Aldrian began to create his domain beside the lotus. As he rged with the surrounding nature and his domain took form, Venerable Karma Seeker’s eyes trembled at the changes in Aldrian.
Aldrian’s aura grew significantly stronger, but the most striking thing was his karma. In that mont, it beca vividly perceptible—his karma could be sensed clearly, and it was connected to all things in the world.
Venerable Karma Seeker fell to the ground, unable to believe what he had sensed and seen. This kind of karma...
He knew that Aldrian might have been soone important in a past life. But this kind of karmic connection was not sothing that should exist in soone like Aldrian in this lifeti.
It was as if everything—even the smallest parts of the world—had karma with him. Heaven and earth, energy, particles, soulless matter, and living beings were all connected to Aldrian. Each of them ford a link with him, as if they were reconnecting to sothing they had once been bound to in the past.
If even sothing that minute holds karma with him, was he a god in his past life?
Even Aldrian’s bearing now was like that of a god, making Venerable Karma Seeker feel the urge to prostrate before him. Aldrian might be able to control all beings connected to him through karma—as though he were a god—if he wished to.
That was what Venerable Karma Seeker believed.
Not long after, he sensed Aldrian’s cultivation breaking through to the low Grand Duke stage, and it did not stop there. It continued to rise, approaching the middle Grand Duke stage.
His cultivation kept rising until it finally broke through to the middle Grand Duke stage, where it stabilized.
Venerable Karma Seeker, who witnessed all of this directly, could only remain in a state of repeated shock. It was not enough that Aldrian’s karma was extraordinary—his cultivation was just as absurd.
His cultivation rose with ease, as if breaking through the Duke and Grand Duke stages was no big deal. Yet Venerable Karma Seeker knew well: the higher the cultivation, the harder it beca to advance.
At that level, cultivators required not only imnse energy and deep comprehension as the bare minimum, but also the right state of mind and place to break through. Watching Aldrian rise so effortlessly shattered his understanding of cultivation. It opened his eyes to a world where sothing this absurd was actually possible.
While Venerable Karma Seeker was still taking in the unbelievable sight, Aldrian had already completed the creation of his domain, making the entire Buddhist sect territory as his domain. He felt satisfied and quietly happy, but set those feelings aside for a mont as his consciousness was drawn into another space.
He stood in the middle of a white expanse—it looked like the sa place where he had once t the Heavenly Demon and the personification of Heaven. Not far from him, a lone figure stood with one hand forming a mudra. The figure was bald and wore a brown kasaya.
When Aldrian saw his face, he smiled and walked toward him. The figure looked back as Aldrian approached, then clasped his hands and bowed.
"Welco back, Your Majesty," he said. His voice was soothing and brought peace to everyone who heard it. He could captivate anyone with just his voice, which was truly useful since he liked to spread his teachings.
"It’s been a long ti. Well, I don’t know how long exactly, but still, I can finally see you, even if it’s just your will, Tianlian," Aldrian said.
The man before him was Tianlian—one of the closest people to him in his past life, alongside the Heavenly Demon and a few others. Tianlian could be called the first Buddhist cultivator in this universe.
Tianlian straightened and smiled, but Aldrian could see the emotion in his eyes. That alone made Aldrian’s smile turn warm.
"What is it? Isn’t an enlightened Buddha supposed to have already transcended worldly feelings? Why do you still look at with those eyes, as if you’re still trapped in worldly affairs?" he asked, intending to lighten the mood.
"True, worldly feelings belong to those still inside samsara, but in the end, those feelings are still part of us. How we manage them and how we perceive them is sothing each of us will have to deal with. To reach the state of emptiness, you co from sothing, but from emptiness, sothing also cos to be."
"For personally, the way I perceive my feelings for you will never change. You are soone I truly respect and already consider a role model. So, Your Majesty, even I can show this much emotion to you," Tianlian said with a slight smile.
Aldrian just nodded, understanding that Tianlian’s insight on this matter was different from his own. Then Aldrian looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Tianlian, are you still okay out there or...?"
"Oh, for , I’m still alright, Your Majesty—at least for now, since I can still sense my karmic connection with my real body sowhere," Tianlian answered, which made Aldrian sigh in relief.
"So, Tianlian, I have already t many people and understand the situation outside. Mind telling how bad it is? Is the destruction and loss really that severe?" Aldrian asked.
"Do you still rember the structure of this universe, Your Majesty?"
"Yes, at least this part I already rember. Our universe consists of nine heavens. Each heaven is so vast that it’s like a universe inside the universe." Tianlian nodded as he heard Aldrian.
"Well, the situation was bad at the ti I put my will into the Heavenly Lotus. We had lost the first four heavens, and we kept getting pushed back. Many have already perished defending each heaven. Although we are stronger, their numbers are truly imnse, which puts us at a serious disadvantage."
"At this ti—which I thought a long ti had passed since then—and now with Your Majesty arriving here, I assu only the ninth heaven remains, the last heaven they have yet to conquer. I don’t know if they have already reached the underworld or not, but it will be bad if they take it. Basically, they might control samsara."
"If that happens, this is also our last chance to turn the situation around. Because if sothing happens to Your Majesty in this life, then this universe is dood. Those invaders will intercept your soul and erase Your Majesty from existence."
Aldrian frowned, the situation was truly bad. If those invaders could control samsara, then they could control the life and death of every soul as they pleased. Even the heavenly laws seed unable to stop them from taking over each realm. Those invaders must have done sothing to the heavens, weakening the heavenly laws more and more.
"However, although the situation is not promising, many of us still fight and have created pockets of resistance in many places. Even the Heavenly Demon still fights in so of the higher heavens, using his own tactics to prevent the invaders from having a calm life. Thanks to that, not all of the invaders focus on the lower heavens, which has bought us enough ti until your return."
"Is it true that all the universes are attacking us? Why are they doing this?" Aldrian asked, still feeling it strange that they suddenly attacked this universe.
"To be honest, I don’t really know why they suddenly attacked us, but at one ti, I glimpsed a vision that might explain the reason behind their attack."
"From my understanding, they seem to be looking for sothing that can take them to a higher realm—sothing that could even allow the strongest among them to reach beyond the realms they know."
Aldrian’s frown deepened.
"And they’re searching for that thing in this universe? Just this universe alone? What makes them think it’s here? I sense so kind of conspiracy. Where did that kind of news co from?" he asked.
Tianlian shook his head.
"I don’t know, but I suspect the sa, because none of this could happen without soone directing many universes to attack us simultaneously—and it’s only us. I’ve tried to investigate this matter, but so far, I haven’t found anything. Maybe Your Majesty can et my real body and talk to him about this."
Aldrian sighed and nodded, then suddenly rembered sothing and looked at Tianlian.
"Don’t those invaders know that your will is communicating with like this? The last ti I spoke with the Heavenly Demon, one of the invaders seed to sense us and attacked our eting place. But at other tis, they don’t seem to realize that I communicate with the wills of many people," he asked.
"Well, those invaders can track the strange karmic threads and activities of those who are still alive and maintain a strong connection with the wills we placed here. My real body and the Heavenly Demon are included in this, since we have strong connections with our wills. With you activating my will, I believe they may have already sensed sothing and are trying to track this place."
"That’s why we can’t talk too much right now. So I think this is enough for our first eting, Your Majesty. I’m just glad that you’re back and have begun regaining your power."
Tianlian suddenly fell silent.
"Speak of the devil—they seem to have sensed sothing wrong and are trying to reach this place. We must separate now, your majesty."
Suddenly, darkness began to consu their surroundings. Before it fully engulfed them, Tianlian’s voice resounded one last ti.
"May the great emperor of All Heavens return with glory."
Then his figure vanished, swallowed by the darkness that overtook Aldrian’s sight.
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