Qiantang Province City had always been a luxurious territory, and even in the dead of night, one could see streets lit up with colorful lanterns for miles.
Tonight, the city was bustling to its utmost.
In addition to the million citizens, there were also guests from all corners, and a careful count might gather all representatives of the seventy-two provinces.
These various provincials—warlords, cultivators, demon cultivators, alien spirits, wealthy elite—had come for "Devil Concubine Yuan Mingzhen." As the current overlord of Qiantang, the Demon Buddha Temple did not drive away or exterminate these wicked visitors but instead facilitated them, declaring non-involvement in their disputes.
They even held a reception with various kinds of hospitality, which was greatly appreciated; not to mention that they had even persuaded the Devil Concubine to perform a dance.
All these good deeds, though making some people vigilant.
But most warlords and demon cultivators thought well of the monks of the Demon Buddha Temple, certainly better than those arrogant, high-and-mighty bald heads from the Great Freedom Temple.
As Tao Qian and his wife followed the Zhen siblings toward the increasingly imposing Little Leiyin Temple on Golden Light Mountain, all they heard along the way were compliments and flattery toward the demon monks from various demon and monster species.
The sights along the way, occupied by various demon cultivators and alien spirits from the seventy-two provinces, were each extraordinary.
Palaces and treasure halls, golden tiles and glazed glass.
Floating Buddha towers, merits in green bricks.
If there were any cultivators familiar with the Great Freedom Temple's arrangement present, they surely would have had words to say.
Take Master Yuan, for instance, who disdainfully transmitted:
"Still, the Demon Buddha Temple shows no ambition; every plant, every palace on this mountain is clearly built to mimic the mountain gates of the Great Freedom Temple, Vajra Temple, Dharma Cakra Temple, etc., mixed together in an ugly mishmash."
"And then who knows from where they copied a sloppy Buddha's verse and declared it a holy site of Spiritual Mountain."
"At least Shipi had some sense of shame, adding a little character before Thunder Sound Temple."
Amidst Master Yuan's scoffing, Tao Qian and his wife, along with the Zhen siblings, approached the now imposing Little Leiyin Temple.
The main feast of the Buddha's Birth Ceremony was held here.
Clearly, no one here was an unknown.
Before even getting close, Tao Qian noticed at the fiercely glowing Buddha Flame in front of the hall, two cultivators of no small cultivation standing on either side, collecting invitation cards and gifts, loudly announcing the names of the visitors.
Some names were familiar, many were not.
To hear more, Tao Qian deliberately slowed his pace.
On each side stood a demon monk, sporadically shouting:
"Representing the Devil God Third Princess of Qilu Province, You Changqing presents: ten Red Demon Swords, ten jars of Devil God Sand, twenty-one volumes of 'Ancient Buddhist Scripture Fragments'… to celebrate the anniversary of our Demon Buddha Tathagata."
"Representing Northern Land's Eight Provinces' Great Governor Zhang Jinluan of Fengtian Province, General Gao Tianci presents: one hundred Alien Species Dragon Beasts, one hundred Demon Blood Swords, one hundred Ancient Tomb Human Pearls, thirty-six volumes of 'Overseas Buddhist Scripture Fragments'… to celebrate the anniversary of our Demon Buddha Tathagata."
"Representing his brother, Great Governor Yelü Lushan of Desert North Province, Yelü Baoshan presents: ten Mirage Flood Dragons, one hundred Xuan Yin Nether Spring Pearls, one volume of 'Xuan Yin Soul Capturing Book' from Ancient Demon Scripture… to celebrate the anniversary of our Demon Buddha Tathagata."
"Worry-free Immortal Shi Zhongsheng, representing the provincial governor Si Xixin of three provinces, presents: one hundred Buddha Heart Demon Spiders, one hundred Demon Slaying Blades, one volume of 'Heavenly Dragon Zen Scripture' from Ancient Buddhist Scripture… to celebrate the anniversary of our Demon Buddha Tathagata."
"Representing his royal father, Prime Minister Li Siming of Fengcang Province, Li Zhixian presents…"
...
Tao Qian walked slowly, listening for a while and counting from Qilu Province onward, to Fengtian, Desert North, Demon City, Fengcang, Wu Jun, Dingzhou, East E, Yongzhou, Hanxi, Tiandu, Sanjin, Heavenly Fire, Ancient Yu, etc., totaling thirty-two provinces had people attending, and all were reputable figures even within their own provinces.
It could be said that at this moment, many demon cultivators in this hall were heavyweight figures in Northern Land.
Aside from warlords and demon cultivators, there were also quite a few practitioners from amongst the borderline of good and evil, heterodoxy, or well-known unique personalities worldwide.
Three among them were particularly conspicuous.
One was a Buddhist Practitioner called "Elder Du Shou" with a mysterious background. Although he practiced Buddhist Law, no one knew from which major temple he originated. With his long lifespan, he had entered court during the founding of the Zhu Dynasty, eventually reaching the position of Prime Minister before mysteriously disappearing. Upon reappearing, he had achieved Cavernous Mystery Cultivation.
The announcement said he came from Imperial City, evidently having avoided some past calamity by some method and now seemed to seek refuge with Demon Buddha Temple?
Another was a female cultivator called "Lady You Rui," renowned for practicing the Ancient Secret Technique "Harnessing Yang Scripture." She had refined a "Heavenly Desire Body" and controlled desire with desire, reputed that no man under the heavens could resist her charm, even a Daoist from the Pure Yang Sect would obediently soften in her presence.
Falling at her pomegranate skirt, begging to be her guest behind the curtains.
The third was called "Poison Ginseng Hermit," a Left-Hand Path Practitioner, and an Alien Species. His outer appearance resembled a middle-aged scholar, but his beard, skin, and even his eyes were dark purple, exuding a hair-raising aura. Within ten steps of him, not a soul dared come close, not even the demon monks.
The reason was simple; his true form was a thousand-year-old poisonous ginseng that had unexpectedly gained spiritual intelligence and cultivated after receiving a scroll of "Wood Origin Immortal Scripture," achieving not only Cavernous Mystery Realm but also possessing unimaginably powerful toxins, along with significant supernatural power, making him a match for ordinary Cavernous Mystery Cultivators.
Even those who cultivated beyond him hesitated to kill him lightly, fearing rumors that he had developed a Divine Skill called "Wood Origin Soul Slaughter Spell." Should he die, his formidable toxin would instantly condense into a Poison Pill, targeting the soul of his killer, recklessly attacking—any mishap could even damage those of Ultimate Happiness Cultivation.
Tao Qian paid this individual extra attention, mostly because the long-unplayed Little Age and Shan Jiu, feeling somewhat stifled, sensed his aura and continuously transmitted through the People Species Bag to Tao Qian:
"Big brother, big brother, I smell something delicious, can I eat that person?"
"Wow, that's the scent of Poisonous Ginseng. Is there actually a Poisonous Ginseng here? Quick, Daoist friend, big brother, seize the opportunity to capture this fellow and hand it over to me. There are great benefits."
"What benefits?"
Tao Qian subconsciously asked Shan Jiu through telepathy.
This Wild Leek immediately excitedly replied:
"In our Wild Man Mountain, there is an 'Elder Purple' who is very fierce. His original form is a Poisonous Ginseng, and his roots almost fill an entire Poison Peak. Anyone who goes up there will be poisoned to death. Only I can somewhat exempt from it but still suffer greatly. Although the Poison Old Man is annoying, his cave mansion contains a pile of treasures and delicious foods. He constantly laments how lonely and isolated he is."
"Big brother, if I bring him a creature of his own kind, wouldn't I be able to trade for anything I want?"
"I see that you, big brother, like using that big toad as a tricky assault. It's fine at night, but not so convenient during the day. Wouldn't it be better to exchange for a few thousand poison fog beads from Elder Purple? Just a slight crush, and within a hundred miles, it would be poison fog, blinding anyone who opens their eyes because opening their eyes would poison them blind, giving you a perfect opportunity to use your toad to strike people. But you'd have to act swiftly; if you're too late, they might already be poisoned to death..."
At first, this did not seem like much, but by the end, Tao Qian was speechless.
Even though he had become accustomed to the Wild Man Mountain features occasionally narrated by Shan Jiu, hearing it again still made him think:
Wild Man Mountain is truly full of wonders!
Naturally, that includes Shan Jiu.
Seeing that the Poisonous Ginseng had entered the Treasure Hall, knowing that it wasn't a good time to act, Tao Qian reassured the two half-grown children in his bag, who were almost crying from craving.
Then, he stepped forward, offering the long-difficult-to-find treasures related to Buddha from his bag.
The Manager Monk who received his gifts paused, then with a very surprised look at the undefiled, pure Buddha's son, chuckled and then chanted:
"Representing his master, Qingjing Zen Master, the Wu Gou Buddha Son gives a Joyful Buddha statue, a scroll of 'Little Desire Heaven Joyful Zen Incarnation Secret Method,' and an Ancient Demon Soul Capture Stick... to celebrate the birthday of the Demon Buddha Tathagata."
It was almost immediate.
When the demon monk finished chanting, everyone in the hall turned their eyes toward Tao Qian.
Each face bore an expression of astonishment, as if they had mistaken the person.
It wasn't so strange that they felt this way, given the stark contrast.
The treasures and the names of those Buddhist Divine Powers could be guessed by even the slowest of minds as to what they entailed.
Had the donor been a licentious demon monk or a sleazy evil cultivator, presenting such items as gifts would have been perfectly normal.
But it was the "Wu Gou Buddha Son" instead, whose appearance was clean and undefiled. Though he had a Daoist couple as anyone else, no one would associate him with such filthy things.
Yet here he was, offering them up as gifts.
If it weren't for those warlords and strong people in the hall who had either heard of or personally experienced the power of the Wu Gou Buddha Son, there would likely have been open mocking at this point.
Even though everyone was restraining themselves, those peculiar gazes and stirring whispers rose from all corners.
"Wow, what a greeting gift! You can tell they're all valuable treasures."
"Indeed, looks can be deceiving; the Wu Gou Buddha Son, such a person, actually has such treasures."
"Eh, it might not necessarily be what the Buddha Son had in mind; perhaps it was prepared in advance by his master, Qingjing Zen Master?"
"Look, the Beautiful Corpse and Lady You Rui are both eyeing that handsome monk. Is there still justice in this world?"
"You also acknowledge that he's handsome; why even ask?"
...
Suddenly the center of attention and hearing these whispers,
Although he had been prepared when giving out the gifts, Tao Qian still regretted it somewhat.
Especially now, as Yuan Gong's mocking laughter echoed in his mind:
"Hahaha... See that? This is the price you pay for taking Duobao as your master."
"The Duobao Lineage is famously known for hoarding; thus, you barely managed to bring out these useless items you have and botched your attempt."
"Don't worry, you wouldn't have these issues if you followed me; at most, you'd like to chop people, which is a good thing too."
Tao Qian didn't give Yuan Gong's sarcastic comments any attention as he withstood those gazes.
He bowed to the three Demon Buddha Arhats seated at the head and then calmly said:
"These items were prepared by my master and are of little use to me as a poor monk, but are quite fitting for friends at the Demon Buddha Temple; hence, I brought them here."
With a poker face, he passed the buck, then scanning the room with that fierce reputation that came from recently severely beating Gao Tianci and Yelü Baoshan, he silenced the murmuring crowd.
He then disregarded everyone else and took his seat with his wife.