Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage
Chapter 237 - 229: Tathagata’s Plot to Hurt Wukong

Chapter 237: Chapter 229: Tathagata’s Plot to Hurt Wukong

However, the Nether River Patriarch realized he was no match and had already allowed his Asura Blood Sea henchmen to retreat into the Blood River, leaving the battlefield and heading back to the Asura Blood Sea.

Protector Mosquito was infuriated to the extreme, but there was nothing he could do. He was deeply disappointed; the Nether River, which he held in high esteem, actually slinked away in such a dismal fashion. He even hoped that the Victorious Fighting Buddha would catch up and beat the Nether River to death with a stick! Having lived for so many years, the Nether River didn’t live in vain. As soon as he saw the tide turning against him, he ran faster than anyone else.

At that moment, the two Ancestral Witches pressed forward, leaving Protector Mosquito with no choice but to hastily engage in battle. Thankfully, he had obtained seven more banners. Although Nether River did not entirely lack integrity, when he raised the banners, they transformed into the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons—though now, there were only seven divisions left.

Victorious Fighting Buddha and Wukong stood still in void, both vastly drained of their mana. Driving the Nether River away was by no means an easy task.

"The Nether River is cunning. To deal with him, we will have to wait for another day," said Victorious Fighting Buddha.

"Once the Buddhist Sect is dealt with, the situation between heaven and earth will become clear. It is impossible for the Nether River to fish in troubled waters again! However, I have incurred such karma with him that if I don’t kill him, I fear it will not benefit my enlightenment. When the time comes, we will raid the Asura Blood Sea and find a way to capture and kill the Nether River," said Wukong.

In the battlefield of the Taiyi Golden Immortals, the four Sword Masters moved through the ranks as if they were in a land with no one to oppose them. Their swords were unmatched in sharpness; upon meeting an enemy, they would strike to kill, with Ximen Chuixue slaughtering enemies in the blink of an eye. Soon after, several Daluo Golden Immortals took notice of the four and attacked them, but ordinary Daluo Golden Immortals were only destined to be defeated by them.

Nezha was also extremely skilled among the Daluo Golden Immortals and possessed an abundance of Magical Treasures, like the Qiankun Ring, Heaven-and-Earth Silk Ribbon, Wind-Fire Wheels, Fire Spear, Demon-Slaying Saber, and Demon-Slaying Sword, to name a few. Magical Treasures emerged one after another, and several Holy Monks and Vajras had already fallen to him.

Bai Qi was even more ferocious, killing anyone who stood close to him, regardless of their cultivation level. Slaying with a single sword strike, he had entered the path through killing and cultivated the way of slaughter. What did he care about karmic retribution? Whoever stood in his way would be met with just one word—kill!

Within the Buddhist ranks, the Pharmacist Buddha, Glazed Light King, was tremendously powerful. With the Yaksha chanting sutras in the rear formation, he was virtually immortal. A blue glow radiated from his body, and whenever his physical body was damaged, it would instantly recover.

Victorious Fighting Buddha and Wukong were covered in traces of the Dao as they recovered their mana, soon ready to rejoin the battle.

Their confrontation with the Nether River had drained them significantly, and the self-destruction of the Blood God Child had depleted a considerable amount of their mana.

In the battlefield of the Daluo Golden Immortal, the fallen were numerous, with many from the Demon Tribe dead, and almost the entire Buddhist side was wiped out.

Wukong took out a bottle of Elixir Pills, gave a few to Victorious Fighting Buddha, and swallowed several himself before beginning to concentrate and gather his energy.

After a short while, they felt their mana had recovered and were ready to fight once more.

Wukong said, "I’ll go kill the Tathagata. The Pharmacist Buddha, Glazed Light King, is indeed difficult to deal with; you take care of him."

Victorious Fighting Buddha nodded and replied, "That saves me the trouble."

Wukong, wielding the Creation Heavenly Mechanism Staff, joined the Primordial Golden Immortal battlefield. At that moment, the Tathagata was in the thick of a fierce battle with the Supreme Holy Mother and Prabhutaratna. While he was initially suppressed by the two, he later unleashed secret arts one after another, turning the tides and putting them temporarily at a disadvantage. Moreover, his Turning Wheel Sage King Great Seal was becoming increasingly formidable, as if its strength grew with the length of the battle.

Among those in the battlefield of the Primordial Golden Immortals, the Ancestral Witches’ combat strength was the weakest, except for Di Jiang.

Some of the Ancestral Witches had only recently returned to the ranks of the Primordial Golden Immortals, some barely reaching the peak of the Daluo Golden Immortals. Nevertheless, they were fortunate in that their physical bodies were unmatched in toughness. Even after suffering multiple severe injuries, they somehow managed to pick themselves up and rejoin the fight. Gesang Gyatso had received the Demon-slaying Sword from the Great Sun Tathagata, but Di Jiang’s Reincarnation Pen was not to be underestimated. Plus, he had obtained the Evolving Meditation Cushion from Xuan Ming, making him fearless against Gesang Gyatso. The three Ancestral Witches worked together, putting Gesang Gyatso in a very difficult position.

"Supreme Holy Mother, I’m here to help!" Wukong shouted as he entered the battlefield, aiming his staff at the Tathagata’s forehead.

The Tathagata, having already seen him coming, anticipated the sneak attack and had his response ready. Just as Wukong’s staff was about to land, the Tathagata countered with a palm strike! Within his palm, a Buddha realm churned, transforming a hand the size of a fan into one as massive as a mountain, smacking down on Wukong as if swatting a fly.

Wukong cursed, "Tathagata, you scoundrel, you still want to use the same old trick, trapping me in your palm realm? Do you take me for the naive one from years past?"

In his hand, the World-Cleansing Dust Whisk appeared, and with a ferocious sweep, the Seven-Colored Divine Light exploded forth. Just as the Tathagata’s hand was about to close, it was held open by the force of the Divine Light! But within the palms of the Tathagata, a Buddha appeared suddenly, possessing thousands of arms, each wielding a Magical Treasure and launching a surprise attack, catching Wukong off guard.

"Boom!"

A Demon-Subduing Staff pierced through the Seven-Colored Divine Light’s defense and struck Wukong on the chest, causing him to flip backwards in pain as his internal organs seared. The cunning Tathagata! It turned out that while battling the Supreme Holy Mother and Prabhutaratna, he had been hiding his power all along, waiting to catch Wukong by surprise.

"I am Prabhutaratna," declared the Buddha with a slight smile, retreating back into the Tathagata’s palm.

The Supreme Holy Mother’s expression changed subtly as she said, "The Tathagata has actually liberated his benevolent soul! Add to that the five Great Ming Kings he reconstituted with negative energy—he has effectively cut off two souls. No wonder we had him suppressed at the start, only to be overpowered later on, leaving me and Prabhutaratna at a disadvantage!"

Wukong, having taken that strike, was seriously injured, his Primordial Spirit slightly dazed.

"Tathagata really is a master of conspiracy and trickery," Wukong clenched his teeth and cursed under his breath.

Behind Tathagata manifested Prabhutaratna with a myriad of arms, each arm holding a different magical treasure. It was a wonder how Tathagata managed to refine so many treasures. How much of the Buddhist Sect’s foundation and how many of the Eight Treasures’ Merit did it take?

"Tathagata, with Nether River defeated, it’s time you surrender!" Supreme Holy Mother shouted, shaking the Six Souls Banner.

The six tails of the Six Souls Banner transformed into long serpents and pythons, their mouths hissing as they slithered towards Tathagata, spewing black demon flames.

Tathagata’s expression remained calm. The outcome of this battle had been decided—the Nether River was defeated, and so would the Buddhist Sect—but still, he had to make a final desperate struggle! He formed a Dharma Seal with his hands, and the Turning Wheel Sage King Great Seal met the challenge head-on. The Sage King extended an arm and grasped the six pythons, crushing them into dust with one fierce squeeze. His power was truly domineering.

Tathagata smiled and said, "My Buddhist Sect may have lost, but you all won’t have it easy either."

Wukong regained his strength, lifted the Heavenly Mechanism Staff, and without a word, launched a vicious attack.

Zhun Ti Taoist brandished the Heart-Piercing Lock to capture Tathagata, but being a vile corpse born from Tathagata’s own cleaving and although separated by Luo Hou with a secret method, Tathagata knew the Heart-Piercing Lock like the back of his hand. He chanted an incantation, slammed down a fist seal, and sent the Heart-Piercing Lock clattering away.

Zhun Ti Taoist lamented inwardly. Tathagata was intimately familiar with his techniques and trump cards, making him no match at all.

Supreme Holy Mother constantly shook the Six Souls Banner, unleashing torrential demon flames pressing towards Tathagata. However, the Turning Wheel Sage King Great Seal suppressed everything before him, and radiating Buddha’s Light on all sides, it isolated all the demon flames.

"Sakyamuni!"

Supreme Holy Mother exerted a killing move, biting her own finger to write Tathagata’s name on one of the tails of the Six Souls Banner, then chanted, "Six Spirits of the six paths, summon souls, extinguish souls!"

Tathagata’s expression changed slightly. From his sleeve, he released a Bodhi Tree that stood above his head. Golden light surged forth, with an invisible aura of lethal force rushing forward. However, it was all blocked by the Bodhi Tree, which was given to him by Zhun Ti Taoist, under which he had enlightened his way for five hundred years and achieved his current Buddha status, a ruler of this world.

The deadliest aspect of the Six Souls Banner was its ability to ambush, inscribing a person’s name on it and activating it with a spell worked instantly.

However, Supreme Holy Mother’s mana was far too inferior to Tathagata’s. Although she exerted her power, Tathagata managed to dodge it, rendering it ineffective.

Seizing this opportunity, Tathagata brought down the Turning Wheel Sage King Great Seal, blasting Supreme Holy Mother away. Her Primordial Spirit was hit so hard it flew out of her body. Thankfully, Wukong intervened just in time, entangling Tathagata and preventing him from pursuing his victory. Otherwise, Tong Tian Sect Master’s only disciple might have ended up on the Deification Platform.

"Boom!"

Wukong launched a series of Great Hand Seals, and Tathagata countered with his own, the seals fill the sky. Every collision was like fireworks bursting, dazzling and brilliant. Zhun Ti Taoist, wary of Tathagata, did not dare to engage in close combat, instead using the Blood Shadow and Heart-Piercing Lock to maneuver around the edge of the battle. However, Tathagata knew the incantations to counter these two magical treasures, so he was not the least bit afraid.

Supreme Holy Mother stowed the Six Souls Banner, and Zhun Ti Taoist used the Heart-Piercing Lock to bring her physical body over. After Supreme Holy Mother’s Primordial Spirit returned to her body, her complexion was pale as paper, bleeding from all orifices. Tathagata’s attack had been severe; her Primordial Spirit had been hit so hard it was ejected from the Niwan Palace, demonstrating his ferocity.

"This Tathagata really is an expert at playing the weak to catch the strong," Supreme Holy Mother ground her teeth.

"Don’t be anxious, Sister. Although Wukong is injured, he still has the strength to fight," Zhun Ti Taoist said.

The two had not expected Tathagata to be so formidable. Initially, Tathagata feigned weakness, biding his time to find an opportunity to severely injure Wukong. Even with the Six Souls Banner in Supreme Holy Mother’s hands, he didn’t take her seriously.

Having once been peers, he was naturally aware of Supreme Holy Mother’s methods. He didn’t dread them; he had a thorough understanding of her techniques.

His initial weakness was merely to give Wukong the false impression that "Tathagata is very weak." Then, he struck fiercely, creating Zhun Ti Taoist out of his palm realm and dealing a heavy blow.

Wukong was gravely injured, and his spells were sluggish in operation, making the fight exceedingly difficult, whereas Tathagata grew more ferocious by the minute. Each strike was like a tiger coming down the mountain, intent on killing Wukong!

On the other side, Victorious Fighting Buddha took over the battle with Medicine Buddha, sending Yuan Hong and the two Ancestral Witches to assist at Tathagata’s battlefield. Medicine Buddha, he could handle alone.

Yuan Hong and the others naturally followed instructions, and as the situation at Tathagata’s battlefield grew intense, they hurried over.

As for the outcome, please tune in to the next Chapter to find out. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to support it with votes and monthly tickets at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read at m.qidian.com.)