Chapter 432: Forty-Seven Great Thieves

Xu Jia had already achieved the Yang Spirit, so there was no need to check one by one; with a single thought, the tens of thousands of people here, not to mention their futures, could be seen in their entirety just by looking at their pasts.

In the Buddhist school, this is known as the "Fate-Knowing Ability," but it is merely a natural achievement possessed after cultivating to the Yang Spirit, much like standing on high ground and seeing things more clearly and naturally.

Even an "Earth Immortal" possesses the achievement of "Omniscience."

A portion of the people here are normal desert refugees, while another portion are actually sand bandit scouts.

The sand bandits here are quite interesting; they are the scourge of the Western Regions' Silk Road.

To be precise, there are forty-seven such bandit groups in the entire Da Mo.

This made Xu Jia think of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"; people in the Central Plains think Ali Baba is a Persian, but in reality, this describes a story from the distant East.

Although this desert is desolate and barren, it is the only way to communicate with the Western Regions and is a necessary path of the ancient Silk Road.

In this Sword Hero World, there are still quite a few merchants who, following the Silk Road, transport tea, silk, and some porcelain from the Central Plains via camels and horses to the Arab region, and then they are transported by Arab merchants to the Europe region.

Generally speaking, the geographical records here have not changed in their broad outlines.

Because the Da Mo is vast, the bandits are difficult to wipe out; moreover, these bandits are not bandits on a daily basis, as professionals are, after all, in the minority.

Xu Jia immediately plucked out all these sand bandit scouts; with just a slight point of the Jade Ruyi in his hand, he transformed a few gold beans into Yellow Turban Warriors. Although they were casually transformed, these Yellow Turban Warriors possessed the strength of late-stage Human Immortals, comparable to the great Foundation Establishment cultivators in xianxia novels.

These few sand bandits were dragged out and immediately felt terror, trembling even more when grabbed by the zhang-tall Yellow Turban Warriors.

Huogong Toutuo hurriedly stood out to question them on Xu Jia's behalf: "Who are you people? How dare you sneak into this Oasis of ours?"

The sand bandit scout tried to quibble: "We are law-abiding citizens!" Huogong Toutuo, however, directly refined fire into needles and pierced them into the scout's body, tracing the meridians; in an instant, the Fire Poison circulated, causing the scout to feel as if his internal organs were burning, and he was in extreme pain.

Seeing this person's fate, the remaining few hurriedly confessed: "We are subordinates of the Forty-Seven Great Thieves of the Desert."

"The Forty-Seven Great Thieves of the Desert?" Huogong Toutuo turned to explain to Xu Jia: "Master, these Forty-Seven Great Thieves of the Desert are forty-seven vicious bandit leaders. Among them, there is no lack of Qi Refiners. The Desert Three Demons are three of the forty-seven thieves, specifically the seventh, eighth, and ninth."

"Every thirty years, the First Great Thief will gather these great thieves together; one purpose is for ranking, and the other is to gather for looting. Many of the targets they set their eyes on suffer heavy casualties, and they have even robbed the Western Branch of the orthodox Shushan Sword Sect. The Shushan Sword Sect once dispatched disciples to encircle and suppress them, but they only killed a few of the lowest-ranked thieves. The First Great Thief even once boasted that unless the True Person Baiyun Chanshi Xu Shou came in person, no one could capture him."

"True Person Xu Shou became famous three hundred years ago, and a hundred or so years ago, he was already cultivating his character and waiting for cultivation in the Emei Cave Heaven."

Hearing that the Emei True Person was called "Xu Shou," Xu Jia thought of the Bai Mei played by Sammo Hung, but that Bai Mei already possessed the "Golden Immortal Daoist Practice."

In the setting of Shushan, Heavenly Immortals seem to be able to walk in the world, but only Golden Immortals cannot stay and need to ascend immediately.

But no matter what, it is still the Sixth Heaven of the Desire Realm; the "Golden Immortal" here might be a specific "Heavenly Immortal," for example, one who cultivates both the Immortal Dao and the Dharma, combining Buddha and Dao, which can be called a "Golden Immortal."

Or perhaps one who has refined something like the "Mituo Gengzi Golden Light Nature" is also called a Golden Immortal.

In short, the water here is deep, and Xu Jia wants to investigate carefully. The Wanshou Emperor of the Longevity Sect traveled through this world in spirit and, having only learned the Blood God Great Method, thought he was invincible in the world, but in the end, he was still killed by Xu Jia with the Innate Three Talents killing intent, cutting off all the vitality of his Primordial Spirit with one sword.

Of course, as for what kind of person the Longevity Sect's Wanshou Emperor is, Xu Jia estimates that among Yang Spirits, he is also trash. Pure Yang should be Pure Yang; engaging in these side-door evil paths completely cuts off the possibility of the Heavenly Immortal Orthodox Dao. The Yellow Heaven Teaching Method falling into his hands is simply a waste of a heavenly treasure.

Passing to Xu Jia, although he has turned over a new leaf, Xu Jia is a successor of Lingbao; the Yellow Heaven lineage can be played with, but it cannot truly be taken home.

"These great thieves must have set their eyes on this Buddha Treasure Sarira, or the Nine-Leaf Lingzhi Grass that holds the Buddha Treasure Sarira. Master, there has long been a rumor in the jianghu that the Sarira paired with the Nine-Leaf Lingzhi Grass, refined into a Nine-Turn Golden Pill, can directly increase one's Dharma Power by ten thousand years and prove the Golden Immortal fruit status."

Huogong Toutuo looked up at the sky; the Sarira suspended in the void was slowly absorbing sunlight, and when night came, it would emit a soft light, shining on the plants, making them grow well, and shining on living beings, making them feel happy and healthy in body.

This hundred-mile Oasis relies entirely on this Sarira to bring forth vigorous vitality; it is indeed an extraordinary treasure, and being rumored to be miraculous is indeed believable.

The Nine-Leaf Lingzhi, having been breathed upon by the small Spirit Horse with its spirit Qi, transformed into the Eastern Wood Essence. The Dragon Horse spirit underwent a transformation, changing from a horse shape to a dragon shape, and it is still building the Immortal Spirit Grass in the "Yuyu Blessed Land" inside Xu Jia's belly. Every time a portion of Lingzhi matures in the grass field, it is sent to the "Cinnabar Cauldron Palace" to be refined into Precious Medicine to nourish the Body Gods and Heavenly Humans within Xu Jia's body.

These Body Gods and Heavenly Humans are also a part of Xu Jia.

The remaining Lingzhi grass without medicinal properties is a woody Dharma treasure blank, which became a Jade Ruyi after Xu Jia spat a mouthful of Innate Taiyi Green Yang Donghua Qi onto it. Currently, it only carries the "Human Three Treasures," which is Xu Jia's essence, Qi, and spirit, and has not been refined into the Earth Three Treasures or Heaven Three Treasures.

In Xu Jia's hands, it is used entirely as a "magic wand," occasionally chanting: "Ruyi, Ruyi, follow my heart's desire."

It belongs to the category where aesthetics outweigh utility.

"Go kill him," Xu Jia said to Huogong Toutuo.

"Me?" Huogong Toutuo pointed at himself in astonishment.

"Could it be me?" Xu Jia said: "In the jianghu, generally the more people in a title, the more watery their strength; they can only form groups to make a name for themselves. True experts are always alone and disdain to be ranked with others. These Forty-Seven Great Thieves of the Desert sound like third-rate goods, just trying to touch porcelain with Shushan. If they were really that powerful, why wouldn't they go develop in the Shu region?"

Xu Jia said: "Whether it's some Seven Sons, Five Tigers, Three Demons, Two Heroes... South this, North that... they are all just flowery sedan chairs carried by many people, reputations blown up by human relationships and worldly affairs. However, I believe the reputations of those demon heads cannot be fake; if their strength were fake, they would have been killed by the orthodox path long ago. Being able to live this long, they must have some strength."

"That seems to make some sense." Huogong Toutuo began to ponder: "Master, you say that when I walk in the jianghu, what title should I use? The name Huogong Toutuo is also ugly; it's just a coolie who burns fire and cooks in a temple, not even considered a great master." "That is different; the more plain and unadorned it is, the more powerful it appears. The more one wants a powerful name, the more it appears to be fierce in appearance but weak in reality. If you directly took a name like Red-Browed Old Buddha, what kind of status would that be? You would be eliminated by Buddhist bigwigs in minutes. Only by being called Huogong Toutuo can you develop."

"Makes sense."

Xu Jia said: "You kill as many of these forty-seven great thieves as you can. I will pass you a Dharma spell and Divine Ability that can refine them into Diamond Protectors. Each person can be refined into a gold bean. These people have committed many evils and deserve to die; it is just right for you to use the Dutian Fierce Fire to calcine them into Mighty Diamonds. This Diamond can erase their memories while retaining a certain amount of intelligence and fighting instinct; it is most comfortable to use for gang fights."

"It's just that this belongs to the Outer Path of Buddha turning into Demon, which I disdain to use, but it doesn't matter if you use it; anyway, you look like a monk."

Although Huogong Toutuo felt that these words didn't sound like a compliment to him, he would learn if he had the ability; what else could he do? This method of Xu Jia's was transformed from "refining zombies," combined with some means from the Yellow Heaven Teaching Method of refining and summoning "Yellow Turban Warriors," and incorporated some means from the Buddhist Lankavatara Sutra for subduing Outer Path demons.

Speaking of which, it is not difficult; as long as one has a little bit of Dharma attainment, one can refine it.

Huogong Toutuo has indeed been secretly studying the Dharma these days, and he also wants to gain some benefits from the Buddha Treasure Sarira above his head.

Because of the friendship of guarding the temple together, he often went to the Buddhist temple in the Golden Ancient Kingdom to learn some Dharma from Shifang, a disciple of Baiyun Chanshi.

Shifang, having received instructions from Baiyun Chanshi, taught him the "Sutra of the Sun Lord Bodhisattva Speaking of Boundless Light," and the "Sun Lord Visualization Method" taught to him by Xu Jia, which actually belongs to the same origin of Buddha and Dao.

It is just that the Sun Lord Bodhisattva's status in the Buddhist school is not as high as "Dainichi Nyorai," and after cultivating it, it mainly "generates light." That is to say, light will be generated behind the head.

Don't look at it like a light bulb; it belongs to "external manifestation of light." Within this light, Heavenly Demons cannot hide, Yin Demons are like being fried in hot oil, and those curses and sneak attacks cannot take effect.

Refining it to be more powerful, it becomes a small human-shaped sun; wherever it shines, it is a bright Pure Land, which is also in harmony with that "Mituo Gengzi Golden Light Nature."

It was precisely because Xu Jia saw this point that he passed this method to him.

Xu Jia is a Grandmaster of side-door and left-path, but he has few people worth teaching, and there is nothing to practice with. The few times he used it, it was in America, where the demonic path is prosperous, and using demons to control demons is just right.

"What a powerful method!"

Having received Xu Jia's teaching, Huogong Toutuo actually felt it was even more powerful than the Dutian Liehuo Sword. The main thing is that this Mighty Diamond Protector can actually form a "Great Array." Three can form a "Vajra Subduing Demon Circle Array," five can form a "Five Directions Vajra Body-Protecting Array," all the way to the Eighteen Arhats Array, and even the "Five Hundred Arhats Array."

No matter what kind of True Qi or Dharma Power these Diamond Protectors practiced before, they would all be domineeringly assimilated into Buddhist Dharma Power.

And this Buddhist Dharma Power can also be "transmitted" to each other.

"You first find a weak great thief and refine him; this way you will have a helper, and then you can find the second one. Accumulating like this and forming an array, these mere forty-seven great thieves can all be refined to death by you."

"Then..."

"No," Xu Jia sneered: "Why is the side-door and left-path called side-door and left-path? It is because there are huge flaws. These people have no self, so they have no Great Dao. They cannot rely on the accumulation of Dharma Power to cultivate a Sarira or a Golden Pill. Being able to cultivate Innate True Qi is already the limit."

"The only ones you can bully are those unranked ones in the side-door and left-path, or orthodox disciples who are just starting out. If they are truly outstanding, it is useless even if you refine more of them. Moreover, these Diamond Protectors will also wear out, age, and be eliminated. You can use them as a portable Dao soldier, but you still have to manage their cultivation resources, otherwise it is very difficult to improve."

"That's not bad either; no need for many, even if I don't refine all forty-seven great bandits, refining just ten or twenty would be enough for me to walk sideways," Huogong Toutuo said, feeling very content.

He immediately steered the Dutian Liehuo Sword to go find that great bandit.

The one in contact with these spies in the Oasis was the forty-second of the forty-seven great bandits, who specialized in scouting for news and intelligence.

This person was not skilled in other things, but possessed a very powerful Earth Escape and Divine Movement Technique; his martial arts entry into the Dao was also a form of light-body skill, progressing from the outside in, cultivating Postnatal True Qi, and then from Postnatal True Qi cultivating Innate True Qi, only then entering the ranks of Qi Refiners.

His name was "Zhang Yuan," an outer sect miscellaneous disciple of the Songshan Sect in the Central Plains, who had to carry water for the kitchen every day, from the foot of the mountain to the peak, and from the peak back to the foot; this back-and-forth was easy, as the entry-level technique of the Songshan Sect was light-body skill.

Only later did he leave Songshan to venture out, and by a stroke of luck, he arrived in Da Mo and obtained a wild inheritance, cultivating from Postnatal to Innate, and was scouted by the First Great Bandit, who then taught him Earth Escape, Divine Movement, and Wind Riding, these Earthly Fiend Minor Arts.

Although his flying sword skills were average and his frontal combat level was also average, his escape skills were first-class; among the forty-seven great bandits, those who could surpass him were all at the "Earth Immortal level" who had refined a Golden Core.

This Zhang Yuan, under the orders of the First Great Bandit, was monitoring the Buddha Treasure Sarira and incidentally scouting for news of "Xu Jia," for although Xu Jia's display of magic in the Golden Ancient Kingdom that day was grand in scale, he had appeared out of thin air.

Huanglian Daoren had become even more mediocre later on, clearly not the same person.

That clearly meant there was a mysterious big shot behind the scenes. Furthermore, those with intent had visited Baiyun Chanshi, so it was not difficult to obtain information about the Moonlight Spring Glazed Blessed Land; it was indeed a force established by a "person of the God Immortal sort."

No matter how powerful the First Great Bandit was, to tell the truth, he only had Earth Immortal cultivation and could never reach the Yang Spirit; if he truly had a Yang Spirit, his pure Yang thoughts would never have any dark secrets, so how could he shrink back here to be a mere great bandit?

Zhang Yuan was currently hiding beside the ruins of the Golden Ancient Kingdom, disguised as a bodyguard beside a wealthy merchant, wearing a set of earth-yellow clothes and fiddling with two iron beads in his hands.

These two beads contained a mechanism inside; in case of any trouble, he could throw them out to burst into several zhang of smoke, covering his escape into the earth.

He did not know that he had already been exposed, and in his heart, he was still thinking about another Divine Ability.

It was precisely "Sand Escape"; this Divine Ability was found by Huogong Toutuo and the others from the Dharma Realm, and later, for some reason, it became famous; it was nothing else, but that in that great battle, many people died, yet those who knew Sand Escape all survived, so naturally, it became famous.

(End of this chapter)