Chapter 139: Brahma Nation, Eight Treasure Table

The Brahma Nation.

Unlike the Immortal Gate, which shone with brilliant stars and commanded the universe, the Brahma Nation was quite small. It occupied only a corner of the cosmos, nowhere near as magnificent.

However, this corner of the cosmos contained no stars. There was only a single Buddha sitting cross-legged in the depths of space.

His eyes alone rivaled stars, and His very existence generated an immense gravitational pull that captured all approaching light. Because of this, no one could actually see Him. Wherever one looked, there was only a vast emptiness, illuminated merely by the light of objects colliding as they were drawn into His orbit.

He constantly radiated His majestic light into the universe, never once concealing His presence.

Yet no one could see His true face.

This was the highest truth of the Brahma Nation. As the saying went: perceiving Buddha through form and color, seeking Buddha through sound, is walking a wicked path and one cannot see the true Buddha. This was exactly what that meant.

The Brahma Nation itself rested upon the palm of this Buddha, held horizontally before His chest. From the outside, its scale naturally fell vastly short of the Immortal Gate, but under the Buddha's supreme power, the actual size of the Brahma Nation's interior was just as large.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be known as having "ten trillion Brahma lands."

Meanwhile, in one of the Brahma Nation's lands, two monks were sitting in meditation and chanting scriptures. Suddenly, one of them looked up, revealing a surprised expression.

"Hm...?"

This soft sound prompted the other monk to pause and glance over. "Junior Brother Kongbei, do not be distracted. You must know that Meditative Concentration relies most heavily on sincerity."

"Forgive me, Senior Brother Zongji."

The monk Kongbei hurriedly lowered his head and explained, "It isn't that my heart is insincere. It's just that an unexpected change occurred on the Eight Treasure Table. One of the delicacies suddenly came alive."

Hearing this, the monk Zongji instantly furrowed his brow. "The Eight Treasure Table is the supreme treasure of the Great Golden Wheel Wisdom King, used to counter the Immortal Gate's Eight Trigrams Furnace. How could anything go wrong? What exactly happened? Could a disciple of the Immortal Gate have sneaked in to massacre the talents inside?"

"You misunderstand, Senior Brother."

Kongbei hastily shook his head, a strange look on his face. "It isn't a bad thing... A delicacy on the Eight Treasure Table that was thought to be extinct has suddenly revived."

"As you know, Senior Brother,

"Some time ago, the Great Golden Wheel Wisdom King grew wrathful and stopped bringing salvation to the living beings on the Eight Treasure Table, causing the cycle of reincarnation upon the table to grind to a halt.

"Now that a delicacy has revived, the Eight Treasure Table has a chance to upgrade to the Nine Treasures Table. When the Great Golden Wheel Wisdom King learns of this, His Buddha heart will surely be greatly pleased. He will return to offer salvation to the masses. This is a matter of immense merit, and an opportunity for the two of us to advance further!"

"This..."

Hearing this, Zongji's expression shifted as well. "Indeed! If we can get the Great Golden Wheel Wisdom King to resume His salvation of the masses, there is hope for our Meditative Concentration!"

Cultivation in the Brahma Nation was entirely different from the Immortal Gate.

The Immortal Gate had three layers of Tribulation Transcending, requiring one to pass the Human Tribulation, Heavenly Tribulation, and Fate Tribulation to achieve perfection. The Brahma Nation, on the other hand, had the Three Realms of Buddha Devotion, known as Holding Precepts, Meditative Concentration, and Opening Wisdom.

Holding Precepts went without saying; it was equivalent to the Tribulation Transcending First Layer. It required condensing four specific Brahma cultivation traits: the bodhicitta, the vajra body, the Honored Form Rank, and the unity of Brahman and the self.

Once these four traits were acquired, one could communicate with the Great Brahma Heaven and forge magical power.

After that came Meditative Concentration.

As the name implied, this realm involved sitting in meditation and chanting scriptures. It emphasized absolute sincerity in a single thought, allowing one to resonate with the Buddhas in the Great Brahma Heaven and be bestowed with supreme and miraculous dharmas.

However, making a connection was one thing; whether a Buddha would respond, and which Buddha would do so, was impossible to say. Therefore, the lower-level monks and Brahma Cultivators often needed to prepare material offerings in advance. The more they prepared, and the richer the offerings, the higher their chances of receiving a Buddha's response and achieving the realm of Meditative Concentration.

Kongbei and Zongji were stuck exactly at this step.

Although they had long completed Holding Precepts and acquired magical power, their attempts to communicate with the Great Brahma Heaven over the past dozen years had been fruitless. Not a single Buddha was willing to answer.

Unfortunately, both of them were impoverished and couldn't afford to prepare any material offerings.

As a result, they had simply wasted their years away.

But now, the two finally saw an opportunity. Zongji's eyes lit up as he immediately asked, "Which delicacy came back to life on the Eight Treasure Table?"

"It is a six-eared spirit monkey."

Kongbei said excitedly, "Senior Brother, this is a tremendous stroke of destiny! It's a good thing it was my turn to be on duty for the Eight Treasure Table, otherwise this chance wouldn't have fallen to us!"

Zongji nodded in agreement, though his expression turned serious. "Be careful. A newly revived delicacy is far too weak and could very likely be devoured by the other delicacies on the Eight Treasure Table. We must watch over it carefully and help it grow as quickly as possible. We need to fatten it up so it's fit to be offered to the Wisdom King."

"Exactly, exactly!"

Kongbei nodded. "If we can gather all nine delicacies and invite the Wisdom King to cast His gaze upon us, we will catch His eye. Achieving the Meditative Concentration realm would be practically guaranteed!"

For a moment, both of them couldn't help but lose themselves in fantasies.

After all, there were similar precedents in the Brahma Nation. For example, a young novice monk who had just entered the cycle of reincarnation gave a massive amount of material offerings to a Buddha prior to his rebirth.

As a result, he was born with past-life wisdom and could speak the moment his feet touched the ground. He achieved Holding Precepts in three days, Meditative Concentration in twelve days, and Opening Wisdom in thirty-six days. By the forty-eighth day, he had grasped Zen and entered the Brahman state, becoming an ascetic monk comparable to an Immortal Gate Qi Refining practitioner. He was then received by the Great Brahma Heaven and ascended to a higher realm, no longer needing to muddle along in the lower world.

"...Let's go. There is no time to lose!"

Snapping out of their daydream a second later, Zongji made a prompt decision. "To the Eight Treasure Table! Let's see what this newly emerged delicacy looks like!"

...

Heavenly Demon Royal Court, Mount Tianzhu.

Looking completely at ease, Wang Ping took a step forward. The thick layers of mountain rock posed no obstacle as he passed right through them effortlessly, arriving in the deepest recesses of the mountain's interior.

In the past, if Wang Ping had wanted to do this, he would have had to rely on the Dragon Head Guillotine or violently smash the rocks apart. Now, however, it merely took a wisp of magical power... This was the wondrous utility of magical power. It altered reality, twisted rules, and transcended the mundane. Its practicality far exceeded any other force.

"Whoosh!"

Upon entering the interior, Wang Ping immediately spotted the Totem Pillar that Yuan Sheng had mentioned. Wrapped in rock, it was shockingly supporting the entirety of Mount Tianzhu.

In other words, this Totem Pillar was the core of Mount Tianzhu. Wang Ping even suspected that there might never have been a Mount Tianzhu in the past.

Rather, this Totem Pillar had stood here for so long that it gradually gathered sand, dust, and rubble. Over years of accumulation, it eventually formed the Mount Tianzhu of today.

Right at that moment—

"Rumble!"

As if sensing Wang Ping's arrival, the previously dim and lackluster Totem Pillar suddenly lit up. Streaks of spiritual light snaked across its towering surface.

Like roaming dragons, the lights climbed steadily upward, illuminating the dark interior of the mountain. Finally, they outlined the totem of a monkey with six ears, radiating a battle-hungry aura that fought heaven and earth. Its eyes, in particular, did not seem like inanimate objects at all. Instead, they possessed true sentience as they stared intently at Wang Ping!

Almost simultaneously, Wang Ping didn't hesitate in the slightest.

Faced with the Totem Pillar's sudden scrutiny, he instinctively concealed all of his magical power and blood qi. He even reverted his physical form back into the shape of an infant.

Of course, he adjusted his apparent age slightly.

Therefore, when the two Brahma Nation monks, Kongbei and Zongji, cast their gaze through the Totem Pillar, all they saw was a teary-eyed child.

"This..."

Zongji was utterly stunned and subconsciously looked at Kongbei beside him. "Are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Hurry up and check again. Is it really the totem of the six-eared spirit monkey?"

"Absolutely no mistake."

Kongbei couldn't help but grimace as he replied, "I suppose it's normal. After all, it's a delicacy that was once extinct. Just being able to revive is already a heavenly blessing."

Zongji naturally understood this logic. But the problem was that raising a baby versus raising an adult required entirely different levels of effort and cost. Babies were too capricious by nature; the slightest misstep could lead to disaster, and their ability to withstand risks was nowhere near that of an adult.

"Then what should we do?" Kongbei asked helplessly.

"What should we do? We just have to bite the bullet and do it!" Zongji gritted his teeth. "First, we'll pass down the cultivation method of the six-eared spirit monkey. We need him to raise his cultivation base as quickly as possible."

"Direct empowerment?"

"Exactly!"

Zongji nodded decisively. Since it was just a delicacy on the Eight Treasure Table, it didn't need to be exceptionally strong; it only needed to be delicious. A direct empowerment was naturally the most convenient method.

As for the energy consumed by the empowerment... it was just a mere baby. How much could it possibly consume?

Not a problem at all!

...

"Roar—!"

On the Totem Pillar, the spirit monkey roared, looking incredibly intimidating. Seeing this, Wang Ping put on a look of sheer terror... but inwardly, he was feeling a bit speechless.

That was because he could clearly see two streams of spiritual consciousness emerging from the brilliantly glowing Totem Pillar. They sneaked over to his side silently, actually trying to burrow into his sea of consciousness... Mortals might not have been able to see this scene, but to him, it was glaringly obvious.

'What kind of trick are they trying to pull?'

Wang Ping thought about it for a moment and decided not to block them.

After all, these two streams of spiritual consciousness were simply too small. He wouldn't even feel them enter. They couldn't possibly reach the depths of his sea of consciousness, let alone hurt him.

A second later, the spiritual consciousness entered.

Immediately after, two majestic Buddhas appeared in the depths of Wang Ping's eyes. Resplendent in gold and jade, they towered into the clouds, and a thunderous voice echoed in his ears:

"Amitabha!"

"Spirit monkey... you possess excellent aptitude and innate divine wisdom. Today, we bestow upon you a dharma method and a single empowerment. Cultivate with haste, so that you may bear the future of the Six-Eared Clan!"

Hearing this, Wang Ping secretly shook his head.

'Are these monks from the Brahma Nation? Something's off. They feel worlds apart from Kongzhi. They don't seem used to putting on airs; they can't even speak smoothly when trying to bluff someone.'

But this was normal too. After all, with such tiny streams of spiritual consciousness, how high could their cultivation base possibly be?

The next second, Wang Ping watched as those two adorably small streams of spiritual consciousness suddenly dispersed, transforming into a sea of text that bobbed on the surface of his sea of consciousness.

Six-Eared Dao-Listening Scripture.

It wasn't until this moment that Wang Ping truly came into contact with the cultivation method of the Heavenly Demon Royal Court.

Cultivation in the Royal Court prioritized the bloodline and unearthing the potential left behind by ancestors. It started with Blood Refining, then Meridian Opening, followed by Form Forging, until one reached Ancestral Reversion, and finally, Totem Body Transformation.

'This matches up perfectly with the Great Shun Martial Dao's External Arts, Internal Force, Titled Rank, Grandmaster Rank, and Great Grandmaster Rank... However, the Heavenly Demon Royal Court doesn't have a First Seat. Therefore, the actual combat strength of a so-called Heavenly Demon Great Sage who has achieved Totem Body Transformation is probably far inferior to a martial Great Grandmaster. They're probably around Chenlong's level?'

Wang Ping rapidly evaluated the information in his mind.

Just then, however, Wang Ping suddenly raised an eyebrow and looked at the Totem Pillar in front of him. A surging tide of blood qi had unexpectedly erupted from within it.

This was different from a martial artist's blood qi.

A martial artist's blood qi was the actual flow of blood, the fundamental essence of life. But the blood qi surging out right now felt more like a type of power similar to Internal Force.

'Is this brought about by the Royal Court's cultivation method?'

'Is this the... empowerment they mentioned earlier? Interesting. Are they trying to help me grow up fast? What exactly are these two strange Brahma Cultivators plotting?'

Wang Ping thought for a moment and still didn't refuse it.

To be honest, he originally had absolutely zero interest in the Royal Court's cultivation method. But now that someone was handing it to him on a silver platter, saving him the effort, he was naturally happy to see it happen.

'Since that's the case, I might as well practice it a little.'

With that thought, Wang Ping quickly sank his mind into the Taiping Sutra and looked toward the Invoking Deities scripture scroll. Shockingly, dozens of new portraits had appeared on it.

These portraits were all ancestors of the Six-Eared Clan. Among them were Heavenly Demon Great Sages as well as Ancestral Reversion demon kings. The fragments of their consciousness had all fallen onto the Six-Eared Clan's Totem Pillar, only to be completely absorbed by the scripture scroll. Now that they were reactivated, they could be used perfectly to rapidly master the Six-Eared Dao-Listening Scripture!

'I wonder how long this empowerment will last.'

'If it's robust enough, I'll just take this opportunity to directly push this six-eared spirit monkey bloodline all the way to the Totem Body Transformation stage of a Heavenly Demon Great Sage!'