The golden stream wound for ten thousand li, the water roaring like waves, Buddhist qi hazy and misty.
Prajna flew down, her gaze fixed on the seawater.
Embarrassment was written all over the seawater’s face, with a hint of shyness. She hurriedly withdrew her hand from Zhang Ruchen’s palm, turning her body sideways, not daring to face Prajna’s gaze, like a little woman caught in an affair by the principal wife.
For someone as composed as her, with such a peaceful mindset that even being thrown into a pot by Blood Slaughter would not change her expression, to show such a demeanour was truly rare.
Zhang Ruchen could somewhat understand, after all, she was a Buddhist. The earlier behaviour of the two, though for healing, was ultimately too intimate. Suddenly being seen by a third party naturally brought a sense of shame like being caught in the act.
Zhang Ruchen was very open, smiling upon seeing Prajna, and asked, “Finally found you. Where are Gushai Jing and Little Black?”
“Upon arriving at the Desolate Ancient Ruins City, we were attacked and had to temporarily hide in this ancient Buddha’s body. After entering, everyone separated to escape. Meeting you here is completely by chance. It might also be because of that faint connection between us.”
Prajna said, “Who is she?”
“Who attacked you?” Zhang Ruchen said.
The two asked almost simultaneously.
Zhang Ruchen first said, “This little master is named seawater, a disciple of the Yuan Yi Ancient Buddha from the Western Heaven Buddhist Realm.”
“Disciple of the Yuan Yi Ancient Buddha.”
Prajna nodded, murmuring this.
In the next instant, without any warning, she struck like lightning, the Fate Deciding Staff slashing straight down towards the seawater, densely packed fate rules emerging on the staff.
How could Zhang Ruchen anticipate that Prajna would act?
But his reaction speed was astonishingly fast. In an instant, densely packed time mark light points appeared around the three, the time flow slowing drastically, almost to a standstill.
Zhang Ruchen grabbed the seawater’s wrist, dodging Prajna’s strike.
“What are you doing?” Zhang Ruchen asked.
The seawater hid behind Zhang Ruchen, her eyes fearless, staring at Prajna.
Prajna met her gaze directly, her tone carrying coldness, and said, “As far as I know, the Yuan Yi Ancient Buddha has no disciple named seawater. Who exactly are you?”
Chi Yao had cultivated in the Western Heaven Buddhist Realm for a thousand years, naturally having a deep understanding of it.
The seawater said, “Although the Divine Maiden Hall is the secular leader of the Infernal Realm, it may not know everything about the Western Heaven Buddhist Realm. I am my master’s secret transmission disciple, a hidden world cultivator. Your Highness the Divine Maiden has not heard my name, which is actually very normal.”
Prajna stared at Zhang Ruchen and said, “Look at her, a disciple of the Western Heaven Buddhist Realm, yet she has no fear at all of me, a true god of the Infernal Realm. Don’t you find that very strange?”
“Buddhist cultivators sever the seven emotions and six desires, cultivating the emptiness of the four elements. Possessing a great fearless heart is very normal.” Zhang Ruchen said.
Prajna looked at Zhang Ruchen with incredulity and said again, “The heart of fear, no one can sever it completely. Those who can achieve fearlessness merely suppress fear with powerful will.”
“You say she has emptiness of the four elements, but looking at your earlier behaviour, she does not seem to have severed the seven emotions and six desires.”
“Zhang Ruchen, have you been so bewitched by her beauty that your soul is in turmoil, completely losing your judgement? Be careful, or you may die without a burial place.”
Zhang Ruchen showed displeasure and said, “In your eyes, am I so incompetent?”
Prajna clearly saw a hint of amusement in the seawater’s eyes, but upon closer look, her gaze was clear as water, without the slightest ripple, sincere and calm.
Prajna knew very well that continuing to argue with Zhang Ruchen would only make the seawater mock her more.
Prajna calmed down and said, “You trust her so much?”
“She fought side by side with me, even willing to unleash the relinquishing body technique.” Zhang Ruchen said.
“She truly unleashed the relinquishing body technique?”
“Absolutely true.”
Prajna could not help but look at the seawater again, inwardly admiring her immensely for being able to pretend to such an extent, and said, “But a Buddhist cultivator from the Western Heaven Buddhist Realm appearing in the Abyss of Darkness is full of suspicions, very abnormal.”
“This matter, I have already explained very clearly to Senior Brother Ruchen.” The seawater said.
Prajna said, “Senior Brother Ruchen? When did you become her senior brother?”
“This is not important. What is important is that Little Master Seawater gave me the Arhat White Pearl. In the Abyss of Darkness, I must protect her safety.” Zhang Ruchen said.
Prajna was slightly surprised, her gaze falling on the white pearl around Zhang Ruchen’s neck, reaching out to grasp it in her hand.
“It really is the legendary supreme treasure of Buddhism, the Arhat White Pearl.”
Prajna stared at the seawater again and said, “Impressive, able to casually give away such a treasure. What exactly is your purpose?”
The seawater said, “Your Highness the Divine Maiden is also impressive. Infernal Realm cultivators who touch the Arhat White Pearl will surely be counter-injured by it. Yet the Arhat White Pearl did not harm you at all. Are you truly an Infernal Realm cultivator?”
Prajna said, “I also cultivate Buddhism, so the Arhat White Pearl naturally will not harm me.”
“Your state of mind is too extreme. Clearly, you have only cultivated the Buddhist path but not the Buddha heart.” The seawater said.
Prajna said, “Just based on your identity as a Western Heaven Buddhist Realm disciple, killing you would be perfectly justified. Even Zhang Ruchen could not save you.”
The seawater said to Zhang Ruchen, “Senior Brother, Prajna is a divine spirit of the Fate God Hall. Why did you tell her about the Arhat White Pearl? What if she acts to seize it? My death is minor, but the supreme treasure of Buddhism falling into the Fate God Hall would be the disgrace of the Buddhist path.”
The two women, one remark after another, clashed sharply.
The seawater seemed peaceful, but every word used softness to overcome hardness, step by step provoking Prajna.
Zhang Ruchen shielded the seawater behind him and said, “Divine Maiden, I once promised her that I would protect her completely. If you kill her, you must first kill me.”
Hearing this, Prajna’s heart stirred.
To be precise, it was Chi Yao.
Chi Yao knew that Zhang Ruchen was aware of Prajna’s identity. If the seawater were truly a Western Heaven Buddhist Realm disciple, how could Prajna possibly kill her?
Why then did Zhang Ruchen say such words?
Evidently, Zhang Ruchen was not completely without suspicion of the seawater’s identity.
In just an instant, Chi Yao understood the reason.
If even with Zhang Ruchen’s methods, he could not see through the seawater’s identity.
Then, there were only two possibilities.
First, everything the seawater said was true.
Second, the seawater’s cultivation was immeasurably deep.
If it were the first situation, all would be controllable.
If the second, any smart person would certainly not expose the seawater’s identity. Once exposed, what difference from seeking death?
Precisely so.
No matter which situation, Zhang Ruchen now had to trust the seawater unconditionally and absolutely.
Without any doubt.
Even if there was doubt, he had to voice it proactively, letting the seawater clarify herself.
In reality, not only could Zhang Ruchen not see through the seawater, even Chi Yao and Prajna combined could not discern her flaws.
The thoroughly calmed Chi Yao could not help but hope that everything the seawater said was true. Instead, if her cultivation were extraordinarily high, now she could only set aside her guard, stabilise her, and see what her purpose was.
Zhang Ruchen and Prajna looked at each other for a long time.
Countless thoughts flashed through Prajna’s mind, understanding everything Zhang Ruchen wanted to convey to her. Finally, her expression softened somewhat, and she said, “I hope you are correct! But in the Abyss of Darkness, bringing along such a peak semi-divine cultivator is undoubtedly a burden.”
Zhang Ruchen asked, “You said earlier that someone attacked you? What exactly happened?”
“It was Wujiang and the divine spirits of the Dark God Temple.” Prajna said.
Zhang Ruchen said, “You actually could not match them?”
“I do not know what happened, but Wujiang’s cultivation has advanced greatly, his strength far surpassing before. The Dark God Temple also has divine realm powerhouses who came.”
Prajna added, “Of course, even so, we still do not need to fear or flee. What is truly terrifying is that in the Desolate Ancient Ruins City, a ghost-like strange beast appeared.”
“How could a strange beast enter the Desolate Ancient Ruins City?”
“The power of the Desolate Ancient Ruins might not block ghost-like strange beasts. Or perhaps, it is not a ghost-like strange beast at all, but soul strangification.”
Zhang Ruchen said, “Soul strangification?”
Prajna nodded and said, “In the Desolate Ancient Ruins City, there are divine corpses one after another, the vast majority having extremely powerful cultivation before death. Though they died, their souls may not be completely extinguished.”
“These souls, or rather remnant souls, eroded by dark power and losing consciousness, will strangify, no different from ghost-like strange beasts.”
Zhang Ruchen said, “If that is the case, then the divine spirits of the Dark God Temple should also have been attacked?”
“Precisely so, that is why they all fled into this ancient Buddha’s golden body.”
“What about that ghost-like strange beast? Did it enter the ancient Buddha’s golden body?”
“Not clear.” Prajna shook her head.
Zhang Ruchen thought of something and said, “Earlier, we encountered divine spirits of the Death Clan.”
Prajna said, “On the way to the Desolate Ancient Ruins City, I already sensed it. Not only the Death Clan, but the Ghost Clan, Corpse Clan, Bone Clan, Nether Clan… the major forces of the Infernal Realm, whether for the treasures on you, all stirred and followed in. The current Desolate Ancient Ruins City is very lively.”
“We still must leave here as soon as possible, go to Great Nether Mountain, and find Yin Xuetian.” Zhang Ruchen said.
The seawater, who had been silent all along, said, “Senior Brother Ruchen, there is one thing I always forgot to tell you.”
“What is it?” Zhang Ruchen asked.
The seawater said, “Do you know Ling Yanz i?”
Zhang Ruchen was quite puzzled and shook his head.
“Ling Yanzi is the only wife of the Immovable Ming King Great Venerable, the ancestor of your Zhang family. But no one knows where she exactly came from, her birth, or the level of her cultivation. She suddenly appeared in the world and suddenly disappeared.” The seawater said.
“Ling Yanzi! Ling Yanzi…”
Zhang Ruchen murmured this, carefully recalling the family genealogy, truly never having heard this name.
Prajna thought of something and said, “Yan Zi Pei?”
Mentioning the Yan Zi Pei, a light appeared in Zhang Ruchen’s eyes.
The Yan Zi Pei was a heirloom of the Zhang family, which Zhang Ruchen had given to Chi Yao as a token of affection at sixteen. The token Chi Yao gave Zhang Ruchen was the Creation Life Sword Abyssal Sink.
“Gifting you the Yan Zi Pei, white heads never parting.
Sending you the Creation Sword, life and death eternally dependent.”
Later, Chi Yao gave a pair of Yan Zi Pei to Chi Kunlun and Chi Kong Le respectively.
Back then, when Xiu Chen Heavenly God wanted to seize Chi Kong Le’s body, a large reason for failure was the protective power of the Yan Zi Pei. Even, the power of the Yan Zi Pei made the Xiu Chen Heavenly God at that time unable to exert his own power at all, defeated by Blood Absolute War God in one move.
Zhang Ruchen asked, “Why did you suddenly mention Ling Yanzi?”
The seawater said, “Because the supreme treasure of Buddhism, the Cintamani Bead, was given by the Immovable Ming King Great Venerable to Ling Yanzi. Rather than saying Yin Xuetian entered the Abyss of Darkness to find the Cintamani Bead, it is better to say she came to find Ling Yanzi. To find Yin Xuetian, one must first find Ling Yanzi.”
“Ling Yanzi is in the Abyss of Darkness?” Zhang Ruchen felt utterly astonished.
