Chapter 1550: 戍土神砂

Follow the public account: Book Friends' Headquarters, and get cash and points immediately upon following!

He formed a hand seal, and the blue water curtain disappeared, transforming into eighteen Sea-Stabilizing Pearls, which then vanished into his sleeve.

In other parts of the Dongli Realm, patron forces regularly collected cultivation resources from their subordinate factions and provided protection. In the Western Desert, eminent Buddhist monks regularly begged for alms and also offered protection to their affiliated forces. The difference was that the Buddhist methods were relatively gentler.

After Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan arrived in the Western Desert, they discovered that most cultivators there were Buddhists. Life-and-death battles were rare among cultivators, and the number of high-level cultivators was not large. Western Desert cultivators highly valued the safety of mortals. They believed in, revered, and worshipped Buddha, living self-sufficient lives. Wars of annihilation rarely occurred between various forces; occasional conflicts were quickly mediated by Buddhist monks, who aimed to resolve issues with minimal damage. According to locals, acts of murder and seizing treasures were scorned by all forces.

The cultivation resources in the Western Desert were originally sparse. Furthermore, Western Desert cultivators generally believed in Buddhism, revering Sakyamuni. They considered murder and seizing treasures to be evil, believing such actions would lead them to the eighteen levels of hell after death. They regarded suffering as a form of cultivation, believing that enduring hardship in this life would lead to blessings in the next.

Even if someone committed murder and stole treasures, the eminent monks of Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple would apprehend the perpetrator, imprison them, and try to reform them with Buddhist principles.

This was simply impossible in other parts of the Dongli Realm.

Especially in the South Sea, where if you killed my fellow disciples or kin today, I would demand ten or a hundred times the repayment tomorrow. To reform a murderer with Buddhist principles? Unthinkable. In the South Sea cultivation world, ending violence with violence was the prevalent approach.

The South Sea possessed the richest cultivation resources, with both demonic beasts and mineral veins, and was also the most chaotic region in the Dongli Realm. The Central Plains was the most prosperous area of the Dongli Realm; its people adhered to Confucian teachings, educating the populace. The Northern Frontier was the Dongli Realm's most mineral-rich region. The Eastern Wilderness had demonic beast resources and mineral veins, though not in particularly large quantities, and the areas controlled by humans in the Eastern Wilderness were smaller than those controlled by demonkind.

“Master Jingkong? Senior Wang, I am willing to lead the way. I often accompany my grandfather to Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple to seek guidance on Buddhist principles.”

The young woman in the yellow dress volunteered, her expression respectful. The Azure Lotus Immortals had saved her entire family, so it was only right for her to act as their guide.

Jin Decheng bravely stepped forward and politely asked, “Senior Wang, may I presume to ask, do you know why there are so many green-eyed sand jackals?”

Demonic beasts were not common in the Western Desert, so the sudden appearance of tens of thousands of green-eyed sand jackals was astonishing. He worried that after the Azure Lotus Immortals departed, another wave of demonic beasts might emerge, which would be problematic.

“I am not aware,” Wang Changsheng replied casually. “We happened to encounter your granddaughter. As for why there are so many green-eyed sand jackals, I don't know. Are these demonic beasts uncommon?”

Wang Changsheng asked casually; in his view, tens of thousands of demonic beasts were not a large number. Medium-sized beast tides in the South Sea involved over a hundred thousand demonic beasts, and large-scale tides involved millions. Tens of thousands of green-eyed sand jackals were merely a small-scale beast tide. Having witnessed many grand spectacles, Wang Changsheng did not consider the tens of thousands of green-eyed sand jackals to be significant.

He didn't take it seriously, but Jin Decheng dared not treat it lightly.

“Green-eyed sand jackals are considered common sand beasts, but their numbers are usually small, typically appearing in dozens. Third-tier green-eyed sand jackals are rarely seen, unless they have escaped from the Lake of Myriad Spirits.”

Jin Decheng's expression grew solemn.

“The Lake of Myriad Spirits?”

Wang Changsheng was slightly taken aback, completely bewildered.

The cultivation resources in the Western Desert's cultivation world were meager, and major powers rarely developed there. Wang Changsheng had sent people to gather intelligence on the Western Desert, but not much information was obtained. If it weren't for his avatar cultivating Buddhist techniques, they wouldn't have come to the Western Desert.

“The Lake of Myriad Spirits is one of the three major desert oases in the Western Desert, named for the vast number of demonic beasts it houses, mostly high-tier ones. Whenever high-tier demonic beasts appear, they are quickly captured by Buddhist cultivators and brought back to the Lake of Myriad Spirits for rearing, to prevent them from causing harm. However, with several Nascent Soul stage eminent monks presiding over the Lake of Myriad Spirits, it’s unlikely they escaped from there.”

Jin Decheng's face was filled with confusion. Then, recalling something, he added, “Senior, please wait a moment. I’ll go fetch something and be right back.”

Wang Changsheng nodded. Jin Decheng transformed into a streak of yellow light and flew back into the city.

After a while, Jin Decheng returned, holding a yellow jade casket and a yellow jade box.

“The jade casket contains a piece of Shoushan Jade, inherited from my ancestors, an excellent earth-attribute refining material. The jade box holds some Wutu Divine Sand. If it weren't for the two seniors’ intervention to save us, my entire family would have been in peril.”

Jin Decheng handed the two items to Wang Changsheng, expressing his gratitude.

“Wutu Divine Sand! This is a top-grade earth-attribute refining material!”

A flicker of surprise appeared in Wang Ruyan's eyes. If Wutu Divine Sand were refined into Five-Element Talisman Soldiers, their power would be significantly enhanced. She was currently unable to refine Nascent Soul stage Five-Element Talisman Soldiers, primarily due to material limitations.

That Jin Decheng would offer Wutu Divine Sand as thanks for their gratitude was unexpected by Wang Ruyan. Putting herself in his shoes, even if she were Jin Decheng and immensely grateful for being saved, she wouldn't offer Wutu Divine Sand as compensation. Human hearts are unfathomable.

Wang Changsheng and his wife hailed from the Eastern Wilderness and had endured numerous hardships to reach their current standing. Jin Decheng, however, had always lived in the Western Desert and experienced little suffering. The Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple consistently guided people towards goodness, which was why Jin Decheng was willing to offer Wutu Divine Sand as compensation.

Jin Decheng was not naive. He had heard of the Azure Lotus Immortals and knew that since they had rescued his entire family, they were unlikely to be ruthless murderers who would covet wealth. He had heard that True Master Taihao was skilled in puppet arts, and if he could purchase a third-tier puppet beast from him, it could be passed down as a family heirloom.

Wang Changsheng was unaware of Jin Decheng's thoughts, but Jin Decheng's offer of Wutu Divine Sand indeed surprised him.

“Young friend Jin,” Wang Changsheng said, “since your grandson will be guiding us to Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, your family will temporarily be without a Core Formation cultivator. I’ll lend you these two low-grade third-tier puppet beasts for temporary use. By the way, I am very interested in the mineral resources of the Western Desert. If you help me collect some relatively precious mineral resources, I can exchange them for puppet beasts.”

Wang Changsheng flipped his hand and took out two gleaming golden metal spheres, handing them to Jin Decheng.

The Western Desert cultivation world produced some refining materials that were relatively rare elsewhere and found only there. The Wang family had no base in the Western Desert, so it was better to have Jin Decheng arrange for their collection.

Jin Decheng’s eyes lit up. With trembling hands, he took the two metal spheres and repeatedly agreed.

“These demonic beast carcasses are yours. You may dispose of them as you see fit!”

Wang Changsheng put away the carcass of the fourth-tier green-eyed sand jackal. He performed a hand seal, and the Azure Lotus Dharma Seat immediately burst with blue light, soaring into the sky and quickly disappearing from sight.

“Grandfather, are these two seniors the legendary Azure Lotus Immortals? They are truly amazing! Even eminent Buddhist monks wouldn't resolve so many demonic beasts so easily, would they?”

The middle-aged man’s face was filled with envy. Buddhist cultivators rarely took lives.

“Of course,” Jin Decheng replied. “I heard the Azure Lotus Immortals have consecutively slain several Nascent Soul stage demonkind. Now, quickly send people to deal with these green-eyed sand jackals. Our family's opportunity has arrived!”

Jin Decheng’s gaze fell upon the green-eyed sand jackals outside the city. If converted into spirit stones, these numerous green-eyed sand jackals would be worth over a million, representing enormous wealth. He might even seize this opportunity to advance to the Nascent Soul stage.

A large number of Jin family members flew out of Golden Moon City to process the demonic beast carcasses. Some green-eyed sand jackals were not yet dead, so they quickly delivered finishing blows, then skinned them and extracted their inner cores, working with fervent energy.