Chapter 1656: Arhat Divine Art

“Wait, the ‘Arhat Divine Art’? Isn’t that the White Horse Temple’s ultimate art? How did the Celestial Market on The Cloud have it? Is it a coincidence, or...?”

He was puzzled not just because the “Arhat Divine Art” was White Horse Temple’s ultimate art. It was also because the previous abbot of the White Horse Temple from about a century ago, the White Elephant Zen Master, had attained the Phala of Arhat through the “Arhat Divine Art” and become a senior of Sages.

In the past, a heretic of the Dark Ways opened a Nine Nethers Rift and summoned the Black Tide. He was attempting to sacrifice a hundred cities to practice his evil art.

White Elephant Zen Master saw this and took action. He singlehandedly held back tens of thousands of Strangers and suppressed the infinite flow of Nine Nethers Demonic Qi using the Arhat Golden God. He saved millions of lives and prevented countless acres of land from being corrupted. In this regard, there was no end to his virtuous achievements.

After the Black Tide receded, a fully depleted White Elephant Zen Master assumed a sitting position and passed away in both body and soul. All he left behind for the world was a three-thousand-meter-tall Arhat golden body. To date, it was a place of pilgrimage for countless Buddhist monks and jianghu people.

Thanks to the White Elephant Zen Master, there was no one in the world who didn’t know about the “Arhat Divine Art”.

However, the “Arhat Divine Art” was also the White Horse Temple’s ultimate art. That was why it wasn’t passed down lightly despite its fame. Only a true disciple of the White Horse Temple could practice it, and only the next abbot could receive its true intent.

Logically speaking, it was impossible for the “Arhat Divine Art” to leak outside. White Horse Temple would never have allowed this to happen.

In reality, Ye Qing was staring at a copy of the “Arhat Divine Art” right now. It wasn’t an incomplete copy either. It was complete. He could scarcely believe it.

Sure, there was the possibility that it was just a martial art that happened to share the same name as the famous “Arhat Divine Art”, but... nah. Ye Qing couldn’t bring himself to believe that.

There was an easy way to clarify this. He could just ask.

So, Ye Qing looked at the woman and asked, “Is this “Arhat Divine Art” the ultimate art of White Horse Temple?”

The woman replied smilingly, “It is.”

Ye Qing asked curiously, “So, you’re putting White Horse Temple’s ultimate art on sale. Aren’t you worried about incurring White Horse Temple’s wrath?”

He did not ask how they acquired the martial art in the first place. Obviously, the Celestial Market On A Cloud wasn’t going to answer his question.

The woman remained smiling as she answered, “They would have to find us in the first place.”

What confidence! Ye Qing thought to himself. She was right though. If the White Horse Temple couldn’t find the Celestial Market On A Cloud, they would not be able to attack them.

Ye Qing chuckled. “So, did anyone buy it?”

The woman replied, “Naturally.”

Ye Qing shook his head. “Some people are truly fearless.”

The Celestial Market On A Cloud dared to sell the “Arhat Divine Art” because they were powerful, wealthy, and elusive. Anyone else would have their bones pounded into dust by the White Horse Temple if they found out!

The woman did not respond to his quip and asked smilingly, “Are you interested in buying this martial art, honored guest?”

“Please don’t. I still have much to live for!” Ye Qing joked. “Besides, I can’t afford it.”

The woman chuckled lightly. “You are joking, honored guest.”

Ye Qing resumed his watch after that.

Ye Qing felt his horizons broadening just browsing the catalogue of martial arts. There were ultimate arts that were famous throughout the heavens, profound arts that no one had ever heard of, cultivation arts specific to Confucianism or the Dark Ways, unparalleled arts of Buddhism, mental secret arts that specifically cultivated the spirit, supreme arts that allowed one to become a Sage through their physical body and more. Ye Qing was envious to say the least.

That was all he could do: feeling envy. After all, the martial arts were simply too expensive.

The martial arts on the first floor of the Rising Serpent Market all shared the same price: three million silver. Bargaining was not allowed.

In short, it was expensive, very expensive, so expensive that most people could not afford it.

Therefore, Ye Qing could only check out the introductions.

Of course, it wasn’t like he actually couldn’t pay for the martial arts. It would put a massive dent in his wealth, but he could afford it. However, he had plenty of martial arts himself, so he saw little need to buy them.

On a related note, browsing aimlessly was just one way of checking out the Rising Serpent Market’s catalogue of martial arts. One could search for a martial art directly or reveal their mind and energies so that the Rising Serpent Market could pick out a suitable martial art for them. The service was excellent.

After lingering on the first floor for about half a day, the duo finally climbed onto the second floor and checked out the Magia and secret arts instead.

There were so, so many more Magia and secret arts on the second floor compared to the martial arts on the first floor. They were all indescribably potent and profound as well. They could move mountains and overturn seas, catch stars and grab moons, enable one’s mind to travel hundreds of kilometers, grant command over the winds and clouds, summon ghosts and gods, divine heaven and earth, and more.

However, these Magia and secret arts were obviously less valuable than the martial arts on the first floor. So, they were relatively cheaper.

Relatively.

Ye Qing had no interest in any Magia or secret art, though Feng Qingyou spent two million silver to purchase a secret art called the Void Traveling Divine Spell. The spell boasted spatial abilities and enabled the practitioner to travel through the void unhindered. It was an excellent secret art be it for combat or escape.

The duo walked up to the third floor after they were done touring the second floor. Everything on the third floor such as the scriptures, the martial arts, the Magia, the secret arts and more were incomplete or damaged. It was less valuable than the products displayed on the first and second floor and so were priced lower.

Despite this, most of these scriptures could be traced back to the ancient times and so were exceedingly useful as references for warriors. If you happened to be practicing an incomplete ancient martial art, and they were able to find the rest of the missing parts on the third floor, then it would be a massive boon as a matter of course.

This was why the third floor was the most popular floor of the Rising Serpent Market. After all, who doesn’t like to get lucky?

Ye Qing liked getting lucky too.

Ye Qing released his demonic thought and energies and probed the fake cosmos above him. He wanted to know if there was a suitable art for him.

As soon as his demonic thought and energies entered the fake cosmos, the large majority of the stars immediately winked out of existence, leaving only a few still shining with varying degrees of intensity.

One particular star shone brighter than the remaining stars, however. It was easily the brightest out of all of them.

“Huh?”

Ye Qing was curious, of course. The brightness of the star showed how compatible a warrior was with a certain martial art. The brighter the star, the more compatible they were and vice versa.

In other words, there was an art that was extremely compatible with him.

He had not found a martial art like this during the first and second floor.

Ye Qing was curious, of course. Just what on earth was this martial art or Magia or whatever that was so compatible with him?

He did not hesitate. He cast his demonic thought into the shining star.

The second his demonic thought made contact with the star, heaven and earth shifted, sun and moon hid themselves, and space turned into Primal Chaos. A divine being with no shape or form, no limit or control seemed to sit amidst it all.

“Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon...”

“Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon...”

“Paranirmitavaśavartin Heavenly Demon...”

The next moment,what sounded like murmurs appeared from the limitless void. It sounded like crying, laughter, sorrow, joy, anger, dejection, resentment, hatred... all sorts of voices blended into one mind-warping, soul-disturbing experience.