Chapter 15

[What kind of treasure is this? It's incredible.]

"All things in this world spring from the heart. This is the Plain-Question Spirit Realm. It can reveal what lies in your heart, and what you see inside it is your deepest desire. Now let your First Senior Brother look into it."

[Don't rush me, old man. Let me enjoy my sweet dream a little longer.] Ye Zhenzhen was still lost in the mirror's illusion when another familiar figure appeared. To her surprise, it was her grown-up self.

The Ye Zhenzhen in the mirror looked like an ethereal immortal, graceful and breathtaking. Her cultivation had reached the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, and she was on the verge of ascension. Before the lightning tribulation of her ascension, she took up a sword and fought her way into the Kongtong School. Within minutes, she had beaten Immortal Venerable Shen and the others black and blue, knocked Shen Xingyan's teeth across the floor, and brought Luo Bingyao to her knees to beg for mercy.

[Hahahaha! That felt amazing!]

[Just let me live in the mirror.]

Seeing her smile grow wider and wider, the Bodhi Tree sighed. "Money and power. Those are the two things you want most."

[All right, Eldest Senior Brother, you take a look.] Ye Zhenzhen suddenly dared not keep looking into the mirror and handed it to Ye Qinghui. She was afraid that if she looked any longer, the next vision might be fine wine and handsome men at her side. If they found out that a little baby like her harbored desires like that, how could she ever show her face again?

Ye Qinghui took the mirror without hesitation.

"Strange," the Bodhi Tree exclaimed. The mirror did not show Ye Qinghui obtaining the Ten-Thousand-Year Bodhi Tree's seed and cultivating his way to supremacy in the Cultivation World. Instead, it showed the Three Realms living together in harmony. The mortal realm, the Cultivation World, and even the Demon Realm were at peace, with no natural disasters, man-made calamities, or wars between immortals and demons.

"Young hero, your heart holds the Three Realms, and your conviction is steadfast. You have no selfish desires at all. In ten thousand years, apart from her, I have never met another person so pure and sincere."

[Does he mean that woman who looked just like I imagined?]

"Indeed."

"What is the Dao?" the Bodhi Tree asked Ye Qinghui.

"The Dao is the justice in one's heart. It is the eternal law of heaven and earth, the order that keeps the Three Realms stable."

"And what is the Dao in your heart?"

"To uphold justice and protect all living beings."

"As expected of someone with a Supreme Heavenly Spiritual Root. Young man, you are destined for the path of immortality and capable of bearing a great responsibility, but you must still be forged through countless trials. I can lend you this Ten-Thousand-Year Bodhi seed for now, but let us be clear: I am lending it, not giving it to you. When the time is right, you must pass it on to the person who truly needs it." A Bodhi seed the size of a thumb fluttered down into Ye Qinghui's palm.

The seed's surface was smooth, gleaming with a gentle green light like a piece of emerald jade. Holding it, Ye Qinghui felt an indescribable calm seep slowly into his dantian, and his eyes closed of their own accord. The clamor of the mortal world seemed to fall away, leaving only his heart resonating with nature.

"Who is the person who truly needs it?" He slowly opened his eyes.

"You will know when the time comes."

[Old man, there you go being mysterious again.] Ye Zhenzhen sighed, snatched the mirror from her First Senior Brother, and clutched it tightly. "This mirror is a treasure. Can you give it to me?"

"Bodhi has no tree, nor is the bright mirror a stand. Since all is empty from the start, where can dust alight? Some truths can be seen through but not spoken aloud. Some paths must be walked before they can be understood."

"All forms are illusory. Old friend, I hope that when we next meet, you will understand that what matters most in this world is not money or power, but..."

Before the Ten-Thousand-Year Bodhi Tree could finish, the world before them suddenly shook violently. Everything began to spin, and their surroundings dissolved into illusion.

When all was still and light returned, Ye Zhenzhen found herself and her senior brothers and sisters back at the foot of Gathering Spirit Mountain.

[First Senior Brother, where's the Bodhi Tree's seed?]

"Here." Ye Qinghui opened his palm. The Bodhi seed resting there gave off a faint green glow. At a glance, it was clearly a spiritual treasure of utmost purity and sanctity, brimming with the most peaceful, clearest, most refreshing spiritual energy in the world.

[It really is a peerless treasure.]

[Now that we've found the Ten-Thousand-Year Bodhi Tree's seed, there's no time to lose. Let's get out of the Illusory Forest and look for Weak Water.]

"Bodhi has no tree, nor is the bright mirror a stand. Since all is empty from the start, where can dust alight." — "Bodhi Verse," Huineng of the Tang dynasty

"All forms are illusory." — Diamond Sutra

Chapter 15

As for Weak Water's exact location, Ye Zhenzhen had read this passage in the original book:

The Kunlun Void lies within the seas, to the northwest, where the Heavenly Emperor keeps his lower capital. The Kunlun Void spans eight hundred li and rises ten thousand ren high. Weak Water and Azure Water flow from its southwestern corner, eastward, then northward, then southwestward, passing east of the Bifang Bird.

[Southwest or northeast? What kind of muddled mess is this? It doesn't even say where Weak Water is.]

The original book was making Ye Zhenzhen's head spin. Had the author deliberately filled the page with cryptic words just to sound profound and pad the word count?

"I think it means Weak Water flows out of the southwestern corner of Kunlun Mountain, then runs east, north, and southwest," Ye Qinghui reasoned. "Weak Water is the river that guards Kunlun Mountain. It circles the entire mountain, so once we find Kunlun Mountain, we'll find Weak Water."

[Then let's hurry up and find Kunlun Mountain.]

The mention of Kunlun Mountain made Ye Zhenzhen a little excited. It was the legendary ancestor of all mountains, the capital of the Heavenly Emperor and the other gods in the lower world. It had to be overflowing with rare treasures.

Yet the group rode an Azure Luan through the skies above the eight-hundred-li expanse of the Kunlun Void for more than a month without finding Kunlun Mountain's main peak.

"Strange. It looks like we've circled back again."

"This is the seventeenth time."

[Help! I've slept 185 times and drunk milk 276 times, and we still haven't found Kunlun Mountain. What kind of lousy mountain is this?] Ye Zhenzhen pouted and crossed her little legs. She was tired. She might as well go back to sleep.

The Azure Luan soared above the clouds, flying swiftly and steadily, its tail feathers trailing like drifting clouds. Ye Zhenzhen lay there with her eyes half-closed, watching sunlight scatter dazzling colors across its jade-green feathers. Then an unknown creature shot toward them like a headless fly and slammed hard into one of the Azure Luan's wings.

Rankings

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Transmigration into a Book

Power fantasy

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Everyone's darling