The Western Desert — an ancient and sacred land, steeped in countless legends. Buddhist disciples filled every corner of it, their faith deep and devout. It was a place close to the divine.
The Great Emperor Amitabha possessed boundless wisdom, infinite compassion, and immeasurable divine power. He had left behind an endless wealth of legends in this land. Once, he had made a great vow and walked every inch of the earth on foot, personally spreading his teachings, nurturing the faith until it blossomed into the magnificent Buddhist tradition that flourished today.
The Western Desert — an entire great domain, home to Buddhist disciples of every kind. Other traditions might enter, but none could take root as the mainstream. Temples could be seen everywhere, like lotus blossoms carpeting the ground.
It had to be said — this was a magnificent sight. An entire great domain united beneath a single doctrine had opened a miracle the likes of which had never been seen since ancient times.
This land held endless mysteries. Arhats, Bodhisattvas, and Ancient Buddhas walked among the mortal world, dwelling alongside all living beings, manifesting miracles, delivering the suffering from their pain. It was precisely because of this that the Buddhist faith had grown ever more glorious.
Every person in this land revered the Buddha with boundless sincerity. Pilgrims were a common sight — prostrating with every step, making their way toward the pure land of bliss in their hearts: Mount Sumeru. Though a lifetime might not be enough to reach it, the purity of their hearts was evident. Everything they did was for the sake of paying reverence to the Buddha, carried by the most sacred of faiths.
The crystal-clear Lake of Infinite Golden Body, the vast Bodhisattva Plateau, the towering Ancient Buddha Mountains — sacred Buddhist sites, all of them, constantly shrouded in auspicious energy, drawing countless followers to make their pilgrimage and pay their worship.
Ye Fan and the monkey crossed over from the Eastern Wastelands and entered this vast and magnificent land. It was not the scene of golden sand dunes they had imagined stretching endlessly in every direction.
Though it was called the Western Desert, there were mountains and rivers here as well. There was no shortage of desert, but it was far from all there was. Vast stretches of fertile earth and sweeping landscapes unfolded before them, not lacking in spiritual energy or splendor.
“Do you notice something? This land is most unusual — it seems different from the other four domains,” the monkey remarked with keen perception the moment they arrived.
“You’re right. There is a force of extraordinary purity here — barely perceptible, yet genuinely present, flowing in fine threads and strands throughout the entire expanse of heaven and earth.” Ye Fan was rather astonished.
It could be said that in this present age, very few people would be able to perceive this strange phenomenon — as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Only those born with an exceptional innate constitution, like the monkey and himself, could sense it at all.
The Western Desert’s spiritual energy did not match that of the Central Prefecture — there were none of the great ancestral veins here, no overflow of earthly dragon energy. Yet there was a most pristine and mysterious power permeating everything, so concentrated it could be called pure essence.
“What kind of divine power is this? Why are we unable to draw it in and absorb it?” the monkey asked, puzzled.
Ye Fan was equally perplexed and uncertain. No matter how many techniques he employed, he could not take even the faintest thread of this mysterious Dao power into his body. It would not fuse with him and could not be put to use.
“No wonder the Western Desert is the source of endless legends. Since ancient times, whether the demon clan, the primordial ancient beings, or the mysterious divine spirits from beyond the domain — none have been willing to set foot here. Truly unfathomable.”
They walked onward, and came across many temples — all of them tranquil and serene. The closer they drew to such places, the more that mysterious power seemed to flow and circulate, strand upon subtle strand.
“Is this… the resonance of the Buddha nature?!” The two of them stared at one another in shock. What magnitude of Buddhist power would it take to permeate an entire stretch of heaven and earth like this? The scale of it was simply staggering.
“This is beyond belief. Could the Great Emperor Amitabha still be alive?” the monkey said in astonishment. The moment that possibility entered their minds, both of them froze.
Who else but him could possess a power this boundless — so immense it flowed invisibly through the entirety of the Western Desert? The very thought was terrifying, far beyond what anyone could have imagined.
In the distance, the bells of an ancient monastery rang out in long, drawn tones — a sound that could cleanse the soul. It resonated within one’s heart, making one long to take refuge in the Buddhist faith, to press forward and offer worship, to turn one’s back on the mortal world and enter the gate of emptiness.
“It is truly mysterious!” Both Ye Fan and the monkey were struck with wonder, their minds filled with countless questions. The profundity of the Buddhist Dharma had even moved the two of them, just slightly.
They traveled on, walking who knew how many tens of thousands of miles deep into this land, until at last they encountered a member of the demon clan — an ancient demon of the second layer of the Immortal Platform, at great perfection — who had nevertheless become a guardian of an ancient temple.
“How extraordinary. Even a demon of such magnitude has been converted. The Buddhist faith truly commands awe,” the monkey sighed.
At that point, they finally understood why the primordial ancient beings, upon awakening, had not come to the Western Desert to demonstrate their might. The resonance of the Buddha nature was profoundly unusual — there was a very real possibility that it might convert some of them.
The Alankara Ancient Monastery — a temple of great historical depth, having existed for an unknown number of tens of thousands of years. It had crumbled and been repaired time and again, yet its incense had never gone unlit.
According to legend, this was one of the most sacred sites of the Buddhist faith — a place where the Great Emperor Amitabha had once paused, delivered the Dharma, and expounded upon the Dao. It was precisely for this reason that it had become a destination for pilgrims.
Before the ancient temple, many came to burn incense and offer earnest worship. Curls of smoke drifted into the air, suffused with the quality of the Buddha’s nature, permeating this ancient land and giving rise to an indescribable trembling.
“This place… this place is truly remarkable. This is almost certainly where Amitabha once lectured on the Dharma in ancient times!” Ye Fan’s pupils contracted as he studied it with great care.
He and the monkey had been traveling westward and had at last come upon a monastery of great renown. Naturally, they examined it with great attentiveness — and both came away overwhelmed.
“The more you look, the more extraordinary it becomes!” These were the monkey’s words, and they were likewise his own instinctive response.
Their innate constitutions were of a kind virtually unheard of across the ages. Only in this present great age, with several ancient emperor’s sons breaking free from their seals and descending upon the mortal world from primordial times past, had there been anyone who could stand alongside them in terms of sheer inherent gifts.
Perhaps only those like themselves — born with constitutions that were no ordinary mortal frame — could perceive the mysteries of the Western Desert, especially the strange qualities of a sacred monastery such as this.
“There is a quality of vast and mighty presence here!” Ye Fan said. He calmed his mind and composed his spirit, gazing carefully at what lay before him. He found that the ancient, unadorned temple suddenly blazed with ten thousand feet of golden light, illuminating the entire breadth of heaven and earth, a radiance of golden Buddhist nature spreading outward in all directions.
“What an overwhelmingly powerful surging presence — infinite Buddhist light shining in every direction. It is as though a great Buddha sits enthroned here, dignified and sacred, inviolable.” The monkey said.
Ordinary people would have noticed nothing at all. Even a Peak King, or one who had ascended to sainthood, would only sense a certain sanctity belonging to the Buddhist tradition — they would see no extraordinary vision.
“Dong…”
The great bell sounded, as though its ringing carried from a thousand ages past. Then a chant arose — cleansing the mind, bringing a deepening stillness. One felt as though they themselves were undergoing a kind of sublimation.
The others were all prostrating themselves before the Buddha statue enshrined within the sacred monastery. Only Ye Fan and the monkey stood at a distance, watching in silence.
In that moment, they saw through the boundless golden light and perceived several aged monks seated in meditation within the ancient temple, bathed in the radiance of the Buddha, their appearances solemn and dignified, utterly still.
“Swish!”
The aged monks all opened their eyes at once. As though capable of seeing through every layered hall between them, they too beheld the two visitors. In that instant, the columns and walls seemed to cease to exist — between both parties, it was as if there existed only the light of the Buddha, and nothing else.
“Both benefactors possess genuine wisdom roots — a rarity since ancient times. You have perceived the true nature of our Buddha. Amitabha.” The voice of one of the aged monks drifted over.
Ye Fan and the monkey clasped their hands in a bow from where they stood in the distance, neither saying a word. In truth, they were now considerably more guarded. Several of the aged monks radiated a transcendent power, and the depths of the Buddhist tradition were immeasurable.
Then, they withdrew from that place. They had no wish to stir up any trouble. Glancing back, it seemed as though a great Buddha sat cross-legged in the void, an extraordinary force drawing them toward it with quiet insistence.
“Just a moment ago — in a single fleeting instant — I actually found myself on the verge of taking refuge in the Buddhist faith,” the monkey said.
Ye Fan nodded as well. The two looked at one another, both wearing expressions of disbelief. They felt more keenly than ever that the Western Desert was shrouded in layer upon layer of mysteries, impossible to fathom.
“Do you think Amitabha is still alive?” the monkey suddenly asked.
“That seems unlikely. This figure appeared in the world an immeasurable number of ages ago. Through such an unimaginably vast stretch of time… no one could have survived that long,” Ye Fan replied.
Amitabha — like the other Great Emperors, he was the subject of endless legends. It was said that he too had come from beyond the heavens, crossing the star domains to arrive in this place, where he planted his lineage of the Dao and left behind an unrivaled and supreme name.
“Yet something always makes me feel the Western Desert is deeply mysterious. Throughout the entirety of heaven and earth here, there runs a thread of Buddhist nature’s resonance. Apart from the Great Emperor Amitabha himself, who could have caused such a phenomenon?” the monkey said, his tone distant and contemplative.
“Don’t tell me you’re suggesting the Great Emperor of the Buddhist faith is still alive up on Mount Sumeru?” Ye Fan said.
Suddenly, the monkey gave a start. “This is merely a place where Amitabha once lectured and spread the Dharma, and it is already this uncanny — drawing even the likes of us to feel a kinship with the Buddha, even making us momentarily dazed and on the verge of converting. Imagine what it would be like for someone living year after year within the Great Thunderclap Monastery.”
He thought at once of his uncle, who had spent long years in cultivation on Mount Sumeru. Was this a matter of using the Buddhist faith’s methods to break through? Or had he been unknowingly converted by some imperceptible force? He felt a sudden chill.
“That should not be possible. The Battle-Victory Sacred Buddha’s cultivation has reached the level of participation in the workings of creation — who could convert him? Having now taken up residence in the Pure Land, surely it is he who converts others,” Ye Fan said with a smile.
The monkey replied, “I am still somewhat uneasy. In the past, every time I went to see him, I came away without success. On Mount Sumeru, I sensed an unparalleled aura of dignity and sanctity that suffused that entire place. At the time my mind was unsettled and I didn’t think much of it. But reflecting on it now, that quality of Buddhist nature was far more powerful than anything in the Alankara Ancient Monastery — by an unknowable magnitude.”
“And the Buddhist treasure the Demon-Subduing Pestle is now under his stewardship — you’re thinking too much,” Ye Fan said.
“Perhaps I am over-thinking it,” the monkey murmured to himself.
Not long after, they pressed deeper into the heart of the Western Desert and came upon an ancient city — enormous and magnificent. The moment they drew near, their exceptional innate constitutions sent a tremor through them, and upon focusing their minds to observe, they were both struck speechless.
Thread by thread, strand by strand, streams of Buddhist radiance rose into the air and flew off in every direction. Gathered together, these could have been called radiance blazing for ten thousand feet. Others could not perceive it, but Ye Fan and the monkey could sense it with perfect clarity.
This was a light without measure — nearly piercing through all of heaven and earth. The radiance collected in vast sheets, tens of thousands of feet tall, carrying an undying breath — extraordinarily sacred and pure. This was the unique and wondrous power exclusive to the Western Desert.
“I understand now. It resembles the aura of the Great Sage’s form that the malevolent spirit summoned into being — this is the pure power of faith itself!” Ye Fan said.
This place was one of the most celebrated Buddhist cities of the Western Desert, ranking among the top twenty. It had gathered an enormous congregation of Buddhist disciples and a countless population — naturally, the force accumulated here would be earth-shaking.
By the eyes of an ordinary person, there would be nothing remarkable to see here at all — no boundless Buddhist light, nothing of the sort. But Ye Fan and the monkey could see it plainly, and both stood transfixed.
“I believe it now. The power that fills the entire Western Desert does not originate from a single person — it is the pure mind-force of hundreds of millions of living beings!” the monkey sighed, and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Yet Ye Fan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. “Do you remember? The Great Emperors of antiquity all possessed methods of perpetuating their own immortality. The mind-force of the entirety of the Western Desert’s living beings — ever since ancient times, constant and unbroken — all of it reciting one single name. Can you imagine how terrifying a being who had accumulated all of that would be?!”
The golden hairs on the monkey’s body instantly stood straight up on end. The unease that had just dissipated in his heart returned now, heavier than ever by an immeasurable degree. He gazed in the direction of Mount Sumeru and drew a sharp breath.
“You mean to say — from ancient times to the present — all this mind-force has been flowing, all of it empowering a single individual — that the Great Emperor Amitabha might actually still be alive?!”