Chapter 146 Mother of All Beings

After Jiang Chen and his companions settled into a village cottage and finished dinner, they each returned to their rooms.

Yang Shu and Jianzhen were still studying the Formation. Although they needed to be wary of Tian Tui, that did not mean they would stop learning the Three Mountains and Nine Marquises Formation.

Jiang Chen, however, was in no rush to study this Formation. Although he had never systematically practiced his Zanlong Array, it had already reached the second level and was nearing the third.

Moreover, this Formation shared a similar ingenuity with the Zanlong Array, making it exceptionally easy for him to study; his learning speed could be said to be ten times faster than the others.

What he was primarily focused on now was still the Inscriptions on his own Life Wheel.

Today, he had only inscribed the first one, yet it erupted with such miraculous power, making Jiang Chen even more expectant. He looked forward to seeing what it would be like when, one day, he inscribed all the Inscriptions he had seen onto his own Life Wheel.

Therefore, Jiang Chen was now attempting to continue inscribing the Inscriptions he had previously memorized onto his Life Wheel.

However, this time, it did not trigger a Heavenly Tribulation like it had during the day.

Furthermore, after Jiang Chen finished inscribing the first Inscription, he once again entered that state of Epiphany, though compared to the daytime, the difference was like heaven and earth.

The Inscription from the day seemed to be a qualitative change; while inscribing subsequent Inscriptions would strengthen the Life Wheel, the magnitude of the improvement would not be as great.

However, the sheer number of Inscriptions Jiang Chen had memorized was probably over a hundred.

If he managed to inscribe them all, the improvement would be unimaginable.

Even so, this was merely the tip of the iceberg of that mysterious Human-Shaped Life Wheel.

Jiang Chen was becoming increasingly curious about what connection the Human-Shaped Life Wheel, which he could only glimpse a sliver of through communion between heaven and man, actually had with himself.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes tightly closed, with his five centers facing the sky, the candle in the room still burning.

Two Inscriptions, three Inscriptions.

Seven Inscriptions, eight Inscriptions...

More and more Inscriptions were inscribed onto his Life Wheel; the Life Wheel's originally illusory body seemed to become increasingly solid, and the colors on its surface became even more vibrant and radiant.

This kind of improvement in strength was in no way inferior to raising his Realm.

Jiang Chen's current cultivation was at the first level of the Life Wheel Realm. If he did not rely on the Maoshan Dharma Sword and the amplification of his Life Wheel, his strength would be stronger than the Peak of the Life Wheel Realm, yet weaker than the Bitter Sea Realm.

His strength range was roughly equivalent to that of Cui Wei during his prime.

But if he utilized the Maoshan Dharma Sword, his strength could break through the boundary of the major Realm and reach the level of the first or second level of the Bitter Sea Realm.

If he unleashed his Life Wheel, this Realm could be raised by about two levels.

That was why Vajrabodhi was so wary of Jiang Chen's Life Wheel.

And at this moment, as Jiang Chen continuously inscribed Inscriptions onto his Life Wheel, this number was still slowly rising.

Although the increase was small, he was already stronger than he had been during the day.

However, this undertaking was clearly somewhat massive; when Jiang Chen inscribed the 49th Inscription, he felt his spiritual intent gradually beginning to falter.

After finishing the 50th Inscription, he stopped completely.

He reached out to rub his slightly throbbing head and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Cultivation emphasizes a balance of tension and relaxation, but this feeling of being able to personally experience an increase in strength with every Inscription he inscribed truly made him somewhat obsessed, which was why he had continued to cultivate.

After the throbbing pain in his head subsided, Jiang Chen finally got up to sense his own strength.

It was very surprising and delightful.

Fifty Inscriptions; he felt that his current strength should be significantly stronger than it had been during the day.

Moreover, including his perception of the surrounding information, it was also much stronger.

This kind of strength was not just strong in one aspect; it was all-encompassing power!

He felt that if he could inscribe this same number of Inscriptions again, his strength should be able to undergo another small qualitative change.

With this kind of strength, Jiang Chen even wanted to find a Bitter Sea Realm cultivator to spar with right now.

Of course, that was just a thought.

After finishing his cultivation, he prepared to sleep for a while; he still had to deal with unknown risks tomorrow.

"I hope I'm just overthinking it," Jiang Chen muttered, then collapsed and fell asleep.

...

In places like Hao Prefecture and Shou Prefecture, because the drought problem had been solved and the imperial court's disaster relief grain had been delivered on time and in sufficient quantity, although it was a drop in the bucket, it at least allowed the common people to survive for the time being.

Now, the lives of the common people in the city were gradually returning to their normal state.

The abandoned fields outside the city were also being cultivated by people once again.

But on this day, when dawn broke and the night watchman struck his gong, the common people walked out of their houses one after another to begin their busy daily routine.

Some of them were astonished to discover that, at some point, unfamiliar temples had been erected in various parts of the city.

The plaques on the temples were inscribed with: Temple of The Unborn Venerable Mother!

There were temple keepers guarding outside the temples, and passing pedestrians were all extremely surprised to see this.

Because they clearly remembered that just yesterday, this place had been an empty lot; let alone a temple, there hadn't even been a wall.

Yet today, a spacious temple stood here, which, for the simple-minded common people, was no less than a miracle.

Consequently, it wasn't long before some commoners gathered the courage to step forward and ask.

"May I ask, which deity is worshipped here?"

The temple keeper, seeing the person approach and noticing many other pedestrians stopping to watch, immediately said in a loud voice:

"This place worships The Unborn Venerable Mother. Wusheng Laomu has existed since the creation of the world; She is the final destination of all things and the merciful mother of all living beings."

"Believe in The Unborn Venerable Mother, and you shall obtain a long Lifespan, be blessed with many children and grandchildren, be free from illness and disaster, and enter the Hometown of Vacuum!"

The common people didn't quite understand the first part of what the temple keeper said, but they understood the latter part.

Believing in this so-called Unborn Venerable Mother gave one a chance to extend their Lifespan, be blessed with many children and grandchildren, be free from illness and disaster, and even go to that so-called Hometown of Vacuum after death.

However, they had heard this kind of rhetoric too many times; all sorts of Buddhist temples said almost the exact same thing.

So those who didn't believe in Buddha prepared to leave, thinking, 'I don't even believe in Buddha, why would I believe in you?'

And those who did believe in Buddha also prepared to leave, thinking, 'I already believe in Buddha, why would I believe in you?'

But just at this moment, the temple keeper suddenly opened the temple doors behind him.

"The Unborn Venerable Mother sensed that the world was in distress, so She sent down an Incarnation to save all people. Those suffering from the drought may come here to receive one dou of millet."

At this, everyone's gaze was drawn back, and they immediately saw the statue of The Unborn Venerable Mother sitting high upon the altar inside the temple door.

The statue was in the image of a woman, with a kind and benevolent face. At first glance, she looked like an old woman, but upon closer inspection, she seemed like a kind middle-aged woman, and looking again, she appeared to be a young and beautiful woman—a myriad of forms, all different.

But what moved the crowd even more was what the temple keeper had just said about being able to receive millet.

"Old temple keeper, can we really receive grain?"

The temple keeper gave a cold snort: "Do you think Wusheng Laomu would deceive you?"

"We wouldn't dare, we wouldn't dare! But we haven't worshipped Wusheng Laomu before; can we still receive grain?"

"Wusheng Laomu does not care about your offerings; She only wishes for Her children to be free from illness and disaster."

This statement immediately left some of the people present stunned.

Some of them had visited many Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries, but they had never heard of such a generous and selfless deity.

...

(Check-in spot for The Unborn Venerable Mother)