Fahai didn't hesitate.
He rose to his feet, summoned the clouds beneath him, and flew straight toward Hangzhou.
His heart was in turmoil.
It wasn't just about the Buddhist mission anymore.
The Eternal God's ability to shatter all causality… was terrifying in itself.
Magic power.
The karma between himself and the White Snake.
Everything had been revealed—disassembled like clockwork.
If he hadn't reached enlightenment and achieved the Tao, he wouldn't have been able to break through the illusion of fate that had surrounded his life since birth.
But… was it all truly the Buddha's design?
Just to track down the descendant of the Candle Dragon?
Fahai suddenly realized… he had underestimated the Eternal God.
Bodhisattva… why do you want me to engage with Him?
The secrets involved are far too immense.
Worse, he had a deep, creeping feeling… that even if the Tathagata himself acted, he wouldn't be able to defeat the Eternal God.
The most obvious reason?
The Buddha couldn't locate the Eternal God at all.
But the Eternal God… could expose every one of the Buddha's secrets like reading from a book.
Wasn't that already proof enough?
In other worlds, descendants of Nuwa had been captured.
The Qilin was being used as a sacrifice.
Just looking at the number of believers—millions, perhaps tens of millions—made Fahai's skin crawl.
And it was still growing.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the clouds above Hangzhou.
His gaze swept over West Lake.
There was a Dragon King residing in the waters—but it was only a juvenile dragon, nothing worth mentioning.
Despite the heavy rain, people had gathered around the lake to watch it fall.
Then, Fahai's attention was caught by a single figure.
A woman in white stood at the lakeside. Her face was bare, free of makeup, yet stunningly beautiful.
There was an ethereal grace in the way she moved—an immortal air that set her apart from the world around her.
"It's you…"
Fahai's eyes narrowed. He pinched his fingers together to divine her fate.
A vision formed in front of him.
Memories of a previous life.
And the words of the Eternal God… confirmed.
Inside the boat on the West Lake, Bai Suzhen suddenly raised her head.
Her eyes narrowed toward the clouds in the sky.
"Big Sister, what's wrong?"
Beside her, Xiaoqing noticed her sister had activated a protective spell and instinctively drew her weapon.
Bai Suzhen shook her head slowly.
Just now… someone had tried to divine her.
But when she looked up, there was nothing—just clouds.
Maybe it was my imagination.
After all, she was just one step away from becoming an immortal herself.
Even true immortals shouldn't be able to escape her perception.
Inside the small cabin, aside from the sisters, there was only a clueless boy and a boatman dressed in coarse linen.
The rain, like a silken curtain, slowly came to a stop.
The boatman eagerly brought the vessel to shore.
Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing disembarked hand in hand. But since Bai Suzhen was preoccupied, she forgot her colorful umbrella in the boat.
It was picked up by Xu Xian.
And so… fate began.
On the way back, Bai Suzhen still felt uneasy.
So she asked a nearby spirit if anything unusual had happened recently.
A fox spirit answered respectfully, "Immortal, please be informed: there is a revered monk living at the nearby Jinshan Temple.
Every night, golden light shines from his meditation hall, and no demon dares pass."
"Jinshan Temple?" Bai Suzhen frowned. "I've never heard of any monks there before."
"It's a recent development. The current abbot is called Fahai. He moved here not long ago."
Bai Suzhen nodded and waved the little fox away.
Xiaoqing frowned.
"Sister… do you think the one who spied on us earlier is that bald thief?"
"Yes," Bai Suzhen replied softly. "The more I think about it, the more convinced I am.
Even for something tied to fate, I wouldn't mistake my perception. Someone was definitely watching us."
"Then why don't we go check it out?"
Bai Suzhen hesitated, then shook her head.
After all… she was still a demon.
Showing up unannounced might only cause unnecessary conflict.
Forget it. Let's focus on finding the one destined for us.
Once the karmic bond is fulfilled, I'll finally ascend to immortality.
Back at Jinshan Temple, since returning, Fahai had been in a state of dazed contemplation.
Over and over, he weighed his thoughts.
If he followed Guanyin's instructions, he should now meditate and report his spiritual perceptions back to her.
But what happened today had already gone far beyond expectations.
He feared that if he took one more step forward…
There would be no turning back.
In the dim temple, lit only by flickering lanterns, a heavy sigh echoed.
Fahai rose with an oil lamp and walked toward the rear courtyard.
An old monk resided there—the temple's former abbot. Though his cultivation was weak, his understanding of Buddhism was profound.
Fahai often came to speak with him… and always left feeling enlightened.
Knock knock.
"Master, are you awake?" Fahai asked respectfully.
His voice was soft—just loud enough to be heard by someone awake, but quiet enough not to disturb sleep.
It reflected his deep reverence.
A moment later, a warm light glowed through the door, and a gentle voice called out:
"Come in…"
"Yes." Fahai stepped inside.
The old monk sat on a wooden bed. He was in his eighties, thin and frail, but his eyes were clear and sharp.
Fahai fetched a cushion and sat before him.
"If something troubles you, speak it plainly.
From the look on your face these past few days, I can tell you're carrying a heavy burden."
The old monk's gaze was piercing—like a blade that cut straight through to Fahai's heart.
All of his confusion and doubt… dissolved.
"…Master," Fahai began softly, "do you believe Buddhism is truly pure and without flaw?"
He hesitated but finally asked the question that had gnawed at him since earlier.
He had always believed demons were evil.
That belief was only solidified when Bai Suzhen stole his golden core—leading to his disgrace and expulsion from Lingshan.
Since then, his heart had been full of resentment.
His emotions… unstable.
But today, the Eternal God had said something that shattered him:
His entire life was simply following a script.
A puppet.
A marionette pulled by divine strings.
On the third day of March, the White Snake encountered her destined one once again.
He, too, was in Hangzhou.
Fahai didn't even need to think about what would happen next.
As fate would have it, the two would fall in love, and under a series of "coincidences," they would eventually cross paths with him—the abbot of Jinshan Temple.
That was the catastrophe.
Heh… I once thought it was destiny. Turns out it was all a calculation.
His very existence, the theft of his golden core, his fall from Lingshan—all of it had been orchestrated by Buddhist design.
All for the sake of capturing the descendant of the Candle Dragon.
The old Zen Master looked at Fahai and said calmly:
"Shouldn't you be asking this of the Bodhisattva or the Buddha?
Why come to a mere mortal like me with such a question?"
Fahai smiled bitterly.
Because deep down, he could no longer bring himself to believe in Buddhism.
"The Dharma is divided into Mahayana, Hinayana, and countless other schools.
They splintered because of differing ideologies…"
"People think differently. Naturally, their paths to enlightenment differ as well."
"Your question... you can only answer for yourself.
No matter what those above us do—they have their reasons."
"Just like secular emperors—everyone has their own desires.
Even our pursuit of purity… that too, is a kind of desire."
Fahai was stunned.
But then… something within him clicked.
He bowed deeply to the Zen Master, turned, and quietly left the room.
Back in his meditation chamber, Fahai sat cross-legged.
He took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and initiated the meditation method.
And descended into the depths of the spiritual realm.
Elsewhere, Guanyin, who had been monitoring him all this time, sighed quietly.
"My Buddha… Fahai has already cultivated the law of the evil god. His mental state appears to be deeply affected."
"Continue watching," came the response.
Even now, neither Guanyin nor Fahai realized…
His every thought and action was being watched.
Within the void of meditation—a dark, spiritual plane—Fahai arrived.
But something was different this time.
A newcomer had appeared.
Unlike the usual mindless drifting spirits, this presence was fully conscious, awakened the moment it entered.
"So this is the law of the evil god? Hmph… doesn't seem like much."
Fahai's consciousness surged forward.
A ray of golden light appeared ahead, and he could feel his primordial spirit strengthening as he advanced.
This method… was extraordinary.
Fahai was in awe.
Suddenly, the space trembled.
He snapped awake.
And found himself standing before a massive, luminous jade platform.
"Fahai. You came to me, after all."
"So… tell me. Do you still believe your Dharma is untainted?"
The voice was soft, yet it seemed to echo from the Ninth Heaven, more overwhelming than any sermon the Tathagata had ever delivered.
Fahai's entire body shook.
He looked up—
And saw an enormous human face, illuminated by divine light, gazing directly into his soul.
Just looking into those eyes felt like being dissected from within.
If I keep staring… I'll die!
Panicked, he quickly lowered his gaze.
Only then did he notice the intricate lines beneath his feet.
He was standing in someone's palm.
That entire platform… was just a hand?
Seeing that Fahai didn't speak, the entity—Liu Che, the Eternal God—sneered.
"Silence? Do you think I don't already know what's going through your mind?"
"You wonder how I understand the thoughts of those so-called immortal Buddhas?"
"Because they're all liars. False immortals. False Buddhas."
"They can't even perceive my existence, much less stop me. Even if you stood before them and spoke my truths, they still couldn't find me."
"I existed before all living things.
All Dharma was born from me."
"But those ignorant gods and Buddhas… they know nothing."
Fahai said nothing.
But his thoughts screamed in chaos.
This was the Eternal God's method of breaking down Fahai.
To first destroy his reverence for Buddhism.
To awaken the rebellious nature buried deep in his heart.
And Fahai—who had always been stubborn and proud—was the perfect target.
Tell him his entire life had been orchestrated?
That he was just a pawn in someone else's game?
He couldn't take it.
As expected, it had only taken one day for him to enter the meditation realm again.
Now… time to apply more pressure.
"Since you won't speak," Liu Che continued, "then act according to your own thoughts."
"Though you curse me as an evil god, you are fortunate to be a member of the group.
I've decided to grant you strength—so that you may see the truth of the world."
A single golden finger touched Fahai's spiritual body.
Immediately, his primordial spirit strengthened.
And a brand-new Dharma was injected directly into his consciousness:
[Six-Turn Golden Body Technique]
It was still Buddhist in form, but its power far surpassed the teachings of Fahai's own world.
Comparable not to mere monks—but to Guanyin herself.
Fahai barely had time to react before he was jolted awake.
His entire back was soaked in cold sweat.
That god… he's terrifying.
I must never engage with him again. If I do…
From afar, a voice whispered:
"Buddha… he's awake."
"Hmm… his strength hasn't changed. There's no trace of evil aura.
But his soul—it's definitely stronger."
Guanyin.
Fahai froze.
I've… been under surveillance this entire time?