"The Great Heavenly Venerable has entered seclusion again?"
Atop Mount Ling, both the World-Illuminating Ever-Abiding Buddha and the Lotus Tranquility Void-Calming Buddha breathed quiet sighs of relief.
Although they knew Huang Tian was an honorable person who kept his promises, they could not help worrying that he might move against them after ascending to Golden Immortal. Fortunately, it seemed that no such crisis would occur for now.
"Still, to plunge straight back into seclusion right after breaking through shows extraordinary diligence," the Lotus Tranquility Void-Calming Buddha remarked with a sigh. "A pity that once one reaches the Golden Immortal stage, making further progress becomes insurmountably difficult. Every tiny step forward demands tens of thousands of years of arduous cultivation, if not longer—until eventually, tens of millions of years yield not even an inch of growth."
The World-Illuminating Ever-Abiding Buddha replied, "It is precisely for this reason that we must guide the grand trend of the Heavenly Dao, prosper our Buddhist sect, and fortify our karmic fortune."
The Lotus Tranquility Void-Calming Buddha's expression turned solemn. "I shall see to the arrangements at once and draw that Six-Eared Great Sage into the trend."
The Lord Buddha nodded.
Flowers blossomed and withered, withered and blossomed; in the snap of a finger, two years slipped by.
***
Two years was a fairly long span of time for mortals. In two years, life could undergo dramatic upheavals; birth, aging, sickness, and death were all matters of a fleeting instant.
To immortal cultivators and Daoist practitioners, two years was hardly long at all. A single refinement of a Dharma artifact or one expedition into a secret realm could easily consume that much time.
Yet to immortal sages blessed with boundless lifespans, two years was merely a single debate on the Dao or one lecture on Zen.
Or perhaps just a dream.
Take the Zhuanghua Superior Sage, for instance. It was widely known that he had attained the Dao through the "Great Dream," cultivating within his sleep. A single grand dream could last several months at the shortest, or tens of thousands—even hundreds of thousands—of years at the longest.
Legend had it that when he had attained the Golden Immortal realm in antiquity, he had done so within a dream.
This dream of Dao-attainment was named "Free and Easy Wandering."
"Ooooh—"
Within the world of the dream, the ocean was vast and boundless. Ink-blue waves surged violently, and endless breakers rolled in slowly from the horizon, swelling like blue-gray mountains before crashing down thunderously into billions of specks of spray.
Fierce gales skimmed the water's surface, howling wildly.
A creature of colossal size, stretching unknown thousands or tens of thousands of li, swam within the sea. It let out a joyful cry, instantly summoning a swirling downpour of wind and rain across the heavens.
Had the immortals and gods of the Earth Immortal Realm seen it, they would have been astounded: this beast was none other than the legendary Kun!
Its body was like a continent, its eyes larger than mountain peaks, and wind and rain followed its every breath!
At this moment, the Kun swam freely through the great sea. Upon its back sat the Zhuanghua Superior Sage, clad in plain hempen robes, lounging loosely with his legs casually splayed.
The mighty sea wind ruffled his lean, ethereal frame. His wide sleeves and robes whipped wildly in the gale, making him look as if he were taking flight to transcend into immortality.
He tilted his head upward with a relaxed countenance, his eyes half-closed. He gazed at nothing in particular, yet held the entire boundless universe within his heart.
The Kun swam, the seas surged, and the wind blew.
His mortal shell was here, yet his spirit seemed to have dispersed into the infinite cosmos, resonating with every corner of nature.
There was no destination, no point of origin, and no journey's end. There was only this singular moment, drifting alongside the giant Kun between the vast azure heights and the roaring deeps, relying on nothing, yet reaching everywhere.
Whoosh—
At a certain moment, the wind over the ocean shifted abruptly.
Celestial gales billowed, countless clouds gathered into dense banks, thunder roared in fury, and the ocean boiled!
"Ooooh—"
The giant Kun roaming the deep let out another long, resonant cry. The moment the sound rang out, its titanic body underwent a massive transformation.
Its black spine, longer than ten thousand mountain ranges, suddenly burst forth with incandescent, pure white light!
It was as if a blazing sun had abruptly detonated within its belly, setting its entire body ablaze with radiance.
Rumble!
A world-shaking roar drowned out the boundless wind, thunder, and tsunami.
Amidst the white light and deafening blast, the giant Kun's colossal form, which spanned sea and sky, leaped upward!
The sea was parted by an overwhelming force, creating a momentary hollow crater in the ocean. Towering walls of crystalline water rose alongside it, standing proud and sheer, while billions of tons of water rushed back in to collide, whipping up a tempest that veiled the skies!
And from that single leap, the giant Kun soared into the high heavens, transforming into a Peng!
Its head was like an alpine peak, its gaze piercing, and its wingspan blotted out the sky. Every single feather was as large as a boat.
With every beat of its wings, raging tempests surged.
Meanwhile, the Zhuanghua Superior Sage, who had previously been lounging casually, remained composed, sitting serenely upon the back of the great bird.
"Screeech!"
The Peng beat its wings, charging violently into the rolling thunderclouds above. Thunder exploded, arcs of lightning darted across the sky, and everything was torn to shreds by its wings.
The boundless dark clouds dispersed, opening into an expanse of clear, sweeping brilliance.
The azure sky was limpid, bathed in pouring sunlight. The radiant glow bathed every feather of the Peng in dazzling iridescence.
Basking in the warm sun, the Zhuanghua Superior Sage broke into a smile. He slowly opened his arms, his wide sleeves billowing, his posture even more relaxed than when he had been upon the sea.
"'Bearing the blue sky upon its back, with nothing to hinder it, it mounts straight into the azure firmament—'"
He laughed aloud, his mirth echoing through the boundless skies for a long time. Beneath him, the great Peng shared his joy; it suddenly swooped down to skim the waves before soaring thousands of li back into the sky.
In the heavens, the clouds were scored with thousands of trails left in its wake.
As though growing weary from flight, the Peng let out a cry, plunged headlong back into the ocean, and transformed once more into the giant Kun.
The Zhuanghua Superior Sage sat upon its back, thoroughly at ease.
Yet in the very next instant, his expression shifted drastically.
A fishhook suddenly dropped down from the sea of clouds above. The hook was clearly not large, nor did it carry any bait, yet it descended with pinpoint accuracy right before the giant Kun!
With a nimble, deft snag—
The Kun, possessing boundless, infinite might, shuddered violently!
Then, it was slowly hoisted upward.
The ocean churned in response, throwing up ink-dark waves that reached the heavens and violent, swirling whirlpools!
"Who is this?!"
The Zhuanghua Superior Sage looked up in horror toward the source of the hook. He could not make it out clearly, catching only the vague glimpse of a figure sitting leisurely among the dense clouds, casting a rod to fish for the giant Kun.
Rumble!
Snagged by the hook, the giant Kun struggled violently, yet remained entirely powerless to resist. Flanked by spraying cascades of seawater, it was hauled into the sky against its will.
"Ooooh—"
It tried to transform into the Peng to ride the wind and escape, but could not change its shape at all. The Zhuanghua Superior Sage's face twitched violently. Panic seized his heart, yet he was utterly helpless.
For this Kun was none other than himself. If the Kun could not struggle free, he was naturally powerless as well.
He could only watch helplessly as the giant beast beneath him—spanning tens of thousands of li—was effortlessly hoisted aloft by an impossibly fine fishing line, dragged toward the heights of the sky.
Whoosh—
The thick blanket of clouds was swept aside. Together with the Kun, the Zhuanghua Superior Sage arrived above the cloudbank, finally catching sight of the person holding the rod.
The figure looked no older than a youth, clad in black-and-white Daoist robes that gently fluttered in the celestial winds. In his hands rested a slender fishing rod, whose line met the sea of clouds and hooked into the Kun's mouth.
"May I ask who your esteemed self might be—"
The Zhuanghua Superior Sage knitted his brows tightly. He had never seen this person before. When had the Earth Immortal Realm produced such a mighty figure capable of entering his dream?
Across the winds of the nine heavens and ten thousand li of wispy clouds, the young Daoist gave a faint, leisurely chuckle, his voice ringing softly.
"My name is something you shall learn hundreds of millions of years from now."
With that, he released his grip on the fishing rod. The rod fell into the clouds and vanished without a trace, and the hook in the Kun's mouth naturally disappeared as well.
"Hundreds of millions of years from now?"
The Zhuanghua Superior Sage was dumbfounded. He wanted to question him further, but the youth sitting cross-legged upon the clouds had already dissolved like mist, drifting away on the wind until nothing remained.
"Where did he go? Fellow Daoist? Senior?"
The Zhuanghua Superior Sage remained seated on the Kun's back, but his composure was entirely gone, replaced by profound confusion.
"Why will I only know his name hundreds of millions of years from now? Could it be... that when that time comes, I will meet him once more?"
He pondered for a very long time, until the giant Kun beneath him let out a cry, and this world of dreams shattered with a roar—
***
In Dong Shengshenzhou, the Zhuanghua Superior Sage was leisurely sipping fine wine when the right hand holding his cup abruptly froze.
He shot to his feet, his scalp tingling with dread. "How could someone have suddenly appeared in the dream of my Dao-attainment from back then?!"
Hundreds of millions of years ago, he had transformed into the Kun and the Peng in his dream, soaring ninety thousand li into the sky and roaming freely among the four seas and the constellations. In absolute jubilation, he had perfected his Great Dream Dao fruit and attained the Golden Immortal realm!
He remembered with utter certainty that from beginning to end, there had never been a second person in that dream.
Let alone an inexplicable intruder who had fished the Kun he had embodied up into the sky!
"That person... that person's appearance—"
He took a deep breath, straining to recall the fisherman's features. In a sudden flash, a familiar face surfaced in his mind.
"The Great Heavenly Venerable?!"
His heart pounded furiously. "How could it be the Great Heavenly Venerable? He has only cultivated for a dozen or so years to this day; counting his age, he is barely in his twenties! How could he possibly belong to my era?!
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" He pressed a hand to his brow, forcing himself to calm down. "He was definitely not a cultivator from my era, or I would certainly remember him. That means he used supreme magic and divine abilities to travel back hundreds of millions of years into the past—into the dream where I attained the Dao!"
His gaze was filled with disbelief. "Yet he is a Golden Immortal, and I am also a Golden Immortal. How could he possibly accomplish such a feat?"
To reverse the river of time in the Earth Immortal Realm and journey into the past was something even a Golden Immortal could never achieve, let alone intruding into another's dream of Dao-attainment!
A Golden Immortal of the same rank could never pull that off!
Therefore, there was only one answer.
"Has he... attained Daluo?!"
His eyes widened into saucers, waves of shock crashing through his mind. "How could that be? Attaining Daluo in just two years?"
"No! That's not right! Aside from Daluo, there is one other possibility!" His thoughts raced frantically. "Dao integration! He must have succeeded in Dao integration!"
Compared to becoming an unknowable, unfathomable Daluo entity in two short years, he was more inclined to believe that Huang Tian had merged with the Heavenly Dao of the Earth Immortal Realm.
Even so, completing Dao integration in two years was still utterly preposterous!
Scores of Golden Immortals had spent countless chaos cycles without ever touching the fringes of Dao integration. On what grounds could you pull it off in the blink of an eye?!
Thoroughly baffled, he tilted his head toward the endless sky, murmuring softly, "Did he truly achieve Dao integration... that easily?"
***
At the same time, atop Mount Ling.
The World-Illuminating Ever-Abiding Buddha sat cross-legged on his lotus throne, delivering a sermon on Zen to the Bodhisattvas, Arhats, Vajrapanis, Sangharamas, and Bhikkhus seated below.
"'...If the minds of living beings grasp at marks, they will be attached to a self, a person, a living being, and a life span. If they grasp at the mark of dharmas, they will be attached to a self, a person, a living being, and a life span. Why is this? If they grasp at the mark of non-dharmas, they will be attached to a self, a person, a living being, and a life span—'"
His voice was like a morning bell or an evening drum. As his words fell, golden light blossomed, auspicious mists gathered in a thousand folds, and the fragrance of Sanskrit incense suffused the air.
The gathered Bodhisattvas and Arhats listened in rapt enchantment.
Suddenly, the lecture halted.
Snapping out of their reverie, the assembly looked up at the Lord Buddha, only to see that his usually serene countenance had stiffened in shock, his fingers trembling ever so faintly.
"How... can this be?!"
A wave of astonishment crashed through the Buddha's heart, for just a moment ago, a new memory had abruptly appeared in his mind!
*I still remember the day I attained the rank of Golden Immortal Buddha. Seated upon the lotus throne, I expounded the Dharma to my disciples and all myriad spirits. The listeners were legion. Yet among those listeners, why has a new person suddenly appeared? And that person even nodded to me!*
As a Golden Immortal mighty figure, it was impossible for him to forget anything. Even with the countless listeners gathered that day, he could recall the face of every single one. Yet just now, an extra listener had manifested in his memories!
What an unfathomable thing!
What was more, as he concentrated on the memory, the figure's face grew clearer and clearer!
"The Great Heavenly Venerable!!"
The Buddha felt a sense of surreal absurdity. How could the Great Heavenly Venerable have been one of the listeners on the day he attained Buddhahood?!
The Great Heavenly Venerable had only been born a little over twenty years ago!
Noticing the Buddha's shifting gaze, Fuguang Bodhisattva, seated just below, asked tentatively, "May I ask the Lord Buddha why you have halted the exposition of the Dharma?"
The Buddha drew a quiet breath. After a moment of silence, he countered, "Who is the Great Heavenly Venerable?"
Fuguang Bodhisattva froze. Why would the Lord Buddha ask such a question? Was that not common knowledge to everyone?
"The Great Heavenly Venerable is the most ancient immortal of our Earth Immortal Realm, having attained the Dao when heaven and earth were first cleaved. He currently serves as the Heavenly Court's—"
Before he could finish, he stopped dead. "Impossible!"
The Great Heavenly Venerable had clearly attained True Immortal status only a dozen or so years ago! How could he be the most ancient immortal of the Earth Immortal Realm, let alone date back to the initial cleaving of heaven and earth?!
When he himself had attained the rank of Heavenly Immortal Bodhisattva, the Great Heavenly Venerable had not even been born!
"Venerable Fuguang, you spoke no falsehood. Why do you look so startled?" Ciyun Bodhisattva asked from the side, puzzled.
Fuguang Bodhisattva turned to her, speaking in a hollow voice: "Venerable Ciyun, search your memories carefully once more."
Ciyun Bodhisattva did not understand his intent, but she still reviewed her memories earnestly. The more she recalled, the tighter her brow furrowed. Finally, a violent shudder ran through her frame, leaving her slack-jawed and struck dumb for a long time.
Seeing her reaction, the others grew puzzled and began striving to recall the deeds surrounding the Great Heavenly Venerable.
Within moments, the Bodhisattvas showed looks of panic, while the Arhats knit their brows, sensing that something was terribly amiss.
The remaining Vajrapanis, Sangharamas, and Bhikkhus were completely bewildered, at a loss as to what had shaken the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas so profoundly.
Seeing this, Fuguang Bodhisattva raised a hand to point at a Vajrapani. "Answer me: what is the origin of the Great Heavenly Venerable?"
The Vajrapani blinked in confusion and answered, "Replying to the Venerable: the Great Heavenly Venerable was the very first being in our realm to attain the Dao. He spread the various teachings far and wide, pioneering the path forward for all living beings—"
He spoke at length, without the slightest hint of abnormality on his face.
The Buddha understood. In a heavy, somber voice, he said, "Those who have not cultivated a Dao Seed to become True Immortals have had their memories altered entirely by a supreme power. True Immortals can faintly sense the discrepancy, Heavenly Immortals will be bewildered for a time, and Golden Immortals realize it immediately."
A True Immortal and a Dao Seed were the threshold. Beneath the rank of True Immortal, everyone's memories had been rewritten!
Fuguang Bodhisattva asked in a trembling voice, "Could this truly be the Great Heavenly Venerable's doing? Just... what realm has he reached?"
Formidable as Golden Immortals were, they could never influence the memories of a Buddha alongside so many Bodhisattvas and Arhats all at once.
The World-Illuminating Ever-Abiding Buddha raised his eyes to gaze into the distant sky, his voice drifting in disbelief: "Perhaps... Dao integration?"
On this day, all the immortals and gods across the Earth Immortal Realm were shaken to their core. For whether they were True Immortals, Heavenly Immortals, or the few supreme Golden Immortal mighty figures, every one of them discovered that an extra memory had suddenly appeared within their minds.
This memory was not something fabricated out of thin air; it was an event that had genuinely transpired.
The Great Heavenly Venerable truly was the most ancient immortal of this realm. He had indeed passed down the methods of cultivation to all living beings, had genuinely witnessed the Buddha's ascension to Golden Immortal, and had truly stepped into the Zhuanghua Superior Sage's dream of Dao-attainment...
He traversed the timeline, leaving footprints across infinite nodes of time, sowing his name into every historical myth and into the memory of every living being.
He.
Omnipresent.
Chapter 206