Chapter 1 The Beginning

Upon the shores of the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore, countless rays of Buddha-light shone.

A handsome young man stood with his eyes closed on the steps, peerless and independent.

Below the stairway, everyone watched the youth, watched Lu Changsheng, wanting to see what was happening, what was going on.

Lu Changsheng closed his eyes because, in the instant the gentle breeze caressed him, a Buddhist chant resounded in his ears.

What is Buddha?

This was testing him.

"The Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore? That's it?"

Lu Changsheng was a little speechless.

He knew that this Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore couldn't just be simply walking the steps; there would definitely be tests.

For example, testing the physical body, testing the primordial spirit, testing luck.

Lu Changsheng had thought about this kind of oral examination.

But he didn't expect it to be so simple.

This was all he was tired of playing.

And this was supposed to be the Great Thousand Western Paradise?

"All living beings are Buddha."

Lu Changsheng said this without hesitation.

As soon as he spoke, Lu Changsheng opened his eyes.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The entire Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore suddenly erupted. The Buddha-light gathered and scattered like clouds, and golden lotuses emerged from the ground, blooming with brilliant golden light at Lu Changsheng's feet.

"Golden Lotus springing from the Earth!"

"No! This is the Golden Lotus of Merit! What's going on!"

"How can there be such phenomena on the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore!"

"I've squatted under this stairway for a hundred thousand years, and I've never seen anything like this!"

At this moment, everyone was shocked.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

A handsome and peerless youth came down from the Western Paradise, then walked onto the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore, and then triggered the springing of Golden Lotuses from the Earth, and the manifestation of merit.

One had to know that, within Buddhism, merit was the most important thing.

If one just walked around on the Heavenly Stairway, stood there for a while, the Golden Lotus of Merit would appear, and the steps would be worn smooth for you.

"I know! It's a test of the heart! He passed the test of the heart!"

Someone immediately shouted.

However, as soon as the words came out, someone immediately retorted.

"Impossible, my second uncle's wife told me that the heart test of the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore is at the forty-second, ninety-seventh, and one hundred and eighth steps, how could there be a heart test just after stepping on the steps! And there's even the Golden Lotus of Merit manifesting!"

"Your seventh uncle's Buddhist nature isn't good; the Buddhist walks seven steps, and the heart test is clearly every seven steps! That's how it was with the Xuanxin Holy Monk before."

"But even if you pass the test of the heart, the Golden Lotus of Merit has never manifested!"

"That's right, even the Xuanxin Holy Monk didn't have any phenomena manifest! Could it be that this young man's Buddhist nature is so high!"

"Hiss! This young man just closed his eyes; could it be that a heart test appeared as soon as he stepped on the steps!"

Everyone began to discuss and argue.

At the same time, in the Western Paradise.

Ten thousand Buddhas paid homage, all kinds of auspicious signs bloomed, and Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats opened their eyes and looked down at the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore.

Even they were attracted by the commotion on the Heavenly Stairway and watched the situation on the stairway.

"This!"

In an instant, many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were shocked and showed disbelief.

"He is the Lord of Heavenly Destiny!"

A Buddha spoke, saying this.

He had watched the battle in the Divine Stone Ridge and the Ancient Divine Mountain Range with great divine power and had seen Lu Changsheng.

"Wasn't he exiled to the outer realms? How could he appear in our Western Paradise!"

"What!"

"What? He's the Lord of Heavenly Destiny!"

"What exactly is going on!"

"Why is the Lord of Heavenly Destiny climbing the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore!"

"Could it be that he was exiled to the Western Paradise by the Palm Heaven Sect?"

"If so, why is he climbing the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore?"

In an instant, the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats were in an uproar, and many even looked at the Supreme Buddha Mother who sat high above.

This Western Paradise was under the control of the Buddha Mother.

If the Lord of Heavenly Destiny appeared here, it was impossible for the Buddha Mother not to know.

Moreover, the Lord of Heavenly Destiny was undisguised and even climbed the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore.

"Buddha Mother, may I ask what this is?"

A Buddha couldn't suppress the curiosity in his heart and asked.

"Is the Palm Heaven Sect asking the Buddha Mother to save the Lord of Heavenly Destiny?"

A Bodhisattva couldn't help but guess.

"No, this is my arrangement."

The Supreme Buddha Mother's tone was ethereal and she replied calmly.

The one who appeared silently on the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore, and talked with Lu Changsheng and Xuanxin was a projection.

At her level, projections and clones could be created at will, especially in the Western Paradise, so other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas didn't notice.

As soon as these words came out, all the Buddhas were even more puzzled.

Not the Palm Heaven Sect, but the Buddha Mother's own arrangement.

"Can the Buddha Mother explain our doubts?"

The Buddhas were very curious.

"I saw the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas, I saw the Immeasurable Tribulation, the true vitality of my Buddhist sect, and all of this is related to the Lord of Heavenly Destiny."

The Buddha Mother spoke, saying this to resolve the doubts of everyone.

There was one more sentence she didn't say, she also saw a picture through the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas, a picture different from the legends left by the Supreme Hall and the Palm Heaven Sect.

But this was too shocking.

As soon as the words came out, all the Buddhas fell silent.

They couldn't speak, and they didn't dare to speak.

Because the Buddha Mother was the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas, the Lord of the Western Paradise.

But at this moment, the Buddha Mother said that she saw the Lord of Ten Thousand Buddhas.

This was simply too shocking.

Of course, what shocked them even more was the Immeasurable Tribulation, the true vitality of Buddhism.

And this vitality was actually related to the Lord of Heavenly Destiny.

In the hall, everything quieted down, and all eyes returned to the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore, to Lu Changsheng's body.

On the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore, Lu Changsheng walked up step by step.

Every step or two, a gentle breeze would blow, and then a Buddhist chant would resound in his ears.

This was Lu Changsheng's heart test.

"What is cause, what is condition?"

The Buddhist sound rang.

"Strength is cause, weakness is condition."

Lu Changsheng only paused slightly before speaking.

There was also another way to distinguish them: the preceding gives rise to the succeeding, that is the cause; the present assists, that is the condition.

But the former sentence was said in the Buddhist scriptures.

So Lu Changsheng chose to follow the Buddhist scriptures.

"What are the Eight Sufferings?"

Just as he took a step, the voice continued to sound.

Lu Changsheng was speechless.

Did you not have any other questions to ask? The questions were so weak.

Looking at the one hundred and eight steps, Lu Changsheng even wanted to say, I'm not walking this staircase.

He felt that this staircase's test of the heart was not a test of the heart, but a test of annoyance.

But now he was under someone else's roof, he had to bow his head.

He, Lu Tiandi, could bend or stretch in his life.

He quickly spoke, saying: "Birth, old age, sickness, death, the inability to obtain what one seeks, meeting those one hates, separation from those one loves, the flourishing of the five aggregates (skandhas)."

With each answer Lu Changsheng gave, golden lotuses continued to bloom.

At the same time, golden clouds gathered above the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore, shining for hundreds of millions of miles, suppressing even the Buddha-light.

"This is too terrifying!"

"This young man pauses every one or two steps, could it really be because of the test of the heart!"

"This merit is too terrifying, if added to one's body, one would probably become a Buddha directly!"

"Merit, I want it!"

"Too powerful, who exactly is this young man who can cause such phenomena!"

"The thunderclouds during my tribulation were not so bright and dense."

"If your tribulation had such bright tribulation clouds, would you still be able to brag here?"

Below the Heavenly Stairway to the Other Shore, everyone looked at the peerless young man on the stairway, at the terrifying Golden Clouds of Merit above, their faces horrified.

Time passed little by little.

Lu Changsheng had walked half of the steps.

However, this test of the heart had been fixed to once every step.

Finally, Lu Changsheng couldn't bear it anymore.

Why was he always answering, and not allowed to ask?

He immediately asked, "Who am I?"