Bensheng woke in utter darkness. A fog-like blackness where the boundaries of sky and earth were indistinguishable. It took him a long time to remember where he was.Inside the infinitely extending cage bars, it was still that same inner chamber, but without the little girl amusing herself inside.Bensheng smiled slightly. It seemed the Old Dean had already helped Sanbao rescue his beloved. That was truly wonderful... But why was he dreaming of this place?"Bensheng?"A hesitant call came from behind.
Bensheng turned to see the refined yet somewhat disheveled sturdy man. "Uncle Sanbao?!" Bensheng greeted him overjoyed. "I'm even dreaming of you? It seems I really miss Zhoku a bit."Sanbao's jaw dropped as he surveyed the tall, sturdy young man before him, bright and clear as a breeze. If not for his head of curly white hair, he wouldn't have dared confirm this was the soft, cute little Bensheng from the Great King's underground palace.But he still had some doubts...He couldn't help testing: "You farted in the Great King's underground palace...""Hey, hey, hey..." Bensheng's face flushed instantly, and he hurriedly reached to cover Sanbao's mouth. "Uncle Sanbao!""Hahahaha..."Bensheng hung his head with a sigh. "Why is Uncle Sanbao in my dream so mean!""I'm not a person from your dream," Sanbao stopped laughing and looked seriously at Bensheng. "Bensheng, Zhoku Academy is in trouble."After hearing Sanbao's account, Bensheng fell into thought."Do you think Lüzang might repeat the tragedy of Venerable Lüqiu's time, give birth to inner demons, and destroy the human world?"Bensheng shook his head. "No, I believe in Lüzang. He wouldn't go that far.""But his spiritual power is very strange," Sanbao recalled the bone-chilling cold. "I've never seen such vast energy... No, wait, I have seen it once. In the Great King's underground palace, when Wuni vanished into dust, you had the same immense energy on you then."Bensheng's eyebrows lifted slightly, and he smiled calmly, neither surprised nor self-deprecating."I understand. I will return to Zhoku and face him in a decisive battle.""Quickly..." Sanbao urged anxiously. "It will be too late if we delay."When Bensheng woke in Lumbini Deer Park, he understood what Sanbao meant.A massive bank of pitch-black clouds drifted from the east, layer upon layer, endlessly covering the entire sky.Yeluo, having gathered information from Beast Tribe members who had rushed back to Deer Park from various places, told Bensheng: "From Yongle Kingdom to Buzhou Kingdom, the sky is completely blocked. All humans are plunged into darkness. If this
continues, the world will surely fall into chaos.""Uncle Sanbao said: 'Lüzang intends to become the Master of the Earth.' His actions are probably to prevent the Venerable Ones on Kunlun from noticing the anomaly." Bensheng said gravely. "We must return to Zhoku Academy quickly."But he had no spiritual power. Even if he could borrow power from the earth, he couldn't sustain 'Path Beneath Feet' in the air for long. And Yeluo's Bodhi wooden sword wasn't a divine artifact; it couldn't bear the weight of all of them.What could they do to quickly cross this vast distance?Ananda struggled to prop himself up from the bird's nest. Ever since the great battle with Kasyapa, he had been recuperating due to severe injuries. Now he finally had the strength to speak."Bensheng..."Bensheng turned. "Ananda, you're awake." Not wanting it to notice their troubles, he urged, "Sleep a bit more!""Use the 'Gate of Spacetime Shift'.""What?" Bensheng frowned. "You mean that light gate Kasyapa used to send us to the Saptaparna Kingdom back then?"Ananda nodded wearily.Bensheng stood in the clearing of Lumbini Deer Park. The deer herd watched him from afar. Yeluo and Ruoqiao looked on with concern.Bensheng raised his hands.From using "Pass Through Walls" and "Path Beneath Feet" during the Land Exam, to passing the Academy Exam throughMastering the Three Seals, to fighting North Gate with his staff... every step of his growth bore Kasyapa's shadow.Now, could he successfully use his spiritual power?Bensheng sat in the full lotus position, recalling Kasyapa's form as he formed the hand seal, recited the incantation, and finally, pressed his hands against the ground.Nothing happened.Ananda, resting in Yeluo's palms, saw this and sighed softly.Failure was expected. Bensheng looked up at the approaching black clouds.Then the fight must start from here.He reached for the staff beside him.The moment his fingertips touched the staff, suddenly, Kasyapa's voice echoed in his mind."Bensheng..."The hoarse voice was exactly as it sounded before he entered the
cycle of rebirth. Bensheng's eyes widened, frozen in place."I'm sorry. I shouldn't have used you. I truly, genuinely, liked you."Bensheng frowned, smiling. "Brother Kasyapa, I don't blame you. It's because of you that I gained power...""No," Kasyapa interrupted him. "The power you gained was by your own doing. Everything originated from the moment you voluntarily left Lumbini Deer Park. Without that cause, the current effect would not have manifested. Moreover, a Comprehender's ability does not lie in the magnitude of power.""It lies in your belief in yourself, using wisdom to judge, courage to fight, yet still holding a heart of great compassion and mercy for all living beings. Those with 'Faith, Wisdom, Courage, and Compassion' are worthy of sainthood. And the Comprehender will bring vitality to all beings."Kasyapa's voice faded with the wind. Bensheng gripped the staff tightly, then set it down again.He pressed his palms together once more."Is he going to try again?" Ruoqiao wondered."No," Yeluo squinted. "His movement is different."Faint specks of fluorescence danced before him like little insects. Gradually, they gathered into spots of light...The moment the light gate formed, the deer herd gasped in admiration. Ananda's eyes welled with hot tears. This light gate, encircled by a gentle southern breeze, lacked Kasyapa's sharp coldness, bearing only Bensheng's warmth.He had opened his own Gate of Time."But Bensheng," Yeluo and the others had already brought Ananda to Bensheng's side. She reminded him, "To reach any place on the continent relies on the Corridor of a Thousand Ancestors within the gate. The corridor inside your gate currently has no ancestor statues.""If there are no ancestor statues, then I shall stand and become the ancestor myself!" Bensheng curled his lips into a smile and stepped into the gate. Yeluo and Ruoqiao followed without hesitation.Inside the white-lit corridor, twenty-eight images of enlightenment were struck onto the walls by Bensheng's Primordial Colored Light, carrying them swiftly into the distance.On the empty training ground, Lüzang sat alone in the full lotus position.The turbulent energy around him was carried into the boundless black clouds by a slender, swirling wind column rising before him into the sky. The darkness stealing the sun and sky was an excellent
deterrent to all life. Under heaven, there was no one left to oppose him.He only needed to wait for that guy to appear.The silent wait made every moment of time exceptionally clear. Just when had he grown accustomed to solitude?Was it when Shemen excitedly told him about Bensheng's "Sacred Light of the Earth" title?Was it when he expelled all distracting thoughts, defeated all disciples in the Hall Exam, but unexpectedly learned the truth that Bensheng had been deliberately removed from the list?Or was it from the very beginning, he had always been alone?Actually, he didn't crave the answer that much anymore; it was just a thought for idle times. Besides, someone had already arrived."...Why is it you?"The bloodthirsty curved blade seemed even darker in the dim light. Shuda stretched his arms, saying impatiently, "I didn't expect the one causing all this to be you, either!"Shakra put on his five-fingered golden claw armor, his gaze fixed sternly on Lüzang. "He's not easy to deal with. Don't be rash."The Pharmacist, following behind them, looked utterly horrified, his medicine box dropping from his hand in shock. "L-Lüzang?!"Shuda pulled him behind for protection. "Stay back." After instructing him, he glanced sideways at Shakra and grinned. "Well, there's still you. Never thought I'd join forces with you one day. Hey, don't drag me down because you haven't fought in too long!"Shakra declared solemnly, "This battle is to reclaim the sun and sky for the common people.""No need to tell me that!"Shuda charged at the slender wind column first. He spun sideways, his curved blade swinging with momentum, aiming to destroy the black clouds in one strike.Lüzang remained standing still, doing nothing, yet sharp winds erupted from the ground, rising vertically. Shuda tilted his head back, dodging nimbly.In that momentary evasion, he noticed the distorted air. "Wind blades?" Another gust assaulted him, and alarm bells rang in his mind. It felt as if the air from all directions had suddenly stopped circulating. Formless wind sealed all paths of retreat.Five streaks of golden light flashed, emitting a piercing screech. Shakra rushed forward, spreading his fingers to claw at the wind wall trapping Shuda.
The air twisted, revealing a gap. Shuda's eyes lit up. "Move!" He swung his curved blade, cleaving through the wind wall with immense force.Retreating several zhang to maintain distance, the two reassessed Lüzang, no longer underestimating him.Shakra roared, his twin claws smashing into the ground. Hundred-zhang fissures snaked like dragons and serpents, crawling towards Lüzang's location.A small mass of cloud suddenly squeezed out from the black clouds and descended. As it drew closer, the Pharmacist could see clearly."Is that... crows?!" he cried out in shock. "The sun-blotting black clouds... are actually crows?"The descending crows, fearless of death, plunged directly into the fissures in the ground, filling them with their shattered bodies.Such a massive flock of crows made even the experienced Shakra break out in a cold sweat.And Lüzang finally moved.He raised his hand gently. Shuda shuddered violently, flying forward against his will."Shuda!"The rapid flight stopped abruptly. Shuda felt as if his internal organs were twisted together. But more urgently, he found himself sucked right before Lüzang.Black feathers began to float up from his skin all over his body. The feathers gradually coalesced into individual crows, flying upwards. A massive wave of vertigo hit him. Shuda was terrified."Th-this is... you're siphoning off my spiritual power?!"Lüzang's pupils shifted slightly. Time seemed to return to the day of the Comprehender selection."Wait a moment," he said to Shemen, who had come to take him to the Main Shrine, and had her take him to the dungeon.With their current spiritual powers, avoiding the Imperial Constabulary's watch was effortless.Before entering the Hall Exam, he suddenly wanted to see his mentor, who had meticulously nurtured him for so many years, now a prisoner: North Gate.Prison life hadn't diminished the noble young master's appearance in the slightest. He gazed calmly in the direction Lüzang came, not surprised at all."You've come." North Gate still wore that faint smile, as if he had
already known the future, anticipated his visit.Lüzang's heart held even more doubts, but the more so, the less he intended to ask. Even if North Gate truly cultivated the Power of Destiny, even if he had indeed suppressed Bensheng's abilities, it didn't matter.He refused to believe he would lose to Bensheng."'The return to origin is of one nature, though the expedient means are many.'"As Lüzang turned to leave, North Gate suddenly uttered this quietly, profoundly.He paid no heed. But when he finally experienced Bensheng's strength and panicked in solitude, he couldn't help but whisper this verse.The plants and flowers behind him withered completely, transforming into a flock of pitch-black crows that swirled around him.He actually craved power so much... Then simply obtain all power, until he rivaled the heavens.Shuda's consciousness gradually faded. He suspected he would die here from spiritual power loss. And Shakra's golden armor barged into his blurred vision at that moment."Don't... come over..."An extremely bright light flew into his peripheral vision, but he had already closed his eyes and couldn't see it.The Primordial Colored Light flew across the distance, enveloping Shuda entirely, causing the floating black feathers to return to his body.Lüzang turned his gaze towards the person approaching with light steps.