"Hahahahaha!"
Miao Tathagata roared with laughter, the sound deafening, arrogant and domineering. His laughter caused a golden Great Sun to burst forth with radiance as if illuminating the earth, made that golden Buddha statue seem to awaken its sacred nature as if the Buddha's Dharma was boundless, and caused the countless Buddhas in the sky to chant scriptures and bow in worship as if all Buddhas were returning to their source. Even this Buddha Realm of Miaofa Posuo began to undergo infinite transformations.
After his laughter subsided, Miao Tathagata swept his gaze over and stared at Cang Yan sitting within the pavilion, shouting loudly, "This seat intends to defy fate and change destiny! This seat intends to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin! What will you do about it?"
What will you do?
Nothing.
From the moment Miao Tathagata appeared, Cang Yan had already guessed the purpose of his visit.
All talk of resolving confusion or offering guidance was merely an excuse.
The true purpose of this fellow's visit was only one thing.
That was to clearly tell Genggu Wuming that he, Miao Tathagata, intended to defy fate and ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, thereby probing Genggu Wuming's attitude.
Yes.
Coming to probe Genggu Wuming's attitude—this was Miao Tathagata's true purpose.
After all, Genggu Wuming was the embodiment of Causality and the emissary of Fate. If Miao Tathagata wished to defy fate and ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, then Genggu Wuming's existence was an insurmountable mountain he could not bypass. In other words, if he wished to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, he would have to ask whether Genggu Wuming agreed or not.
At least, that was how Miao Tathagata saw it.
Cang Yan knew this, and Genggu Wuming understood it even more clearly.
Genggu Wuming spoke softly, "Miao Tathagata, you should return."
"Celestial Secrets Empress," Miao Tathagata said, "You know the purpose of this seat's visit. If you do not answer this seat's question, this seat will not return."
"If you wish to know my attitude, then I can answer you now: I have no attitude whatsoever."
"No attitude whatsoever? What does that mean? I hope the Celestial Secrets Empress will speak plainly!"
At this moment, Genggu Wuming raised her head and looked at Miao Tathagata, speaking sincerely, "What my attitude is, even I myself do not know. How can I speak plainly to you about it?"
"Oh?" Miao Tathagata stared at Genggu Wuming, his pair of golden eyes burning with sacred flames. He seemed to be discerning the truth of these words, and also seemed to be pondering their meaning.
Just then, Cang Yan suddenly asked, "Little monk, is Genggu Wuming's attitude really that important to you?"
"Of course!"
"I don't think so." Cang Yan poured herself a drink and smiled as she spoke, "If you truly wish to defy fate and ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, what stands before you now is not Genggu Wuming, but these Three Thousand Great Daos."
She paused, then continued, "If you wish to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, you must slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos. Will they willingly allow you to slaughter them? Will your old rival, the Radiant Emperor of the Great Sun, agree? Will Lord Black Mountain agree? Will Patriarch Green Lantern agree? And those ancestral patriarchs of the Sacred Lands... will they agree?"
"Furthermore, you're not the only one who wants to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, right? Not to mention others, which of those ancestral patriarchs in the Gui Xu isn't coveting the True Lord of Original Sin? How long have you cultivated your Original Sin Dharmakaya? The Original Sin Dharmakayas of those Gui Xu patriarchs have all existed for endless eons."
"Heh." A trace of wildly arrogant amusement curved at the corner of Miao Tathagata's mouth, as if he looked down upon all these experts Cang Yan mentioned. He said proudly, "They are utterly insignificant to this seat. This seat only wishes to know the Celestial Secrets Empress's attitude!"
"Well, well." Miao Tathagata's words greatly surprised Cang Yan. She looked him up and down seriously as he sat upon the palm of the golden Buddha statue, saying, "Little monk, I know you've always been arrogant, but I never imagined... you've reached such a level of arrogance that you don't even put the ancestral patriarchs of heaven and earth in your eyes anymore?"
"Empress Langya, if this seat couldn't even deal with them, I wouldn't have specially made this trip today to pay my respects to the Celestial Secrets Empress!"
"That's true as well." Cang Yan thought carefully and realized this logic held. In her view, if Miao Tathagata wished to defy fate and ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, he couldn't possibly be unaware of what terrifying existences he would be facing as enemies.
Yet even so, Miao Tathagata had still come.
What did this mean?
Could he truly deal with those existences?
Was that possible?
Cang Yan thought it rather impossible. No! Not just rather impossible, but fundamentally impossible.
She admitted that Miao Tathagata possessed profound Buddha attainments, and his strength was absolutely unfathomably deep—even she couldn't gauge its depths. However, the experts of the Three Thousand Great Daos were no weaklings either. Far from being weak, each could be called divinely powerful and vast in ability. The Radiant Emperor of the Great Sun of the Immortal Dao, Patriarch Blood River of the Demonic Dao, Grandmother Black Mountain of the Demonic Dao, and Ghost Emperor Green Lantern of the Ghost Dao were all unfathomable existences, no weaker—and likely stronger—than Miao Tathagata.
Not to mention the experts from the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, plus the even more terrifying experts from the Sacred Lands, and additionally that group of horrifying existences in the Gui Xu who all coveted the True Lord of Original Sin.
Even if Miao Tathagata's capabilities reached heaven, even if he possessed world-destroying power, he couldn't possibly deal with so many experts.
Forget one Miao Tathagata—even ten, a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand Miao Tathagatas might not be able to handle them.
Was Miao Tathagata bluffing?
Cang Yan thought about it and felt it didn't seem like it. Bluffing didn't seem to offer Miao Tathagata any benefit.
But if he wasn't bluffing, did he truly have confidence to deal with so many experts and ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin?
Cang Yan thought and thought, pondered and pondered, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand what gave Miao Tathagata the right to be so wildly arrogant, or what gave him such immense confidence!
"Celestial Secrets Empress, this seat only wants one word from you." Miao Tathagata said, "That is all."
"I have already said all that needs to be said. Whether you believe it or not, my words remain: I have no attitude, and I do not know what my attitude is."
"Heh!" Miao Tathagata laughed lightly, then nodded, "Good! Since the Celestial Secrets Empress says so, this seat will not insist further."
As he spoke, Miao Tathagata slowly stood up, pressed his palms together in prayer, and stared at Genggu Wuming as he continued, "This seat has heard that the Celestial Secrets Empress does not involve herself in worldly affairs, does not administer justice, and in this lifetime only guides those destined by fate. I hope the Celestial Secrets Empress will not disappoint this seat."
As Miao Tathagata finished speaking, the countless Buddhas in the sky who had been bowing and chanting scriptures began to fade in and out of visibility. The radiant Great Sun also twisted and blurred, and the heaven-propping golden Buddha statue likewise became illusory and indistinct. Miao Tathagata himself grew hazy like smoke and mist, dreamlike and illusory, both real and false.
"The Celestial Secrets Empress, as the embodiment of Causality and emissary of Fate, I hope you will abide by your own Great Dao laws!"
As his voice faded, the countless Buddhas in the sky vanished. The radiance of the Great Sun vanished. The heaven-propping golden Buddha statue vanished. Miao Tathagata likewise vanished.
"Celestial Secrets Empress, an old friend of yours asked this seat to convey his greetings to you. He asked this seat to tell you: he has awakened and returned! Hahahahaha!"