Western Joyful Continent, Gilded Sand.
Dark clouds blotted out the sky. Dazzling bolts of lightning pierced through the thick, overcast layer, followed by the distant, rumbling roll of thunder.
The parched, cracked earth supported only a scattering of withered yellow vegetation, clinging stubbornly to life.
The impending rain was this land's desperate hope for survival.
But then a radiant golden light sliced through the clouds from the edge of the sky. The sheer force of its passage shattered some of the heavy darkness overhead.
The golden light touched down in an instant.
A young monk stepped onto this nearly lifeless ground.
The young monk was striking in appearance, with powerful arms visible beneath his robes. His eyes seemed to hold a flicker of golden light within them.
"I am the Buddha Son, Wukong."
Wukong gently rolled the prayer beads between his fingers and waited. When only silence greeted him, he continued.
"Before your imprisonment, you had already reached the Mahayana Realm as a Buddha Lord. Do you truly still need to fear a mere Body Integration Buddha Son?"
"You once spoke of a heart devoted to delivering all sentient beings. What happened to the Buddha who stood before the River of Forgetfulness without fear?"
"Now you cower in this wasteland, and that alone satisfies you?"
Wukong's gaze swept the surroundings. Beyond the cold wind, there was no other sound.
"I must have come to the wrong place."
"This so-called Mahayana Dharma is nothing but the lies of cowards who fear death, casually spun to save face."
With those words, golden light flared around Wukong once more, and he prepared to leave.
"Then did you come here to question the Dharma, or to drag me back beneath the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas?"
An ancient voice seemed to echo from all directions, its origin impossible to trace.
Wukong stopped. A sharp gleam lit his eyes, and he spoke with righteous clarity.
"Neither. I am a Buddha Son, and the Dharma resides in my own heart."
"As for dragging you back to the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas — that is not my purpose either."
"I came to ask: of all the Buddhas remaining in the Thunder Sound Temple today, how many are still true Buddhas?"
"In the past — were you a true Buddha, or an evil one?"
The words hung in the air.
Wukong sensed something and turned his gaze westward.
There stood a frail, emaciated elder monk. No aura emanated from his body whatsoever. At first glance, he appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary mortal.
He wore coarse clothing of white hemp, draped with what looked like a discarded piece of tattered white cloth.
Wukong's gaze locked onto the monk before him. After a long moment, he bowed.
"I pay my respects, Supreme Buddha."
Guangming pressed his palms together and returned the bow.
"I pay my respects, Future."
Wukong straightened up. He didn't ask why this Buddha — explicitly recorded as an evil one in the texts — addressed him as "Future."
Instead, he asked directly. "My question is simple. Is the Thunder Sound Temple of today still the Thunder Sound Temple of the past?"
Buddha Guangming gazed at Wukong — vibrant with life, brimming with youthful energy, golden Buddhist light flowing around him. At last, he sighed and spoke.
"The temple is a lifeless thing. Naturally, it is the same as before."
Wukong pressed on. "What about the Buddhas inside it?"
Buddha Guangming answered, "New Buddhas arrive, old Buddhas depart. How could it remain unchanged?"
Wukong pondered for a moment before asking again.
"In the past, the Buddhist sect opened its temple doors for the sake of all sentient beings. Why is it that today, sentient beings must build temples for the Buddhas instead?"
Buddha Guangming replied in a low voice. "You already know the answer."
"You want to say that the Buddhas are different now, and so are their hearts? But that's only the surface."
Wukong walked slowly toward Buddha Guangming.
"Once one becomes a Buddha, having light in one's heart is what matters. Even if one cannot lend a hand, one would never sit idly by while filth spreads."
"The Buddhas of today no longer act like Buddhas. Something is wrong."
"I crossed a thousand seas and used my innate divine ability just to find you. I ask with sincere intent."
"I ask your heart, and I ask about the Mahayana Dharma itself. How do you answer me?"
Buddha Guangming studied this fervent Buddha Son before him. He wasn't sure whether what rose in his heart was lamentation or gratification.
He answered with a serious expression. "The Mahayana Realm has nothing to do with whether one is truly a Buddha or not. Cultivation is cultivation; state of mind is state of mind."
"In the past, with a perfect state of mind, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator could be a Buddha. Today, with greed in one's heart but a Mahayana body, one is called a Buddha. It is not the same."
Wukong's gaze remained calm as he asked his next question.
"May I see your Buddha Realm, Venerable One?"
Buddha Guangming did not hesitate. The Buddha Realm behind him slowly unfolded — still filled with fierce-glaring arhats and Bodhisattvas with covetous eyes, streaks of red smoke drifting through it.
He asked evenly, "Buddha Son — does the Buddha Realm behind me determine whether I am good or evil?"
Wukong shook his head gently.
"I don't know. I only know that I have doubts."
"Those in the Thunder Sound Temple either dare not answer me, or they rebuke me. I feel that something is fundamentally wrong. It shouldn't be this way."
"They are no longer driven by their hearts, but by profit."
"They weigh every gain and loss, calculating whether something benefits them. The great sects of today call the Buddhist sect parasites, and I find myself unable to refute them."
Upon hearing this, the Buddha Realm behind Guangming slowly began to shift. The red smoke gradually transformed into golden light.
His expression remained unchanged, but a fierce sense of righteous indignation began to radiate from him. The Bodhisattvas' features didn't move, yet they became solemn and majestic.
He watched as understanding dawned on Wukong's face.
Buddha Guangming understood that no matter how many answers existed, rather than plainly stating them and leaving the listener to choose whether to believe or not, it was better to let them discover the truth for themselves.
The Buddhist sect of today was no longer the Buddhist sect of the past. What great upheaval had it suffered? What had changed everything?
It wasn't that his Mahayana Dharma was flawed. It was that being driven by profit was flawed.
Buddha Guangming spoke with solemn reverence.
"You are a Buddha Son, yet even you can be blinded by the mist and smoke before your eyes."
"Since you yourself stand within the fog, if you wish to see clearly, you must first step free of it — and only then can you part the mist for others."
Wukong's expression sharpened with wariness as he looked at Buddha Guangming, his fingers tightening around his prayer beads.
Buddha Guangming naturally understood that Wukong was still on guard. He shook his head slightly.
"I'm not asking you to follow me. I can simply tell you of a place to go, and introduce you to some people."
Wukong asked, puzzled. "You've been sealed beneath the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas for a thousand years. You still know people?"
Buddha Guangming explained.
"Xu Jin of the Xuanqing Celestial Sect, and Chu Xingchen."
"One is a core disciple of the current generation of the Xuanqing Celestial Sect, and the other is a peerless genius of this era."
"They have the power to prove they are who they claim to be, and the background to investigate the doubts in your heart. They are already doing so."
"Go to them. Take part in what they're doing, and you will find the answers you seek."
Wukong said nothing. He wasn't a fool. It was common knowledge that the Buddhist sect had fallen out of favor with the orthodox sects.
Let alone making contact with a core disciple of the current generation — especially when the Xuanqing Celestial Sect was on the verge of outright hostility with the Buddhists, maintaining only the barest minimum of relations.
Setting aside whether he could even meet these two, simply not getting beaten up on sight would be a challenge.
Buddha Guangming reached into his tattered robes and produced a pristine white prayer bead, which he held out to Wukong.
"Give this to them, and say that Guangming sent you."
"Give it a try. Even if it doesn't work out, the worst that happens is you take a beating."
Wukong channeled his golden light, creating a barrier around himself. Using the light, he lifted the gleaming white bead and carefully placed it into his spatial ring.
"Thank you, Venerable One." Wukong offered his gratitude, then asked, "You truly dare to show me your true form? Aren't you afraid I was only sent to lure you out?"
A smile crept across Buddha Guangming's weathered, cracked face. His tone carried a hint of playfulness.
"You are a Buddha Son. You used your divine ability to locate me."
"But I was once a Buddha Son too. Why couldn't I use my divine ability to locate you?"
"In my time as a Buddha Son, I was the undisputed first."
"Today, I have become a Buddha. But you are still merely a Buddha Son."
"You younger generation really shouldn't underestimate your elders."
[
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[
Dear Readers,
I post 3–4 high-quality chapters daily across multiple fictions, with free chapters unlocking every week for everyone to read.
If you enjoy the work and would like to support it, any donation is deeply appreciated. I have a support page where you can contribute whatever amount you are comfortable with. As a small thank-you for your generosity, supporters receive some early access and bonus content as a token of appreciation.
Support Options:
$6 — Early access to 10 chapters ahead
$8 — Early access to 20 chapters ahead, plus bonus chapters
$10 — Early access to 30 chapters ahead, plus bonus chapters and character artwork
Please use your browser instead of the Apple App when making a contribution. The app adds a 30% fee and delays payments by two to three months, so browser donations save you money and reach me much faster.
Whether you donate, read, or share the story with others, your support is what keeps these daily releases going. Thank you for being part of this journey.
Support: patreon.com/Alex_Cruise
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