Chapter 369 - Chapter 369: Chapter 368: The things filling up the wooden house

Chapter 369: Chapter 368: The things filling up the wooden house

With a Bodhi leaf held in his hand, the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva made a gentle wave, and everyone suddenly found themselves in different locations, each within an isolated small space.

Among the tens of thousands of cultivators who had entered the secret realm, the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva created an equal number of small spaces and relocated the cultivators to them.

“Each flower, a world; each leaf, a Bodhi,” Jiang Li recognized the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva’s technique. The sect of Buddha was proficient in the art of spaces, and within the Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm, the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva demonstrated the advantages of Buddhism to its fullest.

In the outside world, the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva wouldn’t be capable of such exaggeration.

“Perhaps this secret realm was created by a Buddha at the Heavenly Immortal level,” Jiang Li mumbled to himself.

The gifts that the Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm had bestowed upon the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva were too exaggerated, beyond what normal secret realms could achieve.

Everyone found a small wooden house appeared before them. Inside the wooden house, there was nothing. Beside the house, there was a bustling traffic of carriage riders, woodcutters, vendors, and travelers. Numerous sundries flowed through this place, but they were all ordinary items without a trace of spiritual energy.

“Please now begin the first challenge. As you can see, there is nothing in this little wooden house. You each have one tael of silver. Please fill up this little wooden house. The test will conclude in four hours. During this test, the use of magical power is forbidden. I have sealed everyone’s strength.”

Every cultivator found that they could barely mobilize any of their strength. They were indeed, no different from ordinary people, with their spiritual energy dormant within them, refusing to be mobilized.

Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu both felt an inexplicable force binding them. They secretly attempted to use their mana, but found it was useless against the restrictions of the secret realm. Bai Hongtu remained at the Transcendence Tribulation Stage, whereas Jiang Li remained at Mahayana Realm.

However, both of them were people who followed the rules, and they had no intention of illegally using their mana.

They stood out among the candidates for Human Emperor not solely due to their power but rather their wisdom.

This kind of test posed no difficulty for them.

Jiang Li walked into the wooden house, thought a little, and turned around to buy a candied haw skewer with a tael of silver.

Four hours passed quickly, and everyone returned to the Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm carrying their little wooden houses.

“What have you filled your little wooden house with?” the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva asked Qin Luan with a smile.

Qin Luan opened the little wooden house, revealing it was stacked with firewood.

Some people chuckled under their breath, half in mockery. Qin Luan’s answer was too mundane; how could such an answer have a correlation with the secret realm’s inheritance?

There were quite a few among them who took no action when the trial had begun, instead sitting cross-legged in front of their little wooden houses, grinning with confidence and maintaining a mysterious air.

Just being present could capture the attention of many inheritances.

The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva smiled. Qin Luan’s answer was nothing out of the ordinary, without any remarkable points, but this was the normal state of sentient beings.

“Very well.”

The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva moved on to the second cultivator: “What have you filled your little wooden house with?”

Cupping his hands together in greeting to the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva, the cultivator, who looked like a deeply cultivated Buddhist, replied: “My Lord, I have not filled up the little wooden house with anything.”

“Oh, and why is that?”

“Air is omnipresent and yet often overlooked,” the cultivator answered, his smile inscrutable.

The cultivator opened the wooden house and, with all the confidence in the world, declared: “My Lord, as you can see, the wooden house is full of air.”

“Perhaps the benefactor should step inside before coming to any conclusions.”

Filled with confidence, the cultivator stepped into the little wooden house only to turn pale.

Inside the little house, there was nothing, not even air or any spiritual energy!

Even with the door open, the little wooden house repelled the entry of air.

The cultivator’s face turned ashen. He was so fixated on maintaining his superior demeanor, he had not even entered the wooden house before.

However, he quickly regained his composure. It didn’t matter. The Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm did not eliminate candidates. All he needed to do was perform exceedingly well in the next challenge.

Suddenly, a copy of Diamond Sutra appeared in that cultivator’s hands.

“What does this mean?” the cultivator asked confusedly.

The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva’s smile remained: “This is the reward from the secret realm for you.”

A cultivator who had entered the Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm before added: “Which is to say, this is a consolation prize. The next two challenges are more about participation.”

The sight caused a significant change in the expressions of many cultivators. They no longer acted like the mysterious high-level cultivators, and some even stealthily hid the candles they had bought.

The cultivators who bought the candles were full of regret.

They originally planned to nonchalantly walk into the wooden house, light up the candle, then recite a verse from the sutras while smiling and declaring that the wooden house was now filled with light.

Every action, every line of dialogue—they have them all planned out!

The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva gently shook his head upon observing this. Could these cultivators with mischievous minds, who were intent on acting mysteriously and ridiculing Qin Luan’s ordinariness, really not think that their behavior wouldn’t attract the attention of the inheritances?

There were so many cultivators trying to act mysterious that Qin Luan’s mundane answer of filling the wooden house with firewood had become unique.

“What have you filled your little wooden house with?” the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva posed this question to Yuan Wuxing.

Yuan Wuxing placed many candles outside the door, then lit them up, illuminating the wooden house. Although the light was faint within the wooden house, there was indeed light in it.

“Good.” The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva felt that while Yuan Wuxing’s approach wasn’t the best, it was still commendable.

The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva moved towards Bai Hongtu and saw that his hands were empty. At first glance, Bai Hongtu seemed like the kind who puts on an act.

“What have you filled your little wooden house with?”

“The entire Sentient Beings’ Secret Realm.”

“Hmm?” This answer was beyond the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva’s expectation.

“May I ask, where is the inside of the wooden house?”

The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva opened the door to the wooden house and entered, “Naturally, it’s in here.”

Bai Hongtu shook his head and also entered the wooden house, “My Lord, you’ve fallen into conventionality. No person has ever defined where is inside and outside a wooden house. Therefore, why not consider this to be the outside of the wooden house?”

Bai Hongtu walked out: “This place is the inside of the wooden house.”

The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva had a sudden realization, “This is a novel approach. Benefactor, you are indeed a wise man.”

Jiang Li pulled a face, people with the surname Bai can be so deceptive, couldn’t they be honest and sincere like him?

The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva reached Jiang Li’s little wooden house and saw that he also had empty hands.

“What have you filled your wooden house with?”

Jiang Li opened the door and invited the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva inside. After entering, the Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva found that there was nothing in the wooden house.

“What is in the wooden house?”

Surprised, Jiang Li asked, “Didn’t you see, my Lord? There is so much in the wooden house. If you can’t see it, why not use your Divine Sense to look.”

The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva activated her Divine Sense, only to find that there was genuinely nothing in the wooden house.

“Indeed, there is nothing.”

“How could there be nothing? Look carefully, my Lord.”

Jiang Li’s confidence about the presence of objects in the wooden house left Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva skeptical—had she overlooked something?

But no matter how hard she tried, she found nothing.

“Benefactor, what exactly is in your wooden house?”

“A lie.”

The Fragrant Elephant Bodhisattva could hardly resist cursing.

Bai Hongtu spread out his hands. He had mentioned early on during the Human Emperor candidacy that half of the mischief ideas were from Jiang Li, but no one believed him.