Chapter 980: Learned a Lesson

"Eldest Senior Sister, Junior Brother Meng and I wish to journey to the Buddhist Realm," Lu Yang said, a fundamentally honest soul who always reported to his elders before setting out.

"To the Buddhist Realm?"

Yun Zhi accepted the missive sent from the Monastery of the Founding Emperor, quite surprised by the turn of events.

It was truly no small feat; she had never expected that while their Master and Second Senior Brother held such a wretched reputation within the Buddhist Realm, her youngest Junior Brother would actually receive an invitation from one of its temples.

She had always maintained that her youngest Junior Brother was cut from a different cloth than their Master, possessing an excellent reputation in the wider world and proving himself a most exceptional cultivator.

"Go then, and remember to keep safety foremost in your mind."

"Should we pay a visit to Second Senior Brother along the way?" Lu Yang recalled that his Second Senior Brother, Ye Zijin, spent the entire year dealing with various major monasteries and was currently embroiled in deep, tumultuous waters within the Buddhist Realm.

As Yun Zhi folded the letter and returned it to its envelope, she remarked, "Judging by the irregular letters your Second Senior Brother sends, his foes are legion and he is utterly overwhelmed. For the sake of safety, it is best you do not meet him, youngest Junior Brother, lest you draw their fire upon yourself."

Those capable of standing as adversaries to Ye Zijin were, at the very least, at the Body Integration Stage, and their numbers were unrestricted. No matter how much confidence Lu Yang possessed in his own cultivation, he had no illusions about facing such a multitude; even tossing old Meng out as bait at a critical moment might prove utterly futile.

Recalling her Second Senior Brother, whom she had not seen in an age but whose name frequently graced the diplomatic communiqués from the Buddhist Realm, Yun Zhi could not help but let out a soft sigh.

"Speaking of which, the four of us have each learned different things from Master. Yet your Second Senior Brother learned nothing else, mastering only Master's knack for drawing hatred."

"Your Third Senior Sister is far better. What she acquired from Master was the art of melody; though she caused a fair share of trouble in the Demon Realm, it was done merely to temper herself."

"Your encounters with Master have been few, but a portion of your prowess in the Dao of the Sword originates from him nonetheless."

Lu Yang nodded. Indeed, the theories and forms of the sword Master had imparted on those few occasions had been of immense help, particularly the newly mastered 'Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Ancestor,' which counted among his ultimate trumps.

Curiosity piqued, Lu Yang asked, "Then what did you learn from Master, Eldest Senior Sister?"

To his eyes, the vast capabilities Eldest Senior Sister possessed seemed to bear no relation to Master at all. Eldest Senior Sister had only learned the mere theory of the sword Dao Master took such pride in, while he had never seen her employ either the art of drawing hatred or the mastery of melody, suggesting she knew them not.

"I learned principles."

This only deepened Lu Yang's curiosity. "What principles?"

Yun Zhi spoke with an expressionless countenance, "A disciple need not be inferior to the master, and a master is not necessarily wiser than the disciple."

"..."

...

"A map of the Buddhist Realm, an introduction to Buddhist Dharma..." Lu Yang was borrowing several texts related to the Buddhist Realm from the Scripture Repository, thinking they might prove useful.

The Buddhist Realm remained relatively isolated, and his understanding of it was sparse.

"With this Immortal here, the very founder of the Buddhist sect, whatever do you need an introduction to the Dharma for?" The Immortal Fairy chose this pivotal moment to display her utility as a cheat code, portraying herself as all-knowing.

Taking the Immortal Fairy’s true identity into consideration, Lu Yang decided it would be wiser to bring along a few more Buddhist scriptures.

Stepping out of the Scripture Repository, he found Meng Jingzhou waiting for him at the entrance.

"All packed? Shall we depart?"

"Is True Lord Ma not accompanying us?" Whenever they journeyed out, Meng Jingzhou typically brought the old horse along.

"It returned to the Eastern Sea ten days ago to visit kin. If we wait for its return, we might miss the Buddha Bathing Festival."

"With the level of cultivation the two of us possess, we have more than enough strength to protect ourselves out in the world. We can manage without old Ma," Meng Jingzhou said with a cheerful grin. Though he had previously shown little interest in the Buddhist Realm, a spark of excitement flared now that the hour of departure had arrived.

"That is true enough."

Placed in the wider world, either of them possessed the nominal qualifications to establish a first-grade sect, and they would be hailed as titans of their respective regions anywhere they went.

Had they lived during the Great Yu Dynasty, they could have summoned the wind and commanded the rain; even Body Integration cultivators would address them as fellow Daoists. They could have become lords of great cities, holding the power of life and death, turning their domains into nations within a nation, where mortals would tremble at their sight and offer up their wives and daughters.

...

"Greetings. We are bound for the Buddhist Realm." Lu Yang handed his credentials to the border official, waiting for the review.

The official scrutinized the documents, verified Lu Yang’s true identity, and, ensuring he carried no smuggled contraband, smoothly granted them passage.

"You may pass."

"Thank you."

This was the border separating the Great Xia from the Buddhist Realm, a threshold both cultivators and mortals alike had to cross to reach those holy lands.

Lu Yang noted that those queued behind them waiting for inspection were a motley crew. Some wore filthy monastic robes, chanting scriptures; others were entirely shrouded in black cloaks, revealing only a single, scarred eye; one was a burly figure bearing a broadsword two fingers thick upon his back; yet another clutched an exquisite wooden box, trembling violently.

Noticing Lu Yang’s gaze, some offered gentle smiles, others flashed warning glares, and a few cast their eyes down, unwilling to meet his stare.

Each seemed to harbor their own profound secrets.

Lu Yang easily discerned their realms: a mortal, fourth layer of Qi Condensation, another mortal, second layer of Qi Condensation...

To prevent a scenario where some great power was playing at mortal games and his own blind eyes failed to recognize them, Lu Yang specifically requested the Immortal Fairy to inspect their realms; her findings perfectly matched his own.

Lu Yang pressed a hand to his forehead. Could you all please stop acting as though you carry world-shattering secrets? It makes me terribly anxious for nothing.

The pair crossed the border defenses without incident. Flying across a desolate stretch of desert, they experienced a brief, dizzying spin of heaven and earth before arriving in the Buddhist Realm, where yellow sands filled the sky.

"Cough, cough. I knew the Buddhist Realm was sandy, but this is simply preposterous."

The moment they set foot in the realm, a furious gale whipped up the yellow sand, forcing them to manifest a protective shroud of spiritual energy simply to move forward.

Though the sand pelting their faces did no real harm, it was an immensely unpleasant experience.

"The Buddhist Realm has stood for three hundred thousand years; did it never occur to them to plant trees?" Utterly vexed by the sand lashing his face, Meng Jingzhou took a deep breath and exhaled a violent gust, warring against the gale and blowing away every grain of sand before them.

The lung capacity of a Soul Formation powerhouse was staggering; Lu Yang estimated old Meng could blow continuously for fifteen minutes on a single breath.

Unlike the Central Continent, which saw a constant succession of dynasties, the Buddhist Realm was situated on the Western Continent. Its founding was roughly contemporaneous with the Great Qian Dynasty, boasting a history that stretched back an immense three hundred thousand years.

The Buddhist Realm was a nation built upon the bedrock of Buddhist faith, which resulted in a looser societal structure. Unlike the Great Xia, where imperial decrees were executed across every city, the settlements here maintained a high degree of independence from one another.

Lu Yang rolled his eyes. "Plant trees? The Buddhist Realm is as vast as our Great Xia, and it is entirely sand. Even if a Tribulation Passage cultivator spent their entire life rushing about, they could not plant enough to fill it. Even an edict from the Western Temple would be useless."

The Western Temple, with its ancient lineage, was the grandest monastery in the Buddhist Realm and its de facto ruler. The official documents the Grand Pure Sect frequently received demanding the return of Ye Zijin were issued by none other than this Western Temple.

"When the Four Ancient Immortals shaped the continent, they likely gathered the deserts from all the stars and brought them here, along with those barren worlds unfit for life, shaping them into what is now the Buddhist Realm. It is a miracle enough that such a place can sustain human life at all."