Chapter 740: The strange Buddha statue demon

What kind of thing can become a Demon?

An ignorant person might tell you that wild beasts can become Demons.

Someone who has read more might say that Anomolus Spirits can also become Demons, which is why there are Tree Demons born from plants, and also Water Demons, Fire Demons, and other Demons purely composed of elemental Qi.

But those who understand Demons know…

All things can become Demons.

Therefore, this Buddha statue in front of him was also a Demon.

So, Li Qi walked over, walking to where the Buddha statue was located.

Few Demons believe in Buddha, so the Buddha statue looked very lonely; on this bustling street, he just sat silently in a small corner, unmoving, with some low-grade Spiritual Artifacts displayed in front of him, as if he were setting up a stall.

Li Qi came before the Buddha statue and said, “Sariputra?”

He directly called out the name.

A voice came from the Buddha statue: “Are you calling me?”

“Yes, I heard people say your name is Sariputra.”

“Nonsense.” Who knew, the wooden Buddha statue actually moved: “Recently, people keep saying this young master is Sariputra. Who exactly is this Sariputra? Also, if you’re not buying anything, don’t stand here blocking the way, you’re blocking my fortune.”

The Buddha statue spoke, its tone vulgar, immediately revealing a common street vibe.

“How much are these things of yours? I’ll take them all,” Li Qi said.

Upon hearing this, the Buddha statue happily bounced up, immediately changing its demeanor: “Alright! Alright, sir! What are you planning to buy with, sir? Qi beads, or silver? All money in the world is accepted here, and if you have cultivation methods or spiritual materials, that works too!”

“Spiritual materials,” Li Qi said, his finger finding a stone on the ground, lightly tapping it, then handing it to the Buddha statue.

Seeing this, the Buddha statue immediately cursed loudly: “Where did this low-class scoundrel come from?! Trying to trick me, your grandpa, with a random stone?!”

“Look closely,” Li Qi frowned slightly.

Was this Demon, transformed from a Buddha statue, not very intelligent?

Sariputra was known for his wisdom, but Li Qi saw no wisdom whatsoever in him.

He was temperamental, acted on impulse, lacked focus, and couldn’t even distinguish good from bad; he was far from the Sariputra Li Qi had imagined.

Had he not broken through the delusion of the womb?

That couldn’t be; Sariputra was already a Fifth-Rank Cultivator before he died, so Reincarnation shouldn’t have been an issue for a Fifth-Rank Buddhist Cultivator.

Either this wasn’t Sariputra, or there was something else going on.

Meanwhile, the Buddha statue, after being reprimanded by Li Qi, took another look and found that the stone had already turned into a Profound Yellow Stone.

This was a spiritual material condensed from a massive infusion of earth Qi, worth more than three times all those low-grade Spiritual Artifacts combined.

So the Buddha statue beamed with joy; he frantically slapped himself several times, hitting himself so hard that the Buddha statue cracked, then took the Profound Yellow Stone, and simply prostrated on the ground, kowtowing to Li Qi, calling him 'grandpa' profusely, and apologizing with extreme swiftness.

Li Qi shook his head slightly and said, “Get up, put your things away. I’d like to visit your dwelling.”

“My dwelling? Sir, do you want to catch us all in one go?” The Buddha statue was astonished.

“If I wanted to, could you stop me?” Li Qi retorted.

The Buddha statue thought about it and realized he was right, so he very straightforwardly said, “Indeed, then I can rest assured. Sir, please accept this.”

With that, he boldly tossed the Profound Yellow Stone into his hollow abdominal cavity, then tied and wrapped the cloth on the ground into a bundle, packing the low-level Spiritual Artifacts inside, and respectfully handed it to Li Qi.

Li Qi took it, casually pulled open a rift, threw it into his Inner World, and then said, “Then, lead the way.”

“Yes, I’ll take you now, sir. But, sir, seeing your generosity and prestige, you probably aren’t interested in my humble belongings. It’s likely still related to that person called ‘Sariputra,’ isn’t it?” The Buddha statue immediately led the way, speaking as he went.

This scene was extremely comical, because the other party was a Buddha statue that had become a Anomolus Spirit, and the carving was quite good, appearing solemn and dignified, with benevolent eyes, yet he walked with a shifty, furtive manner and spoke with a rather cheap-sounding tone.

With the Buddha statue’s solemn and steady appearance and posture, performing such low-level actions actually highlighted a sense of absurdity.

Li Qi couldn't help but laugh.

After all, it was genuinely hilarious.

But he immediately composed himself, coughed twice, and said seriously, “What’s your name?”

“This humble one is called Ergou,” the Buddha statue said with a grin.

Li Qi couldn’t hold back this time.

You’d be hard-pressed to imagine the solemn head of a Shakyamuni Buddha saying with a cheap grin that he was called Ergou.

Seemingly thinking Li Qi was amused by him, the Buddha statue-turned-Demon named Ergou chuckled.

Li Qi finally couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

However, as he laughed, his voice suddenly quieted, and he looked at Ergou: “You’re quite good at playing the clown, aren’t you? This isn’t your first time, is it?”

Ergou’s heart jolted; he had used his Buddha-like face to amuse countless people, and no one had ever seen through him before.

However, what he didn’t know was that Li Qi didn’t need to see through him; he could directly read minds, directly perceive the other party’s thought processes, seeing all of their surface thoughts clearly.

“What are you saying, sir? This face of mine is naturally like this; I don’t know how many glares and jokes I’ve received because of it… Alas, it’s heartbreaking to talk about,” he said, looking gloomy again.

Of course, he was definitely still acting.

But Li Qi didn't expose him; he simply stopped talking and just walked.

Ergou also stopped his antics at the appropriate time, and instead, continued to wear that Buddha face as he led Li Qi.

The journey was naturally bizarre and colorful, and Li Qi also scanned the surroundings, taking everything into his perception.

He quickly left the city.

However, at that very moment, Li Qi suddenly realized that he seemed to have left the mouth of some beast!

Upon realizing this, Li Qi’s perception suddenly amplified!

He suddenly realized—

That street just now was a Demon.

This city was a Demon, and the ground beneath his feet was also a Demon.

However, these Demons seemed to have very slow consciousness, so they weren’t as lively.

But it was clear that in this Myriad Demon Reservoir World, almost all things were Demons!

It had just been said, but those who understand Demons know…

All things can become Demons.

This was also the foundation of Demons!

All things in the world possess spirit.

Life is an attribute of matter; matter must contain life, and life activities and spiritual activities exist within all matter!

Humans are matter, stones are matter, cities are matter, and the land beneath one’s feet is also matter.

Therefore, as long as it is matter, it must possess ‘spirit’ and consciousness.

A very strange viewpoint, but it must contain some deeper, more profound understanding of the world.

It’s just that Li Qi didn’t know it yet.

However, at this moment, Li Qi patted his face.

Those things could be discussed later; understanding the Demon Dao wasn't for now.

The immediate priority was still to resolve the matter of Sariputra.

Continuing with Ergou, they soon arrived at a dilapidated temple outside the city.

The dilapidated temple stood in the wilderness, surrounded by a dirt path, with mountains behind it and a few trees, which were also Demons, though they had not yet awakened their intelligence and only possessed instinct.

Looking at the Buddhist temple again, it was similar; this Buddhist temple also had a spirit, but for now, it had no consciousness, and its Cultivation time was still too short, so it was unknown when it would awaken and become a living building like the city before.

Ergou pointed to the dilapidated Buddhist temple and said, “Alright, sir, this is my home. I usually live in here~. Oh, by the way, sir, you just said you were looking for Sariputra. Who exactly is this Sariputra? And what does he have to do with me?”

Ergou’s curious question reached Li Qi’s ears, so Li Qi replied, “Why do you ask?”

Ergou chuckled: “I’m just a common Eighth-Rank, struggling to make a living. Now that I can be associated with such a figure, I feel uneasy, don’t I? I just want to understand more; maybe I can even help you find some clues.”

Li Qi listened to him speak while reading his mind.

However, the result of the mind-reading was quite amusing; Li Qi found that he didn't care who Sariputra was at all, but Ergou keenly sensed that if he could continue to be associated with Sariputra, he might be able to gain a lot of benefits from it.

Selfish, with petty cleverness but no great wisdom.

Clearly, he was completely blinded by profit, completely unaware that getting involved with Sariputra would not only bring benefits but also potential death.

A risk that was obvious at a glance, but Ergou completely ignored it; his mind was filled with thoughts like, ‘I’m going to get rich this time!’

Li Qi began to have some doubts.

Was this person really Sariputra’s Reincarnation?

Li Qi felt it was highly unlikely. As a Disciple of World Honored One Tathagata, Sariputra was of a superior type even among the many Buddha Disciples, renowned for his wisdom. Even if he couldn’t break through the delusion of the womb, he could blame it on the Heavenly Demon, but to become like this—that probably had nothing to do with the Heavenly Demon, right?

Li Qi kept it to himself for now, deciding to observe.

Thinking this, Li Qi led Ergou into the Buddhist temple.

The Buddhist temple was dilapidated, but it was quite clean.

Inside, it was divided into three sections: the main hall in the center, and two side rooms.

It wasn’t a large area, just a small, broken-down rural temple.

Entering the main hall, they saw two Buddha statues; one was a stone-carved Great Buddha, a full three zhang tall. Judging by the empty space, there should have been two smaller Buddhas next to it, but now there was only one.

Li Qi glanced at Ergou.

Clearly, the third one had awakened its spiritual intelligence, stood up, and become a Demon.

Most of the murals and carvings in the Buddhist temple were damaged, but there was no dust.

“You’re quite fond of cleanliness. Looking at you, it doesn’t seem like it, though.” Li Qi looked at Ergou; he thought this person shouldn’t have a habit of cleaning. Had he misjudged?

“Hehe… Of course I didn’t clean it myself,” Ergou said, scratching his head.

This appearance was truly out of place, especially in a Buddhist temple, with a Buddha head chuckling mischievously.

But Li Qi had probably gotten used to it. Upon hearing that he hadn’t cleaned it himself, Li Qi pointed to the side room: “Is that her?”

“Ah, you truly see through everything, sir! Yes, that’s my younger sister,” Ergou immediately said: “But she doesn’t know anything, and she can’t do much normally. She’s just a parasite, gnawing at me, sigh, but I can’t just abandon her.”

He looked disgusted.

However, Li Qi could see his true thoughts within.

He truly regarded the other party as his sister.

Although Demons don't particularly value blood relations, after all, for Demons, things like Family bloodlines are truly useless. A fox that has become a Demon wouldn't consider its parents or siblings, who are still wild beasts, as 'kin'.

Most of the time, relationships are counted by master-Disciple, Immortal Cave, and enlighter, while blood relations are not given much importance.

Therefore, this kind of emotion is quite rare among Demons.

Li Qi left the main hall and walked towards the side hall.

Ergou’s heart suddenly rose to his throat, and he rushed in front of Li Qi: “Sir, sir, she’s just a little girl, she hasn’t even properly transformed yet, what’s there to see? Let’s talk about Sariputra instead! Maybe I even know something!”

“Just finding a place to sit,” Li Qi said, then came to the side room and gently pushed the door open.

Ergou dared not stop him, only watching Li Qi push open the door.

After the door opened, inside was a small girl, wiping the floor.

Calling her a small girl wasn’t quite right, because she had many plant characteristics, such as leaves growing from her skin, some branches, a somewhat woody texture to her body, and a flower on her head that looked like a hair ornament, though Li Qi could see it was growing directly from the top of her head.

Seeing a stranger, the little girl seemed a bit dazed, momentarily stunned.

“A Water Lotus Demon, then? A Water Lotus offered before the Buddha becoming a Demon?” Li Qi asked Ergou.

“Yes, sir, you truly foresee things like a god!” Ergou nodded repeatedly.

Li Qi nodded slightly; this was normal. Bodhisattvas often sat on Water Lotus flowers, as the Water Lotus represented a solemn and dignified Dharma appearance.

The Avatamsaka Sutra states: “Worlds in the form of Lotus flowers, as numerous as dust motes in ten Buddha-fields; the seeds of these worlds are firm and wondrously adorned, vast, pure, and a treasury of light, dwelling upon a sea of Lotus jewels, or some dwelling upon a sea of fragrance, etc. In every dust mote of all lands, one universally sees the Tathagata therein.”

It means that in the World of Adornment of the Lotus Treasury of Vairocana Tathagata, within the petals of the Water Lotus, there are layers of worlds, and the ‘Lotus’ refers to the Water Lotus.

The Water Lotus can bear Buddha Power, as expressed by the saying, “Various bright stamens, fragrant banners, the World of Adornment of the Lotus Treasury.”

Therefore, Buddhist temples usually have Water Lotus flowers; even if there isn’t a living one, one will be sculpted beside the Bodhisattva.

In this dilapidated Buddhist temple, even the Buddha statues had become Anomolus Spirits, so a Water Lotus becoming a Anomolus Spirit was no problem.

At this moment, the Water Lotus in front of them finally reacted. She immediately stood up, first happily calling out to Ergou, “Brother!” Then, she looked at Li Qi, somewhat confused: “And this is?”

Unlike Ergou’s cheap-looking demeanor, as a Water Lotus Demon, she still had an inherent solemnity, as the Water Lotus itself was a flower representing a dignified Dharma appearance; this was a kind of ‘natural disposition,’ perhaps.

“Oh, I’m your brother’s guest. I’m just looking around. You continue what you’re doing,” Li Qi said with a smile, then turned and led Ergou to the plaza outside.

“Now, let’s talk about Sariputra.” (End of this chapter)