South of Li Province lay the Changlang Ancient Plain.
It bordered Wu-Yue and was home to the Hanging Sky Monastery, Great Li's foremost Buddhist sanctuary.
As the first light of dawn appeared, a man walked slowly in from the edge of the ancient plain. His features had an austere, archaic cast, and his expression was composed.
Clear morning light fell upon his tattered gray monk's robe.
He turned to look back and saw the radiance of Li Fire rising once more over Li Province, piercing the heavens and weaving a vast net.
The gray-robed monk stood quietly on the main road, yet he seemed to blend into heaven and earth. Carts, horses, and travelers passed him by without so much as noticing him.
[Wuchang] stood silently there. As a great adept who traveled on behalf of the Hanging Sky Monastery, he had already reached the second tier of maha, enough to contend with a cultivator at the Purple Mansion late stage.
Present Buddhism called it bodhi, while Ancient Buddhist Cultivators called it maha. Both had three successive tiers, but their ultimate destinations were [Lotus Throne Benevolent Land] and [Non-Retrogression Land], respectively.
At the second tier, the Rebirth lineage chiefly cultivated [pure lands], and Glorious Age chiefly cultivated [Dharma Methods]. The Hanging Sky lineage, however, focused on meditation and sudden enlightenment, establishing no written teachings and cultivating [insight].
And he had already attained insight.
Continuing south, he saw rolling green mountains and ancient trees towering into the sky, but no trace of cultivators. Here and there, woodcutters chopped firewood and hunters traveled through the mountains. Beyond them, only birdsong drifted among the slopes.
Wuchang stopped before the mountains and took a step forward.
The scenery around him changed rapidly. Azure clouds drifted, and winds blew through the heavens. In an instant,