At the heart of a Buddhist Pure Land spanning countless eons, Mount Sumeru towered high, and the Four Dhyana Heavens lay pristine. An ancient, wise golden Buddha sat cross-legged there, twenty-four halos of Buddha-light layered behind His head, their radiance reflecting one another in flawless pale gold, sacred and majestic. In His palm rested a Glazed Ancient Lamp steeped in the meaning of countless causes and effects, as though it had existed since time immemorial.
Yet at that very moment, the ancient golden Buddha's eyes were unlike their usual profound serenity. They brimmed with despair, dejection, frustration, and unwillingness—emotions on the verge of turning into Inner Demons that would destroy His cultivation of the Dao across the ages.
"Alas..." Burning Lamp let out a long sigh, expelling the foul air and demons in His heart. He let the Glazed Lamp burn them with a sizzling sound, dispelling the negative forces gathering within His body.
Su Meng had ascended to the Other Shore, becoming one of the great figures who ruled the rise and fall of the All Heavens and Myriad Worlds. His own hope of attaining the Cause of All Fruits had utterly become a bubble. All He could do now was pin His hopes on the contests and clashes among the Other Shore Great Figures; He could no longer hold His fate in His own hands.
He had cultivated for only a few centuries, yet had broken through one barrier after another and escaped the Sea of Suffering. Though the approaching Final Tribulation, the loosening of heaven and earth, and the circulation of Dao rhythms had played a part—and though the plans of the ancient beings Yuanshi Tianzun, Moral Heavenly Venerable, and Golden Emperor had shaped events—none of it could obscure His own brilliance, His character, or His sharpness