Chapter 110 - 109: The Connection Between Two Universes

Chapter 110: Chapter 109: The Connection Between Two Universes

"Alliance Leader, what happened?" Qu Hao looked at Li Ye and asked, puzzled.

The Alliance Leader had just been in seclusion.

But shortly after he entered seclusion, time had reversed. Qu Hao couldn’t help but wonder.

Everyone turned to Li Ye, not daring to breathe. What had just happened was too incredible.

"I comprehended a Time Divine Ability and just reversed time." Li Ye glanced at the crowd and said calmly, "I’m comprehending more and more Divine Abilities. It seems I really am about to ascend."

"Reversed time?" Qu Hao’s eyes widened, and he stood there completely stunned.

"Yes, I reversed time." Li Ye nodded firmly. "This is a true Immortal Divine Ability. Everyone, the path of Wish Power Ascension is the right one."

The area fell silent.

"Alliance Leader, can you... can you try it again?" the Daoist Sect Leader pleaded.

"I’ve only just grasped this Divine Ability and am not yet proficient. I’ll need to rest for some time before I can use it again." Li Ye smiled. "Once I’ve mastered it, I should be able to travel freely through time."

"Yang Zian, you and I are finished!" The Daoist Sect Leader broke down in an instant. He flew at the Sword Sect Leader, his Nascent Soul’s tiny hands grabbing his neck and shaking him violently. "If you hadn’t taken matters into your own hands, I wouldn’t have lost my body! I would have been cultivating the path of Wish Power Ascension with the Alliance Leader long ago!"

"..." The Sword Sect Leader let the Daoist Sect Leader throttle him, his face a mask of shock.

He was sick with regret.

’That’s right,’ he thought. ’If I hadn’t been the one to attack Li Ye, I wouldn’t have destroyed my body, cut off my own path of cultivation, and been forced onto this hopeless Path of Loose Immortal.’

The Buddhist Sect Leader stared blankly at Li Ye, silent. ’If we’re talking about who’s to blame,’ he thought, ’I’m the real culprit!’

’It’s karma. This is all karma!’

If a Nascent Soul could cry, his face would be streaming with tears.

"Alliance Leader, and you still say you aren’t the reincarnation of a Great Power?" Qu Hao looked at Li Ye, his eyes full of envy. "The calamity was just mentioned, and you immediately comprehended Time Divine Abilities. Heaven itself is on your side..."

"Alliance Leader, can we master Time Divine Abilities too?" Lei Wenjie asked, swallowing hard. "Reversing time... that’s like having an extra life!"

"With Wish Power Ascension, everyone comprehends different Divine Abilities. It all depends on fate." Seeing the renewed enthusiasm of the Wenda Alliance members, Li Ye smiled. "Be patient. When the time is right, your Divine Ability will come naturally. Haste makes waste."

"Understood. Thank you for your guidance, Alliance Leader." Everyone nodded, their faces full of hope for the future.

"Alliance Leader, can Loose Immortals cultivate the path of Wish Power?" Mao Xiu asked, his face mournful.

"I am not very familiar with the Path of Loose Immortal." Li Ye looked at the dejected Nascent Souls. "However, ancient records mention Loose Immortals who forged Golden Bodies and established temples to protect the common people and receive their incense offerings. I imagine that must also be a form of the Wish Power path!"

"For real?" The eyes of the several Nascent Souls lit up.

"The ancient texts are fragmented. I’ve only seen the records about building temples, I don’t know what comes after. Whether or not it leads to success is something you’ll have to verify for yourselves."

Li Ye’s only job was to motivate the members of the Wenda Alliance; he couldn’t care less about the consequences.

From his perspective, getting these cultivators to humble themselves and do some good for the common people was far better than them hiding in the mountains, possessing great power but only focused on their own cultivation and pursuit of immortality.

He paused. "However, if you build a temple and seek incense offerings, you must help your followers fulfill their wishes. Otherwise, who will sincerely believe in you? It’s not an easy task."

"As long as there’s a path to follow, that’s all that matters," Mao Xiu said, rubbing his tiny hands and chuckling. "It’s far better than us groping in the dark by ourselves."

"Zhu Yu thanks the Alliance Leader for giving me a new path in life." The Daoist Sect Leader stopped tormenting the Sword Sect Leader, turned, and bowed solemnly to Li Ye.

"Yang Zian and Fa Xian thank the Alliance Leader for this second chance," the Buddhist and Sword Sect Leaders said, following suit.

Li Ye had shown them a path, and with it, a glimmer of hope.

By now, they were utterly convinced that Li Ye was a Great Power who had descended to the mortal realm to enlighten them.

"Qu Hao, find some sects that specialize in Artifact Refining. Order them to mass-produce a batch of ordinary watches to be sold in the Mortal World. Lower the price so that even common people can afford them." Li Ye shifted his gaze from the Nascent Souls to Qu Hao and commanded, "Families with children can buy watches for them at a thirty-percent discount."

"Why?" Qu Hao asked, confused.

"Watches tell time. Once they are widespread, people will know the precise time and won’t be late for important matters," Li Ye said. "When the Wenda Alliance brings fortune to the people and the masses benefit, that in itself is a great act of Merit.

This will also help the populace subconsciously accept the Wenda Alliance.

The next generation of children will grow up wearing Wenda Alliance watches and enjoying the benefits the alliance provides. When they’re older, they will naturally apply themselves to their studies in the hopes of joining the Wenda Alliance.

If just one in a thousand children turns out to be a talent, the Wenda Alliance can continue indefinitely. It’s all benefit and no harm for you."

Great Merit!

Hearing the word "Merit," Qu Hao’s eyes lit up. He said excitedly, "I’ll take some people and get it done right away."

"Wait, I’m not finished," Li Ye called out, stopping him.

"Please continue, Alliance Leader," said Qu Hao.

"Inform the emperors of every nation to establish Wenda Alliance branches in all their provincial capitals," Li Ye said. "Every Wenda Alliance building must have a giant clock face installed for telling time.

Once the branches are established, the various talents who have joined the Wenda Alliance will meet there regularly to share their research findings.

Every seven days, the Wenda Alliance branches will open to the public for one day. Experts from the alliance will be on hand to solve difficult problems for the common people, free of charge. This can be designated as ’Community Day.’"

Once he broke free from the idea of watches as luxury items and relegated them to the status of common goods, Li Ye’s mind suddenly opened up with possibilities.

’In his previous world, he had created a league based on a Team Emblem. There was no reason he couldn’t create a massive religion-like organization based on watches.’

’The Wenda Alliance is just an organization, but a faith can influence every aspect of society.’

’The great battle is imminent, so this might be a little late, but it’s better to do something than nothing at all.’

’Besides, if he could increase the amount of Demon Qi from the watches, he might be able to significantly extend the duration of his time reversal, giving him a better chance against the Puppet Silk.’

After a moment’s thought, Li Ye’s gaze swept over the remaining members of the Wenda Alliance. "Qiu Ming, Wenjie, you two and a few others will also work on this. Try to have Wenda Alliance branches blossoming everywhere in the shortest possible time.

If necessary, you can requisition cultivators from the various sects to help the mortals with construction. For one, they are much faster. For another, it will demonstrate the power of the Wenda Alliance to the mortals."

"Alliance Leader, if we all go to work on this, what about the battle against the Ghost and Demon Sects?" Qiu Ming asked.

’Helping my Demon Qi grow *is* helping me in a big way!’

Li Ye thought to himself, then said aloud, "The Ghost Sect is a minor issue. Expanding the Wenda Alliance is more important. If you can comprehend your own Divine Abilities in the process, that is how you can truly help me."

"Alliance Leader, we can comprehend Divine Abilities by doing this?" Lei Wenjie asked, his face a mask of astonishment.

"Of course. Throughout history, spreading a doctrine has always been the most difficult task." Li Ye nodded. "In the legends of the Buddhist Sect, the Buddha’s disciples were famous in their own right. Of the Buddha’s ten great disciples, there was Shariputra, first in wisdom; Mu Jianlian, first in divine abilities; Anarui, first in the Celestial Eye..."

He glanced at the Buddhist Sect Leader. "It wasn’t a lie when I said that Wish Power Ascension is easiest for the Buddhist Sect. The Buddha’s disciples each possessed their own unique Divine Abilities."

Li Ye turned back to Lei Wenjie and the others with a smile. "I am now the founding patriarch of the Wenda Alliance, which makes you its founding disciples. You are its missionary elders, its Protectors. As long as the world knows of your great deeds, it shouldn’t be difficult to comprehend Divine Abilities."

The breathing of Lei Wenjie and the others quickened. Their faces flushed and their eyes shone with increasing brightness.

Before, Li Ye had been ambiguous about Wish Power Ascension. Now, he was practically giving them step-by-step instructions on how to achieve it!

Before today, they might have wondered why Li Ye hadn’t told them sooner.

But having just witnessed his Time Divine Abilities and confirmed he was a Great Power who had descended to the mortal world, they figured everything he was saying was simply a result of his karmic memories awakening.

"Alliance Leader, is there anything else you’d like to add?" Qu Hao asked.

"..." Li Ye pondered for a moment, recalling the structure of religious organizations back on Earth. "In each branch you establish, have artisans paint murals on the walls to let more people know the history of the Wenda Alliance. The murals can tell a story. Have them paint you into the scenes.

After that, you don’t need to return. Find some people to record the history of the Wenda Alliance’s development in the form of scriptures, and distribute them for free to the alliance’s followers..."

After giving Qu Hao and the others detailed instructions on how to spread the new faith, Li Ye sent them on their way.

It was a massive undertaking, and they took at least half of the people present with them to get it done.

Those who remained watched Qu Hao’s group depart, their eyes filled with envy. They cursed themselves for not meeting the Alliance Leader sooner.

Otherwise, they would have been the ones in this first batch to earn Merit.

After Qu Hao’s group left, the Buddhist Sect Leader could no longer contain himself. "Alliance Leader," he asked, "I heard you mention the Buddha’s ten great disciples. Do you know more of the Buddha’s history?"

"I do," Li Ye said, glancing at the Buddhist Sect Leader.

"Could you tell this old monk about them?" The Buddhist Sect Leader looked at Li Ye and said wistfully, "During the calamity ten thousand years ago, many scriptures and classics were lost, and many of the Buddhist Sect’s traditions were broken. In our surviving texts, there are only records concerning Amitabha Buddha. We have the name Mu Jianlian that you just mentioned, but nothing else.

Letting the Buddhist disciples know our history will help the Buddhist Sect flourish..."

Only then did it dawn on Li Ye that the Buddha’s Name the Buddhist Sect Leader always chanted was "Amitabha Buddha."

He had heard "Amitabha Buddha" so often back on Earth that he hadn’t thought anything of it, his mind solely focused on rapidly increasing his own power.

The Buddhist Sect Leader suddenly bringing up the sect’s lineage made him realize that this world and Earth were two different places...

The languages were the same, the Cultivation Techniques were the same, and now even figures from Earth’s Buddhist legends were appearing.

’The hidden mission of a Time Traveler is to investigate the connection between the two universes.’

Li Ye pursed his lips lightly. "Fa Xian, first tell me what records you have here about Amitabha Buddha. I’ll see if they match the ancient texts I know."

The Buddhist Sect Leader glanced at Li Ye. "Amitabha Buddha, also known as Boundless Buddha or Amitabha Buddha, once made a great vow to establish the Western Pure Land and bring salvation to all living beings..."

’Damn it!’

’It matches!’

Li Ye froze. He picked up where the Buddhist Sect Leader left off, "In a past kalpa, under the tutelage of the Void King Buddha, there were Four Monks. Amitabha Buddha was the third of them, and he achieved enlightenment by cultivating the Nianfo Technique.

He has eight great bodhisattva disciples: Bodhisattva Guanyin, Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Great Wisdom Bodhisattva, Great Compassion Bodhisattva, Great Aspiration Bodhisattva, Great Practice Bodhisattva, Great Guardian Bodhisattva, and Great Jialan Bodhisattva..."

The Buddhist Sect Leader stared at Li Ye in utter astonishment. He bowed excitedly. "We only knew that the Buddha had eight disciples, but we did not know their names. Alliance Leader, please, tell us more about the histories of these bodhisattvas."

’What is going on?’

Li Ye was completely baffled.

’So this really is the lineage of Amitabha Buddha? Did the Buddhist religion pass its teachings on to another universe?’

’Then what’s the real origin of the Demon Suppression Tower?’

’And what really happened during the calamity ten thousand years ago?’

’If that calamity had never happened, would I be able to see real Buddhas and Bodhisattvas after I ascend?’

Li Ye’s mouth went dry. He had thought that reaching the Void Refinement Realm was a huge achievement.

But now, learning that there was a concrete link between the two universes, that beings like Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were real and had even passed down their teachings, he felt incredibly small.

Compared to Great Powers like them, even the Harmonization Realm was probably nothing!