After the demons had finally withdrawn, Shuo Lei prepared to enter the meditative state in which he was most proficient.
He intended to sever the false sensory foundation that the demons had forcibly created within him, allowing himself to return to the natural state of the Formless Brahmas once more.
He understood one thing very clearly.
Anything that violated the natural laws of the Three Realms, no matter how beautiful it might appear at first, would rarely end in a truly perfect conclusion.
Therefore, Shuo Lei did not wish to continue violating the innate nature of his own kind.
Yet the wish of this Formless Brahma was not destined to be fulfilled.
Just as he was about to settle his consciousness completely—
a new, unexpected visitor suddenly appeared in place of the demons who had just departed.
This time, the visitor was a tall and slender woman of extraordinary elegance.
Her features were sharply defined, yet possessed an enchanting beauty.
Her skin shone like a brilliant marigold, luminous and translucent.
Long golden hair cascaded down her body, gleaming beneath the light.
She wore a magnificent robe woven from golden-yellow lace, its radiance complementing her hair perfectly.
Every movement she made carried an effortless grace and softness.
Around her body hung luxurious ornaments fashioned entirely from gold, silver, and precious alloys of gold, silver, and copper.
Almost no being within the Three Realms could deny the astonishing beauty of the woman standing before them.
An ordinary man might have lost his senses at the very first sight of her.
But Shuo Lei was no ordinary being.
He possessed neither a physical body nor a soul-form.
There was only a pure flame of consciousness consisting of thought, perception, and memory.
No matter how beautiful the woman before him might be, her beauty existed as though it belonged to another world.
Another dimension.
Therefore, Shuo Lei remained completely unmoved.
“Formless Brahma Shuo Lei...”
The woman greeted him in a soft and melodious voice.
She then slowly knelt before his flame of consciousness, settling into a graceful seated posture.
Her voice became low and calm, impossible to judge as sincere or false.
“I am Maya, Queen of the Three Cities.”
“Moments ago, I completed one of my duties that must be performed whenever a new kalpa begins.”
“I went to dispel the doubts within Nalayan's heart, allowing him to regain the strength and faith necessary to protect the Three Realms and the virtuous beings of the mortal world.”
“But shortly before that, I heard about you from Itihasa.”
“So I took the liberty of coming here to witness your virtue for myself.”
“And I happened to witness you defeat those demons without violence and without taking a single life.”
“Therefore, I wished to express a little goodwill toward you.”
“Queen of the Phantom City...”
Shuo Lei asked gently.
“What brings you here?”
“I have already told you.”
Maya immediately answered.
“I came only to express my goodwill.”
“This is a gift for you.”
“Your peaceful way of subduing those demons truly left a deep impression upon me.”
“But a Formless Brahma such as myself has no body.”
“Not even a soul-form exists.”
“Only thought, perception, and memory remain...”
“...I fear I cannot truly accept your goodwill.”
“You really are perceptive.”
Maya smiled faintly.
Her smile was mysterious.
“Shuo Lei... from only a few words, I can already tell that your wisdom is extraordinary.”
“And yet you remain so humble, with a heart as immovable as a mountain.”
“An existence such as yourself cannot be shaken by either Princess Arati, the eldest princess of the Demon Realm, or even by me—the Mistress of the Phantom City, whose power can cause countless beings to lose themselves within illusion and delusion.”
She paused.
Her tone became calmer and more sincere.
“But you misunderstand one thing.”
“I came here without any hidden agenda.”
“I am entirely different from Arati, from those demons, and even from the Demon King Vasavatti.”
“I genuinely admire your compassion and your heart of sympathetic joy, which embraces all beings.”
“That is why I came personally to offer you this small gift.”
“Please accept my goodwill and my blessing, Shuo Lei.”
Shuo Lei remained silent.
He did not refuse.
Seeing this, Maya immediately bestowed upon the Formless Brahma three ancient blessings from the Three Cities.
“I know that you understand this path well.”
“If one wishes to accumulate immeasurable merit as quickly and easily as possible, the best course is to descend into the human realm and cultivate among mortals.”
“Therefore...”
“My first blessing to you.”
“May your body and appearance become a mirror reflecting the purity and beauty within your heart.”
“Whatever form of life you may be reborn into in the future, as long as your heart remains genuinely virtuous, this radiance of beauty will remain with your physical form.”
“It shall remain until the purity of your kindness is lost.”
“My second blessing.”
“If you are ever reborn in the human realm while the good karma of your previous lives remains abundant, may you be reborn through spontaneous manifestation in every lifetime, with a wholesome resultant consciousness not accompanied by wisdom.”
“And as for my final blessing...”
“The endless treasures of my Three Cities—the gold, silver, and precious alloys of gold, silver, and copper that appear as nothing more than fleeting illusions to those who have not yet attained the Noble Path—”
“From this day onward, they shall become genuine and tangible treasures for you.”
“Gold, silver, and precious metal.”
“Always within your reach.”
“Thank you sincerely for your kindness.”
Shuo Lei's voice remained gentle and friendly, echoing through the emptiness of Naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana.
“I hope that the three gifts I have given you will truly prove useful when you descend into the human realm according to your vow and accumulate merit.”
“However, I would also offer you a word of advice.”
“Your desire to return to your original nature—the profound stillness of your true essence—is certainly a good thing.”
“But in my view, this situation may instead be an opportunity.”
“A supreme opportunity to continue accumulating merit toward the fulfillment of your great vow.”
“And I am genuinely curious...”
“with your present extraordinary state of emptiness—your state of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception—”
“will you truly be able to withstand the supreme power of the Earthly Flavor?”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Maya's form remained motionless.
But her gaze slowly deepened.
“The Earthly Flavor that emerges from the annihilation of a kalpa, when a new world is first born...”
“It is one of the purest primordial substances in existence.”
“And it is also an ultimate taboo capable of slaying gods and immortals.”
“Even Brahmas and gods possessing immeasurable divine power may be unable to resist it.”
“If they succumb to the temptation of that strange fragrance and develop even a single thought of tasting it, their memories from countless past lives, their divine nature, their heavenly attainments, and even their miraculous powers capable of penetrating the very fabric of existence will vanish in an instant.”
“They will immediately become ordinary mortals of flesh and blood.”
“So I shall continue watching you.”
“I want to see with my own eyes what you will do when the Earthly Flavor finally breaks through the soil.”
“Of course...”
“The final choice will always remain in your hands.”
“Shuo Lei...”
With those words, Maya slowly rose.
She gave a slight nod toward the seven-colored flame of consciousness, which was gradually returning to stillness.
Then the Queen of the Phantom City transformed into a pale golden rainbow and disappeared into the void.
She returned to the ancient phantom city, which had once again awakened within the newly born kalpa.
Maya's beautiful and dazzling form reappeared upon the golden throne deep within the royal palace of the Three Cities.
She still wore her golden-yellow lace robe.
Around her neck hung a triple necklace fashioned from gold, silver, and the precious alloy of gold, silver, and copper.
The Three Cities were a heavenly pure land overflowing with wealth.
Yet the gold, silver, and precious alloys that constituted its three legendary treasures were, in truth, nothing more than illusions.
And yet those false treasures had attracted countless greedy humans for millions of years.
They desperately searched for a path leading to Maya's Phantom City.
For the city of illusory gold and silver was hidden deep beneath the earth, within the fourth subterranean layer—
the underworld known as Tarātala.
In truth, however, Maya's true dominion was the entire world of Tarātala.
Compared with the vast underground realm itself, the Three Cities—with their three forms of illusory wealth—were far better known among mortal humans.
Why?
Because beings consumed by greed were naturally more easily deceived by a city promising limitless wealth.
It was like someone peeling away the bark of a tree, discovering the sapwood beneath it, and then foolishly believing that the sapwood was the true heart of the tree.
They would cling to that mistaken understanding for their entire lives.
Such was the depth of their ignorance.
Whenever a kalpa approached its end, the Three Cities were completely consumed by the fires of destruction.
And whenever a new kalpa began, the Phantom City would rise again.
Again.
And again.
It endlessly tempted beings whose minds had been darkened by greed, whose eyes had been blinded by miserliness and desire.
They became obsessed.
They became consumed.
And eventually, many met their deaths within the Phantom City.
Kalpa after kalpa.
Lifetime after lifetime.
Yet Maya possessed another sacred responsibility, one entirely different from her power to tempt beings with illusions.
Whenever a new kalpa was born, she had to appear before Nalayan, who had become filled with doubt.
Nalayan had personally witnessed the destruction of one kalpa and the birth of another.
The suffering of impermanence had shaken his divine heart, leaving him uncertain.
Maya's duty was to help him overcome one of the Five Hindrances—
the Hindrance of Doubt.
Only then could he regain absolute faith and divine authority, allowing him to continue fulfilling his great divine duty:
to protect the Three Realms and the virtuous beings of the mortal world.
These two powers and responsibilities of Maya were so contradictory that almost every wise being who had not yet attained the Noble Path found her existence deeply perplexing.
Was she truly a friend to living beings trapped within samsara?
Or was she their enemy?
Yet the mystery surrounding the Queen of the Three Cities had only begun.
Her very state of existence was enough to give countless sages and scholars of the Three Realms a headache.
Maya was neither a god.
Nor a Brahma.
Nor a Formless Brahma.
And yet her existence possessed certain unique characteristics shared by both Itihasa & Bhadrakāla and Shuo Lei, the Formless Brahma.
In other words, like Itihasa and Bhadrakāla, Maya possessed an immortal existence granted to her because of the cosmic duties she carried.
But Itihasa and Bhadrakāla were gods.
They possessed genuine forms made from divine law itself.
Maya was different.
The “soul-form” she presented to the beings of the Three Realms could either be said to exist—
or not exist—
depending entirely upon a single thought.
Because Maya's true divine body...
was Maya herself.
Her true life-core consisted only of thought, perception, and memory.
In this respect, she was remarkably similar to a Formless Brahma such as Shuo Lei.
There was only one difference.
Maya had been born with absolute sensory awareness of all beings and all things.
And most importantly—
throughout the infinite universe, there was only one being capable of truly touching her illusory divine body.
That being was—
Itihasa.
The supreme existence who stood alone within the endless void and wielded the true laws governing the Three Realms.
Above the primordial cosmic waters, he alone could truly touch Maya's divine body without being deceived by her countless overlapping layers of illusion.
And now—
this proud god, at once something like a lover and something like an eternal rival, had quietly appeared before her.
“How rude.”
The Queen of the Three Cities cast a sidelong glance at him.
With a hint of playful irritation, she slowly looked him up and down.
“How dare you enter a woman's private palace without permission?”
“Itihasa?”
“You did the same thing when you went to see Shuo Lei.”
Itihasa answered in the same arrogant tone.
“I went to see him out of genuine goodwill.”
“Unlike certain people who are clearly plotting something while pretending they merely happened to be paying a routine visit.”
“Heh.”
Itihasa gave a low chuckle.
Then he revealed a proud smile, one that seemed capable of seeing through the causes and effects of all things.
His words slowly backed the Queen of the Phantom City into a corner.
“Do you truly believe I don't know?”
“You secretly used your mental powers to track the thoughts I left within the void.”
“You listened in on my conversation with Mahā Brahmā Sahampati and Rohini.”
“And then you took that stolen information and went to see Shuo Lei, pretending that you had only heard about him from me.”
Maya fell silent.
Before a god who wielded the authority of Truth, every lie and every disguise was futile.
Itihasa's mental powers extended throughout the infinite cosmos.
He could instantly see through even the most deeply concealed truths of the universe.
Seeing that she had no answer, Itihasa pressed his advantage.
“Such precautions are unavoidable.”
“Your duties and your innate nature have condemned you and me to stand on opposite sides for almost all eternity.”
“So every day, I must examine you through my mental powers countless times.”
“Only then can I act before you whenever you form a thought.”
“Otherwise, one day I might find myself trapped within your primordial illusions.”
“Isn't that right, Maya?”
“Still the same old Itihasa...”
The Queen of the Three Cities muttered beneath her breath.
She deliberately adopted the rough, teasing manner of ordinary mortals speaking to an old acquaintance.
As though she were complaining about an old rival she had known for countless kalpas.
But Itihasa's counterattack was sharper.
“And you are still the same old Maya.”
“Don't think I cannot see what else you concealed within those three gifts you gave Shuo Lei.”
“How many ‘additional benefits’ are hidden within them—things that Shuo Lei himself, Mahā Brahmā Sahampati, and even the gods of the heavens have never anticipated.”
Maya's body stiffened slightly.
Her beautiful eyes widened.
For an instant, she resembled a graceful wild creature that had suddenly realized it had walked into a deadly trap, yet had nowhere left to retreat.
That sight sent Itihasa's pride soaring.
The noble god deliberately drew out his words, teasing her with unmistakable amusement.
“Especially your first blessing.”
“Whether it was deliberately planted or merely an unintended consequence, none of the gods can say.”
“Only I can see the truth.”
“But do not worry.”
“I have no intention of reporting your hidden intentions to the Divine Council.”
“I shall simply record them.”
“Every word.”
“Every detail.”
“And engrave them forever within the Great Itihasa Canon, the work that bears my own name.”
Maya's expression changed.
But instead of panic, a sly glimmer appeared within her enchanting eyes.
She was already considering how to turn the situation around.
Yet before she could speak, Itihasa's deep and authoritative voice once again filled the inner palace.
“I cannot deny that your first blessing to Shuo Lei is a double-edged sword.”
“It may very well become a source of karmic burden, tempting countless women throughout the Three Realms to sink into desire, lust, and blind infatuation.”
“Therefore, I shall impose a corrective blessing of causality to compensate for this fatal flaw in your gift.”
As the True God gently moved his long fingers through the invisible threads of reality, a supreme law descended.
“His body and appearance may indeed cause countless women throughout the Three Realms to become captivated by him.”
“But only a woman truly suited to him—”
“a woman who genuinely loves him, while possessing a soul entirely free from worldly desire and greed—”
“will be able to approach him peacefully.”
“She alone may speak with him.”
“She alone may form a genuine bond with him across lifetimes.”
“As for those who possess no such qualification, whose hearts contain nothing but obsession and greed...”
“the countless phenomena of the mortal world will transform into layers upon layers of obstacles, keeping them away.”
“No matter what they do—”
“they will never truly be able to touch Shuo Lei.”
“You are truly vicious without ever appearing vicious.”
Maya slowly rose.
Her voice was as calm as still water.
The three-layer necklace upon her golden-yellow lace robe gave a faint, cold metallic sound.
Then she deliberately imitated Itihasa's proud, rising-and-falling tone.
“Intelligent enough to be frightening...”
“I must admit.”
She paused.
Her beautiful eyes grew deeper as she stared directly into his.
“But I can also clearly sense that your interest in Shuo Lei is no less than mine.”
“Perhaps not even less than Arati's.”
“The difference is that you wish to make him your good friend.”
“Because you have already realized that Shuo Lei's nature can bring genuine happiness to every living being who possesses right view and draws close to him.”
“Unfortunately, you cannot truly make him yours.”
“Even with your astonishing divine authority, you could easily accomplish it.”
“But you are afraid.”
“Afraid that doing so would invoke heavenly punishment.”
“Absolute Brahmic Punishment.”
“That is why you deliberately left Rohini an opportunity.”
“That fallen goddess, who has already lost all of her attendant stars, now has a chance to meet Shuo Lei.”
“And what you truly desire...”
“is to receive some unfathomable karmic return from Rohini in the future.”
“Isn't that right, Itihasa?”
The inner palace fell completely silent.
The smile on Itihasa's handsome and arrogant face slowly disappeared.
He stared at the Queen of the Three Cities.
A sharp glint, like the eyes of a king among beasts, flickered at the corners of his eyes.
He had no choice but to admit it.
Maya had struck directly at the fatal weakness hidden within his divine authority.
“...You truly understand me, Maya.”
After a moment, Itihasa gave another low laugh.
But this time, there was less mockery in his voice.
Instead, there was the dangerous tension of two masters finally recognizing one another as equals.
“But what of it?”
“I may not use my divine authority to interfere with him.”
“But in this great game among the gods...”
“who can guarantee that Shuo Lei will not eventually walk willingly into the ‘Truth’ I have laid before him?”
His words faded.
The starlight seemed to die away.
And Itihasa's figure finally dissolved into a gentle breeze, disappearing into the formless void.
Before the golden throne, only Maya remained.
She watched the direction in which the True God had vanished.
Her fingers slowly brushed across the alloy necklace upon her chest.
Her eyes shifted with unfathomable meaning.
This time—
it was Itihasa who had fallen silent.
Maya raised one elegant eyebrow.
Then she immediately seized the opportunity to counterattack, determined to push the True God into a position from which there would be nowhere left to retreat.
She gave a soft, mocking laugh.
“I must admit, your ability to adapt is truly unfathomable.”
“Your calculations are exquisite.”
“Although having the entire universe of my schemes exposed before my eyes has left me somewhat embarrassed...”
“I truly never expected you to have laid your game so deeply.”
“But perhaps that is only because I sit here alone, guarding the Phantom City.”
“Unlike you...”
“You have someone at your side like Bhadrakāla—a brilliant and extraordinary close friend who can constantly advise you and help you calculate the movements of fate.”
Maya's expression softened into a radiant smile.
Her enchanting eyes gleamed with the amusement of two master players finally meeting across the same board.
She stared directly into Itihasa's eyes and spoke slowly, each word carrying effortless pride.
“But never mind, Itihasa.”
“Even though I am certain that I have already seen through your grand design...”
“I will never reveal a single word of it to the Divine Council, to Mahā Brahmā, to the countless gods of Heaven, or even to the Bodhisattvas.”
“Because I myself am thoroughly fascinated by this cosmic game of strategy that has only just begun.”
“I want to see it with my own eyes.”
“If you refuse to use your ‘authority over the True Laws’ to forcibly twist causality...”
“then in this game—”
“will you truly be able to get what you want?”
“Will your grand design ultimately succeed?”