Quinn Shepherd noticed that Indra King Buddha's smile was a bit forced, tinged with bitterness, so he didn't press further. Everyone has their own secrets—there’s no need to bare your soul to another.
No matter what Indra King Buddha’s secular surname is, he’s never been a bad person. Even with the Buddha’s title, he remains warm-hearted, willing to bear infamy to protect the Buddha‑Realm, and would rather take the chamber pot of blame onto his own head.
Even if someone like that won’t speak of his past, he still gives you a sense of reliability.
The two of them worked busily for most of the day, finally finishing the World Bridge’s spirit‑energy pairing. Quinn carefully inspected everything and found no flaws.
“There’s still a lot of Buddha‑Origin Red Chrome left unused, Quinn my young friend—your shopping list was a bit off.”
Indra King Buddha glanced at the mountain of Buddha‑Origin Red Chrome piled beside the altar, along with the Feathered Buddha‑Mother Tree timber. He’d had the Buddha‑countries of Indra King Heaven Realm supply these materials according to Quinn’s list, but with the altar finished, plenty remained.
Most of the Buddha‑Origin Red Chrome and Feathered Buddha‑Mother Tree from Quinn’s list had barely been touched.
Indra King Buddha eyed Quinn suspiciously and tested, “What do you plan to do with all this material?”
Quinn hurriedly opened his Glutton Dragon Pouch and said, “We’re fugitives now—who knows when we’ll need it! Better stash it in my pouch for now.”
Indra King Buddha stared at him, but Quinn, calm and unflustered, swept the Buddha‑Origin Red Chrome and Feathered Buddha‑Mother Tree into his Glutton Dragon Pouch. Soon one pouch was full, so he took out another, loaded the rest, and carefully tied both at his waist.
Both pouches bulged, obviously packed to the brim.
Indra King Buddha sneered, “Quinn my young friend, the leftover materials just happen to fill your two pouches. It’s almost as if you calculated it in advance.”
“Is that so?”
Quinn feigned surprise and exclaimed, “I hadn’t noticed till you mentioned it—turns out they really do fill both Glutton Dragon Pouches! What a marvel, what a marvel! The Buddha‑Realm’s Twenty Heavens must be truly miraculous. Most likely the Buddha‑Realm has a spirit and, knowing I’m taking the blame for it, manifested a sign to reward me! Amitabha, Amitabha, I’m almost tempted to convert…"
Indra King Buddha kept watching him until Quinn ran out of excuses. Only then did he grin and say, “Anyone with eyes can see what’s going on, Quinn my friend—no need to explain further. I’ll lay down the divine spell first, then activate the World Bridge’s spirit‑energy pairing. You handle the calibration and link it to High‑Emperor Heaven.”
Quinn blushed slightly, answered, and climbed to the top of the altar. He pressed his palm to the altar’s center, and with a hum, the surface broke into tiny blocks that kept reassembling into a sphere, runes flowing and flickering across it.
Spreading his hands, the sphere expanded; the blocks separated, and streams of rune‑light connected the different blocks together.
He took out his spirit‑calculation tool, rattled through the computations, and corrected the coordinates for High‑Emperor Heaven. In the center of the sphere, light gradually condensed into a tiny point at its core.
Once he’d fixed High‑Emperor Heaven’s position, Quinn brought his hands together, shrinking the sphere back into a flat surface and pressing it into the altar.
Indra King Buddha had finished preparing the divine spell and now came to the top of the altar. The young, handsome Buddha glanced back at Indra King Heaven Realm, reluctant to leave.
“King Buddha, the longer we delay, the greater the danger,” Quinn reminded.
Indra King Buddha nodded lightly, his worries fading, and laughed cheerfully, “Once I’ve washed clean the chamber pot, I’ll return as Buddha—no need for sentimental farewells. Quinn, let’s go!”
Quinn released his yuanqi, channeling it into the altar’s activation runes. Light surged, one rune after another lighting up as the entire altar awakened like a giant beast. Stairways rotated and shifted layer by layer, and finally the World Bridge activated—a pillar of light shot skyward, piercing the heavens!
“During transit, you can’t feel time passing, but I once calculated that it takes one quarter‑mark to travel from High‑Emperor Heaven to the Great Ruins.”
Quinn and Indra King Buddha stepped into the flow of light side by side. Raising his voice, Quinn called out, “It’ll probably take even longer to go from the Buddha‑Realm to High‑Emperor Heaven! One day is a hundred marks—make sure to destroy the World Bridge only after we’ve arrived! King Buddha, are you using the Great Ruins’ time standard?”
“Yes!”
Indra King Buddha shouted back, “My spell will detonate after three marks, destroying the World Bridge!”
The two figures vanished into the stream of light.
Meanwhile, in Great Brahma Heaven Realm, Netherworld demon‑qi surged, turning the place into a sea of darkness. Netherworld creatures began to swim here, occasionally revealing long bodies and black scales in the pitch‑black ocean.
Suddenly, the demon sea churned and spun. A giant whirlpool formed, and a pair of pitch‑black horns slowly rose, spiraling out of the vortex.
The roar of waves grew louder and louder. At that moment, on the central island of Great Brahma Heaven Realm, a reclining Buddha rose from the ruined temple, radiating brilliant light.
The reclining Buddha slept atop a lotus—an impossibly huge lotus that towered above the ruined temple, which itself seemed to become a fountain of gold. Lotus leaves spread everywhere, the flower gently swaying.
The reclining Buddha awoke and looked up, seeing a black divine demon rise from the demon sea—bull horns, tiger eyes, ox body, and a third eye at the brow.
“Dao‑brother!”
Great Brahma King Buddha hurriedly said, “What happened here in Great Brahma Heaven Realm has even alarmed Dao‑brother, bringing your avatar down—I’m truly unsettled.”
The bull‑horned, tiger‑headed divine demon was none other than Tu Bo, the Earth Sovereign. He glanced around, his voice booming: “Brahma King, your heaven‑realm has become Youdu. Driving out the Netherworld demon‑qi here wouldn’t be difficult for you—why haven’t you done it? Need my help?”
Great Brahma King Buddha smiled, “I wouldn’t dare trouble Dao‑brother! Besides, the Netherworld taint in this heaven‑realm is evidence—it needs to stay, or the Heavenly Court will blame us. And the Buddha‑Realm has only light, no darkness; without darkness, the dharma can’t progress. We need this patch of Youdu to remain.”
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“I see.”
Tu Bo nodded at this, understanding the situation. “It was my lax discipline that let the Netherworld Divine Son cause trouble here—my apologies.”
“Not at all.”
As the two conversed, the sky suddenly brightened. An ancient tower-ship soared through the air, dazzling with flowing light and sprouting symmetrical wings. Its prow was not the usual dragon or tortoise head, but a phoenix’s.
The tower-ship was stunning, gliding into the skies over Great Brahma Heaven Realm and coming to a slow halt. At the bow stood many radiant gods clad in armor, holding ceremonial halberds. Even facing Tu Bo and Great Brahma King Buddha, they said nothing and offered no salute.
“So, it’s the Earth Sovereign and Great Brahma King Buddha, two Dao-brothers.”
A voice with no hint of mortal warmth came from within the ship. A woman with four radiant halos at her back stepped out, her face obscured, dressed in regal splendor. She met Great Brahma King Buddha and Tu Bo’s gaze, saluted, and said, “Claudia Qi greets the Old Buddha and Dao-brother Tu Bo.”
Great Brahma King Buddha returned the salute, and Tu Bo nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
“So, it’s the Red Empress of the Southern Heavens—Sister Claudia.”
Great Brahma King Buddha quickly said, “I never imagined my humble Buddha‑Realm’s Twenty Heavens would disturb Sister Claudia—my little Buddha‑heart is truly unsettled!”
“No need for such courtesy, Old Buddha.”
Claudia Qi, the Red Empress, said, “I oversee the Southern Heavens and rarely travel. Today I’ve come to the Buddha‑Realm on official business. Not long ago, I received word of unrest among the Buddhists—may I ask if you know the details, Old Buddha?”
Great Brahma King Buddha said, “I was just explaining this to Tu Bo. It was my lax discipline—Indra King Buddha turned malicious, released the Netherworld Divine Son, killed many Buddhas and Buddha-Children, and turned my Great Brahma Heaven Realm into Youdu. With Dao-brother Tu Bo here, Sister Claudia need only ask.”
Claudia Qi looked at Tu Bo, who nodded and said, “That’s right. The killer was my Netherworld Divine Son. I had already sealed him away—without great power, he could never have escaped. Someone with immense power must have set him free.”
Claudia Qi smiled slightly. “So that’s how it is. Indra King Buddha was always restless—even after joining the Buddhist order, I thought he’d settle down here with the Old Buddha, let go of worldly things. But he still rebelled! The Old Buddha suffered, but neither you nor the Netherworld are to blame—Indra King Buddha alone is at fault. Now that it’s clear, I must go to Indra King Heaven Realm and capture the culprit for execution as a warning to others. Forgive me, I take my leave.”
Great Brahma King Buddha quickly replied, “Please, Sister.”
The tower-ship suddenly flapped its wings and vanished from Great Brahma Heaven Realm.
Great Brahma King Buddha raised his brows but said nothing. Tu Bo’s colossal form slowly sank into the demon sea and disappeared.
Meanwhile, in Indra King Heaven Realm, the tower-ship appeared. Claudia Qi glanced skyward, her expression shifting as she leapt from the ship, streaking through five-colored light straight toward the World Bridge. “Escaped! But you won’t get away!”
Just as she was about to enter the World Bridge, it suddenly shook violently—Indra King Buddha’s divine spell detonated, and the mountain-sized altar twisted and collapsed inward!
“Trying to run?”
Claudia Qi’s form turned into a nine-headed rainbow phoenix, chasing after the vanishing stream of light, trying to catch the fading glow of the World Bridge.
Whoosh—
Her figure vanished into the light, but was instantly ejected by space—the light stream dissipated completely.
“Ship, come!”
She called out, and the winged ship flew over. Claudia Qi landed, sat down, and drew out a phoenix zither, laying it across her knees. She sneered, “The little thief escaped in the Kaihuang era, but this time, I won’t let you get away.”
She played a tune, the music rising and falling, the sound turning tangible before vanishing.
Finishing the song, Claudia Qi rose and said, “He can’t escape my zither’s deadly melody. If he does, I’ll have to admire his skill!”