Chapter 137: The Wind Stirs the Banner

After returning to the Nine Provinces, Jiang Li first took the Brahma Tower to the Buddhist Sect.

By coincidence, they arrived just in time for Lord Buddha Wuzhi’s public lecture on Buddhist principles. It was absolutely exquisite—colored fragrant flowers descended from the heavens, one of the signs of Buddhist phenomena.

Seated below, the Fusion Stage Bodhisattvas and Arhats listened with eyes closed, unconsciously nodding along.

Originally, Wuzhi merely had talent in understanding Buddhist doctrine. He still needed much more contemplation to grasp the true essence of Buddhism and was considered to have great future potential.

But after the Old Buddha of Mount Sumeru passed away, Wuzhi seemed like a different person. His once childlike heart suddenly enlightened.

His understanding of Buddhist law now bordered on absolute truth—even monks who had cultivated for a thousand years felt inferior.

The Bodhisattvas and Arhats all referred to Wuzhi as the “Awakened One,” believing he had reached the level of self-awakening, awakening others, and bringing awareness with compassion.

Jiang Li knew that these Bodhisattvas and Arhats hadn’t broken through their inner barriers.

They understood Wuzhi had surpassed them in Buddhist attainment, but because of age and higher cultivation, they couldn’t bring themselves to admit he was a Buddha, so they used “Awakened One” as a substitute.

But in reality, an “Awakened One” was equivalent to a Buddha—the two were interchangeable.

This public lecture was huge—every monk and nun on Mount Sumeru was present.

Naturally, some were not paying serious attention to learning Buddhism and were distracted.

Jiang Li stood at the back.

Right in front of him was a delicate young Daoist nun with her hair tied back, around seventeen or eighteen years old.

She had her head down, secretly reading a romance novel titled The Domineering Buddha Falls in Love with Me, completely unaware someone was silently watching from behind.

Jiang Li had already heard of the author—Passionate Desire Teacher.

It was strange. This wasn’t the first time Jiang Li had encountered this author.

Five hundred years ago, while traveling across the Nine Provinces, he’d often seen people selling the author’s works at street stalls.

Reportedly, they had already existed for three hundred years back then.

And even across the last five hundred years, Passionate Desire Teacher kept publishing new titles, mostly romance novels like Better to Betray the Tathagata Than Betray You, Fated Through Past and Present, The Ruthless Matchmaker and the Loving Immortal, and so on—

Their inspiration was endless, output astonishing, still writing to this day.

This The Domineering Buddha Falls in Love with Me was new to Jiang Li—probably their latest work.

This was clearly a cultivator who had lived for eight hundred years—no doubt their cultivation was high.

Jiang Li suspected they were someone he knew.

“Strange, who could it be?”

Next to the nun was a young monk, also around seventeen or eighteen, head down reading a health education novel titled Young Soldier A-Bing, chuckling quietly to himself. The author? Rainy Night with Umbrella.

Jiang Li turned away, not watching the monk anymore—feeling a little awkward.

He knew the true identity of Rainy Night with Umbrella—the couple Marshal Ma and his wife, both commanders from the Human Sovereign Hall, known for their eagerness to have children.

“What’s so interesting about that?” The Brahma Tower couldn’t understand why monks and Daoist nuns were into this stuff.

To it, these books were meaningless—nothing compared to Buddhist scriptures.

Wuzhi was suspected to be a reincarnated powerhouse from the Celestial Realm.

His soul was unique, forged through countless trials, full of scars.

But as he lectured on Buddhism, even his soul’s scars showed signs of healing.

Though slow, the healing was real.

Only Jiang Li could see this happening.

Watching Wuzhi lecturing on the stage, the Brahma Tower had a smile like a proud father.

“What a fine kid.” The Brahma Tower was genuinely pleased—

Never expected that the little guy from before had grown so much. Even without its help, he’d surely rise to the position of Lord Buddha.

It snuck a glance at Jiang Li, wondering if it could make another escape.

This time, it had to choose a world with more people—no more zombie Buddha Nations.

Jiang Li noticed the Brahma Tower’s sneaky glance and gave a faint smile—he wasn’t worried at all about it escaping.

After the lecture, the monks dispersed.

From the front row, Daoist Nun Qingyu quickly walked up the stage, holding a hand-stitched kāṣāya.

“Look at that banner flapping—such a strong wind! Don’t catch a cold—here, put this on!”

Wuzhi was helpless. As a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator who felt neither heat nor cold, he said, “Donor Qingyu, it’s not the wind moving, nor the banner moving—it’s the mind of the kind-hearted person that is stirred.”

“Aiya, don’t care who’s moving what—come on, put it on already.”

A Fusion Stage cultivator wasn’t something a Nascent Soul could resist.

Wuzhi couldn’t refuse Daoist Nun Qingyu and obediently donned the finely made robe.

The Brahma Tower was dumbstruck.

“This—this is outrageous! Wuzhi is only fourteen!”

“Fifteen.”

“That’s not the point!”

“Exactly, age isn’t the issue.”

Jiang Li and the Brahma Tower bickered loudly, drawing the attention of nearby monks.

Earlier, everyone had been immersed in the lingering charm of Wuzhi’s Buddhist discourse and hadn’t noticed the man and tower.

“Human Sovereign Jiang, you’ve found the Buddhist Treasure?” Arhat Dragon Subduer asked with delight.

Even though Mount Sumeru quickly chose a new Lord Buddha and settled down, after the Old Buddha’s passing, hearts remained uneasy.

Plus, without the Old Buddha, Mount Sumeru had no Tribulation Stage cultivator, and their strength was greatly reduced.

Now that they had the Brahma Tower, which excelled at the Dao of Space, holding the fort, Mount Sumeru could truly stabilize.

“What Buddhist Treasure—call it Tower Master Brahma.” Another Arhat glared at Dragon Subduer Arhat.

His title was quite special—Arhat Unsubdued.

He got this name simply because he was a True Dragon who had taken refuge in Buddhism.

Dragon Subduer Arhat glared at Unsubdued Arhat—

“Yeah, yeah, you talk fancy!”

Because of their titles, these two Arhats often bickered openly and secretly—it was well known among the Buddhist Sect.

“Benefactor Jiang, thank you for your efforts.”

Wuzhi calmly stepped down from the stage to greet Jiang Li. His steps were steady—completely different from the version seen on the flying boat.

“Little guy, did you miss me?”

“Little Tower, long time no see.”

“Lord Buddha Wuzhi, you’re too polite. I’m just borrowing the Brahma Tower for a bit.” Jiang Li explained.

He hadn’t come to Mount Sumeru to return the tower, but to let the rightful owner know he’d retrieved it.

Wuzhi paused, put his palms together, and said, “If Little Tower agrees, this humble monk has no objections.”

“What now?” The Brahma Tower thought Jiang Li meant to return it.

“Didn’t you say you could establish spatial portals? The Nine Provinces is huge—low-level cultivators lack efficient ways to travel. I want you to set up a few portals to make getting around easier.”

Jiang Li had thought about this back when the artifact gained sentience.

Now that the Outer World Demons were gone and external threats eliminated, it was time to focus on development and elevate the Nine Provinces.

Transportation was key. Building spatial portals would accelerate the flow of information and economy, letting ideas from different regions collide and spark—crucial for growth.

“Let’s get this clear—I can only maintain twenty portals at once, tops. And they require a lot of spiritual energy to keep running.”

“Twenty is already plenty. Don’t worry about the spiritual energy—there’ll be plenty of people rushing to help with that.” Jiang Li was totally unconcerned.

“Amitabha. This is a great act of merit. Little Tower, you should accept.”

Wuzhi added. Though the Nine Provinces lacked descending karmic virtue, doing good should come from the heart, not for Karmic Virtue Power.

“Fine.” The Brahma Tower agreed. Since it didn’t have to worry about spiritual energy, it had no reason to refuse—it wasn’t that hard anyway.

“Sect Leader Qingyu, what are you doing here?” Jiang Li glanced sideways, pretending not to know.

“The Pure Land of the Mortal World is close to the Buddhist Sect—we’re practically neighbors. I’m just here to strengthen our ties,” said Daoist Nun Qingyu, righteously.

Strengthen ties… with monks?

The Brahma Tower felt like it was facing an existential threat.

After talking with Wuzhi, Jiang Li took the Brahma Tower and headed to the Dao Sect.

Now that the Brahma Tower was back in place, it was time to fulfill his promise to Ming Zhong.