# Chapter 2789: Buddha Reflection in the Water
"You've finally come?"
"No!"
"You are not him. Who are you?"
...
Walking through the Three-Life Gate, the golden water beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet turned white.
The boundary between water and sky disappeared.
This was a world without dust or defilement!
Zhang Ruochen walked forward slowly, asking, "Who are you? Where are you?"
"I know who you are now. You are his heir."
The vast, distant voice sounded again.
"Splash!"
On the white water beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet, a shadow emerged.
It was a Buddha shadow, with kind eyes and benevolent brows, an ancient countenance, draped in a kasaya, with ninety-nine topknots on its head, each topknot like earthworm tracks in mud.
Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but take a step back and look up at the sky above.
But there was nothing above.
Only a reflection in the water.
"No need to search. I have been dead for many years. This is my reward body, condensed from my remaining consciousness and merit energy." The Buddha reflection in the water spoke thus.
The voice was ethereal, sometimes near, sometimes far.
Zhang Ruochen recognized that the Buddha reflection in the water closely resembled the face of Yunqing Ancient Buddha's corpse, and said, "Are you Yunqing Ancient Buddha?"
"Indeed."
Zhang Ruochen felt a surge of respect, quickly pressed his palms together, and bowed in greeting.
This was a great sage of the Buddhist path, and Zhang Ruochen had received much grace from Buddhism—how could he not bow?
Zhang Ruochen said, "The person you were waiting for should have been my master, Xumi Saint Monk, correct?"
"Originally I was waiting for him, but since you have come, that is also good." The Buddha reflection in the water said.
Zhang Ruochen was puzzled, saying, "Junior has only just achieved godhood through spiritual power, my cultivation is limited. Compared to my master, I fall short by a hundred thousand miles."
"It is not necessarily true that only those with high cultivation can accomplish things. First, sit down, and I will speak with you slowly."
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, positioning himself at the same spot as the Buddha reflection in the water.
The Buddha reflection in the water was like his own inverted image.
The Buddha reflection in the water said, "In this Abyss of Darkness, I have been dead for endless ages. Only my reward body remains, and even its consciousness is nearly worn away. Your arrival is my only hope."
A Buddha has three bodies: the Dharma Body, the Reward Body, and the Response Body.
The Dharma Body is the Buddha's true body, the symbol of the essence of life.
Yunqing Ancient Buddha's Dharma Body was the several-thousand-zhang-long corpse lying in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City.
The Reward Body refers to the body formed by accumulated merit and gathered knowledge. After the Dharma Body dies, the Reward Body can undergo reincarnation.
Good deeds bring good rewards; evil deeds bring evil rewards.
Both are the Reward Body.
As for the Response Body, it refers to the Buddha's incarnation.
Yunqing Ancient Buddha's Dharma Body had died, his Response Body no longer existed, leaving only his Reward Body here, unable to undergo reincarnation.
Zhang Ruochen had some understanding of Buddhism and said, "Ancient Buddha hopes that I can take your Reward Body out of the Abyss of Darkness and let it undergo reincarnation?"
The Buddha reflection in the water said, "I certainly have that thought, but I hope even more that you will do something far more important. Because perhaps only you can accomplish it."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What matter?"
"Go to the Great Dark Mountain and retrieve the Buddhist sacred treasure, the Mani Pearl." The Buddha reflection in the water said.
Zhang Ruochen was not unfamiliar with the Mani Pearl, saying, "The Great Dark Mountain is ethereal and untraceable. With my current cultivation, it would likely be very difficult to fulfill the Ancient Buddha's commission."
Even with Yunqing Ancient Buddha's cultivation, he could not retrieve the Mani Pearl and fell in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City.
Even with Yinsnow Heavenly's cultivation, she went missing in the Abyss of Darkness while searching for the Mani Pearl.
Zhang Ruochen was a humble and cautious person, naturally not arrogant enough to believe he could accomplish what Yunqing Ancient Buddha and Yinsnow Heavenly could not.
"Ripple."
Ripples appeared on the water surface.
A scroll painting rose from the water and appeared before Zhang Ruochen.
On the scroll was painted two swallows on a willow branch, extremely vivid.
But Zhang Ruochen could see that this painting contained traces of the Great Dao's brushwork. Every stroke, seemingly following one's heart's desire (suixin suoyu), contained infinite mystery.
In the lower left corner of the scroll, there was also a character "Zhang."
Seeing this character, Zhang Ruochen's mind involuntarily conjured a majestic figure. He had twenty-seven heavens above his head and trod upon the Yellow Spring of Hell beneath his feet, shaking the heart and spirit.
The Buddha reflection in the water said, "Have you ever heard of the allusion 'The Bright King Sits in Meditation, the Jade is Lost, the Pearl is Gone'?"
Zhang Ruochen suppressed the shock in his heart, moved his gaze away from the scroll, and nodded.
"Back then, the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable won the Mani Pearl from my master, Jade Heaven Buddha. But after my master passed into nirvana, the Great Venerable came to mourn, painted this scroll, and gave it to me. He said that with this painting as a token, one could go to the Abyss of Darkness to retrieve the Mani Pearl." The Buddha reflection in the water said.
Zhang Ruochen's fingers touched the scroll, and he sighed inwardly, "This 'Two Swallows Flying Together' scroll was actually painted by the Great Venerable. But since the Ancient Buddha held the token, why..."
Zhang Ruochen could not speak the latter half of the sentence.
The Buddha reflection in the water said, "The danger of the Abyss of Darkness is far more terrifying than you imagine."
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, the Ancient Buddha hopes that I can hold this painting, go to the Great Dark Mountain, retrieve the Mani Pearl, and send it back to the Western Buddha Realm?"
"No! I hope that you can retrieve the Mani Pearl and give it to the Underworld Clan's Kong Yinxue. If she has already fallen, you can give it to her descendants." The Buddha reflection in the water said.
Zhang Ruochen was extremely puzzled, saying, "Why? How can a Buddhist sacred treasure fall into the hands of the Underworld Clan?"
"What is the meaning of a Buddhist sacred treasure's existence?" The Buddha reflection in the water asked this question.
Zhang Ruochen's mind was sharp, and he understood.
The Buddha reflection in the water said, "All the grudges and grievances back then originated from this Mani Pearl. These grievances, as the old acquaintances of yesteryear passed away one by one, did not disappear but instead continued to extend, causing who knows how much innocent blood and tears."
"A single pearl, a piece of emotion, a share of resentment, endless suffering."
"Back then, I wanted to retrieve the Mani Pearl precisely to resolve this tragedy of hatred and enmity. The Mani Pearl is certainly precious, but only by using it to dissolve hatred, reduce suffering, and calm resentment can it realize its greatest value."
Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly.
Hai Shui had said that Yunqing Ancient Buddha wanted to retrieve the Mani Pearl because it was lost due to him back then, and he felt guilty, wanting to make up for the regret in his heart.
Now it seemed that Hai Shui had viewed Yunqing Ancient Buddha too shallowly.
Zhang Ruochen felt genuine admiration for Yunqing Ancient Buddha from the bottom of his heart, saying, "Has the Ancient Buddha already seen that I am a descendant of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable?"
"Correct! It is precisely because you have this unique identity that you are the best candidate to retrieve the Mani Pearl and resolve the enmity between the two families." The Buddha reflection in the water said.
Zhang Ruochen pressed his palms together, saying, "I will spare no effort to seek the Mani Pearl. But to have me give the Mani Pearl to Kong Yinxue's descendants, to send it to the Nether Hall, I absolutely cannot do that."
"This is precisely why I insist that you must deliver it! Most conflicts in the world arise because people already have preconceptions in their hearts."
"You have preconceptions, and in the future, conflicts will surely arise, and then you will fight generation after generation, never stopping until death. When will it end?"
The Buddha reflection in the water continued, "But if you have the heart to dissolve hatred, put aside your preconceptions, you may yet see through the clouds to the sun, find a vast and open sky, and accumulate blessings for future generations? I observe that your mind is open and broad, able to embrace all rivers, tolerate all things. You are not someone who only seeks profit or is narrow-minded. You should be able to do this."
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly, saying, "Senior, do you know how many years you have been fallen in the Abyss of Darkness? Eighty thousand years. In eighty thousand years, the outside world has undergone earth-shattering changes. The Twenty Heavens have fallen, the Saint Realm has been destroyed, the Heavenly Court has been established, and the countless deaths in the universe's myriad realms under the assault of the Hell Realm number far more than trillions."
"Now, war has broken out again. Who knows how many great realms will be destroyed, how many stars will be shattered?"
"If I send the Mani Pearl to the Nether Hall now, wouldn't I be pushing the war toward an even more brutal direction?"
"You say my mind is open and broad, able to embrace all rivers, tolerate all things. But I cannot tolerate the gods of the Nether Hall, because they are far stronger than me and do not need my tolerance. In other words, before I have powerful cultivation, I have no qualification to speak of tolerance before them."
"The prerequisite for embracing all rivers is that I must be as vast and powerful as the sea."
"Right now, I am just a drop of water, with only the heart to become a sea, unable to contain rivers and streams."
The Buddha reflection in the water was silent for a long time, as if digesting the words Zhang Ruochen had spoken.
Zhang Ruochen then continued, "But I can promise the Ancient Buddha that if I become strong enough in the future, I will certainly do my best to resolve the grievances of the past and fulfill the Ancient Buddha's final wish. But if Kong Yinxue's descendants remain stubborn and still oppose me, I can only raise my sword and kill them all, eliminating the threat forever."
Back then, a single curse from Kong Yinxue caused the Zhang Clan to have no one who could become a god. Who knows how many Zhang Clan members were slaughtered because they could not resist external enemies.
These deaths and bloodshed, though not directly by Kong Yinxue's hand, were indirectly caused by her.
For Zhang Ruochen to promise Yunqing Ancient Buddha to resolve this enmity was already a Buddha-like heart as vast as the sea.
The Buddha reflection in the water said, "You say you are just a drop of water, unable to contain rivers and streams. I say I can help you."
"How can the Ancient Buddha help me?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The Buddha reflection in the water said, "Although I have died, the Three-Life Gate still remains, and a vast amount of Buddha energy still exists. I can help you break into the Divine Realm, and within ten thousand years, your cultivation can reach the True Realm."
The True Realm was the level of a Great God.
How could Zhang Ruochen not understand the meaning behind Yunqing Ancient Buddha's words? This former Buddhist great sage was going to bestow his entire inheritance upon him.
Obtaining the inheritance of a God Venerable was not an easy thing. But with the help of Yunqing Ancient Buddha's Reward Body, it was equivalent to direct crown transmission.
Yunqing Ancient Buddha was the master of the Sixth Patriarch.
Xumi Saint Monk had once listened to the Sixth Patriarch's Buddhist teachings, counting as half a disciple, half a friend.
Thus, Yunqing Ancient Buddha could be considered Zhang Ruochen's half-grandmaster.
Zhang Ruochen's heart shook, and he immediately changed from sitting to kneeling, saying, "Thank you, Ancient Buddha, for your grace! But junior's path to godhood is arduous. I fear that even inheriting the legacy, I may not be able to break through."
"Ancient Buddha was Kong Yinxue's master. You should know that she once cast the Severing Dao Curse, causing all descendants of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable to be unable to step into the Divine Realm."
Saying this, Zhang Ruochen had the intention to probe, wanting to further confirm from Yunqing Ancient Buddha's mouth that the Severing Dao Curse truly existed.
The Buddha reflection in the water said, "You are wrong!"
"I am wrong?" Zhang Ruochen said.
The Buddha reflection in the water said, "Back then, her Severing Dao Curse was not aimed at the descendants of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, but at the descendants of Ling Yanzi. Of course, your lineage is precisely the descendants of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable and Ling Yanzi, which is to say, the descendants of Xumi."
Zhang Ruochen's heart shook violently, saying, "Xumi Saint Monk!"
"Xumi is the son of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable and Ling Yanzi. The events of that time cannot be explained in a few words, and some secrets are not even known to me."
The Buddha reflection in the water continued, "But I do know the method to dissolve the Severing Dao Curse. Kong Yinxue cast the Severing Dao Curse to draw out the Mani Pearl from Ling Yanzi's hands, because the Mani Pearl can break all curses in the world."
"In other words, as long as you find the Mani Pearl, the Severing Dao Curse will be broken immediately."