Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 262 - 256: Snatching the Quasi-Saint Magical Tool [Seeking Subscriptions Seeking Monthly Tickets]_1
Maitreya Buddha extended his hand, attempting to catch the Seed Bag of Humanity.
However, it continued its flight towards the Flowing Sand River.
He paled in alarm, his expression turning ugly. He hurriedly muttered an incantation to summon it, sneering, "Sha Chen, you’ve got some nerve, killing my subordinate and daring to blatantly rob me of my Magical Tool!"
"Do you really think you can steal it? My Magical Tools all contain my Divine Sense and will. With your mere Daluo Golden Immortal Cultivation, you can’t possibly resist. Forcibly erasing my mark will only harm yourself."
No sooner had he spoken than he discovered he had lost control of the Seed Bag of Humanity. The entire Seed Bag of Humanity seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving no trace nor a clue to its whereabouts. Such signs unequivocally indicated that he had lost control over the Seed Bag of Humanity, and its will had been erased.
HISS.
The power it implied was terrifying.
Maitreya Buddha was stunned. His expression was incredibly unsightly, and he was profoundly shocked, unable to fathom how Sha Chen could possibly erase his will.
How is this possible? How could Sha Chen erase the will I left on the Seed Bag of Humanity? He’s just a mere Daluo Golden Immortal.
Maitreya Buddha was truly flabbergasted now.
His gaze darkened, and several times he considered flying directly to the Flowing Sand River, but he eventually restrained himself. Sha Chen was somewhat peculiar; Huangmei Monster hadn’t even managed to gauge his true limits, and he might suffer a loss if he confronted him rashly. Although Maitreya Buddha was confident, he also knew his limitations; despite his strength, Sha Chen, after all, had a reputation. Moreover, Guanyin had been unable to restrain Sha Chen on several occasions. Even though his own Cultivation was higher than Guanyin’s, and he had many more methods at his disposal, he couldn’t guarantee an assured victory.
The best strategy was to drag others into this and confront Sha Chen together. Let others take the lead; then he could watch for any revealing signs and act accordingly, ensuring victory.
Thus, after some hesitation, he decided to set the matter aside for now and turned to find the allies with whom he had made agreements.
「Flowing Sand River.」
Sha Chen was unaware of the significant uproar his act of killing Huangmei Monster had caused.
Firstly, the Jade Emperor took note of him, recognizing that he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Secondly, Maitreya Buddha had started taking him seriously, no longer underestimating him, and even harboring resentment in his heart.
If he had been aware of this, Sha Chen would still have killed Huangmei Monster. It wasn’t merely to vent his anger; it was also to better maintain his image: powerful yet low-profile, someone unwise to provoke. While he cultivated discreetly here, troublemakers always seemed to find him. Out of sheer helplessness, he occasionally had to reveal a hint of his killing intent to inspire fear. He might not intimidate the truly powerful, but at least it could deter lesser miscreants from acting rashly.
Furthermore, Maitreya Buddha was already plotting against him. Even if he had spared Huangmei Monster, Maitreya Buddha would have come for him eventually. In fact, if he had spared Huangmei Monster this time, Huangmei might have accompanied Maitreya Buddha next time, giving Buddhism an extra helper.
Therefore, the best course of action was to kill Huangmei Monster. Though it might seem reckless, this was the best option for maximizing Sha Chen’s interests.
However, this was just Huangmei Monster. If it had been a renowned old Buddha or a famous Bodhisattva from Buddhism, Sha Chen would have swallowed his pride and let them go. Otherwise, it could have incited the wrath of all of Buddhism, and he wasn’t ready to oppose the entire sect just yet.
Huangmei Monster was merely a weasel that had gained sentience, attaining his current achievements only after listening to Maitreya Buddha preach Buddhist doctrine for many years. In reality, he had possessed considerable skills even when he became a disciple, but he was ultimately of the kind born from moisture and eggs. His position was somewhat similar to that of Black Bear Spirit under Guanyin, except Huangmei Monster bore the title of a false Buddha. This actually placed his status several levels higher than Black Bear Spirit’s, and his strength was also greater.
But now, all was settled: the weasel’s body was dead and its spirit dispersed, no longer able to cause trouble. Buddhism wouldn’t mobilize its forces for a mere weasel spirit born of moisture and egg. If there were to be revenge, it would be Maitreya Buddha personally seeking it; others would most likely stay out of it.
Sha Chen had made up his mind: if Maitreya Buddha came, he would ignore him, letting him clamor outside to his heart’s content.
Now, holding the Seed Bag of Humanity, a smile appeared on his face. With this Seed Bag of Humanity, his storage capacity had increased a hundredfold, and it could also be used to capture people without detection. The Dragon Binding Rope and the Undefined Flying Rings could trap people, but that was their limit, much like Sun Wukong’s golden fillet. But with the Seed Bag of Humanity, it was like possessing Zhenyuanzi’s Universe in the Sleeve, allowing him to directly package and carry them away.
Of course, the Seed Bag of Humanity was incomparable to the Universe in the Sleeve, but since the latter wasn’t available, the Seed Bag was a decent substitute.
If I encounter any irresistible beings in the future, I’ll just package them up and take them away without delay, he thought. Also, if certain people come around in the future, I can stash away some good items beforehand to prevent them from being pilfered.
The "certain people" he referred to were Tianpeng, Lady Di Yong, Tongtian Hierarch, and others like them. All they did was sponge off him and contribute very little.
The three Phoenix sisters surrounded Sha Chen, chattering excitedly and cheering for him.
"Daddy is so amazing; he scared away all those bad guys!"
"What’s this bag? Does it have a lot of meat inside?"
"Daddy, Second Sister is slacking off again!"
Sha Chen had no real choice but to quickly settle the three girls down and urge them to begin cultivating immediately. However, they weren’t very disciplined and always preferred to play instead of sitting down to cultivate. Sha Chen had no choice but to make a deal with them: they could go out and play only once they had cultivated to the Daluo Golden Immortal Realm.
They had already stepped into the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm, but to reach the Daluo Golden Immortal Realm would probably take a hundred, or even hundreds of years. This was with Sha Chen’s guidance. If they were to cultivate on their own, it would likely take tens of thousands of years at a minimum. The Cultivation of ancient divine beasts had always relied on longevity and innate talent; the older they became, the more powerful they grew. However, times had changed. Sha Chen had Cultivation Methods, guidance on Dao Techniques, and cultivation resources. With the assistance of Magical Tools in their Cultivation, if it still took tens of thousands of years to ascend one level, then they shouldn’t be called divine beasts, but lunatics instead.
The three sisters still longed for the outside world, as Jade Rabbit often told them tales of its vibrancy.
Therefore, Sha Chen made his promise, and they happily agreed, beginning to cultivate diligently.
Seeing their diligent efforts, Sha Chen shook his head with a sigh, feeling quite helpless. Daughters are indeed hard to keep at home once they grow up. Why must they always think about the outside world? Isn’t it better to just stay with me, lie low, and cultivate until the end of time? Isn’t that a more appealing prospect?
Shaking his head, Sha Chen sat down to begin Refining the Seed Bag of Humanity.
Time ticked away.
After Sha Chen had finished Refining the Seed Bag of Humanity, he began his Cultivation. His Cultivation had already reached the High Order of Daluo Golden Immortal realm; his Primordial Spirit was at Da Luo Great Accomplishment, and his physical body was a Da Luo Dharmakaya at Great Accomplishment. He was already a high-level talent in the Da Luo realm, highly skilled and possessing boundless Mana.
But Sha Chen was not content; he even felt that his strength was increasing too slowly. Besides not having enough cultivation resources for him to absorb to his heart’s content, his innate talent also wasn’t good enough. After several enhancements to his innate abilities, Sha Chen’s potential had already improved, and he could be considered a genius.
But being a genius wasn’t enough. Only demonstrating monstrous abilities, or even those of a once-in-an-epoch monstrous figure, or possessing the traits of a Saint was considered truly exceptional. In the primordial era, mere geniuses could be struck down by the dozens with a single brick.
The reason Sha Chen was able to rapidly increase his Cultivation was not because of his outstanding talent; it was never about that. It was because he had good fortune: Dao Techniques, Divine Powers, Magical Tools, and guidance from a Saint. It was a combination of various factors that facilitated his rapid advancement in Cultivation. Otherwise, placed in the primordial era and compared with those true geniuses, or even monstrous figures, he would likely have been obliterated instantly.
Those powerhouses usually waded through seas of blood and mountains of corpses, each one of them having survived countless life-or-death situations and breaking through at the brink of death. Sha Chen was more like a flower in a greenhouse, except he was a tyrant flower, capable of devouring people. The powerhouses of the primordial era could navigate seas of blood and mountains of corpses, fighting and plundering to improve themselves. This path was incredibly dangerous, but their advancement was also swift. Breaking through at the edge of life and death was always swift.
However, without resources, even these primordial powerhouses could only bide their time, unable to advance rapidly under normal circumstances. Sha Chen, however, advanced rapidly in his daily life, not due to his talent, but because he was constantly Refining resources. Others would hunt for food when they were hungry, and then having eaten their fill, they would have the energy to build some muscle. Sha Chen, on the other hand, feasted lavishly every day, never experiencing hunger. As he continued this regimen, his body became filled with muscle, but also fat. This fat signified being bloated, and bloatedness, in turn, indicated a degree of superficiality in his foundation.
Under normal circumstances, Sha Chen’s combat effectiveness would be at the bottom among peers of the same stage.
However, he was somewhat special. He cultivated both his physical body and Primordial Spirit. His physical body was extremely strong, advancing in tandem with his Mana Cultivation. His Primordial Spirit was even a step ahead of his Mana Cultivation level, making him far more comprehensively powerful than those primordial powerhouses who focused only on a single aspect of Cultivation. As a result, he was not only not the weakest among his peers but was in fact the strongest; calling him invincible within his realm would not be an exaggeration.
A person’s combat power is determined not just by cultivation level, but also by the physical body, the Primordial Spirit, Magical Tools, as well as Divine Powers and Dao Techniques. Sha Chen possessed all of these, and they were all top-tier.
So what if your cultivation within the same realm is strong and you possess rich combat experience? The combat-experienced primordial powerhouses were like seasoned warriors, skilled in killing. But Sha Chen, this ’flower from the greenhouse,’ was a man-eating plant. And warriors, being human after all, could be devoured.
Sha Chen cultivated diligently, striving to reach the Peak of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm and then break through to Quasi-Saint.
Once he stepped into the Quasi-Saint Realm, he would finally feel some sense of security in the Three Realms, truly standing out. By then, no one would dare to bully him casually.
After all, in the entire Three Realms, those in the Quasi-Saint Realm were extremely rare indeed.
