"As I have heard, at one time the Buddha was in the kingdom of Shravasti, in the Jeta Grove, the park of Anathapindika, together with a great assembly of twelve hundred and fifty monks."
"At that time, the World-Honored One, at the time of meal, put on his robes, took his alms bowl, and entered the great city of Shravasti for alms. After begging in order from that city, he returned to his place. After eating, he put away his robes and bowl, washed his feet, spread his mat, and sat down..."
"Form is emptiness, emptiness is form; all phenomena are Dharma, like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. Like dew, like lightning; thus should they be contemplated."
The sutras of the Diamond Sutra echoed in Ning Beichen's mind. The demonic sounds that invaded him, like mice encountering cats, vanished one by one from his consciousness.
Moreover, if one looked closely, one would notice a golden radiance suddenly appearing on Ning Beichen's body.
This golden radiance seemed to clothe Ning Beichen with a resplendent golden Buddhist robe, filling him with solemnity and isolating the demonic sounds three meters away from him.
When Ning Beichen recited again: "All phenomena are Dharma, like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. Like dew, like lightning; thus should they be contemplated," the radiance on his body spread out in all directions, like a rising tide.
Wherever the radiance passed, the human-faced flowers withered. In less than a quarter of an hour, there were no human-faced flowers left in the surroundings.
Seeing this scene, even Ning Beichen himself was stunned.
This...
Was this truly the power of the Diamond Sutra?
Ning Beichen felt a mixture of tears and laughter. If he had known it was so simple, why had he bothered chopping at these human-faced flowers!
After hacking with all his might for more than half a day, he had only managed to cut a tiny bit. But after reciting the Diamond Sutra once, all these human-faced flowers had perished.
However, this was too troublesome, wasn't it?
If he hadn't known the Diamond Sutra, wouldn't he have died a terrible death?
Was this an accident?
A coincidence?
Or was it fate guiding him?
Ning Beichen couldn't figure it out, but he knew he was safe for now.
However, his joy was premature. Just as he thought he was safe, the muddy ground beneath his feet suddenly rumbled and disappeared, and Ning Beichen fell from a height of ten thousand feet.
"Ah!!!"
Ning Beichen shouted loudly.
Not long after, with a loud splash, he fell into a boundless ocean, splashing up water that reached a thousand feet high.
Gurgle...
After an unknown period of time, Ning Beichen finally surfaced. Looking at the endless expanse of water around him, Ning Beichen felt like crying.
"Before it was earth, then a forest, and now the sea. Could this be a five-element world constructed from metal, wood, water, fire, and earth?"
Ning Beichen pondered in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
But if this was indeed the case, a world constructed from the five elements, did that mean he still had three more environments to go through?
Was he meant to live like this!
Even the eighteen levels of hell wouldn't torment people like this!
Ning Beichen felt like crying.
"Haitang, Haitang, hurry up and get me out of here, I don't want to be here."
Ning Beichen cried out, calling for Li Haitang's name.
But just like before, no one paid any attention to him.
What could Ning Beichen do?
He could only try to survive first.
So he swam and swam in the sea, wanting to find a place to land. But after soaking in the seawater for several hours, he hadn't found land, let alone a reef.
Ning Beichen was exhausted and hungry. No matter how good his stamina was, swimming for several hours would have drained him.
Now he had no strength to swim and was floating on the sea by swimming on his back.
He had thought that Haitang asking him for this favor wouldn't be simple, but he hadn't expected it to be so complicated.
But no matter what, even if he had to choose again, he would still unhesitatingly help Li Haitang, even if it meant risking his life.
"If it is indeed the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, then he has already experienced earth and wood, and now it is water."
Since earth and wood were dangerous, it meant water would not be safe either. Ning Beichen just didn't know when the danger would appear or in what form.
So, before the danger arrived, Ning Beichen wanted to conserve as much energy as possible.
In the blink of an eye, Ning Beichen didn't know how long he had been floating on the sea, but he still hadn't seen land.
If this continued, regardless of when the danger would come, Ning Beichen himself would be soaked and rotten by the seawater.
Apart from marine creatures, no human or land creature could stay in the water for so long.
"Metal, wood, water, fire, earth. Metal gives birth to water, water to wood, wood to fire..."
"Water extinguishes fire, and earth conquers water..."
"Perhaps the land is not on the surface of the sea, but within... the seawater."
As Ning Beichen thought of this, he immediately dove down and swam towards the sea.
Whether it was true or not, at least it was a method, better than lying on the water and waiting to die.
Ning Beichen swam downwards towards the seabed. The deeper he went, the darker it became, and the water pressure increased, making it difficult for Ning Beichen to take a single step.
However, Ning Beichen gritted his teeth and continued to swim down. He had no choice. If he didn't go down, he would have to go up and wait to be soaked and rotten. It was better to give it his all.
If he won, he would upgrade from a bicycle to a motorcycle; if he lost, he would just lose his life.
Ning Beichen endured the pressure of the seawater and swam with all his might. He didn't know how long he had been swimming. At this point, Ning Beichen had no way back.
He was not a fish and could not breathe underwater, so his breath-holding had a time limit.
He had already reached his limit. Even if he regretted it now and wanted to return to the surface, he no longer had enough time.
"Haitang, I'm sorry, I've done my best."
Ning Beichen was truly powerless and muttered silently in his heart.
Just when he thought he was doomed, the pressure on his body suddenly eased, and the seawater around him disappeared. Ning Beichen appeared in a place without water.
"This is... land?"
When Ning Beichen's feet touched the ground and he could breathe, he was both astonished and excited. This meant he wouldn't die.
He knew it, heaven never blocked all paths. How could the King of Hell Ning die so miserably?
Ning Beichen took deep breaths of oxygen. This land at the bottom of the sea not only had no water but also had oxygen. Even though Ning Beichen had lived for more than twenty years, this was the first time he had encountered such a strange phenomenon.
But no matter what, he, Ning Beichen, had survived and didn't have to die in the sea.
Although he hadn't figured out how to break through this aquatic environment yet, as long as he was alive, there would be a way.
Ning Beichen held his wooden knife and looked around warily. Based on his experiences in the previous two stages, the test of the aquatic environment should appear soon.