Longzang

Chapter 273 Another Three Years Saved!

On the way back to the realm, Wei Yuan acted as if nothing had happened, calmly recounting his experience in the Arhat Pure Land and showing off the red lotus Bodhi.

"This is a precious treasure before the Buddha, with the wondrous power to clear karma. It becomes more and more useful as you progress. However, you must learn some secret techniques of karma to prevent the karma you don't want to let go of from being cleared away," Ji Liuli reminded him.

Zhang Sheng also said, "That 'Red Lotus Universal Salvation Mantra' is also a kind of karmic secret technique, but it's only from the Buddhist side. You still need to learn some of my Taoist secret methods to balance it out."

Apart from that, Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli didn't say much, and Wei Yuan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down a little.

Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli both held the Red Lotus Bodhi in high regard, yet there was an underlying air of aloofness, as if it were nothing more than fleeting clouds. For them, with future advancements in cultivation, they could acquire any kind of celestial treasure. If they could ascend to immortality, they could even transform everyday objects into celestial treasures—the saying "when one attains enlightenment, even one's chickens and dogs ascend to heaven" originates from this.

However, there are still slight differences between the two. Ji Liuli doesn't care because she already has immortal artifacts of the same level, and she can have more if she wants. After all, while it's hard to say about Yan Shi Zhenjun's Dao power, his wealth ranks firmly among the top two in Tai Chu Palace, and he can rival the Abbot of Zao Hua Guan.

Zhang Sheng's indifference stemmed simply from the fact that this matter was too far removed from his own life, just as a humble family wouldn't care about the price of a grand mansion with its high eaves and red doors.

The journey was safe and sound, and we finally returned to the realm, out of the sight of our teacher and senior sister.

Back in his room, Wei Yuan focused his mind on his own consciousness, appearing on the vast landscape of Wanli River and Mountains. He reached out and saw that the red lotus bodhi was indeed lying perfectly intact in his palm.

"Indeed a divine object..." Wei Yuan thought to himself. Divine objects possess spirits, and many can freely switch between reality and illusion, such as the laurel tree, and this red lotus bodhi is no exception.

As the Crimson Lotus Bodhi entered the vast land, the Laurel Immortal Tree suddenly trembled. A sword aura flew over, glanced at it, and then withdrew. The entire tree then quieted down considerably, its arrogance subtly diminishing.

Wei Yuan suddenly felt a sense of unease and wandered aimlessly until he reached a certain place that he felt was the place to plant the Bodhi tree. He looked up and saw that the distance between this place and Jade Mountain was exactly thirty-three zhang, three chi, and three cun.

Wei Yuan placed the Bodhi seed on the ground, and it sank into the soil on its own, eventually settling three feet and three inches underground.

The number three seems to be particularly meaningful for Red Lotus Bodhi.
After planting the Bodhi seed, Wei Yuan planned to leave. Normally, the more divine and precious the plant, the longer it takes to grow; look at that Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower—it still hasn't sprouted. For a divine plant like the Red Lotus Bodhi, it's quite normal for it to take three to five years to sprout after being buried.

But at that moment, Wei Yuan suddenly felt an invisible and intangible force appear, drawing something away from him.

Wei Yuan stopped in surprise. The invisible force was still continuously drawing something from him. What it was drawing was very thin, but dark, viscous, and carried a damp and murderous aura.

A realization dawned on Wei Yuan's mind: this seemed to be a karmic connection between him and the humans. Some of them he had killed, and others had died because of his orders, such as the people who inevitably died by the roadside during the migration from Quliu Town to the realm.

Although the resentment wasn't much, and it was constantly countered by the auspicious energy of the Azure Qi, some deep-seated resentment still settled on Wei Yuan. This resentment was very small, usually imperceptible, but over time, as it accumulated, the consequences gradually became apparent. This is one of the reasons why great generals who fought for years in ancient times often met violent ends.

The resentment emanating from Wei Yuan was absorbed and deposited three feet and three inches underground. In addition, some floating black mist appeared around him and was also sucked into the ground. Wei Yuan usually couldn't see this mist, but now it was all visible.

The red lotus bodhi seed underground continuously absorbed resentment and karma, gradually swelling until a crack appeared on its surface, revealing the translucent white flesh inside. A tender bud emerged from the flesh, growing segment by segment.

The moment it broke through the soil, a burst of spiritual energy erupted forth!

The spiritual energy was so dense that it was almost tangible. In Wei Yuan's eyes, it was like a fountain under the sunlight, dazzling and radiant, accompanied by rainbows.

This burst of spiritual energy lasted for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before gradually ceasing. This single burst saved Wei Yuan three years of arduous work. Wei Yuan was overjoyed, finding the tiny, bean-sized sprout incredibly pleasing to the eye. Truly, it was a Bodhi tree before the Buddha, incomparable to any wild immortal plant!

Just as he was satisfied and preparing to leave, a sudden gust of wind arose around him.

Within 333 feet, countless floating black energies appeared and were absorbed, causing the tender buds to grow taller and taller, sprouting branches and leaves, and in the blink of an eye, another wave of spiritual energy surged forth.

"This saves me three more years of arduous training!" Wei Yuan thought to himself with great satisfaction.

After this surge of spiritual energy, the Bodhi tree rested for a moment, then suddenly its branches and leaves swayed, and it began to absorb the karmic resentment within a range of 333 feet above and below.

Wei Yuan had learned patience, and after a moment, he witnessed a surge of spiritual energy, saving him three more years of arduous cultivation.

But the Bodhi tree was not yet satisfied, and finally began to draw out a small amount of floating karma from Jade Mountain. This karma consisted of what remained after the beings of the Witch Clan had been dissolved into the Black Pool, and the Bodhi tree swept it all out.

Since Wei Yuan took control of Qingming, he has killed more than 100,000 members of the Wu Clan. What a huge karmic debt! Although most of them were absorbed by the Black Pool, and the Bodhi Tree only absorbed a small portion of the remaining parts, it continued to grow. Finally, the spiritual energy surged out like a whale emerging from the water, saving Wei Yuan six years of hard work in one go!

Only then did the Bodhi Tree calm down and prepare to grow quietly. At this moment, it was already a small tree, three feet and three inches tall, not much shorter than the laurel tree next door.

Suddenly, the ground trembled, and a tender bud with a deep, dark color broke through the soil. In the blink of an eye, it sprouted two new branches and grew to about a foot tall.

Edo Tensei Longkui!

It finally sprouted; if it hadn't, Wei Yuan was going to dig it up to check. If it really couldn't sprout, he could still make soup.

This black-earth dragon nightshade truly lived up to Wei Yuan's immense investment of his fortune. Upon emerging from the ground, it immediately contributed the equivalent of a month's worth of spiritual energy from arduous cultivation, and then continuously emitted wisps of spiritual energy, visible to the naked eye.

The red jade lantern was overjoyed and immediately swam over, coiling itself around the impure dragon sunflower. At this moment, the impure dragon sunflower was still too small, and it seemed that it wanted to wait until it grew a little bigger before climbing on it.

The laurel and nightshade not far away have also grown taller, now reaching two feet.

Wei Yuan then discovered that all the spiritual plants within 333 zhang of the Bodhi tree had grown taller, while those outside of it remained unchanged.

The most obvious example is the piece of wood spirit ginseng, which is exactly half inside the circle and half outside. The part inside the circle has grown an inch taller, while the part outside remains unchanged. For a spiritual plant like wood spirit ginseng, an inch means decades of growth.

Thus, the Red Lotus Bodhi, along with its various other effects, saved Wei Yuan more than fifteen years of arduous cultivation. Wei Yuan now estimates that he only needs about a year to successfully solidify his foundation. This progress barely catches up with the average level of the Primordial Palace.

But happiness is always fleeting. Once he left the vast land, Wei Yuan had to face reality again.

He had someone summon Cui Yu and said, "I need information about the Western Jin royal family, especially who the crown prince is, which princes there are, and what their backgrounds are. The more detailed the information, the better."

Cui Yu found it rather strange and subconsciously asked, "Are you planning to participate in the struggle for the throne?"

(End of this chapter)