Western Bull Celebration State

Mount Sumeru

The Western Pure Land is an expanse of the Great Thousand World embedded in the skies above Mount Sumeru.

Those with destiny, after passing away, can escape the cycle of life and death, reincarnating here to enjoy endless blessings.

This is Yu Yuan's first visit to this Great Thousand World.

Everything in sight radiates light, permeates with fragrance, and exudes a pleasant scent all around.

Starting from the ground and extending to the void above, palaces, pavilions, treasure ponds, colourful trees, lotus flowers, and all the myriad things shine brightly without need for sun or moon, naturally illuminated!

The climate of the Pure Land is vast and boundless, temperate and gentle, without the extremes of the four seasons, no scorching sun or torrential rain, always so cool and comfortable that it refreshes both mind and spirit.

Day and night, heavenly flowers fall ceaselessly from the sky, and upon touching the ground, they automatically vanish.

The land of the Pure Land is made of seven treasures, flat and even, with no rugged mountains or deep chasms.

At a glance, this world contains countless palaces and pavilions, all constructed with seven treasures, able to suspend in the air or rest on the ground, large or small, tall or short, their shapes and appearances all changing according to one's will.

Outside every palace, there are orderly rows of colourful trees made of seven treasures, vibrant and superbly beautiful.

Above these colourful trees hang nets formed by a hundred thousand treasures like gold threads and pearls. Whenever a gentle breeze blows, the treasures emit all sorts of wonderful heavenly sounds, as if thousands of musical instruments play at once.

Underneath the blue sky and white clouds, many monks and nuns kneel on the ground, bowing deeply toward the depths of the Pure Land, their faces filled with piety and contentment.

It seems this place brings them an unparalleled sense of tranquility and security.

Being in the Pure Land, one naturally feels relaxed and at ease in body and mind.

This isn't bestowed by the external world, but a feeling that naturally arises from deep inside.

Yu Yuan followed behind Saint Zhunti, proceeding slowly; the whole world is peaceful and quiet, devoid of noisy market clamour, with fragrant breezes gently caressing past one's ears.

Within this Pure Land, it's as if one could forget worldly troubles and conflicts.

Saint Zhunti suddenly stopped, turned his head towards Yu Yuan, and softly asked, "Young friend, what do you think of this Pure Land?"

Yu Yuan instinctively wanted to nod in praise.

Along the way, what he has seen is indeed a peaceful and carefree Pure Land.

But until today, he had always been somewhat skeptical of it.

Of course, even now, he remains doubtful!

After all, the forceful measures of conversion by the Western Sect were enough to make him harbor negative preconceptions.

Consequently, Yu Yuan still shook his head in the end.

"So-so."

Saint Zhunti glanced at him without taking offense, smiling as he stretched out his hand to point to the imposing divine statues deep within the Pure Land, "Those are the protectors of our Western Sect, and in the middle is the treasure of our sect, the Eight Treasures Merit Pool."

Yu Yuan followed the direction and saw that among the many divine statues, eight were exceptionally tall, towering above the rest, and among them, one statue was broken in half around its waist, its upper body toppled.

Yu Yuan recognized most of these statues.

They were Yaksha King, Asura King, Emperor Shitian, Jin Naluo, and so forth.

And that fallen statue was most likely the very Vina Night he had killed not long ago.

With this thought, he grew even more curious about Saint Zhunti's invitation to the Pure Land.

From the beginning until now, the Saint had always kept a benevolent demeanor toward him.

This benevolence contained appreciation for him and seemed mingled with something else.

Even during that time when he traveled to the future space-time, Yu Yuan had received help from his benevolent ancestor Bodhi.

This piqued Yu Yuan's curiosity.

He felt as though the Saint might know something.

At this moment, Saint Zhunti had led him to the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, surrounded by numerous divine statues.

Above the pool, spiritual energy lingered, with glimmers of Merit Light faintly visible.

The pool wasn't particularly wide, but it appeared to be very deep.

"The Eight Treasures Merit Pool is the treasured relic that anchors our Western Sect. Just by bathing in its waters, one can eliminate the negative karma from one's body," Saint Zhunti explained.

Yu Yuan nodded, thinking to himself that the Eight Treasures Merit Pool must have more than just this single function.

However, since Saint Zhunti was being reserved, it wasn't fitting for him to inquire further.

Beside the Eight Treasures Merit Pool stood a mysterious and ancient Bodhi Tree, its lush branches carrying the flow of Daoist charm, inducing boundless insights with just one glance.

It's just that Yu Yuan, influenced by Reverse Action, found it more perplexing the more he looked.

He dared not look any longer and slowly followed Saint Zhunti to the base of the Bodhi Tree.

This was a supreme Innate Spirit Root, having existed in the chaos even before the Creation of Heaven and Earth.

It was an ancient legend that Saint Zhunti was a transformation of this very Bodhi Tree.

Of course, that's just a rumour, unsubstantiated by any evidence.

Yu Yuan did not speculate further on this matter, simply looking calmly at this supreme Spirit Root.

Below this Bodhi Tree were two meditation cushions, as if they had been placed there since time immemorial, never once moved from their spot.

Saint Zhunti sat down himself, leaning against the Bodhi Tree, then turned to Yu Yuan with a smile, "Since there are no outsiders here, feel free to sit, young friend."

Yu Yuan gave him a glance as if to say, have we become so familiar?

However, after a slight hesitation, he sat down nonetheless.

He believed that Saint Zhunti must have his reasons for this act, but for Yu Yuan, it might not be entirely bad.