Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage
Chapter 230 - 223: The Eastern Emperor Bell and the Resurrection of the Six-Soul Banner

Chapter 230: Chapter 223: The Eastern Emperor Bell and the Resurrection of the Six-Soul Banner

Yuan Hong unleashed a deadly blow, slaying Buddhas Immeasurable Light and Immeasurable Life, greatly boosting the morale of the Demon Tribe, while the Buddhist Sect was steeped in a somber mood.

"The Demon Tribe having won the first battle naturally has their morale boosted. Such a development is extremely unfavorable for us. Who will undertake the second battle?" Tathagata slowly said.

"Buddha Ancestor, allow your disciple to go," the Glazed Light King, Medicine Buddha, stepped forward.

Medicine Buddha was also highly skilled. He had two thousand yakshas at his command, though a few hundred had perished on Mount Putuo. As long as these two thousand yakshas chanted scriptures in unison, any wounds on his body could rapidly heal, an extremely miraculous ability! With these yakshas, he was practically immortal. Even if his Niwan Palace was shattered, his physical body could still swiftly recover.

Tathagata pondered for a moment and said, "If you go, the Demon Tribe will likely send Ksitigarbha King to face you."

Now the Buddhist Sect had been intimidated by Yuan Hong’s staff blow, and everyone harbored a sense of dread in their hearts.

The protector with a mosquito-like appearance had a gloomy face as he said, "For the second battle, why not let the Nether River Patriarch take over?"

Tathagata’s eyes lit up and he replied, "Indeed, if Nether River takes on the challenge, then certainly Sun Wukong would be their champion in battle. Should Sun Wukong be defeated, the morale of the Demon Tribe will surely plummet, after all, he is the Demon Tribe’s Green Emperor; he is expected to win, not to lose! Very well, mosquito protector, please take the trouble to invite the Nether River Patriarch to battle."

Both sides displayed their exemption banners and discussed the arrangements for the second battle.

The mosquito protector accepted the command and headed alone towards the Asura Blood Sea slung across the sky.

Upon observing this, the Demon Tribe quickly realized that for the second battle, Nether River must be the one being called forth!

Kong Xuan, having absorbed the Ginseng Fruit Tree, was brimming with confidence and said, "I’ll take on this second battle! It is said that Nether River is the most powerful beneath the Saints, and I’m eager to see his true prowess."

However, Ksitigarbha King slowly shook his head and said, "Five Elements Buddha, your cultivation level is not yet equal to Nether River’s. Nether River’s methods are extraordinarily fearsome—it took the combined efforts of the eleven Ancestral Witches, Wukong, and me to stop him last time; alone, it might be difficult to hold him back!"

Wukong also said, "Indeed, Nether River is truly formidable. Even with the Eastern Emperor Bell in hand, I’m not entirely confident of defeating him! This second battle, only I can fight him. But then, who will confront Tathagata? He still has the Turning Wheel Sage King Great Seal."

The Turning Wheel Sage King Great Seal is now the Buddhist Sect’s most treasured Magical Treasure, forged from all the accumulated Eight Treasures Merit of the Buddhist Sect, hard to confront without the Eastern Emperor Bell! However, the battle with Nether River will undoubtedly be extremely tough; it might take three to five days, possibly even a month, to determine the victor. Ever since his divine encounter with Xuan Ming, Wukong’s understanding of cultivation has become remarkably profound. If he were an ordinary person, he could perhaps seize this opportunity to achieve the Primordial Dao Fruit. Alas, his Dao is unlike that of others.

The Turning Wheel Sage King Great Seal is a heavy topic—who will take on Tathagata?

The Supreme Holy Mother said, "Let Duobao and I deal with Tathagata. I possess my teacher’s Golden Phoenix Hairpin, Life-Ordering Dagger, and Thunderous Zither, while Duobao has the Heart-Piercing Lock, Qiankun Fan, and Diagram of Hiding Immortals among other Magical Treasures. Also, I have the Six Paths Banner here, but its powers were diminished during the Middle Ages when Lord of Primordial Beginning shattered its frame with the Pangu Banner, so it can’t unleash its full potential."

The Six Souls Banner, with its six tails hanging beneath the banner, suffered the loss of two tails when the Lord of Primordial Beginning cut them using the Chaos Sword Qi of the Pangu Banner. Since then, the Six Souls Banner’s power was significantly reduced. Tong Tian Sect Master deemed the artifact to be of little use and therefore gifted it to the Supreme Holy Mother. But in her eyes, such a Magical Treasure was still extremely fearsome!

A poem bears witness to this, praising the Pangu Banner: "In the chaos of creation, it claimed its accomplishment, the progenitor manifested true valour. With the splitting of heaven and earth, nature unfolded, the Pangu’s saintly might rainbowing across the sky."

Wukong rejoiced and said, "Excellent! My Eastern Emperor Bell can reverse time and space, and now that I have some understanding of the Heavenly Dao Laws, I might be able to restore the Six Souls Banner."

In fact, Tong Tian Sect Master had foreseen that the Six Souls Banner could be restored, though he couldn’t determine with whom. With only Supreme Holy Mother remaining from his disciples, who else could he give it to? So he handed it directly to her; the Six Souls Banner would meet its fate, whether found or lost.

The Supreme Holy Mother was overjoyed and said, "Is this true?"

Wukong bowed respectfully and replied, "I would not dare to deceive Great Sister Wudang."

The Supreme Holy Mother then took out the Six Souls Banner. This great banner had six tails hanging beneath it, two of which had been severed, leaving only four remaining.

This Great Banner took the shape of a triangle, deeply black throughout. Around the banner, sinister black qi swirled about—it was forged using the bodies of the three thousand Chaos Heaven Demons that Hong Jun and Pangu had slain with the Slaying Immortals Sword Formation. If the Tong Tian Sect Master were to cast spells with it, he could even inflict wounds of the Great Dao upon the saints. However, at the last moment, the Six Souls Banner was stolen by a traitor from the Jie Taoist, specifically by Dingguang Joyful Buddha, Long-ear Dingguang Immortal, causing the Tong Tian Sect Master to fail just short of success.

This was why the Supreme Holy Mother and the Tong Tian Sect Master both harbored extreme hatred towards the traitors in their sect, and why those traitors lived every day in great terror, constantly fearing the Sect Master’s retaliation.

Wukong grasped the Six Souls Banner and immediately felt the Golden Lotus within him stirring restlessly as the Three Thousand Great Paths rapidly flowed, as if they were encountering a formidable foe.

Wukong raised the Eastern Emperor Bell, and it covered the Six Souls Banner. He murmured incantations, and the carved flora, mountains, and creatures on the bell came to life. Finally, the birds and beasts on the bell animated, flying and dashing around the Eastern Emperor Bell, dragons and phoenixes auspiciously appearing, Qilin spitting pearls.

The Heavenly Dao Saint has the power to reverse time and space within a certain range temporarily, but it requires the support of a formidable Magical Treasure. The Tong Tian Sect Master could achieve this and had tried before but failed, lacking the precise Dharma Gate for reversing time. This Dharma Gate was recorded on the Eastern Emperor Bell, aligning with the predestined causal relationships in the dark—it was meant for Wukong to repair this Six Souls Banner.

The Eastern Emperor Bell contained the Dharma Gate for time reversal, and since Wukong’s encounter with Xuan Ming, he had grasped some Heavenly Dao Laws. Although it was somewhat strenuous to use this uncontrollable method of time reversal, he could barely get it to operate.

Everyone heard a resonating "hum" sound from within the Eastern Emperor Bell, followed by a fierce scream.

Wukong’s expression changed slightly as he said, "This is bad, time is reversing too quickly, it’s gone back one hundred and twenty thousand years..."

In haste, he changed the hand seals he was forming, causing the flow of time to move normally again, which contained the piercing scream. Otherwise, it was feared that the Chaos Heaven Demons might temporarily come back to life.

The Eastern Emperor Bell truly was a Primordial Magical Treasure; its control over the speed of time was like that of a master—Wukong was using it for the first time, else such a scenario would not have occurred. Time now flowed gently, and in a blink, a hundred years passed. At last, Wukong saw a dark mass inside the Eastern Emperor Bell gradually taking shape, transforming back into the Six Souls Banner.

This particular Six Souls Banner was indeed special, as a product of Chaos, which was why it could be repaired.

Truly, every drink and every peck was predestined by the web of causality.

Wukong lifted the Eastern Emperor Bell, and saw that the other two tails of the Six Souls Banner had been restored. The six tails fluttered lightly, with black qi circling about, exuding an intimidating aura that sent chills down one’s spine.

Just at that moment, inside the Biyou Palace, the Tong Tian Sect Master calculated and then smiled faintly, "The Six Souls Banner is repaired, truly every drink and peck is pre-ordained! Oh, Tathagata, if you don’t die this time, when will you?"

With the Six Souls Banner in hand, the Supreme Holy Mother waved it slowly, and endless black qi sprinkled out, among which was the aura of Chaos Heaven Demons. Wukong felt it distinctly, confirming that the claim of the Six Souls Banner being refined from the body of a Chaos Heaven Demon was not a falsehood. This was the craft of the Hong Jun Taoist Patriarch, not something an ordinary person could accomplish.

Indeed, what the Hong Jun Taoist Patriarch favored most was the Tong Tian Sect Master, having given him such a formidable Magical Treasure.

In comparison with the two non-direct disciples of the Buddhist Sect, the Three Pure Ones were essentially wealthy landowners.

The Supreme Holy Mother nodded and said, "This repaired Six Souls Banner feels different. With such a Magical Treasure, I also do not fear Tathagata’s Turning Wheel Sage King Great Seal!"

The Six Souls Banner, when used for ambush, could harm even a Heavenly Dao Saint if caught unawares, and if held by a Heavenly Dao Saint, it could even inflict a Great Dao wound on an opponent.

Yuan Hong opened his eyes with a solemn expression and slowly said, "This banner has an aura of a Chaos Heaven Demon! Just feeling this aura makes my scalp tingle."

The Supreme Holy Mother said, "It is said that the Six Souls Banner was cast using the body of a Chaos Heaven Demon by the Hong Jun Taoist Patriarch; it seems this saying is not false."

Armed with the Six Souls Banner, Wukong and the others had greatly increased confidence; the Supreme Holy Mother would deal with Tathagata when the time came.

However, given Tathagata’s usual disposition, it was likely he wouldn’t make a move easily. After this event, a great chaotic battle might ensue!

As to what fortune or calamity lies ahead, please listen to the next installment. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it with your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)