I Can Love Buddha Too!

"I can talk about it too. I can love Buddha too!"

"I am filled with reverence and love for the World-Honored One!"

The two yao conversed in a thoroughly congenial atmosphere.

In the end, thanks to Niu Er's generous gifts, Wentesi obtained copies of the Great Sun Earth Buddha Sutra and the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra.

Along with them came a whole stack of Buddhist texts and copied sutras.

(Hereafter, the Great Sun Earth Buddha Sutra: Ritual Recitation of the Great Wrath of the Immovable Wisdom King will be abbreviated to the Great Sun Earth Buddha Sutra.)

Niu Er knew he planned to cultivate fire virtue and thought that second-grade fire virtue Cultivation Method was too weak, so he gave him a third-grade Buddhist fire virtue Cultivation Method, the Lesser Karmic Fire Incantation-Chanting Sutra.

This Cultivation Method belonged to the [Turtle Beak Fire] lineage. Its fire virtue Dao tradition specialized in stealthy yin fire, and the method was characterized by sneak attacks, curse fire, flexibility and unpredictability.

The green ox yao also hinted that if Wentesi succeeded in cultivating it, he could be taught its higher-level fire virtue Cultivation Method.

The Crow Lord had long since left.

When the Crow Lord saw with his own eyes that Wentesi had actually put away the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra and the Great Sun Earth Buddha Sutra, he flew off without looking back.

He left without the slightest reluctance. In his eyes, Wentesi was beyond saving, destined to become a bald donkey's mount.

The green ox yao nodded at Wentesi with a smile:

"Layman, may you devote yourself to cultivation after receiving these Buddhist teachings and soon take refuge in our Mahayana Infinite Buddhist Order.

"Then you and I can call each other fellow disciples, journey together to the Western Paradise, and be reborn in the Land of Bliss. Excellent! Excellent!"

"Once you have mastered the Buddhist teachings, you may come find me. I can choose an eminent monk to help you cultivate. Would that not be wonderful?"

With that, Niu Er bowed and pressed his palms together in a Buddhist salute.

An eminent monk to help me cultivate? I'm afraid he'd make me his mount and ride me for fun every day.

Wentesi grumbled inwardly, but kept a genial smile on his face. He nodded in agreement and offered Niu Er a few compliments on his profound mastery of Buddhist teachings, then spread his dragon wings and flew away.

He had not taken those Buddhist sutras so he could become someone else's mount.

He wanted to see whether he could cultivate these high-grade Buddhist Cultivation Methods in his original world without being controlled by the eminent monk above him in the cultivation lineage.

It was like eating the thick, sweet sugar coating and throwing away the poison inside.

The idea had occurred to him when he heard the Crow Lord warn him about how the Buddhist order operated.

Since the [Hairy Head Sun] Dao Path had been severed in this world and could not be cultivated here, yet could be cultivated in the other world...

Then, by the same reasoning, if cultivating Buddhist Cultivation Methods in this world meant being controlled and enslaved by an eminent monk above him, would he be free of those restraints if he cultivated them in the other world?

He could even... take it a step further!

A lion lurked in Wentesi's eyes.

But if he cultivated a Buddhist Cultivation Method in his original world and then returned to this one, would he come under the control of someone above him in the Buddhist cultivation lineage again?

"I need to find a Cultivation Method with no one above me."

The Great Sun Earth Buddha Sutra happened to meet that condition. It belonged to [Room Sun], one of the four solar paths.

Because the Greater Yang had withdrawn from the world, the great Dao had been severed, and no one remained above on that path.

Cultivating this method would not put him under the Buddhist order's control. It was perfectly safe.

Wentesi did not rush to leave. Instead, he circled back and began buying up goods throughout the yao market.

The mouse shop, the rabbit house, the chicken shop, the turtle stall...

He bought Spirit Plant seeds for herbs and spirit medicines that could be grown, as well as a few books on Spirit Plants.

Among them were ten jin of grain seeds called white jade grain. They took three years to grow, and eating the grain could nourish the body and improve one's cultivation.

The mouse spirit also reminded him that it had an even better nourishing effect on cultivators of the [Breath Qi] Dao tradition.

He bought one spirit peach sapling, the most expensive item of all, costing a full five mountain ginseng roots. According to the chicken shop owner, once it matured, it would bear more than ten spirit fruits a year, with benefits and no drawbacks.

It simply took considerable time to grow: twenty years before it bore fruit, so he would have to wait patiently.

He bought four kinds of spiritual herb seeds: fire herb, Solomon's seal, mountain ginseng and five-finger peach, a small bag of each. These seeds were much cheaper, but their growth cycles were quite long.

The mountain ginseng among them took fifteen years to mature.

There was also a set of low-level Spirit Plant cultivation methods, seven books in all.

What he paid for everything was the ten mountain ginseng roots in his stomach.

Wentesi was astonishingly observant.

He noticed that in this world of immortal cultivation, spiritual things were actually quite valuable.

They could even be called rare and precious.

In his original world, although supernatural Spirit Plants and other spiritual things were valuable too, it had not reached this extent.

He was ambitious and greedy, and he realized there was an enormous difference in the value of spiritual things between the two worlds.

Since he could travel between the two worlds, why not try his hand at reselling goods?

Not just spiritual things, either. Anything would do; as long as there was a profit to be made, he could buy and resell it.

"Using the two worlds as my marketplace and reselling spiritual things-wouldn't that be wonderful!"

In his previous life as a human, he had read a novel about reselling goods between two worlds. Its protagonist traveled back and forth between a zombie world and the real world, reselling supplies and thereby reaching the pinnacle of life.

After finishing his shopping, he entered the mountain forest, found a secluded spot, and traveled back.

World travel, activate!

Emerald Valley.

Familiar scents and familiar magic washed over Wentesi. He had returned to the territory of Emerald Valley.

The morning sun had just poked its head above the horizon, spreading crimson-gold light across the land and illuminating everything.

It seemed dawn had just broken.

"This is the time to cultivate!"

Wentesi promptly began cultivating the Hairy Head Sun Method, drawing the Qi of the newly risen Hairy Head Sun into his body.

Beneath the morning sun, his progress with the Hairy Head Sun Method was indeed astonishingly swift. Just a few changes of posture set the Qi circulating within him.

Wentesi absorbed the Sun Qi without the slightest obstruction. With every posture and every breath, he could feel his cultivation increasing, his strength growing, and his body transforming.

As expected of an eighth-grade Immortal Method!

It also confirmed Wentesi's suspicion: in this world, nothing really blocked the [Hairy Head Sun] Dao tradition.

Then, by the same reasoning, might Buddhist Cultivation Methods work the same way?

Of course, that needed further testing. If he cultivated one only to discover he could not escape the Buddhist order's restraints, he would be finished.

He could find a test subject to try it first, then take his time planning his own course.

As Wentesi thought, he did not stop moving. He continued cultivating according to the Hairy Head Sun Method.

But as he cultivated, Wentesi felt something unusual: his body wanted to sleep.

It was not ordinary sleep for rest, but a desire for a long period of hibernation.

"Right, I'm almost six. It's about time I transformed from a wyrmling into a juvenile dragon."

Wentesi searched his true dragon inheritance and immediately found the relevant information.

Between the ages of five and six, a true dragon would transform from a wyrmling into a juvenile. The process took several months, though the time varied from dragon to dragon.

At the same time, its life level would rise from level four to level six, its wings would grow stronger, and its agility would improve further.

But Wentesi had already broken through to life level five with the Hairy Head Sun Method. If he hibernated this time, he might reach the higher level seven.

The dragon inheritance also advised eating large amounts of food rich in magical energy before hibernation, as this would be beneficial when waking afterward.

He cultivated with such single-minded focus until the sun tilted westward. Only then did Wentesi finally stop, because he had noticed that his cultivation was becoming less and less effective.

The concentration of Sun Qi he absorbed was also only one-fifth of what it had been at the start.

"Just as I thought, I can only cultivate during the day. Better yet, I should cultivate when the morning sun has just risen."

Wentesi glanced at the setting sun, which was about to sink behind the mountains.

The day's cultivation had produced remarkable results. Afterward, Wentesi felt no fatigue; on the contrary, he was full of spirit, and his body felt great!

Wentesi closed his eyes slightly and sensed the state of each meridian in his body.

Now [Hairy Head Sun] Qi flourished throughout Wentesi's body. The beating of his three dragon hearts was especially distinct, like a blazing sun in a crimson sky.

"From what the Crow Lord said, the Dao of the Greater Yang is the most overbearing. He was right."

He reckoned that after cultivating for about another month, he could break through the first stage of Embryonic Breathing and enter the second. That speed was truly astonishing.

"Master, Kru would like to report on the territory."

Just then, Kru flew over and landed a short distance in front of Wentesi, speaking respectfully.

"What is it?"

Wentesi gave no indication either way. He had long since noticed Kru waiting outside, where he had been for about an hour, but Wentesi had been cultivating the Hairy Head Sun Method and had not wanted to be disturbed.

"Master... the gnolls killed two badger beasts that tried to get into the vegetable garden. Their leader, Walker, led them in killing the beasts. He said he wanted to offer them to you to taste."

Kru reported in a low voice.

Wentesi gave no indication either way and said nothing more.

The kobold Kru, however, was rather nervous. Walker, the newly arrived gnoll warlord, had not been there long, yet on his first outing he had dealt with those badger beasts that frequently raided the vegetable garden.

By contrast, Kru had guarded it for more than half a year without making much progress. That made him look far too incompetent, and he was uneasy, afraid his master would blame him.

Fortunately, Wentesi paid it no mind.

Seeing that Wentesi said nothing, Kru continued his report:

"Master, our kobold guards discovered a strange leopard near the fishing area. It was extremely fast and immensely strong. It might be a beast-transformed leopard."

At this, Wentesi's crimson-gold dragon eyes snapped open, and golden light burst from both pupils.

After a moment, Wentesi raised his head slightly, looked toward the setting sun in the west, and said calmly:

"Tighten the watch around the area. Have Walker take some gnolls and station them outside the fishing area. If they encounter the leopard, do not pursue it; report it promptly."

"Oh, and I brought back some seeds. I need you to take some people and plant them. Keep it secret and don't make a fuss. These seeds are very precious."

"Yes!"

Kru left with the spirit seeds and spirit tree sapling Wentesi had brought from the immortal cultivation world.

Peace returned, and Wentesi gazed at the setting sun, lost in thought.

The spirit seeds, Buddhist sutras, Cultivation Methods, and his coming slumber: he had to deal with these things one at a time. There was no rushing them.

Fortunately, he had plenty of time. Red dragons generally did not enter their twilight years until after 2,200 years, and he also had the bloodline of a rainbow dragon, a [Legendary Dragon Species], in his body. His twilight years would come even later, so there was no need to hurry.

That was the advantage of a long-lived species!

"I'll test the Buddhist teachings first. Since the Hairy Head Sun Method works, I suppose these Buddhist teachings should work too."

Wentesi's dragon eyes flickered as he spat out the two Buddhist Cultivation Methods.

One was the Great Sun Earth Buddha Sutra, a sixth-grade Buddhist teaching.

The other was the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra, a fourth-grade Buddhist teaching.

He also placed all the books he had brought from the immortal cultivation world in front of him, putting the essays and biographies at the very front. These were especially important, as they would let him learn about that world of immortal cultivation.

Wentesi coiled his tail and prepared himself for battle. He knew that what lay ahead would be a thoroughly satisfying reading marathon.

Naturally, he started with the literacy primer. After all, Wentesi could not recognize a single character; he was illiterate.

Without knowing how to read, he could not understand the other books either.

Using the pictures in the primer, Wentesi quickly learned the writing of the immortal cultivation world.