A drop of Heavenly River water swept in from the southwest, bringing back the bright-eyed little monk.
And behind the monk...
A long procession of people.
Ksitigarbha could naturally see the tangled, cotton-fluff-like Threads of Karma. He could see how many people were charging toward the East Sea for this little monk, setting foot upon the battlefield of transcendence.
It seemed that Transcendents had already lost their majesty, no longer enough to put any ignorant person on guard.
It was as though the Nameless One Gongsun Xi's death had turned Transcendents into beings that could be imagined, even captured, shattering that unattainable mystery. Anyone dared to come offend them!
But He did not truly care.
For He did not intend to harm this adorable little monk. Quite the opposite—He truly meant to bestow upon him a fortune, granting him a fruition equal to that of a Buddha!
In the Buddhist cultivation system, Bodhisattvas were generally at Dao Derivation, while Buddhas were Transcendents. But among Bodhisattvas, there was also an honored rank called the "attendant Bodhisattva," held by those with the highest cultivation among Bodhisattvas. Their cultivation and enlightenment were second only to Buddhas, and could even be equal to Buddhas.
For example, Samantabhadra and Manjushri, attendants of the World-Honored One, could both be regarded as Buddhas. In the Era of All Sages, Samantabhadra and Manjushri had even been revered alongside the World-Honored One as Supreme Sages. They were the Sangha Treasure, Dharma Treasure, and Buddha Treasure—together the Three Treasures, collectively known as the "Three Sages of Avatamsaka."
Only thus did Dragon Buddha's killing of Samantabhadra back then seem so momentous, becoming the beginning of the great calamity.
Jingli had not been part of His arrangement, but in Fallen Immortal Forest, He had seen Jingli's Buddhist affinity at a glance—He was