Hunting King Yao Ai, born a master of the hunt.
Fierce and combative from childhood, he only reined himself in somewhat after becoming a king.
Along this road, he had hunted and slain formidable foes, shattered tribulations and cleaved through hardships beyond count.
Yet now, upon seeing the Old Buddha in this deep sea of the Heavenly Dao, not only could he not summon the will to resist, he could not even stir the slightest vigilance!
A dignified True King could grasp the truth of the world, truly see through himself, and "hold fast to his truth" at all times—yet here, his mind was dazed, muddled, and on the verge of surrendering to the faith.
That possibility of ascending to heaven was clearly nothing but bait. The power of the Heavenly Dao had somehow twisted into a fishing line. The lofty station of Emperor Lord was the hook through his gills. What he felt was utterly invincible power. Like a fish hauled from the water, he could only let himself be slaughtered!
Who sat in the deep sea of the Heavenly Dao, fishing for all living beings?
Yao Ai nearly prostrated himself upon the sea's surface, his divine intent utterly crushed into submission.
Before his eyes was a Buddha seated upon the lofty station, with the Heavenly Sea stretching boundlessly beyond.
His body was so tiny. Before the revered Buddha, he was but one equal among all living beings. Nothing special, utterly ordinary.
Then he heard the mystic resonance of the Heavenly Dao again. Dimly, there came the sound of sutra chanting, passing through his ears and echoing in his heart.
The voice was solemn and vast, proclaiming: "Abide unbroken, and kalpas return to emptiness. Indigo leaves scatter flowers; extinction rots the fruit!"
"I am dead!" Yao Ai already knew