"Eldest Senior Sister, Junior Brother Meng and I would like to go to Buddha Country," Lu Yang, always honest, reported his plans before leaving.
"You want to go to Buddha Country?"
Yun Zhi took the letter sent from Kaihuang Temple, rather surprised.
She couldn't believe that their master and the second junior brother had such poor reputations in Buddha Country, yet the junior brother could still receive an invitation from a temple there; truly, it was not easy.
She always said that the junior brother was different from their master, having an excellent reputation outside, and was a very outstanding cultivator.
"Then go ahead, but remember to be careful of your safety."
"Do you want to visit Senior Brother Ye Zijin on the way to Buddha Country?" Lu Yang remembered that Senior Brother Ye Zijin often dealt with various temples and had a tough time mixing in Buddha Country.
As Yun Zhi carefully folded the letter and put it back into the envelope, she said, "From the irregular letters sent by your senior brother, it appears he has many enemies and is constantly busy. For safety's sake, it's better not to meet him and avoid drawing fire upon yourself."
Those who could stand against Ye Zijin were at least of the Body Integration Realm, no limit in number; even if Lu Yang was confident in his own cultivation level, he had no confidence in dealing with so many people and using Old Meng as bait in a critical moment would probably be futile.
Thinking of the second junior brother, whom she hadn't seen for a long time but often heard of through the diplomatic language from Buddha Country, Yun Zhi couldn't help but sigh.
"Speaking of which, all four of us learned different things from our master, but your second senior brother, unlike the others, learned only how to draw hatred from our master."
"Your third senior sister is much better; she learned the skill of music from our master. Although she caused some trouble in the Demon Territory, it was also to practice her skills."
"You haven't had much contact with our master, but your skill in swordsmanship is also partly derived from him."
Lu Yang nodded. Indeed, the theories of swordsmanship and the sword moves taught by their master were of great help to him, especially the recently mastered 'Ten Thousand Swords Returning to Origin,' which could be considered one of his trump cards.
Lu Yang was curious, "Then, Eldest Senior Sister, what did you learn from our master?"
He felt that the abilities of Eldest Senior Sister didn't seem to be related to their master. The master's proud swordsmanship was only theoretically learned by the eldest sister, and he had never seen her use hatred-drawing or music skills, so she probably didn't know them either.
"I learned reasoning."
This made Lu Yang even more curious, "What sort of reasoning?"
Yun Zhi, expressionless, said, "A disciple need not be inferior to the master, nor must the master be wiser than the disciple."
"..."
...
"Map of Buddha Country, Introduction to Buddhist teachings..." Lu Yang borrowed some books related to Buddha Country from the Scripture Pavilion, thinking they might be useful.
Buddha Country was relatively closed off, and he didn't know much about it.
"With Immortal Fairy, the founder of Buddhism here, why do you need an introduction to Buddhist teachings?" Fairy Eternity showed the usefulness of her ultimate knowledge at a critical moment, knowing everything.
Considering the identity of Fairy Eternity, Lu Yang decided to bring more Buddhist scriptures.
After leaving the Scripture Pavilion, Meng Jingzhou was waiting for Lu Yang at the door.
"Are you packed and ready to go?"
"Is True Monarch Ma not with you?" Usually, when going out, Meng Jingzhou would bring Old Ma along.
"It had gone back home to the East Sea to visit relatives ten days ago. If we wait for its return, we might miss the Buddha Bathing Festival."
"With our cultivation level, we can easily protect ourselves when we're out and about; we don't need Old Ma either," Meng Jingzhou said cheerfully. Although he had previously shown little interest in the Buddha Country, he was somewhat excited when it came time to set off.
"That's also true."
Outside, both of them barely qualified to establish a First Class Sect and could be considered a major power anywhere.
If they were in the Great Yu Dynasty, they could command wind and rain, and even Body Integration cultivators would have to address them as fellow daoists. They could become the lord of a city, control life and death within it, and turn the city into a state within the state. Commoners trembling upon seeing them would offer up their wives and daughters.
...
"Hello, I'm going to the Buddha Country," Lu Yang handed his identity proof to the government office at the border, waiting for approval.
The official verified Lu Yang's true form, ensuring he was not carrying any smuggled items, and then allowed him to pass smoothly.
"You may pass now."
"Thank you."
This was the border line between Great Xia and the Buddha Country. All cultivators and commoners had to pass through here to reach the Buddha Country.
Lu Yang noticed those lined up behind him waiting for inspection had various appearances: some wore dirty monks' robes and recited scriptures, others were enveloped in black robes showing only an eye with a scar, some had robust physiques carrying thick broadswords, and some hugged delicate wooden boxes and trembled.
Noticing Lu Yang's observation, some responded with a warm smile, others warned with their gaze, and some avoided eye contact, unwilling to look at Lu Yang directly.
It seemed they all had secrets.
Lu Yang easily identified their realms: commoner, Qi Refinement fourth stage, commoner, Qi Refinement second stage...
To avoid the embarrassment of a Great Power walking the earth unrecognized by him, Lu Yang specifically asked Fairy Eternity to check their realms, which matched what he had seen.
Lu Yang held his forehead, wishing they wouldn't all act like each carried a monumental secret, making him unnecessarily anxious.
The two smoothly crossed the border line and flew over a desolate desert. Accompanied by a dizzying sensation, they arrived in the sandy Buddha Country.
"Cough cough, I always knew Buddha Country had a lot of sand, but this is just too much," one commented.
As soon as they set foot in the Buddha Country, a fierce wind whipped up the sand, forcing them to maintain a layer of spiritual essence as a protective barrier just to move normally.
Although the sand blasting their faces wasn't harmful, it was still quite uncomfortable.
"Buddha Country has been established for three hundred thousand years; haven't they thought about planting trees?" Meng Jingzhou, annoyed by the sand, took a deep breath and blew out forcefully, fighting against the wind, clearing the sand in front of them.
A Spirit Transformation Great Power had an extraordinary lung capacity. Lu Yang guessed Old Meng could keep blowing like this for a quarter of an hour.
Unlike the frequently changing dynasties of the Central Continent, Buddha Country, situated on the Western Continent, was essentially founded at the same time as the Great Qian Dynasty, boasting a history of three hundred thousand years.
Buddha Country, established on the foundation of Buddhist faith, had a rather loose structure, unlike Great Xia where decrees were enforced uniformly across all cities; there was strong independence among the cities.
Lu Yang rolled his eyes, "Plant trees? The area of Buddha Country is as vast as Great Xia, covered in sand everywhere. Even if you had Pass Tribulation cultivators running around for a lifetime, they couldn't cover it all with trees. Even an order from the Western Temple wouldn't be effective."
The Western Temple, with its long history, was the largest temple and also the ruler of Buddha Country. For example, the official documents the Seek Dao Sect often received, requesting the return of Ye Zijin, were issued by the Western Temple.
"When the Four Ancient Immortals were shaping the continents, they probably pooled all the deserts from the stars here, along with those uninhabitable stars, bare and sterile, thus forming what is now the Buddha Country. It's already remarkable that it's inhabitable."