The great land of the West was filled with yellow sand that blotted the sky.
A lonely figure, barefoot, walked step by step across this barren, desolate earth.
He wore the plainest gray monk's robe, his brows and eyes lowered. It was Duobao.
Ever since the day he had transformed into a Buddha, he had not lingered, but had traveled west alone.
He had no destination. He simply wandered through the West, tempering his own Buddhist dharma.
Just then, atop a sand dune ahead, a beam of golden light flared.
The Buddhist light was peaceful and auspicious. A figure draped in a kasaya, prayer beads in hand, appeared out of thin air and blocked his path.
When the monk saw Duobao, he pressed his palms together and bowed.
"Eldest Senior Brother."
Duobao's footsteps finally stopped.
He slowly raised his head and looked at the face before him, both familiar and strange. On that calm face, not the slightest ripple appeared.
"Long Ear."
He softly uttered the name.
Once, he had been an immortal of Jie Sect, one of the Seven Attendant Immortals. Now, however, he was already a Buddha of the West.
"Eldest Senior Brother, leave."
"You and I both understand Saint Taiqing's schemes."
"Why must you come here to be this chess piece, letting others push you around?"
"This place does not suit you. Go back east. Do not come to the West again."
"We are now disciples of Buddhism. All that happened in the past is like passing clouds and smoke. Why must you come here and only add to both your troubles and ours?"
His words sounded sincere and heartfelt, filled with concern for his former eldest senior brother.
Yet beneath that sorrowful, bitter exterior, Duobao saw a trace of deep fear.
He was afraid.
Afraid to