Beyond the vast expanse of the Yan Great Snow Mountain, past the Bodhi Grove south of Fuya Ming’s secluded bamboo hermitage, lay a hidden, secluded valley.

No wider than a hundred zhang and stretching only ten li, the valley was densely packed with Buddhist restrictions, sealing off the sky and earth completely. At the valley’s center stood a preaching platform constructed of stacked stone, upon which lay a rush mat and a single cushion carved from azure jade.

Dressed in monastic robes with her hair bound in a Daoist knot, Fuya Ming sat cross-legged on the cushion, her hands manipulating a string of prayer beads, as she lectured on Daoist principles and Chan techniques, word by deliberate word. Behind her head glowed a dazzling halo of golden light, and above her crown, a strand of purple qi swirled, within which two faint figures occasionally flickered into and out of visibility. Gu Xiechen had obtained the Secret Slaying of Three Corpses method from the Three Pure Ones, and Fuya Ming had also received the true transmission. These two figures were the two corpses she had severed over ten thousand years, borrowing the power of the Golden Thread Bodhi Seed. One took the form of a compassionate Buddha, the other that of a serene Daoist recluse. The Buddha was wreathed in golden Samadhi flames, while the recluse was encircled by the dense essence of Taiyin; this perfectly mirrored the two cultivation paths she had pursued over the years.

Severing one corpse granted the cultivation level of a peak Great Overarching Golden Immortal; severing two pushed one into the legendary Grandmist Realm. Should one manage to sever the third, the Saint Realm would be but a single step away. Over ten millennia, Fuya Ming, perhaps due to insufficient magical power or inadequate comprehension, had been unable to sever the third corpse, despite possessing the Heaven-defying shortcut of the Three Pure Ones’ Secret Slaying method.

Yet, the cultivation attained by severing two corpses was already terrifying enough. Her current magical power was slightly shallower, equating to that of a mid-stage Great Overarching Golden Immortal, but in terms of the depth of her Dao practice and her comprehension and grasp of the Heavenly Dao, she far surpassed the monks of the Huian Great Snow Mountain.

Below the preaching platform, sixteen hundred tonsured monks sat cross-legged, listening with focused intent as Fuya Ming expounded upon the Daoist laws and Buddhist rituals.

Among these sixteen hundred tonsured monks, eight hundred were male monastics, corresponding to the stations of the Eight Hundred Golden Arhats; the other eight hundred were nuns, corresponding to the roles of the Eight Hundred Bhikshunis. All the assembled monks emanated wisps of colorful light, with precious auras rising from them. Each appeared pure and untainted, their spiritual radiance full and abundant, resembling bright jewels emitting a dazzling sheen—clearly individuals of profound virtue who had grasped the true essence of the Great Dao.

After three days and three nights of such instruction, one male monk and one nun suddenly rose to their feet with cries like the roar of a dragon. A golden light erupted from behind their heads, and white qi immediately solidified beneath their feet into a three-tiered lotus platform, lifting them gently upward. The two monks circled Fuya Ming three times on their lotus pedestals, bowing deeply and reverently before returning to their places below, seated once more with faces alight with joy.

Fuya Ming abruptly ceased her lecture. She cast a cold glance at the monk and nun and declared, “Good. Having broken through suddenly to the Great Overarching Golden Immortal realm, you two shall be regarded as the foremost among my disciples. In the Daoist tradition, you are Great Overarching Golden Immortals; in Buddhism, you are already Bodhisattvas. Today, I bestow upon you the Daoist titles: Sunlight Bodhisattva and Moonlight Bodhisattva.”

The male monk hastily stood up, bowing with clasped hands toward Fuya Ming in a gesture of utmost respect and fear: “Master, the Sunlight Bodhisattva and Moonlight Bodhisattva are actually famous in the Buddhist—”

Fuya Ming cut him off, stating plainly, “They vanished from the Three Realms long ago. What does it matter if we borrow their titles? When your cultivation surpasses theirs in the future, you can smash their tonsured heads and claim their Dharma names. That would be only reasonable.”

With a cold snort, Fuya Ming continued, her tone deep, “Within the Three Realms, across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, the strong prevail, and the weak weep. This is the law of nature: survival of the fittest. If you dare not even use two ready-made Dharma names, how can you speak of advancing your cultivation or focusing solely on practice?”

The eyes of the assembled monks flashed like lightning. They rose in unison, prostrating themselves before Fuya Ming, praising her profound words on the Great Dao as being utterly sound and appropriate.

Fuya Ming noticed that several monks below still wore expressions of hesitation, overlaid with a trace of sorrow they could not overcome. She let out a sharp cry and casually flung a Zen staff, smashing it fiercely against the heads of a few of the tonsured monks.

“Why have you not awakened? The physical body is but a shell, disposable at any moment. Your shells are currently humble and lowly. Once your Daoist attainment is complete and you achieve the venerable station of Bodhisattva or Buddha, who in the Three Realms would dare to look askance at you? Will you not awaken now?”

The heavy Zen staff struck the monks until blood flowed and their scalps cracked widely, yet this only filled them with ecstatic joy, causing them to dance and leap. Golden light burst forth from behind their heads—a single blow had struck them into sudden enlightenment, and they too had attained the Dao fruit of Great Overarching Golden Immortal.

The number of monks who achieved this breakthrough was exactly ten. Fuya Ming, with characteristic ferocity, named them after the legendary Ten Great Disciples of the Buddha: Sariputra (Wisdom foremost), Maudgalyayana (Supernatural Power foremost), Ananda (Vast Learning foremost), Upali (Precepts foremost), Anuruddha (Heavenly Eye foremost), Mahakasyapa (Asceticism foremost), Purnamaitrayaniputra (Dharma Talk foremost), Katyayana (Discourse foremost), Rahula (Secrecy foremost), and Subhuti (Emptiness foremost).

After bestowing these titles, Fuya Ming gifted the dozens of sacred Buddhist treasures she had refined over the years to the disciples who benefited that day. She then ordered them to leave the valley to pursue their own paths, keeping back only Maudgalyayana from the Ten Great Disciples.

“How often do you leave the mountain?” Fuya Ming asked, her gaze fixed on Maudgalyayana.

Maudgalyayana knelt beneath the preaching platform, respectfully pressing his forehead to the ground, and reported with solemnity, “Your disciple holds the post of handling general labor and miscellaneous tasks, managing all the kitchens and vegetable gardens in the mountain. If there are newly entered disciples who cannot yet forgo food and drink, all matters concerning their sustenance fall to me.”

He paused slightly, then continued in a deep voice, “In seven days, I am scheduled to leave the mountain with the supervisor of miscellaneous tasks, Master Mingsheng, to procure necessary salt, pickles, and rice.”

Fuya Ming nodded. “Is that the fat monk Mingsheng? His cultivation is only at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm.”

With a few cold laughs, she bestowed upon Maudgalyayana a string of heavy, pitch-black prayer beads engraved with the divine script of Taiyin. Fuya Ming stated in a low voice, “When you leave in seven days, kill Mingsheng. Then, follow the path indicated by these beads, ascend the Celestial Ladder, and travel to the Human Realm’s region known as the Spiral Star Domain. There, detail the situation of the Human Realm and the Spiral Star Domain thoroughly to them.” She continued detailing the situation in the Spiral Star Domain until he had memorized everything. Then, Fuya Ming whispered her final instructions: “Go see the current state of the Spiral Star Domain. If the Nine Hells Dao or the Evil Dragon Sect occupies that area, seek out their respective sect masters. If their masters are zombies or hungry ghosts, then they are the true powers.”

She paused briefly, then added drily, “If their master’s name is Peng Hua, Prajna, Maha, or Siren, then convey my current situation to them. Tell them I am confined within the Great Snow Mountain, able only to walk within the mountain but unable to step outside.”

Hesitating for a moment, Fuya Ming sighed, gritting her teeth as she muttered, “If that person is named Gu Xiechen, then take these prayer beads and fiercely beat him. Then, tell him to hurry up and figure out a way to get his Master out of here.”

Maudgalyayana kept nodding, committing every word Fuya Ming said to memory.

After a while longer, Fuya Ming showed a flicker of hesitation. “When you strike him, don’t use too much force. Among my disciples, you possess the greatest divine strength; be careful not to damage his tendons and bones. If you do, I will flay your skin when you return!”

Maudgalyayana froze. With immense internal conflict, he raised his head to look at Fuya Ming, utterly unable to reconcile how a “fierce” beating could avoid damaging the recipient. However, Fuya Ming’s face was flushed delicate pink, a faint smile playing on her lips, and her mind was already wandering thousands of miles away; she had no time to address his confusion.

With a bashed, tonsured head and a mind full of doubts, Maudgalyayana numbly walked out of the valley.

After storing all the sacred Buddhist treasures within his body and using the miraculous incantations from the Great Desolation Scripture to conceal his cultivation, Maudgalyayana’s aura became indistinguishable from that of an ordinary Void Realm cultivator. He picked up a shining great axe and a piece of straw rope, and went into the nearby forest to chop a large bundle of firewood.

The firewood in this Great Snow Mountain consisted of exotic trees, harder than golden wire netting. For an ordinary Void Realm cultivator, chopping such wood was a form of disguised torment; no common cultivator could break these trees. Only Maudgalyayana, with his boundless divine strength and his habit of being a simple-minded, stubborn fool, had been assigned such a task.

Therefore, when Maudgalyayana usually went into the mountains to chop wood, he would be gone for ten days, half a month, and no one bothered to inquire about his movements.

It was not just Maudgalyayana; all one thousand six hundred of Fuya Ming’s disciples were merely menial disciples within the nameless Zen compound of the Wuxing Old Nun, living day-to-day in the great mountains like wild grass, surviving or perishing on their own. Fuya Ming had spent three hundred years gaining their trust, three hundred years winning over their hearts, and over nine thousand years conditioning them until their Dao skills and divine abilities were extraordinary.

Were it not for the support of Grandmist-level classics like the Taiyin True Scripture, the Great Desolation Scripture, and the Three Pure Ones’ Secret Slaying method, how could ordinary people cultivate disciples reaching the Great Overarching Golden Immortal level in a mere ten thousand years? Yet, Fuya Ming had done exactly that. Furthermore, even the Wuxing Old Nun had not discovered the hidden force she commanded among her disciples.

In terms of Dao practice and magical power, Fuya Ming was inferior to the Wuxing Old Nun.

But when it came to deploying schemes, accumulating influence, plotting conspiracies, and playing tricks, a hundred thousand Wuxing Old Nuns plus all their disciples combined could not match Fuya Ming alone!

Two shi-chen (four hours) after Maudgalyayana had left the valley, Fuya Ming waved her hand, completely destroying the preaching platform. All the restrictions in the valley vanished instantly, leaving behind only a common Buddhist seal meant to obscure the view.

Just then, a strange, delicate fragrance wafted from a fissure in the mountainside nearby. A few pale golden zhi grasses sprouted from a patch of soil spanning three to five feet, and in the blink of an eye, several plump Lingzhi mushrooms grew from their roots. A flash of bright mist appeared, and a small, naked figure, about a chi tall, with a halo of Buddhist light above its head, sprang out from the Lingzhi. The figure slowly stretched and let out a long yawn toward the sky.

This was a newly formed Roushi (flesh fungus). Its origin was the "Star-Glimmer Gold Zhi," the most difficult variety to assume human form, which required at least ten million years of cultivation to walk about on legs. Moreover, such a natural treasure contained immense spiritual energy, making it an exquisite item for nourishing the physical body, the nascent spirit, and increasing magical power.

Observing the small figure, the Buddhist light above its head already possessed a certain vigor. Clearly, it had eavesdropped on the countless sermons of great monks and virtuous masters deep beneath the Snow Mountain to attain its current cultivation and Dao foundation, allowing it to condense such a perfect human body.

As the little figure yawned, Fuya Ming struck it with a Golden Net Restriction spell, instantly causing the surrounding rock and soil to become millions of times harder than alloy steel. Startled, the little figure shuddered and leaped up, stiffly attempting to dive headfirst into the ground.

With a dull thud, the little figure was bounced back, its head bleeding. Fuya Ming pointed a finger, and a swath of Buddhist light flashed in the void, enveloping the little figure and its original Lingzhi body. With a soft huff, the Lingzhi grass was uprooted from the soil. Pressed down by the Buddhist light, it dissolved into a pool of shimmering golden liquid that floated before Fuya Ming.

The Buddhist restriction above her head was suddenly broken, and several figures gracefully flew in. These individuals witnessed Fuya Ming impassively drawing the pool of golden liquid into her mouth. Before the cry of “Impossible!” could even escape, the little figure was twisted by the Buddhist light into a cloud of shining golden light, which also merged into Fuya Ming’s body.

A vortex of Samadhi flames spun around Fuya Ming’s body. This extremely rare Star-Glimmer Cuiwen Gold Zhi transformed into a surge of majestic magical power for Fuya Ming. Fuya Ming turned around with a cold expression and nodded to the few stunned nuns who had flown into the valley. “It was not in vain that I waited here diligently all these years. This beast ultimately could not escape my grasp.” She smiled faintly and asked the dumbfounded nuns, “Increasing one’s magical cultivation by several tens of yuanhui (eons) in an instant—it is such a satisfying thing. No wonder the Demon Dao practitioners and Demon Immortals favor seizing the vital essence of humans and spirits.” She then looked at the newcomers. “Several Senior Sisters have come here, what is your business?” The young nuns exchanged glances, and suddenly their minds cleared. No wonder Fuya Ming had occasionally entered and exited this valley over the past three millennia, sometimes even sealing it with Buddhist restrictions. It turned out she was waiting for this flesh fungus!

Chanting a Buddhist phrase, a dignified-looking nun with plain features spoke gravely, “Master requests your presence, Junior Sister.”

Fuya Ming nodded slowly and said lightly, “Since Master requests me, then please, Senior Sisters, lead the way. Ah, and please do not tell Master about the affairs here. Lest someone starts nagging again about the virtue of cherishing life.”

One nun could not hold back and sharply retorted, “Junior Sister, you have been in the mountain for ten thousand years, and the number of natural treasures you have destroyed is no less than dozens. The heavens cherish life…”

Fuya Ming’s figure flickered and vanished without a trace. Only her cold voice drifted from afar: “Nonsense, as expected!”

The few nuns turned ashen with anger but were powerless against Fuya Ming. They looked at each other, then walked to the fissure, recited several reincarnation mantras, and reluctantly left the valley. They knew that the spirit of the flesh fungus had been absorbed by Fuya Ming to become her own magical power; there was no soul left for reincarnation.

These nuns found it strange. Fuya Ming had been in the mountain for ten thousand years. Even if the Wuxing Old Nun favored her and gave her personalized Buddhist teachings once every century, her cultivation should at most have risen from the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal to the early stage of the Great Overarching Golden Immortal. By fearlessly devouring so many natural treasures, wasn’t she risking self-destruction? Yet, after ten thousand years, the amount of such spiritual items she had consumed was immeasurable, and she remained perfectly fine. Wasn't that utterly bizarre?

Tens of thousands of immortals from the Xuanmin Palace stood silently outside the Bodhi Grove, not making a sound.

On the grassy area in the center of the two Bodhi Groves, at the end of that clearing, the golden mist that usually enveloped the area had dissipated, revealing a spacious bamboo hermitage capable of housing about a thousand people. In the center of the tall hermitage was a simple soft grass cushion. The Wuxing Old Nun sat cross-legged upon it, attended by over a dozen tonsured nuns standing at her sides.

The white-robed nun who had sparred with Fuya Ming a few days prior stood respectfully before the Wuxing Old Nun, cautiously recounting the origins of the Wuji True Lord and his retinue behind her. The Wuji True Lord of the Xuanyue Palace stood with his three sons in a line behind the white-robed nun, gazing at the Wuxing Old Nun with smiling faces.

The white-robed nun, Xianming, spoke tediously for a long time before the Wuxing Old Nun finally spoke faintly, “Enough. After all this talk, you are merely bringing up old matters: marrying Fuya off to the Young Divine Lord of the Xuanyue Palace?”

The Wuji True Lord stepped forward, smiling deferentially at the Wuxing Old Nun. “This junior believes this is the best opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the Great Snow Mountain and our Xuanyue Palace. Please understand that my young son is somewhat inept, but upon seeing Fuya that year, he could neither sleep by night nor eat by day, truly agonizing day and night, tossing and turning. The so-called—”

A golden light flashed at the entrance of the bamboo hut, and Fuya Ming stood there exquisitely.

She chastised coldly, “All that talk is nonsense. Senior Sister Xianming, are you intentionally trying to make things difficult for me?”

The white-robed nun Xianming smiled, merely looking at the Wuxing Old Nun. “Please let Master judge, this matter is beneficial for the Great Snow Mountain lineage, and for the Xuanmin Palace as well. My little junior brother Gu is quite a talented fellow; pairing him with Junior Sister is most suitable.”

The Wuxing Old Nun chanted a Buddhist phrase and began counting her prayer beads one by one. After a full half shi-chen (one hour), she weakly opened her eyes, her cloudy gaze falling upon Fuya Ming. She asked softly, “Fuya, what is your intention?”

Fuya Ming stood with her hands behind her back, glaring coldly at the Wuxing Old Nun, and challenged impolitely, “What do you think?”

The Wuxing Old Nun sighed lightly and said faintly, “I brought you to the Great Snow Mountain because you have affinity with our Buddha. Ten thousand years have passed; you still do not appreciate it?”

Fuya Ming merely sneered, mocking, “The actions of so-called Buddhas, Gods, and Immortals are based on nothing more than ‘benefit.’ Xianming clearly wants her good-for-nothing little brother to marry me because she covets my path of Artifact Refining. Why did you force me to become your disciple? That is not something I can discern.”

She fixed her cold gaze on the Wuxing Old Nun, whose face was expressionless. Fuya Ming’s tone abruptly shifted, becoming deep and profound: “Or perhaps, it is not for me, but for the people around me? Who could that be? The ministers of Yafeike? Unworthy. The armies of Yafeike? Not worth it. Then who else could there be?”

The Wuxing Old Nun’s eyes shot out sharp rays of light, staring directly at Fuya Ming.

Fuya Ming gave a cold laugh, then stamped her foot heavily. Instantly, the pool of water outside the hut shot into the sky, shattering countless fish, dragons, birds, lotus roots, and lotus flowers. The force of that single stomp made nearly half the Great Snow Mountain tremble, and the sounds of avalanches and splitting mountains echoed everywhere.

Fuya Ming roared fiercely, “Or is it for Gu Xiechen? What is there on him that you covet?”

The Wuxing Old Nun finally showed emotion and shouted in a low voice, “Insolent! Fuya, today I, your Master, will decide for you—”

Before the Wuxing Old Nun could finish her sentence, a beam of golden light shot out from between Fuya Ming’s eyebrows. An eight-sided, thirteen-story exquisite pagoda soared into the sky, smashing down with a tremendous roar toward the Young Divine Lord of the Xuanyue Palace, Gu, who stood behind the Wuji True Lord and was gazing fixedly at Fuya Ming with his peach-blossom eyes.

“If you want to marry me, first see if you have the qualification!”

The pagoda plummeted toward Gu’s head. Fuya Ming formed a Buddhist seal with both hands and struck out toward the Xianming nun in front of her chest.

Chaos erupted inside the bamboo hut. (To be continued)