At first, the cultivators of Qingming assumed that the two Arhat seats were similar to the divine path of incense.
The divine path of incense possessed countless drawbacks and had never been favored by cultivators with genuine aspirations. Yet neither the templates nor the Golden Pellets counted among those ambitious cultivators. Thus, to have two incense god seats made them thrilled enough; after all, their severed paths of Dao could now take another step forward.
Soon, however, cultivators of profound attainment stepped forward to dispel the misunderstanding: these two Arhat seats were not of the incense divine path, but were the Arhat fruition seats of Buddhist cultivation. Should one attain this fruition, one would manifest a golden body dharma idol unique to the seat! The intrinsic power of this dharma idol far surpassed ordinary dharma idols, completely beyond what any Golden Pellet could match.
Shortly afterward, a talented template versed in both the incense divine path and Buddhist cultivation pointed out that the ceiling of these two fruition seats did not end at the Dharma Idol realm. Once attained, there was hope of advancing to Scenery Command in the future—and even taking another step beyond was not impossible.
When this news spread, the entire Qingming cultivation world boiled with excitement!
For the Golden Pellet dharma idols, it was exciting enough, as they were already in the realm of dharma idols. But the template Dao Foundations had never dared dream in their wildest fantasies of an opportunity to reach heaven in a single step! Even though there was only one quota—literally one picked out of a million—it was the difference between zero and one, between hope and despair.
In an instant, countless cultivators went mad with fervor and began diligently studying the newly printed Explication of the Four Sections.
The scripture's first print of ten thousand copies and second print of five hundred thousand were both snapped up in an instant. Pre-orders for the third print surged past five million!
Not only did the templates read it, but countless Body Casting cultivators also wanted to understand the Three Realms scriptures early on. What if more Arhat seats appeared in the future? Even if there were no Arhat seats, attaining an underlying Vajra or mighty warrior seat would still be wonderful.
As the crowd recited the scriptures, Wei Yuan distinctly felt an uplifting force within the Sea of Bitterness, soaring upward on great wings, while his comprehension steadily multiplied.
Viewing the world with his greatly enhanced comprehension, many obscure truths became remarkably lucid and intelligible. The Great Dao of Buddhist cultivation shared similarities with the incense divine path, but only in superficial form. If one spoke of a difference, it was the distinction between utter purity and tainted chaos.
The incense divine path gathered the power of worship from sentient beings with virtually no threshold; accepting everything indiscriminately, it ended up wildly impure. The vast majority of believers worshipped gods with selfish desires, and so the aspiration power was mingled with myriad stray thoughts, even evil intents and grudges.
In the Buddhist path, however, even the most ordinary devotee was required to understand the fundamental scriptures. Those capable of being guided into the Buddhist land all possessed an understanding of the Dao's scriptures that—if not profoundly deep—was undeniably correct. The aspiration power born of this was pristine and pure.
Compared to the aspiration power generated by Buddhist practitioners, the incense divine path could no longer merely be described as turbid. If Buddhist aspiration was a cup of clear water, then incense aspiration power was sludge.
Hence, the power between the two was worlds apart. Ordinary incense gods were tied to their believers and mostly tethered to their place of worship. Once their believers converted, the incense god could perish on the spot.
The Buddhist path, on the other hand, could not only receive aspiration power but also bestow divine abilities. Moreover, fruition seats were born between heaven and earth upon the Great Dao; once attained, they were held forever, without depending on the continued presence of believers for survival.
Wei Yuan had inherited the lineage of the King Buddha, and now, by his own might, he could directly bestow golden body dharma idols. This was precisely the foundation of his confidence in establishing an Arhat seat each for the template Dao Foundations and the Golden Pellet dharma idols. No matter a cultivator's prior origins—even if they were a mortal—with the blessing of a golden body, they could be forcefully elevated into a potent dharma idol.
This was why the Baohua Pure Land was renowned as having the foremost dharma idols under heaven.
From the perspective of the Immortal Dao, a golden body dharma idol was essentially external power grafted onto oneself, not belonging to the cultivator. A cultivator who attained a golden body was like a marionette, and the cultivator was the puppet. Thus, cultivators who considered themselves talented were generally unwilling to tread this path.
Although Wei Yuan had previously dabbled in the Buddhist path, it was only after seizing the Heaven of Joy and Bliss and using it to enter the Sea of Bitterness that he gained the ability to bestow golden bodies and divine abilities.
Such bestowment had to be conducted through the Sea of Bitterness. That Wei Yuan was present in the Sea of Bitterness and could illuminate both himself and the sea was the foundation. That believers converted to the Buddhist path, causing their karma to ascend into the Sea of Bitterness and become part of it, was the prerequisite. Only thus could Wei Yuan use karma in the Sea of Bitterness as a conduit to channel divine powers and mighty force.
In the past, the Pure Land's bestowals of diverse divine abilities and the overnight enlightenment of many devout practitioners who attained supreme Bodhi had all been achieved by drawing down mighty power from the Sea of Bitterness upon completing their cultivation.
Today, with Wei Yuan present in the Sea of Bitterness and presiding over a Buddhist land, this grand event of bestowing the Arhat dharma came to be.
Yet along with it came a few minor and not-so-minor surprises.
In the main hall of Qingming Immortal City, Wei Yuan sat in the seat of honor. To his left sat several elders, each exuding the air of immortal elegance, standing and sitting with the poise of pines and cranes. To his right sat Cui Yu, currently gazing at his nose and his nose at his heart, keeping dead silent.
With a genial expression, Wei Yuan addressed the elders, "So, if I understand correctly, you seniors feel that granting the Arhat seats to the templates and Golden Pellets is a waste?"
Stroking his beard, an elder said, "The Realm Lord opened the two great paths of templates and Golden Pellets, benefiting tens of thousands of low-level cultivators. This is immense merit and will surely be recorded in the annals of history. But having said that, anyone with even a shred of talent—why would they cultivate templates and Golden Pellets? Calling such people mediocre talent is giving them too much credit.
"These two Arhat seats, observing the aura of their fruition, both possess the potential to ascend to heaven. Thus, in this old man's humble opinion, you should select two individuals of exceptional talent and distinguished lineage, for only they would be worthy of such honored seats."
With a half-smile, Wei Yuan asked, "Does Elder Cui mean to say the Arhats ought to bear the surname Cui?"
The elder straightened his posture solemnly. "One should not shy away from recommending kin when they are worthy! That is indeed this old man's intention. If the Realm Lord were conferring them upon personal disciples, I would not utter a word. But since you intend to give them to templates and Golden Pellets, this old man believes that our Ji-Zhao Cui family possesses many outstanding talents among the younger generation fully deserving of these seats. If our two houses can become doubly allied and advance and retreat together from now on, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"And how exactly would we become doubly allied?" Wei Yuan asked with interest.
Anticipating this question, the elder clapped his hands at once. Seven maidens entered in single file and lined up in a row. Every one of them was breathtakingly gorgeous, each with her own unique charm—some shy, some lively, and some boldly stealing glances at Wei Yuan.
"These are all direct descendants of our Cui lineage, sharing a genealogical standing equal to Cui Yu's. The Realm Lord may choose as he pleases."
Beside them, Cui Yu had long since averted his gaze, wishing he could bury his face in his hands. Genealogical standing merely referred to proximity in direct bloodline descent; in terms of generational seniority, two of them were technically his grandnieces.
Smiling, Wei Yuan said, "This matter is of great consequence. Allow me to give it careful consideration."
The Cui family elders all replied, "Naturally!"
The group took their leave. Before they exited, Wei Yuan shot Cui Yu a stern glare, the meaning plain: Am I that kind of person?
Looking at Wei Yuan, Cui Yu suddenly asked, "Was the third one from the left pretty?"
Without thinking, Wei Yuan answered, "Top-tier beauty! Though overall, the first one on the right seemed a cut above—"
Expressionless, Cui Yu said, "Family elders and the like don't matter. What matters is that they came with sincere intent. So I figured, whether you accept or not, I had to let you see that sincerity."
Just as the members of the Ji-Zhao Cui family departed, Wei Yuan looked toward the side and sighed. "Venerable Senior, could you perhaps not be so elusive and unpredictable?"
An elegant cultivator had appeared at some point and was admiring calligraphy and paintings. Hearing Wei Yuan, he turned around; it was none other than Immortal Zhao Li.
Without wasting words, he held up two fingers directly.
Wei Yuan shook his head instantly. "Out of the question!"
Immortal Zhao Li raised one finger instead. "Choose between Princess Ningguo and the Sixth Princess. I only want one."
Wei Yuan gave a wry smile. "To tell the truth, Senior, I can't spare even one right now. Besides, this is an Arhat seat of a Buddhist land. What do you need it for?"
Immortal Zhao Li replied casually, "A vast clan with numerous descendants—one must seek some benefits for posterity. Although it is an Arhat golden body, with my personal blessing, they can easily cultivate to Scenery Command no matter what. As it happens, a few juniors I dote on have run out of road on their Dao."
Wei Yuan smiled wryly. "This..."
Before he could finish, Immortal Zhao Li cut him off: "Of course, speaking of my favorites, Ruyi was originally first. But she suffered a bitter fate and passed away early. Next in line are Chunyi and the Sixth Princess. So long as they live well, the other descendants don't matter."
Wei Yuan parted his lips. This matter... wasn't easy to agree to either!
Immortal Zhao Li said indifferently, "I've lived long enough to know a thing or two about Pure Land methods. If you relieve my worries about my descendants, I will assist you in adding another Bodhisattva fruition seat."
Wei Yuan grew solemn. This was of immense significance; now they had something to talk about.
Having said his piece, Immortal Zhao Li let out a hearty laugh and vanished on the spot.
Wei Yuan gave a soft sigh and turned toward the other side.
There, appearing out of nowhere, sat the Bao Family Old Ancestress in a chair, having sat there for who knew how long.
Seeing Wei Yuan look over, the Old Ancestress of the Bao family said slowly, "When it comes to longevity, no more than three living Immortals surpass this old woman. When it comes to comprehension of the Buddhist Dao, if my Bao family claims second, who dares claim first? Not to mention, the dragon I raised for over three thousand years has now become the foundation of your grotto-heaven."
Wei Yuan hurriedly said, "I am deeply indebted to your kindness in that matter."
The Bao Family Old Ancestress struck her walking stick against the floor, instantly sending tremors through Wei Yuan's sea of consciousness!
She snorted and said coldly, "Spare me the pleasantries! Let me ask you: where is girl Yun's betrothal gift?"
Wei Yuan froze. He almost said wasn't it Ding'an City? But given Baoyun's current realm and talent, a single city fell far short.
The Bao Family Old Ancestress said, "I won't make things difficult for you either. Within three years, if girl Yun bears one child, I'll take only one Arhat seat. If she bears two, I won't take a single thing. And if she bears three—"
At the mention of this, a smile rippled across the Old Ancestress's face, impossible to suppress. She held up two fingers and said, "I'll give you two Bodhisattva seats instead!"
Having finally seen off all these various divinities, Wei Yuan felt more exhausted than fighting bald monks. That the two Arhat seats would be so hotly contested was something he had completely failed to anticipate.
Wei Yuan cast his divine sense into the Three Realms Temple. At this moment, the shrine held only five Buddha statues—one large and four small—leaving plenty of empty spots. Yet Wei Yuan felt that filling these vacancies seemed rather easy... so long as he was willing to make a few personal sacrifices.
Chapter 1255