He looked at the Fire Phoenix and asked, “Immortal Phoenix, have you really forgotten things regarding the catastrophe?”
The Fire Phoenix shook her head. After a moment of thought, she said, “However, I can deduce that the Demons and Kirins were involved in pushing the catastrophe. Their goal was to restrict the Spiritual cultivation in the world and reduce power so that they could become the most powerful and thus rule the world.”
“As I thought.” Li Nianfan halted for a moment, then asked the question he was most concerned about, “What’s the upper limit of my Deluxe Merit?”
“Upper limit?” The Fire Phoenix halted. She understood what Li Nianfan meant. Her lips twitched slightly and she said, “According to what I see, it should be the…limit.”
Li Nianfan grinned. “Be precise.”
The Fire Phoenix quickly composed her thoughts and concluded weakly, “According to what I do know, nobody should be able to touch you at all.”
“So, I’m safe?”
“Yeah…very…safe.”
“Then, I’m less worried.” Li Nianfan let out a relaxing smile. Once he could verify his safety, he was unafraid of things getting out of hand. He could even get his popcorn ready as he watched.
The Fire Phoenix was on the verge of collapsing.
‘Bigshot, stop messing around. What’s the point of asking me these questions?
‘You’re not only safe, it’d be a blessing to all if you let others be safe.’
The rest of them tried not to make a sound and pretended as if they did not see anything.
The better the expert’s temper, the more tiring it was for them to act along with him.
Right, if he was so powerful and could only treat life as a game, perhaps this was the minimal joy he could get from living. It was painful to be an expert.
Meanwhile, Li Nianfan made the last stroke. He smiled, “Here, it’s ready.”
Everyone looked over.
In the next moment, everyone jolted. They felt their souls jolting and getting sucked in.
In Li Nianfan’s palm, a golden Buddha was looking formal with no emotion on his face. His eyes were half-opened and there was an unlimited Buddha glow lashing out at them. The Buddha was concealed within the golden rock. The pattern of the rock had become the best backdrop, perfectly portraying the solemnity of the Buddha.
In the eyes of the crowd, there was a golden glow lashing out in the air, completely engulfing the entire statue. The originally small statue was gradually becoming bigger and more glorious. Soon, it was as tall as the sky as if it was bigger than everything in the world.
Swiftly after, the crowd felt their scalps itching. They watched the Buddha actually moving.
His half-opened eyes gradually looked up. The eyes were opened.
At that moment, winds and clouds were moving. A golden glow was all over the place, covering the ground, clouds, and skies with a layer of gold. They could even hear chanting in their ears, along with a boundless and powerful Qi, strongly pressing onto the crowd. They had cold sweat all over and did not dare to move at all.
“What, stunned? This statue’s acceptable I hope.” Li Nianfan’s voice pulled the crowd back to reality.
All the illusions vanished. There was only a statue in golden light. It seemed as if everything from before was merely hallucinations.
However, the crowd was unable to calm down for a long time. They were unable to hold it. Their hearts were beating rapidly.
The Fire Phoenix and Daji exchanged a look. They were more shocked than anyone because they had seen a Daluo Golden Immortal before. They knew.
The Qi of this Buddha was definitely beyond a Daluo Golden Immortal’s, far beyond that!
What was the realm above Daluo Golden Immortal? Li Nianfan…actually carved out a Buddha?
Yun Yiyi covered her mouth. She stuttered, “This is…too…too majestic.”
Li Nianfan smiled and said, “Of course. After all, it’s a gift for you two. Of course, I have to put in some effort.”
Only some effort?
The expert was always so humble and caught them off guard.
Jiese put his palms together and said sincerely, “Amitabha.”
“Jiese, I can’t give this to you yet.” Li Nianfan smiled. He handed the Buddha to Yun Yiyi and said playfully, “I’ll let Miss Yun keep it. She’ll give it to you when she pleases.”
Yun Yiyi quickly accepted the statue. She was delighted. “Thank you, Mr. Li.”
Jiese’s eyes moved with the statue. He quickly said to Yun Yiyi politely, “Amitabha, I shall be polite to you.”
Yun Yiyi wrinkled her nose, and she said happily, “I don’t want you to be polite. I want you to be rude.”
Jiese halted. He did not understand. “Does Miss Yun mean you want me to snatch it from you?”
“No need to snatch it, force me.” Yun Yiyi saw that Jiese was confused. She could not help saying, “Whatever, say some sweet words to me.”
“I’m dumb, I don’t know how.”
“What do you know?”
“Why don’t I pray for you?”
Li Nianfan almost burst out laughing. Even his shoulders were shaking. He was very amused.
Perhaps this was the romance of a monk.
He loved her, so he prayed for her.
…
The crowd continued to move forward. Yun Yiyi was very joyful. She was dressed in red and became the most active one in the group. Her energy level was even beyond Dragin and Nanan’s.
Yun Yiyi looked ahead and said, “Mr. Li, it’s Qingyun City ahead. Why don’t you take a seat at my house?”
So, she was getting closer to home!
Li Nianfan smiled. “Sure.”
Yun Yiyi turned to look at Jiese. She smirked and said, “Jiese, you parted without a goodbye last time. You must seek forgiveness from my parents this time.”
Jiese wore a complicated expression as if thinking of something embarrassing in the past.
Yun Yiyi took out the statue. “Behave well and this statue will belong to you!”
Jiese put his palms together. “Amitabha, I had the intention to visit anyway.”
Meanwhile, a group of people walked over from the other side. There were a few cultivators in the group. They had average cultivation, and they walked as they spoke in shock.
“Sigh, if we didn’t pass by Qingyun City, we wouldn’t have known that the Yun family was destroyed! This is unbelievable!
“Yeah, the Yun family’s the number one family in Qingyun City. They even have late-combination cultivators. I wonder who’s so powerful.”
“I pass by Qingyun City often, the Yun family has a good reputation. Although they’re big, they never used their power to bully others or act arrogantly. Why did they end up like this?”
“A few powerful ones probably joined forces to get hold of a powerful treasure.”
“They died wrongfully.”
“Not much choice. That’s how the world works, it’s unreasonable.”
