The simple stone pavilion did not show any magic, yet it appeared out of nowhere and contained a stone table, four stone stools, and two familiar figures, one standing, one sitting.

The one standing wore dusty gray monk's robes, his complexion was waxen yellow, and he stood still like a clay sculpture, none other than Hui Neng, who had once met with Jiang Li under the identity of Lawless Freedom.

And the one sitting, clothed all in white with white hair and a flawless pale face, was none other than Zhen Ru, the lay Buddhist who had handed the Great Brightness Mantra to Jiang Li to suppress the Giant Snake Baqi.

"Or should I say... Awakened?"

Jiang Li looked at the two men and slowly rose to his feet.

"It has been a long time, Benefactor, your Realm has progressed leaps and bounds. Now, you are indeed a master among men," said the lay Buddhist, sitting in the pavilion with a smile.

"You, venerable sir, remain as unfathomably profound as ever, utterly inscrutable."

Jiang Li replied and walked into the stone pavilion.

Entering the pavilion, everything outside seemed like another world; the decay and rot of the Five Vile Qi was all far away, leaving only a place of comfortable cleanliness.

Jiang Li even felt his Incense Fire Thought Power in his Sea of Consciousness calm down, as if changing from fire to water, devoid of the previous restlessness and fervor.

He took a seat unceremoniously opposite Zhen Ru and got straight to the point, "May I know, venerable sir, what brings you to summon me?"

"It's nothing profound, just like last time, the Mazer only wishes to offer some advice to the Benefactor."

Zhen Ru smiled gently, spurring a feel of a spring breeze as he spoke, "Presently, in Liangzhou Province, the Taiping Sect wishes to rise in rebellion, endless Water Disasters, to the west, the Buddha Country and the Jiang Family are poised to act, and great chaos shall soon arrive. Seeing the Benefactor ensnared in his current plight, the Mazer thought to offer a small piece of advice."

Just like last time, it was merely a small suggestion; one wonders if suddenly a giant hand will burst forth, transforming into Five Finger Mountain and crashing down.

In Jiang Li's view, Wuzhiqi would be very well suited to stay beneath the mountain for a few hundred years.

However, what made Jiang Li quite intrigued was that Zhen Ru had classified the Buddha Country as preparing to act, and furthermore…

"From the west?" Jiang Li raised an eyebrow, "Isn't the Jiang Family supposed to come from the east?"

He spotted an inconsistency.

"There are those from the east, and also from the west," Zhen Ru replied with a smile, "Years ago, a few Benefactors from the Jiang Family went west and entered the Buddha Country. Over these years, the Benefactors from the Jiang Family have quietly cultivated Buddhist Law and kept out of world affairs, and thus, no one on the Great Zhou's side knows about them."

Zhen Ru truly answered any questions asked, but the news he divulged was rather shocking.

People from the Jiang Family had stayed behind, gone west to the Buddha Country, and it sounded like they had even gained some status there.

"This really is... both unexpected and logical," Jiang Li first felt surprised, then upon deeper thinking, found it consistent with the behavior of a major family.

—Never put all your eggs in one basket.

Outwardly, they had all relocated overseas, only leaving Jiang Zhuyun to go to the Dinghu Sect, but secretly, some family members had gone to the Buddha Country, possibly even becoming monks.

This not only avoided their complete obliteration but also created opportunities for a resurgence, like now.

The Buddha Country originally intended to expand eastward, and for the Jiang Family, it was a perfect match, possibly even with the Jiang Family nudging it along from behind the scenes.

Thinking this, Jiang Li glanced at the two men opposite him. Hui Neng stood still like a statue, showing no reaction, while Zhen Ru maintained a gentle demeanor, betraying no internal turmoil.

Despite being a part of the Buddha Country, he was undertaking actions that contravened the interests of the Buddha Country. Was he opposing the current actions of the Buddha Country?

Is there another purpose?

As countless thoughts flashed through his mind, Jiang Li asked, "May I ask, venerable sir, what can you teach me?"

Venerable Zhen Ru smiled slightly, extending his hand and gently waving it. Three items appeared on the stone table. "In the chaos of Liangzhou, first address the water disasters, then pacify Taiping. The Mazer has three items that could help the benefactor achieve success swiftly."

As he spoke, he first picked up something resembling a golden needle and gently moved it. A staff with gold hoops at both ends and a segment of black iron in the middle appeared in his hand.

The staff, unremarkable in appearance and without any particular aura, felt overwhelmingly steadfast and immovable in the hands of Venerable Zhen Ru.

"This is a divine treasure from the bottom of Tianhe, also called 'Ocean Stabilizing Divine Treasure Iron.' It can suppress water disasters and replace the Yu King Dao Fruit to re-establish the Golden Dam. It contains the Dao Fruit of the Great Sage Equalling Heaven. If the benefactor were to ascend to this Dao Fruit, within fourth-rank, few could stand in your way."

Jiang Li looked at the staff, feeling a sense of déjà vu, and as Venerable Zhen Ru introduced it, the subtle feeling in his heart indeed turned out to be true.

After introducing the Divine Treasure Iron, Venerable Zhen Ru did not change it back but placed it directly on the stone table. He then picked up a golden headband.

"This is the Tightening Ring, capable of subduing the monkey mind and suppressing heterodox thoughts. If the benefactor wears this ring, the current troubles from Incense Fire Thought Power should no longer be feared and might even be absorbed and utilized. Inside this item is the Dao Fruit of Sun Xingzhe, sharing the same origin as the Great Sage Equalling Heaven. If you could fuse the two, you would be unrivaled at fourth-rank."

Jiang Li looked at the golden hoop, and memories of his former life assailed him.

— Once you wear this golden ring, you will no longer be mortal.

This golden hoop has a catch.

The last item was a golden lotus platform, palm-sized, with a Buddha seated in meditation, immersed in Buddha Light.

"This belongs to the Victorious Battle Buddha's Dao Fruit, sharing the same origin as the Great Sage Equalling Heaven and Sun Xingzhe's Dao Fruit. If the benefactor ascends to the former two and then accommodates this Dao Fruit as well, you could reach third grade," explained Venerable Zhen Ru.

Another monkey.

Three monkeys in total: one Sun Xingzhe, one Great Sage Equalling Heaven, and one Victorious Battle Buddha. As far as Jiang Li knew, both Buddha and Great Bodhisattvas were of third grade, and since the Victorious Battle Buddha was, indeed, a Buddha, his grade must also be third.

Within the Buddha Country, only the position of Tathagata ranked above the Buddha.

Such as the second grade Medicine Buddha, Great Sun Tathagata, and the most distinguished Tathagata Buddha.

As for first grade, Jiang Li, being an outsider, was unaware of it.

Although not unique, second-grade Dao Fruit of the Buddhist sect were not plentiful; Heaven's Pivot estimated no more than three second-grade Daoist Artifacts in the Buddha Country. Third-grade, within the Buddha Country, was already considered a precious treasure, especially these co-origin paired Dao Fruits.

Don't be misled by these incomplete Dao Fruits; they had their conveniences when fragmented.

Similar to splitting the third-grade Dao Fruit of Emperor Yan into two halves. Accommodating one portion made one Third Grade; taking in both rendered one Second Grade. Although this reduced the number of third grades other people possessed, the Promotion Ceremony was thus divided into two phases, greatly reducing its complexity.

Moreover, this did not detract from overall strength, just possibly fewer Divine Skills.

Ascending to third grade as Emperor·Shennong was equivalent to being Emperor Yan at the age of one hundred.

On this basis, accommodating another Dao Fruit of Emperor Yan was like being Emperor Yan at two hundred years old, at the second grade of the Realm.

The strength of the accommodators wouldn't be weaker than others due to this method of ascension.

So, the three items that Venerable Zhen Ru presented were indeed very tempting, and paired with the icon filter, Jiang Li was somewhat tempted.

After all, who hadn't dreamt of becoming the Great Sage Equalling Heaven in their childhood?

"The venerable sir is indeed visionary, having paved the path ahead for me," Jiang Li said, shaking his head with a laugh, "especially since I've only just ascended to fifth-rank not long ago, I don't even know when I could reach Perfect Fifth Rank."

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