"Buddhism?" A slight smile appeared on Xiao Wenbing's lips. "You mean a group of bald monks, right?"
“No,” Zha firmly denied, “Buddhism is a general term for a certain type of cultivator; compared to us, it’s just that the methods of cultivation are somewhat different.”
"Hmm, have you had any dealings with Buddhism before?"
"Indeed, when I was young, I originally cultivated the Buddhist path, but one day I was fortunate enough to obtain the divine power crystal of an ancient god, so I switched to cultivating the divine path."
Xiao Wenbing was taken aback; he hadn't expected that Zha was the head of two families.
"Brother Zha, which is better, Buddhism or the cultivation of gods?"
Zha frowned and said, "It's not a matter of good or bad, it's just a matter of which path is suitable."
He nodded slightly, presumably agreeing; otherwise, Zha wouldn't have switched allegiance so quickly after obtaining the divine power crystal.
Pointing to the small temple in his hand, Xiao Wenbing asked, "Brother Zha, will this Buddhist treasure be of any use to you?"
“No.” Zha looked at Xiao Wenbing and said softly, “However, this thing is of great use to the Supreme God.”
Xiao Wenbing's eyes lit up, and he quickly pressed for more information.
"This is the Samsara Palace, a supreme treasure of Buddhism. It is extremely useful for Buddhist disciples who have not yet reached the Buddha level." There was a hint of envy in Zha Di's words: "Under the protection of the Samsara Palace, no matter how Buddhist disciples cultivate, they will not be in danger of going astray. Once they use this treasure, their progress will be unbelievably rapid."
Xiao Wenbing nodded repeatedly, overjoyed.
In Buddhism, the Buddha is equivalent to a deity in the pantheon. Since those below the Buddha can use this, then those below the level of deities who cultivate their spirituality can naturally use it as well.
Just as Xiao Wenbing was beaming with joy, Zha suddenly said, "However..."
Xiao Wenbing's heart skipped a beat; another one had popped up saying "I can't come over."
"However, one must possess Buddhist power to use this item effectively."
"Buddha's power..." Xiao Wenbing stared dumbfounded at the treasure in his hand, and subconsciously asked, "Do you have it?"
Zha sighed and said, "Since I switched to the path of gods, all the Buddhist power I had in my divine realm has been wasted."
He examined the Hall of Reincarnation from all angles for a long time, thinking he had obtained a remarkable treasure, but it turned out to be nothing more than a useless trinket.
On a sudden inspiration, Xiao Wenbing asked, "Brother Zha, do you know where there are Buddhist monks?"
Zha pondered for a moment and said, "Buddhist practitioners have always been low-key. They emphasize asceticism and detachment from worldly affairs. Although I am certain that there are Buddhists in every plane, to truly find them, one would have to go to the Pure Land."
Xiao Wenbing looked at Zha with hopeful eyes, his face beaming with smiles.
Zha shuddered and quickly said, "The Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is the supreme abode of Buddhism, equivalent to our divine realm. Although I can enter, it will only be possible after I recover all my divine power."
If I do the math, it will take at least a thousand years for Zha to recover to his full strength. By then, it will be too late.
"Never mind," Xiao Wenbing said listlessly. "Tell me, if I encounter people from the Buddhist sect, can I ask them for help?"
Zha hesitated for a moment, then solemnly said, "The Samsara Palace is a supreme treasure of Buddhism. If the Lord God encounters anyone from Buddhism, it would be best not to take it out."
After considering it, Xiao Wenbing completely agreed with the statement.
“However, if we really encounter a Buddhist disciple, then with a little effort, we can naturally use this treasure,” Zha suddenly said with a smile.
"Oh, do you have any good ideas?"
"As long as we invite a Buddhist disciple who has reached the Arhat level, we can activate this Buddhist treasure."
Frowning, Xiao Wenbing asked, "Would the Buddhist sect be willing to help us cultivators?"
"Whether he's willing or not is not important," Zha said calmly. "As long as we seal him away and continuously extract his Buddhist power, that's enough."
Xiao Wenbing was speechless, and suddenly looked at this deity who had rebelled from Buddhism with new respect.
I glanced behind him out of the corner of my eye, and oh. It seemed like there were two pairs of small black wings flapping quite vigorously...
However, it must be admitted that this is indeed a very appealing and effective method.
Seeing that the chief deity was already interested, Zha pointed to the long, antenna-like pole on the small temple and said, "This is the energy input port of the Reincarnation Palace. As long as the extracted Buddhist power is sent in, this Reincarnation Palace can function."
Xiao Wenbing responded and casually flicked the buttons a few times. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he channeled a mutant power into it.
A golden light suddenly shone, and the small temple seemed to be suspended in the air as if it were being supported by something.
"According to Prajnaparamita"
Bright and resonant, filled with compassionate Buddhist chants, resounded throughout the divine realm. Countless beams of light flickered in the air, bathing those within them and bringing peace to their minds, as if they were in the Western Paradise.
Xiao Wenbing and Zha looked at each other in disbelief. They had just been discussing how to kidnap a disciple of the Buddhist Arhat realm, and now the Samsara Palace had opened.
Could it be that this Buddhist treasure possesses a sense of compassion, fearing they might harass Buddhist disciples, and thus activated automatically?
"Lord God, have you ever cultivated Buddhist power?"
“Absolutely not.” Xiao Wenbing said without hesitation, “I have absolutely no interest in being a monk, and I rarely even go into temples. How could I have cultivated any Buddhist power?”
Zha glanced at Xiao Wenbing suspiciously and said, "But this is clearly a sign that Buddhist power has been infused into it."
Xiao Wenbing glanced at the Hall of Reincarnation, then at his own large hand, and his eyes twitched slightly.
A moment later, he took out a Primal Crystal and placed it on the small stick in the Reincarnation Palace.
A strange thing happened: a mysterious adhesive force seemed to be attached to the small stick, firmly holding the primordial crystal to it. Then, a large amount of divine power surged into the small temple. The chanting of Buddhist scriptures grew louder and louder, and a phantom image of Buddha appeared above the Hall of Reincarnation.
Looking at this solemn and dignified unknown Buddha, the two felt a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
"Alas. I never imagined that the Primal Crystal could even replace Buddhist power. It's truly unbelievable." Zha shook his head and sighed.
Before cultivating to godhood, Zha was already one of the great masters of the Buddhist Arhat realm. He knew that Buddhist power and divine power were two completely different kinds of power. Although they were not incompatible, they each formed their own system and were by no means the same.
However, Xiao Wenbing's unintentional actions today completely shattered his fixed ideas formed over thousands of years, leaving him with a myriad of emotions and a sense of bewilderment.
On the contrary, Xiao Wenbing remained remarkably calm after his initial surprise.
Firstly, he didn't know the difference between the two, and secondly, in his view, since his mutant ability could be converted into energy of any attribute, it naturally included Buddhist power.
After consulting with Zha, and under Xiao Wenbing's divine command, the Samsara Palace gradually expanded to the size of a normal room.
After placing ten primordial crystals on the small pole, Xiao Wenbing eagerly crawled inside, wanting to see how this Buddhist treasure differed from the celestial treasure.
As Zha watched Xiao Wenbing casually waste ten more Origin Crystals, the muscles on his face twitched slightly. He felt increasingly mysterious about the origins of the Supreme God.
He worshipped Xiao Wenbing as his master god for two reasons: first, he coveted Xiao Wenbing's primordial crystal, which would allow him to break through the limits of higher gods and reach the status of a supreme god; second, he wanted to use Xiao Wenbing's power to avenge himself.
However, for a deity, venerating an immortal as the dominant figure was a difficult thing to say, so a shadow always lingered in his heart.
But seeing Xiao Wenbing's endless array of magical treasures and unpredictable methods today, the slight resentment in his heart completely dissipated, and he no longer had any doubts about his choice.
With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved a primordial crystal from his body. After much deliberation, he finally decided to continue using it.
Once you've cultivated to the level of a deity, there are only two ways to improve your abilities.
One is to continuously accumulate the amount of divine power, spending hundreds of millions of years to hoard an endless and vast amount of divine power.
The second is to improve the quality of divine power. The more thorough the understanding of the origin of energy and the more subtle the control over energy, the more absolute the advantage will be in a clash of equal amounts of divine power.
The quantity of divine power will eventually reach saturation; for gods, accumulating it over billions of years is not difficult. But the pursuit of perfection in the quality of divine power is endless.
With each primordial crystal he absorbed, Zha felt he gained a deeper understanding of the source of energy, and the quality of his divine power improved slightly. Although it was only a minor change, if he continued to absorb and comprehend it, he would reach an astonishing level after a hundred years.
When that time truly comes, I'm afraid that even if I encounter the first generation of gods, I can fight them without hesitation.
Looking at the Samsara Palace in front of him, Zha Di's gaze gradually changed from complex and changeable to clear.
He laughed loudly, his body transforming into countless rays of light that dissipated into the divine realm, as he went to directly comprehend the Origin Crystal.
Volume 22, Chapter 18: The Secret of the Reincarnation Palace
------------------------
The temple truly lives up to its reputation as a Buddhist treasure. Once inside, one's mind naturally becomes at peace, and no worldly affairs can disturb one's peace.
His divine sense kept circling within the Samsara Palace. The energy structure inside was indeed vastly different from what he had learned. Compared to the divine path, it was a completely different cultivation method.
However, as the saying goes, the essence remains the same despite all the changes, and there are many things worth learning from and referencing here.
Of course, this Buddhist treasure with great power is not so easy to understand. Xiao Wenbing was also somewhat self-aware, knowing that with his current knowledge and wisdom, he was absolutely unable to do so.
Even with the addition of the Mirror God, it still wouldn't work, because there's no information about Buddhism in this guy's memories, so he can't be relied upon at all.
He withdrew his divine sense; he had come here to cultivate as quickly as possible, not to study Buddhist artifacts.
The divine sense entered the Heavenly Void Ring, and a thousand Dark Infants sat in a circle around the Void Cauldron. Endless energy continuously poured into the Dark Infants' bodies from the cauldron, eventually converging into the Origin Crystal in the Dark Infants' hands.
From the air, countless shimmering crystals of primordial energy form a magnificent and colorful landscape.
A smug smile played on his lips as he suddenly thought to himself, "If the immortals outside the Heavenly Void Ring were to see the Origin Crystal Processing Plant, I wonder what kind of uproar it would cause."
However, he could only keep this thought to himself; he wouldn't be foolish enough to spread it around.
Just like this Buddhist Reincarnation Hall, these are all hot potatoes; it's enough to keep them hidden and keep them for our own use.
He slowly sat cross-legged, and almost instantly entered a state of spiritual tranquility.
He sighed inwardly, "What a wonderful Samsara Palace! Even just in terms of its help in cultivating one's mind, it's an invaluable treasure."
A primordial crystal appeared in his palm, and Xiao Wenbing began to absorb the divine power within it.
When Xiao Wenbing absorbed the energy of the first primordial crystal in Zha's divine realm, it took him more than half a year, and he did not absorb all the energy at once.
Even for the Great Serpent Supreme, it would take a full year to absorb a single Origin Crystal. The reason he was three points faster than the Great Serpent Supreme was mainly because he possessed the power of a godhood. A godhood allowed him to completely control all the energy within his body; as long as his physical body could withstand it, he could control any amount of energy with ease.
Absorbing the energy from the Origin Crystal is different from the battle against the Dark God in the past. Although the divine power used then was far stronger than it is now, it was all temporarily borrowed from the Treasure God.
At that time, his body was like a channel, and no matter how much energy there was, it would not have any effect on his body.
But this time was different; all the energy he absorbed belonged to him.
Therefore, after absorbing a certain amount of energy, one must thoroughly refine the absorbed energy. Only when every cell in the body has adapted to the new energy intensity can one begin a new round of divine power absorption.
If one only seeks quick results, the only outcome will be death by explosion; even possessing divine power will be useless.
Like a tidal wave, divine power flowed into his body from the primordial crystal. After a long time, it made up for the losses Xiao Wenbing had incurred when he condensed his clone, and he once again reached the clone realm.
At this point, one should stop absorbing divine power and rest quietly.
However, Xiao Wenbing, who was in the Samsara Palace, had no intention of stopping.