The halo expanded, pristine and flawless. Within it, a jade-green tree shimmered faintly, putting forth branches and leaves that connected to the Dao Fruit and pierced through heaven and earth. It seemed to nurture another epoch, encroaching upon the firmament as it spread over the bright moon rising within the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
That resolute, unflinching stance and that sweeping, exhilarating momentum were etched deeply into the eyes of every Great Divine Ability User and into the hearts of the other Other Shore Beings.
Within the Bodhi Pure Land, Daoist Zhunti, who had yet to act, sat cross-legged and let out a soft sigh.
"Another Other Shore Being who refuses to compromise over matters as illusory as dreams and bubbles..."
Certain memories suddenly resurfaced in his mind—memories largely buried beneath the alterations of history. An ordinary member of the human race had endured countless trials and hardships, hacking through brambles and blazing a rough trail, advancing step by step through one ordeal after another until he finally escaped the Sea of Suffering and ascended to the Other Shore. Yet he had refused to compromise over certain meaningless things. In the end, beset on all sides, he had become an Other Shore Being whose existence was fleeting—and Wusheng Laomu had profited from it.
The Su Meng of today bore a striking resemblance to that figure of the past.
They had truly grown from the most insignificant and humble beginnings, little by little, setting them fundamentally apart from the other Other Shore Beings. Whether his own true self, Bodhi Ancient Buddha, or Amitabha Buddha, Yuanshi Tianzun, Moral Heavenly Venerable, Lingbao Tianzun, Azure Emperor, Golden Mother, Demon Buddha, Demon Emperor, or even the Heavenly Emperor of old, Haotian, Eastern Emperor, Houtu, Demon Saintess, and the rest, they had either been born