Chapter 142: The Water of Tanquan

This Treasure Basin is the size of a washbasin, with a slightly Eight Characters-shaped opening, wrapped in honeysuckle patterns along the edge, with two layers of background patterns inside, two carp in a circling posture, and a water-eye vortex in the center.

The two carp both have scarlet scales, but their eyes have no spirit at all.

Hu Jinhua washed it several times with ordinary spring water, but could not wash it clean.

"Is this fish basin really a Treasure Basin?" Hu Jinhua asked curiously.

"It certainly was originally; I saw it with my own eyes. That old cat caught me to be a slave and made me steal treasures. This Treasure Basin can make money beget money, wealth beget wealth, and treasures beget treasures."

Hu Jinhua said: "It is filthy here and cannot be cleaned for a moment; this Lan Shi Huo was never a pure place to begin with."

"There is a place called Fanyin Valley next door. Originally, there was a divine monk chanting sutras there, so the spring water gained good fortune and became 'Pure Water,' which can cleanse all filth. I used to often take the little foxes there to bathe. That spring water there does not need herbal medicines like soapberry to be washed clean; it has unique divine effects."

Kan Yinwu sighed and said: "If it still cannot be washed clean there and has turned into an evil vessel, how am I supposed to report back!"

"It doesn't matter if it's an evil vessel; our Master Xu has extremely strong Divine Ability and Daoism, so we have nothing to fear!"

The two spirits immediately dragged this basin, wandered for four or five miles, and arrived at Di Gou Quan.

Upstream of Di Gou Quan, there is a giant salamander who once heard the divine monk chanting sutras and preaching, and thus stepped into cultivation, practicing the Water Vein under this spring, conforming to the Water Virtue, and is someone who loves purity very much.

The reason Di Gou Quan is called 'cleansing filth' is precisely because he resides in this water, making the water possess spirituality.

This giant salamander has a nickname called "Naihe Monk," just because his body is slippery. When the divine monk first caught him to set up a "Babao Gongde Chi," he could not hold onto him, so he sighed, "Nothing to be done" (Naihe).

Naihe Monk was silently chanting Buddha and sutras at the bottom of the spring. The divine monk of Fanyin Valley once said he had some opportunities and good fortune, and he might not be unable to achieve Didao in the future, as long as he could endure loneliness.

Yet, they did not expect that Hu Jinhua and Kan Yinwu would bring the Treasure Basin to wash.

The reason this basin is blood-red is actually not stained by blood, but in reality, it is stained by Desire Thought, especially Greed. When Greed reaches a certain degree, a person will lose their reason and disregard all safety of life.

If human life and profit conflict, human life must give way to it.

This is also why the evil god initially received sacrifices of dead cats, dead dogs, or the bones of infants who died prematurely, corpses, and the like, but later some people directly performed live sacrifices, and even beat their own biological flesh and blood to death, just to exchange for glory and wealth.

Greed is linked to bloodshed, which stained this Wealth God treasure red.

How did the two spirits wash the basin in Di Gou Quan? The power of purity washed the evil desires in the basin out one by one, but it polluted the spring water.

They felt they were washing downstream and would not dirty the source.

Yet they did not know that this Greed Desire Thought has a mind of its own. The more pure and upright something is, the more it wants to pollute it.

It is rumored that in Guangdong Province, there is such a spring that was polluted by Greed and became Tanquan. This spring is very evil and specializes in enticing incorruptible officials to drink, polluting them. Every time it pollutes one, its name becomes even more famous.

Upon taking office, they have clean sleeves; upon leaving office, their carriages and boats are fully loaded.

The two little spirits washed the Treasure Basin clean. The blood color indeed faded here and turned back to gold. They were very Joyous: "I said this spring water is powerful and can cleanse all filth!" Clear water entered the basin, and sure enough, the two fish at the bottom of the basin became more lively, left the bottom of the basin, and swam in the basin. It is just that these two fish, one kept shedding tears, and the other was very restless, wanting to leap out of the water basin, but every time it raised a little water droplet, it fell back down.

Sure enough, the fish tears turned into Pearls, and the splashed water turned into Sand.

Hu Jinhua's greed suddenly grew: "I'm rich, I'm rich!"

Just as he was about to be obsessed by greed, the Pressing Money that Xu Jia gave him emitted a spiritual light, making him see clearly. The two carp in the basin only had one layer of fish scales. Under each fish scale was a greedy soul. These Sand and Pearls were all their eyes, teeth, fingers, one by one dug out, plucked clean, and severed...

Stimulated like this, Hu Jinhua broke out in a cold sweat: "How evil, how terrifying? Master Xu is right, this Treasure Basin is a Bone Basin!"

Kan Yinwu said: "Where is this terrifying? Aren't these all gold and pearls?"

"Every cent here is squeezed from people's blood and sweat, and only obtained by harming human lives. Master Xu said we don't earn poor people's money, but this basin is specifically for earning poor people's money. It beats people, sucks their marrow, and drains them dry bit by bit, regardless of whether they live or die. Only then can it gather treasures."

"This basin is evil!"

"As long as it's money, which one isn't blood and sweat money? Only labor produces value. Being able to harvest without labor must have its reasons." Kan Yinwu said: "As long as one can reap without sowing, who would care if it's poor people's money or rich people's money?"

"But there is no such thing as reaping without sowing in the world. If there is, there must be a hook behind it." Hu Jinhua said: "Let's not touch this basin, and don't touch any of these Sand or Pearls! Let's take it back and ask Master Xu first!"

Kan Yinwu is a rat and cannot beat Hu Jinhua. Although he has a immobilization spell, the consumption is huge, and he is unwilling to use it again. Moreover, he doesn't have much use for these Pearls and Sand, so he said: "Fine, let's go back and find Great Immortal Xu to see. Being careful is never a big mistake."

The two spirits thought about it, took a piece of ragged clothing, and wrapped the basin up.

This basin is also magical; when the water in the basin is poured out, the fish in the basin will turn back into paintings and stick to the bottom of the basin.

The two spirits went all the way to Fox Immortal Hall to report this situation to Xu Jia.

Meanwhile, Naihe, who was practicing at the bottom of the spring, was missing words while chanting sutras and slipping his tongue while chanting, feeling restless, either his body was itchy or his heart was agitated.

"What's wrong today? Why is the blazing fire so hard to bear?" Naihe Monk climbed out of the water, intending to breathe in the moonlight for a while, borrowing the moonlight's coldness like frost to cool his body.

Just as he climbed out of the water, his peripheral vision swept downstream, and there was faintly a treasure light overflowing.

"Eh?"

Naihe Monk immediately crawled along the spring path and saw large Pearls and a handful of Sand scattered in the spring, illuminated by the moonlight.

Especially those few Pearls, round and moist, refracting light, like a cluster of light mist, lingering on the surface of the spring.

"Good, good, good!" Naihe Monk sighed: "I was wondering why I couldn't sit still; it turns out an opportunity has come upon me. Wealth has arrived, and it truly cannot be blocked. I haven't been down the mountain for a long time either. I can just take this money to transform a small temple. I will practice in the temple and will surely be able to achieve Didao faster."

Naihe Monk then picked up the Pearls, Sand, and gold beans bit by bit. Every time he picked some up, those greed thoughts attached themselves to him. He did not even know that the "purity and nature" he had cultivated for many years had destroyed itself.

(End of this chapter)