Chapter 47: We Are Not The Same - 47
"Hello, my name is Zhou Fan." Zhou Fan said while holding out his hand.
"Hello Zhou Fan, my name is Siddhartha Gautama. It is nice to meet you." The man said with a smile on his face.
He then shook Zhou Fan's hand.
Zhou Fan sat down in front of Siddhartha and started to talk.
"What exactly are you doing?" he asked.
"I am practicing the dharma." He answered.
"The dharma? What is that?" Zhou Fan inquired. He had never heard such a term before.
"It's normal that you haven't heard it. As I traveled the empire, I came across an interesting group of people. They practiced what was called the dharma. It is the cosmic law of the world and teaches many things about life." Siddhartha responded.
When Zhou Fan first heard Siddhartha describe what he called the dharma, he thought that it was their name for the Dao.
However, after some discussion, he realized that it was only a part of the dao, and not the dao itself. The Dao encompasses a much larger idea.
"Can you tell me your story?" Zhou Fan asked.
The man in front of him was really unique. He had never met another man such as him in all his travels.
"It started when I snuck out of the palace. I had always been entrapped, or protected, from the outside world. I didn't even know what death was. Only after sneaking out did I see it. After that, I told my parents my findings, and after I learned that they knew of such a thing all along, I demanded to leave. Although they didn't like the idea, they realized they couldn't stop me for long. Since then, I have been understanding the world, the dharma, and even life and death." He told.
"You seem as if you have suffered a lot." Siddhartha said. "Would you like to learn with me, and all the people here?" He asked.
"I would." Zhou Fan responded.
Just like that, Zhou Fan started to follow the man and learn with him.
In what felt like the blink of an eye, 5 years passed.
By now, Siddhartha's philosophy was much more refined. He had also become clearer and clearer on the output of life.
After so long, many people had come and gone. However, a few stayed the whole way. After a while, they became known as his five disciples.
One of those disciples was Zhou Fan. When he first met Siddhartha, he felt that they were equals, and would have never thought that he would become his disciple.
However, as time passed, Zhou Fan realized that the man that sat before him was much much greater than anyone else he had ever met.
In fact, Zhou Fan almost felt a sense of inferiority. But before Siddhartha's teachings, Zhou Fan got rid of such feelings.
In another blink of an eye, 12 years passed.
Today, Zhou Fan turned 30. To him, it truly felt like the blink of an eye.
However, something much more important was happening today. At this moment, Siddhartha was becoming perfect.
In his own words, he was achieving nirvana. Freedom from the cycle of rebirth. Only 5 people sat around him. Namely, his five disciples. The rest had left or died along the way.
All of a sudden, Siddhartha stood up.
As he walked towards Zhou Fan and the other disciples, he uttered a few words that not a single one, including Zhou Fan, would ever forget.
"I am the arahant in the world, I am the supreme, I alone am a perfectly enlightened one, whose fires are quenched and extinguished, I go now, to the empire of mortaniel, to set in motion the wheel of the dharma. In a world that has become blind, I go to beat the drum of the deathless."
As Zhou Fan heard these words, his comprehension of the Dao shot forward farther than ever before, doubling.
If he was previously at the 1/4th point, he was now halfway to the end.
Along with the other disciples, Zhou Fan bowed to Siddhartha. They couldn't help it. Although he wasn't a cultivator, the aura spilling out of him filled them with indescribable reverence.
Zhou Fan and the other disciples soon stood up and followed behind him. In the next few years Siddhartha would teach hundreds of thousands of people the way of nirvana, gaining countless followers and countless fame.
However, he never searched for fame or hoped for followers. Instead, he followed his duty, to teach the people of the world how to end the endless cycle of rebirth, and end suffering.
He eventually gained the name 'Buddha' and marked his place in history.
--------------------------
In an empty field outside of the entrance to the capital of the kingdom of Gautama, Zhou Fan sat alone.
No one would know, but the tree he sat under was the first tree he met Siddhartha under.
By now another 40 years had passed, and Siddhartha had passed away. Zhou Fan felt indescribable sadness under the tree. He felt a loneliness that couldn't be described with words.
Every single one of the Buddha's disciples, and some of his followers, achieved nirvana. However, Zhou Fan was the exception.
A couple years ago, he made it to the end of the Dao. Or at least, one step before the end.
This step, no matter how understanding Zhou Fan was, was unsteppable.
As the buddha died of old age, he took one last look at Zhou Fan, who hadn't aged a day since they first met, and mouthed one last sentence.
"We are not the same."
When Zhou Fan heard this, an extreme feeling filled his heart. He couldn't understand it at all, but it felt like he held the key, but was missing the lock.
As Zhou Fan sat under the tree, he repeated the words Siddhartha had mouthed just a month ago. It echoed back and forth in his brain for hours and hours and hours.
Days passed and seasons changed as Zhou Fan's mind was filled to the brim with the same sentence.
"We are not the same."
Chapter 48: Return - 48
5 more years passed, and as the buddha's last words continuously rang through his head, his eyes shot open.
"We are not the same!" His words echoed throughout the empire as an unmatched power shot out from his body.
His cultivation at the second level of the nascent soul realm, along with his newfound 100% understanding of the dao was finally displayed in its full potential.
A power Zhou Fan never imagined filled his mind as he gathered every single element or concept on the palm of his hand.
During his long period of meditation, he had comprehended every single one to the same level as when he comprehended life on that one day.
He punched out to the sky and the punch dispersed the clouds and continued into space, eventually dispersing.
As his raging power calmed down, Zhou Fan understood much more.
After years of repeating the phrase, Zhou Fan understood its meaning.
The idea of rebirth and nirvana didn't apply to him. He was a cultivator. As long as he continued cultivating, he was eternal.
It was easy to tell after he turned 75, and didn't look a day past 20.
Although he wasn't truly immortal right now, he was closer than anyone else had ever been.
As he fully unsealed his cultivation, he opened his mouth and absorbed all of the Qi in a 10 mile radius. Although it didn't literally flow into his stomach, his weak and frail body began to reinvigorate.
His bald head grew a long growth of gray hair that reached to his knees. His starving body, plumped up to his old look. His clothes dissolved off of his body as he used earth Qi to form a new layer of cloth.
As he sat, he calmed down and investigated himself. His findings shocked him.
Like he said, he had comprehended 100% of the Dao. However, looking now, it could only be said that he understood the mortal Dao, and not the eternal cosmic Dao that he was now feeling.
The original feeling of the Dao came from deep within the world itself, but now, it came from far beyond the reaches of humans, into the unknowns of space.
His understanding of this new Dao didn't even reach 1%.
He also felt that there was a way to better understand the elements and concepts.
If his mortal understanding of them was 100%, then his understanding of the new ones, the immortal ones, was at best 5%.
Along with his enlightenment, the way Zhou Fan viewed the world changed.
After more than 60 years, it was time to go back to the cave.
Zhou Fan soared into the sky and shot back to the dragon cave at maximum speed. Even though he was in the same realm as when he left, he was 10 times stronger in every aspect, including speed.
After only an hour of flying, Zhou Fan reached Yang Lang city, 4 empires away. When he came back, the city wasn't too much different. Besides a few more buildings and some renovations, nothing noticeable had changed.
When he reached his courtyard, Zhou Fan wasn't surprised to see that it was empty and abandoned. Although he had discovered the cause of the deaths, there were still more snakes.
As he landed behind the courtyard, Zhou Fan remembered the people he left behind. Fui rong, the real estate girl, Moun Erzai, the head researcher, Lu Chen, the manager, and wagu, his co-worker.
Although it couldn't be said that he had a deep bond with any of them, the thought that they were probably all dead was saddening.
However, Zhou Fan was able to snap out of it quickly. As someone who was likely to live for a long, long time, the death of mortals wasn't something that he could grieve about.
He also thought about the people within the caves. There was a high chance that most of them were dead. As for the beasts, he already knew that their life spans were much longer than an average humans.
Without waiting too long, Zhou Fan flew down the tunnels and arrived at the dragon cave. Seeing the familiar, yet somewhat unfamiliar scenery, Zhou Fan couldn't help but smile.
Although there were a few more new buildings than when he left, that was only natural.
Zhou Fan flew directly to the house he lived in. From above, it looked like nothing much had changed.
As he landed on the ground, the cabin door opened, and a familiar face walked out. As soon as he saw Zhou Fan, the biscuit in his mouth fell.
With his mouth wide open he tried to speak.
"Zhou Fan?!" Yipeng asked, exasperated.
Looking at him, Zhou Fan was equally stunned. "Yipeng?! How are you still alive?!"
While still staring at Zhou Fan with confusion, he answered. "Elves can live to 150. The same can be said for the other races. Wait. How are you alive? We thought you died."
"It's a long story. Where are the beasts?" Zhou Fan asked.
Finally regaining his composure, Yipeng stiffly responded. "Probably in their habitats. They don't leave much any more."
Hearing him, Zhou Fan nodded.
Then, he raised his head up to the sky. "Xiaolong, Xuanwu, Hang Lu, Bainu, Zhuque!!" He yelled.
Within seconds, the entire cave shook as 5 behemoths made their way to Zhou Fan.
The first to make it into his sight was Zhuque. She had a major advantage since she could fly. As soon as she saw him, she flew at him like an arrow. She soon crashed into him and started to lick his face.
Before he knew it, every other beasts had also arrived and imitated Zhuque.
They were so excited that Yipeng had to retreat or he would have been smashed to bits.
Looking at them, Zhou Fan let out a sigh. In the 60 years he had been gone, each of them had doubled in size. Even so, he could still see the unwavering loyalty and love in their eyes.
Zhou Fan laughed and patted their heads.
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