Throughout the Western Desert, Buddha-light surged everywhere; even deep mountain ancient temples were suffused with Buddhist power, divine sounds ringing unceasingly in the ears, like great bells and chimes roaring, as if the Buddha had been reincarnated, about to manifest in the world.
Atop Mount Sumeru, the Demon-Subduing Pestle gave off chaotic energy, boundless immortal radiance surging skyward, the divine spirit within it humming softly, pleading guilty and offering apology to the Human Sovereign.
This scene shook the Great Thunder Sound Monastery, sending out wave after wave of Buddhist chimes, many ancient stone statues trembling, the pure power of faith surging like a vast ocean.
All the old monks stood dumbstruck, many Buddha’s disciples turned to stone with shock, watching this scene in disbelief before prostrating themselves — this was the Amitabha Sovereign’s own weapon, and it had actually made such a gesture.
The Great Thunder Sound Monastery trembled, sending out wave after wave of Chan chanting; three thousand Bodhisattvas and ancient Buddhas all manifested their dharma bodies together, radiating undying divine light, suspended in midair, chanting scripture.
“This is the ancient Buddhas of old manifesting their dharma bodies — this is the reappearance of the spiritual imprints they left behind! Nothing less than the greatest of auspicious omens could produce such a sign!”
A divine monk grew fearful, trembling before the Human Sovereign and the Demon-Subduing Pestle — what had happened today was beyond his comprehension.
The Demon-Subduing Pestle trembled continuously, bowing to the Human Sovereign, truly acting in the most human-like manner, as though carrying a thorn-bearing apology on its back.
“It was merely a wisp of malevolent thought, nothing of consequence — there’s no need to plead guilty,” the Human Sovereign said, not pursuing what the Amitabha Sovereign had once done to his divine will.
Yet the Buddhist sacred pestle continued to tremble, extremely earnest and solemn, insisting on pleading guilty on behalf of the Buddhist Sovereign.
“Let me ask you this: gathering so much power of faith — does it pose any harm to the living beings of the world?” the Human Sovereign asked calmly, yet it radiated a kind of divine might.
Within that calm there was an irresistible dignity; the Human Sovereign seemed to sit high above the nine heavens, looking down upon the mortal world, controlling the laws and measures, not permitting anyone to endanger the living beings.
Whether in the past or the present, he had always been a dignified supreme being, guarding the vast cosmos, ruling over the world, never allowing the laws to be broken, never allowing harm to be brought upon the mortal realm.
Even facing a Sovereign of the human race, it was the same — this bearing of swallowing mountains and rivers, of looking disdainfully upon the nine heavens, made people’s hearts tremble with fear.
Everyone within the Buddhist faith stood dumbstruck — just who was this person, that he would dare to question even the Amitabha Sovereign of the past? It was truly astonishing to hear.
Beyond their expectations, the Demon-Subduing Pestle responded earnestly, without the slightest perfunctoriness, the divinity within it reviving — and this time it actually spoke with a divine voice.
“Amitabha is compassionate and kind to the utmost, never in his entire life having killed a single living creature — sweeping the ground without harming the ants, cherishing even the moths caught beneath a gauze lampshade.”
This divine will was also filled with pressure, a power that could be called supreme between heaven and earth, responding to the Human Sovereign with meticulous care, taking this question with the utmost seriousness.
The entire Mount Sumeru trembled, sending out ten-thousand-foot divine radiance, the pure power of faith rising and falling like a vast, boundless river of stars.
Everyone was stunned; the various monks all trembled in body — since ancient times, this ancient weapon had never once spoken, yet now it showed such reverence toward this mysterious, magnificent man.
Who was this person? The crowd’s hearts were shaken, all of them chanting the Buddha’s name, trembling from the depths of their souls.
The Human Sovereign nodded, still dignified and solemn beyond measure, just as he had once ruled over the world, looking down upon all the gods, possessing a supreme, heroic bearing that inspired awe.
“In truth, this pure power of faith can also benefit every Buddhist disciple in turn, nourishing them, their life essence surging, their divine blood abundant,” explained the divinity contained within the Demon-Subduing Pestle, describing the various benefits of the power of faith.
“It’s easy not to kill for a moment — but to never kill in an entire lifetime, that’s truly difficult for him. I only fear that in the end, the heavens will collapse and the earth will cave in, everything completely overturned.”
The Human Sovereign’s black hair hung loose, his eyes profound beyond measure, as if able to see through past, present, and future. As he spoke, his dignity commanded the nine heavens, carrying a great compassion and great might, pressing down upon the ages.
Clearly, the Human Sovereign was issuing a warning — even facing the divine soul of a weapon belonging to a later generation’s Sovereign, he still radiated a righteous energy that would brook no defiance; should there be any act of harm against the human race, he would suppress and slay it directly!
In the era of the Human Sovereign, he had founded an age of extraordinary glory, sole supreme ruler of the nine heavens and ten earths, striking down gods above, suppressing the Nine Serenities below, slaying sacred spirits across all directions, suppressing every source of chaos — whatever endangered the living beings could not withstand a single blow from the Human Sovereign.
Now, even as merely a wisp of true spirit’s will, his invincible bearing still showed itself fully, even when facing the weapon of another Sovereign.
“The Human Sovereign may rest assured — Amitabha has been supremely benevolent throughout his life. Though he possesses an invincible Buddha-body, he has never once acted against the wishes of any living being,” the Demon-Subduing Pestle explained, expounding the Buddhist teaching of the equality of all living beings.
The entire Mount Sumeru trembled; the many ancient monks, all the Buddha’s disciples, stood dumbstruck — this was actually the Human Sovereign, appearing on their Buddhist mountain, simply like something out of myth.
The era in which the Human Sovereign had lived was far too distant, long since impossible to verify — yet here he was now, looking down upon Mount Sumeru, causing the Buddhist faith’s imperial weapon to awaken and personally respond to him.
All of this was too shocking, making it feel like a dream, so utterly unreal.
“We pay our respects to the Human Sovereign!”
Before the Great Thunder Sound Monastery, many Buddhist followers knelt down. Even having entered the Buddhist faith, they still knew that the Human Sovereign held great and illustrious achievements — though they could not state the specifics, generation after generation of the human race had chanted his name, which was enough to say everything.
The Great Thunder Sound Monastery roared, the entire Mount Sumeru trembled!
Ancient Chan chanting rose up, dignified and vast, transmitted across time and space — this was the divine sound left behind by the Bodhisattvas and ancient Buddhas of all heavens in years past, appearing only to greet the arrival of a supreme being.
At the same time, springs of sweetness gushed from the earth, auspicious colors fell from the sky, divine lotuses grew from the void, orchids and irises grew together, fragrance filling the air, thousands upon thousands of rays of rosy light — this place became sacred and auspicious, a paradise of ultimate bliss.
“I hope so,” the Human Sovereign said, shifting his gaze away from the Demon-Subduing Pestle, standing atop Mount Sumeru, gazing out over the Western Desert, seeing Buddha-light illuminating a hundred million miles, all living beings bathed within it.
The land of the Western Desert trembled, because the Human Sovereign’s gaze had swept across every inch of it, seeing through to its very source, letting nothing escape hidden, nothing able to evade his eyes.
“All for the sake of eternal life — how many heroic figures have been defeated by it, all turned to dust,” the Human Sovereign sighed softly.
“Yes, there is no solution to this path,” the divine will within the Demon-Subduing Pestle said, feeling something in its heart.
“Whether in the age of myth or now, many supreme beings and heaven’s chosen have walked their own paths — some burying one lifetime’s body, some seeking the elixir of immortality, some gathering the power of faith… many different methods have arisen, each one remarkable in its own right. There is one thing to always remember: however much you gain, you must pay an equal price. Even the weakest of mortal beings may one day settle accounts with a supreme being.”
The Human Sovereign spoke, each word resounding like clanging metal, his dignity fully displayed, his words echoing vast and mighty across the boundless earth. This was both a reminder and, in a sense, a warning.
The Demon-Subduing Pestle fell silent — not out of fear, but out of guilt toward the Human Sovereign, having once experimented upon the divine will of the Great Yin Supreme Being in the past. Now it harbored feelings of guilt, mixed with respect.
On this day, not only Mount Sumeru but the entire Western Desert trembled, because every ancient temple’s divine statues glowed with light, and what emanated from them was not the sound of Buddhist chanting, but the Human Sovereign’s voice.
Many old monks fell deep into thought, greatly moved at heart.
The Amitabha Sovereign was without doubt one of the most remarkable Sovereigns since ancient times, unfathomably profound, worthy of being spoken of alongside any ancient Sovereign or Celestial Venerable. The lineage he left behind was naturally powerful, and having developed to the present day, many ancient Buddhas had emerged, growing ever more flourishing.
The Human Sovereign surveyed the various regions of the Western Desert and nodded. Setting everything else aside, just considering how far this lineage had developed and flourished was worth pondering.
The Great Yin Supreme Being rose to his feet, left Mount Sumeru, and headed toward the Eastern Wilds.
“Where will the Human Sovereign go?” the Demon-Subduing Pestle asked with respect.
“My time is running short. I wish to leave behind a lineage, so that from now on, dust may return to dust, earth return to earth,” the Human Sovereign said calmly. Beneath his feet appeared a road of golden light, extending directly to the Eastern Wilds, so fast it left all living beings shaken and unable to comprehend.
“Farewell, Human Sovereign!” This single farewell represented a parting between life and death.
The Human Sovereign appeared in the Eastern Wilds, arriving alone at the Ancient Wasteland Forbidden Zone, nodding solemnly, a trace of gravity showing on his face. Then he departed, without saying a single word.
The Human Sovereign did not head toward any of the other forbidden zones of life; though some of the ancient existences there grew extremely tense, he did not so much as glance in their direction.
“Still a regret — unable to see the path to immortality open…” He walked on alone, regarding the Primordial Ancient Ore and the Immortal Mountain as nothing, paying them no attention, not listening, as though he were not of the same path as them.
Silently, without a sound, he vanished.
On this day, within the Jiang Family, wisps of Dao-patterns appeared; Xiao Tingting, the Body of Great Yin, sat cross-legged in the void, the sound of scripture chanting echoing in her ears, and she saw a heroic man appear before her.
“You… who are you?”
“Perhaps the path to immortality is merely a kind of hope. What could hold more meaning, more hope, than seeing one’s blood flow on within a descendant’s body, full of youthful vigor? Perhaps I have already seen the path to immortality, contained within that hope.” The heroic man, supreme through ancient and modern times, slowly faded away at this moment, gradually vanishing.
Within the Jiang Family, Xiao Tingting’s heart trembled, and she cried out: “Senior, please don’t go — don’t leave!”
The magnificent figure grew blurred, only that smile remaining, carrying a sense of release. As the supreme being was about to vanish, only kindness and brilliance remained upon his face, having lost the dignity that had suppressed all heavens through the ages. Xiao Tingting would never know that he had been the Human Sovereign.
A breeze passed by, a shower of light scattered away, and the heroic, magnificent figure disappeared completely, shattering into the void.
“From now on, there is no Human Sovereign in this world…” Atop Mount Sumeru, a faint, distant sigh sounded out.
To think that a generation’s supreme being of the human race, with countless great achievements, whose glorious deeds pressed down upon the ages, whose talent astonished the ages, unmatched through past and present — had finally reached the end of his road, leaving people sighing with regret.
A glance back across countless ages, a fleeting bloom like the epiphyllum flower, illuminating the world for but a moment. However great an existence may be, in the end it cannot escape its final curtain. That he could appear in this generation at all could already be considered a kind of miracle.
At this moment, several of the great forbidden zones of life fell into silence; the Human Sovereign had never once looked their way from beginning to end — different paths do not conspire together.
“What a pity, a generation’s Human Sovereign — such peerless bearing, what heaven-defying methods, and yet he has withered away just like this.”
“On this path, who can say who is right, who is wrong? There are only different choices.”
“A flourishing golden age, watching our generation’s heaven’s chosen wither away one by one — this is not the choice among choices; a golden age of splendor draws to its close, and how many of us will remain?”
“I listen to my own funeral dirge, and on this path, I persist, bearing witness to my own Dao amid the moth’s plunge into the flame… my own path to eternal life.”
Clearly, the passing of the Human Sovereign left the several existences within the forbidden zones deeply moved, feeling all the more lonely and desolate.
“Dong…” a bell tolled once, heaven and earth thrown into chaos, and the several great forbidden zones of life all fell silent at once. The Eastern Wilds, Central Prefecture, Western Desert, Southern Ridge, Northern Plains — the entire Sovereign’s Burial Star was shaken.
In the Northern Region, within Purple Mountain, the Beginningless Bell rang out inexplicably, deafening, even mortals hearing it, echoing throughout heaven and earth.
This sudden event startled everyone, their faces turning pale.