Chapter 231

Inside the secret chamber, True Person Suo Huan's robes fluttered, his amiable smile resembling a mask pasted onto his face, showing not the slightest change even while taking action.

"Many thanks, Daoist friend."

Looking at True Person Miaoyin, a memory of his meeting with True Person Zeng Cai Qi Luo overseas flashed through Suo Huan's mind, and a trace of gloom that could not be concealed flickered across his face.

'Seeking tiger skin from a tiger; there is no other way!'

'After all, I am a cultivator from beyond the heavens, with no True Person backing me; if I wish to seek gold, obtaining the tacit approval of the various True Persons is my only sliver of hope.'

'Viewed from this angle, I should even thank Master Master Chongguang; had he not exposed that great True Person of the late Golden Core stage, I fear I would have searched until death without finding even a trace of opportunity; now, at the very least, the Holy Sect's True Persons permit me to prove 【Ever-Flowing Water】, and are even willing to personally refine a Calming Sea Pearl for me.'

Thinking of this, not a trace of joy appeared on Suo Huan's face.

As a cultivator from beyond the heavens, the difficulty for him to seek gold was undoubtedly several times greater than for Master Master Chongguang; he needed to satisfy at least three conditions before there was even a possibility of making the attempt.

First was the Dharma ceremony to mobilize the fruit of position.

'【Ever-Flowing Water】 signifies a churning infinity, a surging that never ceases; if I use the 【Calming Sea Pearl】 to capture its intent, it should be able to attract the gaze of the falling fruit of position.'

This was the first condition.

Secondly, his 【Spirit Ruin Blessed Land】 was not yet complete; he had to perfect it entirely through Qi Gathering, reaching the minimum standard for transforming into a grotto-heaven.

Finally, there was status.

"Strictly speaking, my current strength is merely that of a Great True Person, comparable to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, yet I do not even reach the edge of Foundation Establishment perfection; this is my innate flaw!"

Bitterness filled Suo Huan's heart; the realm he came from, though not small, had only condensed a rudimentary form of a fruit of position; strictly speaking, it was not even as good as the current 【Ten Thousand Martial Arts Realm】, otherwise it would not have become a battlefield for the War of Seized Dao, and as a cultivator from within that realm, his cultivation base was innately deficient.

The strongest he could ever be was the late stage of Foundation Establishment!

Unless he reincarnated to cultivate anew, it was impossible for him to ever reach Foundation Establishment perfection in this life, let alone refine a golden nature; with what, then, could he uphold his blessed land?

Three hurdles, each one difficult to pass.

'But my lifespan is nearly exhausted; everyone in 【Huan Xu Realm】 is dead! Only I remain; if I die too, 【Huan Xu Realm】 will truly perish!'

Thinking of this, Suo Huan's previously hesitant eyes instantly hardened; he, being barefoot, feared not those wearing shoes; since breaking through to Golden Core meant death anyway, while breaking through offered a chance of survival, what was there to fear? For someone rootless like him, if he did not make a gamble, what path forward remained?

Thinking of this, Suo Huan immediately began making arrangements.

True Person Miaoyin's 【Void Sky Mirror】 was directly borrowed by him for use, and the array formation was casually modified by his hand; soon, brilliant light once again emerged upon the mirror's surface.

"Amitabha..."

Within the brilliant light, a bald head clearly appeared; it was an old monk with kind brows and benevolent eyes. Seeing this, Suo Huan skillfully bent his waist and performed a respectful bow.

"This humble one pays respects to the Venerable Great Power."

The old monk was clearly also a Great True Person of the Pure Land, named 【Great Power Arrived】, a Venerable One within the Pure Land with the greatest hope of ascending to the Bodhisattva position.

As soon as the Venerable Great Power appeared, he stared straight at Suo Huan: "Has the benefactor made a decision?"

"I have decided."

Suo Huan stated decisively: "This humble one wishes to prove 【Ever-Flowing Water】; if in the future I truly ascend to the position of True Person, I am willing to merge my grotto-heaven and fruit of position together into the Pure Land!"

Stripping away heavenly and earthly fruits of position led to no path forward.

Suo Huan was very clear on this point; after all, for an ordinary realm, having even one fruit of position was already astonishing, yet this broken place damn well had thirty!

How could one even play under such conditions?

Moreover, above them stood a Nascent Soul Dao Lord; Suo Huan simply could not comprehend that realm, knowing only that if he stripped a fruit of position, he would be slapped to death immediately afterward.

Therefore, Suo Huan had long planned for this.

'Stripping the fruit of position is merely to allow 【Huan Xu Realm】 to revive within my grotto-heaven; afterward, it can easily be returned; merging into the Pure Land is a fine choice.'

'As for the cultivation drawbacks of the Pure Land, by the Bodhisattva stage, one still retains some autonomy; for someone like me, this is hardly a trouble; as long as I can seek gold and ascend, any future troubles can be dealt with later; if I cannot even seek gold, hesitating and looking back serves no purpose whatsoever!'

Thinking of this, Suo Huan continued to bow deeply and said:

"I implore the Great Master to act, requesting the Bodhisattva to establish temples and shrines within my humble 【Spirit Ruin Blessed Land】, blessing it with great Buddhist Dharma, so as to aid my humble blessed land in reaching completion as soon as possible."

He was voluntarily handing others a handle to hold against him.

By allowing the Pure Land to leave its mark within the 【Spirit Ruin Blessed Land】, only then could the Pure Land trust him, perfecting his blessed land without worrying that he would break his word and renege.

As expected, upon hearing this, the Venerable Great Power revealed a look of satisfaction:

"Buddha means enlightenment."

"The benefactor possesses an enlightened heart; you will surely become a Buddha."

Having spoken, the Venerable Great Power took out a thick scripture, upon whose cover clearly shone seven large characters in gold lacquer: "Mahayana Right Enlightenment Root Sutra"!

"This sutra was personally transcribed by the Bodhisattva with great magic power; every word upon it is a gem, blessed by a fruit of position; the benefactor need only send this sutra into the blessed land and consume it via the Qi Gathering method, and the blessed land will naturally become complete; I wonder how the benefactor plans to seek gold? Perhaps we can still lend a helping hand."

"There is no need to trouble the Great Master with this."

Suo Huan shook his head; the method for seeking gold involved his own foundation; naturally, he could not leak it, otherwise it would be easy for others to seize upon a flaw.

Seeing this, the Venerable Great Power did not ask further, merely chanting a Buddhist title once.

Soon, the brilliant light faded.

However, Suo Huan did not stop; instead, he switched the patterns of the array formation, and after a moment, he ignited the precious mirror once more; this time, a different figure appeared.

The figure wore official robes, draped in a large crimson cloak, and crowned with a diadem, clearly dressed as an official of the Dao Court; appearing dignified and solemn, above his head, within the brilliant light, tally scripts resembling tadpoles interwove, finally forming a line of honorific titles reading 【Minister of All Heavens Commanding Soldiers】, making him appear even more divine and strange.

"This humble one pays respects to Lord Minister."

Suo Huan bowed deeply once more, even switching to a set of official Dao Court rituals, his movements skillful.

The so-called 【Minister of All Heavens Commanding Soldiers】 was a second-grade official position of the Dao Court, likewise a Great True Person rank; strictly speaking, his strength was not even as great as Suo Huan's.

Yet at this moment, as Suo Huan bowed in salute, neither party felt anything was amiss.

This "Lord Minister" looked on with indifferent eyes and smiled: "Initiating contact with this official actively; it seems you, Suo Huan, have finally seen reason and are willing to pledge allegiance to our dynasty?"

"I have seen reason."

Suo Huan replied without hesitation: "I only beg Your Majesty to bless this humble one with a first-grade honorific title, aiding me in seeking gold; in return, once successful, this humble one is willing to forever guard the border seas for the Dao Court!"

"Good, good, good."

At these words, the Dao Court's 【Minister of All Heavens Commanding Soldiers】 immediately revealed a look of satisfaction: "Since you are sincere, I shall present a memorial to His Majesty on your behalf."

"Many thanks, my lord."

Suo Huan bowed once, then skillfully took out a storage bag and transmitted it over using the 【Void Sky Mirror】: "These are spiritual materials this humble one obtained overseas; lacking the knowledge to recognize Mount Tai, I cannot distinguish the quality of these materials; I beg my lord to evaluate them for me, just as a favor to this humble one."

"You, ah you, do not allow this next time!"

The 【Minister of All Heavens Commanding Soldiers】 laughed loudly, openly accepted the storage bag, and only then severed the connection with the precious mirror, the brilliant light gradually dissipating.

Only after doing all this did Suo Huan finally raise his body.

He straightened his waist and back rigidly, as if trying to push back up all the bending he had done while bowing humbly just before, and finally, a trace of a smile floated into his eyes.

This was true joy.

For him, wearing a smile on his face had long become a habit, not representing his true emotions; only the thoughts in the depths of his eyes were his true heart.

'There is hope...!'

【Ever-Flowing Water】 caused the Pure Land, the Dao Court, and the Holy Sect to no longer reject his seeking of gold, and also gave him the opportunity to solicit benefits from all three parties.

'The Holy Sect provides me with the Calming Sea Pearl, capturing the intent of 【Ever-Flowing Water】; the Pure Land aids me in perfecting my blessed land, bringing it to completion; the Dao Court bestows upon me an official title, allowing me to remedy my innate flaw and obtain the cultivation base of Foundation Establishment perfection; in this way, I finally have a sliver of hope to seek gold!'

Thinking of this, Suo Huan could barely suppress his joy.

For this, he had specially borrowed True Person Miaoyin's hand to come to an outer heaven like 【Ten Thousand Martial Arts Realm】, ensuring that the karma of his soliciting offers from three parties could not be calculated.

Things having come to this, the only flaw...

Thinking of this, Suo Huan finally turned his head to look at True Person Miaoyin, whose delicate face was stiff, still retaining traces of shock and anger, yet frozen unable to move.

(End of Chapter)