Wei Yuan stood in the middle of the magnificent sect vault, locked in a cold stare with Monk Liandeng. The standoff dragged on, neither willing to yield.
In the end, it was Wei Yuan who broke the silence. "Master Liandeng, what in the world is going on?"
"Heheh. Almsgiver possesses innate wisdom—do you truly not understand? The true essence of the Great Dao has long resided in your heart."
At these words, Wei Yuan suddenly recalled the supreme truth he had comprehended back then:
Praise me, approach me, become me.
And after that, the Indestructible Dharma of Emptiness and Form—
Wei Yuan forcefully broke off his reminiscence and said, "I returned to the sect to choose a foundation for my grotto-heaven. What is the meaning of this? Do I have no choice at all?"
Liandeng chuckled. "How could you have no choice? When you spoke with the Patriarch's divine intent, did you not already make your choice? The treasures are all here; they are simply not in your sight."
"The Patriarch would never stoop to wallow in the mire with the likes of you!" Wei Yuan spoke with utter conviction, his voice ringing out firmly. Yet even as the words left his mouth, his heart skipped a beat.
Liandeng beamed and said, "The Domain Lord is mistaken to say that. What do you mean by 'wallowing in the mire'? We are clearly kindred spirits walking the same path. As they say, birds of a feather flock together. We were all moved by the Patriarch's calling to gather under the Palace of Grand Beginning's banner. If you insist on finding fault with us, well, then the upper beam was crooked first, so the lower beams naturally follow."
The more Wei Yuan listened, the more wrong it sounded. Knowing that trading Zen riddles with a monk was merely asking for trouble, he said, "Where have you tucked away all those treasures? Bring them all out! If you won't, then I'm leaving."
Liandeng squinted with a smile. "Can the Domain Lord truly not see them?"
"What am I supposed to see? In such a vast treasure vault, the shelves are completely bare! If it isn't your doing, who else could it be?"
"Did I not just say? These treasures are all right here."
"How is that possible? Do you take me for a blind man?" Wei Yuan sneered.
Liandeng sighed softly. "If the Domain Lord is blind of eye, then the rest of us are blind of heart. How about this: I shall make a wager with you..."
"No bets!" Wei Yuan was not so foolish as to make a wager with a monk of mysterious origin.
Unfazed, Liandeng said, "It is not that I stepped in to conceal them; rather, mundane objects without affinity have simply ceased to register in the Domain Lord's eyes."
Before the monk's words had even settled, a biting aura instantly washed over the entire vault, sending a chill through Wei Yuan as if he had run into a primeval predator.
The aloof young woman he had once met in the immortal village appeared. Her aura was incomparably sharp, and the moment she manifested, her gaze locked onto Liandeng.
"Who are you calling a mundane object without affinity?" she demanded.
"I said objects without affinity. When did I ever mention the word 'mundane'?" Liandeng replied, his expression remaining completely placid.
The girl said coldly, "Monks do not tell lies."
Liandeng said, "I am merely a scripture listener, not an ordained monk."
The girl's eyes snapped sharp as daggers. "So you dare lie to my face?"
"No matter who in this world is called to judge, Fourth Generation Sister could never be associated with the word 'mundane.'"
Unable to do anything about this shameless rogue, the girl let out a cold laugh, then turned to Wei Yuan. "Didn't you want a new grotto-heaven? What do you think of me?"
Wei Yuan blurted out at once, "It is truly what I desire, though I dared not ask!"
The girl blinked in confusion. "What does that mean?"
Feeling embarrassed, Wei Yuan explained, "It means I would be more than willing!"
During their previous encounter, Wei Yuan had learned from Liandeng that this young woman was likely the spirit of the Fourth Generation Palace Master's immortal artifact. And what kind of figure had the Fourth Generation Palace Master been? A powerhouse whose prowess had rivaled the Patriarch himself. An immortal artifact left behind by her had to be several tiers above Liandeng. How could Wei Yuan possibly refuse?
Yet before the girl could reply, Liandeng sighed. "Very well, I shall dispel this delusion for the Domain Lord!"
Pressing his palms together, he chanted a Buddhist moniker. Instantly, dazzling treasure light swirled through the vault. High-grade treasures appeared upon more than half of the display shelves, instantly dazzling Wei Yuan's eyes.
However, as Wei Yuan looked over them, though the light was brilliant, the vast majority were inferior to Liandeng and the young woman. It made sense upon second thought: how many treasures could possibly compare to sentient immortal artifacts that had endured long after their immortal masters had passed away?
Yet as he continued looking, Wei Yuan's expression grew solemn.
There were roughly a dozen treasures that resonated with him, each corresponding to a different calculated orbit. Yet for some reason, the specific orbit that Wei Yuan had spent the equivalent of twenty million karmic luck deriving showed no reaction whatsoever—it merely drew Wei Yuan's gaze instinctively toward that simple, ancient lotus lamp.
Meanwhile, not a single orbit resonated with the girl. Wei Yuan instinctively sensed that this was likely not a question of how much karmic luck was invested, but rather a clash of Dao paths.
After shining for a brief moment, the treasure light gradually faded until only the dozen or so treasures that resonated with Wei Yuan remained in place. Among them was a short blade forged from a tooth of the sacred beast White Tiger.
The girl frowned slightly, seeming to understand as well. She said to Wei Yuan, "No matter how much karmic luck you poured into this grotto-heaven orbit, double it, and then you may come find me."
Wei Yuan sighed inwardly, knowing that he had no affinity with the Fourth Generation Palace Master's immortal artifact for the time being.
The girl turned and left, leaving only Liandeng standing in place with his beaming smile. Wei Yuan looked back and forth among the dozen-odd treasures, but in all honesty, not a single one matched him nearly as well as Liandeng and that orbit forged with twenty million karmic luck.
Even though he knew full well that Liandeng was indeed the best choice, Wei Yuan loathed the feeling of being manipulated, and he remained hesitant.
As if reading Wei Yuan's thoughts, Liandeng smiled and said, "A cultivator defies the heavens to change their fate, and what they dread most is being pushed around as a pawn by immortals and Buddhas. It is only human nature for the Domain Lord to have doubts. But we might as well think one layer deeper. While being manipulated is not ideal, is clinging under every circumstance to the demand of never being manipulated not its own form of obsession? Who is to say whether the thought of avoiding manipulation isn't itself a form of manipulation?"
An uneasy feeling rose in Wei Yuan's heart. He felt as though he was about to be persuaded by this bald-headed fake monk.
Liandeng continued, "The Domain Lord was originally an ordinary mortal who cultivated step by step, repeatedly making grand vows that always came to fruition, which brought you today's great opportunity and immense karmic luck. There are countless immortals in the world, but how many still remember the bustling mortal masses? Immortal soil can sustain life, fertile soil can sustain life, and a pure land can sustain life just the same. Since the Domain Lord's goal is to sustain lives, why be so fixated on what kind of treasure land or immortal domain it is? All appearances are illusory; there is no true difference.
"Does the Domain Lord consider your own pride more important, or the countless living mortals?"
"Stop talking!" The foreboding feeling in Wei Yuan's heart grew stronger and stronger.
Liandeng had already raised the ancient bronze lamp and placed it into Wei Yuan's hands. He said, "Is the true purpose of the Indestructible Dharma of Emptiness and Form merely for high-level cultivators to duel with magical arts? It is not. Only by attaining indestructibility can mortals cross the sea of suffering and reach the Pure Land of the other shore. Thus, this supreme wondrous dharma was created for mortals. Since the Domain Lord has made such a grand vow, what are you waiting for? Yield to it already! Everyone is quite busy."
With a long sigh, Wei Yuan watched the ancient bronze lamp vanish from his hands and reappear upon that orbit cast from karmic luck. With just a light touch from Wei Yuan, it began to revolve on its own, absorbing the origin qi of heaven and earth. In the blink of an eye, it condensed a small patch of land, merely several yards across.
A small temple arose from the center of the land, containing only a single main hall. At that moment, the Red Lotus Bodhi flew over, landing in the courtyard of the small temple to take root. A handsome little monk soon appeared inside the temple and began sweeping up everywhere. Liandeng also materialized within the temple, conjuring several utensils from thin air to arrange around the hall.
Wei Yuan stepped into the temple and saw only a single offering table and two prayer mats inside the main hall. An ancient bronze lamp rested upon the table, burning quietly. The lamplight parted the void, safeguarding this small, tranquil grotto-heaven.
The Bodhi tree and ancient lamp before the Buddha were both present, but why were there only two prayer mats? Wei Yuan instinctively felt that one of the mats should belong to him. Could it be that because the realm had just taken form and lacked spiritual qi, only two had been fashioned as a makeshift measure?
Wei Yuan looked up, only to find that the lotus pedestal was completely bare—there was no Buddha statue at all!
A heavy sense of dread washed over him. Just then, Liandeng walked in with an uncanny smile. Wei Yuan's heart leapt into his throat, but thankfully Liandeng said nothing, nor did he ask Wei Yuan to sit upon the lotus pedestal. Only then did Wei Yuan breathe a sigh of relief.
Yet immediately afterward, he saw Liandeng spread a sheet of paper across the offering table, pick up a brush, and begin to paint.
Wei Yuan leaned in to look, and a surge of fury instantly flared within him. Liandeng had painted a portrait, and going by its features and demeanor, it was unmistakably Wei Yuan! The problem was, this was an ink wash portrait, and the monk was actually getting ready to hang it inside the Buddhist shrine!
Chapter 947