"Only when all sentient beings are delivered, can one attain Bodhi; only when the hells are emptied, will I become a Buddha."
This phrase was the profound mystery contained within the string of Buddhist prayer beads that Da Fuzi had given to Gu Qingfeng.
It was also from this phrase that Gu Qingfeng learned Da Fuzi's true identity.
He was none other than the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha of the Great Vow.
Legend had it that in the distant, distant past, the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, witnessing the sentient beings of the Great Dao deeply mired in the fruits of evil, made a grand vow from that moment on: throughout all future kalpas, for all sinful and suffering beings, he would extensively establish expedient means to enable their liberation.
From then on, the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha began one cycle of reincarnation after another. Each cycle was a tribulation, each reincarnation a hardship. He endured countless cycles, countless reincarnations, countless tribulations, all for the sake of delivering all sentient beings.
Back in the Longevity Temple of the Shangqing Sect, the Longevity Elder had told Gu Qingfeng that Da Fuzi had left one step ahead.
At the time, Gu Qingfeng truly thought Da Fuzi had left due to some urgent matter. It wasn't until he comprehended the mystery within the prayer beads that he realized Da Fuzi hadn't simply left; he had embarked on yet another cycle of reincarnation.
When he heard Da Xing the Mad Monk speak of a prophet being born within the Buddhist path in the One-Slice-of-Heaven Forbidden Zone, he immediately realized this prophet must be the reincarnated Da Fuzi.
The Gu Qingfeng of today, having comprehended the Buddhist principles of Great Freedom, Great Extinction, Great Compassion, and Great Illusion, had transcended sentient beings, transcended truth and falsehood, transcended the Great Dao, and transcended life and death.
Although he could not, like Genggu Wuming, know the past and future, hold the reins of fate and karma, deduce the cosmos and primordial chaos, or perceive the mysteries of heaven and earth,
He could still deduce some matters within this heaven and earth.
He understood clearly that only the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha of Great Compassion and Great Vow, who endured countless tribulations solely to deliver all living beings, would have the qualification to reincarnate and become a prophet.
And so, Horse King drove the Nine-Headed Flame Cloud Crimson Blaze Tiger Grand Carriage as it sped through the vast, boundless void of the Great Desolate, while Gu Qingfeng sat in his chair, resting with his eyes closed.
Having nothing better to do, Gu Qingfeng thought of entering the Illusory Land to take a look. With a thought, he entered the Illusory Land in the form of a Spiritual Incarnation.
The Illusory Land was like the Great Desolate—boundless, infinite, and vast beyond measure.
The difference was,
The Great Desolate contained the myriad heavens and worlds, shimmering with faint light like stars in the night sky.
Whereas the Illusory Land had nothing but endless darkness.
To this day, Gu Qingfeng still didn't know what kind of existence this so-called Illusory Land was, or what relationship it had with the Era of No Dao.
Sometimes he even suspected that the Illusory Land wasn't within the heaven and earth of the Great Desolate at all. No!
Not only was it not within the heaven and earth of the Great Desolate, it might not exist at all. The Illusory Land might just be a spiritual world of the Era of No Dao.
If that weren't the case, why could only those related to the Era of No Dao enter?
And why couldn't one enter with their physical body, only as a Spiritual Incarnation?
Illusion was illusion—inherently absurd, unfounded, elusive, and indiscernible between truth and falsehood. Who could distinguish it clearly?
He couldn't.
Even though Gu Qingfeng had comprehended the Buddhist principle of Great Illusion and saw through all truth and falsehood in heaven and earth, he still could not see through the truth and falsehood of this Era of No Dao.
Hmm?
Gu Qingfeng had just entered the Illusory Land as a Spiritual Incarnation and was thinking about where to wander when he suddenly noticed a glimmer of light in the endless darkness ahead. The light also shimmered with a faint glow, like a star in the night sky.
What was this situation?
Could it be that this Illusory Land, like the Great Desolate, had gestated some spatial world?
Unclear.
Curious, Gu Qingfeng immediately set off towards it.
This Illusory Land was truly bizarre. Not only did it lack the concept of time, it seemed to lack the concept of space as well. Gu Qingfeng, using his Spiritual Incarnation to speed along here, couldn't employ any divine abilities. He could only rely on the Spiritual Incarnation to move forward, feeling like a fish swimming in the vast ocean. While it wasn't particularly strenuous, nor did he feel any discomfort, it still felt strange.
He swam for an unknown length of time. As he drew closer and closer to that glimmer of light, Gu Qingfeng gradually saw it clearly.
That glimmer of light was interwoven with black and white, swirling madly like a vortex, and changing wildly as it spun.
Gu Qingfeng took a glance. It felt like some spatial world was gestating. Looking more carefully, it didn't seem so. It seemed more like space was twisting, as if about to tear apart.
No!
It wasn't space twisting either.
Because this Illusory Land had no space to begin with.
Then why did it feel like space was twisting?
Gu Qingfeng pondered that this probably wasn't space twisting, but rather the spiritual world of the Illusory Land itself twisting.
What surprised Gu Qingfeng even more was that when he arrived here, he was astonished to find that seventy or eighty Spiritual Incarnations had already gathered in the vicinity.
Good heavens!
Although Gu Qingfeng had seen other Spiritual Incarnations in the Illusory Land before, it was usually one or two at most. This was the first time he had seen so many Spiritual Incarnations.
Only those related to the Era of No Dao could enter the Illusory Land. Could it be that these seventy or eighty Spiritual Incarnations were all, damn it, people of the No Dao?
Within the area,
The seventy or eighty Spiritual Incarnations were a bizarre assortment. Some Spiritual Incarnations resembled ferocious lions and tigers, others like firebirds, others like evil dragons, some like golden-armored giants the size of mountains, others like delicate, clinging young maidens, some like bright and pure sages, and others like dark, turbid demons.
Although a person's Spiritual Incarnation could take any form, regardless of what form the Spiritual Incarnation took, its spiritual essence would never change. In other words, as long as one perceived the other party's spiritual essence, they could recognize them at a glance, no matter what form their Spiritual Incarnation took.
Therefore,
Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to visualize any particular Spiritual Incarnation. His Spiritual Incarnation had always been simple and had never changed—forever a person, an ordinary person.
Gu Qingfeng looked at the seventy or eighty Spiritual Incarnations in the area. Truth be told, these Spiritual Incarnations all looked quite powerful. Not only were their auras imposing, one surpassing the other, but their spiritual power was also formidable, one stronger than the next.
These Spiritual Incarnations probably didn't know each other. If they did, they wouldn't be standing apart from each other, each holding their own ground. They all looked very cautious, as if highly vigilant and wary, and were all on guard against the other Spiritual Incarnations.
When Gu Qingfeng's Spiritual Incarnation arrived here, it didn't attract anyone's attention, because he wasn't the only latecomer. Not long after he arrived, two or three more Spiritual Incarnations appeared.
"Fellow Daoist, do you still remember this old woman?"
Suddenly,
A spiritual voice transmission came. Puzzled, Gu Qingfeng looked around and discovered an old woman with white hair, dressed in white and leaning on a dragon-headed cane, staring at him with a sinister gaze.
This white-haired old woman looked sinister, like a mysterious old witch, and the kind that came from hell at that.
Her old face was as pale and frightening as withered tree bark, without a trace of blood. Her eyes were pitch-black, like two dark holes, with white flames burning within. Her hands had no flesh at all, just skeletal claws. With a smile that didn't reach her eyes, she looked quite eerie.