Ao Tu checked his rewards.
The last treasure, the reward for half a year, was a Houtian Spiritual Treasure-the Incense-Burning Golden Furnace.
It was a handheld incense burner with a shallow bowl and a long handle, decorated with golden lotus petals, which could be held in one hand.
This was the sort of incense burner monks used when preaching and expounding the Dharma.
The handle made it convenient to carry while walking.
Yet during his time as Bell Keeper on Spirit Mountain, Ao Tu had rarely seen such incense burners.
That was because believers always traveled to Spirit Mountain of their own accord to pay homage; monks rarely went down the mountain to preach. Even when they did, they went at someone's invitation to dispel calamities and expound the scriptures, with no need to carry such a burner.
Who knew what era this treasure came from? Presumably, it was ancient. As a reward on the half-year level, it was no less precious than the Purple-Ribbon Immortal Garment, ranking among the most precious Houtian Spiritual Treasures.
With this incense burner, his Monk Buzheng incarnation would have a fine treasure of his own.
Having inspected all six treasures, Ao Tu began preparing for the next ordeal in which he would obstruct Tang Sanzang and his disciples.
The next ordeal was the passage through Entangling Thorn Ridge.
The conditions for this ordeal were even less favorable than those in Jisai Kingdom.
Though Nine-Headed Bug had no strength, no supernatural abilities, no magic treasures, and no backing-a monster lacking in all four respects-he was at least a surviving descendant of an ancient lineage and had some ability.
The monsters of Thorn Ridge, however, were merely a few trees that had become spirits. In strength, they fell short of Tiger Vanguard; in Wisdom, they fell