Chapter 389: Human Arhat

Xu Jia said, "You are not a Buddha, so how could you know his karmic cause and effect? Perhaps it is his destined tribulation. Monk, your body carries too much of the aura of books; you are not suited for the wandering life. Go, go quickly."

Xu Jia did not want to become a practitioner of the Leftist Path just because he refined a flying sword of the Leftist Path. At the very least, he had not killed indiscriminately thus far. Of course, if someone were to bring up those poisonous insects and snakes, there would be no need to argue with them.

Xu Jia did not want to tangle with these two monks now.

"You scoundrel, refining such a vicious object, you are certainly no good person." Shifang stood out and accused Xu Jia.

Not long ago, Xu Jia had poured the Water Essence of Nine Rivers into the Da Mo and cleared the Water Veins. He did not know how much Merit this contained; even if this body had previously engaged in deception and trickery, that was not his own cause and effect.

Hearing this, he did not get angry, but still said, "Do not disturb me here; go wherever you were going."

Instead of being ignored, Shifang could not suppress the nameless fire in his heart. A surge of anger rose up, and he grabbed his Cimei Staff and slashed toward Xu Jia.

The other three had already been captured by Xu Jia, their Primordial Spirits and spiritual senses dragged into the Dharma Realm to work. Xu Jia did not wake them, but simply blew a breath, blowing away the yellow Sand.

Shifang only felt the wind and sand blurring his eyes and had no response. Baiyun Chanshi shouted, "Careful!"

Shifang felt his brow stung by something, followed by unbearable pain. After a miserable shriek, he rolled on the ground in agony. Before long, he fainted, his entire face swollen like a pig's head.

Baiyun Chanshi, anxious to protect his disciple, grabbed his Zen Staff and raised a Buddhist light. A golden glow appeared around his body, as if an Arhat had descended to the world: "How could you strike with such venom?"

Xu Jia chuckled: "Do not argue with me. If I do not undo this Gu Poison, with only his level of cultivation, in less than an hour, the poison will enter his heart pulse, his five viscera will rot, his bone marrow will turn black, and he will rot into pus, blood, and dry bones."

Baiyun Chanshi wanted to subdue Xu Jia, but he had no defense against that simple act of blowing sand. In this world, magical duels always began with flying swords; where had he ever seen such a strange technique? Only then did he open his Arhat Golden Body, fearing neither blades nor poisons.

Xu Jia said, "I see you are not an evil monk, but you do not know that one cannot judge by appearances. Since you do not know cause and effect, how can you judge my good and evil? You clearly have prejudice in your heart; you must first cultivate an impartial heart. This disciple of yours is even worse."

Although he said this, Xu Jia still stood up, his hand forming the shape of a chicken pecking at rice, opening and closing, and pulled the poison out of the little monk, gathering it into a "Sand" in his palm.

Only then did he say, "Look, I could have killed him, but instead I saved him. Does this count as laying down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot?"

This counter-question left Baiyun Chanshi silent.

Shifang woke up at this moment, looking like a disciplined puppy. He dared not shout anymore, looking at Xu Jia with wariness. As for whether he had thoughts of revenge, that was unknown.

"The benefactor's understanding of Buddhist principles is profound; this old monk has been taught."

Xu Jia nodded: "Being taught is enough. This matter started with you. I have the grace of not killing him. Not to mention anything else, although my interest in your Buddhist methods is average, it still provides me with some reference. Let this matter pass. Otherwise, whether it is good or evil is up to me; whether they are sentient beings or ants, it is all the same."

This was a naked threat.

Shifang felt humiliated and ashamed, and just as he was about to say something, Baiyun Chanshi said, "Scriptures and Buddhist principles are all in the heart, not transmitted through words or text. But since the benefactor wishes to hear, this is a Dharma Offering, and it also carries immeasurable Merit, opening a convenient Dharma gate."

He immediately extended a finger, and the next moment, he smashed his Zen Staff onto his finger, flattening it instantly, flesh and blood a mess. Yet Baiyun Chanshi did not change his expression, and even smiled slightly.

Xu Jia secretly thought this old monk had some substance.

After Baiyun Chanshi smashed his finger, he pointed to the sky and then to the earth. The blood that came out was not red, but a faint gold. Upon hitting the ground, it gave rise to much Buddhist light, dyeing the plants here with Buddha Nature.

In the Dharma Realm, the few who were fighting the large beetle only saw golden lotuses blooming, like the brilliance of the great sun.

Xu Jia's comprehension was not bad, and he immediately said, "Your Zen Sect is indeed like this. This method is useless to me. You may go to that Buddha Kingdom; with your cultivation, I fear there may be some opportunity. Forget about this little monk; after all, besides me, no one else is easy to talk to. Let him plant trees here for me, and you can take him away when you return."

"Then many thanks, benefactor."

The next moment, flames grew from the smashed finger. The flames did not burn the flesh, but instead restored it to its original state, and the fallen blood returned as if time were flowing backward.

Baiyun Chanshi left alone, carrying his Zen Staff, leaving Shifang behind at Xu Jia's place, looking completely bewildered.

"To think there is actually such a thing as a living Arhat; they are much rarer than the Living Buddhas of the Mizang Yu."

The cultivation of the Zen Sect lies more in the heart, in Sudden Enlightenment. After enlightenment, one cultivates; while cultivating, one gains enlightenment; there is no distinction.

Although their combat power might not be very high, Xu Jia estimated that his Daoist Practice and Merit were close to the level of a God Immortal or Bodhisattva. (Sudden Enlightenment in the Desire Realm corresponds to Heavenly Immortal, Bodhisattva corresponds to God Immortal, and Arhat corresponds to Earth Immortal).

That pale golden blood and the Divine Ability that almost reversed time were the "Achievement" of Baiyun Chanshi's cultivation to the corresponding realm.

Shifang saw his master was gone and became very obedient. Before he could speak to Xu Jia, Xu Jia sent his consciousness into the Dharma Realm to fight monsters and guard the tower.

That large beetle was a "Demon God" of the desert region, or perhaps a "Heavenly Dao or Earth Dao" dispatched by the region. It was normal for it to be hard to fight. Winning would yield rich rewards, not just experience points like those small monsters. It might even drop the Quanshen of this region, or even the Divine Nature, which is most important to the Divine Path. Divine Nature is an important item for sketching the "Godly Talisman," which would allow Xu Jia to seal and decree gods, stabilizing this Oasis. A land of an Oasis would certainly not be lacking.

In this way, Xu Jia could build a temple here and leave an anchor, so that next time he would not need to rely on the Chaos Pearl, which he did not know how to refine, to descend into this world again.

It was just that he was only temporarily possessing this body; once his consciousness left, there would be no dependence, and he feared some accident might occur. He could only rely on them entering the Dharma Realm to clear it out.

Deep in the Dharma Realm, at several Demon Refining Platforms, the little monk, because he was using a staff and had no flying sword, followed the Flesh Practitioner Path, acting as a meat shield in the front row. In the flying sword group, only He Yu Langjun's Crane-shaped Flying Sword could break the defense; Huogong Toutuo and Gongye Lingxue could only provide auxiliary interference.

That large beetle monster would roar after a while, summoning many small sand worms out of thin air, but they were just fodder.

The four of them refined for a while, scraping away like a pedicure, and actually managed to beat the large beetle to low health, instantly entering a berserk state.

"I have realized it!" Killing monsters in the Dharma Realm could increase "experience." He Yu Langjun had seen Xu Jia demonstrate the Sword Scripture during the day. At this moment, after killing some small monsters, his insight into the Sword Scripture increased, his Dharma Nature Spiritual Rhyme increased, and suddenly he had a breakthrough, clearing a bottleneck in his sword path, and used a move: "Crane Charges the Nine Heavens."

This flying sword first shot into the sky, then fell straight down, stabbing directly into the weak point where the beetle's head and body connected. The sword momentum transformed into a crane directly in the Dharma Realm.

"Boom!"

The large beetle's head was severed, but its body was still twitching.

Huogong Toutuo took the opportunity to use the Dutian Liehuo Sword to twist at the wound, producing a smell of roasted meat.

Before long, everything began to dissipate, leaving only a few items.

One was a Beetle Horn, one was a Jade Slip, one was a bead that looked like an Inner Elixir, and one was a ball of light, inside which seemed to be a pure white beetle with warm, positive energy.

The next moment, their consciousness returned to their physical bodies. Just as they were dazed, they saw Xu Jia had already "enlightened" them, using the Incense Wish to Borrow the False to Cultivate the True, turning the items from the Dharma Realm into real spiritual objects.

"This horn is good material for refining a flying sword."

"This Jade Slip is a technique for Sand Evasion."

"This bead is a Dust-Avoiding Pearl, which can isolate the intrusion of yellow Sand. In quicksand, one can also breathe, just like swimming in water."

"This white light is the Divine Nature Primordial Spirit, a collection of the concept of desert beetles, representing the tribal god of the desert beetle category."

Xu Jia inexplicably thought of "scarabs" and secretly said: "Could I use this to sketch a Divine Nature Talisman and decree a beetle as the Earth Deity of the Oasis?"

Thinking about it, he decided against it.

The few looked at Xu Jia with resentment; how could there be no share for them? Xu Jia did not care at all.

He combined this beetle horn with the beetle's soul, enlightening it into a "Divine Artifact."

The next moment, Xu Jia waved this horn, and countless black beetles gathered from all over the desert; it truly had the power of this summoning command. Perhaps besides Tongtian Jiaozhu, he could even cosplay as an Egyptian pharaoh.

Xu Jia waved again, and these beetles retreated.

Asking them to fight was a joke, but it was true that they brought Xu Jia some news and intelligence.

The Buddha Kingdom Mijing revealed is only a portion; the majority remains buried beneath the quicksand, but by relying on the Dust-Avoiding Pearl, combined with this Sand-Evasion Technique, one can cleverly enter the true Buddha Kingdom Mijing.

There are some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures of this realm there, and there is no lack of materials that can refine top-tier flying swords.

Although Xu Jia does not particularly care for Dharma, he values these materials highly; if he can refine a top-tier flying sword and then, through a sacrificial ritual, offer it to his true self, he could then set up an Executioner of Immortals Sword Array and directly cosplay as Tongtian Jiaozhu—although the cost would likely be immense, it would also be very worthwhile.

With this thought in mind, Xu Jia asked Gongye Lingxue: "You sent your flying letter two days ago, why has your father not arrived yet?"

Gongye Lingxue's small face turned red, but she did not know how to answer.

Xu Jia then said: "Forget it, I have already ordered the beetles to go collect seeds of desert plants; you all come here and listen to me explain a Daoism spell. This technique is called Gathering Sand into Form, which can smelt sand into Glazed Bricks; you can use this to build a temple here."

He was directly acting as a Commander of the laborers, but this time he did not intend to get their work for free: "Whoever does the best job, this poor Daoist will pass this Sand-Evasion Jade Slip to them. With this secret technique, one can directly explore the Buddha Kingdom Mijing, and even if there are any mistakes, one can escape into the yellow sand, gaining an extra chance at survival."

"Me, me, me!" Huogong Toutuo was the most shameless: "Master, I practice Fire Method, so it is easiest for me to smelt sand into Glazed Bricks; none of them have this ability."

(End of this chapter)