“It hurts… so much…”
“Am I going to die?”
“I can’t accept this! I refuse to accept it! Why must I die like this? I’ve fought desperately for the sake of all beings in the Three Realms. Where are those ancient and powerful gods and Buddhas? Is the Three Realms only my Three Realms?”
“This isn’t how the Dao of Nature should be. I’ve accepted the primordial power of the Dao of Nature itself, so why am I still dying?”
“Could everything have been a lie?”
“The Tai Shang Lao Jun was merely a puppet of Xuan Kong. He appeared as a white-robed scholar and taught me everything that Xuan Kong had learned. In other words, what he taught me was merely what Xuan Kong himself had realized, not the authentic Feng Shui Dao, not the true Primordial Dao!”
“Then, I can no longer be reborn like in the Huan Ling Mirror!”
Shui Miao endured indescribable pain while rapidly analyzing everything that had happened to him.
“No!”
“I can’t die like this…”
Shui Miao no longer believed he could be reborn. After careful consideration, he finally decided to escape.
“Whoosh!”
Activating the Heaven-Soaring Talisman, Shui Miao vanished instantly.
“Hmm?”
Xuan Kong, who had been chasing Shui Miao, was slightly surprised to find him fleeing away.
But soon after, Xuan Kong’s mood shifted, and he sneered excitedly, “Haha! So Shui Miao, you’re nothing special after all! I thought you truly feared nothing under heaven and dared to fight me to the death, but you were defeated so quickly. Well, at least you’re smart enough to realize that hoping for rebirth after death is just a daydream. If even my spirit cannot be reborn after destruction, how could you, a mere speck of dust, hope for rebirth?”
“Whoosh!”
Xuan Kong traced Shui Miao’s aura and activated his Heaven-Soaring Talisman to pursue.
In fact, much of what Shui Miao had previously experienced was caused by the Huan Mo Mirror.
That part of the experience was not real—it was false.
Shui Miao had believed he could be reborn and gather his spiritual power again, but that was all an illusion, a deception created by the Huan Mo Mirror.
Fortunately, Shui Miao didn’t take any risks and ultimately chose to activate the Heaven-Soaring Talisman.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Shui Miao activated more than ten Heaven-Soaring Talismans in a row, darting through the Immortal Realm, the Immortal-Demon Realm, the Mortal World, and even the Netherworld. Each time he arrived at a location, he set fires, restructured the Five Elements, and increased the difficulty for Xuan Kong to track him.
“My Heaven-Soaring Talisman is gone.”
“Mine too…”
“I still have one, but it’s the talisman to the Western Pure Land…”
The Holy Mother Shui Tianyi, Tian Yi Virtuous Lord, Wen Chang Emperor, and others had all given their Heaven-Soaring Talismans to Shui Miao, and they were all used up.
However, Tian Yi Virtuous Lord still had one Heaven-Soaring Talisman left that led to the Western Pure Land.
“Good! Give it to me…”
Shui Miao immediately retrieved the Heaven-Soaring Talisman from Tian Yi Virtuous Lord with his mind and activated it directly.
※※※
“Hmm?”
“This aura is…”
Xuan Kong pursued closely and, upon arriving, sensed a faint fragrance lingering in the air. He immediately realized Shui Miao had fled to the Western Pure Land. “Damn it! The Western Pure Land is the one place I’ve never dared to tread. He actually escaped there. What should I do now? If I follow him, once the gods and Buddhas of the Pure Land detect me, I’ll be in serious trouble!”
“No matter where he runs, I must follow. But before that, I should repair my late-born spiritual treasures first.”
Xuan Kong hesitated cautiously.
He feared nothing and no one in the Three Realms, recklessly roaming everywhere, but he alone dared not challenge the Tathagata of the West. Not for any other reason, but because the Tathagata had cultivated his late-born spiritual body a very long time ago. Xuan Kong only possessed two late-born spiritual treasures, both severely damaged, so he had to be extra cautious.
※※※
“Is this… the Pure Land?”
As golden light flashed before his eyes, Shui Miao saw an immense golden city rising from the clouds. The city stretched endlessly, covering countless miles. Towering golden Buddhist temples and pagodas pierced the clouds, their grandeur unfathomable. From within the city came the chanting of monks, creating a serene and peaceful atmosphere that instantly dispelled all fear.
By chance, Shui Miao glanced at his hands—they were charred, blackened, and decayed, like those of a mummified corpse.
Focusing his mind, his spiritual energy flowed, and his body quickly recovered under its nourishment.
Worried that Xuan Kong might pursue him, Shui Miao hurriedly flew toward the city gate.
At the city entrance and along the city walls stood countless stone statues of various forms of Buddha.
About a hundred meters from the gate, the pressure from the earth’s core suddenly changed, and Shui Miao plummeted from the sky to the ground. It felt as if he had instantly turned back into an ordinary person, unable to fly no matter how hard he tried.
Though respectful, Shui Miao remained fearless and quickly ran toward the gate.
As he approached the gate, a venerable old monk with a kind face suddenly appeared before him.
The old monk wore a plain yellow robe, unremarkable except for his long eyebrows that reached down to his chin.
“Hehe…”
After appearing, the old monk saw Shui Miao but said nothing, only smiling faintly.
Seeing the old monk, Shui Miao felt a sense of calm and immediately bowed in respect. Before he could speak, the monk stepped forward, grabbed Shui Miao’s wrist, and in a flash, they arrived at a vast wilderness. The area was filled with lush green grass, and not far away stood a wooden hut, exuding a tranquil atmosphere.
At this moment, the old monk spoke, “You can stay here now. Don’t think of anything else, and don’t worry about anything.”
After speaking, the old monk smiled faintly at Shui Miao again before vanishing.
“…”
Shui Miao was momentarily speechless.
However, he quickly guessed that the Buddha must have foreseen his arrival and sent someone to protect him.
Thus, Shui Miao’s heart finally calmed, and he no longer feared being pursued and killed by Xuan Kong.
This place was beautiful, indeed a wonderful place for recuperation and cultivation.
In the distance, a mountain could be faintly seen, with waterfalls cascading down and the faint sound of flowing water. A gentle breeze, carrying the scent of water, refreshed his spirit and invigorated his energy.
Shui Miao looked around and walked toward the wooden hut.
The hut was small, almost like a doghouse.
It had no door, was in a state of disrepair, and seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
Looking inside, Shui Miao saw that the hut was covered in dust, with spider webs everywhere, each filled with spiders…
Was this a place for a human to live?
Clearly not!
After enduring so much, Shui Miao, with his tempered mind, immediately realized this must be a test from the Buddha.
Therefore, he didn’t enter the hut but instead sat cross-legged not far from its entrance, cultivating his spiritual energy to recover.
Afterward, he stood up and began walking toward the distant mountain.
He walked with his head down, deep in thought.
Here, he couldn’t fly or use his spiritual abilities. He walked for quite a while before suddenly realizing that the distant mountain was still far away. Looking back, the wooden hut was still not far behind him. Had he been walking in circles?
“This isn’t right! Something is wrong!”
Shui Miao’s mind raced, and suddenly he thought—could it be that he had been imprisoned by the Buddha?
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