My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times

「Near the Land of the Far West.」

Vast purple energy still churned in the sky, blocking the prying eyes of all Immortals, Buddhas, and Ghost Gods. An endless stream of Dao Rhyme poured into Lu Xuan’s Physique, flooding his Spiritual World.

Because he stubbornly refused to break through the Celestial Gate, he remained in the Earth Immortal Realm. This vast Dao Rhyme and the massive amount of worldly virtue were all accumulating within his body,

waiting to erupt completely the moment he stepped into the True Immortal Realm.

However, at this very moment, the Cyan Bull halted. Zhao Zheng’s expression was grave, while Lu Jianxue tilted her head in curiosity, a translucent finger pressed to her lips.

"Why do you bar our path?"

The Daoist on the Cyan Bull’s back raised his eyes and looked directly at the Great Buddha before them. The Great Buddha pointed one hand to the sky and the other to the ground, infinitely tall and infinitely majestic.

The Great Buddha lowered his head and spoke softly, yet his voice was like the tolling of a great bronze bell as tall as a mountain peak. The terrifying Brahma Sound that boomed forth was deafening, shaking the heavens and splitting the earth.

"I am Shakyamuni."

the Great Buddha said. Despite his infinite height, he could bizarrely meet the seemingly tiny Daoist’s gaze at eye level.

The Great Buddha subconsciously ignored Old Nong leading the bull, as well as Zhao Zheng and Lu Jianxue standing by. He simply stared intently at the Daoist and said with a smile,

"I have come to see Saint Lu to discuss a matter."

Lu Xuan’s expression turned slightly serious. Although he didn’t know much about the Buddhist Sect, the name of Shakyamuni Buddha was known to all, even in the Current World.

The highest venerable of Spirit Mountain, the Now Buddha among the Three Historical Buddhas.

Glancing impassively at the smiling-yet-not-smiling Old Nong, Lu Xuan raised his head to look directly at the Great Buddha and said calmly,

"So it is Shakyamuni Buddha. May I ask what business brings the Buddha here?"

"Rest assured, Saint Lu," the Great Buddha said faintly. "I am not Maitreya. I have truly come on business."

After a pause, he added,

"As far as I know, Maitreya has made certain arrangements in the West Pole Celestial Palace. If Saint Lu proceeds there, you may encounter danger."

Lu Xuan’s expression flickered. He narrowed his eyes and said,

"Hasn’t Maitreya Buddha already entered nirvana?"

The Great Buddha sighed softly and said,

"The Future Buddha, Maitreya, was slain by Saint Lu’s Qing Ping Sword, but the Maitreya Buddha Mother still roams before and after the Years, residing above all worlds."

"Maitreya Buddha? Maitreya Buddha Mother? What’s the difference?" Lu Xuan was rather surprised. The Cyan Bull also raised its head in confusion; it had clearly never heard of such a thing as a Maitreya Buddha Mother and was utterly astonished.

The Great Buddha nodded. With a slight twitch of his brow, a grand Brahma Sound erupted, temporarily sealing the senses of Zhao Zheng, Lu Jianxue, and the Cyan Bull. He did not forget Old Nong, either, and briefly ’sealed’ his senses as well.

Then, the Great Buddha spoke softly,

"Maitreya Buddha is a Daluo, holding the position of Future Buddha and residing on Spirit Mountain. But the Maitreya Buddha Mother..."

His voice turned solemn.

"The Maitreya Buddha Mother is a Dao Fruit."

Lu Xuan’s pupils contracted sharply.

After a long moment, he asked again,

"Are these two Maitreyas the same person?"

"Yes."

"Why is one a Daluo and the other a Dao Fruit?"

"That cannot be spoken of."

Lu Xuan raised his head, his mind racing, and asked again,

"A Dao Fruit transcends all. Since you, Shakyamuni Buddha, know of these things, are you also a Dao Fruit?"

"Yes, and no."

"What do you mean?"

"It cannot be spoken of. It cannot be spoken of."

’Why is everything ’unspoken’?’

The corner of Lu Xuan’s eye twitched. He immediately adopted an unconcerned expression and, neither servile nor overbearing, said with a light laugh,

"But I have already given my word that I will go to the West Pole Celestial Palace to demand justice. I always follow through on what I say."

"Saint Lu misunderstands again." A calm smile appeared on Shakyamuni Buddha’s face. "I have come to make a deal with you, Saint Lu."

"A deal?"

Lu Xuan’s mind spun with a thousand thoughts. He asked with a smile,

"I am but an Earth Immortal. Although I have attained the position of Human Saint, I am only equivalent to an Immortal. You, Buddha, are at least a Daluo, or perhaps even a Dao Fruit that transcends all. What could I possibly have to trade with a Buddha?"

Shakyamuni Buddha adopted a compassionate look and gave A Flower-Picking Smile. Lotuses bloomed all around him, thirty million of them floating silently. Upon each petal rested a vast Buddha Land, within which resided countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, all chanting Buddhist Scriptures.

Then, Shakyamuni Buddha spoke with compassion,

"Saint Lu is a disciple of the Supreme, and you also possess the ’characteristic of a Dao Fruit,’ making you an ’uncertain variable.’ The deal I wish to make with Saint Lu is to borrow this characteristic of yours."

"How would you use it?" Lu Xuan asked calmly, glancing at Old Nong again.

Shakyamuni Buddha spoke with compassion,

"In the past, although Maitreya sat upon the Dao Fruit, his seat was unstable. He was a Dao Fruit, and yet he was not. Saint Lu’s sword strike that day, however, helped him by cutting away the impurities and severing his burdens, allowing him to take a step up and secure his Dao Fruit Position completely."

Lu Xuan was a bit lost. ’What does he mean, I helped Maitreya secure his Dao Fruit Position?’

’I stabbed him with a sword, and he became a Dao Fruit?!’

His mind spun with a thousand thoughts. He asked tentatively,

"So, does the Buddha want me to give you a sword strike as well?"

"Of course not, of course not."

Shakyamuni Buddha let out a laugh, then said,

"Although I too have not secured my Dao Fruit Position and also require Saint Lu’s assistance, I am ultimately different from Maitreya. The reasons for our instability are different."

After a pause, the Great Buddha lowered his head and spoke softly,

"My request is that Saint Lu delays his trip to the West Pole Celestial Court and first makes a journey to the Western Buddha Land."

"I refuse."

Lu Xuan refused decisively.

Shakyamuni Buddha paid it no mind and continued with a smile,

"Saint Lu, please hear me out. My request is for you, Saint Lu, to incarnate as Shakyamuni Buddha and preach in the Western Buddha Land. Afterward, I will block a calamity for Saint Lu at the West Pole Celestial Palace, and I will owe you a favor, which I will certainly repay in the future."

???

Three question marks appeared over Lu Xuan’s head. ’Incarnate as... Shakyamuni Buddha?’

He asked in astonishment,

"If I become Shakyamuni Buddha, then what about you?"

"Saint Lu slew Maitreya Buddha. From now on, Maitreya Buddha has entered nirvana, and only the Maitreya Buddha Mother remains in the world. And if Saint Lu incarnates as Shakyamuni Buddha, then naturally, Shakyamuni Buddha will be Saint Lu. I will no longer be Shakyamuni, no longer be the Buddha."

Lu Xuan’s heart trembled. He asked again,

"And by doing so, you, Buddha, will be able to secure your Dao Fruit Position?"

"Correct." Shakyamuni Buddha was very frank. "And in this process, Saint Lu will also receive immense benefits. You can inherit my Buddha Fruit, step into the Daluo realm in a single bound, and even..."

"Not now."

A weathered and ordinary voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Shakyamuni Buddha.

The Great Buddha was stunned. Following the voice, he saw it was the Old Nong, whose very senses he had sealed!

The seemingly unremarkable and ordinary Old Nong had his head raised and was looking directly at him, his gaze profound!

The Great Buddha’s expression changed, his voice deepening.

"Who might you be?"

Old Nong chuckled.

"Just an old farmer from the mountains."

The Great Buddha’s expression grew even more solemn. His gaze pierced through the three thousand worlds, seeing through all of past and present, yet he found that Old Nong was truly just an old farmer—utterly ordinary and unremarkable.

This shocked him to the core.

Lu Xuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he remained silent and listened quietly. He had actually been tempted just now. ’To step into the Daluo realm in a single bound...’

’That’s Daluo!’

At this moment, Old Nong leaned against the head of the Cyan Bull, whose senses were still sealed, and began to laugh softly. The wrinkles on his face cracked open, the furrows deepening.

He said,

"Xiaoxuan can help you attain the Dao Fruit, but not now... How can the Buddha be greater than the Dao?"

After a pause, Old Nong continued to speak calmly,

"Wait until Xiaoxuan steps into the Celestial Realms level. Then he can return to this period in time, Transforming the Barbarians into Buddha, and use an incarnation to take on your title of Shakyamuni, helping you secure the Dao Fruit Position."

The Great Buddha’s expression changed. Though he still couldn’t see through him completely, he had now guessed Old Nong’s identity.

After a moment of silence, Shakyamuni Buddha bowed respectfully and said,

"Then it shall be as the Supreme Great Celestial Venerable says."

Old Nong nodded slightly, then changed the subject and asked with a grin,

"Since it’s been decided that Xiaoxuan will perform the act of Transforming the Barbarians into Buddha for you in the future and take on your role as the Buddha, what about your repayment? What is it?"

He paused, then added with a smile,

"That little fellow Maitreya used a scheme to have Xiaoxuan slay the Maitreya Buddha. Although he secured half a Dao Fruit Position for himself, he also incurred a great karmic grudge with Xiaoxuan. If you do not wish to incur a great karmic grudge with Xiaoxuan, you must form a great karmic boon... This favor, how will you repay it?"

A bitter smile appeared on Shakyamuni Buddha’s face. ’As expected of the Supreme, I suppose?’

Originally, giving his position as Buddha to Lu Xuan, blocking a calamity for him, and owing him a favor would have been enough to repay the great karmic boon.

But now, with just a few words, this Great Celestial Venerable had negated the idea that inheriting the Buddha position was part of the repayment...

This way, he would have to pay much more.

After closing his eyes in thought for a long time, Shakyamuni Buddha opened them and said in a heavy voice,

"When Saint Lu steps into the Dao Fruit realm and faces his great tribulation, I will do everything in my power to protect him. Is that acceptable?"

"Not enough," Old Nong said with a grin.

"The Current World is about to undergo its greatest resurgence, and the Immortals and Buddhas will return one by one. I will have the host of Spirit Mountain protect the still-weak Saint Lu in the Current World with their lives. Is that acceptable?"

"Not enough." Old Nong shook his head.

"I will give all my accumulated virtue from countless years to Saint Lu. Is that acceptable?"

"Still not enough."

"How about I also give the Human Dao Subject I obtained from the calamity of the Journey to the West to Saint Lu?"

"Still not enou—huh?" Old Nong was slightly taken aback. He sized up Shakyamuni Buddha for a long moment before speaking,

"You’re quite decisive. That Human Dao Subject could give you the chance to obtain the other half of a Dao Fruit Position, allowing you to occupy a full Dao Fruit and become an Enlightened One. You’re willing to part with it?"

"Willing to part with it?"

Shakyamuni Buddha smiled.

"One must give in order to receive."

Lu Xuan, listening from the side, was completely bewildered. ’What in the world are they talking about?’

’Human Dao Subject?’

’It sounds like it’s related to the Dao Fruit Position...’

He knew his master was extorting... no, was securing the greatest possible benefits for him, so he kept his mouth shut, buried his doubts in his heart, and listened quietly.

At this, Shakyamuni Buddha exhaled a breath of stale air and asked,

"With all of the above, plus owing Saint Lu three favors, is that enough?"

Old Nong pondered for a moment. He felt it wouldn’t be good to push it too far and that it was best to stop while ahead, so he nodded briskly.

"That will suffice."

With that, he turned his head to look at Lu Xuan and said with a gentle smile,

"Xiaoxuan, are you willing to accept these terms?"

Although Lu Xuan was confused, he wasn’t a fool. He quickly nodded.

"Of course, I have no objections."

"Compassion, compassion." Shakyamuni Buddha put his palms together, his eyes shining. "Thus, the deal is made. I shall await Saint Lu’s return to this period in time."

After speaking, his form slowly dissipated. The sealed senses of the Cyan Bull, Zhao Zheng, and Lu Jianxue were also released.

The two people and one bull were dazed for a moment, then they all lost their memories of the Great Buddha. Lu Jianxue asked curiously,

"Grandpa Lu, why have we stopped?"

Lu Xuan snapped back to his senses. He glanced at his master, who had returned to the appearance of a normal old farmer, and then recalled what Shakyamuni Buddha had said about the disturbance at the West Pole Celestial Palace.

A meaningful smile appeared on his face as he said,

"Let’s go, let’s go..."

"To the Celestial Palace, to demand justice."