Simultaneous travel: I am proving the great way in the heavens.

Chapter 554 The Hope of Attaining Sainthood! The Time for the Reopening of Heaven and Earth in the Immeasurable Kalpa!
The Styx Ancestor truly offered tangible benefits to establish a karmic connection with Luofu.

That red lotus karmic fire truly enhanced the power of the white lotus platform beneath Luofu's seat, even allowing the white lotus platform to begin to possess, to a certain extent, the effects of the four innate lotus platforms.

The power of the four innate lotus platforms is self-evident.

The white lotus of Luofu was merely a magical treasure bestowed upon it by the Buddha of the East.

The four great twelve-grade innate lotus platforms can give birth to lotus platforms of lower grades.

Among these, the twelve-petaled golden lotus of merit is the most outstanding.

In Buddhism, every disciple manifests a lotus platform in their Dharma form. Although the grades differ greatly, each one is derived from a twelve-grade golden lotus of merit. If one has enough merit, one can even continuously improve their grade.

The white lotus platform lacks that innate foundation.

However, the crimson lotus of karmic fire made up for the shortcomings of the white lotus.

To some extent, it has now evolved into a lotus platform with white lotus and red stamen. Luofu only needs to continuously strengthen the power of the red lotus karmic fire to make the white lotus platform grow stronger.

Even though Styx Ancestor's act of sending the Great Asura out of the Netherworld Blood Sea might attract the attention of the Sages to some extent, it is undeniable that Styx Ancestor was indeed willing to invest heavily.

This is nothing like the Zhen Yuanzi before my eyes.

They're trying to fool Luofu with just empty words.

"The laws of nature and cause and effect are predetermined," Luo Fu said vaguely.

Zhen Yuanzi frowned and said, "Buddha, you are mistaken."

"Oh?" Luo Fu feigned surprise and said, "Could it be that the Ancestor of Earthly Immortals knows how I was able to become the Buddha I am today in just a few years?"

“When fortune smiles, heaven and earth lend their strength; when fortune turns, even heroes are powerless.” Zhen Yuanzi sighed, “Buddha, do you know that my sworn brother was also known as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven five hundred years ago? But five hundred years ago, after causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace, he ended up being suppressed under the Five Fingers Mountain for five hundred years. My sworn brother, on the other hand, only spent a few years learning from the stone monkey in the mountain.”

Comparing Sun Wukong to Luofu is clearly an overestimation of Luofu's ignorance.

In just a few years, Sun Wukong transformed from a stone monkey in the mountains into a disciple of Patriarch Subhuti, and after only three years of cultivation, he achieved the cultivation level of a Taiyi Golden Immortal.

This is not as simple as saying that when fortune smiles, heaven and earth lend their strength, but when fortune turns, even heroes are powerless.

Even before Sun Wukong was born, from the moment the sage Nuwa mended the sky, it was destined that Sun Wukong would be born in the future.

This is a constant, but also a variable minor potential.

The so-called "Great Way of Heaven" does not include the existence of Sun Wukong.

Even without Sun Wukong, as long as there are other beings who can accomplish the task of driving the Journey to the West tribulation, the overall trend will remain unchanged.

Even Luo Fu believed that, in the Buddha's initial plan, apart from Sun Wukong, neither Zhu Bajie nor Sha Wujing might have met the Buddha's wishes.

This is evident from the distribution of the tribulations in Journey to the West.

After Tang Sanzang accepted Sun Wukong as his disciple, he immediately encountered the Black Bear Spirit. The Black Bear Spirit's strength is self-evident, and he is also a guy who is single-mindedly determined to achieve enlightenment.

Before Sha Wujing, the calamity faced by the Journey to the West team was the Yellow Wind Monster.

This is also a demon who is single-mindedly focused on achieving enlightenment and whose strength is enough to cause Sun Wukong a great loss.

From this unusual distribution, it's not hard to see that, under normal planning, Buddha would probably be in the planned westward journey team. The Black Bear Spirit would be able to replace Pigsy and would be stronger than Pigsy. Similarly, the Yellow Wind Monster would be able to replace Sandy.

If the journey to the West team really consisted of Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, the Black Bear Spirit, and Sha Wujing, then it would truly align with the Buddha's plan for Tang Sanzang to wear a brocade cassock and parade through the streets on his way to the Western Paradise to obtain the scriptures.

Compared to the Black Bear Spirit and the Yellow Wind Monster, Pigsy and Sandy seem more like filler characters.

Ultimately, of the three golden headbands bestowed by the Buddha, only Sun Wukong wore them among Tang Sanzang's disciples.

Instead, the Black Bear Spirit was taken away by Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the Yellow Wind Monster also fell under the command of Lingji Bodhisattva.

While such a change is indeed remarkable, it no longer aligns with the Buddha's plan.

This is the variable potential.

Even the Buddha, the World Honored One, who had the backing of two sages and was in accordance with the general trend of Heaven, could only ultimately follow the will of Heaven and the people.

Only Luofu seems to have truly transcended the Three Realms and is not within the Five Elements. It is not subject to karma, yet it can bring new vitality to the Heavenly Dao, prolonging the time of this immeasurable eon of the world's reopening and strengthening the Heavenly Dao's laws themselves.

Zhen Yuanzi's true colors—wanting to take advantage but not wanting to pay the price—were revealed the moment he compared Sun Wukong to Luofu.

Luo Fu smiled noncommittally, but did not respond to Zhen Yuanzi.

Zhen Yuanzi's heart tightened immediately. After a moment of hesitation, he changed the subject and said, "Buddha, I am not talented, but I am willing to lend you a helping hand."

The moment he finished speaking, Zhen Yuanzi flicked his sleeve.

Accompanied by the spatial fluctuations of the hidden universe within the sleeve.

Eighteen fruits, resembling infants, were arranged in a row and floated in front of Luofu.

Ginseng fruit.

This is a spiritual root of heaven and earth in the Three Realms, comparable to the peaches of immortality in the Peach Garden.

The Peach Garden, in particular, has 3,600 peach trees. But the Ginseng Fruit Tree is a single tree, which has been flowering for 3,000 years, bearing fruit for 3,000 years, and maturing for 3,000 years, totaling nearly 10,000 years.

In those ten thousand years, only thirty fruits were produced.

Now, Zhen Yuanzi has made his move and presented eighteen of them directly.

This is equivalent to 60% of the ginseng fruit's yield over a period of 10,000 years.

Unfortunately, if Zhen Yuanzi had offered the ginseng fruit earlier, Luo Fu would have thought more highly of him. Now that he realized he couldn't be easily fooled, he offered the fruit, which makes a completely different difference.

The former shows sincerity first, while the latter is nothing but blatant scheming. Luo Fu glanced at the eighteen ginseng fruits and calmly asked, "Could these be the ginseng fruits of Fellow Daoist Zhen Yuanzi?"

Upon hearing the mention of ginseng fruit, Zhen Yuanzi immediately appeared proud and said, "It is indeed my ginseng fruit. Only thirty fruits are produced every ten thousand years. An ordinary person can gain three hundred and sixty years of life by smelling it, and eating one fruit can add forty-seven thousand years. Today I present it to Buddha to help Buddha."

"This humble monk has created the Real Wonderful Dharma Heaven, which is the supreme paradise of Buddhism. Those who enter the Real Wonderful Dharma Heaven will never be born or die, and will never have to worry about the exhaustion of their lives. I'm afraid I can only thank Fellow Daoist Zhen Yuanzi for his kindness," Luo Fu said calmly.

For a long time, Luofu was unaware that long before the Journey to the West began, the Three Realms had already begun to move towards the Dharma-ending Age.

As a marker, the lifespan of immortals is...

Before the Investiture of the Gods, becoming an immortal was entirely equivalent to achieving eternal life.

Of course, longevity does not mean immortality, but before and after the Investiture of the Gods, becoming an immortal meant that one would no longer need to worry about lifespan.

However, as time passed, before the tribulation of the Journey to the West began, even becoming an immortal could no longer guarantee one's immortality. Only truly powerful beings could truly achieve immortality and remain unaffected by the loss of lifespan.

Therefore, spiritual treasures that can extend lifespan, such as the peaches of immortality from Heaven, the elixir refined by Laozi, and the ginseng fruit from Zhen Yuanzi, are so precious.

This situation is caused by the natural changes in the evolution of the Way of Heaven, and it is a truly irreversible trend.

This situation is actually similar to the era of "Covering the Sky".

In the era following the reign of the Desolate Emperor, the world of Shrouding the Heavens was so vast that even the Great Emperors could not live forever, and their lifespans were strictly limited to a mere ten thousand years.

The world of Journey to the West, at least, is a continuation of the prehistoric era. Even if it relies on the lingering influence of that era, it still has countless ways to grant immortality to gods.

However, these methods are ultimately only temporary solutions and do not address the root cause of the problem.

For anyone else, there would be no solution in this situation.

Luofu, however, was an exception.

He transformed the divine world into the present-day Ruzhen Miaofa Heaven. Although it is similar to the blessed lands and grotto-heavens of many powerful beings, its essence is vastly different from the Heavenly Dao laws of the Journey to the West world.
This difference ensures that cultivators residing in the Real Wonderful Dharma Heaven do not have to worry about losing their lifespan.

To some extent, residing in the Real True Dharma Heaven and being influenced by it is like giving these cultivators a buff that locks their lifespan.

This has resulted in the fact that treasures such as peaches of immortality, ginseng fruits, or golden pills refined by Laozi, which are extremely precious in the eyes of other cultivators, have completely lost their appeal in Luofu.

Zhen Yuanzi may know something about Luofu's special characteristics, but he clearly doesn't know Luofu's true nature. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken out eighteen ginseng fruits now, hoping to befriend Luofu and form a karmic bond with them.

Luo Fu's refusal was truly unexpected by Zhen Yuanzi.

It's important to understand that the main reason Zhen Yuanzi was so popular in the Journey to the West world was because of the ginseng fruit tree he possessed.

Even the Jade Emperor of Heaven and the Buddha of the Western Paradise, Zhen Yuanzi believed that if he offered eighteen ginseng fruits, it would be enough to win the goodwill of such supreme beings.

But he only suffered a setback here in Luofu.

After a moment of stunned silence, Zhen Yuanzi said in an incredulous tone, "Buddha... could it be that the true Buddha is unaware of the wondrous uses of the ginseng fruit, such a rare and spiritual fruit?"

“This humble monk understands.” Luo Fu looked indifferently at Zhen Yuanzi and said, “However, once you enter my sect, unless you face a great calamity, you will not have to worry about your lifespan fading.”

With his eyes wide open, Zhen Yuanzi seemed to understand why Luo Fu had been chosen by those top experts in the Three Realms.

Unfortunately, Zhen Yuanzi was too short-sighted. He only saw that Luo Fu had the ability to extend one's lifespan, but he was completely unaware that the essence of this lifespan extension was actually the Dao and principles of the fifteen worlds within Luo Fu that were completely different from the laws of Heaven.

The principles and laws of these fifteen worlds are none of the same as those of the Journey to the West world, which inherited the primordial chaos. However, when combined, they are enough to give the Heavenly Dao of the Journey to the West world a near-rebirth-like improvement.

This kind of improvement is the key reason why the Six Saints, including those powerful beings from the primordial era, truly care about Luofu.

Just like the Styx Ancestor, who was in the Netherworld Blood Sea, his Blood God Child Divine Power was said to be so powerful that as long as the Blood Sea never dried up, the Styx would never die. He was a great power who had truly broken free from the limitations of lifespan. However, the Styx Ancestor cared about Luofu because he hoped to find a sliver of hope for attaining sainthood in Luofu.

It must be admitted that the desire to attain sainthood and achieve enlightenment has truly become an obsession that the Styx Ancestor can never erase.

On the contrary, Zhen Yuanzi, who was once a guest of Zixiao Palace, is now doing increasingly worse.

Even compared to Zhen Yuanzi, the so-called ancestor of earth immortals, he is no match for the Styx Ancestor.

Taking a deep breath, Zhen Yuanzi thought he understood the essence of Luofu. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Since the Buddha has other wonderful methods to prolong life, then this humble Taoist will not embarrass himself by showing off. However, this ginseng fruit is indeed the most precious treasure of my Wuzhuang Temple. There are only thirty of them in ten thousand years. These eighteen will be given as a congratulatory gift from Wuzhuang Temple to celebrate the Buddha's opening of the True Wonderful Dharma Heaven."

Upon seeing Zhen Yuanzi, who had changed his words, Luo Fu pondered for a moment before ultimately choosing to accept the gift.

As for the cause and effect between him and Zhen Yuanzi.

Although Zhen Yuanzi is indeed much stronger than him now, Luo Fu is not without a backup plan.

After Luofu finally accepted the ginseng fruit.

Zhen Yuanzi, who claimed to have understood why Luo Fu was favored by a powerful figure, quickly changed his attitude. After exchanging pleasantries with Luo Fu for a while, he took his leave.

After Zhen Yuanzi left, he personally saw off his Seven Emotions Bodhisattva and soon arrived at the main hall.

Inside the main hall, Luo Fu sat atop a white lotus with a red stamen, before whom stood eighteen ginseng fruits that resembled infants. These fruits moved their limbs and, apart from making no sound, were virtually indistinguishable from human babies.

The Seven Emotions Bodhisattva's eyes widened immediately, and he said, "This...this is the ginseng fruit of the ancestor of earth immortals?"

Luo Fu nodded slightly and said, "That's right. This thing is of little use to us disciples of the True Sect. We, the Yuanjue Vehicle, have the True Wonderful Dharma Heaven to ensure the longevity of our disciples. You seven sisters can each take one of these ginseng fruits."

As for the so-called True Wonderful Dharma Heaven of Luofu, where there is no worry about lifespan, the Seven Emotions Bodhisattvas did not know whether it was true or not, but the seven sisters did know about the Ginseng Fruit, a supreme spiritual root comparable to the Heavenly Peaches of Immortality.

Even when they were in the Heavenly Court, the Seven Fairy Maidens, who were nominally the daughters of the Jade Emperor and princesses of the Heavenly Realm, had a real status no different from that of maids. Even in the Heavenly Court, they didn't have many opportunities to taste the peaches of immortality.

That's right. Although picking peaches was the task of the seven sisters, they rarely had the opportunity to eat peaches in Heaven.

Those adorned in silk robes are not silkworm raisers; this is perfectly illustrated in the Seven Fairy Maidens.

Since being implicated by Sun Wukong and banished to the mortal realm as demons, their status has risen steadily since joining Luofu Temple. From their previous status as Buddhist monasteries, they have risen to become the Seven Emotions Bodhisattvas under the true Buddha. Even the Zhenyuanzi Ginseng Fruit, a treasure more precious than the Heavenly Peaches of Immortality and which they might not even have had the chance to see before their banishment and reincarnation, is now available to each of the seven sisters.

(End of this chapter)