Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 301 - 301 Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who loses rice instead of successfully stealing a chicken 290

301: Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who loses rice instead of successfully stealing a chicken, 290 301: Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who loses rice instead of successfully stealing a chicken, 290 Living in the Netherworld, and holding a grudge against the two Western Saints, who could possibly satisfy these two conditions other than the long lost and legendary ancestor of the Underworld River?

In a distant era, a great war broke out between the Asura and Buddhism Dao.

The result was a crushing defeat for the Asura faith.

The whole Asura clan surrendered to Buddhism Dao, and the whereabouts of the Underworld River, the leader of the Asura religion, became unknown.

If one were to say that the Ghost Emperor Fengdu is the incarnation of the Underworld River ancestor, it would all make sense.

The incarnations of the two Western Saints were acting against the Ghost Emperor Fengdu, intending to cut the grass and remove the roots once they discovered his true identity.

Not giving the ancestor of the Underworld River a chance to return to worldly life.

Of course, these were all Jiang Chen’s speculations and the truth needed further confirmation in the future.

…

…

Since Jiang Xuan said there was no problem, Jiang Chen had no more concerns.

He immediately lifted his right arm, writing two large characters – “Fengdu” – in the air as if his finger was a pen, branding them on the tower of the Ghost City.

From this point on, the Ghost City was called Fengdu, located between the realms of Yin and Yang, a place where ghosts and humans could live together, a rare coexistence in the world.

The instant the name of the Fengdu Ghost City was fixed, an idea flashed across Jiang Chen’s mind, and he felt a surge of fate bestowed upon him.

Simultaneously, Jiang Chen noticed an additional trace of Netherworld authority in his body, which could manipulate the surrounding Yin energy to counter enemies.

“What is this?”

With a sense of confusion, Jiang Chen looked at Jiang Xuan.

As expected, Jiang Xuan had anticipated the changes in Jiang Chen.

Upon catching his glance, Jiang Xuan solemnly said, “This is the great fortune you rightfully deserve.”

“Since you have made a significant contribution in quelling the ghost rebellion and establishing the Ghost City for the wandering spirits, you align with the fate of the Netherworld.

Thus, at the time of the Ghost Emperor Fengdu’s downfall, you are eligible to inherit his authority and become the new emperor of Fengdu.”

Apparently, this was all part of the Jiang family’s plan, intending to seize this rare opportunity to push Jiang Chen up the ranks and make him the new Ghost Emperor Fengdu.

Although the Ghost Emperor Fengdu had fallen, the Underworld was still there, needing to elect a new ghost emperor to manage the Underworld and govern all ghosts.

After quelling the ghost rebellion, various forces turned their sights on the Underworld, aiming to claim this juicy chunk.

The Human Race was no exception, and Jiang Chen was their chosen candidate for the ghost emperor.

Of course, this was due to Jiang Chen’s impressive performance.

Even if the Human Race intended to seize the position of Ghost Emperor Fengdu, they wouldn’t choose Jiang Chen if he hadn’t made such a significant contribution.

It must be said, Jiang Chen’s luck was good.

He was the first to quell the ghost rebellion, giving him an advantage in the competition for the position of ghost emperor.

Upon hearing Jiang Xuan’s words, Jiang Chen was a bit stunned.

“So I’ve now become the Ghost Emperor Fengdu?”

Jiang Chen was very excited.

If he really did become the Ghost Emperor Fengdu, he would be one step closer to becoming the Emperor of Ziwei.

An emperor in the Immortal Dao, a Buddha in Buddhism Dao, and an emperor in the Ghost Dao, isn’t that the Emperor of Ziwei?

Indeed, fate is in Jiang Chen’s hands, he has the potential to become an emperor.

Seeing his excitement, Jiang Xuan corrected him, “You have merely gained the qualification to become the Ghost Emperor Fengdu, you are not yet the emperor.”

Hearing this, Jiang Chen gradually began to compose himself and analyzed, “They want me to compete for the position of the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu, but what about the Buddhist Door?

After taking such a huge risk to eliminate the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu, would they let this juicy prize slip from their grasp?”

“Ha!” Jiang Xuan chuckled coldly and then continued, “The Buddhist Door certainly wouldn’t want to let go, but so what?

This time, they’ve gotten themselves into great trouble.

They’re too preoccupied to have the energy to fight for the title of Ghost Emperor.”

Before Jiang Chen could ask about the trouble the Buddhist Door had landed themselves in, Jiang Xuan continued on his own accord: “The Buddhist Door cornered the Ghost Emperor of Fengdu into self-detonation, leading to turmoil in the Netherworld.

The seals of Hell and Purgatory wavered simultaneously, resulting in the breakout of suppressed Demon Gods.”

“Because of this, many powerful figures from the Three Realms went to the Netherworld to fight these Demons in an attempt to repress them.

Despite months of ceaseless fighting, a winner has yet to emerge; however, the Netherworld has been heavily damaged in the process.”

“You tell me, with such a great mistake hanging over their head, would the Buddhist Door even have the nerve to claim the title of Ghost Emperor?

On top of that, various forces have reached an agreement: once situation in the Netherworld is stabilized, they will jointly pressure Spiritual Mountain into paying a huge price.”

After listening to Jiang Xuan’s explanation, Jiang Chen understood the predicament the Buddhist Door had put themselves in: they were indeed too preoccupied with their own problems.

Even though the Buddhist Door had the backing of two saints, they were no match for many top powers of the Three Realms combined.

Even the saints would have to make concessions – this time, the Buddhist Door would bleed heavily.

However, Jiang Chen was very confused about one thing: if both sides had been fighting for months without reaching a conclusion, how did they finally win in the end?

Curious, Jiang Chen asked directly: “Ancestor, how did this war end?”

Jiang Xuan looked in the direction of the Netherworld and said solemnly, “Despite months of fighting, no victor emerged, yet the Netherworld was on the verge of collapse.”

“At this time, Mother Earth, who had been in seclusion for many years, was disturbed.

She emerged from the Six Paths of Reincarnation, suppressing those Demons and calming the chaos.”

Sharing this, Jiang Xuan recalled something and said with a sense of schadenfreude, “Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva tried to take advantage of this rare opportunity to cunningly eradicate all evil ghosts within the eighteen layers of hell, thereby fulfilling his grand vow and attaining Buddhahood.”

“As a matter of fact, he indeed succeeded.

Taking advantage of when the seal of the eighteen layers of hell was broken, he used his Divine Ability to sweep out all the evil ghosts.”

Hearing this, Jiang Chen was astonished by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s strategy.

He did not expect that he could come up with this method to fulfill his vow.

By driving all the evil ghosts out of the eighteen layers of hell, wouldn’t hell be emptied?

Thus, his grand vow of ‘As long as hell is not empty, I will not attain Buddhahood,’ would be fulfilled.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva could then, based on this, smoothly become a Buddha.

Admittedly, this method was somewhat ingenious, but Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had been presiding over hell for many years and had accumulated enough Merits.

It was not a problem for him to employ a little cunning.

Theoretically, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s idea was feasible.

But given Jiang Xuan’s expression of schadenfreude, it seems likely that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva not only failed, but likely suffered greatly, otherwise Jiang Chen would not be showing such an expression.

Jiang Chen was curious about the outcome for Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and so, he cooperatively asked, “Ancestor, what happened next?

Did Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva attain Buddhahood?”

At this point, the smile on Jiang Xuan’s face deepened, “At that time, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was surrounded by Buddha’s light, and three thousand Buddha realms emerged, with countless devotees chanting around him.”

“At that moment, we all thought Ksitigarbha had succeeded and secretly praised him for his cunning, for devising such a creative solution.”

“Unexpectedly, when Mother Earth saw this scene, she promptly slapped him, not only destroying the Buddha’s light around him but also knocking him deep into hell.”

“She accused him of insincerity.

Attaining Buddhahood by such clever means was false and would not yield true results.”

“Given Mother Earth’s status and cultivation, her words are the ultimate truth, the rules, the divine decree – if she called Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva a false Buddha, then he was a false Buddha.”

“With her words, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s newly achieved Buddhahood was immediately revoked, along with thousands of years of cultivation.”

“Moreover, Mother Earth’s statement effectively cut off any possibility of him achieving his aims through cunning.”