One hundred and twenty years of the Pure Land calendar, New Year's Day.
Bells echoed above the Pure Land.
All living beings gathered; the Virtuous Path Pure Land had tens of millions of devotees, and the Evil Path Pure Land had hundreds of millions of Heretics.
The Bodhisattva's Dharma body, leaning against Mount Sumeru, was here today to preach.
"The world is at peace; it is time to restart an eon. In the next life, I shall be the Heavenly Dao."
All beings bowed, calling him the Great Benevolent and Great Virtuous One.
"All sentient beings can cross the tribulation of the apocalypse and multiply in the next eon."
"I shall establish a lineage, called Heart Zen, which all sentient beings may cultivate."
Lu Yuan Bodhisattva meticulously described what a superior affinity was, what the three bodies were, how to cultivate Zen, and how to cultivate divine abilities, admonishing the masses to prioritize the Tao and consider divine abilities and magic as secondary.
All beings respectfully obeyed the instructions, their expressions reverent.
The Bodhisattva also instructed the devotees of the Virtuous Path Pure Land to constantly introspect, lest they fall into the Evil Taoist.
He also instructed the Heretics of the Evil Path Pure Land that if they sincerely revered the Buddhist Dharma and constantly inclined towards good, they could also transcend the grasp of Duanye Evil Buddha.
After the miscellaneous matters were concluded, the Pure Land shook violently, golden light filled the sky, and everyone fell unconscious.
The retribution body of the Virtuous Path devotees transformed into a white epiphyllum, and the retribution body of the Evil Taoist Heretics transformed into a black epiphyllum. All intelligent beings—humans, spirits, demons, and ghosts—according to their original nature, had their souls fly out of their bodies and merge into these two flowers.
...
Simon held the white epiphyllum in his left hand and the black epiphyllum in his right, strolling leisurely through the superior affinity.
Deep within The Core of the scroll world, with his guidance, everyone could directly experience the wondrous superior affinity. This experience was like a piece of wood sensing the existence of atoms, or things seeing their true essence, elevating to a new realm of understanding of the universe and self.
For a moment, on the two epiphyllums, between the layers of petals, countless souls surged. There was joy, sorrow, reverence, melancholy, indignation, and various other emotions, too numerous to list.
The soul is very peculiar; it governs the three bodies and is essentially a link. After death, when the soul enters the cycle of superior affinity, it may sense the retribution body, like a final flicker of life, followed by the dissolution of the soul and the collapse of the retribution body.
However, this time there was no need to worry about tribulation striking; with the Bodhisattva protecting everyone, it was a predetermined fortune.
At this moment, the souls of all beings were resting on the epiphyllums formed by their retribution bodies, and thus they all sensed their respective retribution bodies.
The Virtuous Path Pure Land was carefree, while the Heretics of the Evil Path Pure Land discovered with extreme sorrow that their retribution bodies were in the hands of Duanye Evil Buddha. At this moment, this first demon of the next eon sat cross-legged in the center of the black epiphyllum, radiating malevolent intent, scrutinizing the countless souls among the flowers with greedy and cold eyes.
Simon looked down; everyone had sensed their retribution bodies.
The first step was complete.
Next was the Zheng Yuan Kou, refining all beings into an indra's net, interconnected with each other.
The second step was also easily completed.
The original two epiphyllums now became two sariras entangled by a web of precious pearls. Simon thought for a moment and decided to call them Zhengyuan Sariras, as they were merely a transitional product.
From then on, all preliminary work for restarting the eon was complete.
...
A scroll floated above the superior affinity of the grand universe.
Innumerable scenes appeared on the gray scroll, showing the rise and fall of all beings, from primordial gods and demons to scientific societies, spanning hundreds of millions of years and thousands of eons of change, yet all were but fleeting glimpses.
The development of the world was predetermined from the start.
Until the intrusion of outsiders, who brought new vitality.
Yue Shuangke was one of them.
Simon was also one of them.
The difference was that Simon's experiences were even more mystical, simply because he was extraordinary to begin with.
A god who intertwined light and void.
Such a powerful being as he deserved preferential treatment.
Simon smiled at a simply dressed man in front of him, "I'll walk the path ahead for you."
The man had a small goatee and a round, gentle face. He was the Heavenly Dao of the scroll world, actually a manifestation of a thought left by the Great Immortal Luozhou.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you. We shall meet again if fate allows."
After exchanging pleasantries, the two turned. One headed beyond the universe, slowly dissipating, while the other walked to the scroll and gently beckoned.
The boundless painting slowly rolled up, held in Simon's palm. His body suddenly expanded, standing on the superior affinity of the grand universe, like a fixed reef.
He was Simon, and even more so, Lu Yuan Bodhisattva!
In this superior affinity, which was about to return to its destined abode, a lotus seat slowly rose. Lu Yuan Bodhisattva sat cross-legged peacefully, his left hand forming the Dharma-preaching mudra, his right hand gently open and placed before his chest, with a scroll floating on his palm.
Two Zhengyuan Sariras flew out of the painting, circling and chasing each other around the Bodhisattva.
"The eon ends, and with a clap, it perishes."
The Bodhisattva gently clenched his fist; the scroll shattered, the sky collapsed, the earth fell, the stars extinguished, and all returned to darkness. The surging superior affinity was squeezed into nothingness.
"The new eon begins, and with an open palm, it is born."
The Bodhisattva slowly unclenched his fist; the superior affinity erupted, and a brand new universe was born. This was the Pure Land world.
The two sariras eagerly fell into it.
The form of the new world was entirely decided by the Bodhisattva's own preference.
It could be a flat earth with a round sky, or planets and space. However, since he could decide everything himself, why adhere to fixed patterns?
Let imagination run wild, transforming the most wondrous fantasies into reality.
...
It is said that Mount Sumeru is the center of the universe.
Mount Sumeru is not a specific mountain, but a pillar supporting the heavens. With Mount Sumeru as the boundary, one side is the world of Bright and Righteous Dharma, and the other is the world of Dark and Heretical Ways.
The sun revolves around Mount Sumeru once to complete a day.
Stars are distributed in the outer layer of the universe; their revolution completes a year.
All beings live on two spherical celestial bodies, with atmospheres covering their surfaces and land and oceans beneath.
One is the Virtuous Path Star, chasing the sun and on the same side of Mount Sumeru as the sun, located in the world of Bright and Righteous Dharma. The other is the Evil Path Star, avoiding the sun and on the opposite side of Mount Sumeru from the sun, located in the world of Dark and Heretical Ways.
Both the Virtuous Path Star and the Evil Path Star each have a satellite, called Pure Land Moon. The moon revolves around its planet once to complete a month.
The Virtuous Path Star has day and night cycles, abundant resources, numerous creatures, and loving relationships.
The Evil Path Star is accompanied only by the stars in the sky, cultivation is difficult, and all beings suffer.
Every hundred years is an era. At the end of the century, the twin stars converge on Mount Sumeru, and the beings on them can interact with each other, which inevitably leads to a great war.
The Virtuous Path beings fight bravely to defend their homeland, while the Heretics of the Evil Taoist rack their brains for the sake of the vibrant world.
Two years after the twin stars converge, they separate again, until the next century, beginning an unchanging cycle of reincarnation.
This is both a tribulation and an opportunity. Everyone on the twin stars, and their entire civilizations, attach extreme importance to the great war, sparing no effort to enhance their military power.
Therefore, martial arts flourished greatly.
Everyone practiced martial arts, solely to kill enemies or protect themselves.
The so-called Pure Land world is, paradoxically, full of strife.
All beings drift in a sea of suffering, and thus they all yearn for the legendary Shengdao Star, where there is no worry, wishes come true, and it is the true other shore.
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