The Four Noble Truths

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flickered.

As the voice that had spoken directly into his mind grew clearer,

the candle burning on the Lotus Platform base on the altar grew brighter as well.

Its light had originally been able to dispel only half a foot of darkness, but gradually spread to a distance of one zhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang could now see the figure seated on the Lotus Platform.

It was a dried corpse, the kind Zhu Yuanzhang had only ever seen on television.

After taking large amounts of cinnabar in the years before his death,

its body had continuously dehydrated until it was so shrunken it was barely recognizable.

Yellow and emaciated, it looked like a skeleton wrapped in human skin.

A faint green glow flickered in the eyes of the corpse before him, proving that the thing draped in the Tiger-Skin Kasaya was still alive.

It seemed even more eerie than an ordinary dried corpse.

"You're wondering: if my two senior brothers are so dangerous, why am I still here with him?"

The dried corpse spoke indifferently, the green candlelight in its eyes flickering as if it could see into people's hearts.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent, the dried corpse draped in the Tiger-Skin Kasaya gave a cold laugh.

"Compared with my two senior brothers, the Dao Sin within me will take a little longer to awaken."

"But my two senior brothers aren't confident they can suppress the Dao Sin within them again during the calamity to come."

"So they joined forces to abduct me here and set up this formation, keeping one another in check. That way, I can save their lives at a crucial moment!"

"Do you still have any questions, Minghe?"

the dried corpse in the tiger skin asked.

"How are we to survive this calamity and preserve the legacy of Tongtai Temple?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Faci had revealed a great deal to him.

A great deal indeed.

Even if he had to start over now, it would still have been worth it.

It made Zhu Yuanzhang think of the last kind soul he had met, Master Mingshan of Yinglong Temple.

Two people from different eras seemed to be facing the same predicament.

It was truly a strange coincidence.

"There's no need to do anything."

The dried corpse shook its head.

"Let Heaven's will decide."

"Since Fahui sent you to find me, he clearly hoped that I would protect you while I'm still lucid."

"But the Dao cannot be lightly imparted."

"Are you willing to become my disciple? Though I can no longer teach you any true techniques, I can give you a treasure that will at least keep you safe for three days."

Was there really such a good thing?

At those words, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately prostrated himself, afraid the other might change his mind, and said aloud,

"This disciple pays his respects to Master."

"Good, good, good..."

A smile appeared on Faci's withered face.

"Although you cultivate both the conflicting Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique and Mountain-Shrinking Fist, you have already lost any chance of transcending."

"But with the Great Wisdom Zen Technique harmonizing them, the three arts can keep one another in check, allowing you to live far longer than ordinary people—almost as long as a Yaksha Arhat."

"But now that this calamity has come, there's no time to worry about that."

Faci opened his hand. At some point, a black pill had appeared in his palm.

In the candlelight, Zhu Yuanzhang could make out faint blood-red patterns flashing across it.

"The only way is to spend your lifespan to fight for a chance at survival."

"This is a Great Medicinal Treasure Pill refined from the essence and blood of the Xiao Liang imperial family."

"Though it will cost you years of life, it will be enough to cultivate the first aspect of Dingguang Buddha."

The essence and blood of the Xiao Liang imperial family?

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the pill in Faci's hand, his expression uncertain.

"This is the last one. My two senior brothers took most of the precious blood and medicines between them. By the time anything reached me, only a little residue was left."

As he spoke, the dried corpse before him stood up again and took off its Tiger-Skin Kasaya.

He handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Take it."

"Thank you, Master. But how do I form the Dharma aspect?"

Clad in the Tiger-Skin Kasaya and holding the pill, Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated, then asked in confusion.

However, when Faci heard his question,

his expression turned strange.

But the dried corpse immediately shook its head and sat back down on the Lotus Platform.

"Don't fixate on it. With the medicine's help, everything will fall into place."

Though Zhu Yuanzhang still had questions, he steeled himself.

He tipped his head back and swallowed the pill.

Hot! Scorching!

An indescribable burning sensation!

It felt as though a blazing fire would consume him from the inside out.

"Ah!!!"

He cried out in pain on instinct.

Then Zhu Yuanzhang silently recited the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique.

He saw flames, endless flames.

They floated in the air and fell upon the black ocean.

They took human form!

Suddenly, Zhu Yuanzhang understood.

Everything before him was the "Impermanence Aspect."

The moment he understood this,

waves of Buddhist chanting rang in his ears.

"All phenomena—

"arise and perish in an instant!

"Nothing remains constant forever!"

Rumble!

The black ocean surged, swallowing countless human figures made of flame.

"This is the Bitter Sea!"

Zhu Yuanzhang blurted out.

Then, in his ears,

the Buddhist chant sounded again.

"The Three Realms are unsafe, like a burning house!"

"Through skillful means, ferry all across the Bitter Sea."

The Bitter Sea churned, flames blazed, and darkness and suffering stretched on without end.

Only on the far shore did Dingguang Buddha stand, holding a lamp and radiating light, waiting to ferry all beings across.

"Dingguang Buddha—"

Zhu Yuanzhang could barely force the words out through gritted teeth.

For the instant he saw the figure of light holding a lamp,

an endless flood of knowledge—knowledge of how to achieve the "Impermanence Aspect"—poured into Zhu Yuanzhang's mind.

"To cross the Bitter Sea, one must cultivate the Four Noble Truths."

"Truth of Suffering (the nature of the world is suffering)"

"Truth of Origin (the cause of suffering)"

"Truth of Cessation (the cessation of suffering) (Nirvana)"

"Truth of the Path (the way to end suffering) (the Eightfold Path)"

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his eyes.

The Zen Courtyard of Tongtai Temple in Taicheng, where he had been, had long since vanished.

Everything around him was pitch-black.

From somewhere out of sight came the sound of waves.

Now and then, he caught sight of a few flames.

But they quickly sank beneath the water.

The world returned to darkness.

But the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique held Zhu Yuanzhang aloft,

keeping him from sinking like everyone else.

Looking at Dingguang Buddha's image, standing on the far shore an almost infinite distance away yet still clearly visible,

a flash of understanding passed through Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

"Now that I've seen the Bitter Sea, I've already cultivated the Truth of Suffering!"

"With Dingguang Buddha's guidance, I've already grasped the Truth of Origin!"

"Next... I must cultivate the Truth of Cessation."

"Then Nirvana! Becoming another kind of 'life.'"

"Only then will I be qualified to grasp the Truth of the Path."

"Then I can cross the Bitter Sea."

"Unfortunately, my foundation is insufficient. Even cultivating the Truth of Origin in this life was difficult."

"I'm nowhere near ready to approach the Truth of Cessation or cross the Bitter Sea."

Thinking this, Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head.

[By consuming "Xiao Liang Royal Aura," your Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique has greatly improved]

[You have glimpsed the Bitter Sea]

[Because you possess the Fixed-Light Demon-Subduing Art, you have comprehended how to cross the Bitter Sea: obtain the Four Noble Truths]

[You have glimpsed the existence of the far shore]

[You have seen an image of Dingguang Buddha (Buddha Lamp Fire) from history]

[You have received Dingguang Buddha's blessing]

[You now meet all the conditions to cultivate the Impermanence Aspect]

[You have cultivated Dingguang Buddha's first aspect: Impermanence Aspect]

As the system notifications ended,

everything spun around him.

Zhu Yuanzhang returned to Faci's meditation room.

He opened his eyes again.

The scene before him had changed completely.