Secret Buyer

The True Saint descends upon the world, and heaven and earth sing praises.

.........

In a dilapidated Taoist temple.

Zhang Fusheng was undoubtedly the most bewildered.

Meng Ahnan..... how did he end up in the reality universe??

Back then, after forcefully killing his opponent, he erased his memories and cast him into a world within the vast void,

considered as a spare move, a contingency; but this contingency unexpectedly jumped out of the void world and arrived here?

Zhang Fusheng quietly discerned the cause and effect, and all of Meng Ahnan’s past unfolded before his eyes.

So it was.

It was the "Forever Progressing" talent that I had imposed upon him using the iron law back then...

This little fellow rose from being an ordinary farmer, joined the military, killed thousands of bandits, rode his horse across the rivers and lakes, then single-handedly faced the heavenly palace with a sword,

finally alone and invincible, stormed into the capital and pinned the Emperor on the Imperial Throne, breaking the boundaries with martial arts, and ascended in broad daylight....

"Could it be the destiny’s favor of that world?" Zhang Fusheng murmured in his heart but his brows were still tightly furrowed.

Something’s not right.

If it’s just like this, how could Meng Ahnan possibly create the golden body of Fuli Celestial Venerate, Fu Li Shizun??

If so, why is he able to know these two grand titles?

Confusion swept over, and the dim threads of cause and effect in Zhang Fusheng’s eyes became denser, even employing techniques involving time and years to thoroughly investigate Meng Ahnan’s past,

yet still found nothing special...

"Wait a moment."

Zhang Fusheng’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

Under the thorough investigation of time and years, he saw the time aura on Meng Ahnan missing a moment.

Yes, just a moment — in other words, during that moment, he disappeared from the myriad worlds, not existing within the river of years!

The Three Pristine Ones’ method?

Or a certain Supreme?

As Zhang Fusheng’s thoughts turned countless times, it was at this exact moment.

"So it’s Daoist Ah Nan."

Shi Tianming suppressed the momentary panic from the slight exposure of the shielding formation and stood up with a respectful gesture:

"We met with danger on our journey, chased by evildoers, so we are temporarily resting here..."

"I see."

Meng Ahnan nodded with a smile:

"But it’s alright, my place is remote and desolate, but it’s safe, you can rest assured."

Saying this, he closed the door of the Taoist temple, limping as he walked in, gently opening the package on his back.

Inside were some hot, steaming sesame cakes.

"My Taoist temple doesn’t have much food, so I went begging for alms...fortunately, I managed to beg quite a few sesame cakes this time."

Meng Ahnan cheerfully distributed the sesame cakes to everyone, who all exchanged puzzled glances.

Daoist, begging for alms.....

An old monk glanced at the statues of Celestial Venerate and Buddha being worshiped in the Taoist temple.

The surroundings are desolate, where did he beg for alms?

He raised an eyebrow, took a bite of the crispy sesame cake, seemingly freshly baked.

From his senses, this lame Daoist clearly seemed to be an ordinary person—yet how could he possibly be an ordinary person?

This Taoist temple was quite eerie and strange.

"It’s quite delicious, isn’t it?" Lin Shiyu, whose cultivation was not very high, not yet reaching the level where she didn’t need to eat grains, already starving, swallowed the sesame cake in a few bites, asking with a muffled voice:

"Daoist Ah Nan, you said you came from East Earth Great Tang....where is East Earth Great Tang?"

Meng Ahnan smiled gently:

"I can’t really say, just that someone told me the place I came from is called East Earth Great Tang."

Zhang Fusheng, eating the sesame cake, frowned, who told him that?

I hadn’t seen this scene in Meng Ahnan’s past, at least not on the temporal history level, no one had ever told Meng Ahnan the words ’East Earth Great Tang.’

Interesting.

Everyone silently ate sesame cakes, with varied thoughts, all holding a vigilant heart towards the sudden appearance of the lame Daoist, only Lin Shiyu was quite talkative, chattering with the Daoist.

"Daoist Ah Nan, why is there a Buddha statue worshipped inside this Taoist temple?"

She pointed to the Fu Li Shizun statue.

Meng Ahnan reached out to wipe the dust on the ground, sitting cross-legged, "Fu Li Shizun is just Fu Li Celestial Venerate, Buddha and Dao are one, not to be divided inside or outside between us."

Pausing, he smiled:

"Actually, there should be another Fu Li Supreme Saint, but I haven’t had the chance to craft the divine statue yet."

The old monk and the little novice monk exchanged a glance without showing any sign, this eerie statue indeed was crafted by this Daoist!

Lin Shiyu curiously asked:

"Daoist, what exactly is Fu Li? Why have I never heard of such a deity before?"

"It is one and also the entirety, it is the beginning and also the end."

Meng Ahnan calmly spoke:

"Yet it doesn’t exist in the present, past, or future, the years cannot encompass it—because years exist because of it."

Everyone exchanged puzzled glances, how does this sound like a zealot bewitched by some small evil cult?

Meng Ahnan noticed the peculiar expressions on everyone’s face and didn’t say much more — he himself had just ascended to this [True Universe], [Fundamental World], unfamiliar with the people and the things here.

However, the cultivation of these two is not bad.

Meng Ahnan glanced at the old monk and the little monk, thought for a moment, and asked:

"In the Eastern Great Tang from where I come, we are isolated from the world and untouched by the red dust, hence we are not very familiar with worldly matters..."

He clasped his hands together again, sighed ’Merciful Buddha’, ’Celestial Venerate above’, "May I ask the two venerable monks about the matters of the red dust?"

The little monk raised his eyebrows, "Daoist Ahnan, just speak what you want."

Meng Ahnan’s expression became more solemn:

"I want to inquire if there is someone named [Zhang Fusheng] in this Yambu Continent — he should be unparalleled in the world, transcending all realms."

Everyone looked at each other and then all eyes turned toward the pale young man.

Meng Ahnan also looked curiously, observing the frail young man, and hesitantly asked:

"And who is this brother?"

Zhang Fusheng tugged at the corner of his mouth, his expression unchanged, but his heart was heavy:

"I am Zhang Fusheng."

Zhang Taishan next to him laughed:

"Just a namesake... However, Daoist Ahnan, there seems to be no such ’Extraordinary to Saint’ person in the world – at least, I haven’t heard of one."

The little monk also shook his head, only the old monk frowned deeply, lost in thought.

Meng Ahnan noticed this and his eyes lit up:

"Could it be that the master knows something?"

Shi Tianming thought of the dust in the Taoist temple that even the glaze wind could not shake and tentatively asked:

"Little Daoist, where did you hear the name ’Zhang Fusheng’?"

Meng Ahnan answered frankly:

"It was told to me by someone from the ’Eastern Great Tang’."

Zhang Fusheng slightly straightened himself.

Lin Shiyu at this moment took another bite of a biscuit:

"Master, do you know this Zhang Fusheng?"

"I have heard of this name."

The old monk pondered for a moment, exhaled, and slowly said:

"I once heard my master tell a past story, that a thousand years ago, my master met someone."

"He was called Zhang Fusheng, he was the body of a Living Buddha, the Incarnation of Buddha from a thousand years ago."

Everyone looked at each other, and Meng Ahnan’s eyes lit up.

The little monk, confused, said:

"How have I never heard of such an Incarnation Buddha?"

The old monk glanced at him:

"I don’t know the specifics, but my master has another statement, which I am not very sure of, because it is too incredible..."

"Old bald donkey, say it all at once, don’t leave us hanging!" the little monk exclaimed.

Shi Tianming was silent for a moment:

"My master had said, the young man named Zhang Fusheng he met a thousand years ago was the later Lord of the Other Shore World."

"He is the World-Honored One Tathagata revered by all beings."

"And the reason I am quite skeptical..."

Shi Tianming showed an incredulous expression on his face:

"It’s because according to what my master said, the young man went from being a martial artist to the World-Honored One Tathagata in merely half a year... it’s too extraordinary."

Everyone looked at each other, the large Taoist temple suddenly fell into silence, but Meng Ahnan’s eyes lit up astonishingly:

"May I ask... where is the Other Shore World?"

The astonished crowd all turned to look at him, their expressions becoming somewhat peculiar, Lin Shiyu muttered:

"It’s that magnificent Great Realm beyond the horizon."

Meng Ahnan suddenly stood up, a smile blooming on his face:

"Then I really need to check out the Other Shore World..."

"Daoist Ahnan, the Other Shore World is not a place one can casually visit, those not permitted can never approach it..."

Lin Shiyu softly explained:

"It is said that one must be personally guided by someone from the Other Shore World for outsiders to get close."

Meng Ahnan responded naturally:

"Then just find someone from the Other Shore World, won’t it solve the problem?"

Everyone smiled bitterly, Zhang Taishan shook his head and said:

"Daoist, you might not know, but only once every thirty years does someone from the Other Shore World walk into the world...."

As he spoke, his voice trailed off, suddenly realizing, isn’t there someone from the Other Shore currently pursuing them?

The thought had just occurred.

’Boom!’

Outside the Taoist temple suddenly shook, followed by tens of thousands of layers of chanting rolling in like tides!

"Merciful Buddha, World Venerate boundless."

"Merciful Buddha, World Venerate boundless!"

Vast tones resounding, Sanskrit echoes.

"Speaking of something, and it appears..." the old monk and the little monk both changed their expressions.