Chapter 666: Fusion Again

When Yu Lin returned from the Buddha‑Dao world, five years had already passed in the present world.

He stood at the entrance of the residential complex, looking at the few buildings that had once been relatively new, their outer walls now a bit gray.

When he left, this was still the best new development in the area; after these years, it has become a bona fide old residential district.

Lao Jun and the Tathagata were not downstairs.

The fortune‑telling stall was gone, the small table for consecrating ritual implements had vanished, and in the garden only a few elderly people were sunbathing; a young mother pushed a stroller past Yu Lin and gave him a friendly smile.

Those two had gone somewhere to continue their duel of techniques—perhaps another city, perhaps another dimension—and Yu Lin was too lazy to bother.

Busy, busy, good.

He went upstairs and opened the door.

The living room was very quiet; the Dragon Lords were absent, the Computer was off, and the screen was pitch black.

But judging from the lingering heat of the Computer.

They had clearly left only a short while ago.

Yu Lin glanced around, walked to the sofa and sat down, leaned into the cushion, and after closing his eyes to rest for a moment.

He took out the Three‑World Buddha Origin and the Dao Origin.

The Three‑World Buddha Origin rose from the fish's Scale, and the Five Lotus Seeds turned into five virtual shadows hovering before him.

From left to right, the past Burning Lamp Buddha sat upright, his robe folds hanging like water ripples, his visage ancient, his gaze piercing the layers of time's veil;

In the east, the Medicine Buddha was entirely crystal‑colored, holding a medicinal fruit in his right hand, a bowl in his left, and exuding the fresh aura of plants around him;

In the center, Shakyamuni Buddha sat in the middle, cross‑legged, one hand touching the ground, the other forming the Fearless Mudra, his expression neither sorrowful nor joyful;

In the west, Amitabha Buddha formed the Samadhi seal with both hands, holding a lotus platform in his palms, the light gentle, like the afterglow of sunset spreading across the western heavens;

The future Maitreya Buddha opened his robe, let his feet dangle, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

The five virtual shadows arranged in a semicircle, light radiating from them, intertwining, like five rivers flowing in different directions yet originating from the same source.

The Dao Origin floated up from Yu Lin's right hand.

It is neither light nor shadow, nor something that can be described.

Formless and shapeless, without beginning or end, void and Chaos.

The light of the five Buddhas touched the edge of the Dao Origin; there was no collision or repulsion, only peaceful coexistence.

However, the Dao Origin did not accept them, nor did they merge into the Dao Origin.

The Five Beams of Light and that mass of Chaos coexisted in the same space, each in its own place, touching no one.

Yu Lin removed the already fused Origin Scale from the fish's body.

That Scale, containing countless colors, lay quietly in his palm—red, blue, gold, purple, black, white—all the colors within.

He placed the Scale between the five Buddhas' virtual shadows and the Dao Origin.

Afterward.

Apply pressure!

The three things began to draw closer to each other.

The five Buddhas' virtual shadows contracted inward, shrinking from a semicircle to a circle, then from a circle to a point.

The Dao Origin moved toward that point, simultaneously drawing nearer.

The Scale hovered between them, like a bridge, or rather… a container!

The five Buddhas' Light Dots fell into the Scale; in that instant, the surface of the Scale lit up with a faint golden hue, not intense, like the first morning ray shining on snow.

The Dao Origin then seeped in, the formless, insubstantial thing entering the tangible Scale without any resistance.

The Scale's colors began to change.

The gold faded, the pale gold turned to amber, the amber became crystal.

The crystal turned transparent, and within the transparency five fine light patterns emerged.

Each light pattern differed: the Burning Lamp Buddha's pattern resembled layered ripples, the Medicine Buddha's pattern resembled the veins of plants, Shakyamuni Buddha's pattern resembled a thousand‑petaled lotus platform, Amitabha Buddha's pattern resembled a setting sun, Maitreya Buddha's pattern resembled a slightly opened palm.

The five light patterns rotated slowly on the Scale's surface, each following its own path, occasionally crossing, yet not interfering.

The rotation continued for a long time, then began to slow.

The patterns turned slower and closer, merging from five tracks into one.

The Burning Lamp Buddha's ripples merged into Shakyamuni Buddha's lotus platform, the Medicine Buddha's veins grew along the platform's edge, Amitabha Buddha's sunset spread over the platform's base, and Maitreya Buddha's palm supported the entire platform.

The five patterns combined into one, forming a complete lotus platform.

On each petal of the platform a Buddha image appeared; the five Buddhas each took their place, surrounding a central empty spot.

The empty spot was small, just enough to contain that mass of Chaos.

The Dao Origin flowed into the empty spot, silent and without a trace.

The platform's light dimmed for a moment, then brightened, brighter and purer than before, like water just flowing from its source.

"Hmm, that's about right."

Yu Lin summoned the fish from the center of his forehead.

The fish swam a circle in front of him, its tail gently flicking.

Its back was covered with many Scales, colors arranged together like a collage of broken gems.

Yu Lin pressed the newly fused Scale onto the fish's back, near the tail.

The moment the Scale adhered, the fish's body tensed sharply, its tail stopped moving.

It hovered in midair, motionless, as if fixed by something.

Yu Lin watched it.

The fish's body began to change; the colors of the old Scales deepened, from light to rich, from rich to dark.

When they deepened to a certain point, the colors instead faded, as if covered by a thin mist.

After the mist cleared, each old scale bore a tiny lotus-platform pattern, exactly the same as the pattern on the new scales.

And at that very moment, all the primordial power manifested!

The light patterns lit up simultaneously, from the fish's head to its tail, from its back to its belly.

Until Yu Lin silently chanted a stop.

Only then did all the changes cease, the lotus platform faded, and the central "Dao" dimmed as well.

The fish regained movement.

Its tail flicked once, it swam up to Yu Lin, and rubbed its head against his fingers.

Yu Lin reached out and touched its head.

The fish opened its mouth and spat out a string of bubbles; the bubbles floated up, burst in midair, turned into tiny light dots, and fell back onto its body.

Afterwards.

Yu Lin stuffed the fish back into his brow.

The fish burrowed beneath the skin and disappeared.

A faint mark remained at his brow, like a tiny fish-tail line, too subtle to notice unless looked at closely.

He leaned back into the sofa, closed his eyes, rested his hand on the armrest, and lightly tapped his fingertips.

The living room was extremely quiet; outside the window came occasional bird calls, a child's laughter, and the distant sound of a car driving over the road.

He sat for a long time, then opened his eyes, stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the old residential garden downstairs.

Finally his gaze fell on the doorway.

The Watt Li from India was still waiting.

Perhaps he sensed Yu Lin's unabashed gaze.

He lifted his head and looked toward Yu Lin, revealing a somewhat ingratiating, fawning smile.

Yu Lin nodded at him, then turned and sat back on the sofa, and turned on the TV:

"Let's rest first."

"No rush."