Ch. 211 - Is The Buddha Still In This World?

“Beast! This kid doesn’t even spare nuns!” Blackwater howled.

“She’s just a young nun, fifteen or sixteen, and he’s such a beast!” Tu Fei’s eyes widened.

“You can’t be too greedy Ye Fan. So young, yet targeting nuns, makes us feel ashamed,” Liu Kou stared, transfixed.

“This kid doesn’t discriminate, she’s the Grand Xia Dynasty’s princess!” Jiang Huairen gasped.

Wu Zhongtian, worried, stepped forward, fearing Ye Fan would stir trouble with an ancient dynasty more terrifying than sacred grounds. “That’s Grand Xia’s princess, born with a Buddhist flower, ordained as a nun, yet still her father’s favorite. He better not mess around.”

The five moved closer, watching intently.

Ye Fan was electrified. He’d heard of Buddhism in the Western Desert and Middle Continent and longed to investigate. The Buddha, from Earth 2,500 years ago, might share his origins. He yearned to know if this was the Buddha of Grand Thunderclap Temple, from his homeworld.

If so, it offered hope! A sage who could cross the stars meant Ye Fan might return home. Despite his powers here, he’d trade them for a mortal life of warmth back home.

Siddhartha Gautama, from over 2,500 years ago, founded Buddhism, profoundly impacting Earth. Ye Fan once saw him as a wise mortal, not a deity, dismissing divine powers. But the Nine Dragons’ Coffin at Mount Tai brought him to this mysterious world, shattering his beliefs. He now viewed that wise ancient as a god-like cultivator, a shift in perception.

The ruins of Grand Thunderclap Temple on Mars haunted him, where had the Buddha gone? This world’s Buddhism suggested he might be here. 2,500 years was short in this realm, with living legends, but long on Earth, tracing back to the pre-Qin Dynasty era. Had the Buddha arrived via ancient star gates or crossed the stars himself? Ye Fan didn’t know.

It felt surreal, Earth’s ancient god, meant to be dust, might be someone he could meet. “Who’s there? Stop!” Grand Xia’s guards, clad in glowing iron armor, radiating power, blocked Ye Fan as he approached the prince and princess.

“I want to see the young nun,” Ye Fan said, excited, his words clumsy.

“Bold! You dare offend the princess?” The guards drew swords, barring his path.

“My mistake, I mean the young master, your revered princess,” Ye Fan clarified, halting, gazing ahead.

Grand Xia’s prince, with flowing black hair and starry eyes, exuded an imperial aura, like an emperor’s son descended to earth. His iron armor gleamed, dragon qi swirling with every move. He glanced over, asking calmly, “What’s your business?”

Ye Fan responded, “I see Your Highness’s noble bearing, dragon energy coiling, a true emperor’s dignity. I approached to behold a dragon’s visage.”

The prince smiled faintly. “You’re quite the talker. Come closer for a better look.”

“This kid’s a flatterer, clearly after the sister!” Blackwater muttered.

“Grand Xia’s princes compete fiercely; he loves such praise,” Liu Kou whispered.

“He’s after the nun sister but talks of imperial dignity, what a scoundrel,” Tu Fei scoffed.

The guards let Ye Fan pass. Up close, he said to the prince, “Your Highness, your forehead shines like the sun, your chin like the moon, purple qi soaring, eyes holding dragon might. You’ll surely ascend to greatness.”

“What’s your real purpose, priest?” The prince, unmoved, saw through him.

Ye Fan studied the princess, a young nun, fifteen or sixteen, in snowy white robes, hairless, wearing a white cap. Slender and graceful, she had a youthful charm, her large, lively eyes curiously watching him. Despite no hair, her beauty was undimmed, radiant, pure, poetic.

“Young master, your spirit glows, your form divine, with immortal bones and wisdom’s roots, like a Buddhist flower, a reincarnated Bodhisattva!” Ye Fan said earnestly.

The nun’s eyes twinkled, silently observing, cute and refined. “Damn, this kid’s a master flatterer,” even steady Wu Zhongtian remarked.

“He stole the Radiant Light Saintess’ panties, he’s no good. I’d warn that nun not to fall for this beast,” Blackwater sighed.

The prince’s face darkened, sensing Ye Fan’s interest in his sister, displeasing any brother. Noticing, Ye Fan recited a Daoist title, facing him. “Your Highness, your momentum is set, dragon might abundant; you only lack the nurturing of imperial energies.”

“Any suggestions?” the prince asked coolly, wanting to shoo him away from his sister.

Ye Fan, seeing a Buddhist, wouldn’t leave. Desperate to know if the Buddha was here, he said, “I offer a heavenly tome to ensure your reign over Grand Xia.”

“You, a priest, claim to understand imperial momentum?” a guard scoffed, sensing the prince’s displeasure.

“Don’t I? The universe holds four greatnesses, the emperor among them. Do you understand?” Ye Fan countered.

“You…” the guard leader bristled.

“What are the four?” the prince asked.

“Dao is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, the Emperor is great,” Ye Fan said calmly, glancing at the nun.

The prince, tasting some truth, grew annoyed at Ye Fan’s gaze. “Are these four linked?”

“The emperor follows man, man follows earth, earth follows heaven, heaven follows Dao, Dao follows nature. I have a book of Imperial Dao, emulating earth’s boundless support and heaven’s vast coverage, to nurture imperial energy for your reference.”

“Beast! He’ll say anything to get close,” Blackwater muttered.

“What a smooth talker!” Tu Fei sneered.

“There’s some logic to it,” Wu Zhongtian mused.

“You’re here for the princess!” the guard leader accused coldly.

“Not so. I came for His Highness, but…” Ye Fan paused, “I have a question for the young master.”

“What?” the prince asked flatly.

“Is the Tathagata still in this world?” Ye Fan asked, staring at the nun, utterly serious.

The nun, exquisite and flustered, hid behind her brother, peeking with blinking eyes. The word “Tathagata” shifted the prince’s expression. “I don’t know what you mean!” he said coldly.

The term seemed to hold a strange power, startling not just the prince but also Radiant Light’s Saint, who approached, bright as a sun, golden light flowing, standing out in the crowd like an immortal king.

Ye Fan sensed their reactions, wondering if “Tathagata” held some magic. Yao Xi approached too, unaware of its meaning but sensing something amiss, her presence like dawn’s glow or moonlight, graceful in her steps.

Simultaneously, Ye Fan felt another gaze from a Jade Pool stone workshop pavilion, where the Saintess stood, veiled in mist, watching.

“See the true form, all things are empty; in a moment’s enlightenment, all laws unite. Once the scenery can’t be hidden, meet face-to-face, unadorned,” Ye Fan recited a Buddhist verse, looking at the nun. “Is the Lord Buddha still here?”

The nun, ethereal as an immortal, opened her mouth but closed it silently. The prince, imposing as a mountain, dragon energy rising, armor glowing like an emperor, stared coldly. “We only know Buddhism, not this name. Don’t ask us!”

Was the Buddha taboo? Ye Fan wondered.

“Awakened, the wondrous mind’s source; the shell of ignorance cracks, all becomes one. In dreams, the six realms are clear; awakened, no saints or mortals remain,” Ye Fan tested with another verse, asking solemnly, “Where is the Buddha?”

“Go to Mount Sumeru in the Western Desert if you want answers,” the prince said coldly.

“Mount Sumeru” shook Ye Fan, was it truly the Buddha’s sect?

“Tell me more about Tathagata and the Buddha,” Radiant Light’s Saint said, smiling warmly like spring breeze or dawn.

Ye Fan’s heart raced. Something was off with this world’s Buddhism, or why would the prince and saint react so?

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