Chapter 682
Confiscation
It let out a groan of unbearable pressure, broke off at the base, then collapsed and rolled, finally crashing to the ground with a "bang," shattering into pieces of jade of all sizes!
Lin Zhu didn't even glance at the shattered stone platform, let alone consider whether the Buddha would be so aggrieved as to cry when he returned and saw his beloved throne in such a state.
His gaze immediately fell on the area below where the stone platform had originally been—there, a small, square compartment, about a foot in size, had been concealed by a clever array and was now exposed due to the broken stone platform!
The hidden compartment was unlocked, and several items lay quietly inside, their precious luster understated yet undeniable.
Lin Zhu's eyes lit up. He reached in and the first thing he grabbed was a large, ancient-looking bow. It was neither made of gold nor wood, and the bow itself had a dark bronze color. Ancient star patterns and some unrecognizable runes were engraved on it.
Beside it lay three equally ancient arrows, their arrowheads shaped like three-sided, armor-piercing cones, with wind and thunder patterns wrapped around their shafts.
"This is……"
The moment Lin Zhu grasped the great bow, he felt a profound, heavy, and vast aura, as if it could shoot down stars, surge into his palm.
The relevant information immediately flashed through his mind—the Qiankun Bow! The Zhentian Arrow!
"One of Li Jing's signature weapons?"
Lin Zhu raised an eyebrow and immediately understood what was going on. Li Jing was the Grand Marshal of the Heavenly Court, but his master was the Ancient Buddha Dipankara, and his relationship with the present-day Buddha lineage represented by the Buddha Tathagata did not seem to be so harmonious.
The Qiankun Bow and the Zhentian Arrow are acquired magical treasures passed down from the ancient Yellow Emperor when he defeated Chiyou. They are incredibly powerful, and Li Jing used them to achieve many military exploits. Later, the Ancient Buddha Dipankara bestowed upon him the even more powerful acquired treasure, the Golden Exquisite Pagoda, so he used the bow and arrow less often, but they remained one of Li Jing's signature magical weapons.
"It seems that old bastard Tathagata used some pretext to 'confiscate' Li Jing's treasure and store it under his throne."
Lin Zhu scoffed.
"No wonder Li Jing didn't have any decent ranged attack magic weapons on the battlefield before, and could only rely on the Linglong Pagoda to smash things. It turns out it was confiscated by his own 'leader'! Tsk tsk, this internal strife..."
Without hesitation, he pocketed the Qiankun Bow and the three Zhentian Arrows. "Perfect, the brothers in the Nine-Layer Heavenly Prison still lack ranged attack methods."
"Let's see who's best suited to use this bow and arrow."
This was considered a "good match" for Li Jing, and Lin Zhu felt no guilt whatsoever.
Continue searching the hidden compartment.
Lin Zhu then took out two more beads, each the size of a pigeon egg, perfectly round, with an eerie grayish-white color, resembling the eyeballs of some kind of creature. The beads were icy to the touch, carrying an air of sinister cunning.
"Eyeball?"
Lin Zhu's expression was somewhat strange.
He had heard of this thing before; it was a rather insidious acquired magical artifact. Once unleashed, it could shoot at the enemy's eyes without them noticing, targeting vital points and making it impossible to defend against. In the eyes of respectable cultivators, it belonged to the category of "despicable and filthy."
"Good guy!"
Lin Zhu held the two beads in her hands, looking "heartbroken".
"Buddha, Buddha! I never imagined that you, the mighty Buddha, would secretly possess such a heinous and vile magic weapon that targets the lowest of the low! Is there any trace of Buddhist compassion in this? This is simply... the ultimate manifestation of the most forbidden technique in the martial world—'eye gouging'!"
As he shook his head and criticized them, he deftly stuffed two eye-popping beads into his robes. "Such evil objects, if left in the Western Paradise, will likely harm even more innocent people! As the God of Law Enforcement and Prisons of the Three Realms, it is my duty to confiscate and seize them! To prevent them from spreading poison throughout the Three Realms!"
Putting away the eye-poking bead, Lin Zhu was still not satisfied and fiddled with the depths of the hidden compartment a few more times, seemingly triggering some hidden mechanism.
With a "click," an even smaller interlayer popped out from the side wall of the hidden compartment.
Inside the interlayer, lay a thin needle, about three inches long, as thin as a cow's hair, entirely emerald green, with a point of eerie, cold light gleaming at its tip.
"A throat-sealing needle?!"
Lin Zhu's eyes widened even more as he picked up the thin needle, feeling the sharpness of its tip that stung his very soul and the chilling poison within.
"Well! After 'eye-gouging,' it's immediately followed by 'throat-sealing'? Tathagata, just how many of these 'forbidden martial arts' treasures have you collected? What exactly are you Western Paradise researching all day?!"
He once again righteously and sternly took away the throat-sealing needle.
"Confiscate it! It must be confiscated! How can such dangerous items remain in the sacred Buddhist sanctuary?!"
Having completely emptied the small compartment, Lin Zhu felt that the hidden compartment was almost empty and was about to stop when his gaze inadvertently caught sight of what appeared to be an extremely concealed layer at the very bottom of the compartment, hidden by a spatial folding array! If it weren't for his sharp eyes and the slight disturbance of his aura when he collected the magic treasure earlier, he would have been almost unable to detect it!
"besides?!"
Lin Zhu's spirits lifted once again. He disregarded everything else and directly pointed his fingers like a knife, gathering a trace of destructive power at his fingertips. He then slashed fiercely at the point where space folded!
"Shoot-"
Like the sound of tearing cloth, the concealment of that space was forcibly broken open, revealing the items stored inside.
It was a... uniquely shaped magical artifact. Its entire body was a dark gold color, resembling neither scissors nor pincers, composed of two intertwined, lifelike, and menacingly scaled serpents. The serpents' mouths were open, revealing extremely sharp fangs, and their tails were connected, forming a perfect arc.
The entire magical artifact was no bigger than the palm of one's hand, yet it exuded a chilling aura that seemed capable of severing all life force and specifically shattering protective divine light and magical artifact defenses! Its grade had clearly reached the level of a post-natal supreme treasure!
Information about this magical artifact instantly flashed through Lin Zhu's mind—the Taiyin Tengshe Scissors! Known as the "Widow Maker" and the "Supreme Masterpiece of Crotch Teasing"!
It is a vicious treasure that combines the power of Taiyin with the ferocious energy of Tengshe. Once unleashed, it specializes in attacking the lower body, is extremely fast, and is difficult to defend against. Once it locks onto a target, even the most indestructible body may be severely injured by its breach! It is truly the foremost of the "Three Forbidden Techniques of the Martial World"!
Lin Zhu held the Taiyin Tengshe Scissors, and the expression on his face was quite a sight to behold.
He glanced at the scissors, then imagined the majestic appearance of the Buddha, and recalled certain rumors about the Buddha's asceticism… “Hiss—” Lin Zhu gasped, feeling his understanding being shaken. “Buddha… what are you planning to do with this thing? Could it be that at some point… physical reasons cause… that… discomfort? So you need this kind of 'solution'? Or… are you planning to use this thing against someone?”
He shook his head, banishing certain outrageous images from his mind. But regardless, this thing was undeniably powerful and of a truly high grade!
"Amitabha Buddha, I am so sorry."
Facing the empty hall, Lin Zhu feigned clasping his hands and chanting a prayer, then unhesitatingly put away the Taiyin Tengshe Scissors. "This kind of malevolent object has too much evil energy, which is detrimental to the Buddha's cultivation. It's better for me to take it away and slowly dissolve its malevolent energy with righteous energy. Yes, that's right."
Lin Zhu was in a great mood after receiving several "destined" treasures.
He carefully checked the hidden compartment again, making sure nothing was missed, before clapping his hands in satisfaction.
However, just as he was about to leave to find the next "destined" place, his gaze inadvertently swept over the side of the main hall, where rows of huge scripture shelves and countless scriptures were scattered all over the ground due to the collapse. Suddenly, his nose twitched slightly, as if he smelled a very elegant, yet refreshing, and soul-cleansing fragrance... of lotus.
This lotus fragrance is different from the ordinary lotus fragrance of Buddhist temples; it is purer, more ancient, and more... full of vitality!
Lin Zhu stopped in his tracks. He turned around abruptly, his gaze sharp as lightning, shooting into the depths of the chaotic pile of scriptures.
A new clue?!
And it's... lotus-scented?!
Lin Zhu's eyes instantly lit up like stars! Joy once again graced his brows!
Lin Zhu was just having some wildly imaginative thoughts about the "uses" of the Taiyin Tengshe Scissors when suddenly, his fingers holding the scissors touched an extremely subtle unevenness at the bottom of the hidden compartment.
"Huh? There's a hidden layer? This is like a nesting doll!"
Lin Zhu's eyes lit up. Forget about complaining, he put away the Taiyin Tengshe Scissors and then bent down to carefully pry open a jade slab at the bottom of the hidden compartment that seemed to blend in with the surroundings.
Beneath the stone slab was a small, recessed area expanded by a spatial array, containing ten... seemingly ordinary, palm-sized, bluish-white porcelain bottles.
Lin Zhu picked one up curiously; it felt slightly heavy in his hand. He then uncorked it. Instantly, a pure, gentle, and vast aroma, seemingly capable of washing away all sins and bringing boundless blessings, wafted from the bottle's opening, accompanied by a faint, almost tangible golden halo!
Just by smelling it, Lin Zhu felt his primordial spirit become more comfortable, and even the mental energy he had consumed when using the Heaven-Covering Talisman was restored!
"Meritorious Water?!"
Lin Zhu's pupils contracted slightly as he immediately recognized the contents of the bottle.
This is no ordinary elixir; it is the essence condensed from the purest faith, good deeds, and blessings of heaven and earth! A single drop is priceless, and it has miraculous effects on cultivation, healing, crafting magical artifacts, and even offsetting karma!
He quickly probed the bottle with his divine sense, and after a rough estimate, he was even more astonished—this small bottle contained at least ten thousand units of merit worth of divine water! And there were ten such bottles here! That meant... at least one hundred thousand units of merit worth of divine water!
"Good guy!"
Lin Zhu raised his eyebrows high, a hint of understanding and mockery flashing in his eyes.
"The Tathagata, the Tathagata, on the surface appears to be a virtuous and enlightened monk who is free from desires and attachments, but when he preaches, he keeps talking about 'the illusion of merit' and 'letting go of attachments'."
Behind the scenes, he actually hoarded so much merit-accumulating water under his own throne! One hundred thousand units of merit… how many years of devout offerings from countless believers would that require, or how many 'merits' you yourself have personally performed to accumulate?”
He weighed the small porcelain bottle in his hand, his tone filled with "heartache and indignation."
"I don't think you're accumulating merit at all; you're creating a slush fund! It's embezzlement and bribery! You're using public resources that should be used to save all living beings and maintain the Western Paradise to line your own pockets!"
What are you planning to do by hiding this holy water under your seat? Are you saving it to reward your cronies? Or are you going to use it yourself in a pinch? This is a serious abuse of power for personal gain; it's corruption of faith!
Lin Zhu became increasingly "angry" as she spoke, and her expression became more and more "righteous and awe-inspiring".
"Fortunately, I came here today to 'enforce the law' and discovered your unspeakable secret!"
To uphold the reputation of Buddhism, to preserve the purity of the Western Paradise, and to prevent these precious meritorious waters from being tainted by personal desires, I, as the Law Enforcement God of the Three Realms, have the responsibility and obligation to confiscate and confiscate them according to law! This is to serve as punishment and to deter others from doing so!
After saying that, he swiftly and without hesitation put all ten small porcelain bottles into his storage space without missing a single one.
Lin Zhu was overjoyed to receive the 100,000 merits of the divine water, but his face still wore that serious "I'm doing this for your own good" expression.
After collecting the merit water, Lin Zhu carefully examined the hidden compartment three or four times, even using his magic to probe every inch of the jade. Only after confirming that there were no more hidden layers or missed magical treasures did he stand up, still feeling unsatisfied.
"Tsk, is this all you have?"
Lin Zhu clapped his hands, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with Tathagata's "assets".
He had heard that there was a famous "Eight Treasures Merit Pool" in the Western Paradise, which gathered immeasurable merit and vows, and the pool water was almost entirely divine water of merit! That was the real deal!
However, a place like the Merit Pool is definitely a top priority in the Western Paradise, with strict restrictions. Although there is a lot of fighting outside now, it is still too risky to rush in rashly.
"Forget it, let's put the Merit Pool aside for now. Although the Buddha's 'ill-gotten gains' are small, every little bit helps."
Lin Zhu tried to comfort himself, but his gaze began to wander to other parts of the Great Thunderclap Temple.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him.
"Right! If that old rascal Tathagata is hiding his secret stash of money, what about the other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas? Especially those with extraordinary status, like Dipankara Buddha, Bhaisajyaguru Buddha, Maitreya Buddha... They must have had their own positions or symbolic thrones on Mount Sumeru before, right? Could they also..."
The moment this thought crossed Lin Zhu's mind, he felt an overwhelming surge of energy! He felt like an explorer who had discovered a new continent!
He immediately turned his gaze to the two sides of the main hall, to the areas where the Buddha and Bodhisattva “seats” were located, though they were tilted and swayed due to the previous tremors, but their general orientation and size could still be discerned.
As a Buddha of the past, Dipankara Buddha holds a revered position. Although he may not have sat on his symbolic throne often, it certainly exists, and its specifications are no lower than those of the Buddhas!
Lin Zhu moved swiftly and flew to the left side of the main hall, in front of a lotus platform that was significantly higher than the other bodhisattva seats. The platform was made entirely of a strange dark gold metal and had an ancient shape, resembling a giant ancient lamp. This was the symbolic throne of Dipankara Buddha on Mount Ling!
"This is it!"
Lin Zhu rubbed his hands together, a smile of excitement spreading across his face.
Without the slightest hesitation, and without any awareness of "disrespect for the ancient Buddha," he took two steps back, then—lifted his leg, gathered all his strength, and kicked hard into the base of the dark golden lotus platform! (End of Chapter)