Who would have imagined a monk coming to buy fried rice?
The vendor’s thoughts were complex: it wasn’t rare these days, what with everyone’s liking for cosplay.
The news had covered it before—these monks were pretty wealthy, playing around on their iPhones, living in luxury villas, and even maintaining relationships with "Buddha’s consorts." But this one in front of him...
Whatever, just selling a portion, none of my business.
"Without egg, it’s eight yuan a portion."
"Ding-dong, Alipay received—8 yuan."
This monk didn’t take out his phone to scan the code, and as the vendor looked left and right, suspiciously trying to figure out who had paid, he eventually gave up.
Since soone had paid, it didn’t matter anymore. He stirred a few tis in the pan with his spatula, sprinkled so MSG, added extra vegetables, and sold a portion of egg-free fried rice.
"Egg-free fried rice, be careful as you take it."
"Thank you... benefactor."
Qiu Yuan Monk, holding the steaming box of fried rice, continued walking forward, the enticing aroma continuously burrowing into his nostrils, tickling the depths of his soul like a cat’s scratching.
Sohow in this Outer Heaven World, though he had arms, legs, eyes, and a mouth, he had been starving.
Now, with his appetite evoked, he couldn’t suppress it no matter what, even walking felt energy-draining.
"Since it’s a vegetarian al gifted by Buddha, might as well eat it."
Qiu Yuan found a secluded spot, sat down on the curb, and started devouring his al with chopsticks.
Despite the absence of at, this portion, with its sufficient salt and MSG, was far more delicious than the als in the Mountain and Sea Realm.
Soon, as Qiu Yuan polished off the al, sweating profusely, he found the food container empty, not even a single grain of rice left.
Feeling unsatisfied, how could he have finished it so quickly?
Looking at the colorful world around him, he sighed, "After many years of spiritual practice, a serving of fried rice disrupted my serene mind, breaking the precept against gluttony—such an error, indeed a fault. My cultivation is still insufficient..."
...
At this mont, Wang Hao seed to transform into the sky, embodying the universe, overlooking all living beings on the planet.
Even more, his gaze had broken the boundaries of dinsions, viewing the Etheric Abyss beyond the world’s mbrane.
The Etheric Abyss was orderly yet chaotic, malevolently terrifying, where constant change was the norm. The world was rely a small instance of order spontaneously erging.
Even from a biological perspective, the multitude of colors in this world, the dazzle of lights were actually fignts of the brain’s imagination—most objects don’t emit light, and the colors seen by humans don’t truly exist; they’re rely beautiful illusions created by the brain, a minor aspect of reality.
Because of differences in dinsions, perceptions vary.
Gradually, Wang Hao began to adapt to this high-dinsional perspective, with the pendulum of destiny swinging and the roaring surge of the Ti River; ranging from the destruction of worlds to the fusion between quarks.
He was about to transcend in that instant, to beco a part of the universal entities.
Suddenly, he heard a call from within, from Blue Star and Earth, the yet unexplored Mountain and Sea Realm, Qingshi Town, as well as his cousin and those two internet cafe custors... These slight attachnts slowly pulled him back from that supre rational state.
"Monk, are you full now?"
"Disciple, I am full," Qiu Yuan Monk replied with hands clasped, expressing his gratitude.
"Before you were full, what was the first thing you needed to do?"
This sentence was a bit convoluted, but Qiu Yuan understood and subtly bowed, "It seems so."
"Let’s keep exploring. Since you believe there is no way forward in the Mountain and Sea Realm, then let show you the so-called path ahead; this is a world where most can eat their fill. Here are big cities, small towns, and villages, all worth seeing."
Ashad of his initial aggression, Qiu Yuan Monk realized, indeed, how could there be no path forward in the world?
Look at this flourishing era.
Even if this world were flawed in Buddha’s eyes, it was still tens, hundreds of tis better than the Mountain and Sea Realm.
"Disciple, I’d like to see that tall building over there; it seems to have many people."
Wang Hao looked and saw the words "Carrefour Supermarket" co into view.
"Go ahead."
A supermarket could be found anywhere, whether in cities or towns.
However, the origin of "supermarket" was anything but ordinary.
It was a cultural phenonon invented in the United States, beginning in the 1940s when various supermarkets started to appear, symbolizing the country’s prosperous economic culture. The United States promoted supermarkets as a "cultural weapon of the free market" to show the world that only their products and distribution thods could provide a rich future for humanity.
It has to be admitted, this iconic cultural phenonon had spread across Blue Star.
People had long grown accustod to it.
Indeed, when Qiu Yuan Monk entered the supermarket, he was completely stunned by the myriad of products—rice, fresh produce, clothes, so odd bottles and jars, seemingly alcohol, and a plethora of unidentified items, which even froze his breath.
Even though he had already been shocked by many things in this world, the sheer volu of items, the endless array of products and bustling crowds brought him an unimaginable sense of shock.
Wang Hao reflected in his heart, how common the presence of "supermarkets" had beco to modern humans.
Yet the widespread adoption of supermarkets had led to nurous historical events, even influencing the outco of the 20th-century Cold War to so extent.
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