"Everything you've said is merely speculation. Let's set aside for now whether you truly divined countless futures and countless causalities in the Desolate Ancient Era. Even if you did, did those futures and causalities you divined include the existence of anomalies?
You said that the causality of anomalies is chaotic and erroneous. Therefore, their fates cannot be determined and cannot be divined. That's why the future is filled with unknowns."
Cang Yan said softly, "Moreover, when you buried your Lifebound Soul in the Desolate Ancient Era, it might not necessarily have been to escape fate. It could also have been a desperate gamble, betting on whether the existence of anomalies could change fate!"
Cang Yan understood Genggu Wuming, just as Genggu Wuming understood her.
She knew.
The situation within the Desolate Ancient Black Hole was now a complete mess, because anomalies had emerged one after another. What the future fate would be, no one knew, no one was clear, and even the distinction between right and wrong had become somewhat blurred.
Everyone had fallen into a state of confusion, losing their direction, unsure of what to do.
She was like this, and Genggu Wuming was no exception.
Genggu Wuming had also lost her direction within this chaotic Desolate Ancient Black Hole.
Cang Yan did not know how to help Genggu Wuming, nor did she know how to help Genggu Wuming find her own direction. The only thing she knew was that if even Genggu Wuming gave up, then she too could only choose to resign herself to fate.
"Promise me."
Gazing at Genggu Wuming opposite her, Cang Yan said with a solemn and earnest expression, "Take a gamble, alright?"
"And if we lose?"
"If we lose, then we lose. What will be, will be."
Genggu Wuming looked at Cang Yan, just looked at her. After a long while, she nodded and said, "Alright!"
"Haha! Let's have a drink!"
The two drank together, downing several cups in a row.
The tremendous roar that had been heard earlier had long since ceased, and the various Chaotic Currents had also stopped churning and roaring. However, the nine massive Turbulence Vortices entrenched within the Desolate Ancient Black Hole were still slowly rotating, devouring the various currents.
"The Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces have almost fully formed. Shall we go take a look?"
Genggu Wuming glanced at the Nine Palaces gestated by the Desolate Ancient Black Hole and said, "Let's wait a bit longer."
"Wait for what?"
"Wait for a person."
"A person?" Cang Yan asked curiously, "Wait for whom?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Cang Yan immediately sensed something was wrong. Immediately afterward, the Chaotic Currents not far away began to change, also rotating to form a turbulence vortex.
Could it be that the Desolate Ancient Black Hole had formed another palace?
No!
This was not one of the Desolate Ancient Nine Palaces.
Cang Yan could tell this was a technique, and moreover, a grand spatial technique.
Sure enough.
The turbulence vortex grew larger and larger. Through this vortex, one could see a world within a world.
Good heavens!
Someone had actually opened up a spatial passage.
Who could it be?
Driven by curiosity, Cang Yan was about to peer over when a golden radiance bloomed forth.
This was Buddha light.
And it was a sacred, luminous Buddha light.
The Buddha light surged forth from the turbulence vortex, like a great sun slowly rising, its sunlight illuminating heaven and earth. In an instant, it lit up the surroundings brightly, and for a moment, it seemed as if the entire Desolate Ancient Black Hole had become a world of Buddha.
It was truly so.
Everywhere was filled with vast Buddha aura, and even the flowing Chaotic Currents seemed to transform like countless Buddhas filling the sky.
Suddenly.
The sound of sutra chanting came, sacred scriptures falling like snow.
At this moment.
A golden Buddha statue descended from the sky.
This Buddha statue sat cross-legged upon a lotus. The lotus bloomed, as if all things in heaven and earth were transforming, as if all living beings were growing.
Behind the Buddha statue was precisely a great sun illuminating heaven and earth, seemingly representing the sacred and the luminous.
The Buddha statue had one hand raised vertically before its chest, the other resting flat on its knee, its eyes slightly closed.
When this Buddha statue descended, the various scriptures falling like snow transformed into countless Buddhas filling the sky. These Buddhas all had their palms pressed together, kneeling on the ground, paying homage to the Buddha statue.
This was the supreme creation of the Buddha Dao, Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage!
Throughout the ages, those in the Western Heaven Buddha Dao who have comprehended this supreme creation of Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage were exceedingly few.
Da Xing was one.
And besides Da Xing, there was another.
At this very moment, that person sat upon the palm of this enormous Buddha statue. This person wore a Five Buddha Crown, was draped in kasaya robes, wore a necklace of relics, held prayer beads, and sat cross-legged, eyes slightly closed, turning the beads and chanting sutras.
The Five Buddha Crown was carved with five Buddha statues, namely the Immovable Wisdom King, the Subduer of the Three Realms Wisdom King, the Kundali Wisdom King, the Yamantaka Wisdom King, and the Vajrayaksa Wisdom King—precisely the five great Wisdom Kings of the Buddha Dao!
The kasaya robes were covered with sacred scriptures, each scripture transforming like a Buddha statue, eighty-one in total, strikingly similar to the legendary Eighty-One Amitabha Buddhas of the Buddha Dao!
The necklace held thirty-six relics, each one resembling a Vajra relic containing Nirvana fire.
The prayer beads in hand numbered nine, each one like a revolving Bodhi!
Head adorned with the Five Great Wisdom Kings True Buddha Crown.
Body draped in the Great Sun Arhat Kasaya.
Neck hung with Vajra Relics.
Hand holding the Bodhi Nine Prayer Beads.
Each of these existences could be called a supreme treasure of the Buddha Dao, each one possessed boundless Buddha Dharma, each one contained infinite mysteries, and each one could withstand the test of time and space.
Looking across the Western Heaven Buddha Dao, only one person possessed so many such creations.
That was the Western Heaven Buddha Emperor Miao Rulai, who sat upon the great Buddha's golden body, backed by the great sun's radiance!
As is well known.
Miao Rulai is the representative figure of the Western Heaven Buddha Dao, its leading figure, and the one who rules over the eight Buddhist sects.
It is precisely for this reason that he is hailed as the Western Heaven Buddha Emperor.
His title of Buddha Emperor is not a Great Dao Heavenly Mandate.
The Great Dao Heavenly Mandate has three non-bestowals: it does not bestow upon the heavens above, nor upon the earth below, nor upon the Buddha in the middle.
One has seen Immortal Emperors, Demon Emperors, Demon Monarchs, and Ghost Kings, but no one has ever seen a Buddha Monarch, a Buddha King...
That is because since ancient times, the Heavenly Mandate bestowed by the Great Dao has avoided Heaven, Earth, and Buddha.
Heavenly Mandate! Heavenly Mandate!
To put it plainly, it is the mandate of Heaven and Earth. Since it is the name of Heaven and Earth, Heaven and Earth naturally would not bestow it upon themselves.
This is like the imperial courts of the mortal world; the emperor enfeoffs all officials and ministers but never enfeoffs himself.
As for why it also avoids the Buddha Dao.
Opinions vary.
Some say the Buddhist teachings do not speak of Heavenly Mandate, only of causality. Therefore, Buddhism has no Heavenly Mandate, only Arhats, only Bodhisattvas.
Others say the Buddha Dao offended Heaven and Earth, and thus, when Heaven and Earth bestow the Heavenly Mandate, they avoid the Buddha Dao.
Still others say the status of the Buddha Dao is transcendent, so transcendent that Heaven and Earth are not qualified to grant the Buddha Dao a Heavenly Mandate.
Throughout the ages, there have been all sorts of theories.
As for why the Buddha Dao has never received a Heavenly Mandate, to this day there is no definitive answer.
And the reason Miao Rulai is hailed as the Western Heaven Buddha Emperor is because his existence rules over the eight Buddhist sects and dominates the Western Heaven.
Another reason is Miao Rulai's character; he has always been unrestrained and domineering to the extreme.