Before Meeting Duobao, Then Meeting Laojun

"Take care, Junior Brother. Your Senior Brother is off to roam the four seas."

"Mm. Take care."

Ksitigarbha smiled reservedly as he watched Xu Bodhi drift away.

For some reason, Ksitigarbha suddenly felt that this fellow disciple, who had plotted against him several times before, was not quite so detestable after all.

It was probably because the other man's Dao realm had improved, bringing him closer to the essence of "emptiness" and leaving less distance between them.

Ksitigarbha murmured to himself:

"If all is empty, would not this world be an illusion?

This Dao is the most void of all, no more than empty illusions in the hearts of living beings.

Emptiness is illusion; Dao is illusion. The spirit lies between Dao and truth. Why must one leap beyond the Tangible Realm to seek utter nothingness?

All myriad methods exist, and all myriad methods end.

All dharmas bear the signs of birth and extinction; every tribulation arises only from the heart.

Rather than seek empty stillness between Heaven and Earth, it would be better to pursue that true meaning within one's own heart. The Great Dao this Senior Brother seeks is, in the end, merely a dream."

Truth Listener chuckled. "Master, are you jealous that this fellow's Dao realm improved?"

Three black lines appeared across Ksitigarbha's forehead. He first snorted, then said:

"The Dao is not for competing, and methods are not for comparison.

There are no longer many gaps between living beings in this world. What this poor Daoist wishes for is merely to do a little more for living beings.

It could also be considered..."

Carrying forward that fellow's will.

"Ah, the Western Teachings are beginning their great rise," Truth Listener yawned lazily. "Now no one can restrain them."

"No. The Heavenly Court is there. Now, no one