Chapter 4121: Six Desires Divine Furnace
The eight doors on the second floor of Love Mountain Inn were divided into four Human Doors and four Ghost Doors. The four Human Doors were where genuine guests were received, and those whom Gandharva would receive were naturally no ordinary people.
The four Ghost Doors concealed a different secret.
Gandharva's doppelganger led the sealed Zhang Ruochen and the others into "Ghost One Residence." Meng Huang'e and Baoyin Earth Treasury followed behind her.
Inside the door of Ghost One Residence, there was not a single room but something like a vast cavern.
Its ceiling was too high to see, and its depths were bottomless.
The environment was dim, interwoven with Ancestor Order, making it impossible to fully discern the internal structure.
Facing an Ancestor-level being like Gandharva, even they, who were Indestructible Infinite cultivators, were suppressed like mortals, having lost their divine abilities and diminished their perception.
After walking for about half a quarter-hour, they arrived at an open platform.
In the distant void, a dark red bronze furnace over a hundred meters tall floated, shaped like a wine pot, its surface quite mottled, exuding an ancient charm.
Zhang Ruochen, with his vast experience, recognized at once that this bronze furnace was extraordinary, definitely at the Divine Artifact level. Its ancient aura showed it had existed for over a billion years, as if it were as old as the heavens.
Truly worthy of being the lair of a transcendent powerhouse whose spiritual power was close to Ancestor level—this was only the tip of the iceberg, and already two Divine Artifacts were revealed.
"To boil a bowl of soup, do you need such a large treasure furnace?"
Tantuo Earth Treasury muttered.
Gandharva's doppelganger gazed at the bronze furnace in the void and said, "You've been underestimating this old woman's soup, thinking it can't break your spiritual will? Fine, you have powerful cultivation, all with indestructible bodies and indestructible souls, so you should indeed be taken seriously.
"This furnace is called Six Desires.
"In the past, when Gautama Buddha harvested the six desires of the human world to refine the Mani Pearl, he used this Six Desires Divine Furnace, and the furnace still bears the imprint of the six desires.
"Even if you have cultivated an indestructible soul, how can you withstand the six desires of the human world?" Gandharva glanced at Meng Huang'e and said, "You watch here. Take a drop of blood from each of them, and I'll go pick a deeply rooted Manjusaka flower."
"The Ancestor Order in Ghost One Residence isn't as dense as in the main hall. Be careful of this Daoist; don't let his sweet talk fool you."
Meng Huang'e naturally knew that Gandharva was from the Meng Clan, an ancestor of hers.
But every time she came to pay respects, the other party was extremely cold, and her resentment toward the Meng Clan more or less spilled over onto her.
Although Gandharva's tone was still unkind now, Meng Huang'e could hear the admonition and concern in her words.
This was an important step in breaking the ice in their relationship!
Meng Huang'e changed her address and said, "Grandmother, rest assured. Huang'e is not some naive young girl; how could I take his words to heart? But that Daoist is indeed a significant threat, with formidable combat power. He could break free at any moment. We need to find a way to weaken his strength."
Every cultivator present was at the Indestructible level.
Imprisoning them was no easy task.
If even one broke free, it could stir up a massive storm in the Gray Sea.
This was also why Meng Huang'e opposed Lan Shi Shen bringing them to Biluo Pass. Lan Shi Shen alone couldn't suppress these people.
Zhang Ruochen was trapped in the stone armor, all his movements restricted. Baoyin Earth Treasury had carried him in earlier.
He stood like a pillar in everyone's hearts and said, "This is an Ancestor Order domain. Even a Half-Ancestor would find it as hard as ascending to heaven to escape. Gandharva, let's discuss this again. This poor Daoist really doesn't want to drink the love soup with Baozhu Earth Treasury. Her reputation is too poor; if I develop feelings for her, it would be worse than death. How about switching to Seventh Miss? Or Compassionate Venerable would do."
Baozhu Earth Treasury, completely ignoring the danger, retorted, "You old Daoist, you were only pleasant to look at when we first met. I cultivate True Self Freedom, roaming through the seven emotions and six desires to temper my mind for who knows how many eons. A mere bowl of soup doesn't faze me. But if I truly develop feelings for this old Daoist, I'll live the rest of my life in pain—how unfortunate would that be? It would completely lose the interest of tempering my mind!"
"You keep calling me old Daoist—am I really that old?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Baozhu Earth Treasury was convinced Zhang Ruochen was Life-and-Death Elder and responded with a cold laugh.
Fanchen sighed, "One says worse than death, the other says painful misfortune. Saying this will only make them do it more."
Zhituo Earth Treasury, sitting in a corner, suddenly thought of something and asked, "If you add the blood and soul of a man and a woman, you can brew love soup. What if you add a third person's blood and soul? Would the love soup lose its effect?"
"Why are you asking that?" Fanchen said.
Tantuo Earth Treasury said, "Just curious!"
Gandharva's doppelganger had already left Ghost One Residence, so naturally no one could answer that question.
Meng Huang'e handed the Golden Thread Binding Dragon Rope to Baoyin Earth Treasury, telling him to watch over the bound Fanchen, Tantuo Earth Treasury, Baozhu Earth Treasury, and Compassionate Venerable.
The four were all Buddhist cultivators, sitting in a row.
Like meditating, each in a different posture.
Fanchen was relaxed and carefree, as if idly sitting.
Tantuo Earth Treasury clenched his fists, constantly trying to break the golden threads on him, with golden blood dripping from where the threads touched his flesh.
Baozhu Earth Treasury leaned against the stone wall, half-reclining lazily, her dark eyes always pondering something, occasionally glancing at Baoyin Earth Treasury.
Compassionate Venerable was the most dignified, even though she was now a prisoner.
Meng Huang'e stepped in front of Zhang Ruochen, only half a foot away.
"Daoist, your physical body is so powerful; your blood must be comparable to divine medicine, a treasure for body refinement."
Zhang Ruochen frowned. "What do you want to do?"
"Slap!"
Meng Huang'e slowly raised her hand, her five fingers ethereal.
A wave of void power, not inferior to that of Void Heaven or Lady Shiji, gently struck down, shattering the stone armor sealing Zhang Ruochen's right arm, scattering the Ancestor Order and rules.
She grabbed Zhang Ruochen's wrist, brought it to her lips, and bit down.
Throughout, Meng Huang'e's eyes smiled at Zhang Ruochen, extremely charming.
The blood vessels in his wrist were bitten open, and she greedily sucked Zhang Ruochen's blood.
Zhang Ruochen could no longer appreciate her beauty. "Is this your method of weakening my combat power?"
"For a cultivator who mainly relies on physical strength, consuming blood energy naturally causes a sharp decline in combat power."
"Such rich blood energy! I've only drunk less than a tenth of the blood in your body, and it's already reached the limit my body can bear. Once I refine this blood energy, my physical strength will definitely reach a new level, not inferior to anyone at the Heavenly Venerable rank."
Meng Huang'e's snow-white teeth left Zhang Ruochen's wrist, her red lips bright and crystalline.
The bite mark on his wrist was very deep.
Her skin flowed with a condensed white light, and her whole face glowed.
The effects of the Withering Death Art on her had been fully restored.
Having cultivated for only eight hundred thousand years to reach the Heavenly Venerable rank, whether because of her remarkable teacher, the Nether Ancestor, or other opportunities, Meng Huang'e was undoubtedly exceptionally talented, with a cultivation speed not inferior to the Dragon Lord or the Ice Emperor.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You probably won't be able to refine my blood energy in a short time. Be careful—good fortune might turn into disaster."
"Hehe! Is the Daoist only capable of making threats?"
Meng Huang'e collected a drop of Zhang Ruochen's blood and threw it into the Six Desires Divine Furnace.
A single drop of blood from an Indestructible Infinite powerhouse contained numerous soul thoughts and vast blood energy, enough to condense into a powerful divine doppelganger.
If it fell into a major world, it could even turn into a sea of blood.
This was why, even with her Heavenly Venerable cultivation, Meng Huang'e could only drink less than a tenth of Zhang Ruochen's blood before daring not to take another drop.
That less than a tenth of blood contained blood energy equivalent to the total blood energy in her own body.
Each strand of blood energy was like an angry dragon surging within her, not something that could be tamed and refined in a short time.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen's drop of blood fell into the Six Desires Divine Furnace and immediately dispersed.
Instantly, the blood energy boiled, filling half the space inside the furnace.
When a drop of Baozhu Earth Treasury's blood was added, the entire Six Desires Divine Furnace was filled with blood energy. The scarlet blood light cast an eerie color throughout the cavern.
After Gandharva returned, she placed a vibrant and gorgeous Manjusaka flower inside.
Then came a long wait.
According to Gandharva, this was her first time brewing Indestructible Infinite blood soup. She didn't know how long it would take for the Manjusaka and the two people's blood to fully merge and achieve a qualitative change.
Beneath the Six Desires Divine Furnace, Brahma Fire burned.
This Brahma Fire had been preserved since the era of Gautama Buddha.
"That old woman's doppelganger seems to have left!"
Tantuo Earth Treasury's eyes moved, staring at Baoyin Earth Treasury.
He had only lost his memory, but he still had the mind of a teenager, not only not foolish but extremely intelligent. He knew that Desolate Heaven must be controlling Baoyin Earth Treasury.
Now was the time to act!
If they didn't act now, would they wait until the love soup was ready, when everything would be too late? Saint Si Daoist and Baozhu Earth Treasury's mental states would surely be damaged, and their future cultivation paths would be exceptionally bumpy.
Baoyin Earth Treasury sneered, "Uncle Master, what do you want to do? This is an Ancestor Order field. If Gandharva wants to manifest her doppelganger, she can appear with a single thought. Besides, Lady Huang'e is still here. You'd better behave."
He turned and bowed to Meng Huang'e, who had come behind him, saying, "Lady Huang'e, my uncle master here is at the peak of Indestructible Infinite and has been trying to break the golden threads. He's quite a threat."
"What do you think should be done with him? Kill him?" Meng Huang'e asked.
"With his peak Indestructible Infinite cultivation, killing him won't be easy. Moreover, I feel that Gandharva wants to take him as a puppet."
Baoyin Earth Treasury kept a low posture, with a hint of flattery, saying, "I'm quite interested in the divine blood in his body."
"If you're interested, take it yourself."
Meng Huang'e stepped in front of Compassionate Venerable and slowly spread her palm. The Bodhi Silver Flower Tree grew from her palm, like a silver divine lamp, adding a sacred radiance to the dim cavern.
Compassionate Venerable was pierced through the heart by the golden threads of the Golden Thread Binding Dragon Rope, unable to move, sitting cross-legged with her Buddhist robe touching the ground, as still as a green lotus.
Meng Huang'e crouched down, using the light of the Bodhi Silver Flower Tree to look at Compassionate Venerable's face, and said, "What a face that makes others envious! Besides Saint Si Daoist, you should be the greatest threat."
"You overestimate me, Compassionate Venerable," she said calmly.
Meng Huang'e disliked Compassionate Venerable's calm and indifferent demeanor, as if she had none of the fear of a prisoner, as if no evil in the world was worth fearing.
Meng Huang'e smiled, "How about I brew a bowl of soup for you too? Who would you like to drink it with? Baoyin Earth Treasury, perhaps?"
Not far away, Baoyin Earth Treasury had already broken through Tantuo Earth Treasury's physical defenses and was using a chamber-pot-shaped treasure to collect the golden blood flowing from his blood vessels.
Hearing Meng Huang'e's words, he responded, "That would be a dream come true! But if soup is brewed, she should drink it alone!"
Zhang Ruochen sensed Meng Huang'e's hostility toward Compassionate Venerable.
Meng Huang'e seemed harmless, with a smile always on her face, but no one could guess what she would do next.
In her hands, Zhang Ruochen had already suffered a lot.
Compassionate Venerable stared quietly at the ever-smiling Meng Huang'e, with no fluctuation in her eyes.
Gradually, Meng Huang'e stopped smiling and said coldly, "The blood energy in Saint Si Daoist's body can help me quickly break through my physical shackles. And Gautama Buddha's ten-thousand-life merit should help me achieve breakthroughs in my soul and Dao methods. By seizing both your cultivations, not only is a Half-Ancestor within reach, but even an Ancestor is possible."
Meng Huang'e formed a strange hand seal with her fingers and pointed her index finger at Compassionate Venerable's brow.
Every wisp of energy emanating from her fingertip was like a tiny, hair-thin hand.
Compassionate Venerable didn't know what secret art she was about to use, but she remained as calm as an ancient well.
Behind her, Saint Si Daoist's voice came, "Everyone knows that Compassionate Venerable possesses Gautama Buddha's ten-thousand-life merit, and seizing it can lead to enlightenment. But why would such a great fortune fall to you? Is your luck that strong?"
Meng Huang'e hesitated for a moment, withdrew her finger, stood up, and struck her elbow heavily against the stone armor on Zhang Ruochen's chest, laughing, "Is the Daoist feeling pity for the fairer sex?"
"Exactly."
Zhang Ruochen immediately added, "But the pity is for Seventh Miss, the compassion is for Seventh Miss. I can't bear to see you, with your peerless talent and Heavenly Venerable status, wither in your most beautiful and moving years—how tragic would that be?"
"You old thing, how can you speak so pleasingly? It makes me reluctant to kill you."
Meng Huang'e's smile instantly turned cold. "I'll give you one chance. Speak—what's the reason?"
She understood that Zhang Ruochen had a deeper meaning and also felt it was abnormal that Compassionate Venerable had survived until now, so she restrained herself.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Have you heard of the Buddhist parable of Self-Contemplation of the White Skeleton?"
Meng Huang'e found a piece of green stone to sit on, her jade hand forming a fist to support her chin, and said, "Telling a story, huh? Fine, but remember, if your story doesn't satisfy me, I'll brew a furnace of soup for you and her."
Zhang Ruochen began to tell the story, "After Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment, he preached the Four Noble Truths throughout the world. He had seen all the myriad forms of the mortal world and thought he understood the truth of all things, but he became confused about himself, discovering that he didn't truly know himself.
"So, the Buddha contemplated himself.
"In this contemplation, Gautama Buddha found that he was not a living being but a white skeleton, a dead spirit. It was the skeleton that gained intelligence and attained the Buddha's great path.
"After the Buddha's self-contemplation of the white skeleton, he could no longer maintain his flawless Buddha heart and nearly fell into demonhood. As the saying goes, one thought is Buddha, one thought is demon.
"Thus, Gautama Buddha chose to separate his three bodies.
"The Reward Body, representing all merit and knowledge, chose reincarnation. That is Compassionate Venerable after ten thousand lives!"
Zhang Ruochen narrated in detail, unfolding the story.
All the cultivators present showed expressions of listening.
Among them, Compassionate Venerable had the most vivid expression, from initial curiosity to surprise, then to thought, and finally, looking at the man trapped in stone armor dressed as a Daoist, a smile with a touch of worldly charm appeared at the corner of her mouth.
She found everything that had happened since meeting Saint Si Daoist to be so amusing.
In the current world, many deities knew she was the reincarnation of Gautama Buddha, but she had only told Zhang Ruochen the specific details.
What Saint Si Daoist was saying now was exactly what she had told Zhang Ruochen back then.
If this Saint Si Daoist wasn't Zhang Ruochen, she would write her name backward.
Compassionate Venerable spoke, asking, "Gautama Buddha separated his three bodies, with the Reward Body reincarnating. What about the other two bodies?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Response Body, representing Gautama Buddha's countless incarnations, was self-severed by the Buddha."
"All of them were severed?" Compassionate Venerable asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Not all. One incarnation, named Vinaayaka, carried the Pure Land with him and escaped."
Compassionate Venerable nodded lightly, no longer doubting him, and silently thought about how Zhang Ruochen had survived and how he had transformed into Saint Si Daoist.
The Imperial Dust of the realm, without any proper form.
Wasn't it said that he had become cold and ruthless in recent years, arrogant and stubborn, having changed into a different person? Many cultivators in the Southern Region said that Zhang Ruochen's tragic death in the Hell Realm was due to his arrogance and that he died from betrayal.
But Compassionate Venerable found that Zhang Ruochen was exactly the same as when she first met him in the Heavenly Court. Without the identity and outer shell of the Imperial Dust, he hadn't changed a bit from his youth.
Meng Huang'e, not caring whether it was a story Zhang Ruochen made up, asked, "And what about Gautama Buddha's Dharma Body?"
"The Dharma Body, representing the Buddha's true form and life essence, disappeared after the Reward Body reincarnated and the incarnations were self-severed!" Zhang Ruochen said.
Meng Huang'e said, "Disappeared?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "But there is a legend accepted by many cultivators. It says that the Buddha's Dharma Body transformed into the Nether in the Soul Realm, becoming the Nether Ancestor."
"There's even a legend that the Nether Ancestor is the third life, and Gautama Buddha is the second life. Their first life was Xuandi, the Mysterious Emperor."
"That's why a powerhouse like Xuanyuan Di'er would apprentice himself to the young Compassionate Venerable."
Involving the Nether Ancestor, Meng Huang'e was slightly moved.
Zhang Ruochen could tell from her eyes that she had never seen the Nether Ancestor's true form, so he could probably deceive her.
So, he continued, "Now do you understand? Countless cultivators in the world want to seize Compassionate Venerable's ten-thousand-life merit to attain the Ancestor's great path, but they are all deterred by this relationship with the Nether Ancestor. You could say she is the Nether Ancestor's backup, a fruit that only the Nether Ancestor can pick. Try touching her and see what happens?"
Meng Huang'e's smile was beautiful, and she sharply caught a flaw in Zhang Ruochen's words, saying, "Not bad, I almost believed it. If she's so important, the Divine Realm would have dealt with her long ago. Others might not dare, but wouldn't the Divine Realm? Every story has its flaws."
"Then why do you think that a figure like the Nether Envoy only dared to secretly steal the Saha World but didn't dare to seize her ten-thousand-life merit? Was it because he wasn't interested?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Meng Huang'e thought for a moment, then said, "You wicked Daoist, disrupting my plans and ruining my state of mind. Now, should I seize it or not?"
Zhang Ruochen didn't know how much Meng Huang'e believed, but as long as she believed even a little, she would absolutely not dare to act rashly.
"What are you doing?"
Meng Huang'e sensed something and flew out dense rules from her body.
These Heavenly Venerable-level rule divine patterns twisted and condensed into thousands of small, exquisite divine swords, their tips pointing directly at Baoyin Earth Treasury and Tantuo Earth Treasury.
Meng Huang'e was extremely meticulous and hadn't been distracted at all, using her divine thoughts to monitor everyone.
Baoyin Earth Treasury stood up, spread his palm, and said, "Tantuo gave me a drop of blood, which is your blood, Lady. He told me to find an opportunity to put this drop of blood into the Six Desires Divine Furnace."
"You..."
Tantuo Earth Treasury was so angry he slapped his thigh.
Meng Huang'e walked over, released a wisp of divine energy, lifted the drop of blood from Baoyin Earth Treasury's hand, and took it back into her body.
Earlier, when Zhang Ruochen had used the Human Head Scepter to knock her out of Love Mountain Inn, she had spat out a mouthful of blood, some of which had splashed onto Tantuo Earth Treasury.
This drop of blood that Tantuo Earth Treasury had hidden contained her soul thoughts and was her origin blood.
Before this, she had sensed nothing.
Quite some methods—truly, no Indestructible Infinite cultivator could be underestimated. "Where did you hide it?" Meng Huang'e asked.
"I won't tell you."
Tantuo Earth Treasury stared fiercely at Baoyin Earth Treasury, gnashing his teeth in anger.
"Hmph!"
Meng Huang'e knew she wouldn't get an answer and controlled the thousands of divine swords, raining them down on Tantuo Earth Treasury, directly piercing his golden body into a sieve.
With this move, Baoyin Earth Treasury gained more trust.
"Keep a good watch on them."
Meng Huang'e flew up and entered the Brahma Fire beneath the Six Desires Divine Furnace.
She wanted to use the Brahma Fire to quickly refine the curse of the Withering Death Art in her body; otherwise, it would always be a hidden danger. Fortunately, Saint Si Daoist's Withering Death Art wasn't too strong, and with her cultivation, she could dissolve it.
"This lady is formidable—she's not even afraid of the Brahma Fire left by Gautama Buddha!" Tantuo Earth Treasury's body, which had turned into bloody mud, slowly recovered.
Meng Huang'e believed that Zhang Ruochen and Compassionate Venerable were the greatest threats and might break the seal. Even the peak Indestructible Infinite Zhituo Earth Treasury was a threat, so she had severely wounded him.
But Zhang Ruochen knew that their chance to break the seal and escape this place lay with Fanchen.
Fanchen, looking at Zhang Ruochen, gently shook his head, indicating that he was still at a low point in his cultivation and needed to wait.
Zhang Ruochen was well aware that Gandharva's spiritual will must be watching them in the shadows.
So, he said, "Guarding Love Mountain for a million years, yet still unwilling to cross the Gray Sea. Does anyone know what Gandharva's origin is? Why does she guard Love Mountain? Why is she unwilling to cross the Gray Sea? And why is this place called Love Mountain? Baozhu, she seems to have a very unusual relationship with your master, Earth Treasury King. You should know something, right?"
Previously, he had called her "Master," but now he was calling her "Baozhu"?
They hadn't even drunk the soup yet!
Baozhu Earth Treasury leaned against the stone wall, her beautiful eyes lowered, her hair covering half her face, and said, "Gandharva's real name is Meng Weiyang. She was the most famous proud daughter of the Meng Clan in the past, excelling in both spiritual power and formation techniques, surpassing the younger generation. Even the so-called Meng Heavenly Venerable, Meng Naihe, was a step behind her back then."
"That was a brilliant era full of outstanding talents. Even though Meng Weiyang was invincible in the same realm across the Heavenly Wasteland, she eventually met her match—the Sixth Patriarch and Earth Treasury King, who were traveling through the Heavenly Wasteland in their youth."