Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage
Chapter 267 - 256: Lu Ya’s Cunning Schemes

Chapter 267: Chapter 256: Lu Ya’s Cunning Schemes

The Victorious Fighting Buddha arrived just in time, blasting open the will of all beings to save Wukong’s life. The two of them seized the path and fled, with the Great Dao Demon God in hot pursuit behind them.

"We’ve arrived!"

With a loud shout from the Victorious Fighting Buddha, they saw a vast expanse of heaven and earth before them, shrouded by the laws of the Heavenly Dao. Even a Great Dao Sage would have to expend great effort to break through it.

The laws of the Heavenly Dao shattered instantaneously as the Victorious Fighting Buddha and Wukong entered one after another. The Great Dao Demon God, arriving just in time, reached a hand in. He dared not enter fully, as within were the flowing auras of two Great Dao Sages; he was not yet at his peak, and would surely lose against one, let alone two! He only extended his palm, trying to capture Wukong and the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

The palm was nine thousand zhang in circumference, colossal and unmatched, and it seemed poised to seize the Victorious Fighting Buddha and Wukong.

Di Jun’s eyebrows furrowed, and suddenly, a Divine Sword burst from the sun overhead—it was the Heavenly Emperor Sword Di Jun had forged by smelting many Buddhist Magical Treasures—a sword light surged, cutting off the Great Dao Demon God’s retreat. The Great Dao Principles exploded forth, and the laws of the Heavenly Dao were set in motion. The crushing presence of both pressed down, causing the Great Dao Demon God’s palm to explode into a shower of blood.

"Tss!"

The Heavenly Emperor Sword sliced through the void, severing the Great Dao Demon God’s palm and revealing black bones inside. The Great Dao Demon God, in pain, failed to capture Wukong and had to retract his hand. Then, the laws of the Heavenly Dao began to operate on their own, enveloping the Earth Immortal Realm once again. Though the Great Dao Demon God was furious, raging like thunder, he was helpless, for the imminent Immeasurable Calamity had not arrived yet. The Great Dao wouldn’t bring suppressive force upon this world, shattering the laws of the Heavenly Dao. A forced breakthrough would cause great harm to himself.

In the Earth Immortal Realm where the power of the Heavenly Dao Sages could be fully unleashed, the Great Dao Demon God would suffer the oppression of the Heavenly Dao laws. Knowing that he could only wait for the Immeasurable Calamity to come and seek the misfortune of those in the Earth Immortal Realm, he departed sullenly and then began to slumber, gathering his strength.

This premature awakening had cost him a great deal of mana, and it wouldn’t be easy to recover, especially after suffering frequent setbacks and substantial injuries.

Upon entering the Earth Immortal Realm, Wukong felt a strand of his Primordial Spirit break free and merge with the Heavenly Dao, followed by scenes of ancient and future times imprinting themselves in his eyes—the battle of the primordial era, the conflict between witches and demons in ancient times, the war of sealing gods in the middle ages, the struggle for supremacy among lords in the recent past, the scheming in the competition between Buddhism and Taoism... He understood everything through the shifts of the Heavenly Dao.

Simultaneously, a strong thread of karmic cause from the Heavenly Dao entered his Primordial Spirit, making him shudder from its impact.

At the same time, Lu Ya’s eyes snapped open, his hands rapidly forming spell gestures, attempting to dispel the great karmic cause that had descended upon him, but to no avail. These were the bindings and shackles of the Heavenly Dao, etched directly into his Primordial Spirit.

Calculating at this moment, Lu Ya could not help but burst into crazy laughter, saying, "Haha, haha! Amitabha, Zhun Ti, such crafty planning! How curious that you didn’t lend a hand to the Buddhist Sect, but it turns out you were afraid to touch this Heavenly Dao karma! The tenth Saint, Sun Wukong? Hehe, that Kunpeng actually attained sainthood... Watch and see, Sun Wukong will surely die by my hand! My dear disciple."

Previously, Lu Ya had been blinded by anger and spite. Although he had severed his three corpses, he could not discern the changes in the Heavenly Dao. Moreover, with Hong Jun manipulating behind the scenes, he was kept in the dark. Now that the karmic cause of the Heavenly Dao was upon him, he finally understood everything.

Having repelled the Great Dao Demon God, Di Jun returned the Heavenly Emperor Sword to the heart of the sun, continuing to temper it with the True Sunfire.

Hong Jun nodded and said, "That was a close call, but we still alerted the Great Dao Demon God."

Di Jun replied, "The combat prowess of the Great Dao Demon Gods is slightly weaker than that of a true Great Dao Sage, but they have the advantage of sheer numbers! When the Great Dao Principles bring suppressive force, crushing one side of the Earth Immortal Realm’s laws of the Heavenly Dao, that will be a grave situation."

The place guarded by Di Jun and Hong Jun was where the laws of the Heavenly Dao were weakest. The void was breaking apart as countless Chaos Heaven Demons assaulted from the outside, and thoughts of Divine Thunder struck, but fortunately, the Mountain and Rivers Sheji Map was formidable, impregnable. With Di Jun’s assistance, no matter how fiercely they attacked, they couldn’t break through.

Di Jun said, "Once Wukong slays Lu Ya, everything should return to tranquility, right? With the remaining thousands of years, we’ll just lay low and wait for the Immeasurable Calamity."

Hong Jun nodded and replied, "Indeed."

Wukong had been severely injured by the Great Dao Demon God, with serious damage to the Great Dao within him. At this moment, Lu Ya had already taken advantage of Wukong’s vulnerability to come forth.

Victorious Fighting Buddha said, "Go to the Water Curtain Cave to seek out Yuan Hong and Wu Zhiqi, and let them help you restore your Daoist injury. I will take care of Lu Ya."

Both originating from the same entity, Wukong resented Lu Ya, and so did Victorious Fighting Buddha. Now that he had become a Saint, naturally he wanted to settle a life-and-death battle with Lu Ya.

Wukong nodded, tossing the Eastern Emperor Bell and said, "That Divine Sword that could slay immortals and exterminate Gods is formidable, I’ll use the Eastern Emperor Bell to counter it."

Victorious Fighting Buddha said, "I am well aware."

After Wukong handed the Eastern Emperor Bell to Victorious Fighting Buddha, he employed an Escape Technique and headed towards the Water Curtain Cave. As Wukong moved, he raised the Life Prolonging Prayer Mat, absorbing the immense vitality within it to prevent his vital energy from being lost due to the Daoist injury, which would cause severe damage to his qi and blood. If that happened, it would be much more difficult to recover.

While absorbing the vast life force from the Life Prolonging Prayer Mat, he remained on guard. Lu Ya was a man of many schemes, and it was possible that he had split his Three Corpses apart, and the one about to fight Victorious Fighting Buddha might just be one of those Corpses.

Wukong’s guess was not wrong.

The Great Sun Tathagata had also created a world, like Victorious Fighting Buddha, providing safety and prosperity for the inhabitants and gathering the will of all living beings. Merging with Subhuti, the two of them became one, and thus their combat power was indeed formidable. The Great Sun Tathagata was meant to confront Victorious Fighting Buddha, and both had a profound understanding of Buddhist Law. A fight between them, regardless of victory or defeat, would bring immense gains.

However, the true form of Lu Ya, wielding the Divine Sword that could slay immortals and exterminate Gods, sought to kill Wukong. The Daoist injury on Wukong’s body was grave, reducing his combat power significantly compared to his normal state.

Fortunately, the Life Prolonging Prayer Mat was powerful, and Wukong’s Daoist injury was not fatal, as was the case with the Nine Heavens Profound Lady in ancient times. She suffered a severe Daoist injury from a single strike by Di Jun. Various Saints tried all sorts of methods to save her life, but nothing worked, and she returned to the Heavenly Dao within a few years.

Before long, Wukong felt a stir in his blood, and the Three Thousand Great Paths formed a shield around him.

At that moment, a streak of cold light flew towards him, targeting his throat, but it was blocked by the Three Thousand Great Paths circling around him.

"Lu Ya, you are indeed cunning!" Wukong sneered coldly.

That streak of cold light was obviously from Lu Ya’s Divine Sword meant to slay immortals and exterminate Gods. Fortunately, Wukong had activated the Three Thousand Great Paths to protect his body on a whim. Otherwise, that strike would absolutely have severed his head and extinguished his Primordial Spirit. The Divine Sword was among the top Ambush Magical Treasures, and under the command "Turn around, dear treasure," had claimed the lives of many powerful beings who perished without understanding how they died.

Lu Ya’s figure slowly materialized from the void, holding the Divine Sword in his hand, and coldly said, "Not bad, my long-prepared strike didn’t claim your life! But no matter, the Daoist injury on your body is severe, I will certainly take your life."

Wukong’s expression chilled, hoping only that Victorious Fighting Buddha could quickly injure the Great Sun Tathagata. Then, Lu Ya’s true form would be affected and injured as well. At that time, he would be able to gain some advantage. Now, with the Daoist injury on his body, battling against Lu Ya in terms of Taoist Magic was too much of a disadvantage.

Lu Ya truly lived up to his reputation as the cunning mastermind behind the schemes of the Journey to the West; splitting his Three Corpses to deal with Wukong and Victorious Fighting Buddha demonstrated his intellect and audacity.

Meanwhile, Victorious Fighting Buddha knew this was one of Lu Ya’s ploys, but he was already engaged with the Great Sun Tathagata. They clashed instantly without exchanging words, engaging in a fierce battle. Although Victorious Fighting Buddha was stronger than the Great Sun Tathagata and had the Eastern Emperor Bell on his side, it was difficult to crush him quickly.

Lu Ya could not afford to underestimate them any longer, realizing he had underrated Victorious Fighting Buddha’s prowess. The Great Sun Tathagata would likely lose to Victorious Fighting Buddha in an instant, so it was better to seize the moment to kill Sun Wukong first.

Without wasting anymore words, Lu Ya took action. Flames enveloped the sky, melting the void, and the essence of Innate Separation Fire surged towards Wukong!

Wukong raised the Great Revolution Seal, blocking with scythe and axe, and shrouded in the will of revolution, he fended off all essence of the Innate Separation Fire.

To find out the outcome, please follow the next part of the story. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)