Taiyi Dao Fruit

Liangzhou and Yong Province were separated only by the Daxing Mountain Range, but since both provinces were major regions in the north, it took Jiang Li and the others some time to enter the territory of Yong Province.

But once there, they saw the Buddha Light shining intensely, the Arhats clearing the way, auspicious clouds gathering and auspicious qi filling the sky. Majestically passing over the Daxing Mountain Range, they flew directly into Yong Province. The grandeur of it all truly resembled a procession of Buddha Country Bodhisattvas traveling, visible from tens of miles away.

After entering Yong Province, the Buddha Light became even more dazzling, as if a cluster of light bulbs were hanging in the sky, flying as if fearing that no one would see them.

Yet one must admit, it did have an impressive style.

Such a presence made anyone who saw it exclaim what a dignitary it was.

It indeed spared them some unnecessary harassment along the way.

Since the chaos in Liangzhou, Yong Province had once again become restless. Being a land prone to rebel activities, how could it not meddle in the current chaos? Along the way, Jiang Li sensed more than ten malign qi presences.

Compared to Liangzhou, which experienced water catastrophes, soldier disasters, and the court and Taiping Sect at odds, Yong Province was indeed more chaotic; all sorts of ghostly and monstrous deities had appeared.

However, these spirits and monsters clearly couldn't make a significant appearance; facing nine great figures of Buddha Country, they cowered and even feared to approach.

"It seems that Buddha Country has indeed established its renown in Yong Province."

After noticing a fifth-rank qi rapid withdrawal, Jiang Li further realized the chaos in Yong Province and confirmed the actions of Buddha Country there.

Fifth-ranking wasn't just something commonplace; once, the Jiang Family of Qi Mountain was domineering just because they had a fifth-ranker, and Jiang's ancestral land was also temporarily safe because of having one. While not necessarily rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, fifth-rankers were definitely not abundant; looking across the world, there were only about a thousand or so, even fewer when spread across various regions.

Meeting a fifth-ranker on the road now, who knew when chaos could erupt?

As for the matter of establishing renown by Buddha Country, naturally, it was because the fifth-ranker had sensed the individuals from Buddha Country and had decided to avoid confrontation. He might not even realize there were nine fifth-rank Buddhist Practitioners here; seeing only the grand display of Buddha Lights in the sky, he chose to steer clear.

For a fifth-ranker to be so timid, it surely meant that Buddha Country had taken early actions in Yong Province and established enough influence.

It seems that while the Taiping Sect was causing trouble, Buddha Country was also not being idle.

"Yaoguang Elder is joking. We Buddhists practice compassion and only wish to enlighten others, not to cultivate fame," replied Tota Arhat indifferently to Jiang Li's probing words.

"Compassion?"

Yin Tulong, seated comfortably on the broad back of Dragon Whisker Tiger, snorted with laughter, "Believe you monks have compassion, I'd rather trust Daoist Yaoguang for treating people with sincerity—at least his sincerity doesn't involve outright lies."

I really do thank you for your trust.

Jiang Li's face stiffened slightly, never expecting Yin Tulong's words to sting both allies and foes alike.

Tota Arhat kept a stoic face, evidently his Buddhist cultivation was thorough, or perhaps he was just used to being mocked. Simply mocking him through words was not enough to sway these Arhats; it required a tough guy like a particular sincere affiliated son-in-law getting serious.

'It seems Buddha Country plans to use the Taiping Sect as a target for stirring up troubled waters.'

Jiang Li pondered internally, 'However, with the Taiping Sect's three forces, the middle route failed, the left route was repelled, which made Yun Jiuye's efforts successful; only the right route remains, heading towards the Daxing Mountain Range, perhaps having intended to venture into Yong Province early. Given the current situation, the Taiping Sect indeed seems to mean to diverge.'

His idea grew firmer with the observations Jiang Li made on the way. Even though it was just a brief glimpse from high above, without conducting personal investigations, with Jiang Li's current mastery in Qi Observation Skill, judging the situation based on various qi in different areas was still feasible.

The Taiping Sect indeed had actions in Yong Province and had already clashed with people from Buddha Country.

Meanwhile, Tota Arhat kept a calm façade, internally observing Jiang Li and the others.

He also possessed the Divine Skill of Telepathy, stemming from the Dao Fruit, more concealed, though his specific abilities were inferior to those of White Lotus Saint Mother; he could not detect the specific thoughts of everyone present. Even Gongsun Qingyue at sixth grade, with the Wordless Heavenly Scripture by her side, had thoughts not detectable by such divine skills.

But he nonetheless could gauge moods and attitudes from this.

Tota Arhat could be certain that during this period, Jiang Li had discerned quite a bit.

'This man truly is an abnormal genius; no wonder even Manjusri Bodhisattva holds such extraordinary wariness towards him.'

Tota Arhat recalled Manjusri's admonitions, feeling a chilling awe inside.

Thus, the two factions traveled together, each harboring their own thoughts but united by grand aspirations, heading towards the west of Yong Province.

Due to entering Yong Province directly from Liangzhou, Jiang Li could not conveniently visit Jiang's ancestral land, but their journey allowed them to pass a place that was quite nostalgic—Five-Finger Mountain.

The mountain transformed from the Six-character Great Brightness Mantra scroll that Buddhist Zhen Ru once gave to Jiang Li, suppressing the corporeal form of Heluo God—Giant Snake Baqi. If Jiang Li were willing to take a slight detour, they could pass through this familiar territory again.

'No, no need for a detour...'

Jiang Li watched the changing scenes along the way, thinking to himself.

These Arhat protectors, leading the way and guiding, had subtly veered off the intended path without anyone noticing, making it completely achievable.

Just as now, they had voluntarily shifted towards a certain direction; as they continued flying, a towering and bizarre mountain entered everyone's view.

The five peaks were of different heights, and shaped like the palm of a hand, with five fingers upstretched. At the center peak, there appeared a faint golden inscription, barely visible, which was precisely the Five-Finger Mountain that suppressed the Giant Snake Baqi.

"The route has deviated," Gongsun Qingyue said upon seeing the mountain, recalling the scene of that day.

"It hasn't deviated, monk meant to lead everyone here precisely," Tota Arhat said with a smile.

"Indeed, to show everyone the grandiose scene of our Buddha Land."

Happy Arhat next to him also had a smile on his face.

They were not at all afraid of Jiang Li and others turning hostile; in fact, one could say it would be good if Jiang Li became hostile.

"Is a Lo Han of the mighty Buddha Land really so petty?"

Jiang Li saw the smile on these Lohans' faces and spoke with a mocking tone.

The Arhats, upon hearing this, smiled even more broadly, clearly happy to see this enemy, who treated others with sincerity and expected nothing in return, lose their composure.

However, in the next instant, Jiang Li suddenly changed his words and said, "I think not. Although your understanding of Buddhist Law and mental state is mediocre, using these sneaky tricks really demeans you. I personally think, your pettiness is fake, and you actually have another purpose. What could it be?"

Light flickered in his left eye, each pulse a transformation of human hearts, making Tota Arhat's smile gradually stiffen.

Clearly, he was supposed to be the one with telepathy; yet now, it seemed like Tota Arhat was the one whose thoughts were laid bare.

"And furthermore, do you know that this Five-Finger Mountain is actually brought here by me? Initially, a Buddhist Zhen Ru handed a scroll of the Six-character Great Bright Mantra to me. This scroll suddenly soared into the sky when the Giant Snake Baqi rampaged, transforming into a great mountain that suppressed the snake..."

Jiang Li looked at the Lohans and said lightly, "It seems you are unaware."

Truly seen through.

A major change finally appeared on Tota Arhat's face.

"You don't know my connection with the Five-Finger Mountain. A pity, if you had known and still brought me here, maybe it would have been to test that Buddhist Zhen Ru; not knowing only means that Zhen Ru did not inform you about this."

Jiang Li continued, causing the Lohans to waver in their mental state, "But this also signifies that the Buddha Land is not as unified as it seems, even Zhen Ru isn't wholeheartedly with you. Truly interesting."

Being a chief of the Buddha Land, yet not sharing intents with those Lohans tasked with spreading Buddhist Law, what could be more intriguing than this?

Their dawning upset confirmed Jiang Li's insight without their acknowledgment.

Then, since they did not know of Jiang Li's connection with the Five-Finger Mountain, why deliberately lead here?

And the one who made them do this…

"Manjusri perhaps? It seems I unexpectedly stumbled upon a taboo of this third-grade figure, causing him to take a risk of backlash from his grand vow."

The frequency of light shining in Jiang Li's eyes increased, the Great Grandmaster's wisdom grasping the key point.

"Little brother, shall we leave directly?" Gongsun Qingyue asked.

Since he had discovered their malicious intentions, departing was the best option, and they wouldn't dare to intercept them outright.

"No need. Manjusri Bodhisattva probably doesn't really intend to risk our lives, and he had probably anticipated that we might leave directly. So the moment we arrived here, his purpose was likely already fulfilled."

As these words escaped Jiang Li's lips, Tota Arhat's heart was thrown into turmoil, as he indeed was acting under Manjusri's orders.

Jiang Li, however, was reading minds, confirming his suspicions.

—He had indeed unintentionally touched upon a taboo of Manjusri.

At the same time, a melodious flute sound suddenly rose, wafting with the wind, the ground throbbing; in front of the Five Finger Mountain, the ground rose abruptly. An area within a radius of thirty feet surged upward, quickly reaching the same height as the peaks of the Five Finger Mountain.

The melodious flute sound was coming from that thirty-foot-high ground.

There stood a man in a black robe with his right arm bare, with long black hair. He wore golden hollowed protective bracelets and held a stone flute, blowing a melodious tune. With striking features and an exotic appearance differencing him from the people of Nine Provinces, a red mark was in the center of his forehead, flashing faintly.

The sudden rising of an odd peak brought a rumbling sound. As he played the stone flute, the tune was melodious.

The two different sounds simultaneously arose without contravening each other, clear and distinct, mingling into an extremely contradictory sense of sound that relaxed and burdened the mind. Sensations alternated, stirred minds, and almost split the soul.

"Buddha Prison Karma Imprint."

Jiang Li's gaze settled on the mark on his forehead.

"Asura King," Yin Tulong said, listening to the flute sound, eyes revealing an imposing look.

The Buddha Prison Karma Imprint was a mark possessed only by high-ranks in the Fire House Buddha Hell.

And the Asura King was one of the earliest followers of Karma Tathagata, managing all the matters of Buddha Hell as one of the four Asura Kings.