Emperor’s Domination

f all things.

“Hes done for.” An experienced master commented: “His karma has been taken away, no different from death.”

The clear rays were instantly absorbed by the shrine and appeasing it. This expert suddenly became very calm and respectful. He sat down on the ground and formed a mudra before closing his eyes. This was a silent death.

“Thats really scary.” The first-timers were shuddering. There was no competition or destruction; an expert had gone down without a fight as if an invisible hand had reaped him of his life.

“What happened?” The princess didnt see it clearly either.

“This was an epoch that cares about karmic ties and cycles. Greed is a personal choice, the cause, while death via a form of Buddhist conversion is the effect. Look at that river ahead.” Li Qiye said while pointing at the river.

It was flowing quietly as if crossing through an eternity itself from an old epoch till now in a never-changing manner.

There was no visible shore on the other side. It was a faint image of a Buddhist kingdom, a holy ground of eternal life.

“Crossing the Ganges leads to eternal life, escaping from the reincarnation cycle.” She thought about a popular adage.

“That is a phrase from the old epoch, no longer applied in our own.” Li Qiye chuckled: “In that old epoch, if one wanted to convert themselves, they would need to throw all karmas and everything else away. Cross this river towards salvation, leaving behind pain for perpetual happiness and become a Buddha with everlasting life.”

He then glanced back at the shrine: “Thats why the shrine exists. In order to become saved, people needed to let go of their previous karma and connections; treasures and wealth must be thrown away here. Only by letting go of materialism would one be able to reach the other shore.”

The princess finally understood why there were piles of treasures at the shrine. So those who wanted to cross the river threw them away back then.

“This was abandoning extreme karmic ties; so if anyone wants to obtain the rare treasures here, they need to be strong enough to sever the existing ties.” Li Qiye said.

She realized why the ones who came in for the treasures would die now.

Li Qiye got closer to the ferry to stare at the other shore.

Everyone was focused on the shrine because of the treasures. Only a few were judging the river itself.

For many, reaching salvation was unrealistic while the treasures over yonder were real and tangible.

The princess stared at the quiet current then the other shore but she couldnt see through it despite using her heavenly gaze.

“Is this river really that magical? Rumor says it can even grant rebirth.” The princess asked.

“Thats another distant thing not belonging to our epoch.” Li Qiye smiled and shook his head: “The river wasnt like this back in its own epoch. According to the ancient text, this used to be a temporal-crossing river, not a physical one with water. All the faith of an epoch gathered here so it continued to flow within its epoch. If you were born in that era, then bathing in this water can wash away your fatigue and wounds while satisfying you of all physical appetites. Of course, this is predicated on having a devout dao heart.”

He paused and sighed: “It is a river grasping a holy power. Alas, it still couldnt protect this world. However, the fact that the Buddhist Plain is still around from this old epoch, to a large extent, is because of this river.”

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