Mountain peaks soared, streams wound through the land, clouds hung thick, and the wind blew fiercely.
Thousand Buddha Temple was famous throughout the world for its thousand Buddhas. Nine hundred and ninety-nine Buddha statues were hidden among the mountain forests and sheer cliffs. Some had been carved from strange rocks, some were protruding peaks, and some were even thousand-year-old trees. Some resembled Buddhas in form, while others resembled them in spirit. It all depended on the viewer.
Traveling through the mountains and waters in search of a connection with the Buddha was what pilgrims most loved to do after praying for their heart's desires in the main hall.
Moreover, searching for the Buddha statues was an extreme test of intelligence and eyesight. Some people racked their brains and could find only dozens. Some spent several months and managed to find hundreds. The famous monk Zhidu Han was said to have visited all nine hundred and ninety-nine statues in a single night, causing a sensation in the capital. Yet even after cultivating on White Cloud Mountain for many years, he still failed to find the thousandth Buddha statue.
Some said that the thousandth Buddha statue was merely a bluff, that the senior monks of Thousand Buddha Temple were making a mystery of things to attract people to satisfy their curiosity.
Yet several hundred years later, the Buddhist master Fayin came to pay his respects to the Buddhas. He visited all nine hundred and ninety-nine statues in half a day, then spent another half day finding the thousandth statue. He immediately cast off his mortal body and ascended as an immortal. He rose into the ranks of the immortals before countless witnesses, becoming a miracle of the Divine Continent.
Only then did the people of the world believe that the senior monks