As the thought arose in his mind, his eyes reflected the figure clad in black martial attire, howling in grief toward the heavens. The Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World immediately sensed something amiss.
No matter what schemes the Other Shore being who sent the Yellow Millet Pillow had in mind, as long as it involved Gu Xiaosang’s corpse, it was impossible to bypass the one from the Jade Void Palace!
Having ascended to the Other Shore, he had traversed time, unified the past. The frenzied blade before him, filled with grief and fury, was equivalent to his true self—a genuine Other Shore existence with no moment of weakness. How could anyone dare to covet Gu Xiaosang’s corpse in his arms without alerting him? Even his own spying had likely been detected!
Realizing this, the Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World felt a retreat in his heart, no longer daring to spectate lest he provoke one of the Other Shore beings and meet a fate of utter annihilation.
Just as he was about to channel his accumulated temporal power to resist the turbulence of returning, he suddenly saw that heroic and masculine figure cradling Gu Xiaosang’s corpse, step by step, walking toward the great river. He did not tread upon the waves but seemed intent on sinking into the depths.
At that very moment, an inexplicable karmic fire erupted from within Gu Xiaosang’s corpse, flickering and burning, impossible to extinguish. It resembled both a curse and a backlash, rendering the white-robed figure hazy, like an illusionary bubble. Unless witnessed firsthand—or by a being of great supernatural power—no one would notice her slow dissipation.
Witnessing this, the Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World suddenly understood the “fate” of Gu Xiaosang’s corpse back then. She herself belonged to the cycle of reincarnation, controlled by the Six Paths. Though she had cooperated to some extent with the Devil Buddha and received Other Shore memories instilled by the Old Mother of No-Life, she had been relatively free from control and constraints in life. Yet after death, the master of the Six Paths of Reincarnation could effortlessly destroy her corpse—and the one who acted then could only have been the Devil Buddha.
Unaware that Gu Xiaosang was a product of the Old Mother of No-Life’s “emptiness-seeking reduction,” the Devil Buddha, in his attempt to further provoke Su Meng, had inadvertently eliminated this latent threat.
Now, traversing time once more, what differences would emerge?
But no matter which being sought to alter the state of Gu Xiaosang’s corpse, they could not bypass the Devil Buddha, who had burned it “back then,” nor the Golden Emperor, who was closely tied to this affair, or Su Meng, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable who had broken free from the sea of suffering and ascended to the Other Shore!
Since the Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World did not understand how the Golden Emperor’s method of “emptiness-seeking reduction” differed from that of the Buddha, he could not discern the mysteries of Gu Xiaosang’s remaining corpse. For the moment, it was truly difficult to speculate on the intentions and goals of the Devil Buddha, the Golden Emperor, Su Meng the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, or the being behind the Yellow Millet Pillow.
Due to this uncertainty, the Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World hesitated in his departure from this segment of history, allowing him to witness the next change: the nameless karmic fire within Gu Xiaosang’s body slowly extinguished itself!
The Devil Buddha, well-versed in the affairs of the Supreme True Buddha, adopted a mindset of “better safe than sorry,” deciding to preserve this corpse. If it were later proven to affect the Golden Emperor, it would become a crucial bargaining chip! A similar thought flashed through the Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World’s mind, and he couldn’t help but speculate on the inscrutable “will of heaven.”
After the nameless karmic fire vanished, the space between Su Meng’s arms suddenly turned dark and abyssal. Layers of void structure and flowing time collapsed and curled inward, seeking to reduce Gu Xiaosang’s corpse along with them to the primordial state of “nothingness.”
“The one from the Jade Void Palace seeks to destroy the corpse to prevent it from affecting the current Gu Xiaosang. Even if it is later discovered that this corpse could influence the Golden Emperor, having it reduced to ashes by his hand would make ‘restoration’ relatively easier…” The Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World felt a fleeting satisfaction, as if he had accurately grasped the intentions of an Other Shore being in this matter!
This was a feat nearly impossible for beings still struggling in the sea of suffering!
“And the altered state of Gu Xiaosang’s corpse would certainly not escape the notice of the one in the Vacuous Pure Land…” The Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World was utterly certain of this.
At this thought, a sudden chill ran down his spine. He felt as though a pair of eyes high above were silently observing this scene—evil, eerie, dark, corrupt, and profound. They were the eyes of the Devil Buddha. Meanwhile, the bright moon at the horizon seemed to ripple imperceptibly, no longer incomplete but full and flawless.
Alongside that heroic and resolute figure, the Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World found his spiritual clarity clouded, frightened by his own imagination. His distant spying seemed to have been noticed, leaving him transparent, devoid of secrets. In contrast, the young girl who had arrived via the Yellow Millet Pillow was subtly shielded by an enigmatic force, remaining undetected.
As time surged and the river roared, the Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World hesitated no longer. His golden body, wreathed in crystalline pure light, became dreamlike as he returned to the “present node.”
The final scene reflected in his eyes was this: the nameless karmic fire erupted once more, resisting the collapse and curling of void and time. The world darkened, even as the bright moon hung high in the sky.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed in his ears, as if doomsday had descended upon the riverbank. Under the tug-of-war of three forces, Gu Xiaosang’s corpse turned to ashes, vanishing without a trace. The resulting shockwaves surged forth, disrupting his control over time. Only by exerting his utmost effort did he narrowly avoid being swallowed by the turbulence.
…
Meanwhile, at the “present node” of history outside Guangling City, in another segment of history…
In the capital of the Great Jin Dynasty, within the once-glorious former Crown Prince’s residence.
Zhao Qian sat in meditation within a quiet chamber, cross-legged upon a Zen-inspired cushion. Around him, lotuses bloomed abruptly, exuding purity and transcendence, distant and ethereal. A Buddhist intent seemed to descend from the void, coalescing into a crystalline swastika at his brow.
Outside the window, a white-robed maiden observed silently—exquisitely beautiful, ethereal, and lively, her lips curled in a faint, enigmatic smile.
…
Pfft!
The Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World struggled back to the present, spitting out a mouthful of golden Buddha blood, nearly staining the emerald waves with stillness.
“This matter is of grave importance. I must report to Amitabha.” Disregarding his injuries, he leaped out of the real world, arriving at the boundless, perfect crystalline Pure Land—the Western Paradise.
Proceeding inward, he entered a dreamlike, void-like core, where he beheld a six-foot golden figure, its face brimming with compassion and mercy. The figure nodded slightly and said, “I am aware.”
No further words were needed from the Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World.
This… Hearing this, the Buddha of Unfettered Freedom in the World suddenly felt as though his observations today had been orchestrated by one of the great Other Shore beings!
Had the “will of heaven” he thought he had guessed earlier also been something one of them allowed him to guess?
…
Inside the inn, the faint glow enveloping the Yellow Millet Pillow gradually dimmed, and Xia Xiu jolted awake.
“Which segment of history did you return to? What did you discover?” Tan Ping and the others pressed eagerly.
Xia Xiu shook her head blankly. “I don’t know which segment of history… and I found nothing…”
Before she could finish, she suddenly saw a glimmer of clear light emerge from her palm, like a fountain, sketching out petals that condensed into a palm-sized white lotus—fresh, transcendent, and otherworldly.
The white lotus withered instantly, leaving behind a seemingly ordinary lotus seed.
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