Stronger from Earth-Chapter 44: Bodhi
Su Xiaowei walked forward curiously and asked, "Uncle Wang, is that you?"
"Wang Xuan" remained motionless, his expression unchanged, always resembling the image in the painting—mighty with a hint of ferocity, inadvertently invoking a sense of awe.
"This isn’t a living person, you don’t need to call," said Master Puji, laughing heartily. "Am I right? Your painting is so vivid, capturing someone’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit; otherwise, it wouldn’t have summoned the character from your painting."
He felt a slight sweat in his heart, all this effort just to lure the young girl to cultivate on the mountain. But this method among fellow cultivators might lead to him being laughed at.
The full name of that stamp was "Taoist Yellow Turban Warrior Talisman Seal," belonging to the Taoist Family, only crafted by Taoists with profound cultivation, for the mass production of Yellow Turban Warriors—to avoid drawing talismans and chanting spells when going down the mountain, which was rather troublesome.
Of course, upon stamping, the "Yellow Turban Warrior" manifesting from a painting wouldn’t be too powerful, generally restricting the Yellow Turban Warrior’s strength to half the realm of the user, and never exceeding half the strength of the depicted character.
If Su Xiaowei was at the Muscle Training Realm, even if the original of the summoned character was at the Innate Realm, the manifested "Yellow Turban Warrior" would only possess half the strength of the Muscle Training Realm. When she reaches the Earth Immortal Realm, this painting character turned Yellow Turban Warrior would only have half the strength of the Innate Realm.
A bit limited, but what it lacked was compensated by convenience and quantity, providing strong auxiliary effects, hence some Taoist immortals would grant them to their disciples.
"Punch the wall," directed Puji Monk.
"Wang Xuan" walked silently to the wall and delivered a punch—boom! A loud noise echoed, leaving a fist-sized hole in the wall.
"See, isn’t it impressive?" Puji said, expecting to see surprise and admiration from the young girl, which would help persuade her to cultivate on the mountain.
"You’ve ruined the wall. You’ll have to pay for it," Su Xiaowei remarked, leaving Puji quite embarrassed.
Puji hadn’t anticipated that the Yellow Turban Warrior with half of Wang Xuan’s Muscle Training Realm power wouldn’t be inferior to cultivators at the Peak of Muscle Strengthening—it was beyond his expectations.
Unbeknownst to him, Wang Xuan possessed Innate Divine Strength, almost a template for Yellow Turban Warriors, allowing the stamp holder to exert formidable power.
"Young lady, it seems that Uncle Wang Xuan from your painting has great strength, truly suited to be a Yellow Turban Warrior," Puji commented.
Yellow Turban Warriors in myth were Celestial Soldiers and Generals under higher Divine Generals, renowned for their immense strength.
"The person in your painting, under the stamp’s power, transforms into a Yellow Turban Warrior multiple times, gaining many benefits because this Yellow Turban Warrior Talisman summons a Celestial God.
When used, you must inject some of your own Essence, Qi, and Spirit to activate the Yellow Turban Warrior Talisman, which imposes a certain burden on the body, as parts of your will, vitality, and fortune will be shared with the Yellow Turban Warrior—so it shouldn’t be used excessively."
Daoists painting Yellow Turban Warrior Talismans are practicing Immortal Tao, while the Daoist-driving Yellow Turban Warriors are part of the Divine Path, to collect benefits—though not noticeable with one or two uses, if used by numerous Daoists, accumulating thousands of uses, it’s no small gain.
Su Xiaowei furrowed her brow: "My cultivation is so low, and I can’t use it, besides, I can’t accept your gift."
Puji spoke: "Using it like this will indeed harm you, I’ll make adjustments." As he spoke, he activated his own power to modify the stamp.
After a short time, he completed the alteration: "It’s done, this stamp can be used once a day without consuming your vitality, instead automatically absorbing stored Spiritual Qi.
Just a little toy, a gift for you to play with."
Though easily said, such a stamp is coveted by many Taoist cultivators, its value quite high, especially for some loose cultivators.
It took a few minutes for Puji to convince the young girl to accept the stamp; he didn’t linger long, frequently boosting her goodwill as groundwork for persuading her to cultivate on the mountain.
Yuzhang City is vast, with a population of tens of millions, yet in his eyes, it seems small, the golden bowl brings forth clean water, the scenery of Clean Water Temple a thousand miles away effortlessly visible.
Puji extended his hand, the lines in his palm resembling mountains and rivers, revealing the landscapes of Yuzhang City and even Jiangyou Province, their fortunes laid bare.
This palm of mountains and rivers is a Taoist method, akin to the Palm Buddha Country in the Buddhist Sect—at their level, it’s already a case of different paths leading to the same destination.
"The fortune of Yuzhang nowadays is indeed rising compared to the past, clearly signaling the emergence of new opportunities, likely the appearance of a new Gate of the World."
Scanning with his spirit, he discovered numerous Celestial Immortal and Earth Immortal cultivators arriving at Yuzhang City, looking to partake, but the Gate of the World likely already has a major array constructed, making it impossible to breach.
Various worlds have different opportunities, like the Netherworld Star Realm once ruled by Yin Spirits and Yin Gods, eerie with ghostly energy, suitable for Buddhist disciples’ experience but hindering cultivation due to its spectral interference, rather apt for Demon Path cultivation.
"If it’s suitable for my Buddhist Sect disciples’ cultivation, we might have to trade resources for some entry slots."
Exploring Otherworldly fortune is crucial to prodigies, some forces lacking strength to occupy the Gate of the World must compromise by trading resources for slots.
Of course, Puji acquiring a slot is no challenge, given the Bodhi Sect’s renowned worldwide reputation from which he hails.
Walking along the road, he entered the newly established Immortal Martial Combat Hall. The current hall master, Zhou Wu, hurried to greet him: "Greetings, Master Puji Bodhi, this junior Zhou Wu was unaware of your esteemed presence and failed to welcome you from afar."
Zhou Wu held immense respect, his deference no less than what he showed his own master, even though he hailed from the Immortal Martial Mountain.
If ordinary people heard him refer to the person before him as Bodhi, they might scoff, questioning who could be worthy of such a title.
The elder Bodhi founded the Bodhi Sect, using Buddhist philosophy as its foundation, aiming for enlightenment and transcendence as his lifelong pursuit.
Only those of great wisdom could be called Bodhi; in mythic tales, such beings are akin to Bodhisattvas.
Of course, the Bodhi Sect does not favor discussions of Bodhisattvas or Buddhas.
Zhou Wu knew that the person before him was a true Bodhi, possessing great wisdom and immeasurable spiritual cultivation, even among the revered ranks of the Holy Land Bodhi Sect.
Puji displayed a smile: "I am but a simple monk." He performed a Buddhist gesture, not belittling Zhou Wu despite his high status and strength, treating him as he would any other ordinary person.
Before long, he encountered He the Sixth and the frequently beaten Chen Qingniu, who had grown rotund and round, routinely absorbing the tempering of tendons and bones.
"Old monk Puji, what brings you here, truly a rare guest." He the Sixth tidied his clothes, clearly showing significant regard for this visitor.
"Just wandering around, I set my eyes on a child and am thinking of ways to persuade her to train on the mountain. Unfortunately, she is at the peak of her vitality, not easily leaving the mundane world."
He the Sixth raised an eyebrow: "Is she a reincarnated cultivator? Should she unravel the mystery of her birth and awaken her past life memories, your efforts might be in vain."
Such reincarnators possess inherent wisdom, with excellent talent but many entanglements from their past lives. Some awaken later, with past consciousness interfering with their current life.
Minor sects treat them as treasures, but sects founded by Immortals do not value them much, emphasizing the cultivation of character and loyalty to the sect instead.
"That is not the case." Puji had his own judgment and believed he had not misjudged.
The two conversed about their Mother Star and various star domains, and then discussed the powerful otherworldly Hell World, Evolution Realm, and Wizard Realm they were fighting against, finally focusing on the recently appeared Gate of the World in Meiling.
"The world this Gate of the World leads to is unlikely to be too strong. The strongest beings should be at the Peak of Earth Immortal level. However, the origin of the otherworld repels powerful beings, so we cannot enter and must employ a strategy of attrition.
The origin of both worlds vie against each other. The cultivation level threshold of the disciples entering the world will continue to rise, until there are no restrictions. By that time, the world will have self-destructed, breaking into fragments to be absorbed by the Mother Star."
He the Sixth had participated in many battles involving otherworlds. The Gate of the World, ten zhang in length and width, is open to those below the Earth Immortal level. At twenty zhang, it’s for Peak of Earth Immortal, thirty zhang for Peak of Celestial Immortal, fifty zhang for Peak of True Immortal, and a hundred zhang for nurturing Immortal worlds.
This delineates the five levels of worlds; of course, there is also a zero level, where the world can only birth beings at the Body Refining level.
A Level 4 world is considered powerful, with forces from the entire Mother Star involved in its conquest, beyond the control of a single faction.
The otherworld connected to the Gate of the World in Meiling is a Level 2 world, neither strong nor weak, far inferior to the Hell World and Evolution Realm. However, to perfectly divide the benefits of this Doomsday World, even a True Immortal must intervene.
True Immortals are not interested in the otherworld’s Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures or Cultivation Techniques, nor do they covet the Mother Star’s bestowed fortune. They desire the origin power at the core of the otherworld, with high-level energy once refined, capable of saving them centuries or even millennia of cultivation effort.
The two approached the Gate of the World in Meiling. Fang Shan glanced at the old monk, recognizing him as the one who had previously probed the area but had his technique broken by Fang Shan’s sword.
The Gate of the World had become much more condensed than before. The three joined forces to project their strength through it, inspecting the otherworld’s situation.
A roar as if from a primitive wilderness reached them, as their gaze fell upon a gigantic being a hundred zhang tall, bellowing. It had eight arms and two heads, male and female in appearance, one face bearing three eyes, truly extraordinary.
Before the colossal creature stood a Gate of the World several hundred zhang long and wide, and the gaze of the three powerhouses involuntarily made it step back, then angrily roar.
For behind it were its countless kin.
The king of this world knew their gravest trial was approaching, a battle for survival in this doomsday scenario would soon unravel.
Their world was approaching its end, and aside from entering this otherworld, they could only perish with their world.
"This is our world, our ancestral land! We will never allow foreign invaders!" the ruler roared.
He the Sixth snorted, making the eight-armed, dual-faced being’s blood surge, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of its mouth. In the eyes of a True Immortal, this Peak of Earth Immortal level being was a weakling dismissed with a wave.
Were it not for the suppression of the otherworld and the obstruction of the Gate of the World, a mere glance would have slain it, effortlessly.
"You have no path of retreat. If you surrender, we may leave a planet for you to inhabit. Else, you’ll find no place for burial!"
