Wishes Come True

"The Eastern Land truly are a land of fortuitous opportunity!"

As the Daoist Ran Deng chewed on the strongly flavored grilled fish, his gaze swept over the two figures that had already disappeared into the distance.

Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding rode away, while the Daoist Ran Deng continued to organize what he had heard and learned.

Like Zhang Xuezhou, his mind was in complete chaos, his memory of the 108,000 techniques of the Poison Repelling Technique was confused.

The Daoist Ran Deng had no choice but to calm down and organize his thoughts, seeking to reunite with the Buddha so that he could verify his teachings while simultaneously cultivating.

If the Buddha's cultivation is lacking, he can still go to the Great Han Dynasty to find Zhang Xuezhou, or have the Buddha go to the Great Han Dynasty to find the corresponding technique.

"Brahma, relying on a serpent staff transformed from a Spirit Root of heaven and earth, acts recklessly. But once the Tathagata cultivates this poison-repelling technique, Brahma will lack his support and might even be caught off guard by the Tathagata, thus falling from his position as a disciple of the Buddha!"

The Daoist Ran Deng silently recited the words in his heart, yet a bitter feeling inevitably arose within him.

"The Eastern Land treats me like a pawn, and the West uses me at will. I, the Daoist, will one day become a Buddha and a Patriarch to prove myself!"

If the Daoist Ran Deng were to establish his own sect, he could easily create a branch.

However, such branches are merely mountain kings and cannot gain recognition from the major powers of the Three Realms. They are only for their own amusement and to seek freedom, and may even be suppressed.

If you want to be a superior person, you have to live long enough and have a legitimate inheritance.

He couldn't inherit the Western Sect, but there were Buddhist disciples who could, and the Buddha respected him; that was enough.

This is also why, despite being the third most respected figure in the Western Sect Western Sect, he repeatedly stood up for the Buddha.

"Both leaders are nearing the end of their lives; I wonder if there's any way to prolong their lives!"

The Western Sect 'Zhunti Daoist and Daoist Jieyin possessed methods to Tongtian, but they were eliminated in the struggle between heaven and earth, and only ended up consolidating their own power.

Compared to the three Celestial Venerables of Daoism, the lifespans of the two sect leaders were much shorter, even shorter than that of the Daoist Ran Deng, who contributed to the struggle between heaven and earth.

The Daoist Ran Deng still has several hundred years of life left, while the two sect leaders are nearing the end of their lives.

This is also the reason why the Buddhist disciples are constantly fighting openly and covertly, and why the Daoist Dipankara traveled thousands of miles to seek the Tathagata.

The reason why Tathagata and Wu Chao entered the Eastern Land to seek the Daoist teachings of the Yin-Yang School was also to extend the lifespan of the two leaders.

Many things were interconnected, which led the Daoist Ran Deng to constantly search for answers.

"Without a way to prolong life, this struggle for leadership will be resolved within ten years at the shortest!"

For the first time, the Daoist Ran Deng felt how precious time was in his long life.

The leader of the sect may be heading to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The Buddha, who is vying for the position of leader, has not returned to the Eastern Land for a long time, and the life guide left with the Daoist Ran Deng has become dim and faded.

This proves that Buddha suffered a severe blow.

The Daoist Ran Deng only hoped to find the Buddha as soon as possible and seize the position of the Western Sect.

He wanted to find the Buddha as quickly as possible, but he needed a Buddha with complete and perfect power, or even a Buddha who could restrain Brahma.

The Daoist Ran Deng was not worried that Tathagata, who focused on cultivating his physical body, would be defeated by his injuries. As long as Tathagata did not die on the spot, he would surely be able to save himself after his opponent escaped.

What he needed to do was find the great medicine and a way to subdue Brahma, and then entrust everything to the Buddha.

The Daoist Ran Deng never expected that his two wishes would be fulfilled almost simultaneously in just one day.

He needs to find a life-restoring elixir for Buddha to heal all wounds. He may be able to obtain this elixir if he finds Jinxia Yuanjun.

He had also learned about the Poison-Repelling Technique for the 108,000 Apertures. For the Tathagata, who cultivated the 108,000 Apertures of the physical body, this only required adjustments, and he could potentially master the Poison-Repelling Technique in a short period of time, thereby enabling him to restrain Brahma.

With everything prepared, the Daoist Ran Deng felt that the chances of the Buddha defeating his competitors were very high.

"If the Tathagata could become the leader of the Western Sect, what harm would it do to cede some territory to the Immortal Court?" Daoist Ran Deng frowned and said, "If the Immortal Court wants the Western Heavenly Gate, we will grant them their wish for the Four Heavenly Gates!"

The relationship between the Western Sect and the Immortal Court is not good, but as long as there are suitable interests involved, everything can be negotiated.

After pondering for a while, Daoist Ran Deng decided that he could go to the Immortal Court as an advocate.

The Immortal Court only had one or two Life Creation Pills to wager, but in Immortal Court, it gained an ally who could provide assistance.

Even if the Immortal Court looks down on the Western Sect, the price isn't high, and the chances of reaching an agreement are very high.

"First seek the Buddha!"

He coughed twice, clutching his chest, and suddenly felt that he also needed to swallow a Life-Creating Pill to avoid physical damage from the attack by that manifested Dharma body.

Of all things, only the Buddha is lacking.

The Daoist Ran Deng reached out and took out an ancient lamp.

He looked at the golden bloodstain on the ancient lamp.

This is the blood of the Buddha. As long as the Buddha is healthy and alive, this blood seal will have corresponding vitality.

Once the Buddha is damaged and difficult to control, the color of this bloodstain will become unstable.

If the Buddha dies, this golden seal will lose its luster and turn into ordinary, dark brown blood.

Looking at the bloodstains, the Daoist Ran Deng couldn't help but feel resentful that he only had the ability to find herbs, but lacked the ability to track people. He realized that finding the Buddha would depend on luck.

He carried the coffin lantern, the pale light of the flame inside not particularly dazzling in the sunlight.

"Tathagata, Tathagata!"

He shouted in the Eastern Land language at one moment and in Sanskrit at the next.

Compared to the idea that the Daoist Ran Deng found the Buddha, it is more likely that the Buddha sensed the Golden Blood Mark and thus came to find the Daoist Ran Deng.

The Daoist priest, carrying the coffin lamp, swayed and shouted loudly, while constantly searching for suitable medicinal herbs to stabilize his body.

His speed wasn't particularly fast, but it wasn't slow either.

He walked on until almost dark, then stopped under a pine forest.

Looking up, the Daoist Ran Deng saw a huge bonfire burning in the distance, and someone roasting a whole wild boar.

"Tathagata?"

The Daoist priest holding up the coffin lamp gazed into the distance and saw a man roasting meat with strong, round arms, constantly turning over a whole wild boar.

When the large, lard-covered hand touched the bald head, the reflection of the flames almost shone through it.

"Has the Buddha's appetite grown to this extent after so long?"

Looking at the bloodstains on the coffin lamp and then at Tathagata, who was intently roasting meat, the Daoist Ran Deng felt that Tathagata's ability to sense things was just as poor as his own.

The two were only a hundred meters apart, yet Buddha had not yet noticed his arrival.

But for the first time, Daoist Ran Deng felt incredibly lucky. He met Zhang Xuezhou on the riverbank and learned about the Life-Creating Pill, as well as the Poison-Repelling Technique. And then, as night fell, he unexpectedly encountered the Buddha.

It seemed as if all the luck he had in his life had come to him on this one day, and almost everything he wished for came true.