After Wutian Buddha Lord vanished, the expressions of those who were giving Ye Futian a hard time before turned to great displeasure. However, they did not dare to say anything that challenged the command of the Buddha Lord. They could only look at Ye Futian with disdain and said, “You have slaughtered our cultivators, but now you are asking for an audience with the Lord of All Buddhas. That’s crazy man’s talk.”
The Lord of All Buddhas had long transcended the world, no longer bound by the five elements of the earth. He was not someone who would receive visitors lightly; not even those Buddha Lords could ask for an audience whenever they liked.
Now, All Buddhas Fest did pose an opportunity. But they would not agree to Ye Futian asking for an audience with the Lord of All Buddhas.
Many of them looked at Ye Futian with a cold and indifferent expression. Even if there were a chance for Ye Futian to meet the Lord of All Buddhas, with them around, they would make sure that never happened.
“You are lucky that Wutian Buddha Lord made a personal appearance,” someone commented coldly. Although they did not dare to make further trouble for Ye Futian, they still seemed quite angry. To them, it was as if Wutian Buddha Lord’s words could not change their minds.
This piqued Ye Futian’s curiosity. What was the status of Wutian Buddha Lord in the World of Buddhism?
“Benefactor Ye, we will see each other again if it is meant to be,” Tongchan Arhat said to Ye Futian with a smile. Suddenly, alertness was shown in Ye Futian’s eyes. Again, he felt being spied upon and knew that the thoughts he had previously may have been detected by the other.
This superpower of Telepathy was so incredible that it was easily forgotten by those around it. However, what he was thinking was nothing of great importance, so it didn’t really matter.
Tongchan Arhat turned to leave. The rest of the cultivators regarded Ye Futian with indifference. There were still many of them who were hostile towards him.
At this time, a Buddhist cultivator suddenly appeared next to Ye Futian, invisible and soundless; he seemed to have emerged out of thin air. There was no warning prior to his appearance, which greatly alarmed Ye Futian.
What a strange and uncanny superpower.
“Buddha’s Celerity,” Ye Futian secretly remarked to himself, remembering one of the six superpowers of Buddhism.
Buddha’s Celerity seemed to be an ultimate application of spatial methods and somewhat superior to the Great Path of Space. Its ability to travel freely anywhere without restriction was formidable. With Buddha’s Celerity, one could easily escape being chased by someone else of a higher realm. When used in tracking others, its success was even more spectacular.
Wutian Buddha Lord was a Buddha Lord who specialized in Buddha’s Celerity. It seemed that this Buddhist cultivator who had just appeared cultivated the same skill as Wutian Buddha Lord.
Ye Futian assessed the other man and saw that the man had half of a kasaya hanging on the top half of his body, leaving one of his arms exposed. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, simple and honest. He looked as if he was some kind of ascetic cultivator.
“Little monk, I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Benefactor Ye.” The monk bowed to Ye Futian with his hands clasped in front of him. He appeared extremely courteous. Ye Futian returned his gesture and said, “Ye Futian greets the Grandmaster. How is the Grandmaster to be addressed?”
“Little monk, I am called ‘Yumu,’” the monk replied. A strange look flashed across Ye Futian’s eyes. The name “Yumu” also implied that great wisdom often lay in what appeared to be foolishness.
“Greetings, Grandmaster Yumu,” Ye Futian saluted him once again. He was very grateful that Wutian Buddha Lord had recently saved him from a tough situation. This Grandmaster Yumu looked to be a cultivator under the tutelage of Wutian Buddha Lord, so Ye Futian was already partial to him, especially since he had been treated so rudely by so many Buddhist cultivators just now.
“Benefactor Ye is overly kind.” Grandmaster Yumu said, “Little monk, I came here mainly to assist Benefactor Ye in your questions. You are new to the sacred land of Western Heaven. If you have any questions, you can ask me.”
This Grandmaster Yumu had extraordinary cultivation, yet he consistently referred to himself as “little monk.”
Moreover, he was invisible and soundless when he came. Ye Futian barely perceived the slightest aura before his arrival. If this Grandmaster Yumu had chosen to attack him, he would be in an unimaginable bind.
There were also several others, such as Tongchan Arhat, who were exceptional cultivators themselves. These people may be the top Buddhist enchanting geniuses of their generation, and the methods of Buddhism they cultivated were unusual and peculiar. Even someone like Ye Futian was full of respect and in awe; he dared not underestimate these top figures.
Therefore, even though Yumu referred to himself as “little monk,” Ye Futian was not so stupid as to follow suit. He merely said, “If that’s the case, then many thanks to Grandmaster Yumu.”
“Please.” Yumu extended his hand and gestured. But Ye Futian responded, “Grandmaster Yumu, you first.”
Yumu nodded slightly, then turned to go. He deliberately slowed down to wait for Ye Futian and only moved forward when Ye Futian had caught up to him. When many cultivators saw them leaving, their expressions were still one of cold apathy. However, with intervention from Wutian Buddha Lord, there was not much they could do now but to drop the matter entirely. Therefore, each of them dispersed. Soon, everyone left and disappeared without a trace.
Ye Futian and his party walked above the sacred land of Western Heaven with Yumu. Ye Futian said, “Grandmaster Yumu, I was watching those cultivators from before, and they seemed somewhat to disapprove of the Grandmaster.”
In fact, he had something else he didn’t say. Although the words of Wutian Buddha Lord had stopped the advancement of these foes, it did not seem to be a strong enough deterrent. At least, some of those people were still reluctant and continued to threaten Ye Futian verbally. It was not hard to judge their overall attitude.
Yumu nodded and said, “Benefactor Ye came from the Divine Prefecture, so you know that these same situations exist in every Realm. The Divine Prefecture has 18 domains and 18 Domain Chief’s Manors. Even the Great Emperor’s direct principality is under the control of someone different. How could they be expected to be of one single mind?”
From Yumu’s reply, Ye Futian knew that he thoroughly understood the meaning behind his comment.
Indeed, no matter which principality, there were inherently different factions, and it was impossible to be of one mind. When he first arrived in the World of Buddhism, he thought that the World of Buddhism was one united body, which, in retrospect, was somewhat a naïve notion.
“Under the Lord of All Buddhas, there are many great Buddhas, and different Buddhas have different cultivational concepts. Under the Lord of All Buddhas, there are Buddhas who guard the World of Buddhism, enforce the laws of the Western World, and take charge of all matters in the World of Buddhism. The head of this branch is Tongchang Buddha Lord. Zhenchan Temple, which Benefactor Ye was in a prior altercation with, and Lord Initial Zen, who perished, all belonged to this branch,” Yumu explained.
When Ye Futian heard this explanation, he immediately understood why Tongchan Arhat appeared so unfriendly. It seemed that Buddhist cultivators in this branch all born the meaning of “Zen” in their name somewhere.
“In addition, there are also preaching Buddhas. This kind of Buddhist cultivation is responsible for the preaching of Buddhist teachings in the World of Buddhist. My master, Wutian Buddha Lord, belongs to this branch.”
“There are also Buddhist cultivators who observe those cultivators in the World of Buddhism and listen to the voices within it. Finally, there are also Buddhas of Penance who are devoted to Buddhism and care not for earthly affairs.”
Ye Futian nodded slightly when he heard the explanation from the man. He now had a rough understanding of the order of things and people. “Thank you, Grandmaster, for your detailed explanation,” he said.
“There is one other thing that I am quite curious about. It was said that hundreds of years ago, Donghuang the Great came here to seek Buddhist instruction, taught by the Lord of All Buddhas himself. Previously, I have also heard that Donghuang the Great had cultivated one of the six superpowers of Buddhism; do you know which superpower he cultivated in?” asked Ye Futian.
“Was Tianyin Arhat the one who told this to you, Benefactor Ye?” Yumu asked.
“He was.” Ye Futian nodded. Previously, Tianyin Arhat found him and told him about it, but he didn’t specify which superpower was cultivated by Donghuang the Great.
“I’m afraid Benefactor Ye was deceived by Tianyin Arhat,” Yumu replied.
Tianyin Arhat lied? Ye Futian found that a little strange.
“So, Donghuang the Great never came here to cultivate Buddhism, and the rumors we heard from the outside were false?” Ye Futian was a little confused.
Yumu shook his head. “Of course, it is true. Donghuang the Great did come here to seek Buddhism teachings. However, Tianyin Arhat didn’t know which was cultivated by Donghuang the Great. As far as I know, only the Lord of All Buddhas and Donghuang the Great himself know of this between them. Everything else you heard on the outside was totally hearsay. Not only Tianyin Arhat didn’t know, but even Tianyin Buddha Lord himself does not necessarily know anything more about it.”
“I see,” Ye Futian nodded. Tianyin Arhat had told him that the Buddha had not said even a word. Perhaps even he did not know much more than the basics.
However, that Tianyin Arhat was a funny character. At least he didn’t mean Ye Futian any harm. When Tongchan Arhat appeared before, he had made sure to reminded Ye Futian to be careful of the other man.
“Yumu, you are not me; how do you know that I don’t know?” Just as the two of them were speaking, a voice suddenly rang through their ears. This completely caught Ye Futian by surprise. He looked up into the distance and wondered, was he eavesdropping on them?
This Buddha’s Clairaudience was indeed magical. He had been completely unaware of it.
“And you’re not me, so how do you know that I don’t know that you don’t know?” Yumu replied calmly. He didn’t seem to take offense when he responded readily across the way.
Ye Futian smiled when he heard the conversation between those two.
“I can’t win with you. Of course you are right,” Tianyin Arhat responded, and Ye Futian was a little surprised by his reply. It seemed that Yumu’s combat effectiveness was more than met the eye. When he met Tianyin Arhat before, he had a feeling that the other was exceedingly exceptional.
Now, Tianyin Arhat claimed he was unable to best Yumu, indicating a noticeable gap in their combat effectiveness.
However, Wutian Buddha Lord preached Buddhist teachings, and Yumu was the heir of Wutian Buddha Lord. It went without saying that he must be proficient in Buddhist teachings and methods, and his combat effectiveness was understandably powerful.
“I have one final question; if I want to see the Lord of All Buddhas, does Grandmaster Yumu have a way in?” Ye Futian asked. Yumu was silent for a moment, and Tianyin Arhat, who was in the distance, did not speak either.
Right after that, Yumu commented, “It’s probably a little hard, especially since you have already offended a lot of people among the Buddhist Sects.”
“Indeed, there is probably only one chance to meet the Lord of All Buddhas. All Buddhas Conference of Western Heaven will be held in the last month of All Buddhas Fest, at which time, all the Buddhas of Western Heaven will be there to discuss the Buddhist teachings and methods until the end of the Fest. Since this would be the ten-thousandth year of the All Buddhas calendar, the Lord of All Buddhas will likely make an appearance this time around. However, this conference is strictly a meeting for all the Buddhas in Buddhism to exchange their methods and teachings, and all the major Buddhas will be present. If you attend, you will most certainly stick out like a sore thumb. Furthermore, you have offended many Buddhist cultivators. I don’t think you will even be allowed entry there,” Yumu continued.
“All Buddhas Conference,” Ye Futian murmured. All the great Buddhas of Western Heaven would gather in one place, and indeed, it might be difficult for him to get in.
“How did Donghuang the Great get to meet the Lord of All Buddhas back then?” Ye Futian asked suddenly.
When Yumu thought about that, he couldn’t help but show a solemn look on his face. It was as if he was still awed by the memories of it all these years later. He said, “Donghuang the Great went to All Buddhas Conference to discuss the teachings of Buddhism and outshone all of the Buddhas!”
