All Tribulations Are Suffering; One Boat Carries All Across

The Buddha's memories—or perhaps the scenes of a dream—crumbled away like bubbles and phantoms. In the end, each drifting fragment turned into a Bodhi Tree leaf, pure and free. The world between heaven and earth was vast and desolate, like a lightless darkness. All that could be seen was a world as clear as water.

Ripples formed with every step beneath his feet. Ahead, he could see a figure's back.

Qi WuHuo stood behind him, sword in hand.

The young man sitting cross-legged opened his eyes, warmth in their depths. "You've come."

Qi WuHuo had already understood the many changes between past and present, and why the Buddha had entered Nirvana so long ago—

The Buddha had chosen to sit beneath the Bodhi Tree and enter Nirvana, turning himself into a boat that spanned the ages. He carried the events of the final tribulation and the many changes of later generations back to the past, where the events of the past would then be passed down in turn. Thus a closed loop was formed, as though by ritual.

Yet before this, Qi WuHuo had never considered any of it.

Looking at the Buddha's back, he did not ask why. After witnessing the Buddha's resolve, to ask why would be an insult to such conviction and determination. The black-clad Emperor Lord replied in a calm, gentle voice:

"This poor Daoist came too late."

The young man lowered his eyes and smiled, as if everything had been said without words. He replied warmly:

"No, not late. Not late. You came at just the right time."

He turned around and looked at True Martial Emperor Lord, clad in black and carrying a sword. His gaze was serene. "Because of your existence, those three should prepare for the final tribulation ahead of time. I