"The Great Heavenly Venerable has gone into seclusion again?"
On Spirit Mountain, the World-Illuminating Ever-Abiding Buddha and the Lotus-Quiescent Void-Stilling Buddha both breathed quiet sighs of relief.
They knew Huang Tian kept his promises, but they could not help worrying that he might turn on them after ascending to Golden Immortal. Fortunately, for now, that did not seem likely.
"Still, he went straight back into seclusion after his breakthrough. How diligent," the Lotus-Quiescent Void-Stilling Buddha sighed. "A pity progress becomes so difficult after reaching Golden Immortal. Each small step takes tens of thousands of years of secluded cultivation, perhaps longer, until at last even ten million years bring no progress at all."
The Buddha said, "That is precisely why we must guide the great tide of the Heavenly Dao, raise our Buddhist teachings to prominence, and strengthen our fortune."
The Lotus-Quiescent Void-Stilling Buddha grew solemn. "I'll begin making arrangements to draw the Six-Eared Great Sage into the tide."
The Buddha nodded.
Flowers bloomed and fell, withered and bloomed again. Two years passed in the snap of a finger.
To mortals, two years was a considerable span. A life might change beyond recognition in that time. Birth, aging, sickness, death—all passed in but a moment.
To immortal cultivators and seekers of the Dao, two years was not long. They might spend it refining a magical artifact or searching a Secret Realm for treasure.
To immortal sages with boundless lifespans, two years was merely one discourse on the Dao, one sermon on Buddhist teachings.
Or perhaps a dream.
Take Zhuang Hua. Everyone knew he had attained the Dao through Great Dream and cultivated within his dreams. One Great Dream might last a few months or ten thousand years—even hundreds of thousands.
Legend held that he had attained Golden Immortal in a