Chapter 699 - 272: Donor Xiao, Your Destiny Lies with Our Buddha
Chapter 699: Chapter 272: Donor Xiao, Your Destiny Lies with Our Buddha
’What demons are clouding my eyes? How am I sinking into a sea of suffering? Don’t tell me you’re trying to sell me some blessed Buddhist artifact.’
He refused firmly, "I don’t believe in this stuff. Farewell!"
With that, he turned to leave.
"Donor Xiao, please allow me one final word."
The old monk pressed his palms together and first recited the Buddha’s name, "Amitabha Buddha. Donor Xiao, you have the roots of wisdom. You are meant to take refuge in our gate. Don’t be so stubborn and unenlightened, or you will live to regret it."
"Know this: the sea of suffering is boundless, but the shore is just a turn away!"
With that, he took a step back of his own accord.
Hearing this, Xiao Chen finally understood.
’To put it bluntly, they’ve taken an interest in me and want to recruit me. It’s as simple as that.’
’In essence, it’s just like that Tribulation Cultivator they tonsured at the World Crossing Festival. They’re just poaching talent, recruiting people to expand their own ranks of Golden Core Cultivators.’
’And they’re using talk of sinking into the sea of suffering and being trapped in the cycle of reincarnation to try and scare me.’
’What a joke. Who do they think they’re scaring?’
Xiao Chen’s goal, after all, was Ascension to Immortality and eternal life.
He immediately walked away without any hesitation.
He turned and went to the Spiritual Communication Pavilion on the next street, planning to buy some information about the relic.
"Do you have any information that’s a bit more reliable?"
Xiao Chen looked at the bound volume of rumors and gossip in his hand, at a loss for words. "I can pay more!"
The manager opposite him shook his head. The Spiritual Communication Pavilion never sold reliable information.
This was the very reason they could survive amidst the major factions.
However, he did offer a relatively sound piece of advice: "If you know anyone, you should be able to get the latest updates from the major Commerce Associations."
’The major Commerce Associations are here too?’
With this reminder, Xiao Chen immediately went outside the shop and, sure enough, spotted a cluster of Commerce Association compounds not far away.
Among them, naturally, was the Feiye Commerce Association.
Although the temporarily constructed compound wasn’t luxurious, the various sculptures and ornaments within the courtyard were quite exquisite.
As soon as he entered, an Attendant came forward to greet him. "Welcome, Senior. Please proceed to the rear courtyard!"
Following the Attendant to the back, he saw that the area had been divided into simple cabins.
Although it couldn’t compare to the Quiet Chambers Xiao Chen had seen before, in a place like this, it could definitely be called elegant.
"Please rest for a moment, Senior. The manager will be here shortly."
Opening the door to the cabin for him, the Attendant bowed and made to withdraw.
Xiao Chen called out to him, "Wait a moment. Let me ask you, did your Commerce Association bring any Appraisers this time? Which ones came?"
’Since I’m here anyway, and I happen to have this strange Storage Ring on me...’
’I can get it appraised while I’m gathering information.’
The Attendant replied at once, "To answer your question, Senior, Master Kuang, Master Qi, and Master Liu are here on this trip."
’What a coincidence!’
Xiao Chen immediately asked, "Is that Kuang Ruihong, Kuang?"
The attendant nodded. "The very same."
Xiao Chen immediately instructed, "Please have him come over."
The Attendant immediately responded, "I understand."
Perhaps he was too busy with other matters.
After waiting for about half an hour, Kuang Ruihong finally arrived. "Oh my, just this afternoon I received a distress call from a friend who was surrounded by a school of Sea Fish."
"I just rushed back from off-island. I’ve made you wait, Xiao."
Compared to the last time they met, the Spiritual Qi around him was fluctuating, and he indeed looked like he had just been in a fight.
’It seems quite a few cultivators have been attacked by schools of Sea Fish.’
"Saving a life is what’s important, of course."
Xiao Chen didn’t mind the wait. Instead, he took out the Storage Ring. "Actually, I’ll have to trouble you to take a look at this for me, Kuang."
Kuang Ruihong first took out a small flag and waved it.
Immediately, a Spiritual Barrier rose up, completely enclosing the small cabin.
He then took out a pair of Silk Gloves and put them on before taking the ring to begin his careful inspection.
"Oh? What’s this?"
He frowned slightly, and a Spiritual Light flashed in his eyes as he seemingly activated some kind of Magic.
Immediately after, Kuang Ruihong’s hands formed a Spell, and two streams of True Essence, one from the left and one from the right, coiled around the ring like two Spiritual little snakes and drilled into it.
He then closed his eyes.
"*Hiss*... Truly an exquisitely clever design!"
After nearly ten minutes, he suddenly opened his eyes and exclaimed with admiration, "In my life, I’ve seen all sorts of Storage Rings."
"But this is the first time I’ve ever seen one so special."
Hearing this, Xiao Chen immediately pressed, "So the Storage Ring does have a secret?"
Kuang Ruihong nodded, thought for a moment, and asked in return, "Have you ever seen a Yin Yang Pot used for serving wine?"
"This Storage Ring is similar. It contains two completely different spaces inside."
"Not only are they separated by a powerful Restriction, but it has also been specially concealed. Ordinary methods will never be able to open it or see what’s inside."
’That explains it!’
Xiao Chen recalled that when he was trying to break the Restriction, he’d felt it was exceptionally complex, and it had cost him a significant amount of time.
But in the end, not only was the space inside strangely small, it was also completely empty.
He continued his inquiry, "Then what do I need to do to open the other space?"
Kuang Ruihong held up two fingers. "There are two ways to break it."
"The first method is to find an Array Master to carefully study the structure of the Restriction and reverse-engineer the opening method."
"In my experience, it would probably take about half a year to remove the Restriction on it."
’Half a year?’
Xiao Chen obviously didn’t want to wait that long. "Is the other method any faster?"
Kuang Ruihong nodded. "The second method is indeed much faster."
"But it will cause irreversible damage to the ring’s Restriction."