Chapter 2494: A Phantom, Or A Dream
Ye Futian stopped cultivating in retreat and began to comprehend the Buddhist scriptures. In Spirit Mountain, this holy land of Buddhism, he went to the library every day to read and study Buddhist scriptures. Sometimes, he would also listen to the preaching of other great Buddhas.
He didn’t even obsess about cultivation anymore and didn’t deliberately cling onto the goal of breaking the realm.
The study of Buddhist scriptures could indeed quiet a person’s mind and allow the person to enter into a wonderful state of mind that was free from any distraction. As Hua Qingqing said, during the Buddha’s cultivation once upon a time, sometimes some Buddhist scriptures that could not be understood for hundreds of years would suddenly become so apparent that enlightenment was obtained in a day.
Perhaps one day, he would be able to do the same.
Time flew by, and it had been more than ten years since Ye Futian arrived in the Western World. During this time, many stories had taken place in the land of the Divine Prefecture and the land of the Original Realm, but none of them had anything to do with him. Back then, he was public enemy number one in the Divine Prefecture, with many people wanting to kill him. He had no choice but to seal himself inside Ziwei Segmentum. He could not step outside of it. Afterward, while delivering Hua Qingqing to the Western World, he also came for the trials.
No matter what happened in the outside world, the Ziwei Segmentum remained the same, becoming a world contained within itself. It had almost cut off all contact with the outside world. This was also a strategy to protect itself in times of turmoil.
Here, he was devoted to cultivating and aimed to improve himself as quickly as possible. If he could not elevate his cultivation level, there would be no point for him to return, as he would still be unable to move around at will. Also, there would be nothing but dead ends for him—just the same as before.
Donghuang the Great had personally intervened, and the teacher had negotiated for his safety. Since Donghuang the Great did not personally pursue the matter with him, it was precisely for this reason that the teacher would have no way to interfere in the future. Now, everything was dependent on himself.
On this day, Ye Futian was reading the scriptures in the library. He was focused and studied in earnest. Not far away, there was a slight rustling noise. Someone was sweeping in the library. Ye Futian didn’t pay any attention to it and continued to immerse himself in his own little world.
It was not until the monk sweeping in the library walked next to Ye Futian that Ye Futian became aware of his presence. He sat there and looked up with a smile. “Grandmaster Bitter Zen.”
This monk was actually a caretaker by the name of Bitter Zen. Ye Futian had discovered over the years that even though he was already a great Buddha himself and respected by all, Bitter Zen was still responsible for the menial tasks on Spirit Mountain.
“Benefactor Ye has been hard at work in the study of the Scriptures these past years. Have you found any insights?” Bitter Zen smiled and inquired, his right hand raised in front of his forehead as a sign of courtesy.
“The Buddhist scriptures are extensive and profound. Many concepts are obscure and difficult to understand. Although I have read it, it is difficult to truly comprehend,” Ye Futian responded with a smile. “Among them, the most immediate thought is that while Buddhists cultivated in Buddhism, very few of them have mentioned the cultivation of ‘the Way.’ Are Buddhist methods and the Great Path one and the same?”
“What is the Way?” Bitter Zen asked.
“The sun and the moon shine with no one to light them; the stars follow their own patterns with no one to arrange them; animals self-produce with no one to create them; the wind blows with no one to fan it; water flows with no one to push it; plants grow with no one to tend them… The Way is rule and order. It is the foundation of all things,” Ye Futian responded.
“What Benefactor Ye said is all true. Therefore, people in the world are in constant contact with the Way at all times, and everything is regulated by the Way. If so, why does one need to cultivate?” Bitter Zen asked.
Ye Futian’s brows furrowed. He said with a smile, “The grandmaster’s question has confounded me.”
“Is the Way tangible or intangible? The sun, the moon, and the stars are all considered the Way, just like the wind, the fire, the thunder, and the lightning are the Way. However, why do you think a cultivator can create all these phenomena directly?” Bitter Zen asked again.
Ye Futian appeared thoughtful for a moment. He then looked at Bitter Zen and asked, “Grandmaster, please elucidate!”
“Amitabha.” Bitter Zen clasped his hands together and replied, “How can little monk truly understand the truth of the world? Perhaps this is what they mean by ‘form is emptiness and emptiness is form.’”
“Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself is form!” Ye Futian murmured, and there seemed to be Buddhist scriptures, which had imprinted themselves in his mind, turning into runes of scriptures.
“Like a tiny drop of dew or a bubble floating in a stream, like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream, so is all conditioned existence to be seen!” Ye Futian murmured, remembering a saying in the Buddhist scriptures. After Bitter Zen heard this, he bowed to Ye Futian and said, “It is good.”
“From this perspective, Shenjia the Great Emperor has already seen through all things in the world.” Ye Futian recalled the words he saw when he inherited the divine body of Shenjia the Great Emperor once upon a time. There was no such thing as the Way in the world.
Ye Futian got up and put his hands together in a salute to Bitter Zen, saying, “Thank you, grandmaster, for your direction.”
“Little monk didn’t really say anything. It was Benefactor Ye yourself who had come to the conclusion,” Bitter Zen replied.
“I will take my leave now.” Ye Futian didn’t say anything more and politely bid his goodbye as he turned to leave. Bitter Zen clasped his hands together while watching him depart. In truth, he really did not do anything nor said anything. Everything was designed by fate. If Ye Futian had obtained enlightenment, it was only because he was already very close to it.
Perhaps, there would be another powerful figure emerging from the Divine Prefecture in the future.
In this world, since Donghuang the Great and Emperor Ye Qing, there had not been anyone else who had proven the Way for many years. Who would be the next?
Perhaps, this was also the pursuit of every top figure: enter the Imperial Realm, following in the footsteps of Donghuang the Great and Emperor Ye Qing.
After Ye Futian walked out of the library, he disappeared right from where he was and reappeared on the ancient peak. He walked to the edge of the cliff on the peak, looking over the sea of clouds, and closed his eyes.
In the world of the Life Palace, Ye Futian looked at the radiant scenery in front of him, the sun and the moon in the sky. The stars, also, were shining brightly. Those who had been cultivating with him had completed the world of the Life Palace, as it was gradually becoming ever closer to reality.
But at this moment, only those few words echoed in his mind.
There was no such thing as the Way in the world.
Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream; like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud; a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream… So is all conditioned existence to be seen…
What was reality?
Was all that was in front of him reality?
Why did they come into being?
Ye Futian watched all this quietly and fell into deep contemplation. The breeze passed him by, and the sun disappeared as if blown away by the wind, followed by the moon and then the stars… Everything in this world seemed to be blown away by the wind. In a blink of an eye, everything had turned into emptiness.
In just a few moments, the whole world seemed to have lost its color, and everything ceased to exist. Or rather, it seemed as if nothing had never existed—it was all nothingness, an illusion.
The world of the Life Palace seemed to have returned to its origin, and everything was like it was before. In the entire world, only the Ancient Tree of the World was swaying in the gentle breeze. Some branches and leaves were flying on the swaying tree, drifting towards this world of emptiness. Gradually, the aura of the Ancient Tree of the World permeated the entire world of the Life Palace, until it was filled with nothing.
This aura filled his body through hundreds of meridians, extending throughout all his limbs.
In the world of the Life Palace, Ye Futian was observing everything. With a thought, the sun, the moon, and the stars came into being instantly. With just his mind, he seemed to have created a world. He smiled, and he moved his mind again. Everything disappeared once more. It seemed to have proven that Buddhist saying.
The Buddhist Scriptures were indeed all-encompassing. What great wisdom was imparted by the Buddhas who wrote these scriptures!
Ye Futian finally had a sense of completion at this moment as he suddenly passed through the threshold. At this point, he had finally reached the Ninth-Realm in cultivation.
The aura of the Ancient Tree flowed to the outside world. At this moment, above the sky, a terrifying atmosphere was breeding. Ye Futian, who was inside the Life Palace, immediately had a look of caution on his face!