Rain drizzled endlessly.
The sky was overcast, not a single ray of light in sight.
Fahai left Jinshan Temple, following the water veins directly to the Yangtze River.
He had seen the latest discussions in the Wanjie chat group.
As they said, someone had to step forward to verify the truth of the Dharma.
But Fahai didn't dare approach the Bodhisattva, nor the Tathagata.
His target… was someone that even the Bodhisattva dared not spy on.
Ever since realizing he was being monitored, Fahai had developed a crack in his trust toward Mount Lingshan.
But today, Long Kui's words had stirred something in him.
For the first time, it felt like the clouds had parted—he could finally see the blue sky.
In the heavens, Guanyin was well aware that Fahai had set out.
What caught her attention was that he wasn't heading to the cities or temples, but instead straight toward the Dragon King of the Yangtze River.
A great power.
Could he be trying to deceive the Dragon King?
No… Ao Qian, the Dragon King of the Yangtze, wouldn't fall for such tricks.
So this wasn't an attempt to mislead—but an act of clarification.
Guanyin didn't dare to intervene.
Because before Ao Qian, even she had no way to hide.
The Yangtze River flowed endlessly through the heart of China.
Its importance was indisputable.
While the Four Seas Dragon Kings were often placed at the top in name, few realized that dragons who cultivated along spiritual water veins were often recognized by the heavens and conferred great status.
In Ao Qian's view, the Four Seas dragons were hardly worthy of being called dragons anymore.
They had grown soft and degenerate.
On the riverbank sat an old man in worn clothing.
His cloudy eyes stared into the river, a small plate with a few fish set before him—his simple lunch.
The rain fell lightly, but the drops diverted themselves before they could touch him.
Under the drizzle, Fahai arrived.
"I don't recall any ties with your Buddhist sect," Ao Qian said, not even glancing over.
"So what business do you have with me?"
His voice was cold—like clashing steel.
A flicker of muddy golden light swept from his gaze.
Fahai staggered back. His true essence couldn't even withstand a single glance from this being.
This ancient Dragon King… is terrifying.
"You're not spineless like those hypocrites up the mountain," Ao Qian said, finally looking over.
"I'll allow you to stay for the time it takes to burn one stick of incense. Speak."
He casually grabbed a small fish from his plate and tossed it—uncooked—into his mouth, chewing with wet crunches.
No care for flavor. No grace. Just raw, primal consumption.
Rude. Savage. Barbaric.
That was Fahai's first impression.
But in front of a being unaffiliated with any faction—someone who didn't even lead his own dragon kin—this was power without obligation.
"Do you believe there are… other worlds?" Fahai asked slowly.
"I mean completely different realms—where the laws of cultivation are entirely foreign to ours."
It was an odd question.
Even Ao Qian paused.
A Buddhist monk had come all this way… just to ask this?
Now that was interesting.
He straightened his spine and asked:
"Do you know where a dragon goes after it dies?"
Fahai remained silent.
But four words echoed in his heart—
The Dragon Returns to Heaven.
Ao Qian pointed to the sky and chuckled.
"Just as you think.
Before death, a dragon will fly into the ancient starry sky, searching for its ancestral home.
But you know what?
None of them… not one… has ever returned.
So I can't answer your question."
The answer wasn't what Fahai expected.
But somehow… he understood.
They never came back… because they lacked the strength to escape.
They couldn't transcend.
Not even the dragons.
All life, no matter how powerful, was still caged—even the Buddha himself, still bound to this world.
So... the Eternal God's words must be true.
Our inheritance is nothing but leftovers from higher planes…
Fahai clenched his fists.
He had accepted it now—the Eternal God was real.
Whether or not His words were absolute truth didn't matter.
He was beyond—detached, supreme, unreachable.
"Why come to me?" Ao Qian's voice interrupted Fahai's thoughts.
"Why not ask your precious Buddha of Lingshan?"
Fahai gave a bitter smile.
"If you were born to be a puppet, manipulated by divine strings from the start… wouldn't you be restless too?"
Ao Qian's eyes narrowed.
"So you've seen through the illusion…
Fascinating.
With your strength, I wouldn't have expected it."
The old Dragon King grew interested.
At the end of his long life, he thought there'd be nothing left to surprise him.
But here it was—an unexpected ripple.
"You know about the White Snake?" Fahai asked.
Ao Qian snorted.
"What's there to know? A rare being from heaven and earth—
descended from Candle Dragon bloodline, if I'm not wrong.
The moment she was born, both Heaven and Lingshan couldn't tolerate her existence.
So what did they do?
They worked together to create a trap."
He smirked.
"And you… you were just a piece on the board."
His eyes were filled with pity—and mockery.
Fahai remained expressionless.
"I may not be able to break the game myself…
But the gods from beyond the sky… can."
He had made up his mind.
He would begin cultivating the divine meditation method.
If this world has no true Buddha—
Then I shall become that true Buddha.
If Lingshan dared to play with his life, then he would play Lingshan like a game.
Let's see who possesses greater compassion.
Fahai's eyes were firm. His mind clear.
His first target—
Was the old Dragon King in front of him.
Ao Qian's face darkened.
"Gods beyond the sky?
What do you take me for, some naive child?"
"If such a sky existed, why haven't our ancestors brought back word of it?"
The Dragon King's fury stirred the very heavens.
The clouds churned, and rain lashed the earth.
The Yangtze River surged, waves roaring.
Thick water vapor filled the air, seething with killing intent.
He hadn't moved—hadn't even raised a hand.
But Fahai felt it.
The illusion of death.
The full pressure of the ancient Dragon King—
Unleashed in silent wrath.
This is the true strength…
of a godless great power.
"If we're all locked in cages," Fahai said through clenched teeth,
"we will never see the scenery outside. But the gods beyond can see us clearly."
The surrounding moisture in the air suddenly lessened.
He continued,
"I received a divine law. At first, I thought it was from an evil god…
But the Tathagata of Mount Lingshan—he isn't even worthy of being called a god."
The atmosphere lightened again.
Ao Qian looked at Fahai calmly and said,
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Does the Dragon King not wish to see the scenery of another world?"
Half an hour later...
Fahai left contentedly.
But Ao Qian remained in place, silently holding a single scroll of divine scripture—just a single page from the Eternal Meditation Scripture.
So simple...
To him, it looked no different from a scrap of toilet paper.
Ao Qian believed that true power was always transmitted by word of mouth, not ink and brush.
Yet this piece of divine meditation scripture…
It unsettled him.
"It's not that easy to make me acknowledge some god beyond the heavens," he muttered.
He glanced down at the page one last time, then crushed it into powder.
Then closed his eyes—and began to meditate.
That day...
The Yangtze River was destined to be unusually turbulent.
Back at Jinshan Temple
As soon as Fahai returned, he sensed it again—
A gaze, faint yet persistent.
Expressionless, he sat down cross-legged on his futon.
He sent his consciousness into the Six-Turn Golden Body Sutra.
[Six-Turn Golden Body Method]
A divine cultivation technique.
Each "turn" represents a transformation of the body and soul.
As soon as Fahai activated the technique, the small bit of divine power in his body surged.
His every breath carried enormous power.
The mana in his body began to convert—one layer at a time—into pure golden divine power.
Fahai felt as though his soul had submerged into a golden ocean.
It was warm.
Gentle.
Overflowing with love and peace.
No rules. No restraints.
Just pure, sacred meditation.
The First Turn completed.
All of Fahai's prior cultivation—his Buddhist techniques—were swallowed up.
In their place, divine energy flowed through him.
A glowing, illusory golden lotus bloomed beneath him.
Inside Jinshan Temple, the radiant light could no longer be contained.
Under the dark and stormy sky...
The temple, now wrapped in brilliant golden light, became a beacon of holiness.
At the foot of the mountain, villagers began kneeling and bowing in awe.
"It's a Buddha manifestation!"
"The Buddha has appeared!"
"Quick—come see! The true Buddha is at Jinshan Temple!"
Shouts echoed from every corner.
More and more people gathered at the mountain's base.
Looking at the growing brilliance, their excitement intensified.
After all, witnessing a true Buddha's descent was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
But up in the clouds…
A group of celestial gods and Arhats stared in shock.
Even the Six Heavenly Deities and the Liu Ding Liu Jia Arhats furrowed their brows in confusion.
One of them muttered,
"Hey, what's going on with Lingshan?
Fahai's already become a Buddha, and the script hasn't even started yet.
How are we supposed to perform anything now?"
Another added,
"Yeah! Wasn't Xu Xian supposed to fall in love with Bai Suzhen first?
They've only just met. Now Fahai's reached enlightenment?
You're ruining the whole narrative!"
The two Arhats guarding the celestial gate were dumbfounded.
They had no idea what Fahai was doing.
The Buddha himself had declared that unless Fahai completed the calamity, he would never attain Buddhahood.
But here they were...
And Fahai was already breaking through.
Should we summon a heavenly tribulation to stop him?
While they debated, Fahai entered his Second Turn.
His Buddha's light now enveloped all of Hangzhou.
The glow was so intense it roused Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing from their slumber.
Startled, Xiaoqing's voice trembled:
"Sister… the Buddha's here! Let's get out of here!
Let's talk to your destined one another day!"
Bai Suzhen raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you panicking? Guanyin Bodhisattva personally assigned me this task."
She sighed softly, looking at her frightened sister.
Even if we're on a mission system path...
As long as we don't harm anyone, how could a Buddha just smite us?
Then came the Third Turn.
Fahai's figure, seated in the temple, now towered into the heavens.
The divine pressure stirred every spirit on the mountain.
Far away, Guanyin Bodhisattva sensed the overwhelming power and rushed toward Jinshan Temple without delay.
"Has Fahai fallen under the spell of the Evil God?
This power… it's not Buddhist—
Yet it's pure.
And somehow... it feels even more authentic than ours."
It was divine.
It was Buddhist.
But it wasn't from Lingshan.
It was something else—something older.
Something more powerful.
No... I can't let Fahai complete this.
If he reaches enlightenment, things will spiral beyond control!
Guanyin's eyes widened as she saw it—
Fahai had broken through again.
If he completed the next phase… he would become a Buddha.
And not one of theirs.
"Fahai, wake up! Don't stray any further—!"
She called out urgently.
The Buddha shadow seated in the clouds slowly opened his eyes.
He gazed directly at the approaching Guanyin.
Then, in a calm but dissatisfied voice that echoed across the skies of Hangzhou:
"Bodhisattva, this little monk is about to achieve Buddhahood.
Why do you seek to interrupt my enlightenment?"
The voice—filled with divine authority—left the entire city stunned.