Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 900 Black Relic

"Hey!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran and Jin Chanzi exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

Jin Chanzi pointed at Lu Da: "You big monk, you're not stupid at all."

By doing this, Lu Da has essentially made an offer in advance. If Xiao Ran accepts the scripture, then when it comes time to bid, Lu Da and Xiao Ran will be on the same side.

Even if Jin Chanzi and Wu Man wanted to bid, they would be bidding against Xiao Ran, allowing Lu Da to sit back and reap the benefits.

Ultimately, regardless of the bidding outcome, he won't lose out.

Therefore, this great monk was truly intelligent.

"Alright, I'll take the things. I promise you won't be disappointed."

After receiving Xiao Ran's promise, Lu Da was in high spirits and called out to Wu Man, "Cook, when is dinner served? My stomach is rumbling."

Wu Man looked up at Lu Da and said, "What are you yelling about? Just wait and see. Slow and steady wins the race."

But Lu Da couldn't stand it any longer and ran to Wu Man's side, getting close to the pot: "Give me a sip of soup to moisten my mouth first."

"Go away, don't make things worse, the soup isn't ready yet!"

Wu Man pushed Lu Da away, and the two began to shove each other.

Leaving aside Wu Man and Lu Da, Xiao Ran carefully examined the scriptures.

Xiao Ran sat cross-legged, her fingertips tracing the yellowed pages of the "Mahayana Sutra".

The Dharma described in the scriptures is completely contrary to orthodox Buddhism. It transforms many distracting thoughts into one thought, and that one thought is "I" and "the Tathagata".

It is indeed a heretical practice. Buddhism teaches to eliminate distracting thoughts and preserve one's true self, but this sutra only teaches the way and uses distracting thoughts to cultivate oneself.

According to this sutra, this method of practice can be mastered very quickly; one can achieve enlightenment in a single thought and immediately attain the level of a high-ranking monk who has cultivated for ten years.

Of course, the faster the cultivation speed, the stronger the drawbacks.

After all, distracting thoughts contain the seven emotions and six desires of a hostage. The faster one cultivates through distracting thoughts, the stronger one's seven emotions and six desires become.

If one's mental strength is not strong enough, one will be immediately consumed by distracting thoughts and eventually lose oneself.

This scripture contains a special warning at the end: if one's Buddhist concentration is insufficient, one should not practice this scripture, otherwise one will surely fall into the demonic path and never be able to escape.

However, this had the least impact on Xiao Ran.

His mental strength was already very strong, and he was not afraid of the influence of distracting thoughts at all. In fact, if the distracting thoughts were too strong, he could correct them with soul cultivation techniques.

I just don't know what the specific effects of cultivating it will be.

Thinking of this, he closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to circulate the techniques from the scriptures.

He first silently recited the "Great Self-Existence Mara Sutra" to calm his mind.

He then silently recited the Mahayana Sutra, causing countless random thoughts to boil over in an instant.

"The meaning of Mahayana is boundless and its meaning is complex and varied."

All thoughts are not obstacles, all delusions are not dust.

"A hundred impurities can form a pearl, ten thousand grievances can serve as fuel."

The unique syllables of chanting resonate in the sea of ​​consciousness, causing chaotic thoughts to converge like a hundred rivers flowing into a dark vortex.

Mokha is boundless, and my distracting thoughts are endless. Condense my true form, forge my true image. Mokha, Mokha, boundless, boundless…

The vortex began to compress inward, and countless distracting thoughts, like dreams and bubbles, raced before Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran relaxed, organizing all her distracting thoughts into her own outline.

This step is the most difficult.

Distractions are just that—distractions. To shape them into your own identity is no easy task.

Fortunately, since the Mahayana Sutra is considered a forbidden Buddhist practice and thus a heretical cultivation method, it naturally contains heretical cultivation techniques.

Xiao Ran only needs to recite the specific verses in the scriptures, and she can gradually shape her distracting thoughts.

"The body is a Bodhi tree, and thoughts are like sand in a mirror."

"Sand piled up to form the sun, illuminating the scabs of the five aggregates."

As time passed, a wisp of distracting thought gradually condensed into the image of Xiao Ran. This wisp of thought sat cross-legged in meditation, but its face revealed an arrogant and wicked look.

Suddenly!
An invisible yet extremely powerful wave suddenly spread out from Xiao Ran as the center!
It's like a giant rock being thrown into a calm lake, creating visible ripples of energy.

Everyone on deck was alarmed!
Lu Da, who was fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes, which were as big as copper bells. He was wide awake and his eyes flashed with disbelief.

Jin Chanzi, who was studying the golden plate, stood up and looked at Xiao Ran in surprise.

Wu Man even stopped stirring the soup pot, her eyes blinking at Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran, who was sitting cross-legged, seemed to be emitting a faint light from every pore on her body.

It wasn't a dazzling golden light, but rather a restrained, profound, and warm dark golden luster, like that of ancient jade.

The luster quickly stabilized and solidified, eventually transforming into a thin, yet incredibly solemn and sacred, layer of Buddhist light that enveloped his body.

Under the light of the Buddha, his skin appeared almost translucent and crystal clear, and his already handsome face looked even more dignified and solemn, like a Vajra body that had been silent for thousands of years, carrying an inviolable majesty.

"This...this is impossible!"

Lu Da gasped in shock, his voice filled with unprecedented astonishment and a barely perceptible tremor.

He suddenly stood up. "He...he actually managed to condense it?! And in such a short time?"

Lu Da was all too aware of the dangers and difficulties of the "Mahayana Miscellaneous Thoughts".

He had possessed this scripture for so long, and through countless attempts, he knew the dangers involved; how difficult it was to forge a single thought into a form. Yet, in Xiao Ran's hands, in such a short time, this kid had already mastered it?

Once a thought takes shape, that's the beginning.

As a heretical practitioner, one has already achieved success upon entering the path.

A single point of pure, dark light emerged from the mind that was shaping the form.

The dark light was incredibly profound, seemingly capable of devouring all light and constantly absorbing all surrounding distractions into its body.

The dark light gradually solidified, eventually compressing to the size of a fingernail and appearing between the eyebrows of the true form of the impure thoughts.

Xiao Ran carefully sensed it and saw that the thing was spinning around, and with each rotation, the chaotic thoughts boiling in her sea of ​​consciousness were sucked into it as if swallowed by an invisible giant mouth.

Chaos, noise, clamor... all the mental impurities that disturb us are absorbed, purified, and transformed the moment they come into contact with this dark light.

This dark light is the extraordinary phenomenon in Buddhist legends, a black relic that can only be formed under extremely special conditions by great evil or obsession!
Xiao Ran's solemn Buddhist light suddenly surged, like the rising sun, illuminating the entire deck in a brilliant and dazzling light.

A vast and pure Buddhist power radiated forth, yet it also faintly revealed a domineering and ruthless killing intent.

At this moment, Xiao Ran seemed to have transcended countless years of arduous cultivation.

His body exuded Buddhist aura, and his aura was unfathomable. Although he was not wearing a kasaya, he had clearly reached the level of a high-ranking Buddhist monk.

Lu Da was completely stunned. He muttered to himself, his voice hoarse:
"Black... Black Relic... Damn it... This kid... is simply a living monster!"

Now he suddenly felt a little regretful, regretting that he had given the "Mahayana Sutra" to Xiao Ran in such a muddled way.

This thing is too valuable to this kid; just one treasure chest is too much of a loss.

But it's too late to regret it now.

Looking at the solemn, pure, profound, and complex Buddhist light surrounding Xiao Ran, Lu Da muttered a few words and then stopped worrying about the issue.

Since I gave it away, even though I lost money in the transaction, I gained a fellow Buddhist, which is not bad.

Thinking of this, Lu Da felt more at ease.

Jin Chanzi and Wu Man also gathered around, their faces full of curiosity.

"Amitabha!" Jin Chanzi circled around Xiao Ran, who was sitting cross-legged, his small eyes wide with amazement.

"How long has it been? The time it takes to drink a cup of tea? Old Xiao, your comprehension... even the Dao Ancestor himself would praise you, saying, 'This child is just like me,' right?"

"No, is this a Buddhist technique? Why do I feel like you're the same as that lewd monk? You don't seem like a proper Buddhist." Wu Man stared at Xiao Ran, feeling that this guy had a Buddhist aura about him, which was very righteous, but also gave people a feeling that righteousness was turning evil.

"Cook, you're talking nonsense! My martial arts are the orthodox Buddhist tradition, practiced by eminent monks. It follows the path of Buddhism in the mortal world. Do you understand?"

Lu Da walked over and complained to Wu Man.

Upon hearing this, Wu Man, seemingly skeptical, moved closer to Xiao Ran. He sniffed the air and couldn't help but swallow.

"Goodness, this flavor... is even richer than the broth I've been simmering for decades! It's not just the aroma of meat, it's... it's like the very essence of the meat has solidified into a tangible form? Old Xiao, with your physique, making soup with you now would definitely be incredibly nourishing!"

After saying that, he leaned closer to Xiao Ran and said, "How about... you cut off two pounds of meat, and I promise I'll give you back ten pounds later!"

Xiao Ran glared at him, annoyed: "Don't even think about it."

"Then give me some blood essence, not much, just three catties will do."

Wu Man stared at Xiao Ran pitifully.

Xiao Ran pushed him away: "Stop it, there's no room for negotiation."

Xiao Ran stood up and stretched her muscles. Her muscles were taut and hard as iron, as if her physical strength had increased significantly.

Xiao Ran quickly checked her attribute table.

Even Xiao Ran was startled when she saw this; all her attributes had increased significantly.

Strength 470, Agility 500, Constitution 500, Spirit 550.

At this moment, Xiao Ran truly felt an unprecedented power; it turned out that the black relic could greatly enhance the strength of the physical body.

In this way, all the bottleneck problems that had been troubling Xiao Ran were easily resolved.

To some extent, the longer one survives, the more one's physical body can be amplified by the black relic, and the less one's mental strength will be limited by bottlenecks.

Thinking of this, a spark ignited in Xiao Ran's heart, and her eyes burned as she stared at the vast expanse of white snow before her; "Now it seems that this place is truly a paradise."

The benefits here go far beyond that.

Over the next few days, the treasure ship continued northward, and Xiao Ran finally couldn't resist Wu Man's relentless pestering and cajoling. In the end, she bled three catties of blood, and that guy even went so far as to cut off a piece of Xiao Ran's flesh.

"Are you sure you can make top-quality medicinal cuisine? If not, I'll kill you."

Xiao Ran stared at Wu Man with a dark expression and said.

Wu Man, however, didn't care at all. She slowly cooked the rich soup in the True Flavor Cauldron, and every now and then she would secretly break off a couple of ginseng roots and throw them in.

The broth in the pot slowly turned from brown to red, and then Wu Man threw in various spores.

"Rumble..."

A buzzing sound could be heard from inside the True Flavor Cauldron, and dark clouds and lightning flashed inside, with the Milky Way turning upside down.

"Amitabha, is this kid a cook or an alchemist? Does making a meal really require such a big commotion?" Lu Da stared wide-eyed, vaguely seeing a dragon-shaped golden light moving inside the True Flavor Cauldron.

"How much longer are you going to do this??" Jin Chanzi looked at the soup in the cauldron and couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of saliva.

"Don't rush, don't rush, we still need one last ingredient."

At this moment, Wu Man carefully went to a frozen box, broke the ice outside the box, and opened the box. Inside, there was a pink lump of flesh.

Xiao Ran looked at the lump of flesh and felt it looked strangely familiar. Upon closer inspection, she exclaimed, "It's the flesh of a nine-lived dragon!"

(End of this chapter)