Completion

A moment later, Wei Yuan finally grew accustomed to the Sea of Bitterness, only to discover that he now possessed two different perspectives. This luminous sea wrought of karma possessed not only rolling swells, but also distinctions of elevation. At the center of the radiant sea, myriad lights coalesced into a towering mountain. Its peak extended beyond the limits of Wei Yuan’s current vision, lost in the infinite heights above, while its base was rooted deep in the Sea of Bitterness, unimaginably vast. As far as Wei Yuan’s sight could reach, the base of the mountain simply had no visible end. The glittering stars and blazing, radiant suns suspended in the void also occupied different heights. Most clung to the mountain of light, while a few were scattered across various reaches of the Sea of Bitterness. Wei Yuan looked down at himself. He, too, had become a speck of starlight—yet so dim and tiny, hugging the surface of the luminous sea so closely that any stray wave could submerge him for a long time. Deep within the Sea of Bitterness seemed to lurk a great terror, its omnipresent pull tugging relentlessly to drag Wei Yuan down into the depths. Fortunately, a solid patch of ground lay beneath him at this moment, supporting him and keeping him from falling into the sea. This piece of ground was the Heaven of Joy and Bliss. As a Buddhist land, the Heaven of Joy and Bliss naturally possessed an uplifting force; the greater this buoyancy, the higher it could propel Wei Yuan, allowing him to claim a loftier status. Wei Yuan gazed toward the mountain of light at the center of the Sea of Bitterness. Suddenly, a glint of radiance rippled at the lowest reaches of its foot, followed by a faint wave of cool clarity descending out of nowhere into Wei Yuan’s sea of consciousness. Wei Yuan felt his thoughts instantly clear, and his comprehension soared dramatically! As for how much it had improved: if Chapter Nine of *Preliminary Exploration of the Desolate Realm* were an examination, Wei Yuan previously could not understand a single thing, but now he could at least understand the prompt of the very first question. Such a miraculous encounter actually existed? In an instant, Wei Yuan’s gaze toward the mountain of light changed. It seemed that by affixing themselves to it, different stars or suns could obtain corresponding wonders. Moreover, the mountain of light possessed subtle tiers; different heights not only represented status, but also conferred varying mystical boons. Was this the true foundation of the Pure Land? Looking up at this mountain of light, its sheer colossal scale, boundless radiance, and immeasurable sea pressed upon Wei Yuan with a weight and despair that surpassed even the Venerable Master; perhaps even Immortal Lord Liuli fell slightly short in comparison. "However..." Wei Yuan looked away from the mountain of light and leaned over to gaze down at the Sea of Bitterness beneath him. In his eyes, the sea was filled entirely with the karma of mortals. Wei Yuan still had another perspective. When he attempted to switch to it, his vision suddenly ascended without limit, rising to an altitude so profound that Wei Yuan could barely comprehend it. At this height, total desolation reigned, engulfed in endless darkness. Suns and stars had all faded into the void, leaving only that distant mountain of light still bridging heaven and sea, its summit invisible above and its origins unseen below. *Is this the perspective of the King Buddha? Why is it so blurry?* With an inkling of realization, Wei Yuan looked down. Below, the Sea of Bitterness carpeted his entire field of view, boundless and fathomless. Within this hazy vista, only a scant five great suns were visible. One was colossal and perched high above, nearly embedded within the mountain of light, though its altitude still seemed slightly lower than that of the King Buddha, while the other four suns hung much lower; across the haze, only five faint patches of light could be dimly discerned in all. As for the skyful of starlight and blazing suns that Wei Yuan’s true body had witnessed, not a single one was visible from the King Buddha’s perspective. Wei Yuan then tried to look at his own true body, but after several futile attempts, he gave up. Returning to his true body, doubts arose in Wei Yuan’s mind. Judging by perspective alone, could the King Buddha’s status be even higher than that of the Great Sun Tathagata? Yet even from the King Buddha's vantage point, the peak of the mountain of light remained unseen. What on earth was this mountain of light? With such a monumental wonder existing in the Pure Land's Sea of Bitterness, how could Immortals possess only a single rank? And his final question was that the King Buddha seemed to reside in a remote corner of the Sea of Bitterness, vastly distant from the central mountain of light. The illusion of elevated status did not last long; it soon dissipated entirely, leaving him unable to return to the King Buddha’s perspective. As Wei Yuan pondered those questions, he suddenly felt something strange about two of the suns above him—as if they had stirred to life and were watching him. Wei Yuan looked up and finally sensed a trace of familiar aura. It turned out these two suns were acquaintances: one was Shanle, and the other was Baoxing. If the mountain of light were divided into tiers, Shanle sat on the third tier, while Baoxing held high court on the fifth. As for Wei Yuan, he hovered intermittently above and below the horizon. *Baoxing’s status is that high?* When they met back in the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, Wei Yuan hadn't thought she would be that difficult to deal with... But then he recalled that he had never truly fought Baoxing; after a brief probing clash, she had simply retreated. Now, it seemed she had backed off far too easily. Wei Yuan now roughly understood: between the karmic ties of the King Buddha upon him and the effect of the *Three Realms Ruyi Sutra* he had written—which subtly possessed the power to blaze a new path—he had gained complete control over the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, while also being accepted by the Sea of Bitterness and integrated into the Pure Land. *The Sea of Bitterness is everywhere, yet mortals dwell within it unaware.* This statement was expounded across many Buddhist scriptures. In truth, the Heaven of Joy and Bliss was like a beam of special light; only light of this kind could illuminate the Sea of Bitterness and reveal it to the world. Before taking control of the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, Wei Yuan could neither see nor perceive the Sea of Bitterness. In the parlance of the world beyond the heavens, the difference between the Sea of Bitterness and the mortal realm was one of dimensions. The Sea of Bitterness was effectively the Pure Land's private domain, its back garden—and now, Wei Yuan had pried open a corner and slipped inside. Having figured this out, compounded by the allure of the mountain of light enhancing his comprehension, Wei Yuan instantly felt a profound dissatisfaction with the height he currently occupied. An urge to advance welled up unbidden. How could he rise higher? As he was pondering, Wei Yuan’s heart stirred again as he sensed an exceedingly faint uplifting force. Although this power was so minuscule that Wei Yuan had to exert all his senses just to detect it, it was an uplifting force nonetheless—and one entirely independent of the Heaven of Joy and Bliss. Wei Yuan immediately focused his mind to calculate. In the next moment, his gaze pierced through layers of haze to behold a dim, humble space. It was a quaint little shrine. A bright-eyed youth was holding incense in both hands, murmuring under his breath before inserting the sticks into a censer and devoutly kowtowing nine times. With each kowtow from the youth, a faint uplifting force was generated. Enshrined upon the altar of this small temple was neither immortal nor buddha, but a faceless cultivator standing tall with a spear, his bearing clearly modeled after a certain Immortal Venerable's finest hour. *This is a Three Realms Temple...* A sudden realization dawned upon Wei Yuan. So this was the key to status in the Pure Land! No wonder those Bodhisattvas and arhats amassed swarms of believers, and mighty figures simply forged entire realm-heavens—all to climb to higher reaches upon the mountain of light within the Sea of Bitterness. Intrigued, Wei Yuan checked the wish the youth had just made, only to feel an odd sensation rise within him: this boy was actually a thirteenth-generation descendant of Tuoba Dafeng. According to the genealogy, he had drifted far from the main lineage, yet his wish was to avenge Tuoba Dafeng. *Avenge Tuoba Dafeng? Wouldn't that mean coming to kill me?* Gazing at this little fellow who had not even achieved a dharma idol, Wei Yuan's interest deepened, and he reached out a massive black hand. By now, the divine abilities and marvelous arts within the Indestructible Dharma of Emptiness and Form were growing more numerous, all springing forth out of thin air as Wei Yuan’s cultivation advanced. Among them were many techniques for probing thoughts and scouring seas of consciousness. Moreover, the Palace of Grand Beginning possessed countless supreme divine abilities to bewilder the mind and soul-search. Wei Yuan had naturally mastered them all, long since reaching the point of wielding them with effortless ease. Blending the marvelous arts of Buddhism and Daoism together and drawing on the strengths of both, he effortlessly unearthed the deepest secrets buried in the youth’s heart. As it turned out, the youth was originally merely a collateral descendant. Though talented, his lowly birth meant he received little attention. Furthermore, with Tuoba Dafeng in reclusion, no one in the clan knew where he had gone or even whether he was still alive. For years, the clan had relied solely on another ancestor in the early Scenery Command stage to prop them up, leaving the whole family in rather poor circumstances. The youth, Tuoba Hong, received few cultivation resources and merely drifted along with the current. Yet fate shifted one night when Tuoba Hong suddenly dreamt of his ancestor. In the dream, Tuoba Dafeng appeared covered in blood, bestowed a secret art for a dharma idol, and instructed the youth to avenge him. Seeing this, Wei Yuan casually copied a duplicate of the secret art. Upon waking, the youth discovered that the secret art obtained in his dream was indeed an unpassed clan heirloom, granted only to the most talented individuals of the direct lineage in each generation. The dream was so eerie that the boy dared not speak of it to anyone. Making an excuse to leave the clan, he traveled tens of thousands of li to Qingming in search of opportunity. Yet after half a year of wandering, he had found nothing, and his cultivation of the secret art had made zero progress. In his anxiety, the youth heard that a Three Realms Temple was remarkably efficacious, so he came to the shrine with the thought of giving it a try, kowtowing and making a wish. Having pieced together the full cause and effect through the methods of both King Buddha and Grand Beginning, Wei Yuan became even more intrigued by this youth—all because the enemy in Tuoba Dafeng's words was not him, but the Pure Land! What had happened after that fellow fled that day? Regardless... "This child has karmic affinity with me!" Wei Yuan concluded. He reached out and tapped a finger lightly, causing a wisp of dharma idol karmic luck to settle upon the youth. At the same time, after revising the secret art of the dharma idol, he placed it back into the youth's sea of consciousness. He had to admit that the King Buddha’s methods were indeed superior to the Palace of Grand Beginning's in this regard, excelling at nourishing things quietly without incurring karma. Having done all this, Wei Yuan could not help but mentally grumble about Tuoba Dafeng: *You ask a junior to avenge you, yet you only passed down half a secret art?!* In the end, Wei Yuan simply couldn't bear to watch, and stepped in to complete it.