# Chapter 337: Discussing Tathagata Again
Divine City was a place where forces converged—Great Powers from the Eastern Wasteland, imperial clans from the Central Province, and overlords from the Northern Plains frequently made their appearances here.
Everything here was extremely luxurious and prosperous. Drunken Immortal Pavilion was known as one of the eight great immortal restaurants of Divine City, suspended in midair.
This was a realm of jade towers and jade buildings. Every brick and tile of the palaces was carved from jade, magnificent and beautiful, dreamlike and illusory.
Ye Fan and Li Heishui declined the others, ascending Drunken Immortal Pavilion together with the Great Xia Prince and Yao Yuekong. The little nun naturally came along as well.
White mist swirled as this palace complex sat atop the clouds. Carved beams and painted rafters, resplendent and magnificent—it felt as if they had arrived at the ancient Heavenly Court.
The group soared upward, stepping onto white jade stairs. Looking back, they saw misty clouds; gazing down at the world below, it truly seemed as if they had ascended to the Immortal Realm.
"May I ask the heavens above—are there immortals?" the Great Xia Prince mused, reciting a line casually.
Ye Fan was startled. The past and the present contrasted in his mind, and he fell into a daze.
In this world, cultivators could fly through the sky and burrow into the earth, laughing proudly above the clouds, traversing a thousand miles in an instant. If he were back in his homeland, he would already be an immortal.
A white jade avenue stretched forward like a bridge to the heavens. They strolled along it, step by step, as many spirit birds and rare beasts danced among the clouds.
Between the majestic palaces, sixteen graceful young maidens flew through the air, landing amidst the clouds. They respectfully bowed and led the group forward.
Drunken Immortal Pavilion was very particular—its retro-style architecture seemed to have weathered a thousand lifetimes, bearing the marks of time. It was magnificent without losing a certain sedimentation called heritage.
Li Heishui laughed. "Everything here belongs to the Golden Family of the Northern Plains. Brother Yuekong, aren't you afraid of causing trouble?"
"Guests are guests. They won't be unreasonable and ruin their own reputation."
Yao Yuekong possessed astonishing combat power, rarely finding opponents among his peers. Not long ago, he had fought the Golden Family's heir to a mutual defeat, creating a grudge.
"Honored guests, this way please." The sixteen graceful maidens were all cultivators of no small strength, yet here they could only guide the way and help pour wine and serve dishes.
"Southern Heavenly Gate?!" Ye Fan's expression shifted. Three ancient characters were carved on the massive gate ahead. Walking here, clouds and mist covered the ground beneath their feet.
"This was built in imitation of the legendary ancient Heavenly Court," the Great Xia Prince explained, clearly a regular here.
"Why haven't I heard of this ancient Heavenly Court?" Ye Fan asked.
"The Green Emperor, who lived over ten thousand years ago, once mentioned it. He wanted to establish a Heavenly Court and laid out such a layout, but in the end, he fell," Yao Yuekong explained.
The Green Emperor was the Demon Emperor from ten thousand years ago, an ancestor of Yan Ruyu. Exactly how long he had lived could not be verified and was difficult to determine.
"Could it be that some ancient Heavenly Court truly collapsed?" Ye Fan was skeptical.
"Impossible. The Green Emperor only mentioned it in passing," the Great Xia Prince shook his head.
Passing through the Southern Heavenly Gate, the area ahead was incredibly vast, divided into four regions with the scenery of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
"This place..." Ye Fan was amazed. It was far more expansive than it appeared from the ground. There were many palaces, and the four garden areas actually displayed the different scenes of four seasons.
Yao Yuekong said, "There are four barrier zones here. Though they cannot compare to the small worlds opened up by ancient sages, they almost form their own spaces. The Golden Family of the Northern Plains has profound mastery over the Dao of Space."
A nearby maiden spoke softly, "Honored guests, please choose a garden area."
In the end, Ye Fan chose the winter scenery. Since coming to this world, he had never seen a season of falling snowflakes.
Cold air greeted them. This palace complex was clad in silver, with goose-feather snow dancing in the air. They stood beneath the palace, a vast expanse of white before their eyes.
Ye Fan fell into a daze, thinking of the past—the same snowy season, those people and those events...
Now, separated by an entire star domain, it was hard to see them again.
A fragrant scent drifted over. Sturdy plum trees braved the snow and wind, blooming in the bitter cold, scattering crystalline petals in the chill.
They sat down, drinking wine while watching the snow and admiring the flowers—a unique charm to it all.
After several cups of fine wine, even the White-Robed Little Nun's face flushed red, her big eyes sparkling.
"Princess, you are a monastic. How can you drink alcohol?" Ye Fan teased.
The White-Robed Little Nun hadn't cut her hair but hid it beneath a white hat. She wrinkled her delicate nose and muttered softly, "I am cultivating through worldly experience."
Yao Yuekong said, "I've long heard that Buddhism possesses various divine abilities and wondrous techniques, all extraordinary arts of the world, but I've never seen them."
Ye Fan wanted to inquire about Buddhism, to indirectly probe for information about Shakyamuni, but the Great Xia Prince and the little nun didn't discuss it in detail.
"What is the Buddha called now—the Past Buddha, or Tathagata Buddha?" Ye Fan had Li Heishui ask this question on his behalf.
"The Buddha is the World-Honored One. He has no other name," the White-Robed Little Nun said.
"What Buddha is Shakyamuni?" Ye Fan asked casually.
The White-Robed Little Nun's flushed face immediately stiffened. Her sparkling big eyes fixed on her small wine cup, and she said nothing more.
The Great Xia Prince's expression turned serious. He sighed, "Alas, let's not mention that name anymore. In the Western Desert, it is a taboo. I too want to know exactly what happened. I've searched through ancient texts, but I can only conclude one thing—'From then on, Buddhism had no Tathagata.'"
"Why say that?" Ye Fan pressed on, confused.
"It seems... the Buddha has already entered nirvana." After saying this, the Great Xia Prince slowly shook his head.
"Brother Xia, that's not right of you." Li Heishui raised his cup and drank, saying, "You've come this far in the discussion, why are you still hemming and hawing? Are you deliberately keeping us in suspense?"
The Great Xia Prince was named Xia Yiming, and the White-Robed Little Nun was named Xia Yilin. After getting acquainted, they addressed each other casually.
"Some say he is the World-Honored One, others say he is not. A traitor might be related to him, and some say he is the Buddha's demonic shell." The Great Xia Prince, Xia Yiming, stopped there and refused to say more.
Yao Yuekong said, "Prince, since you've come this far, can't you be a bit more specific?"
"This is just a bit of secret lore I've heard. There's nothing else. We absolutely must not speak of it, or it will bring deadly disaster," Xia Yiming said.
"What secret lore? Who would kill us?" Ye Fan asked.
"Let's not discuss this anymore. There's truly no benefit to it." Xia Yiming firmly shook his head.
"Brother Xia, with your status, you still have concerns?" Yao Yuekong was puzzled.
"Regarding Buddhist matters, we really shouldn't say much." Xia Yiming looked around, gazing at the vast snow, and said, "Mount Sumeru is no ordinary place."
Seeing him like this, the others didn't press further. The Great Xia Prince's knowledge was indeed limited.
Ye Fan asked another question, "How long has Buddhism existed?"
"It has existed since ancient times!" The little nun, Xia Yilin, looked at him with pure, confused eyes, as if wondering how he could not know this.
"Since ancient times?!" Ye Fan was shocked. Buddhism had existed before Shakyamuni two thousand years ago. This left him stunned.
"Not many in the Eastern Wasteland know about Buddhism. It's natural not to know it has existed since ancient times," Yao Yuekong said with a smile to the little nun.
Ye Fan pondered. On the other end of the starry sky, although Buddhism was said to have been founded by Shakyamuni, there had been Buddhist followers long before. Rather than saying he founded it, it was more accurate to say he promoted it.
Some ancient scriptures recorded that Shakyamuni, while traveling, saw Buddhist followers harming their bodies in cultivation and deemed it not the true Dharma. Thus, the Tathagata's teachings came into being.
He felt he had grasped something but didn't probe further. After pondering for a while, he came back to his senses.
Outside the palace, the view stretched endlessly—a vast expanse of white, heavy snow falling, the faint fragrance of plum blossoms coming from the bitter cold. The group drank and chatted happily.
This feast cost five hundred jin of Source, already quite expensive, but compared to the legendary Immortal Banquet, it was nothing.
"The Immortal Banquet here costs tens of thousands of jin of Source at the very least. It's prepared specifically for Saint Lords and Great Powers and must be booked in advance. Otherwise, even the ingredients would be hard to gather."
Speaking of the Immortal Banquet, even Yao Yuekong, the young master of the Heavenly Demon Palace, clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Isn't that too exaggerated?" Ye Fan asked.
"Not at all. Take the dish 'Divine Phoenix Wings' for example. It's truly cooked using a bird king with a portion of Divine Phoenix bloodline, condensing all the essence of its body. An ordinary cultivator eating it could break through an entire realm."
Ye Fan suddenly asked, "Are there Golden Wing Roc Wings?"
"There used to be a Golden Wing Roc Banquet, but Old Roc King made a huge fuss over it, and in the end, the Golden Wing Roc dish was canceled because of him."
Ye Fan opened his mouth, utterly speechless.
Li Heishui said, "The Immortal Banquet only happens a few times a year. It's only occasionally held when a Saint Lord hosts a feast for Great Powers. Let's not think too much about it. But I really want to drink a cup of Enlightenment Tea from the Immortal Banquet. They say even Great Powers might achieve sudden enlightenment from it."
Yao Yuekong shook his head. "Enlightenment Tea doesn't appear at the Immortal Banquet even once every few years. That stuff is a priceless divine object! In the entire Eastern Wasteland, there's only one Enlightenment Tea Tree. It's already good if they can collect thirty-some leaves each year. Countless eyes are fixed on it."
"There's only one Enlightenment Tea Tree in the world? Where is it?" Ye Fan was surprised.
"In the Immortal Mountain," Yao Yuekong said.
"Hiss"
Everyone drew in a cold breath.
The Immortal Mountain was one of the seven great Forbidden Zones of Life in the Eastern Wasteland, located north of the central region. It was a forbidden zone of life.
Yao Yuekong said, "The only Enlightenment Tea Tree grows in the Immortal Mountain. Through various means, only about thirty leaves can be transmitted out each year."
"Isn't that place not far from the Sacred Cliff?" Ye Fan asked.
"That's right. They're not very far apart. It's said that the Sacred Cliff was once a cliff cut out of the Immortal Mountain by someone with supreme divine power." Yao Yuekong, as the young master of the Heavenly Demon Palace, was well-informed about many things.
Ye Fan nodded. He had to make a trip there, and it wouldn't be too far off, because the Sacred Cliff held the Nine Secrets.
The Sacred Cliff was connected to the Immortal Mountain. The Great Accomplishment Primordial Saint had also fallen there, the cliff body stained dark red by blood. Additionally, a Great Emperor had inscribed array patterns there.
Ye Fan felt that place must hold many secrets.
Suddenly, the tinkling sound of music arose. In the adjacent palace, a white-robed maiden was playing a zither solo, attracting a flock of spirit birds.
These palaces were all open, allowing honored guests to view the snow and admire the plum blossoms, sometimes catching sight of each other.
"It's An Miaoyi..." Ye Fan's expression shifted.
"Fairy An, why are you playing the zither solo here?" the Great Xia Prince asked.
"Miaoyi also booked a feast here. I intended to offer a toast to young brother Gu Feng, but was rejected." An Miaoyi's brows curved like distant mountains, a light smile on her flawless jade-like face.
Gu Feng was Ye Fan's current name. He couldn't walk around Divine City using his real name.
"Fairy An, why say that? Why don't we combine our feasts and drink together?" Ye Fan smiled.
Yao Yuekong and the Great Xia Prince also invited her. An Miaoyi laughed softly, nodded, and drifted over.
She arrived lightly, her big eyes glancing at Ye Fan as she smiled. "Young brother Gu Feng, you're the first person to reject me. Miaoyi holds grudges, you know."