Chapter 1592: Illusory Pearl and Pagoda Talisman
As soon as Zhang Ruochen revealed his intention to purchase an Illusory Pearl, it immediately drew the attention of the Western Buddha Realm. An arhat with long white eyebrows personally came forward to receive Zhang Ruochen.
In the Western Buddha Realm, monks at the Saint realm were called "Holy Monks."
Monks at the Saint King realm were called "Arhats."
Monks at the Great Saint realm were called "Bodhisattvas."
Monks at the Divine realm were called "Buddhas."
"This humble monk’s Dharma name is Jingtai, a disciple under Bodhisattva Bianji. Greetings, benefactor." Arhat Jingtai pressed his palms together, his expression solemn and serene as he smiled.
Zhang Ruochen could not see through Arhat Jingtai’s cultivation level, only vaguely sensing that his strength surpassed even Shang Feng. He inwardly sighed—sacred stones were truly a wonderful thing. For their sake, even a high-cultivation Arhat would smile at you.
"I heard the benefactor wishes to purchase an Illusory Pearl?" Arhat Jingtai asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "That is correct."
"What a coincidence. We happen to have a pair here. However, someone bought one a few days ago, leaving only a single one left."
Arhat Jingtai was clearly not a simple, honest monk. He heavily emphasized the word "only," squinting as he smiled while observing Zhang Ruochen’s expression.
Obviously, if Zhang Ruochen showed any sign of anxiety, he would likely raise the price two or three times in his mind.
Zhang Ruochen remained very calm. "Take me to see it. If the Illusory Pearl is as miraculous as the legends say, I wouldn’t mind buying it to play with."
Arhat Jingtai felt somewhat disappointed, thinking Zhang Ruochen was just a wealthy descendant of a Great Saint, who had heard of the Illusory Pearl’s wondrous powers and came to take a look. If he set the price too high, he might scare him off.
After all, items like the Illusory Pearl could only fetch a high price when sold to cultivators in urgent need. At ordinary times, it might go years without anyone inquiring about it.
Arhat Jingtai naturally did not reveal his thoughts. Leading Zhang Ruochen inside, he explained, "The Illusory Pearl is condensed from the illusory thoughts that Bodhisattva-level beings wish to cut away from their minds. They use those illusory thoughts to form this precious pearl."
"Wearing the Illusory Pearl, the illusory and distracting thoughts in a cultivator’s mind are automatically absorbed into the pearl, maintaining a clear and penetrating sacred heart for enlightenment. Especially for cultivators plagued by inner demons or evil thoughts, wearing the Illusory Pearl quickly turns danger into safety."
Zhang Ruochen gave a noncommittal smile and asked, "How much is it?"
"Things condensed by a Bodhisattva are priceless. At the very least, thirty million sacred stones." Arhat Jingtai said solemnly.
Zhang Ruochen remained silent and asked no further questions.
Entering a treasure chamber, Arhat Jingtai took out the Illusory Pearl and placed it in Zhang Ruochen’s hand.
The Illusory Pearl was only about the size of a marble, yet it was colorful, composed of countless hues, appearing quite mixed.
That mere thoughts could condense into a pearl showed just how formidable Bodhisattva-level beings were.
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then returned the Illusory Pearl to Arhat Jingtai, smiling. "If it only expels inner demons and absorbs distracting thoughts, I could choose other treasures. Those treasures are worth no more than one million sacred stones. Why would I choose a thirty-million sacred stone Illusory Pearl?"
With that, Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands behind his back and walked out.
Arhat Jingtai quickly called out to stop him. "Benefactor, please stay. The Illusory Pearl is worth thirty million sacred stones because it has other powers. In fact, it is also a spiritual power sacred artifact."
"It’s not like I’ve never seen a spiritual power sacred artifact before."
Though Zhang Ruochen appeared indifferent, he still stopped.
Arhat Jingtai held the Illusory Pearl and blocked Zhang Ruochen’s path, smiling. "The Illusory Pearl can launch spiritual power attacks and also provide spiritual power defense."
"By using spiritual power to activate the Illusory Pearl, the illusory thoughts within fly out, burrowing into the enemy’s body to disrupt their mind. It can attack a single enemy or a group simultaneously."
"Activating the Illusory Pearl’s spiritual power defense, as long as you don’t encounter a Great Saint of spiritual power, it can block more than half of the enemy’s spiritual power attacks."
In Zhang Ruochen’s mind, he thought of the "Yin-Yang Mirror." That mirror was likely a means of spiritual power detection. By activating spiritual power defense, he could block most of the mirror’s power, making it much easier to sneak into the Yin-Yang Hall.
"So, the Illusory Pearl is a decent treasure. It’s just the price…" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Price is negotiable." Arhat Jingtai squinted with a smile.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Ten million sacred stones."
Arhat Jingtai shook his head like a rattle-drum. "Impossible, impossible. The absolute minimum is twenty-five million sacred stones. That is this humble monk’s bottom line."
Next, Zhang Ruochen and Arhat Jingtai engaged in a prolonged bargaining session, eventually settling at a price of "fifteen million sacred stones."
This proved that even a Buddhist Arhat had no bottom line.
After the transaction, Arhat Jingtai sighed deeply. "Benefactor, this time you have gained a great advantage."
Zhang Ruochen did not believe Arhat Jingtai would sell the Illusory Pearl at a loss, but it was indeed a remarkable treasure, capable of defending against spiritual power attacks.
For that reason, spending fifteen million sacred stones did not feel like a loss.
Arhat Jingtai added, "Earlier, when the benefactor was bargaining, you claimed you wanted to buy other treasures in the Western Buddha Realm. That wasn’t a lie to this humble monk, was it?"
"Of course not."
Zhang Ruochen said seriously, "I want to buy offensive and defensive talismans."
Talismans were extremely expensive items. Arhat Jingtai, knowing there was another chance to earn sacred stones, smiled joyfully. "Come, follow this humble monk to the Talisman Treasure Hall."
Arriving at the Talisman Treasure Hall, Arhat Jingtai directly led Zhang Ruochen to the second floor. "The talismans on the first floor are all for Saints, which I assume the benefactor would not be interested in. The talismans stored on the second floor are for Saint Kings, each worth a fortune, not something ordinary cultivators can afford."
Stepping onto the second floor, Zhang Ruochen keenly noticed that numerous array formations and barriers were set up here. Anyone trying to forcibly take talismans would immediately be attacked by the formations.
Zhang Ruochen walked to a spot near the center of the second floor and saw a wooden plaque inscribed with a line of Sanskrit: "Defensive Talismans—Pagoda Talisman."
"The Pagoda Talisman is one of the most famous defensive talismans in the Western Buddha Realm." Arhat Jingtai followed, pressing his palm onto the wooden plaque, causing a surge of Buddhist Qi to erupt from his hand.
"Sizzle."
The formation opened, revealing a rectangular sacred jade cabinet behind the plaque.
Inside the cabinet were seven golden talismans, each only three inches long. On the surface of each talisman was engraved a pagoda, surrounded by dense Buddhist script.
The difference was that the pagodas had varying numbers of layers, and the Buddhist light emitted by the talismans ranged from deep to shallow.
Arhat Jingtai introduced them one by one: "This is a first-grade Pagoda Talisman, capable of blocking attacks from a first-step Saint King. It can be used multiple times until the talisman shatters."
"A second-grade Pagoda Talisman can block attacks from a second-step Saint King…"
…
"A seventh-grade Pagoda Talisman can block attacks from a seventh-step Saint King. It can also be used multiple times."
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze fixed on the seventh-grade Pagoda Talisman, clearly interested. "How much is this one?"
Arhat Jingtai flashed his signature squinting smile. "Forty million sacred stones. No bargaining."
Forty million sacred stones—what a high price!
Many Saint Kings who had lived for over a thousand years could hardly produce ten million sacred stones at once. Forty million sacred stones could already hire a ninth-step Saint King-level figure to do a task for you.
"So expensive. No wonder many cultivators don’t carry high-grade protective talismans. Forty million sacred stones—even divine sons and grandsons would struggle to afford it."
After buying the Illusory Pearl, Zhang Ruochen only had ten million sacred stones left. How could he afford a seventh-grade Pagoda Talisman?
Arhat Jingtai, clearly seeing that Zhang Ruochen could not afford the seventh-grade talisman, then introduced the prices of the other Pagoda Talismans.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen found that even if he spent all his sacred stones, he could only buy a fourth-grade Pagoda Talisman, which could at most block attacks from a fourth-step Saint King.
Zhang Ruochen did not buy immediately. Instead, he asked Arhat Jingtai to introduce some offensive talismans.
"Lamp-Lighting Talisman, a one-use talisman. When activated, its power is equivalent to a full-force strike from a third-step Saint King. Price: four million sacred stones."
"Buddha’s Radiance Talisman, also a one-use talisman. When activated, its power is equivalent to a full-force strike from a fourth-step Saint King. Price: ten million sacred stones."
…
The more Zhang Ruochen looked, the more his scalp tingled. These talismans were certainly powerful, but… too expensive!
Just imagining pouring mountains of gold, silver, and ore into buying a single talisman was enough to make countless Saint Kings back off.
After careful thought, he realized that having Gusongzi refine three Heavenly Gang Purple Fire Talismans was a huge gain.
After all, the power of a Heavenly Gang Purple Fire Talisman was comparable to a Buddha’s Radiance Talisman, each worth ten million sacred stones. Firing one talisman was like throwing out a massive treasury, turning ten million sacred stones into ash in an instant.
Thinking of the two Heavenly Gang Purple Fire Talismans he had already used, Zhang Ruochen felt a strong urge to cut off his own hand—how wasteful he had been back then.
"No wonder a talisman grandmaster’s status can rival a Great Saint’s. Now I understand why. I must be friends with Gusongzi for life," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Fortunately, Gusongzi had been holed up in the Shatuo Heaven Domain and was too poor to buy talisman materials. If he were as wealthy as other talisman grandmasters, getting him to refine talismans would not have been so easy.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen silent, Arhat Jingtai asked, "Benefactor, which talisman do you plan to buy?"
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment before saying, "I have limited sacred stones on me, but I recently obtained a rule sacred artifact. Master, could you appraise its value and see how many sacred stones it can exchange for?"
With that, Zhang Ruochen took out a cauldron-shaped rule sacred artifact and handed it over.
Someone was actually selling a rule sacred artifact?
Arhat Jingtai was slightly stunned, then quickly took the small cauldron, examining it closely to determine its grade.