Next round.

The youngest son transformed into a mother cow on the butcher’s farm, having just given birth to a calf. The calf was lively and adorable, and the youngest son genuinely cherished it, experiencing the joys of motherhood.

At this point, the youngest son had almost forgotten who he was and where he came from. He only remembered that his previous life had ended tragically, perhaps because he had wanted their own children but never had them. This time, as soon as he opened their eyes, he had a child, and his heart was filled with joy.

He saved the best and tenderest feed for the calf, lovingly cleaned its body with his tongue, always walked behind it during their strolls, and removed any dangers and obstacles from its path.

However, he couldn’t avoid that inevitable day.

On the sixth day, the butcher began sharpening his knife.

The youngest son sensed that something was amiss. He wanted to escape with the calf, but the fence was too sturdy to break through, and the rope around his neck was too thick to free himself. He was completely trapped.

In desperation, the youngest son spun around, watching as the butcher sharpened his knife, opened the gate to the cattle pen, and approached with a coil of coarse hemp rope to tie up the calf.

“Moo, moo!” As he saw the calf being bound and dragged away, the youngest son cried out desperately, tears welling up in his eyes. He stumbled and knelt on the ground, hoping that the butcher would spare his child.

Seeing the youngest son kneeling, the butcher let out a long sigh. “A nobleman wants to eat veal, and the price offered is enough to ensure my family’s well-being. If I had the money, I wouldn’t want to…”

The butcher didn’t say more and pulled the calf outside. With a swift motion, he raised his knife and cut the calf’s throat.

The youngest son watched in horror as his child was drained of blood, butchered into several fresh pieces of meat, and then taken into the kitchen by the butcher’s wife to be cooked.

The youngest son let out a desperate and agonizing roar while desperately trying to break free from the rope around his neck. His struggle was so intense that he managed to uproot the wooden stake to which the hemp rope was tied. “Moo!” He bellowed wildly, dragging the wooden stake towards the butcher.

“Quick, come here! The butcher’s cow has gone mad!”

The butcher’s neighbors sensed that something was wrong and rushed out of their homes. They swarmed around the youngest son, securely binding him and toppling him to the ground.

The neighbors began advising the butcher with a cacophony of voices, “You shouldn’t have killed the calf in front of the old cow. If you’re going to kill, you should do it together, or the old cow will seek revenge!”

The butcher no longer hesitated and ended the life of the youngest son with a single stroke of his knife.

Another round.

The youngest son had become a renowned and wealthy merchant, adorned in luxurious silk and satin, surrounded by admirers and living a life of great happiness. He had a loving wife and a young son, and his family life was both harmonious and beautiful.

In the midst of his blissful life, as he watched the toddlers taking their first wobbly steps, the youngest son would occasionally recall fragments of memories. He seemed to have had siblings of his own, and he had once snuggled in someone’s embrace.

One night, as thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, it suddenly unearthed the long-buried memories of the youngest son.

He staggered out of his house, gazing at the opulent surroundings, realizing that in just three lifetimes, he had completely lost himself. This endless cycle was too terrifying—the universe seemed to grant him whatever he wished for in one life, only to deliver a fatal blow in the next, igniting new grievances and obsessions. This relentless loop left him in eternal torment, trapped within the never-ending realm of desires.

The thunder above rumbled as if it were a sign and a warning from the beyond.

With unsteady steps, the youngest son made his way to the household’s shrine dedicated to the God of Wealth. Inside the shrine stood a dual-faced statue of the God of Wealth, Li Xiao. The front depicted a plump, bearded, and smiling figure dressed in a red robe, while the reverse showcased a handsome young man with a charming countenance and a joyful expression.

The youngest son remembered that Wu Qingluan had a similar God of Wealth statue, albeit smaller, around half a meter tall, and she would carry it wherever she went.

In this endless realm, upon seeing a familiar God of Wealth statue, tears welled up in the youngest son’s eyes. He had come to recognize the horrifying nature of the endless realm, yet he couldn’t find an exit anywhere.

As the saying goes, one must experience suffering to believe in gods and Buddhas. The youngest son, originally a revered member of the divine clan, had now fallen into this endless realm, lost and without a way out.

Drying his tears, the youngest son purified his hands and respectfully lit three incense sticks for the God of Wealth. He then picked up the golden divination cylinder from the table and knelt on a cushion to seek guidance.

In the past, whenever the youngest son asked the God of Wealth for guidance in the shrine, he always received the best divination result, and his wishes were always granted. However, this time, when he inquired about his own destiny, what emerged was a black, extremely unfavorable divination result.

“A fleeting dream, a shattered dream in Nanko, family ruined, death without a complete body.”

Every word cut to the heart.

This lifetime was destined to end tragically, and not only would he not have a peaceful ending, but his entire family would also suffer.

The youngest son prostrated himself on the ground. “Lord Li Xiao, being able to meet you here must be a special fate. I implore the God of Wealth to bless me. I don’t seek wealth; I only ask to spare the lives of my family.”

The next day, as the youngest son stepped outside, he encountered a beggar begging for food right in front of him.

Immediately, one of his household servants came to drive the beggar away. “Go, go, go! You beggar have no shame, coming to beg for food so early in the morning, deliberately bringing bad luck to our master!”

However, the youngest son seemed to sense something and stopped his servant, asking the beggar, “What do you need, sir?”

The beggar shook his head and swayed, saying, “I don’t ask for gold, I don’t ask for silver, I only seek the most cherished possession of the master!”

The servant spat in disdain. “You impudent rascal! Master, allow me to throw him out!”

“Hold on!” the youngest son said. “My most cherished possession is nothing more than my two young sons.”

The beggar chuckled. “If the master is willing, just give me these two young sons!”

The youngest son contemplated for a while and instructed his servant, “Go tell my wife to bring the young masters here.”

“Master!” the household servants were shocked.

“Hurry!”

After the servant left, it didn’t take long for the wife to arrive, crying and protesting, “My lord, why are you doing this? Why are you giving our sons to a beggar?!”

The youngest son didn’t know how to explain. He simply looked at his two innocent children, sighed, and crouched down to gently stroke their heads. “I want you both to go with the beggar standing before you. Are you willing?”

Yu Jue’s  eldest son immediately cried out, “Father, are you mad?” He tightly held onto his mother’s skirt, refusing to let go.

The second son hesitated for a moment, glanced at the beggar, and said, “If it’s what Father wants, I am willing to go with this gentleman.”

The youngest son nodded. “Then, go.”

“Master!”

Ultimately, as the head of the family, the youngest son, Yu Jue couldn’t be swayed, no matter how much his wife cried and protested.

She wanted to prepare some things for the children, but the beggar was getting impatient. He grabbed the second son’s small hand and said, “Let’s go.”

In the blink of an eye, everyone felt as if their vision had blurred, and when they regained their senses, there was no sign of the beggar or the second son.

The youngest son murmured, “The God of Wealth truly answered our prayers…”

“Master, what is going on?” The wife threw herself on him, pounding him desperately. “Give me back my son! Give me back my son!”

While this commotion unfolded, suddenly, two squads of soldiers swiftly surrounded the place. The commander, riding a tall horse, spotted the youngest son and his group at the doorway. He raised his hand and commanded, “Seize them all, seal off the entire mansion, and don’t let anyone escape!”

It turned out that a powerful ally of the youngest son, who had befriended him, had lost in a power struggle, and the new emperor was purging the remnants of his opponents. As a mere merchant, the youngest son was among the first to face the reckoning.

The entire family of the youngest son, except for the second son taken away by the beggar, was executed in the marketplace. 

In another cycle, the youngest son was reborn into the royal family.

The youngest son had many brothers, each with exceptional abilities, and they had witnessed countless power struggles from a young age. In the royal court, there was no room for sentiment, only endless political maneuvering and strife.

On the day of the palace coup, blood flowed like a river inside and outside the palace. One by one, the youngest son’s other brothers were killed. The new ruler, considering the youngest son as his full-blooded brother, spared his life but demoted him to a commoner and banished him from the palace.

The youngest son wandered among the common people, plagued by misfortune, growing increasingly destitute. Eventually, he couldn’t even afford a meal and collapsed at the doorstep of a temple.

He was discovered by a monk who opened the temple door, and the monk gave him a bowl of rice gruel, saving his life. After staying in the temple for some time, the youngest son decided to become a monk.

At the moment of ordination, all his memories came flooding back.

In the depths of his consciousness, he heard the Buddha asking him, “Do you still have any wishes?”

In the past, the youngest son had only sought his own enjoyment, with his greatest wish being to indulge in the pleasures of life, living day by day without a care. Even if he occasionally watched educational films about the hardships of life and felt some fleeting sympathy, those feelings were like ripples on the surface of water, easily forgotten as he resumed his carefree lifestyle.

However, now, having experienced hardships and felt the pain of various misfortunes, he had a deep understanding of the suffering in the world. In addition to sympathy, he harbored anger at the unfairness of fate. He wanted to put an end to it all, and he hoped that all the despairing beings and things in the world could find redemption and assistance.

In his heart, the youngest son made a vow, not just for himself but for all sentient beings, to break free from this cycle of suffering and misfortune in the endless realm.

In this lifetime, the youngest son, who had become a monk, lived for seven days and achieved a peaceful passing.

Before his final moments, the youngest son had become a highly respected and virtuous monk. Even his eldest brother, who had once been an emperor of great power, came to listen to his teachings on Buddhism. The emperor, who had achieved victory with bloodshed, saw his sons embroiled in a new cycle of competition and conflict, and as a father, he was powerless to stop it.

On the day of his passing, after concluding his teachings, the youngest son heard thunder rumbling overhead and knew that his time had come. He smiled contentedly and achieved spiritual liberation.

Suddenly, the wheel of destiny in the endless realm emitted a dazzling golden light, and the youngest son’s body slowly emerged from within it.

The Messenger of the Endless Realm hadn’t expected him to come out so quickly and took a couple of steps back in surprise.

Unexpectedly, the youngest son grabbed hold of him and delivered a fierce punch.

With one punch, both the youngest son and the Messenger of the Endless Realm were shocked.

The youngest son hadn’t anticipated that his punch would actually connect with the Messenger’s face. The Messenger of the Endless Realm was astonished that someone would dare to lay hands on him!

Fine, since he could land a hit, he wouldn’t miss the chance for revenge!

The youngest son unleashed a flurry of punches, striking the Messenger relentlessly, and the Messenger grew increasingly infuriated, engaging in a brawl with him.

In the end, the hood of the Messenger’s cloak was knocked off, revealing a pale and battered young face that, from an external perspective, appeared to be roughly the same age as the third sibling.

“You—” the third sibling stared wide-eyed, “What on earth are you?”

“I, cough cough,” the Messenger of the Endless Realm spat out a knocked-out tooth, “I am the Messenger of the Endless Realm!”

The youngest son rolled his eyes and muttered that it was as good as saying nothing. He spoke menacingly, “I have undergone my trials. Open the door and let me out!”

The Messenger of the Endless Realm waved his sleeve, and a door appeared in the darkness. “Get out of here!”

The youngest son dragged him to the door. “Kid, do you know what wish I made in my last lifetime?”

The Messenger of the Endless Realm remained silent.

The youngest son grinned maliciously. “I’m going to shatter this Endless Realm! I suspect you’re not a messenger but rather the embodiment of this Endless Realm itself. I want to see what turned you into such a dark entity, creating this twisted place for your amusement at the expense of human suffering! The game is over, big boss!”

With that, the youngest son grabbed hold of the Messenger of the Endless Realm’s cloak and forcibly dragged him out through the door of the Endless Realm.