Chapter 617 402: Shura Armory
On the endless wilderness, the wild grass stretches like waves.
Chen Ku and Master Tian Hai gazed at the four objects not far away.
There was a mirror, a scroll, a jade scroll, and a black lotus platform.
"Is this the gift from the Heavenly Demon King after the completion of the Heavenly Demon Ceremony?" Master Tian Hai looked at Chen Ku and said.
Chen Ku nodded and said, "To be honest, Master Uncle, I originally intended to return to the Divine Martial Mountain in Yan Capital to bring reinforcements. Unexpectedly, when passing through that Demon Cave Domain, I accidentally learned about the Heavenly Demon Ceremony there and thought of trying it out as an adventure. As a result, I really trapped and killed that Jin Xun. But as for this so-called reward from the Heavenly Demon, I think... we should be cautious."
Master Tian Hai did not inquire further, merely nodding.
He looked at the three objects.
Then he stepped forward.
"Master Uncle, be careful. Gifts from the Heavenly Demon King might hide treachery," Chen Ku quickly advised.
Master Tian Hai nodded and said, "This old monk understands."
He bent down and picked up the three items.
First, he looked at the jade scroll. With a sweep of his strong divine sense, a scripture immediately emerged in his Heart Sea. A moment later, he said solemnly:
"This is a 'Heavenly Demon Great Method' that can establish a sect and directly reach the Martial Path True Body. After mastering it, the body can be cultivated into a 'formless and shapeless' Cultivation Body, allowing one to come and go as they please, even entering others' emotions. Quite strange, but the intention is profound. Though a Demon Sect cultivation technique, it is an unparalleled grand path. You take a look too."
He handed it to Chen Ku.
Chen Ku cautiously accepted it and, after reviewing it, discovered that this Heavenly Demon Great Method has a total of eleven layers, a cultivation technique that directly reaches the Heavenly Demon Body, which is the Martial Path True Body.
If an ordinary faction obtained such a cultivation technique, it could become half a sect, creating a family.
While Chen Ku was reviewing this Heavenly Demon Great Method,
Master Tian Hai had already begun to examine the second mirror.
He held the black mirror.
And looked into it.
Chen Ku was still thinking about how to handle this Heavenly Demon Great Method, and after some thought, decided not to practice it lightly.
Retracting his thoughts.
He suddenly noticed that Master Tian Hai, holding that black mirror, had a suddenly changing complexion, sometimes ferocious, sometimes angry, sometimes shedding tears, becoming extremely despairing.
Chen Ku was shocked:
"Master Tian Hai!"
He immediately looked at the mirror.
Indeed, it was something from the Heavenly Demon King, very sinister and strange, and was about to forcibly knock the demon mirror from Master Tian Hai's hand.
Hum~
Chen Ku clenched his fist...
Suddenly, Master Tian Hai looked at him with tears, paused slightly, then also looked at the mirror in his hand, seeming to understand something, and immediately turned the mirror over, wiped away the old tears, and exhaled:
"Don't worry, this old monk was just deluded. Because this mirror is indeed strange, during my contemplation of it, I gained some mysterious insights. It is called the 'Devil Heart Mirror' and can reflect the devil thoughts in anyone's heart. Originally, it was a treasure used by the cultivators of the Demon Country to cultivate a devil heart. If it falls into the hands of non-demon cultivators, it is ominous."
Chen Ku frowned and said, "If that's the case, let's destroy it."
But Master Tian Hai shook his head and said, "This mirror is a root of disaster for others, but holds a hint of opportunity for this old monk, so, I humbly ask the Sect Master to give this mirror to me."
"Hmm? Opportunity?"
Chen Ku asked solemnly:
"Master Uncle, have you gained something?"
"Actually, when the eyes of the Heavenly Demon King appeared above the altar, this old monk already felt some opportunity."
Master Tian Hai spoke to Chen Ku, saying:
"As the Sect Master of our Putuo Mountain now, you ought to know something about our past. We are Buddhist, but Sect Master, you should know, Buddhism is just a common name used by Daji for our martial arts lineage, while our real root belongs to a nation."
Upon hearing this,
Chen Ku's mind immediately flashed with ancient secrets overheard by the Six-Eared Macaque at the Heavenly Demon Altar, and he said:
"Is it... Buddha Country?"
Master Tian Hai gave Chen Ku a surprised look and said:
"I didn't expect the Sect Master to have such broad knowledge. Yes, it is Buddha Country, a Dao lineage established in the Ancient Era, after the Emperor disappeared, by a Saint. Like the Martial Path, Immortal Tao, Divine Tao, and Demon Path, it is called the Buddha Dao. That Saint is our Buddhist founder, the Buddha. There is, however, something few people know, which is that back then, the Buddha once dual cultivated with a good friend, being each other's Dao companions, and later both attained sainthood because their understanding of each other's Dao was so deep that their Dao lineage appeared as two aspects of one entity in the world. Can the Sect Master guess who that co-practitioner of the Buddha was?"
"Since Master Uncle says so, then it should be as he thinks not otherwise."
Chen Ku looked at the Devil Heart Mirror in Tian Hai's hands and said:
"It must be the Demon Ancestor who founded the Demon Path and the Demon Country."
"Exactly. Since the day Buddha Dao and Demon Path appeared in the world, they have been intertwined. At times, cultivators from both paths cannot distinguish between Buddha and Demon. Some suggested that Buddha modify the Buddhist Law, but Buddha said..."
Tian Hai put his hands together and said:
"Buddha said: Small demons become small Buddhas, great demons become great Buddhas, without demons there can be no Buddhas."
Chen Ku was in deep contemplation.
Tian Hai slowly continued: "What Buddha means is that since the first day Buddhist Law and Magic appeared in the world, it has been a process of mutual verification and intertwining. The existence of demons, though it affects Buddha, without demons there wouldn't be true Buddhas. That is, the laws of the Demon Country can promote the cultivation of the Buddha Country's laws, as long as one adheres to their original intent."
Chen Ku, now with extraordinary comprehension, easily understood the meaning of Master Tian Hai and said: "Master Uncle, you wish to use this Devil Heart Mirror to find your own demon and then transform the demon into a Buddha?"
Master Tian Hai nodded, looking towards the sky, and said slowly: "The reason I have been living in confusion for the past hundred years is because my heart has neither demons nor Buddhas, only self-attachment. Only when I saw that Demon Eye did my dry Sea of Consciousness finally stir with a hint of the Wisdom of Prajna, so it seems I have found a path that might allow me to completely break free."
Chen Ku frowned, wanting to persuade.
Master Tian Hai said: "I understand, feeding the demon with oneself to gain true enlightenment is a dangerous path, but it's much better than facing a pathless front and being trapped in the relentless hell of the past."
Chen Ku sighed and said: "Since you are so determined, Master Uncle, I have no more words, I only ask that you be extremely cautious."
Master Tian Hai said: "Then I take it the Sect Master has given this mirror to me."
Chen Ku exhaled and said: "Master Uncle, you can try first, but if it doesn't work, you must withdraw quickly, after all, you haven't seen our Putuo Mountain rebuilt yet."
Master Tian Hai laughed: "If I succeed, perhaps our Putuo Mountain might have one more Eleventh Layer cultivator."
Chen Ku said no more.
He then looked at the remaining two items.
The black Lotus Platform is the key item for hosting the Heavenly Demon Ceremony, but the remaining scroll was an unknown object.
After Master Tian Hai inspected it twice without error.
Chen Ku also gained courage, bending over to pick up the scroll. Before he opened it, he saw four characters engraved on it.
"These four characters are..."
Chen Ku frowned.
The text is not of the present world.
Tian Hai also came over to have a look, and upon seeing those four characters, his expression was greatly shaken:
"This is..."
"Master Uncle, do you recognize these four ancient characters?" Chen Ku curiously asked.
Master Tian Hai solemnly and seriously looked at the four characters, and recited them one by one:
"Shura Treasure Vault!"
"Shura Treasure Vault?!"
Chen Ku's mind was electrified, and he exclaimed loudly:
"Is it one of the 'Shura Treasure Vault,' one of the Three Treasures among the Nine Mansions, Three Treasures, Six Collections?"
Nine Mansions, Three Treasures, Six Collections.
Currently, Chen Ku had encountered and heard about quite a few, and had long memorized the names of all eighteen treasures.
Such as the Hero King Treasure, like the Yankang Immortal Mansion of Emperor Yankang, and the Primordial Martial Treasure Vault inherited by Hua Yuexian alone.
It can be said that any single treasure among these eighteen, if obtained by someone, could change a person's fate, allowing them to become a prominent figure standing at the forefront of the world, becoming the protagonist of the era!
"Is it really the Shura Treasure Vault?" Chen Ku took a deep breath.
Tian Hai also focused his attention, began to slowly open the scroll, and saw that it described a map of mountain terrain, which involved the topology of several countries - the 'Map of the World.'
It was Chen Ku's first time seeing the Map of the World.
Only then did he realize the layout of countries in the world, finding that Daji was just in the southwest of the entire land, with the smallest national territory. To the north was Yuan Country, whose land was three times as large as Daji. In the east-west direction between Yuan and Ji Country, there were several small countries, the largest being just the size of a state.
The largest map area of the whole world was the 'Great Fortune Dynasty' in the far east, followed by the "Great Luo Dynasty" in the far west.
Great Fortune, Great Luo, Da Yuan, Daji, and a central 'Da Yang' enwrapped by the four giants, together constituted the five great nations of the world, with over two hundred smaller countries outside of these five.
And on this map, the location of the Shura Treasure Vault was marked somewhere in Yuan Country.
"The Shura Treasure Vault is in Yuan Country?"