The Dao Seeking Sect's joint operation with the imperial court to eradicate the Emotionless Cult had caused such a colossal commotion that anyone with even modest intelligence channels learned of it.
The mighty figures of the cultivation world were stunned into speechless disbelief for quite some time.
Several eminent masters heard the news and slumped into their chairs, their faces filled with utter shock.
"That old scoundrel Buyu reached the Tribulation Transcendence stage? How is that even possible?!"
A butler replied with a troubled look, "Whether it's true or false remains unknown, but I heard Daoist Buyu intentionally leaked this news himself."
"That does sound like him."
"Back then, he formed his core just one day earlier than me and boasted endlessly to my face! If he really has reached the Tribulation Transcendence stage, imagine how insufferably smug he'll be!"
"If even that grandson can reach Tribulation Transcendence, there's no reason I can't!"
"The heavens are truly blind!"
"Seclusion! I'm going into seclusion!"
Similar scenes unfolded across the cultivation world. For a time, grand figures everywhere cursed the blind heavens while simultaneously deciding to enter closed-door cultivation.
Even the Body Integration experts in the Demon Domain and the East Sea were no exception, throwing themselves into attempts to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage.
When Zhu Tian held morning court, more than half of the ministers were nowhere to be found. Only upon asking did Zhu Tian learn that they had all entered seclusion.
With Daoist Buyu's advancement to Tribulation Transcendence, the bustling cultivation world abruptly quieted down.
Keen-eyed individuals suddenly felt a premonition that a Golden Age was approaching. Following this collective wave of seclusion, a great many Tribulation Transcendence experts were bound to emerge.
"I hear there's a saying in the East Sea: 'When a whale falls, all life thrives.' It describes our current situation perfectly."
"Doesn't a whale fall mean the whale has died? Daoist Buyu isn't dead, is he?"
"You might as well treat him as dead."
Naturally, this silence was confined to the upper echelons of the cultivation world. Cultivators who had yet to reach the Body Integration stage were not particularly acquainted with Daoist Buyu, so their lives remained unaffected.
***
In the Buddhist Kingdom.
Across the boundless desert sky, a figure flew past with a whoosh. Before camel-riding travelers could even make out his features, the figure had already vanished from sight. Right on his heels, several streaks of light shot through the air, hot in pursuit.
"Ye Zijin, stop right there! If I do not enforce the monastic code upon you today, how will I ever face our revered predecessors?!" Several eminent monks renowned throughout the Buddhist Kingdom were chasing Second Senior Brother Ye Zijin, led by a monk whose dharma name was Pu Xuan.
Being enlightened masters, this was hardly their first or second time clashing with Ye Zijin. After a tense bout of skirmishing, they finally managed to surround him.
"Ye Zijin, what kind of nonsense did you scribble on our predecessors' sacred writings?!" The monks glared furiously at him.
Knowing full well he could never beat this group in a fight, Ye Zijin waved his hands in a frantic attempt to appease them. "Whoa, whoa, don't get violent! We are all people of the cloth—there's no need for bloodshed and fighting."
"I only wrote a couple of lines. Look at you all, working yourselves into such a lather!"
"Writing annotations alongside scriptures is a time-honored tradition in our Buddhist Kingdom. If you can make notes on the works of the ancients, then as a holy monk of no small renown, surely I, Ye Zijin, am also qualified to jot down a few thoughts beside the scriptures. What's wrong with that?"
"You always say the Dharma is vast and unfathomable, and that even spending a lifetime contemplating it yields only a scratch on the surface. So what could be wrong with me praising it by writing 'The Dharma is boundless'?"
"Moreover, our Buddhist path frequently says, 'Only now do I recognize my true self.' Doesn't that mean after pursuing the Dharma your entire life, the ultimate answer was inside you all along?"
"So what's wrong with me writing, 'The Dharma is boundless; turn back and there is the shore'?!"
"Preposterous! The obvious intent of your words was to entice people to return to secular life! A disciple in the monastery saw what you wrote, had an 'epiphany', and actually gave up his vows!"
Ye Zijin quickly protested, "You can't go throwing blame around like that! That was entirely due to his poor reading comprehension. How can you pin that on me?"
"I, Ye Zijin, am wholly devoted to the Buddha. My sterling reputation is praised by every mouth across our Buddhist Kingdom! How could I possibly urge anyone to return to secular life?"
The monks grew incandescent with rage. "Praised by every mouth, my foot! What everyone wants is to put you in an early grave!"
"Then what on earth did you mean by leaving a copy of the *Longevity Art* that stimulates hair growth right beside the scriptures?!"
"Oh, you mean that? I lost that! Since you found it, could you give it back to me?"
"And if you don't mind my saying so, you lot lose your tempers way too often. Your daily spiritual cultivation is clearly lacking! Just look at my master—now that's what I call reaching supreme spiritual attainment. He's cheerful all day long, and now he's even broken through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage!"
When Master Pu Xuan heard Ye Zijin bring up Daoist Buyu reaching the Tribulation Transcendence stage again, blue veins bulged on his forehead. He and Daoist Buyu belonged to the same generation; he had never expected Daoist Buyu to step into Tribulation Transcendence before him.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. His aura fluctuated violently, and he began chanting sutras through gritted teeth.
"This aura... he is about to advance to the Tribulation Transcendence stage!" The other masters sensed Master Pu Xuan's surging aura and were overjoyed. They immediately formed a protective circle around him to guard his breakthrough.
The corner of Ye Zijin's eye twitched.
*Holy hell, just a few words and he's breaking through? Is reaching the Tribulation Transcendence stage really this easy?!*
Taking advantage of Master Pu Xuan facing his tribulation and the other monks focusing entirely on guarding him, Ye Zijin sped away, fleeing the desert.
*I need to find a place where Master Pu Xuan won't discover me. Then again, now that he's reached the Tribulation Transcendence stage, he shouldn't bother lowering himself to settle scores with a junior like me, right? If he wants to settle a score, he should go after Master!*
Ye Zijin pressed one palm against his chest, his entire being exuding a serene and harmonious radiance, truly resembling a holy monk. "Master, now that you've advanced to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, you surely have few rivals left. Fearing you might grow lonely, your disciple has found an opponent for you—and provided a little extra motivation while I was at it. As master and disciple, there's no need to thank me!"
***
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou knew nothing of the changes sweeping the outside world, nor did they care. With their modest cultivations, they were merely two minor figures with no need to concern themselves with such grand affairs.
The pair's ten days in the dungeon were quite comfortable. The leaking roof was quickly repaired by Ye City constables skilled in earth techniques, and the pillars that had collapsed during the battle were restored by constables adept in wood techniques.
"I had no idea spells could be used so conveniently," Lu Yang remarked as he watched the entire repair process. Truly, every profession had its specialists. Although his cultivation was higher than that of these constables, when it came to prison-building techniques, he fell far behind.
His repertoire was limited to Drawing a Prison, which didn't even have a door.
During their cultivation, the prison's formations assisted them, enhancing their control over their internal spiritual energy.
Food was no concern either. Although Daoist Xiantian had been acquitted and released, he did not return to the Dao Seeking Sect. Instead, he stayed in Ye City and brought meals to Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou every day, purchasing food from Youfulou, the finest restaurant in the city.
"Patriarch, you're spending far too much on us," Lu Yang said with some embarrassment, even though he knew these few spirit stones meant nothing to Daoist Xiantian.
Daoist Xiantian was certainly not lacking funds. On the contrary, he possessed immense personal wealth. The Dao Seeking Sect had a retirement system, granting retired elders a stipend of spirit stones every year.
This meant Daoist Xiantian had 120,000 years of unclaimed retirement pensions waiting for him. One could easily imagine what an astronomical sum of spirit stones that amounted to; among Body Integration cultivators, few could compare with his wealth.
Ten days passed, and Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou concluded their seclusion in the dungeon. Together, they escorted Daoist Xiantian on his return journey to the Dao Seeking Sect.
Chapter 902