There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 304 Using People as Mines
A vast void unfolded before Chen Qing's divine sense!
Looking out, countless fine, twisting golden pipes crisscross, like the veins of a prehistoric beast, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Inside the pipes flowed a golden "liquid" that shimmered with specks of wish power.

Chen Qing focused his divine sense and, after a brief examination, discerned the essence of the liquid—

The most concentrated power of incense and prayer!
The slurry flowed, emitting a low hum.

"That bronze wine vessel is now connected to such a place? Is it somewhere in the mortal realm, or some secret realm, or perhaps like the ruins of gods and demons, located in the void beyond the heavens?"

Chen Qing looked even higher and saw that above the golden pipe, in the void, countless pure white lotus platforms floated, layer upon layer, densely packed, and innumerable.

On each lotus platform sat a blurry, serene, even intoxicated, soul figure.

Their eyes were slightly closed, as if they were immersed in a sublime state, their bodies enveloped in a faint Buddhist light, and their faces radiated contentment and tranquility.

However, when Chen Qing focused his attention and observed closely, he discovered that wisps of energy were being slowly drawn from the Baihui acupoint on the top of the heads of these soul shadows, and even from the pores all over their bodies, flowing into those crisscrossing golden channels and becoming part of the incense liquid.

This scene sent chills down his spine; he felt an indescribable eeriness about it!

"Could this be a projection of the soul of a Buddhist believer in the human world? Judging from the way it's doing it, it's frantically sucking up the incense offerings from believers, it's almost become a systematic practice!"

suddenly!

Chen Qing's divine sense trembled, and the Daoist and Buddhist aura within his divine sense surged!
From all directions, streams of incense and golden light gathered, enveloping his divine sense and transforming it into a half-formed, solemn Buddha image. Then, supported by a great force, it slowly rose up!
He rose up from the layers of golden pipes, passing over the soul figures sitting on lotus platforms, and soared straight to the sky!

"This is?"

Chen Qing was puzzled, but suddenly he felt something. He looked around and saw several huge, majestic Buddha figures sitting in the depths of the sky.

They shone with radiant light, as if they were the center of the world.

Countless thick golden pipes eventually converge on these Buddha phantoms, and the vast and powerful incense offerings and vows are silently absorbed by them.

Occasionally, extremely subtle golden light would emanate from the Buddha's phantom and flow down through the channels into the bodies of certain lotus platform spirits, causing those spirits to glow slightly and their faces to show even more intoxication.

The chanting of Buddhist scriptures filled the air, and the fragrance of sandalwood wafted through the air.

Chen Qing felt increasingly disheartened as he looked at the scene, and he vaguely guessed what was going on.

"These people are probably high-ranking members of the Buddhist sect in the human world. They live behind the scenes, in this mysterious realm, yet they receive offerings from believers all over the world! In that case, this place is probably the most secretive and fundamental place of Buddhism, which I have inadvertently discovered!"

He immediately realized that this was no place to stay any longer!
But just as his mind raced, and he was about to gather his strength and retreat...

"Ok?"

A soft exclamation came from the heavens.

Chen Qing was startled and looked up abruptly!

He saw that the nearest towering Buddha phantom was slowly turning its mountain-like head, and two eyes containing immeasurable wisdom, seemingly able to see through the past and future, pierced through layers of void, carrying a powerful will, and landed on him, this half-body Buddha temporarily sculpted by the power of incense and vows!

"boom!"

In an instant, Chen Qing felt as if all his pretense had been stripped away, leaving him naked and exposed to this grand will!

The pressure contained in that gaze far surpassed that of any Nascent Soul cultivator he had ever seen before!

"This is... a Buddhist Dharma Aspect cultivator? If that's the case, could this be a paradise on earth where a Buddhist Dharma Aspect cultivator resides? Oh no!"

Having guessed a key point, Chen Qing urged himself urgently, determined to sever the connection and withdraw his divine sense at all costs!

However, at this moment, deep within his mind, the Buddhist aura originating from half a Dao Fruit seemed to be stimulated by an external will and suddenly trembled!
"Om-"

The aura of annihilation rippled out from Chen Qing's divine sense, transforming into a circle of ripples that blocked the gaze of the Buddha's illusory figure!

"Eh?" The Buddha's phantom let out another soft exclamation. The probing intent in its eyes subsided slightly, replaced by a look of realization. Then, it let out a grand laugh that shook the surrounding void, causing ripples!

"So you are a reincarnated fellow practitioner! Judging from the protective Buddhist aura you possess, your rank in your previous life must have been extremely high! Now that you have been reincarnated, your Dharma form has not yet been fully formed, but you are able to reach my Pure Lotus Realm simply by relying on your rank and instincts! Excellent, excellent!"

"Ok?"

Chen Qing's heart stirred, and his divine sense, which had originally intended to retreat, temporarily stabilized.

Judging from this, it seems that the aura of that Dao fruit led people to mistake me for the reincarnation of a great Buddhist master.
Based on his experience of playing dream characters in previous lives, he quickly judged that with the level of understanding and perspective of such beings, it was unlikely that they would be acting in front of a "junior" like himself. This misjudgment might actually be true.

So, relying on his past experience, he immediately acted accordingly, controlling the half-bodied Buddha and transmitting his thoughts through divine sense: "I was invited to participate in the Treasure Gathering. While sensing the treasure, I had an epiphany, and somehow my divine sense came here. This place is..."

His words were seven parts truth and three parts falsehood. He vaguely mentioned his origins, yet he was not afraid of others investigating and verifying them.

Upon hearing this, the illusory Buddha said, "So that's how it is. Is the Dharma assembly you mentioned the one at Kuchan Temple? I've also heard a little about it. The so-called extraordinary treasure is a magical artifact originating from the Central Plains and refined by us. Although it has some supernatural properties, the fact that you were able to sense it and reach the core of this place with your divine sense shows that you have a profound Buddha-nature and a deep affinity with our Buddhist Dharma!"

After a pause, His gaze swept over Chen Qing's half-solid, half-illusory Buddha image again, and He exclaimed in admiration, "I observe that your foundation is difficult to penetrate. I only feel that a magnificent Buddha image sits in your heart, unfathomable! This is an omen of being a great Buddhist master in your past life, leaving behind the imprint of the highest Buddhist teachings! It means that you must have been an extraordinary person in your past life. In this life, you are embarking on the path of cultivation again, surely for the sake of perfecting the Dharma and reaching new heights!"

Chen Qing seized the opportunity to press further: "Since you know about that extraordinary treasure, do you know its specific origins? When I sensed it, I felt that its aura was ancient and quite strange."

The Buddha's illusory figure had no doubts. At His level, there was no need to feign anything in such a "trivial matter." He said directly, "This item was originally a treasure of a Qingqiu celestial fox. Later, for some unknown reason, the celestial fox disappeared. This treasure changed hands several times and ended up in the hands of us monks. Because of its special material and the space it contains, it is quite suitable for various uses, so it was refined into a vessel to hold a portal."

"Qingqiu Celestial Fox?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing's heart was stirred. Just as he was about to inquire further about the connection between the celestial fox and the bronze jue, the illusory Buddha seemed to sense something and interrupted his thoughts: "The time is approaching, fellow Daoist. Although your Buddhist nature is profound and you can use an untamed Central Plains magic treasure as a guide to send your divine sense directly here, that object is not a pure Buddhist treasure and cannot be maintained for long! The most urgent task is to take this opportunity to gather more pure incense and vow power! This will be enough to help you refine your Dao foundation, accelerate your cultivation, and awaken your past life's wisdom more quickly!"

Chen Qing composed himself and followed the other's lead, asking for their advice.

The illusory Buddha then said meaningfully, "Today, the spiritual energy of the earth is declining day by day, and the spiritual veins are gradually drying up. The path of cultivation that relied on spiritual marrow and spiritual veins in the past is becoming increasingly narrow. So why can we, the monks, still advance bravely and diligently in this apocalyptic world? It is because we realized early on that the greatest treasure in the world is people! Using the beliefs of all beings as fuel, we can ignite the lamp of our Dharma! Fellow Daoist, as a reincarnated virtuous person, you should understand this key point even more. In the future, you should gather more believers and accumulate the power of vows. This will not only help you reach the other shore sooner, but also enhance the prestige of our monks and promote our supreme Dharma!"

Having said that, He raised his hand and gestured vaguely.
"Crash-"

From all directions, the golden incense and prayer power surged within the crisscrossing pipes, converging towards Chen Qing's half-Buddha image!

Chen Qing had no time to react; he only felt his divine sense rapidly expanding and solidifying as if being inflated!
The Buddha's image, which had previously appeared somewhat illusory, instantly became radiant with golden light, exuding a majestic and dignified aura, as if cast from gold! Furthermore, countless intricate Buddhist characters naturally emerged and flowed on the surface of the Buddha's image!
Its spiritual power increased steadily, and in the blink of an eye, the total amount of intent contained within it seemed to exceed the limit that Chen Qiu's Purple Mansion could bear!

The Buddha's light shines everywhere, and the chanting of sutras is perfectly natural!
A strange authority to govern all living beings and to guide all spirits began to grow in his heart, as if he could use it to develop all sorts of incredible Buddhist supernatural powers if he wanted to!
Even Chen Qing was captivated by this sudden enhancement, his mind wavering!
However, right now!

"Buzz!"

The surrounding void trembled!
A strong sense of rejection and separation descended, trying to push this foreign divine thought out of the Pure Lotus Wonderland!
"not good!"

Chen Qing felt a chill and immediately realized that the bronze jue, as a "gateway," had reached its limit and could no longer sustain his divine sense here!

As soon as he regained consciousness, he realized that he had been misled by the strength of the divine power. Now that he had come to his senses, he suddenly realized that although the vast incense and vow power that had flooded into his divine power had brought about a surge in strength, the distracting thoughts, prayers, and obsessions of sentient beings contained within it had also clung to him like a malignant sore!
Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, greed, hatred, delusion...

A jumble of chaotic thoughts, like a boiling oil pan, assaulted his mind!

If left unattended, once these chaotic thoughts return to the body, they will immediately pollute the Purple Mansion and impact the Dao Heart. At best, the soul will be injured, thoughts will no longer be pure, and the path of cultivation will be cut off; at worst, these myriad distracting thoughts may turn the tables, causing the mind to lose control, or even leading to demonic possession!
"A clever scheme!" Chen Qing saw through the true intention of the Buddha's phantom. "On the surface, it's helping me gather incense and strengthen my divine will, but in reality, it's forcing me to seek Buddhist secrets to refine these impure thoughts! Otherwise, I'll be destroying my own defenses! This is an open conspiracy! I wonder if it has seen through my words! But such beings truly cannot be judged by ordinary standards..."

In the blink of an eye, he had no time to spare!

"Whoosh-"

Its divine sense had been forcibly extracted from that golden space and returned to its original body, the Purple Mansion, along the path it had come from!
Just then, the divine thought, containing a vast amount of complex and chaotic willpower, shining with golden light yet internally chaotic, was about to rush into the Purple Palace like a flood bursting its banks, merging with its own origin...

At the critical moment!
Chen Qing had a number of ideas in mind, but at the last moment, he visualized himself in his Purple Mansion, his will condensed like a knife, and rushed towards the surging divine thoughts that were returning!

The Method of Severing Evil and Transforming into a Beautiful Scene!
"cut!"

(End of this chapter)