Chapter 688: Skillfully Fanning the Flames, Incense Duel in the Market

"This Flying Immortal Tea has too heavy a Qi and too strong a medicinal property. When truly savored, one cannot taste the tea itself. If one is to savor tea, it is actually not as interesting as ordinary spirit tea!" Qian Chen, seeing Ning Qingchen wake up, greeted her with a smile.

Ning Qingchen nodded slightly: "Although this tea possesses the wonders of the Dao, it is just as the Yan Yan Shixiong said; the flavor is entirely stolen away by the washing of that spirit Qi and immortal light, making it impossible to taste."

"That is why I say it was a truly poor decision for the Jade Pool to cultivate Mother Queen grass into tea!"

Qian Chen said this, then suddenly smiled mischievously: "However, there is one benefit to this tea's spirit Qi being so dense: if one drinks it, the medicinal properties and the tea flavor will soak into the body for a time, lingering long. If it undergoes this layer of transformation, perhaps one might truly be able to savor the tea's fragrance."

The Phoenix Master flapped its wings and rose, its feathers burning with golden flames like a golden rainbow. Its beak, sharp as a sword, struck toward him.

This person was actually still harboring ill intentions; giving it tea to drink was just to eat chicken flavored with tea!

Qian Chen started the stove to heat the oil, intending to roll up his sleeves and grab its wings; he would certainly not spare it for being so arrogant...

"How dare you sell incense here!"

Before the man and the chicken could determine a winner, they heard someone outside the window say this loudly.

Ning Qingchen looked down and saw a tall, thin monk leading a black, burly monk who was clearly a Martial Cultivator, blocking three loose cultivators.

The tall, thin monk had arrived with the other monks at the Northern Wei Buddhist shop in the Xiancheng. Taking advantage of the fact that several old monks wanted to find a quiet place to stay, he first pulled his Qian Shidi along and walked in the direction where Dharma Master Master Tan Yao had stopped and looked back.

But before they could confirm the location of Qian Chen's private room, they saw three cultivators dressed as loose cultivators setting up a stall on the street to sell incense.

Xiao Yu was also baffled. He had obtained the saliva of a Cloud-Spraying Beast and was preparing to concoct a furnace of incense. He had just come out of the incense shop behind him, having learned that one of the ingredients, Ox-Head Sandalwood, was the finest among sandalwood. It was just that he was short on money for the moment, so he left temporarily, preparing to sell a few sticks of incense to scrape some together.

But just as he had set up the stall and hadn't even opened for business yet, he was blocked at the entrance by two big monks...

"I bought a permit from the steward in the Xiancheng; why can't I set up a stall?" Xiao Yu asked in return.

The tall, thin monk sneered: "This place has always been for our Buddhist sect to sell incense. Even this incense shop is our Buddhist sect's property. To offer incense and worship the Buddha, one should naturally use our Buddhist sect's superior incense!"

"You set up this stall in front of our Buddhist incense shop, selling some miscellaneous and inferior incense. If someone doesn't know any better and uses your incense to worship the Buddha, wouldn't that defile the Buddha's golden body?"

"This incense shop doesn't sell finished incense, only incense ingredients! I can naturally set up a stall, and my incense is naturally good incense!"

Xiao Yu said with an innocent expression: "Besides, does the Buddha even care about the quality of incense?"

"Good incense is not for you to decide! The Flying Boat Market is an Xiancheng, and everything sold here is spirit incense. Besides our Buddhist sect's incense, who else dares to claim theirs is good incense?"

The tall, thin monk sneered: "Superior incense must be offered before the Buddha and consecrated by believers chanting scriptures. Which Buddha do you believe in? The Buddha may not care about incense, but I cannot tolerate a swindler like you selling fake incense here and ruining our Buddhist sect's reputation."

Xiao Yu saw that his entanglement was attracting many idlers to watch the fun. He frowned slightly and said impatiently: "I am not selling incense to worship the Buddha; you should leave!"

The tall, thin monk was relentless: "Since you have already admitted that you are selling fake incense, I will overturn your stall!"

Above in the tea house, Ning Qingchen frowned and said: "This monk is truly overbearing!"

A smile suddenly appeared on the corner of Qian Chen's mouth, and he said: "Then I shall help those three loose cultivators and uphold justice..."

He immediately leaned out and shouted loudly to the street: "Monk, I clearly saw those three people's incense tested once on the front street. One stick inserted, and the whole street was filled with clouds, their clothes stained with fragrance! I passed by and got a bit on my sleeve, and it hasn't dissipated yet. On what grounds do you say theirs is not good incense?"

Ning Qingchen hurriedly pulled Qian Chen's sleeve. This was not upholding justice; this was clearly fanning the flames!

Qian Chen followed the pull, sat back down, and smiled: "Loose cultivators have it hard; one should help when one can. Besides, those three once had a brief encounter with me; we can be considered acquaintances!"

Ning Qingchen shook her head and said: "Yan Yan Shixiong, you clearly just want to watch the fun and don't mind the trouble."

Looking out the window again, sure enough, the tall, thin monk was already furious and sneered there: "The talk of incense originated from the Western Buddhist sect. Before the Buddhist Dharma was transmitted to the East, how could this Saha World have the Dao of incense! You sell incense but do not worship the Buddhas; you will surely suffer all kinds of evil karma and go to hell!"

"The incense Dao in these Central Lands and overseas all originated from our Buddhist sect. Although this Dao has an external fragrance, it only has fragrance; it is inferior incense!"

"Superior incense can clear the heart and calm the spirit, protecting the soul; it can nourish the soul and assist in cultivation, sensing the Dao, which is inconceivable... The best can be used to sacrifice to the Buddhas, to make offerings to Bodhisattvas, and to obtain the karmic connection bestowed by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to study all kinds of Dharma!"

"Our Buddhist disciples, by offering incense, chanting scriptures, and meditating, can draw upon the inconceivable magic power of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to cultivate boundless supernatural powers!"

Xiao Yu said helplessly: "What you say is generally correct, but the Dao of incense originated from the ancient Wu Dao sacrifices. The Wu priests threw incense ingredients into the fire, refining incense pills and blood food to be enjoyed by the gods, communicating with the gods to cultivate the Dharma. This Dao has been passed down since the primordial times and is divided into the three incense Daos of Heaven, Earth, and Man. Although the Buddhist sect is proficient in this Dao, it is not the only sect that has inherited this method, let alone originating from the Buddhist sect!"

"Shut up, you slanderer of the Buddha; you will surely fall into hell and become a dung-eating evil ghost!"

"Using incense for evil sacrifices and external Daos is a crime of the ten evils. Once this thought arises, the incense burned will not only have no good karmic connection but will have infinite evil karma, entangling you for three lifetimes. In your next life, you will surely be reborn in the animal realm."

He saw the incense sticks on Xiao Yu's stall and raised his hand, intending to crush them all: "Using these inferior and evil incenses is surely a blasphemy against the gods and Buddhas; they should have been destroyed long ago!"

Xiao Yu's expression had turned cold. He flicked his sleeve slightly, and a faint fragrance suddenly turned into smoke, flying out from his sleeve.

It hovered in front of the tall, thin monk, swaying...

The tall, thin monk raised his hand, and his Buddhist true Qi turned into a Jin Gang hand seal, intending to land on the stall and destroy the incense, but it was blocked by that smoke lock.

That Jin Gang hand seal had at least tens of thousands of jin of force, yet no matter what, it could not break that thin wisp of smoke.

The tall, thin monk exerted his full strength to cast the Dharma seal, but he could never break free from that smoke lock. Beads of sweat the size of beans gradually appeared on his forehead.

His black and burly Qian Shidi saw that his Yan Yan Shixiong was about to lose face and that if the stalemate continued, it would be a laughingstock. He reached out to block and said: "True incense or evil incense, good incense or inferior incense, one test will tell!"

He got up and walked into the incense shop. The incense shop was a Buddhist property. Although it didn't sell finished incense, it naturally had its own Buddhist incense for offerings.

The Qian Shidi took one stick and inserted it into the ground.

He didn't use a fire spell, just twisted the head of the incense with his hand, relying purely on internal fire to light that pillar of sandalwood...

The tall, thin monk saw this and withdrew his Jin Gang Dharma seal, sitting cross-legged in front of that pillar of incense, chanting scriptures. Soon, the fragrance gathered and turned into a Dharma image of a glaring Jin Gang behind him.

The green smoke transformed from the fragrance shrouded the golden light, impressively condensing into a Jin Gang Dharma body that bestowed its blessing upon him.

This monk was only at the Penetrating the Law realm, but the Jin Gang light radiating from the body that shrouded him was far beyond what that hand seal from just a moment ago could compare to.

The Jin Gang glared with wide, angry eyes and shouted: "Heretical incense of the outer path, how can it compare to the incense of my Fomen? The incense of my Fomen contains the power of vows; it answers all prayers when offered to ghosts and gods, and can even bolster the power of Buddhist Dharma!"

In the minds of ordinary cultivators, incense is formless and intangible—something mortals use to offer to gods and Buddhas. Unless they belonged to a sect that practiced by borrowing the power of deities, how could they imagine that incense had such marvelous uses?

Disciples of the Heaven Curse Sect had just arrived at the Flying Boat Xiancheng at this moment.

Someone had run into this lively scene the moment they entered the city. The Five-Ghost Curse Spirits he cultivated were all restless, extremely covetous of that stick of incense the tall, thin monk was using to bolster his Buddhist Dharma.

"Qingfu Incense!" he exclaimed in a low voice: "The Fomen is truly opulent. I heard that Martial Nephew Jia Liuzi was only able to receive the Xie Xie Zushi's bestowed Dharma and cultivate the Heavenly Soldier Great Curse because he offered three sticks of Qingfu Incense to the Xie Xie Zushi! To think these Buddhist people would casually take out a stick just to compete with others?"

He immediately disregarded that his own sect was a Divine Path lineage where all disciples dressed in Daoist robes, and shouted loudly: "I am willing to offer fifty Three-Mountain Talismans; can you sell this incense to me?"

The Jin Gang Dharma body of the tall, thin monk pressed its palms together, let out an angry roar with glaring eyes, and swept toward Xiao Yu's stall.

Da Ge pressed one hand onto the stall, a faint yellow light shrouding the small stand, keeping it immovable. He turned back to Xiao Yu and said: "Xiao Yu, hit him!"

The old Daoist with the goat-like beard also stroked his beard and nodded: "Xiao Yu, there is no use in swallowing your pride anymore! Fight him!"

Xiao Yu took a deep breath, raised his hand, and lit a stick of Cloud-Rising Incense. Wisps of cloud-like smoke rose from the tip of the incense, transforming into a cloud head nine feet above the ground.

The fragrance condensed without dispersing, actually forming an auspicious cloud half an acre in size, the size of a cloud bed, naturally unfurling!

Xiao Yu stepped onto the cloud head in one stride, standing steadily on the cloud without using any magic power or spells, then sat down cross-legged.

The fragrance unfurled before him, and as his spirit shrouded itself within the Cloud-Rising Incense, a line of clear light gradually permeated his body. The cloud vapor beneath him also rose naturally, as if he were an immortal riding the clouds!

The surrounding crowd saw this scene and all remarked that although this Cloud-Rising Incense was not as good as what the monk used, it was still a type of spirit incense that could carry people upon clouds, clear the mind, and assist in cultivation!

This competition was not about whose incense was better, but about the Fomen slandering these three rogue cultivators for selling useless, inferior incense.

At this time, some cultivators stepped forward to ask and discovered that although the Cloud-Rising Incense was not cheap, its price was nearly twenty times less than the Qingfu Incense used by the Buddhist disciples. This was the principle of getting what you pay for.

It was not that they were selling inferior incense...

The tall, thin monk saw more and more people gathering, and since the other side really did have some ability and the spirit incense they refined actually had some merit, he became extremely anxious.

He had not discerned the situation clearly before going up to overturn their stall. Now that the spirit incense on the other side was not bad, if he provoked a dispute and earned the Fomen a reputation for being arrogant and domineering, he would inevitably face punishment from his sect.

He immediately hardened his heart, and the Jin Gang Dharma body glared: "Heretical incense of outer paths only confuses people's hearts with appearances. Your soul-bewitching incense can only perform some illusions; how can it truly protect the spirit?"

The Jin Gang Dharma body roared with glaring eyes, having actually unleashed the Lion's Roar!

Rolling sound waves swept toward Xiao Yu, causing the jade bricks on the ground to vibrate. A sound wave containing the power to break Dharma surged toward Xiao Yu, who was in meditation, intending to scatter the fragrance and make him fall.

The old Daoist beside him saw the monk acting so recklessly and became even angrier!

For a cultivator, entering meditation to cultivate the spirit is a matter of the utmost importance and is extremely fragile. Sometimes, even a gust of yin wind can invite outer demons and stir up inner demons.

This causes the cultivator to be attacked by both inner and outer demons, with the risk of the spirit collapsing.

Contemplation and meditation to cultivate the spirit is a life-or-death matter where one could easily lose their soul. The tall, thin monk unleashing a Jin Gang Lion's Roar containing a spiritual attack simply did not care about Xiao Yu's life at all.

If it were an ordinary cultivator, the Cloud-Rising Incense would likely have scattered under this blow; being able to protect the cultivator's spirit so they could return to their body and wake up would already be the limit.

But Xiao Yu was an incense cultivator. This Jin Gang roar stirred up an illusion like a lion pouncing toward Xiao Yu. Before it could even enter his ears, the rolling cloud vapor surged, releasing countless fragrances that rolled backward to block the Lion's Roar!

Xiao Yu, sitting cross-legged on the cloud, did not even move a corner of his robe...

The surging cloud vapor outlined the head of a roaring lion, manifesting this bit of magic power. The surrounding cultivators were all shocked.

Someone said: "The Buddhist Lion's Roar!"

"This Jin Gang's roar actually contained the Buddhist Lion's Roar divine ability. Not to mention sitting in meditation, even if one were fully on guard, being hit by this would cause severe damage to the spirit and shake the soul. Even vengeful ghosts and fierce spirits would be blasted away! To think the Fomen would use it to ambush a rogue cultivator who was merely demonstrating how incense can calm the mind and protect the soul!"

"That is too shameless!"

"The Lion's Roar is for subduing demons and monsters; it is the Great Majesty and Wrath of the Fomen, yet it is being used for sneak attacks and underhanded schemes. It has disgraced the Fomen!" an old cultivator couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

Other cultivators had a peculiar perspective: "To think this Cloud-Rising Incense can protect the spirit and withstand a blow from the Lion's Roar. It is simply a supreme spirit incense with immense utility!"

"If you use a stick when cultivating critical spells, you won't have to worry about the disturbance of yin demons or outer demons!"

"When we cultivators are breaking through barriers, illusions often arise. If one's temperament is even slightly unstable, there is a risk of the cauldron overturning and the pill flying away! Seen in this light, the Cloud-Rising Incense is not only not inferior to the Qingfu Incense, but perhaps even superior!"

Xiao Yu sat cross-legged on the cloud for a moment before opening his eyes and slowly descending. Everyone saw that only one-third of the Cloud-Rising Incense had been used.

Thus, they surged forward, waving Three-Mountain Talismans to scramble for it. Da Ge was busy collecting money and selling incense, and the old Daoist also stepped forward to help. The Penetrating the Law cultivator from the Heaven Curse Sect was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly squeezed in to scramble for it too!

"Give me three sticks... so cheap? I want thirty sticks, no, fifty!"

The Jin Gang Dharma body behind the tall, thin monk dissipated. Finally, a light sound like shattering glass was heard, and the illusory Jin Gang Dharma body shattered into pieces...

A spell he had painstakingly refined was actually ruined just like that!

"The Jin Gang Dharma body is formed from the Jin Gang Heart! Yan Yan Shixiong, your Jin Gang Heart is broken, so the Dharma body is also..." The thick, black-skinned monk sat cross-legged behind the tall, thin monk, bowing his head in pity: "Moreover, Yan Yan Shixiong, if you cannot stabilize your Zen Heart in time, I fear your cultivation realm will also regress!"

The tall, thin monk said in a dry voice: "Qian Shidi, go quickly and invite..."

"Namo Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra!"

A Buddhist chant rang out. An old monk walked out from the incense shop, pressed his palms together, and said to Xiao Yu: "Benefactor's incense path truly has its own marvelous qualities. When I saw the incense ingredients Benefactor grabbed in the shop, I knew your heritage was extraordinary! Outside the Fomen, there are naturally superior incense path heritages, but I do not know which sect Benefactor's heritage comes from?"

Xiao Yu nodded slightly and said: "I am a non-registered disciple under True Person Qian of the Louguan Dao! The incense path was also passed down by the True Person..."

The old monk sighed helplessly: "The Louguan Dao is the orthodox Daoist sect, directly transmitted by the Dao Xie Xie Zushi. It is indeed formidable. Although I heard their lineage suffered a calamity, I did not expect there to still be descendants outside!"

"Benefactor's Cloud-Rising Incense is extremely marvelous, but for the sake of the Fomen's reputation, I am compelled to compare notes with Benefactor!"

Xiao Yu smiled: "I do not practice the Fomen, so why call me Benefactor!"

"However, I am also willing to witness the senior's Buddhist incense path!"