Chapter 1025: Buddha in the Heart

Lu Yang hissed, unable to figure out if his second senior brother was complimenting his looks or criticizing them.

"I noticed you came to West Sky City on New Year's Eve. I wanted to find you then, but you're quite fast, junior brother; you vanished in an instant."

"I thought you had already left West Sky City. I never expected you to be here, in West Sky Temple."

Ye Zijin was very surprised to see Lu Yang. A mid-stage Soul Transformation cultivator managed to hide in West Sky Temple for so long without anyone noticing.

"I was lucky; Qingfeng Sword provided cover," Lu Yang chuckled, a little embarrassed. There were many Integration stage cultivators in West Sky Temple; it would have been hard to hide until now with only his own ability.

"Qingfeng Sword? Is that the immortal sword Master shamelessly begged senior sister for, but she wouldn't give it?"

"Yes. Oh, by the way, second senior brother, I heard you've been in the Buddhist Kingdom all this time. Why haven't you returned?"

"It's because I accidentally offended someone, so senior sister suggested I come to the Buddhist Kingdom for experience, and also to look for clues about the Immortal of Time."

Lu Yang was astonished, "Who did you offend that even senior sister couldn't protect you?"

"Senior sister."

*Second senior brother, were you exiled?*

Lu Yang still remembered when he was young and ignorant, rashly asking about his senior sister's age, and being sent by her to the frontier to fight demonic beasts and condense the Invincible Pill.

"Clues about the Immortal of Time?"

"Senior sister noticed that every New Year, the Nian beast flies from the west, circles the world, and ends in the west. There's also a legend that the Nian beast is an immortal beast cultivated by the Immortal of Time. So, senior sister suspects there are clues left by the Immortal of Time in the Buddhist Kingdom."

Lu Yang's expression was strange. What a coincidence; he came to West Sky City because of the Nian beast too. He just wondered where the Nian beast flew off to after throwing him here.

"Don't even get me started, coming to the Buddhist Kingdom has really broadened my horizons. The cultivation methods here are completely different from those in our Great Xia."

"The Buddhist Kingdom is primarily for Buddhist cultivators, and what they value most is the Grand Vow cultivation method."

"Typically, upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage, Buddhist cultivators make a grand vow to promote Buddhism. As for the specific vow, it varies from person to person. The more important the vow is to Buddhism, the more incense power they receive."

"The simplest and most common grand vow is to sculpt a golden body for the Buddha. This is also why you often encounter monks begging for alms; they are all using the alms money to sculpt a golden body for the Buddha, fulfilling their grand vow."

Lu Yang had learned a bit about the Grand Vow cultivation method from Master Duanchen of Kaihuang Temple, but not as detailed as his second senior brother explained.

"I've observed that the temples in the Buddhist Kingdom are a mess, and the monks' cultivation is lacking. The elders of West Sky Temple are even worse; they start fighting after only a few words with me, violating the precept against anger."

"So, I made a grand vow: through my influence, I hope to help the elders of West Sky Temple overcome pride, impatience, and anger, elevating their state of mind, and making them more emotionally stable when they see me."

"I estimate that once I complete my grand vow, the incense power I gain will be enough to elevate me to the Tribulation Transcending stage. I'm just not sure which stage of Tribulation Transcending it will be."

For example, Master Duanchen's grand vow for Kaihuang Temple's incense to flourish had a precedent; completing it could make him an Integration stage cultivator. Ye Zijin's grand vow had no precedent, so he could only make an estimate.

Lu Yang thought to himself, *Brother, isn't your grand vow a bit too grand? Can you even complete it?*

"Wait, brother, you're not a monk, can you still use the Grand Vow cultivation method?"

*Are there no restrictions on this Grand Vow cultivation method?*

"Who says I'm not a monk?" Ye Zijin pulled off his wig, revealing a bald head with nine戒疤 (jiebā, Buddhist ordination scars).

"How do you think I impersonated Kongxing just now?"

"I am a registered monk in the Buddhist Kingdom." Saying this, Ye Zijin put on his wig, then took out a fake identity document, and a series of fake items used to corroborate the identity document.

Since the Buddhist Kingdom didn't emphasize laws, Ye Zijin felt no psychological burden fabricating things, doing it with ease.

"Of course, being registered and having a shaved head are just superficial. The most important thing is to have Buddha in your heart." Ye Zijin chanted Amitabha, truly looking like an enlightened monk. If he were to go out to deceive people, he'd be spot-on every time.

"Buddha in your heart?"

In the spiritual space, the Immortal Fairy was rolling around on the bed, hugging a pillow, completely ungraceful. Hearing Ye Zijin's words, she became interested.

"This immortal is in your heart, so little Yangzi, you're the most authentic Buddhist cultivator."

With the World Honored One living in his spiritual space, personally guiding him day and night, no Buddhist cultivator was more authentic than Lu Yang.

"And you also learned the playing-dead technique from this immortal, so you're this immortal's student. All current Buddhist cultivators should call you Grand Ancestor when they see you!"

Seeing that little Yangzi had such a status, the Immortal Fairy was happy for Lu Yang.

Lu Yang's eye twitched. The Immortal Fairy's words sounded correct, but he always felt like something was off.

"I've been in the Buddhist Kingdom for so many years, and I've discovered a great secret that the Buddhist Kingdom has been hiding all along," Ye Zijin said mysteriously.

"What great secret?"

"You know Abbot Mingyu, right? The outside world always thought he was at the peak of Tribulation Transcending, but he actually possesses a Dao Fruit雏形 (chúxíng, embryonic form), making him a half-immortal!"

"Oh. So what's the great secret?"

Ye Zijin was full of questions, not understanding why his junior brother reacted so calmly. This was a half-immortal, something unknown to the world!

"Actually, I also found a clue that might be related to the Immortal of Time," Ye Zijin had to say another thing.

"Where?"

"The Grand Hall of West Sky Temple. I suspect there's an artifact left by the Immortal of Time there, but unfortunately, the Grand Hall is heavily guarded, and I can't sneak in," Ye Zijin stated confidently.

"Fairy, is there something wrong with the Grand Hall?"

The Immortal Fairy immediately spread her immortal consciousness, silently covering the Grand Hall without triggering any formations.

"Nothing wrong, it's just a bit bigger than the ones this immortal built."

"Are there any other clues?"

"The Scripture Repository also has problems. It's rumored that the first floor of the Scripture Repository hides many opportunities, including the World Honored One's Enlightenment Contemplation Diagram. The Immortal of Time's artifact might be hidden there. Tonight, I secretly snuck into the Scripture Repository to investigate, but I hadn't found anything before I was discovered by an elder sweeping the floor!"

Lu Yang had heard the Immortal Fairy describe the World Honored One's Enlightenment Contemplation Diagram: it was just a blurry-faced Buddha under a Bodhi tree, nothing extraordinary, less useful than directly contemplating the Immortal of Heaven. As for other things, while they could be considered opportunities, they weren't necessarily linked to the Immortal of Time.

Not to mention the first floor of the Scripture Repository, even the entire Scripture Repository, the Immortal Fairy hadn't found anything valuable.

"Anything else?"

"There's one last clue: West Sky Temple has a secret realm. Only Abbot Mingyu knows its location. Every year, he organizes young Qi Refining stage monks to enter a certain secret realm. No one knows what's inside, and the monks who enter lose their memories. That secret realm might contain something left by the Immortal of Time."