A slight figure stepped into the River of Void Space, clad in a simple cyan monk's robe, standing barefoot. His features were refined, his aura otherworldly. Yet, in his eyes now, there was only confusion. He was staring intently at the Celestial Flame Realm, but what he saw was utter chaos. He employed the art of time reversal, casting his sight back into the past, but gained nothing. Even when something flickered into view, it was hazy, impossible to retain memory of, and impossible to pinpoint the exact time period.

"It must be the Obstruction of Knowledge and Perception!"

A voice suddenly sounded behind him, followed by another figure, equally extraordinary and refined. He too wore robes, but his bearing was much grander and more expansive.

"I just visited the Water Moon Zen Monastery, and it was the same there—unable to see, unable to know, and ultimately gaining nothing. However, that Master Xiaoyue truly grasps the profound mysteries of our Dharma; she will undoubtedly achieve the Arhat fruit in the future. When this matter is concluded and we return, I intend to guide her into the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss—"

The refined monk's brow twitched slightly upon hearing this. He turned to glance at the person behind him, offering a wry smile.

"Senior Brother Lengjia, investigating the whereabouts of the Future Buddha is the priority right now! Regardless, it is confirmed that the Infinite Beginning and End has indeed appeared in this realm. The puzzle is that this individual seems unwilling to make contact with us. What are we to do?"

Pausing, this Wonderful Truth Buddha hesitated briefly before continuing, "I observe that the technique used interferes with perception through the power of prophecy. A Saint-level expert must have intervened to help the Future Buddha conceal events here. This method… it bears some similarity to that of our junior sister—"

"Pure World Sound Buddha?"

Lengjia paused, a note of uncertainty in his voice. "It is indeed rather similar. However, our junior sister reincarnated six hundred years ago. She vowed to experience a hundred cycles of reincarnation, enduring the suffering of all sentient beings. She shouldn't have condensed her merit this quickly."

"But what if she has re-gathered her divine abilities? I calculated carefully; around this time, junior sister should be close to restoring her full powers."

The Wonderful Truth Buddha chuckled, his expression unusually bright. "Junior sister's Dao is rooted in the concept of 'prediction.' She can illuminate three thousand years above and below, and also predetermine future events. Among our martial brothers and sisters, her divine power and magical potency are second only to the Three Great Buddhas. Yet, precisely because her Dao grants infinite abilities, it does not touch the fundamentals of the Dao. To advance further, to truly step into the ultimate realm, is incredibly difficult. Even rebirth and enduring myriad hardships may not necessarily aid her Dao. Perhaps—"

"Perhaps junior sister foresaw something six centuries ago? Perhaps she even believes the Future Buddha is the key to her entry into the ultimate realm?"

Lengjia finished the sentence that Wonderful Truth had left hanging, his gaze narrowing slightly.

"In other words, the reincarnation of our junior sister, Pure World Sound, might currently be by the Future Buddha's side? If that is true, Sakyamuni Buddha will undoubtedly be immensely relieved upon hearing it. However, this is still unconfirmed. You and I must find a way to search for the Future Buddha's location. This concerns the foundation of Buddhism; we dare not be careless—"

Before he finished speaking, Lengjia's expression grew grave as he looked toward the distant void.

"That presence belongs to the Lu family. Their hostility seems profound. Did you provoke him, junior brother?"

"Wonderful Truth is not one to stir up trouble! Although, seeing the suffering of the faithful in this Leping Realm might make junior brother consider annihilating the Lu family, he understands the risks. Our Buddhist sect is currently not in a position to invite trouble."

Wonderful Truth shook his head. "Most likely, they assume our sect is the primary culprit in this realm. Despite the Obstruction of Knowledge and Perception, we can confirm that the Realm Lord of the Lu family in this domain, along with an exceptionally outstanding heir under Xuanye, perished here in the Leping Realm. This individual is likely one of Lord Xuanye's subordinates."

"How could that be? Wait—"

Lengjia was first confused, then comprehension dawned.

It truly was possible. Although the Celestial Flame Mountain was shrouded in the Obstruction of Knowledge and Perception, it was saturated with traces of Buddhist power. Even this divine ability, which prevented sight and knowledge, seemed inextricably linked to the Pure World Sound Buddha. Moreover, the Azure Spirit World had been a contested territory between the Buddhist sect and the Lu family for decades. Though they retreated in the end, a counter-attack now was not entirely unexpected. Most importantly, coincidentally, the two of them appeared precisely here. This explained the hostility from the Lu family contingent over there.

"This… this truly is—"

Lengjia didn't know what to say for a moment. It wasn't entirely an undeserved calamity, as it was the work of the Infinite Beginning and End Buddha. Was he taking the fall for the Future Buddha? Not exactly, either; the Future Buddha's appearance was intrinsically linked to the Buddhist faithful in this realm. Just as Sakyamuni Buddha said, 'Great Compassion'—even taking this blame without complaint was acceptable.

After a brief shift in thought, he shook his head again. "Forget it! Let them think what they will. If they misunderstand and believe the two of us orchestrated these events, perhaps it isn't a bad thing."

Wonderful Truth nodded slightly. "Junior brother thinks the same! That's why I didn't intend to engage them. We only need to remain vigilant—"

The purpose of their journey was threefold: to search, to persuade, and to guard. To ensure the future Brahma Tathagata could escape the Lu family's scrutiny was their shared desire, a situation they were happy to facilitate.

"Indeed, we should not concern ourselves with that person!"

Lengjia then asked, "Everything within the Azure Spirit Realm is obscured by the Obstruction of Knowledge and Perception; staying here is pointless. However, we cannot return empty-handed. In your opinion, where should we begin our next step?"

Wonderful Truth frowned; that question genuinely stumped him. After a long period of contemplation, he finally spoke, "We can go to the Cloud Realm! The Future Buddha first manifested there. Let us go to that origin and see what is what. Although we can descend with sheer willpower, hearing things through others' ears is never as good as witnessing them firsthand. Haven't the Six Sects of Buddhism there found a suspicious clue?"

Lengjia pondered for a moment and nodded. With no other ideas available, this was the only recourse.

At this very moment, not far from the two monks, a white-robed elder, appearing to be around seventy, kept his eyes half-closed, a sharp glint fixed coldly on the pair opposite him. In his hand burned a cluster of crimson flame. He had retrieved it from a spatial rift, and it had been burning there for several days. Within the fire lay the remnants of a divine thought message sent by a Lu family disciple a few days prior. If he hadn't arrived in time and searched thoroughly, it would have almost extinguished completely.

"In other words, Wushuang chased his enemy here, coincided with the Buddhist sect's assault on the Azure Spirit World, got swept up along with Wubing and my three retainers, and they all perished here?"

The voice came through the void, filled with cold intent.

"There is an Obstruction of Knowledge and Perception! Your servant can only surmise this possibility. The lingering remnant of 'Sky-Burning Fire' left by Lu Wubing at his death recorded the same narrative."

The voice scoffed, "Then why the Obstruction of Knowledge and Perception? Is it to cover something up? Or self-deception? Or perhaps setting a false trail? With such an obvious trace of Buddhist power, can we not deduce that the situation of that day, which cannot be seen or known, is related to Buddhism? What is Buddhism trying to achieve with this maneuver? Even Lu Wubing's final words before death may not be the truth!"

"That is true, but whatever Buddhism intends, the trace of Buddhist power cannot be wrong. The power of belief in this realm was massively depleted not long ago. Even if the Buddhist sect didn't truly annihilate the inhabitants of the Celestial Flame Mansion, they were at least involved—" the elder said coolly, a hint of danger in his tone.

"Wubing had one last message, stating that Lu Yantian seemed to be hoarding an ultimate treasure capable of resurrecting the dead. This is why the Buddhist sect coveted it; they didn't come solely for the Azure Spirit World. They were inadvertently caught up in it. I have investigated thoroughly over the last two days based on this clue, and I suspect Lu Yantian did indeed find a few drops of Heaven-Seizing Reversion Fluid in the Azure Spirit World. Lu Wubing's dying words were not false."

"Heaven-Seizing Reversion Fluid?"

The will emanating from worlds away immediately fluctuated.

"Is this true? How infuriating! Such a supreme treasure, yet he failed to offer it to the Celestial Court, hiding it for himself. This Lu Yantian deserves death!"

With a cold snort filled with violent intent, the voice seemed to wish to tear Lu Yantian limb from limb!

"However, if it was for this item, the matter becomes understandable."

"Precisely! Only a Saint-level expert could cause three Divine Realm experts to perish instantly!"

The old man smiled. "But what interests this servant most is, if Buddhism acquired this item, why bother setting up the dual Obstructions of Knowledge and Perception? These two individuals before me also seem to be searching for something—"

"Meaning the Heaven-Seizing Reversion Fluid might not have fallen into the hands of the Buddhist sect yet?"

The will mused for a moment. "If you are interested in this matter, you may continue the investigation. The events in the Azure Spirit World cannot be definitively concluded until the Obstruction of Knowledge and Perception dissipates."

"Naturally!"

The old man smiled. "For now, everything is conjecture. But this servant has a feeling that continuing to follow this thread will be extremely interesting. However, the Azure Spirit World is currently masterless; does Your Highness not intend to manage it? It is, after all, a Middle Thousand World—"

"Too troublesome! This place is too far from the fundamental territories of my Lu family; it won't be beneficial, but will only scatter my focus." The voice sighed deeply. "It's just a pity about Wushuang; he was the most promising successor to the Holy Emperor under my command! If possible, you can eliminate the great enemy from his life."

As the words ended, the intent vanished.

The old man stood in place, a look of derision crossing his face. The most promising successor to the Holy Emperor? Only he knew how many such pawns the Lord of the Xuanye Kingdom held. Lu Wushuang was certainly not the most important among them. Sending him out was both a test and a means to divert attention. As for Lu Wubing, that was a true pity.

He then shook his head again. Since the Lord had given the command, he should try his best to fulfill it. Reportedly, this person's enemy was only at the peak of the Spirit Realm, which shouldn't be too difficult.