“—Phoenix Four!”
Chu He seemed to hear something suddenly and turned his head sharply. However, behind him, the alternate dimension was empty, countless mirrors crisscrossing and reflecting dark light. Did he mishear?… Chu He turned his head, his gaze falling on the mirror in front of him. The next second, he was startled to find that a figure had appeared behind him at some point.
That person had a familiar face, a familiar smile, and even the slightest details of his eyebrows and eyes were exactly as in his memory, as if ten thousand years had not changed a single bit. Chu He’s eyeballs trembled slightly. He opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word. After a long while, he barely managed to let out a startled, uncertain sound: “Shakyamuni…?!”
Shakyamuni took a step forward and gently placed his hand on Chu He’s shoulder. He wasn’t a cold illusion in the mirror, but a truly existing person. The warmth of his palm penetrated his clothes, clearly palpable. And that warmth was comparable to the most scorching fire, burning every inch of his nerves through his skin, a pain mixed with an ineffable sensation that made Chu He tremble uncontrollably.
He trembled so violently that he couldn’t turn his head back even with all his strength, nor could he even slightly avert his gaze. He could only stare blankly at the mirror not far away, and at the smiling Shakyamuni in the mirror, and his own weak self.
“Don’t look back,” Shakyamuni whispered softly into his ear.
“Why… you…”
Shakyamuni smiled and said, “Little Phoenix, you’ve grown up.”
Chu He gasped heavily, his fingernails digging deep into his palms until blood seeped out and flowed across the lines of his hand. “You’re still… completely unchanged. Why…”
“Why I’m here isn’t important. What’s important is, why are you still here?” Shakyamuni laughed. “But, in this exciting moment of reunion after a long separation, let’s not waste time with boring questions like ‘why,’ shall we?”
He paused, his tone carrying the same gentle temptation that Chu He remembered from his youth: “If you were with me, would you be willing to return to the Heavenly Dao, my dear… little Phoenix?”
The hidden meaning in that sentence took several seconds to trickle into his mind, bit by bit, like a faint electric current creeping along his nerve endings.
—If time were to flow backward, if years were reversed, the Phoenix Wisdom King who had wept bitterly in the empty great hall that year would surely have believed he had received the greatest salvation in the nine heavens and ten earths. However, ten thousand years had passed, clouds had dispersed, and things had changed. Chu He stared fixedly at his pale self in the mirror, unable to utter a single word.
“I… I won’t trust you again, Shakyamuni…” After a long while, his faint voice finally seeped out like cracking ice, slowly emerging into the air. “You’ve left too many doubts in my heart. Anger and resentment have completely consumed me… whether it’s the things that happened on Mount Sumeru after your return to the Formless Heaven, or the changes in the Heavenly Dao’s doctrines targeting the Four Evil Paths, or even your command to the later Three Worlds Wisdom King—”
“You dislike the Three Worlds Wisdom King,” Shakyamuni said regretfully. “I’m sorry, I should have thought of that earlier.”
Chu He swallowed, the base of his tongue slightly numb from extreme tension. “So, after all these things, I can no longer trust you wholeheartedly as before… But I’ve also tried my best to stay away from you, to avoid causing any Buddha’s tribulations, and even kept Maha’s current situation a secret from everyone…”
“…I’ve done everything,” he paused, gasping, “except… I couldn’t destroy my own life.”
Shakyamuni raised an eyebrow: “Oh? You even tried that?”
“…Yes, many years ago.”
Shakyamuni seemed very interested and asked, “Then, what if I were to take your life now?”
They stared at each other in the mirror for a long time. The space behind them was vast, silent, and eternal. Chu He looked forward, tears streaming down his face. He said, “I will resist.”
Shakyamuni seemed a little surprised, staring at Chu He for a long time, but the latter’s beautiful eyes were clear and resolute through his tears, leaving no room for wavering. That unyielding determination was just like when he had worshipped from the ice and snow to the mountaintop, just like when he had drawn out twelve blood-soaked phoenix bones in the sea of blood, just like when he stepped from beneath the Bodhi tree into the eight-thousand-zhang blood lotus pond, moving forward step by step without hesitation, facing an obscure, dangerous, and unknown future.
“You’ve truly grown up…” Shakyamuni seemed a bit emotional for some reason, saying, “But in some ways, you truly haven’t changed at all. Once you find a new path, even if it means wading through the stench of a blood sea, you’ll grit your teeth and see it through to the end… So, am I too late?”
He reached out to the millions of floating mirrors in the distant space and gently touched one. Innumerable bizarre and varied images appeared on the mirrors.
—That was a fiercely roaring beast beneath the Heavenly Dao’s golden bell, preferring death to kneeling when assaulted by blades and axes; it was a demon in the boundless sea of blood, beyond salvation, standing erect while all others submitted; it was a man walking from the cracked, smoking earth against a gloomy sky, kneeling on one knee on the battlefield, saying with a blood-stained, hoarse voice: “I have come to propose to you…”
In a more distant place, the mirrors reflected warm white light. Everyone was gathered together; everyone was happy and complete, with no cold solitude and no sorrowful waiting.
“Is this your current faith?” Shakyamuni whispered softly into his ear. “Is this the love you’ve finally recognized now?”
The Phoenix closed his eyes, tears streaming down his pale, translucent face, turning into millions of tiny sparkles in the void.
“You dare not admit it.” Shakyamuni smiled, seeming to find it extremely amusing: “—You actually dare not.”
He raised his hand from the Phoenix’s shoulder and pulled down his collar. His neck to his collarbone and the slightly protruding bones of his shoulders to the large expanse of skin on his back, were all exposed to the air, glinting with a captivating faint glow in the darkness. It looked so cold, like jade, yet when touched, it had an unimaginable warmth, delicacy, and softness, like the fragile, easily broken heart of this beautiful body’s owner, hidden beneath many layers.
“Then, that little Phoenix who dared to gather the courage to confess his love to me back then…”
Shakyamuni released his hand, half of his white robe trailing to the ground:
“…Is he still here?”
He brushed aside the Phoenix’s long, flowing hair, bent down, and pressed a kiss onto his bare shoulder.
Chu He tried to push him away with a backhand, but his fingers trembled violently, utterly devoid of strength, and were easily caught by Shakyamuni’s palm, fingers intertwined, in a lingering embrace.
“Do you remember those thousand years kneeling and chanting scriptures beneath the Bodhi tree? The forbidden land of the Heavenly Dao, the twin sala trees. Why did you choose that spot?”
“If I hadn’t seen you, would you have knelt for tens of thousands of years, until you knelt yourself to death?”
Chu He couldn’t answer, his lips slightly parted, trembling uncontrollably. Shakyamuni smiled, reaching from behind to cover his unfocused, scattered eyes, feeling the wet eyelashes on his palm, fluttering like the last struggling butterfly in a snowstorm.
“Those thousand years of kneeling and chanting scriptures…” He gently kissed those soft, cold lips, and asked with a light laugh: “…Beneath the Bodhi tree, what were you thinking?”
“…”
“Was it all about me?”
“…”
Their lips intertwined, their breaths mingled. The whimpers in his throat were gently but irresistibly suppressed, sounding like a hidden cry. After a while, Shakyamuni held Chu He’s chin, making him turn his head slightly, and softly said, “Answer me.”
They stared at each other like this, countless mirrors in the vast, dark alternate dimension emitting cold light. The mortal world faded, and eternity fell silent. It was as if only the two of them remained between heaven and earth, and all the past events of ten thousand years had vanished into thin air.
“—That was too long ago…” After a long silence, Chu He finally said hoarsely, every word laced with the essence of torn blood. “I… I don’t remember anymore…”
Shakyamuni paused slightly.
The next instant, Chu He’s long spear materialized in his hand. He turned decisively and swept it horizontally, shattering countless mirrors in a violent tremor!
—Bang!
Billions of fragments flew and sparkled like exploding stardust, raising a tsunami that instantly swept through every inch of the vast space. Shakyamuni’s figure was instantly propelled thousands of meters away, and the next second, he returned to Chu He’s front, his body swelling like a fierce bird about to strike its prey—
The energy surge melted away his last shred of disguise, revealing Three Worlds Wisdom King’s face! He looked down at Chu He, a faint smile on his face: “—Long time no see, are you well, Your Highness Phoenix?”
With that, he delivered a powerful kick to Chu He’s chest, sending him flying!
With a series of thunderous crashes, Chu He flew horizontally, smashing through a massive mirror. His momentum didn’t even slow, directly collapsing seven or eight mirrors consecutively. Then, Three Worlds Wisdom King, who had followed closely behind, grabbed him by the throat with an iron grip and “bang!” pinned him tightly to the top of a smooth, gigantic mirror!
“How did you recognize me?”
“…” Chu He gasped and coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood. After a long while, he said hoarsely: “I didn’t recognize you.”
—His calm voice hadn’t changed at all, but the meaning behind that sentence was so clear that King of Three instantly felt a bit absurd: “What did you say?”
“I didn’t recognize you, it was a coincidence,” Chu He’s throat was clutched by an iron-like hand, and his voice sounded very strange, even a little bit like faint sarcasm: “But now I do.”
The Three Worlds Wisdom King realized that it wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t because his voice was natural and his expression was real, but rather disdain—a disdain that bothered him too much to hide with lies.
He finally let go, stepping back two paces. Chu He fell from the smooth mirror surface, stumbling a few steps when he hit the ground before barely regaining his balance, then coughed up a mouthful of bloody foam from his lungs.
“Your style is consistently direct, unchanging for ten thousand years… But there’s no need to look at me with such disgust, is there? I specifically removed my Dharma form to come and see you.” Three Worlds Wisdom King looked down at him, curled up and coughing silently, then smiled and asked: “Is it because I caused too much psychological trauma last time? So much so that you can’t even forget it now?…”
“You’re overthinking it,” Chu He said, wiping the bloody foam from the corner of his lips as he pulled up his collar and straightened up.
“Oh? Then you’re not surprised to see me?”
“I’m only surprised that you would dare to blaspheme the Buddha’s incarnation.”
Unexpectedly, the Three Worlds Wisdom King didn’t move or refute. After a long moment, he said leisurely, “Do you think I blaspheme the Buddha… No, I don’t. I merely treated you in the same way Shakyamuni did many years ago. See, you didn’t even find any flaws, which means you yourself actually know—”
Chu He lashed out with a punch! But in a flash of lightning, his wrist was caught in mid-air. Then, with a “bang!”, Three Worlds Wisdom King slammed him against the cracked mirror behind him, and fragments instantly shattered across the floor!
Chu He sharply said, “Are you sick?!”
“Perhaps,” the Three Worlds Wisdom King showed a strange smile: “But it doesn’t matter. You probably don’t know yet, do you? I’ve already entered the demonic path…”
Chu He’s first reaction was that it was ridiculous, but he didn’t actually laugh, because then Three Worlds Wisdom King reached out and unbuttoned his cuff.
—On his arm, near the elbow, black demonic patterns formed the symbol of the Asura path’s secret mantra on his muscle. That was actually the mark of having truly entered the demonic path! Chu He stared intently at the black demonic pattern, his face rarely blank from extreme shock.
“Before this became an imprint, it was originally a wound… Yes, a wound on me, one of the five true Wisdom Kings of Esoteric Buddhism. You probably don’t know, do you? Why no one befriended you on Mount Sumeru back then, no one spoke to you, and why later everyone looked at you with disgust and fear, whispering about you in corners…”
Three Worlds Wisdom King leaned closer to Chu He, his tone almost malicious: “Did you think it was because you were born inauspicious, bearing an extremely evil form? No, that’s not it.”
“From the very first day you arrived on Mount Sumeru, you were cursed. Except for specific individuals, anyone who became close to you would encounter misfortune and accidents. Some even fell from the Thirty-Three Heavens and suffered endless reincarnation in the Six Realms… And the wound on my body suddenly appeared on my arm after the day you vowed to cleanse the Sea of Blood…”
Chu He’s ears buzzed. He couldn’t hear what KThree Worlds Wisdom King was saying at all, and he even forgot to struggle against the hand that was restraining him.
“…Over time, eventually, those who originally wanted to be close to you came to see you as an inauspicious sign, and in this environment of alienation and coldness, you could only become closer and closer to specific people…”
“Do you understand, Your Highness Phoenix Wisdom King?”
“You can continue to be so arrogant and look down on others, stubbornly holding onto sorrowful hope. You will never know those bloody truths and rotten secrets, forever staying in the illusions meticulously crafted for you by others…”
“Enough!” Chu He burst out in a roar, violently shaking off the Three Worlds Wisdom King!
Three Worlds Wisdom King was caught off guard and retreated several steps, only to see Chu He stepping on countless shattered glass fragments in the void, striding into the distance. His robe sleeves and garments fluttered backward with the wind generated by his steps. From this angle, his temples obscured his cheek, making it impossible to see his expression.
However, Three Worlds Wisdom King Wisdom King suddenly recalled a similar scene many years ago: the Phoenix cutting his long hair beneath the twin sala trees, rising and stepping on boundless lotuses, walking towards the vast, smoky blood sea—how straight the youth’s back was then, as if all future hardships could be flattened, no matter what grim smile fate would reveal ahead.
If that innocent courage had been worn away by tens of thousands of years of time, what was giving him an even stronger, more complete faith now?
“—Do you want to go find Zhou Hui?” Three Worlds Wisdom King sneered, saying: “It’s too late. This trap was set to hunt him. Right now, outside the Thousand Degrees Mirror Realm, deadly seas of death qi are everywhere—”
Chu He’s steps faltered, his expression drastically changing.
“In the sea of death qi, all things corrode and flesh melts away. The claws and flesh of demons turn into foam, falling into the sea of blood to never rise again.”
Three Worlds Wisdom King pointed to the distance, and images appeared on countless floating, broken mirrors. Simultaneously, the earth-shaking angry roars of demonic beasts echoed!
“Or we could make a bet on how long this demonic creature can last in the sea of death qi…”
A slightly sarcastic cold smile appeared on Three Worlds Wisdom King’ face: “Since he originates from the Sea of Blood but represents the Heavenly Dao, you can see—this time, who in the Sea of Blood or the Heavenly Dao can save him?”
