"Karma without cause, the sea of suffering is boundless, only Nirvana can liberate."
"This treasure must be [Nirvana Golden Lotus]."
As the words fell, the Golden Lotus suddenly emitted a brilliant light, as if responding.
But clearly, the time was not right, and it remained closed.
Tao Qian did not mind and continued to look at the other treasures below.
With his perception, records continuously emerged, and Tao Qian's voice rose time after time:
"Those who drink from this spring suffer not from old age, sickness, or death, and will obtain an infinite life body, this treasure must be [Infinite Merit Spring]."
"Only when the six roots are pure can the six impurities not stain; this treasure must be [Six Roots Pure]."
"In the Saha World, everything is but suffering, those who consume this ointment can resolve the eight sufferings, this treasure must be [Rescue Suffering Golden Bowl]."
At this point, Tao Qian's exterior began to change greatly.
Originally, he appeared as a white-robed monk untainted by dust, but now he grasped the Nirvana Golden Lotus, with Merit Spring water flowing beneath his feet, the Qingjing Mirror hanging behind him, and he held the Rescue Suffering Golden Bowl in his palm... Even in the Cultivation World, not a Buddha's son from either the Great Freedom Temple or the Dharma Cakra Temple could match his grandeur.
Yet he was still not satisfied and reached out once more.
The last Buddha's Robe flew towards him, wrapping around his body as if it had been tailor-made, exceptionally fitting. Not only did it look fitting, but it also greatly enhanced his Buddha Nature, profound and infinite. The threads of this Kasaya were made from the skins of hundreds of Buddha Bird demons, and the relics, corals, and agates that hung from them were crafted from the unbroken bones of those Buddha Birds.
Yet all these were just appearances.
The true mystery of this Buddha's Robe was the Buddha Nature it contained from many Vajras, Arhats, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas, as well as the many fragmented Buddha Lineages and gates it encompassed.
Tao Qian perceived silently and directly said:
"This Buddha's Robe, melts Buddha Nature and Buddhist Law into one body, reverses Demon to Buddha, saving all beings from world's calamities."
"It should be called [Transcending Calamities Kasaya]."
As soon as it was named, the Kasaya immediately flashed with Buddha Light, as if responding.
At the same time, two more treasures on Tao Qian's body seemed to join the commotion.
The People Species Bag at his waist shed its dusty exterior in an instant, emitting Divine Light, the bag stirred as if it was about to unfurl, ready to encompass the myriad realms of the ten directions and billions of lives.
The Buddha Bird Relics within his body actively flew out, hovering above his head, and one hundred mighty Buddha Bird Protectors with exceptional Buddha Nature flew out, saluted in unison, and congratulated him.
...
This scene shocked both Yunrong and Yuan Gong.
But after observing, the thoughts that emerged in their hearts were different.
Yunrong looked at her husband, who resembled a True Buddha Son, and thought:
"Good brother, worthy of being the only True Inheritor of Duobao True Monarch, with such an outfit, not to mention pretending to be a Buddha's son from the South Sea, even pretending to be a Buddha's son from the Free Temple, I suppose no one would suspect, and even the Free Temple itself might doubt whether this child is the reincarnation of one of their own Buddhas."
Yuan Gong, after his astonishment, was both annoyed and schadenfreude:
"Well, no need to say more, this must be another trick by that old turtle Duobao, it seems it's not my Secret Demon Sect but those Buddhist bald thieves' doctrine he's really set his sights on."
"This lad doesn't even need to do much, just show off like this, and any great temple would be willing to take him as a Disciple."
"Goodness, Duobao sure knows how to play."
...
Compared to them, Tao Qian himself was not overly amazed.
He did look at himself with great satisfaction but quickly put away the treasures while muttering:
"These five treasures, for now, I'm afraid all must not be exposed to light."
"If they were still in the form of the Demon Buddha Evil Lotus, or the Six Dust Demon Mirror, taking them out in the provincial capital, the Three Arhats might not have any objections, considering it nourishing one's own Demon Buddha Son."
"But now, as they are, if I were to bring them out, I fear no matter what I say it would be useless and give away everything. Fine, from reversing Demon to Buddha, both master and disciple are spies, no doubt."
"Additionally, since these five treasures are still Artifact Embryos with no significant Power; aside from looking nice, they're not much use."
The last sentence was the true reason.
Don't be fooled by the eating life immortal children and forest evil spirits bragging about how great they were earlier.
The truth is, it's both right and wrong.
If these five Buddha treasures were in their mature state, their power would indeed be more formidable than the next.
But they are just beginning to form, merely artifact embryos, far from maturity.
Take, for example, the Infinite Merit Spring, at first touch it's said to offer life for tens of thousands of years.
The reality is: for mortals, if consumed in one gulp, on the surface it certainly could extend life by thousands or even tens of thousands of years, but the cost would be just as numerous, and the curse brought upon by it might just be the most terrifying one in this world, condemning one to never transcend in afterlife.
For cultivators, the extension of life would be less, and the cost as well, but there are only so few reductions, and most likely only existences at the level of the Buddha could endure it, yet at such a level, what need is there for a gulp of the Merit Spring?
The other four treasures are in a similar state.
After Tao Qian reversed them from demons to Buddha, their power diminished a bit more.
"They still serve many purposes, but cannot be compared to the Buddha bird relics and the people species bag."
"Nevertheless, this is still considered an incredible stroke of fortune; if I am willing to put in the effort to refine treasures and cultivate Buddha... Spending several decades or a century, truly establishing a Buddhist temple lineage, success is certain."
"Without realizing it, this has provided me with the foundation to establish a new Buddha lineage."
"Master must have predicted this, and was willing to risk losing an incarnation disguise to personally appear and put on a play with me, scheming against others."
"Of course, I see that Master was also enjoying it."
As Tao Qian was contemplating this and criticizing Duobao internally.
Suddenly, a powerful divine soul mana surged over, but quickly halted outside the floating city.
A rough laugh followed, echoing through the heavens.
"Is the Master Wu Gou who recently wiped out the Five Nasties Land of Qiantang in the floating city?"
"I've heard the Master came from the South Sea and never leaves a living person behind when killing, not a taint of blood, hence earning the Dharma name 'Without Blemish.'"
"If this is true, it's too wonderful, too coincidental."
"I am Gao Tianci, and I have a similar taste; in fighting with others, if I win, I must first grind away the enemy's soul and then turn their body into a pool of pus and blood, which I'll drink clean, ensuring to leave no traces."
"Upon hearing the Master's Dharma name, I knew we were kindred spirits; may I invite you to come out for a meeting, to discuss the profound and exchange insights?"
As this laughter erupted, a spot on the ground below suddenly burst forth with a blood light.
Just moments ago, it was extremely distant, yet in the blink of an eye, it appeared outside the sky-reaching floating pagoda.
Then a giant of a man emerged, over ten feet tall, with a face full of blood-red beards, fierce crimson eyes, pale blue lips, and unevenly arrayed tusks, more ferocious than any fierce ghost.
He held two treasures in his hands, a pitch-black demon banner surrounded by thousands of souls, and a demon blade that dripped endlessly with pus and blood as if it would never stop.
But even more terrifying was the mount beneath this man.
That beast?
No, it could no longer be called a beast.
It was a remarkably strange giant mass of flesh, its surface seamless, plastered with limbs and extremities, from the human clan, demons, immortals and Buddhas, alien species, and other creatures, crawling, climbing, and flapping, so fast and powerful that the void around it churned into a chaos soup.
Clearly, the speed that could almost rival the Great Freedom Temple's Heart Light Escape was the work of this wicked creature.
At this moment, even the most ignorant could see.
This so-called "Gao Tianci" cultivator must be a terrifying demon who has killed countless people.
But at the next moment, before the demon could hear Tao Qian's response.
From all directions, many souls and voices arrived, some directly exposing the root of this demon.
"Hahaha... They say that among Zhang Mazi's forces there is a great general named Gao Tianci, who practices ancient demon secret techniques, with an arrogant nature, claiming to kill ten million people to become the ultimate monarch among demons, always stating he does not put any talent in this world in the same league as himself, calling them mere chickens and dogs. Yet today he actually seeks an audience with a rustic monk from the South Sea, seems like the rumors were off the mark."
"Rustic monk from the South Sea? Quite the stance, if you disdain Gao Tianci it's one thing, but what are your exceptional roots and backing that you don't even regard Master Shenxiu's Wu Gou Buddha Son, who has the power to press down?"