Half a year later, outside a small city in Dinghui Prefecture, the Great Li Realm.
Endless yellow sands stretched as far as the eye could see. This desolate land was seldom visited, and a solitary temple nestled quietly against a green mountain.
The pool and garden were locked in desolation, echoing with sighs of fleeting events and distant flying cranes. The fragrant paths lay deserted, overgrown with moss, and blanketed in yellow dust.
The setting sun burned like blood, casting its last rays before surrendering to a sorrowful stillness.
Three figures appeared at the foot of the mountain. Time had been merciless, transforming the place. The once-vibrant Zen Temple now seemed devoid of life, as if only two souls remained.
The monk sat motionless inside the temple, eyes half-closed and lips tightly sealed. Outside, the head disciple stood, his vacant gaze filled with desolation.
In his hand, a dim lantern swayed in the wind, its faint glow threatening to be extinguished at any moment.
Chen Xun frowned slightly, having heard many grim rumors on the journey.
In the ten prefectures of the Great Li Realm's Buddhist domain, the stench of blood was overwhelming. This seemed to be the last sanctuary.
“Moo~” the big black ox let out a low cry, looking at Chen Xun.
The small red creature lay silently on the big black ox’s back, its eyes darting around. Chen Xun’s mood was clearly not good.
They moved forward slowly, leaving faint afterimages in the mountain paths, even stirring the quiet breeze into a faint hum.
Inside the temple, a wind blew aimlessly, lost and uncertain of direction.
The monk’s closed eyes opened, clouded and devoid of clarity, his entire being shrouded in an air of decay.
He rose slowly, palms pressed together, and walked step by step out of the hall, a faint smile on his face. "Benefactor, this old monk must have disappointed you."
Chen Xun stood at a distance, speaking in a loud, clear voice: “Monk, it’s been many years. You seem not as spirited as before.”
The big black ox and the small red creature nodded silently beside him. The monk seemed like a different person, his once-wise eyes now lacking brilliance.
“Hehe, please come in, benefactor,” the monk said with a gentle smile, stepping aside. “It’s been years, yet you remain as composed as ever.”
Chen Xun laughed heartily, stepping forward while casting a glance at the head disciple. The latter remained unmoved, standing with his head slightly lowered, his cultivation stuck at the late Gold Core stage.
Inside the grand hall. Chen Xun and the monk sat opposite each other. The big black ox and the small red creature squatted nearby, just like years before, their eyes curious about what a Buddhist pill truly was.
“Monk, we’ve come with no other intention but to see this unparalleled talent of Buddhism.” Chen Xun’s expression was relaxed and cheerful. “I didn’t expect the monk to have such magnanimity—your obsession seems to be breaking the Dao heart of the Great Li Realm’s Buddhist domain across ten prefectures, paving the way for Buddhist cultivation.”
He was slightly shocked. Along the way, he had heard many legendary tales about the monk.
It was akin to standing against all cultivators, at the eye of the storm. He himself could never dare to attempt such a thing.
“Benefactor, it’s not as you think,” the monk sighed softly, shaking his head. “The world knows I debated the Enlightened Bodhisattva of the Pure Buddha Sect, but they don’t know the outcome.”
“Moo~” the big black ox widened its eyes, deeply interested in Buddhist tales.
“Oh?” Chen Xun was momentarily speechless.
“In the end, it was all for nothing. Buddhist cultivation is filled with suffering, and this old monk alone cannot change anything.”
The monk’s murky eyes seemed lost in thought as if talking to himself. “Buddhist cultivation relies on incense offerings to attain divinity, standing apart from the Great Li Realm’s realm. However, it has also become stagnant, with no spirit of cultivation left. The path forward is already blocked.”
This was why many powers paid attention to whether Buddhism would continue to exist in the Great Li Realm.
Buddhist cultivators were strange, like a nation within a nation. They neither ventured out nor engaged with others, merely guarding their ten prefectures.
“Incense divinity…” Chen Xun exchanged a glance with the big black ox. “monk, what is that?”
“In the Great Li Realm, there is no method to cultivate divine sense. For a Nascent Soul stage cultivator to ascend to the Divine Transformation stage, they must pass through the Heaven Gate, serving as guardians and explorers of this realm.”
The monk lowered his head, deeply disheartened. “But Buddhist cultivators are different. Incense divinity is also a method of cultivating divine sense, enabling Buddhist practitioners to ascend to the Divine Transformation stage.”
“So, we Buddhist cultivators in the Great Li Realm never cross the Heavenly Gate and are confined to the ten prefectures, worshiping the great Buddhas and cultivating the power of incense.”
“I see.”
Chen Xun nodded, somewhat puzzled. “Monk, if I may, you’re a peerless genius, but for ordinary cultivators, reaching the Divine Transformation stage is already remarkable.”
“Moo~” the big black ox nodded in agreement. They themselves had come from poor cultivation talent, and most ordinary people would consider reaching Nascent Soul an incredible achievement.
Many of their old friends had fallen due to talent or bottlenecks. If such a shortcut truly existed, Chen Xun would definitely encourage them to take it.
“You may not know, benefactor,” the monk explained, “but the path of ‘incense divinity’ can only be cultivated at the late Nascent Soul stage. Failure results in becoming a faceless Buddha statue, losing all consciousness—what they call ‘attaining the Dao.’ Yet, successful cases are exceedingly rare.”
A trace of sorrow crossed the monk’s face. “Even if one breaks through to Divine Transformation, during the tribulation of inner demons, the power of incense invades, binding them to the incense forever. They can never leave its domain.”
Cultivators pursue immortality for the endless road ahead. Even if limited by talent or fate, they would rather die trying.
But these Buddhist prodigies didn’t fall on the road ahead—they walked a dead-end path, one whose end was visible from the start. This went against the very essence of cultivation.
“What the—” Chen Xun was aghast. “Isn’t that losing all freedom?! Why even bother cultivating Buddhism then?!”
The big black ox shivered at the thought. If this were true, life would be meaningless—they might as well end it all.
The small red creature, however, seemed to think differently. It felt this path was safe, ensuring a peaceful life to the end of one’s natural lifespan.
“And this method of cultivation has already taken root in the minds of those prodigious Buddhist cultivators,” the monk continued, his serene demeanor giving way to intensity. “Their path ends before it begins. As a Buddhist cultivator myself, how could I bear to watch this?”
The monk’s tone turned sharp. “The Buddhist path in the Great Li Realm is inherently flawed, and the incense-divinity path is a dead end. I cannot allow these cultivators to continue down this erroneous path.”
“I’ve never cared about my own cultivation level or the possibility of extending my lifespan,” he said, his emotions surging with concern for the future of the Great Li Realm Buddhism. “Benefactor, do you understand?”
Chen Xun was shaken. It was his first time seeing the monk so impassioned—his composure was always impeccable.
Then, after a pause, the big black ox widened its eyes and let out a sudden cry:
“Moo?”“Hm?”
Both Chen Xun and the big black ox frowned deeply. Somehow, that statement felt oddly familiar...
The small red creature looked at the two in confusion, sensing something amiss.
“So, by your words, this isn’t your true obsession,” Chen Xun remarked, his expression calming again. “It seems your inner resolve is beyond my imagination.”
“Benefactor, the road lies... at the edge of the Heavenly River.”
“Moo!!” the big black ox cried out in shock, leaping up.
Chen Xun’s gaze sharpened as he stood slowly. “Monk, I know this path. Does it relate to the ancient war? The Legacy of the Forbidden Sea is now involved—what exactly is this Corrupted Longevity?!”
From the rumors he had gathered, this monk’s origins were extraordinary—so significant that even the Divine Transformation Bodhisattvas and the ten prefectures’ Buddhist cultivators dared not lay a hand on him.
The small red creature was overwhelmed by a chilling sense of foreboding, as though they were brushing against an earth-shattering secret.
Silence.
The grand hall fell eerily quiet after Chen Xun’s question; even the sound of breathing seemed to vanish.
The monk’s cloudy eyes began to change. His kasaya(1) fluttered without wind, and his aura grew colder by the moment.
Chen Xun stared unblinkingly at the monk. These questions had lingered in his heart for a long time and were deeply tied to their future.