Overnight, numerous recipients of blessings within the Dao Lineage of the Three Realms, as well as many exceptionally gifted and devout meditators, beheld an additional Buddhist statue appearing beside the originally empty seat of the primary Buddha during their contemplative meditation.
This Buddha's position was only slightly off-center from the primary seat, placed distinctly above the various Bodhisattvas. Furthermore, its features were clearly defined, forming the abhaya mudra and holding a vajra scepter.
With the Buddha appearing with such vivid clarity, the cultivators naturally kowtowed in veneration. After prostrating themselves, many sensed the true essence this Buddha embodied: vigorous progress, unobstructed joy, and freedom from jealousy toward others. Many more received blessings, and a select few among them, possessing both opportune fate and profound comprehension, even received true esoteric teachings.
The numerous believers of the Three Realms clearly fell into several tiers. The largest group comprised shallow believers or false devotees, who could not see the new Buddha at all. They would only learn of this matter once the temples erected new statues or when word reached them from other devotees.
Among the devout believers, a portion could see the new Buddha. Of those, a tenth received blessings, and in the end, a total of seven achieved sudden enlightenment and attained the true teachings.
Those who received blessings could advance vigorously in their cultivation without jealousy or suspicion; the refinement of their Dao hearts became more complete, and their prospects of transcending tribulations increased dramatically.
With the emergence of a new Buddha, joined by the two Bodhisattvas Miaoyue Reception and Victorious in Battle, along with other partially manifested Bodhisattvas, the Dao Lineage of the Three Realms had established its foundational framework, ensuring that its future rate of development would accelerate immensely.
At the time, Wei Yuan had simply felt grief over the destruction of the flesh-body Buddha and had been unwilling to let the predecessor's merit go to waste; he had not yet known to whom the flesh-body Buddha belonged. Only now did he realize that this was the reincarnated body of Amoghasiddhi, which happened to align perfectly with Qingming's current vigorous expansion.
The flesh-body Buddha's entry into the Dao Lineage of the Three Realms elevated the entire lineage's rate of development by a whole tier, and Wei Yuan's own cultivation speed increased accordingly.
This improvement differed from his previous absorption of immortal remains. Absorbing and refining remains was a one-time plunder of resources for attaining the Dao, whereas the flesh-body Buddha enhanced Wei Yuan's ongoing cultivation efficiency. The cultivation and Dao practice gained this way belonged entirely to Wei Yuan himself, without any need to shoulder another's karmic consequences.
Though simple in concept, the practical boost was extraordinarily pronounced. Wei Yuan estimated that he now needed only ninety-five thousand more years of cultivation before ascending to immortality—equivalent to saving tens of thousands of years of arduous effort in one fell swoop, with no lingering side effects.
"Good deeds really do bring good rewards!" Wei Yuan remarked with deep feeling. Afterward, he retrieved the earlier shadow-recording orb and began reviewing the recorded footage inside.
Watching segment after segment, he found some quite satisfactory, while others were outright intolerable.
"Indeed, when facing Xikong's descending Buddha palm, my expression was still too stiff, too fake. How could I possibly be afraid of that kid? My eyes were opened so wide—it was downright melodramatic.
"Oh, and Boundless Bright Light's attempt at conversion was undeniably skillful, and my mind did waver a fraction, but it was only a fraction. Thinking she could suppress me with a conversion of that level was sheer suicide on her part. I merely meant to play along to set the stage for the surprise later on, but look at this expression—it's practically that of a lovesick fool!
"If future generations ever saw this, what kind of disaster would that be? Am I the kind of person who loses the ability to walk at the sight of a beautiful woman? Really now!
"Well, to be fair, Boundless Bright Light is undeniably gorgeous. The third-generation founder's taste was certainly on point. On this matter, I have to trust the old man's judgment..."
While griping, Wei Yuan edited out the offending footage with lingering fear.
Only after completing all the trimming did he let out a long sigh of relief. The images that remained were now precious historical materials, and Wei Yuan could swear before the Great Dao that he had not altered any of the content.
Deleting did not count as altering.
Reflecting in hindsight, Wei Yuan realized that none of the deliberate expressions he put on worked well; they were either exaggerated and theatrical or made him look as though he were about to drool. Although Boundless Bright Light's reaction proved his acting had been convincing, could this kind of thing ever be shown to posterity?
After summing it all up, Wei Yuan finally reached a conclusion: playing the pig to eat the tiger simply did not suit him. The main issue was that he truly could not pass for a pig—his image clashed far too drastically.
Wei Yuan looked in a mirror and confirmed the conviction in his heart.
Having safely stored away the precious historical material, Wei Yuan stepped into the Immortal Heaven, arriving at the Western Jin royal palace a short while later.
Chunhua Palace remained just as it had always been; those two formidable maids still resided here. All the furnishings in the palace were unchanged, as if time had frozen in place.
Wei Yuan walked through the main hall and came to the rear garden. In a corner of the garden stood a small burial mound where Consort Yuan was interred. This corner had originally been the Gate of Life in the palace-protecting formation; when the Little King of Chu was still an infant in swaddling clothes, he had once been hidden here.
Consort Yuan's dying wish had been to be buried here, keeping watch over her child.
Wei Yuan stepped before the grave, drew forth a piece of sarira, and set it gently in front of the headstone.
The sarira passed through the burial earth, fell into the coffin, and rested in the hands of Consort Yuan's remains.
Wei Yuan paused for a moment before speaking. "Rest well. This time, I have only slain Xikong. There is still a Buddha Child; I will send him to you before long. Not just him—every single person in the Pure Land connected to this matter, I will send down to you one by one."
A gentle breeze swept past, rustling the flowering trees, and petals fluttered down like rain. The twilight was sheared by floral shadows into golden threads that snared the floating dust. A solitary petal drifted onto Wei Yuan's fingertip, so thin its veins were visible, resembling the flower she had once pinned to her lapel. From somewhere unknown, the heartbreaking strum of a zither rose again, weeping and murmuring, shredded by the northern wind and mingled with the shower of petals, drifting over the winding corridors.
Wei Yuan smiled faintly at the melody, gazing upon the petal as a trace of sorrow crossed his eyes and brows.
Through the rain of petals, Li Ruyi walked out slowly, resembling a maiden newly blossomed into youth. Exactly which of their past encounters this scene recalled, Wei Yuan could not quite remember at the moment.
Consort Yuan came to Wei Yuan's side and whispered softly, "You have already done enough for me; there is no need to kill any more people. Let everything end here. Go and do what you must do; I will rest well here."
Wei Yuan reached out, drew her into his embrace, and gazed into her eyes. "It is for your sake, but not entirely. Part of the reason is that they deserved to die in the first place. Whether this happened or not, I would have wiped them out sooner or later. And seeing you now makes it even more imperative that I kill them. Wouldn't you agree, Bodhisattva?"
Within Wei Yuan's embrace, Li Ruyi's complexion changed drastically. She struggled desperately out of his arms, then shifted into Bodhisattva Baoxing, asking in astonishment, "How did you see through it?"
Wei Yuan sighed. "You people truly are everywhere, always scheming and trying to lay traps at every turn. Did you really think people in this world would let you manipulate and pull their strings like puppets? Those who fall for your tricks are only those who hold you in their hearts. When faced with someone who doesn't take you seriously at all, your methods are riddled with flaws everywhere."
Baoxing stood gracefully where she was, wanting to say more, but Wei Yuan had already lost all interest in speaking to her. A small balance scale surfaced in his palm, and he fixed an ominous gaze upon her.
Baoxing's face turned pale in an instant. She had never expected Wei Yuan to be capable of using the flesh-body Buddha's divine ability to weigh merit! Even the flesh-body Buddha had been defeated when competing against Wei Yuan in merit; knowing her own merit did not amount to even a fraction of the flesh-body Buddha's, how would she dare be weighed against Wei Yuan?
Without a word, Baoxing immediately dispersed her figure, directly severing this strand of divine will!
The Buddha's palm was no laughing matter. Once dragged onto the balance scale, even if this was merely a wisp of her divine will, the effect would trace back to her true body, dragging her true body on her fruition seat over as well.
Wei Yuan smiled faintly and said, "Severing a wrist like a brave warrior, eh? Was there any need to take it so seriously? I was only frightening you—why take it to heart? A grand Bodhisattva like you has no sense of humor whatsoever."
Wei Yuan was not being pretentious; unfortunately, there was no one beside him to chime in and ask: *Why was that, then?*
If someone had asked, Wei Yuan could have gone on to explain that his merit had not been easy to come by, and there was no point wasting it on a minor figure like Baoxing. It was far more worthwhile to pool the merit together and pull off a grand feat—weighing a Great Bodhisattva or the like.
With that minor disturbance settled, Wei Yuan took one more look at Consort Yuan's grave, then turned and departed without going to see the King of Jin.
***
Inside the bedchamber of the royal palace, the King of Jin, wrapped in a sable robe, was dozing off in the warmth rising from the brazier. His body suddenly twitched, jolting him awake from his slumber. He looked around blankly, taking a while before realizing where he was.
After another moment, the King of Jin remembered what he had intended to do. He shook a golden bell, and a supervising eunuch entered bearing warm water to wash the King of Jin's face, then reported on the major affairs both inside and outside the palace for the day.
"Wei Yuan was here?" The King of Jin stopped washing his face.
The eunuch reported, "Prince Wei went to Chunhua Palace. It seems he placed something before Consort Yuan's grave, lingered for a brief while, and then left."
"What did he place?" asked the King of Jin.
"That... this servant does not know either. The maidservants only said they watched from afar outside the rear garden and saw him set down an object. Yet when they went to look afterward, there was nothing there."
The King of Jin paused for a moment, then murmured, "He came all this way, yet didn't bother to see me... Ah, forget it. I am old now; even my speech has slowed, and I won't occupy this throne for many more years. It is only right that he didn't come. Go, bring me my testamentary edict."
The old chief steward shuddered and said, "Your Majesty, it is too early to speak of such things!"
The King of Jin offered a self-deprecating chuckle. "Without the longevity medicine Prince Wei offered, I would have gone to see the ancestral line long ago. Now, it is not early at all..."
The old chief steward had no choice but to go to the rear hall, climb to a high vantage, and retrieve the testamentary edict hidden behind the lintel plaque.
The King of Jin slowly unrolled the decree, making no deliberate attempt to hide it from the old chief steward this time. Glancing sideways, the steward caught sight of its contents and was instantly horrified. "Your Majesty, you must not! If this edict is issued, the state will cease to be a state!"
The King of Jin's hand trembled slightly. In a slow, deliberate tone, he said, "From the moment Lu Changhe ascended to immortality, this state had already ceased to be a state. Strictly speaking, the blame cannot be placed upon my head. If I issue this edict, Prince Wei, out of consideration for past ties, will not go so far as to be utterly ruthless. At the very least, he will grant a title and ensure ample food and warmth.
"Yet if I do not write it, some of my descendants will inevitably overestimate themselves and attempt to take action. When that happens, even if Prince Wei wished to show regard for our past friendship, he would be unable to do so."
The chief steward protested, "The princes are all intelligent; they would never do such a thing."
"Intelligent?" The King of Jin chuckled softly, then continued, "Faced with such temptation, how many could possibly restrain themselves? Even if they had some resolve, they couldn't withstand the instigation of those around them. If those servants gamble and lose, they merely find official posts elsewhere. But if my children act foolishly, Prince Wei will have no choice but to slaughter them all, then pluck someone from a collateral branch to sit upon this throne.
"Never mind. It is better not to give them the chance to make that mistake."
The King of Jin slowly dipped his brush, signed his name at the bottom of the drafted testamentary edict, picked up the royal seal, and pressed it down with all the strength he could muster.
The contents of the edict appointed Prince Wei as Regent over state affairs, empowering him to select one among the princes to succeed to the throne. Should the new king prove unvirtuous, Prince Wei was authorized to depose him at will.
Once the testamentary edict was sealed, the King of Jin seemed to have depleted his last ounce of vigor. Handing it to the old chief steward, he asked, "Quangong, you have followed me for fifty years now, haven't you?"
"Your Majesty still has a remarkable memory. This old servant, Liu Quangong, has served you for fifty years and four months."
The King of Jin gave an acknowledging hum, shifted onto the reclining chair, and as fatigue washed over him, closed his eyes once more.
***
Meanwhile, at the main gates of the royal palace, an elderly supervising eunuch hurried toward the side gate with brisk steps, only to find a figure standing outside.
Heavy snow was falling, and the person stood amid the drift, thick layers of white piled upon his hat and shoulders. Seeing this, the old eunuch braced against the pressure of the palace formation, took several swift strides through the palace gates, and bowed toward the man. "This old servant greets Prince Wei!"
The person standing outside the gate was indeed Wei Yuan. He quickly reached out to support the elderly eunuch. "Eunuch Zhao, what are you doing? Back then, you were the one who read aloud the imperial decree conferring my title! Stand up quickly. We are old acquaintances; there is no need for such formalities."
This elderly supervising eunuch was none other than Zhao Tong, who had not seen Wei Yuan in many years. Ever since slaying Lu Changhe, Wei Yuan had become a godlike figure throughout Western Jin. Even Zhao Tong instinctively felt the urge to kneel upon seeing him now.
A brocade box appeared in Wei Yuan's hand, and he handed it over. "I recently obtained two Longevity-Extending Pills. Calculating the time, it should be about right, so I brought them for His Majesty. Inside, there is also a purple Tribulation-Averting Pill, which must be taken with warm wine immediately upon receiving it. Remember this well!"
Zhao Tong hurriedly received it, asking, "Why does Prince Wei not enter the palace? His Majesty speaks of you often!"
Wei Yuan shook his head. "Lately, the karmic ties upon me have grown too heavy; it is better not to meet. Doing so might invite unforeseen accidents."
Zhao Tong did not dare urge him further. Watching Wei Yuan's figure vanish, he then returned inside the palace to see the King of Jin.
Upon receiving the medicine box, a sudden flush rose to the King of Jin's face. He opened it to find two golden medicinal pills and one purple pill. Taking up the purple pill, the King of Jin examined it closely for a long time, only to gently place it back into the box.
Both Zhao Tong and Liu Quangong were shocked and urgently pleaded with him to reconsider.
The King of Jin sighed. "These old bones of mine have lived long enough. You do not understand; my death right now is actually for the best. To keep lingering on would only breed unexpected variables."
"Your Majesty, you must not!" Both Liu Quangong and Zhao Tong kowtowed frantically.
"Rise, both of you. Even if I told you, you might not comprehend it." The King of Jin sighed, lost in thought for a moment before speaking. "Liu Quangong has been with me the longest, and he possesses little cultivation. Once I am gone, let him return home to live out his retirement in peace. Zhao Tong, your cultivation is profound, and you share old ties with Wei Yuan; the transition between the old and new reigns will depend entirely on you."
Zhao Tong remained prostrated on the floor, weeping uncontrollably.
The King of Jin caught his breath, gazed upward toward the heavens, and reached his hand out, feeling for something in the air. Then, with a gentle tap, his hand fell limp, and in an instant, he seemed to have aged a hundred years.
Neither Liu Quangong nor Zhao Tong knew what had occurred; they could only remain prostrate on the ground.
High above in the sky, a young monk who was originally handsome, yet whose face was now contorted in twisted malice, looked down at the Western Jin royal palace and ground his teeth. "Swallow it! Why aren't you swallowing that pill? If you don't take it, how can you survive until that moment?"
His voice sounded like a curse, yet was kept so low that only he could hear it.
***
Wei Yuan was currently strolling casually through the capital of Western Jin. The lanterns and torches throughout the royal city were sparse, conveying a distinct desolation. This was not because Western Pu was weak or underpopulated; quite the contrary, most of those remaining in the capital were wealthy households. The reason the population appeared sparse was that Western Jin now encompassed Qingming. Even without heading to Qingming, the five southern commanderies immediately adjacent to it were exceptionally prosperous, offering lives far better than that of the royal city.
Second to that, the dozen-odd central commanderies were also well-off, and over recent years, even the commanderies that had formerly belonged to the Lu clan had surpassed the capital. One could say that across the entirety of Western Jin, this royal city, untouched by Wei Yuan's reach, had now become the poorest place in the whole country.
As he walked and observed at his leisure, Wei Yuan's expression suddenly shifted. In the western sky of the Splendor of the Many Realms, a vast swath of dark crimson clouds appeared. This was the state fortune of Western Jin!
Originally, Wei Yuan had shouldered one-tenth of Western Jin's state fortune. Afterward, taking command of the fifteen central commanderies and the five southern commanderies had added another tenth. Slaying Lu Changhe and claiming the entirety of the Lu clan's territory had brought another two-tenths. Now, out of nowhere, another two-tenths of state fortune descended upon him, bringing the total share of Western Jin's state fortune upon Wei Yuan's person to over sixty percent!
A proportion like this was already sufficient to alter many things from their very foundation.
Chapter 1363