“Wuwu, you constantly speak of severing the self. But after you sever it, what will remain of you? What will you be? How will you exist?”
The question hung in the air, Minghui Master’s gaze fixed intently on Wuwu.
If the foundation is gone, what can stand? To Minghui Master, Wuwu’s notion of severing the self to forge a new path seemed utterly absurd. The ‘self’ encompassed the past, present, and future. If the past and present were severed, could the future truly exist?
Wuwu replied calmly, “I am I. I think, therefore I am.”
For now, the identity of Lu Xuan’s fifth disciple was all he needed to stand firm in the endless river of time.
Wuwu’s answer caught Minghui Master off guard. He frowned, wondering if Wuwu had already found a new foundation after severing the self.
Minghui Master pressed on, “What is Buddha?”
Wuwu answered, “Buddha is Buddha. I am Buddha. Buddha is I.”
Minghui Master challenged, “If you are Buddha, why travel thousands of miles to seek Ling Mountain Temple?”
Wuwu said, “The Dao of Causality works in unseen ways. My coming to Ling Mountain Temple is both cause and effect. I now offer you a choice: a good cause or a bitter consequence?”
Pfft!
Minghui Master immediately spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. He was defeated! Wuwu’s Buddhist Nature/Enlightenment had far surpassed his own. It wasn't just a difference in cultivation realm; a tidal wave of shock surged through Minghui Master’s heart as his aura grew incredibly weak.
Yes, Wuwu had already stepped into the Supreme Realm. How could his Buddhist attainment be inferior?
Minghui Master’s Buddhist Debate had failed, leaving him severely injured. Behind him, several high monks rushed to support him. “Master Wuwu, since you’ve won, why inflict harm?”
Wuwu replied indifferently, “Bring out the Nirvana Scripture.”
A grey-robed elder’s face contorted in anger. “Delusional! You’ve injured Minghui Master, and you still dare to demand our scripture? Do you truly believe that by stepping into the Supreme Realm, you are invincible across the Starry Sky?”
Wuwu remained unperturbed, ignoring the grey-robed elder. With a mere thought, he extended his consciousness towards Ling Mountain Temple’s Scripture Repository. A colossal, ethereal hand materialized, reaching out. He had already entered the Supreme Realm and had extended courtesy to Ling Mountain Temple by engaging in a debate. He was not an unreasonable man.
Boom!
Terrifying Supreme Pressure, vast as an abyss and deep as the sea, bore down upon the Scripture Repository. The power of a Supreme! No one could resist it. Seeing this, Minghui Master spat out another mouthful of essence blood.
“Pfft!”
He seemed to lose all composure, roaring, “What are you doing? Are you trying to destroy Ling Mountain Temple?!”
Wuwu paid Minghui Master no mind. To someone of his strength, all the seals and restrictions within Ling Mountain Temple were as good as nonexistent. Yet, Wuwu was not one to abuse his strength. His sole purpose was to merely observe the Nirvana Scripture.
Boom!
The ethereal hand plunged directly into the Scripture Repository, retrieving a jade slip containing the Nirvana Scripture. An incredibly ancient aura emanated from the jade slip, accompanied by dazzling divine radiance. Countless seals and restrictions flickered across its surface. Wuwu’s eyes shot forth a beam of light, effortlessly piercing through all the protective enchantments.
Beside him, Minghui Master and the others watched, utterly astonished. Terrifying! The current Wuwu had reached a height they could never hope to attain.
Wuwu immediately sat cross-legged, his Divine Sense delving into the ancient jade slip, observing the Nirvana Scripture. “Past, future, and present… severing the old self to become the new self…”
Endless, profound Buddhist mysteries surged around him. Soon, brilliant Dao patterns rotated and pulsed across Wuwu’s body, and a thousand-zhang-tall Great Buddha Phantom manifested directly behind him. He had entered a state of Enlightenment/Epiphany.
“Who am I?”
“Sever the past!”
“…”
Within a million-mile radius centered on Ling Mountain Temple, all living beings were startled. Wuwu’s aura was too terrifying! Those Supreme-tier demon factions, who had initially planned to plunder his Dao Fruit once he embarked on his journey west, now prostrated themselves on the ground. Wuwu was invincible!
At this moment, Minghui Master turned to the numerous Buddhist cultivators behind him, his expression grim. “Summon the Ancestors!”
Summon the Ancestors!
Wuwu was no longer the Wuwu of the past, and Ling Mountain Temple was no longer the Ling Mountain Temple of old! Their backing was the Bodhi Temple, supported by Seven-star Supreme powerhouses!
Soon, several robed elders sat cross-legged, their hands forming Spirit Seals, chanting incantations. Before them, Ancestral Artifacts pulsed with golden patterns, beginning to communicate with the Outer World.
Within the Bodhi Temple, several Old Ancestors who had ascended from Ling Mountain Temple were immediately alerted. In previous epochs, Wuwu’s Buddhist Dao Fruit had already been incredibly powerful. They had coveted his Dao Fruit, but when they attained Supreme, Wuwu had already reincarnated, and with the Heavenly Dao’s protection, they couldn’t plunder it.
But times had changed. The Tai Chu Realm’s World Upgrade had exposed it to the Starry Sky. They could no longer hold back!
Xiuzhi Master, a Three-star Supreme Old Ancestor, sought assistance from several powerhouses within the Bodhi Temple. He informed them of the situation in the Tai Chu Realm.
A grey-robed elder from Bodhi Temple remarked, “To attain Supreme before Minghui in the Tai Chu Realm, Wuwu’s talent is indeed heaven-defying.”
Xiuzhi Master added, “He must have refined all seven epochs’ worth of Dao Fruit to break through to Supreme. In those seven epochs, Wuwu reached Three-rotation Quasi-Dao Supreme, just a step away from attaining Supreme! His current realm has likely directly reached Three-star Supreme, or even higher!”
The grey-robed elder scoffed, “What if he refined seven lifetimes of Dao Fruit? As long as we refine Wuwu, those Dao Fruits will still be ours!”
Another white-haired Buddhist cultivator chimed in, “Indeed, Wuwu is a born Buddhist cultivator! His Dao Fruit would greatly benefit us.”
Moments later, several powerful Buddhist cultivators emerged from Bodhi Temple. The leader was a Six-star Supreme! The group, along with Xiuzhi Master, immediately traversed the Starry Sky, hurtling towards the Tai Chu Realm.
Meanwhile, above Ling Mountain Temple, Wuwu remained in Enlightenment/Epiphany. His body shimmered with blazing divine radiance, like a golden sun atop Ling Mountain Temple—another colossal sun in the Western Desert.
Time passed quickly. Half a day! A full day! Five days later, Wuwu was still in Enlightenment/Epiphany! His aura continued to surge, and he directly broke through to Four-star Supreme mid-stage! Wuwu wasn’t just comprehending the Nirvana Scripture; he was also integrating the Wuwu Scripture, the latter being of a far higher tier than the former. He was fusing them!
Suddenly, a thunderous boom echoed, followed by a shattering crack! The void tore open, and space twisted. A colossal cloud ship, inscribed with golden Buddhist Script/Runes, shot out from the spatial rift. A terrifying, overwhelming Supreme Pressure poured down from the cloud ship, an aura of Supreme power, and not just from one individual! Its oppressive force far surpassed Wuwu’s own. A single star, a single world! This time, a Six-star Supreme had arrived!
Soon, Xiuzhi Master stepped out from the cloud ship, his body radiating golden light. Behind him, several other Buddhist cultivators slowly emerged.
Thud! Thud!
The numerous Buddhist cultivators of Ling Mountain Temple, led by Minghui Master, all knelt on the ground.
“Greetings, Old Ancestor!”
“Greetings, Old Ancestor!”
Xiuzhi Master nodded and looked at the elders behind him. “Wuwu is undergoing a transformation!”
The elders nodded. “We’ll wait for him to break through, then seize his Dao Fruit!”