Continuing from the last part, Tao Qian had filled Zhen Buchi's cup with Immortal Wine from Jade Ring Mountain, causing him to fall into the Taizhen Illusion Realm, fully opening his Heart Soul.

With this, all secrets about him and the Demon Buddha Temple were laid bare before Tao Qian.

Thus, Tao Qian, an outsider, became the first to know about the schemes of the Three Arhats of the Demon Buddha Temple.

"As for Kongchan Arhat, needless to say, that crafty and cunning old bald thief easily entangled Lingwa of the Taishang Demon Sect back in the day."

"Then there's Shipi, whom Master Yuan rated as stronger and more troublesome than Kongchan, with higher mana, and even more likely to achieve the status of a Tribulation Immortal in the future."

"Lian Sha Arhat, though less renowned, could possibly train a figure like the Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva, showcasing formidable strength."

"These three ruthless figures together, along with Cheng Arhat, indeed have a great appetite, not only planning to refine Eighteen Great Transcendence Bodhisattvas but also intending to swallow up Tiannan Province."

"Such wild ambitions, utterly insane."

Inside the Buddha Tower, Tao Qian pondered deeply.

He and Zheng Yin had devised a great plan, but with such strong enemies, he had to consider every possibility to ensure absolute preparedness.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Tao Qian then took out that Immortal Tea and gestured it into the mouth of Zhen Buchi.

Immediately, all the mist disappeared.

The bewildered Zhen Buchi slowly came back to consciousness.

His face showed no unusual expression, still streaming with tears, sorrow unequaled, he choked up and said, "What is the love of this world that it commands one to vow life and death to it?"

After a while, Zhen Buchi gradually recovered.

He intended to continue asking for more wine, but Tao Qian pointed at the empty glazed wine jug, making him realize that he must have drunk it all during his frenzy.

Without waiting for Tao Qian to say anything, Zhen Buchi suddenly stood up, grabbed the jug of "Drunk Dust" from the table, and smashed it to the ground, shattering it.

Amid the fragrance of the wine, he cursed:

"What kind of Drunk Dust is this—compared to the Master's Nameless Spirit Wine, it's barely drinkable. Just smash it, smash them all."

After cursing, the pretty monk waved his hand and summoned a large number of Jade Pots from his treasure bag.

It looked like he indeed planned to smash them all.

Seeing this, Tao Qian hastily intervened, persuading him with good words and bad, and even promised to give him several recipes for Immortal and Buddha Wine, finally stopping him.

As for that Nameless Spirit Wine, only one jug remained, and once drunk, it was gone.

Having gained something good, Zhen Buchi recalled his earlier mad behavior, and his face immediately showed a look of shame.

He bowed deeply in apology, almost prostrating, and said with full remorse:

"I, lost to wine, behaved disgracefully, which is highly inappropriate. I hope the Master can forgive me."

"No worries at all."

"That Spirit Wine is extraordinary, likely only for immortals to drink. Such a heavenly item should not remain nameless. If the Master doesn't mind, may I name that Immortal Wine?"

"Feel free to do so."

"Having drunk that wine, I felt as if I had fallen into an illusion, seeing beauties with tragic fates, everything sorrowful. Why not call it … 'Beauty Shared Among All'?"

"If you like it, then it's good."

Tao Master's perfunctory attitude was naturally noticed by Zhen Buchi immediately.

He didn't take it as Master Wu Gou neglecting him, but after the drink, he thought the Master lacked the mood for discussion.

Usually, he would have already seen a chance to excuse himself.

But now things were different; Zhen Buchi suddenly remembered that he came under his Master's orders.

His face flushed, he looked left and right, and after a while, he pointed at the Sky-reaching Floating Pagoda under his feet, hesitantly saying:

"Master, if I'm not mistaken, this Sky-reaching Floating Pagoda should be the transformation of a Buddha Treasure from my Demon Buddha Temple."

"In my view, since this treasure has fallen into the Master's hands, my brothers, Flower Staff and Hei Bo, shouldn't pursue it any further, let alone threaten me to come here."

"But I couldn't defy my Master's order, I had no choice."

"I wonder… I wonder if the Master might consider returning this treasure to my Demon Buddha Temple."

"There's no need to return it right now, after all, there is no one here to receive it. This Bodhisattva still lacks one part, the 'Wisdom Mother,' needing someone with a ruthless heart to refine it, but I'm not capable."

"My Master's thought: since the Master plans to travel everywhere, why not carry this Buddha Treasure, along with me and my many lady friends, and also my sister Ci'en, all the way to Qiantang City, and return it to my Master there."

"As payment, my Master Kongchan Arhat has prepared various gifts, and invites the Master to attend the 'Birth of Buddha Ceremony' at Qiantang City three days from now."

"My Master said, it will certainly satisfy the Master."

Clearly Zhen Buchi had memorized all these lines, he said them all in one breath while blushing.

Then he took out a Buddha Token invitation from his treasure bag.

On the Buddha Token, there was a message from Kongchan Arhat, asking him to come and so on.

Attached was also a piece called "Western Heavenly Sound Cicada Chanting Technique," a Demon Buddha's Divine Power. If one could refine and deepen this technique, it could be used to soundly defeat a large army of a hundred thousand. Help us out by reading on M|V|LEM5PYR.

Upon verification, there were no hidden doors inside, no added substances, truly an exquisite spell.

Evidently, this was the little sweet date Kongchan Arhat had given beforehand.

But after speaking, Zhen Buchi's face was still full of nervousness, waiting for Tao Qian's response.

In his mind, another command from his own Master echoed:

"My good disciple, that Great Transcendence Bodhisattva is after all a rare Buddha Treasure, not comparable to a single Divine Power."

"If that Wu Gou monk is greedy, and unwilling to hand it over, he might just flee, and if it comes to it, he might even have to kill you."

"When the time comes, you'll cast the spell and invite my incarnation to descend. Even if we can't subdue that little monk, we can easily snatch back the Buddha Treasure," he said.

"Doing so would mean burning bridges, but if he escapes, Uncle Shipi will personally capture him and bring him back to the temple for punishment."

If it were anyone else, Zhen Buchi would not care about their life or death.

However, the Wu Gou monk before him was different. His charm and temperament were not inferior to his own, and he had even drunk the Nameless Immortal Wine from him. Added to that the influence of the "Ten Lifetimes of Resentful Couples," Zhen Buchi would rather have his own kin face disaster than have his Master take action to capture and torture the Great Master.

So, he thought for a moment and then indirectly reminded him:

"Great Master, have you heard that Buchi has a master named Shipi Arhat?"

"His Divine Powers are stronger than those of my master, but he has a terrible temper. If he is angered, even if you have mastered the Divine Feet Power, you would hardly escape from his blockade in Qiantang Province."

"Though the Buddha Treasure is valuable, it might not be better than the gift my master has prepared for you in the provincial city."

Zhen Buchi originally thought that after speaking, Master Wu Gou would still need some time to ponder before replying.

But, unexpectedly, the next moment he saw the Great Master smile and casually say.

"That's okay!"

"This item was indeed picked up by me, and it should rightfully be returned to its original owner."

"Being able to contemplate it for three more days is already an added benefit."

With that said, the host and guest were both satisfied.

Zhen Buchi even began to think that Master Wu Gou was willing to hand over the Buddha Treasure perhaps out of respect for him.

Little did he know.

Master Tao had already peeked into his Heart Soul and seen all his thoughts.

Knowing that if he declined, Shipi and Kongchan, those two old bald thieves, would come to kill him, so he promptly agreed.

Of course, it was also because Tao Qian knew that there was no real danger inside.

One reason was that Duobao True Monarch, disguised as Qingjing Zen Master, had already paved the way. As long as Tao Qian was flexible, it wouldn't be hard to make the Kongchan Arhat and others see him as an ally from the South Sea Hooking Turtle Cliff.

Another reason was that the Great Transcendence Bodhisattva had secretly been refined by him, with added ingredients from Lian Jing'er. Even if returned to Kongchan Arhat, it could still disrupt their integration with the Nirvana Demon Buddha at a critical moment.

As for Qiantang City, where the Demon Buddha Temple was located, and many warlords and the Tiannan Gao Family were heading there... The Devil Concubine Spring and Autumn Chariot was also there, so Tao Qian had no choice but to go.

Thus, he readily agreed.

Zhen Buchi was unaware, only thinking that his own face was highly regarded, and immediately held Wu Gou in even higher esteem as a close friend.

Upon briefly returning home, he did not forget to boast to his father and a group of powerful family heads and wealthy young masters:

"Previously, I thought that this world was either filled with worthless as dirt or boring cultivators; such a lack of interest in the Human World!"

"But having met Master Wu Gou, I now know that there are such marvelous monks and Buddha's sons in the world, even overshadowing me, Zhen Buchi."

"He truly is an Immortal unaffected by the mortal world, and to befriend him is Buchi's fortune."

It was fortunate that Zhen Buchi's cultivation was formidable, and he had powerful backing.

Otherwise, upon uttering such words, his father, Zhen Shiliang, would have broken his legs first.

There's a way to praise someone, why drag others down?

Fortunately, the Sky-reaching Floating Pagoda and Wu Gou monk left that day.

Mentioning that "our karma has ended," they scattered sweet rain and treasures from the sky, heading directly towards Qiantang City.

…

Shortly after the Sky-reaching Floating Pagoda flew a hundred li from Suzhou City, Tao Qian, Yunrong, Zhen Buchi, Zhen Ci'en, and numerous female companions were all seated in the Buddha Tower plaza, overlooking the earth.

The scene was filled with cultivators, who theoretically should be discussing profound Buddhist philosophies.

However, Zhen Buchi, from the beginning, had Tao Qian make minor adjustments to control the pagoda's direction to explore other places.

"The birth of the Buddhist Law is still three days away; we are not in a rush. Arriving too early might just lead us to be assigned tasks; better to first explore other territories in Qiantang Province."

"Talking about myself, although I am from Qiantang Province, I have rarely traveled far."

"However, my sister Ci'en has frequently traveled abroad; this time, she can act as a guide."

"It's not good to wander aimlessly like headless flies; rather, let me point out some interesting places."

"Back in the temple, I've heard those ferocious and ugly demon monks often talk about how Qiantang Province has turned into an Earthly Buddha Country and additionally, five Strange Phenomena have emerged."

"The so-called Five Strange Phenomena refer to the unusual occurrences in the territories of Hidden Mountain, Evil Country, Emancipation City, Joyful Forest, and Corpse Mud Ridge."

"These demon monks discussed it enthusiastically, and it has piqued my curiosity considerably."

"Now that we're here, Ci'en, please lead the way. Let's first explore one of these Strange Phenomena and see what it's like."

Tao Qian and Yunrong heard Zhen Buchi's words without sensing anything unusual.

As soon as he finished, however, the expression of Ci'en and the other women drastically changed, falling into silence.

Ci'en, in particular, looked troubled and resistant.

Biting her lip and sighing, she then communicated telepathically to her Master and teacher:

"Master, Great Master."

"My elder brother may be called 'not foolish,' but in reality, he's extremely naive."

"I do not know why he had the karma to be accepted by Kongchan Arhat. Why did the Arhat only teach him Divine Powers and the ways of Love Monks, yet did not educate my brother to understand the world, to distinguish right from wrong? There might be some hidden reasons, after all, Kongchan Arhat is also a high monk of the Demon Buddha Sect."

"My brother mentioned the Five Strange Phenomena, but these are actually the Evil Lands of Buddha Country, not good places at all."

"Although my brother possesses the cultivation of Cavernous Mystery Realm, his character is far too weak. Seeing the grotesque form of the Demon Buddha might scare him to madness."

PS: Thanks to the book friends, Xiaogeluo ya, Yang Feiyang, Guangling Sansan, Dai Biao Taiyang de Ruo Chen... and many others for their rewards. We will try to increase additional updates if we maintain bi-daily updates for a longer period. The rank has dropped significantly, so I kindly ask for your support, fellow Daoists.