Chapter 373: Universal Salvation
Originally, Bodhisattva Xiangxiang thought the legacies ignored Jiang Li because he didn’t meet their requirements.
Now she understood—it wasn’t that the legacies refused to acknowledge Jiang Li, but rather they were waiting for him to select them.
“The Beings’ Secret Realm… Beings’ Secret Realm… Beings… Could it mean universal salvation?”
“Human Sovereign Jiang safeguards the Nine Provinces, defends against Outer Realm Demons, maintains peace, and reduces conflicts—isn’t this the essence of universal salvation?”
Bodhisattva Xiangxiang had an epiphany, finally grasping the true meaning of the Beings’ Secret Realm.
Whether Buddhist practitioners or past Human Sovereigns, and many other cultivators, they all possessed the heart for universal salvation.
However, good intentions alone weren’t enough—capability was also required.
Jiang Li happened to excel in both aspects, performing exceptionally well.
The current prosperity of the Nine Provinces owed much to his contributions.
Lord Wuzhi was the first to notice the anomaly in the Beings’ Secret Realm and promptly notified all Arhats and Bodhisattvas to investigate.
Witnessing this unprecedented scene, their astonishment matched Bodhisattva Xiangxiang’s.
“Forgive my abrupt visit to the secret realm, Lord Wuzhi.”
“Nonsense, Benefactor Jiang.”
When Wuzhi requested Jiang Li to bestow these legacies upon the Buddhist sect, Jiang Li readily agreed, delighting Wuzhi who repeatedly expressed gratitude.
“This secret realm was likely left by Buddha,” Brahma Tower suddenly remarked.
Everyone turned to stare at the tower—they’d never heard this before.
“Or perhaps I misremember. My recollections before gaining sentience are hazy.” Brahma Tower omitted mentioning it might have been forged by Buddha himself.
Best not to speculate about uncertain matters.
Despite Brahma Tower’s uncertain tone, everyone suspected the Beings’ Secret Realm truly originated from Buddha.
The sheer volume of legacies—spanning nearly all Buddhist traditions, including Shakyamuni Buddha’s—made this plausible.
The Buddhist sect’s legacy collection multiplied overnight, keeping even the usually composed Wuzhi smiling uncontrollably for days.
However, acquiring legacies didn’t mean indiscriminate practice—Buddhism emphasized spiritual readiness. Without proper mindset cultivation, practicing these legacies would only hinder progress.
Bai Hongtu schemed privately to obtain the Mind-Reading Legacy from Wuzhi.
Defeating Jiang Li seemed imminent.
After parting with Bai Hongtu, Jiang Li claimed his mission rewards.
[Reward: Half a jiazi’s cultivation. Please receive, Host.]
Jiang Li held the so-called half-jiazi cultivation, briefly sensing its energy.
“Enough to elevate someone from mid-Nascent Soul stage to Divine Transformation stage, or consolidate foundations to peak Nascent Soul if unhurried.”
Obviously, this reward wasn’t intended for current Jiang Li.
“Useless reward.” Jiang Li dispersed the energy—a single strand of his hair contained more power.
[Reward: Spiritual Treasure—Golden Chainmail Armor. Please receive, Host.]
An ornamental golden armor materialized in Jiang Li’s hands.
[Golden Chainmail Armor: Withstands ten full-power attacks from cultivators of same level.]
“Impressive.” Jiang Li marveled, having never encountered anything that could withstand his full power—including the First Emperor.
Donning the armor, Jiang Li lightly tapped his chest—the chainmail instantly developed a bowl-sized hole.
“Shoddy product. Should’ve known the system’s items are unreliable.”
[Reward: “One Qi Transforming Three Pure Ones”]
[One Qi Transforming Three Pure Ones: Dao Sect’s forbidden supreme technique. Exceptionally difficult to master. Temporarily creates two clones matching user’s cultivation level, dramatically enhancing combat effectiveness.]
Jiang Li scoffed—utterly useless since he’d long mastered this technique, having used it when spiritual treasures gained sentience.
If Bai Hongtu could learn it, so could Jiang Li.
Bai Hongtu often created clones to play cards—ostensibly for fun, but actually to extend clone duration and improve control.
At least that was his explanation.
Jiang Li could recursively apply the technique—clones creating their own clones, theoretically producing four entities.
In summary, all three rewards were worthless to him.
“Human Sovereign, are you free?”
Surprisingly, it was Sword Sovereign contacting him: “I’ve time. What is it?”
“I found something peculiar in the void. Given your extensive knowledge, could you examine it?”
“Why are you in the void? And how could anything exist there?” Jiang Li questioned. The void was dangerous even for Tribulation Transcendence experts—their bodies couldn’t endure prolonged void turbulence.
If Tribulation Transcendence cultivators couldn’t survive, what could possibly exist there?
“Having exhausted all sword-path advancements in the Nine Provinces, I came to temper my sword intent in the void. As for my discovery… best you see for yourself rather than doubt my word.”
Jiang Li nodded—Sword Sovereign truly feared nothing in his pursuit of strength.
Following directions, Jiang Li tore through space into the void.
He found Sword Sovereign’s clothes long disintegrated, his body covered in wounds—yet his sword intent had indeed intensified.
“What did you find?”
Before Sword Sovereign answered, Jiang Li spotted the object behind him.
“A massive statue assembled from human bones, though only half remains.”
“My assessment indicates the original owners’ cultivation didn’t exceed Divine Transformation stage.”
“What puzzles me is—how could Divine Transformation cultivators’ bones survive the void’s annihilation when their bodies couldn’t?”
Jiang Li’s expression turned grave.
This was none other than the Venerable Shenzang statue!
A decade ago, he’d brought Ji Kongkong into Shenzang Cult’s secret realm, where this very statue stood in its depths.
After the realm exploded, its contents scattered into the void—Jiang Li distinctly remembered only this statue resisting annihilation.
Back then, protecting Ji Kongkong took priority over investigating the statue.
Now, after all this time, it reappeared.
“Human Sovereign, do you recognize this?” Sword Sovereign inquired, noticing Jiang Li’s reaction.
“An evil artifact.”
Jiang Li offered no further explanation, equally perplexed by its void resistance.
“This thing’s incredibly durable—my full-power strikes left no marks.”
Jiang Li casually snapped off the statue’s foot with minimal effort.
“Quite sturdy indeed,” he remarked.
Sword Sovereign: “……”
Not wanting to discourage him, Jiang Li clarified: “Truly, it’s hard. My ‘minimal effort’ could shred Outer Realm Demons barehanded.”