Golden Land
A Red Dragon Lays Low in Two Worlds to Pursue Divine AttainmentContents
Contents
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Golden Land (金地) |
| Alias(es) | Buddhist Golden Land 9 |
| Type | Buddhist sacred domain; dwelling place of immortals, buddhas, and divine spirits 10 |
| Daoist Equivalent | Blessed Land and Grotto-Heaven 10 |
| Associated Scripture | Great Sun Earth Buddha Sutra, a sixth-grade cultivation method of the [Room Sun] lineage 33 |
| Known Master | Wentesi, who independently refines Golden Land in the Western fantasy world 10 |
| Known Locations | Emerald Valley and a concealed cave beneath a nearby lake; thirty-three Golden Lands also surround a hidden hall in the Northern Region Buddha Kingdom 19 21 28 |
| First Appearance | Introduced as a cultivation requirement in Chapter 9; first refined by Wentesi in Chapter 10 9 10 |
Power Progression
| Stage / Realm / Level | Chapter | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Initial refinement | 10 | Wentesi exhausts his Hairy Head Sun Law Power to refine a dragon-claw-sized patch beneath his lair. Binding it grants him [Gold Endures, Body Never Dies] and [Teach the Method, Plant Fields of Merit]. |
| First Field of Merit | 12 13 | Walker becomes the first tenant. At this size, the Golden Land cannot accommodate a second Field of Merit. |
| Stable foundation | 14 | After Walker's conversion and the confrontation with the sealed devil, Wentesi confirms that the Golden Land is completely stable. |
| First substantial expansion | 16 | Three days of continuous nourishment enlarge it to roughly the size of two and a half basketballs. Its increased capacity allows Wentesi to convert Kru. |
| Second patch established | 19 | Wentesi reveals a separate, foot-wide patch in a dry cave beneath a lake, refined as a safer fallback before his dormancy. |
| Seven months of expansion | 27 | The Golden Land has become large enough to support many tenants, but Wentesi's fourth-layer Embryonic Breathing cultivation limits him to five Fields of Merit. |
| Territorial-scale Golden Land | 28 | On returning to Emerald Valley, Wentesi discovers that most of the territory has become Golden Land. The concealed cave's patch has also grown slightly. |
Nature and Creation
Accounts from the cultivation world describe Golden Lands and their Daoist equivalents as immortal realms with sun and moon, air and earth, mountains and water. They are said to possess abundant Spiritual Qi and natural treasures. Orthodox domains arise naturally or are opened through the powers of dharma manifestations and immortals 10.
The Great Sun Earth Buddha Sutra normally requires an eminent monk to guide a practitioner into a Golden Land and help them merge with it before cultivation can begin. Unable to obtain that guidance, Wentesi reasons that the Western fantasy world already meets the necessary conditions—and possesses a Greater Yang sun, which the cultivation world lacks 9 10.
Rather than create an entire realm, he follows the sutra's formula to refine existing earth beneath his lair. After repeated adjustments to his Hairy Head Sun Law Power, he establishes a connection and successfully guides himself into his own Golden Land. This unorthodox route lets him cultivate without submitting to a superior cultivator or becoming entangled in Buddhist karma 10.
Appearance
- Golden earth: Initial refinement dyes the soil a vivid gold, with dense, restrained light that barely illuminates the surrounding area 10.
- Concealable presence: The visible golden glow can sink into the earth, hiding the small patch from sight 11.
- Sun-wheel patterns: Fine patterns develop across the surface as Wentesi nourishes it with Hairy Head Sun Law Power 16.
- Warmth: The patch beneath the lake emits golden light and a faint warmth 19.
- Territorial transformation: By Wentesi's return, the ground across most of Emerald Valley has visibly turned gold 28.
Abilities & Skills
Gold Endures, Body Never Dies
[Gold Endures, Body Never Dies] allows a Golden Land's master to return to life as long as the domain survives 10.
- Reconstructs both soul and body within the Golden Land, even after their complete destruction.
- Recovery becomes faster as the Golden Land grows, but slower as the master's body and soul become stronger.
- Wentesi estimates that his original patch would require tens of thousands, possibly over a hundred thousand years, to restore him.
- A master may eventually extend this benefit to a fully cultivated Field of Merit, but must willingly expend the Golden Land's essence to reforge the tenant's body 10.
Teach the Method, Plant Fields of Merit
[Teach the Method, Plant Fields of Merit] turns living beings into tenants bound to the Golden Land rather than independent masters 10.
- Conversion: The master's Law Power must completely permeate the recipient and connect with both body and soul 12.
- Submission: The stated requirement is wholehearted acceptance. Wentesi nevertheless considers incapacitating unwilling targets and forcibly instilling the method 10.
- Control: Tenants must obey their master's commands. As their cultivation deepens, their thoughts, actions, bodies, and souls fall increasingly under the master's control 10 14.
- Service after death: Fields of Merit protect their master while alive and nourish the Golden Land after death 12.
- Capacity: Both the domain's size and its master's cultivation limit the number of tenants. Despite substantial expansion, Wentesi remains restricted to five slots during Embryonic Breathing 27 36.
Conversion is demanding rather than restorative. Walker's conversion nearly exhausts Wentesi's Law Power and permanently damages Walker's intelligence. Converting the mortally wounded golden eagle subdues it but does not heal its injuries; Wentesi cannot transfer those injuries away through the method 12 14 27.
Cultivation Exchange and Taxation
The Golden Land operates as a two-way channel: its master can extract cultivation from tenants or send cultivation and understanding back to them 16.
- Wentesi directly transmits introductory insights into the Hairy Head Sun Method to Walker and Kru, allowing both to grasp its basics immediately 16.
- Walker and Kru initially transfer roughly one-tenth of their absorbed Greater Yang Qi to Wentesi through invisible Qi veins 19.
- These payments continue during his seven-month dormancy and across the barrier between worlds, contributing to his advancement from the second to the fourth level of Embryonic Breathing 20.
- Extraction is not restricted to the Hairy Head Sun Method. After Walker switches to the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra, his payments benefit Wentesi's cultivation of that body-refining method 36 45.
Wentesi establishes three taxation rules 16:
| Rule | Policy |
|---|---|
| Cultivation ceiling | A tenant's cultivation must not surpass his own; any excess is automatically drawn off. |
| Realm-based taxation | High-realm tenants pay heavily, potentially their entire output; middle-realm tenants pay a portion; low-realm tenants pay little or may receive temporary exemptions. |
| Compulsory cultivation | Every tenant must cultivate diligently each day because available slots are limited. |
Cross-World Connection and Possession
The Golden Land relays Divine Sense and Law Power between Wentesi and his Fields of Merit, including those in another world 33 34 40.
- Communication and inspection: He sends instructions, examines tenants' minds, and monitors their circumstances remotely 19 36 44.
- Possession: He takes over the golden eagle's body from the Western fantasy world; its eyes become gilded vertical pupils while he controls it 34.
- Remote observation: He can observe the eagle's surroundings without immediately possessing it 40.
- Law Power transfer: He sends Hairy Head Sun Law Power across worlds to break a trapping formation and burn through the net holding Crow Lord. Only four or five thin wisps reach the eagle during that attempt 34.
- Portal access: While in the cultivation world, he senses both refined Golden Lands and finds that he can open a portal with a thought. Their small size would require a transformation technique to accommodate his enlarged body 20.
Spirit Plant Cultivation
Golden Land supports cultivation-world Spirit Plants that fail to survive in ordinary Western fantasy soil 28.
- Kru discovers an exceptionally high survival rate and rapid growth after transplanting the seeds into Golden Land 28.
- Roughly thirty mu of White Jade Grain flourish in Emerald Valley; individual grains become pigeon-egg-sized and acquire white-gold shells 28 29.
- Nourishment from the Golden Land and exposure to sunlight imbue the crops with [Hairy Head Sun] essence 37.
- Eating the grain and spirit ginseng lets Wentesi condense Greater Yang Qi, improve his cultivation, and stabilize his foundation 37.
- This agricultural use surprises Wentesi because the Great Sun Earth Buddha Sutra does not describe it 29.
Known Fields of Merit
| Tenant | Conversion | Role and Results |
|---|---|---|
| Walker | First tenant 12 | Absolutely obedient but permanently less intelligent after conversion. Initially supplies Greater Yang Qi, then proves better suited to the Formless Muscle-Changing Sutra 14 19 36 45. |
| Kru | Second tenant 16 | Cultivates while managing Emerald Valley. Discovers the Golden Land's agricultural potential and organizes the planting of spirit seeds 28 44. |
| Golden eagle | Converted while mortally wounded 27 | Serves as Wentesi's remotely controlled agent in the cultivation world, traveling with Crow Lord toward Green Snake Market 34 40. |
Buddhist Recognition
Possessing a Golden Land provides Wentesi with a convincing sign of Buddhist seniority. Wuchen detects its true essence through Brahma Sound Six Consciousnesses Many Ears Penetration and interprets Wentesi's comparatively low cultivation as evidence that he is an eminent monk recently reincarnated 21 22.
Wentesi deliberately maintains the misunderstanding and later decides to use the Golden Land's distinctive presence as the basis of his Buddhist-elder disguise. Separately, Buddhas gathered in a hall among thirty-three Golden Lands discuss an awakened junior brother and choose not to interfere with his journey 21 24.