After Ye Futian left the Heaven Realm, he went to the Original Realm. In the 3,000 Realms of the Great Path, he came to the lowest level—the Nine States.

He came to an academy and heard the sound of students reciting. He saw youths cultivating. They were studying their cultivation techniques diligently. All of this was truly important. Now that Ye Futian had reached his current cultivation plane, he finally understood that everything was the Way; all cultivation techniques eventually led to the same end goal.

Since there existed other universes, were the cultivation techniques between these universes the same?

In this world, the people here began their cultivation with their Life Spirits. Possessing a Life Spirit was the true symbol of talent. It meant that one had the potential to advance their cultivation further. Otherwise, they would only be able to cultivate simple spells and techniques. Did the other universes have different forms of cultivation?

For instance, if this world had Life Spirits, did other universes cultivate fighting spirits and use the world around them as their martial arts spirits?

Or might it be that they used the stars and planets as the foundation of their cultivation and forged Star Spirits?

Everything was possible. All Paths were connected.

The starting point of cultivation was not so important. They might all be heading towards the same end goal.

However, what was the end goal?

Ye Futian traveled across the continent. As he passed by, he saw smoke coming from a village in the distance.

He walked up to a cliff and saw the waves of the sea roaring in the wake of the setting sun.

The tides ebbed and flowed. The sun and moon rose and set. This was the natural order of things. As for cultivation, once one mastered a natural law of order, they would acquire a Way.

Now that he had reached this point, he had to go even further and reach even higher peaks. What would the view look like from there?

Would he control life, death, and reincarnation?

Or would he master the flow of time?

Or would he end up like his father, who cultivated Revelation Divine Power? Would the end goal of cultivation be the void?

Ye Futian stood there for a long time. Then, his body disappeared, and he left the continent instantly. For him, traveling across a vast distance was as simple as shifting his will.

After Ye Futian left the Original Realm, he went to the Western Heaven. The concepts of benevolence and life and death similarly existed in the World of Buddhism. Various Buddhas passed down the teachings of Buddhist doctrines on Spirit Mountain, yet they were still incapable of enlightening everyone in the world.

While Ye Futian was traversing across the space, he noticed an old friend. He shifted his will and appeared over there.

He looked ahead and saw a youth being beaten up by a group of people. Hatred filled the eyes of the youth. His gaze was aggressive and contained murderous intent.

A monk approached him. He glared at the monk while emanating a savage aura. However, the monk remained indifferent. He put his palms together, and his expression was solemn. He passed a copy of scripture to the youth.

“Are you a Buddha?” asked the youth.

The monk shook his head.

“Do you want me to lay down my hatred and resolve my grudges towards my enemies?” asked the youth again. He was unperturbed by the appearance of any Buddha. His heart was set on revenge.

The monk shook his head again.

“What do you wish to achieve?” the youth inquired.

The monk replied, “This is a Buddhist scripture. You are free to comprehend anything you want from it. If you desire power, you can get it through this scripture. If you bear grudges towards what happened to you, you can take revenge on your enemies after acquiring power.”

The youth was stunned. He became less wary of the monk. He looked at the latter with an incredulous look. He commented, “What you said is not the way of the Buddhists.”

“What is the way of the Buddhists?” the monk probed.

The youth replied, “Shouldn’t it be ‘lay down the butcher’s knife, and we shall ascend to becoming Buddhas’?”

“If people with great sins are absolved of their crimes once they choose to repent, wouldn’t it be unfair to the kind people?” the monk retorted. The youth scratched his head in confusion and replied, “What you said sounds right.”

The monk smiled and explained, “Actually, the line you heard has been misinterpreted. Laying down the butcher’s knife refers to letting go of your insistence, desires, worries, and pain. Becoming Buddhas refers to abiding by the Buddhist laws.”

“I see.” The youth seemed to have calmed down. He actually listened to the monk’s explanation attentively.

“Then, why did you ask me to seek revenge?” the youth asked.

The monk answered, “Buddhists believe in the concept of cause and effect. The cause here is them beating you up. If you succeed in cultivation and seek revenge, that is the effect. However, what you do to them will become another cause for something in the future. You will then reap the effect of that cause.”

The youth only had a hazy notion of what the monk had said. However, the monk had turned around to leave. He approached Ye Futian, bowed, and greeted, “Greetings, Benefactor Ye.”

“Greetings, Master,” Ye Futian replied while bowing.

This monk was Bitter Zen, the caretaker of The Buddha.

In the past, Ye Futian came to Spirit Mountain in the Western Heaven and battled with various Buddhas using Buddhist doctrine. He defeated various Buddhas, but in the end, he was defeated by Bitter Zen.

After that, while Ye Futian was cultivating in the Western Heaven, he had many conversations with Bitter Zen. At that time, even though Bitter Zen only had 1,000 years of cultivation, he had the most vital foundation in Buddhist doctrine. From Ye Futian’s point of view, Bitter Zen was the kind of cultivator that would reach the peak of cultivation once he achieved enlightenment.

“Benefactor Ye is now the Heavenly Emperor. What brings you here?” Bitter Zen asked.

“You once commented that I am someone who is favored by The Buddha. Hence, I have come to seek Buddhist doctrine,” Ye Futian said with a smile.

Bitter Zen nodded and said, “I will follow you back to Spirit Mountain.”

“Sorry for troubling you,” Ye Futian said while putting his palms together. Then, they left this place and headed towards Spirit Mountain.

…

Spirit Mountain was the holy land in the World of Buddhism. Everything was peaceful and quiet on the mountain.

Regardless of the battles occurring in the Outer Realms, this place remained a holy spot and was not tainted in any way.

After Ye Futian arrived at the mountain, he first visited the various Buddhas. Then, he read the Buddhist scriptures in the library. With his current cultivation, he could remember everything he read with a single glance. He scanned each scripture with his divine consciousness, and the knowledge was stored in his brain. He did not need to flip through every single page like he used to do.

When he left the library, Bitter Zen was sweeping outside. Seeing that he had emerged, he smiled and asked, “Benefactor Ye, have you managed to comprehend anything?”

“Buddhist doctrine is broad and profound. I was merely glancing through. If I want to comprehend anything, I probably need to spend a lot of time immersed in it,” replied Ye Futian. “Master Bitter Zen, what is your view on time?”

“Time is the past, the present, and the future,” answered Bitter Zen. “One cannot be attached to them. All three are unattainable. All dharmas are empty after all.”

Ye Futian knew that this saying was from Buddhist scripture.

It meant that everything was null. What was past was past. The present moment would become the past the instant one tried to grasp it. It was the same for the future.

“One night’s dream can last for centuries. What is time?” Bitter Zen continued saying. The saying meant that the dreams of men could last 100 years or even an entire lifetime. However, in reality, such a dream might only occur over a very short period.

“Thoughts,” said Ye Futian.

“Indeed,” replied Bitter Zen as he nodded his head. “Without thoughts, time also ceases to exist. In Buddhism, there is the Colorless Realm, which functions on the same principle. Back in the day, Donghuang the Great also comprehended Buddhist doctrine. Merging his divine power, he discovered the Revelation Divine Power. The extreme limits of Revelation are the void. The void is the absence of thoughts.”

Ye Futian nodded. He bowed towards Bitter Zen and said, “Thank you, Master, for your advice.”

“It is easier said than done. Both of us have read Buddhist doctrine, but it is not easy to comprehend them,” said Bitter Zen.

Ye Futian nodded his head knowingly. If one could comprehend something simply by knowing it, then everyone in the world would reach the end goal of cultivation!