The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 110 - 108: Great Sage King Bodhisattva

Chapter 110: Chapter 108: Great Sage King Bodhisattva

The Daoist Equal to Heaven learned that the Water Monkey Great Saint Wuzhiqi’s physical body had cultivated the Corpse Way and been captured by the King Bodhisattva, so he wanted his brothers to help him take back that body.

What is the Corpse Way? The so-called Corpse Way is when a corpse attains the Dao. Wuzhiqi’s Primordial Spirit had perished, but his physical body was strong. The body absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth day and night and became a Corpse King. It developed spiritual wisdom, transforming it into an immortal being of the Dao of Immortals. This is the Corpse Way. There’s a saying that rats have their own paths, and snakes have their own ways. With the Great Dao having three thousand pathways, which one can’t be cultivated? It is said that "a scholar is of no practical use," but Confucius with a single command, a single word, banished the Buddha of Immeasurable Life from Luoyang City.

Any Dao, once its profound realms are understood, is formidable and can touch upon the Heavenly Dao.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven could not show himself, fearing the Tathagata would learn of it. He had just managed, after that battle, to disassociate himself from his true form. Now if he got involved with the six Demon Kings, anyone with discerning eyes could spot some clues. His visits to Flower-Fruit Mountain were extremely cautious, for fear of being seen by outsiders.

Within the Daoist Equal to Heaven’s body lay another Primordial Spirit, which was the third one, formed from the remnant soul of Yuan Hong—a fortune bestowed upon Wukong. This Primordial Spirit, having grown stronger from consuming Peaches of Immortality every day, was now able to occupy a physical body to perform fetal transformation and easy shape-shifting. After seven days, it would become another Da Luo Golden Immortal.

"Do we know where that bird-like King Bodhisattva is?" asked the Jiao Demon King.

He is known as the Great Sage King Bodhisattva, and he had a residence in Xu Yi of the Southern Toad Continent," the Daoist Equal to Heaven said with a smile. "However, since he lost to me in Luoyang, he no longer dwells there but has gone to West Cow He State. He’s in that Great Saint Country in West Cow He State, acting as their little national teacher."

"Who knows which bird country this Great Saint Country is? It sounds rather domineering," the Lion Camel King muttered.

"In West Cow He State, there are countless small nations, and kings are as numerous as cow hair. Some places aren’t even as big as a single city in the Han Dynasty. If we were to move Ao Lai Kingdom there, it would probably be considered a massive entity," said the Macaques King, seemingly all-knowing, as he immediately responded to the Lion Camel King’s remark.

The Peng Demon King said, "I don’t understand why those small nations there can’t unite?"

"That’s due to fate," commented the Macaques King. "Each nation’s rise and fall is ordained by the Heavenly Dao. The fate in West Cow He State is too chaotic, leading to countless small nations. In the Southern Toad Continent, fate is concentrated. Whoever carries the great fate can contend for the world. Didn’t Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, a common rascal, defeat Xiang Yu, who had the bloodline of one of the Five Emperors, Emperor Ku?"

The Four Great Continents of the world, Dongsheng Immortal State is filled with mountains and waters, beautiful scenery, numerous countries, wild beasts, and demons; West Cow He State is Buddhist territory, where numerous small countries exist in a chaotic fashion, and where academics and technology are relatively primitive. Although temples are everywhere, demons and monsters are not scarce; Uttara Kuru Kingdom is more desolate, inhabited by more Demon Heads and dominated by deserts; Southern Toad Continent is the richest in fate among the Four Great Continents, producing heroes and sages, with unified governance, advanced technology, and strong academics.

The Peng Demon King asked, "Which nation is this Great Saint Country?"

The Macaques King replied, "It’s not worth mentioning—just a small state, about the size of ten Luoyangs, perhaps."

The Ox Demon King said, "So small, yet it is called a country! It seems I have seen the extent to which these people’s shamelessness can go."

The Macaques King added, "The abundance of these small nations is also due to Buddhism. Buddhism boasts of three thousand Buddhas, infinite Bodhisattvas, and as many Vidyarajas as clouds... Think about it, with so many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, where will they go to collect the incense power and wishes? They must support their own power to worship themselves. After all, many of Buddhism’s secret techniques are closely related to incense. Their Shariras can be cultivated even more powerfully with incense."

"Wukong, aren’t you studying some Buddhist scriptures? Is it like this?" asked the Ox Demon King.

"Yes, there seems to be such a notion. Sharira can be cultivated through incense," the Daoist Equal to Heaven remarked.

Incense can enhance the power of Sharira, and Sharira is a key aspect of Buddhist cultivation. With Buddhists boasting countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and having three thousand Buddhas and infinite Bodhisattvas, they compete for incense power and wishes by fostering forces. Due to the chaotic fate in West Cow He State, the number of small nations has risen, such as the Jingshui Country that Cai Yin and others were sent to by Emperor Ming of Han to invite the Buddha, which was supported by the Pure Water Temple and worshiped the Ancient Past Buddha Dipankara.

There are also other temples, such as the Bodhi Temple and Prajna Temple, which worship other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. For example, the Shaolin Temple that Bodhidharma founded in West Cow He State worships him, and currently, the Shaolin Temple only accepts secular disciples and teaches secular martial arts. This is Bodhidharma planning for the future.

"Could it be that the Great Saint Country worships that bird-like King Bodhisattva?" asked the Ox Demon King.

The Macaques King snickered, "He does not have the qualifications yet! Great Saint Country is supported by the Sangharama Bodhisattva. They worship this Sangharama Bodhisattva, and the King Bodhisattva is merely acting as a national teacher there, occasionally basking in the glory. His abilities are not yet sufficient to compete with the various Bodhisattvas and Buddhas for incense power and wishes."

Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are already plentiful in Buddhism, and because West Cow He State is limited, they must make careful calculations. The King Bodhisattva has only reached the level of Third Heaven as a Taiyi Golden Immortal. Where could he snatch any incense wish power? Meanwhile, the Tathagata commands considerable incense power in West Cow He State and also oversees an Esoteric Sect, located in a barren land called the Vedha Continent.

The Vedha Continent is desolate, inhabited mostly by people with a primitive civilization, some of whom still live savage lives, and some are slash-and-burn farmers. However, the incense power and wish power of this place are exceptionally pure, for everyone there venerates the Tathagata as if he were their own parent.

The faith of these people had reached a point of madness; even if Tathagata asked them to die, they wouldn’t blink an eye.

The one who presided over the Vedha Continent was none other than Tathagata’s five great incarnations, the Five Great Wisdom Kings, whom Buddha Ancestor transformed into out of anger. The ultimate sovereign was Mahavairocana.

Mahavairocana was also one of the great incarnations of Tathagata and quite mysterious, not widely known outside. It was only known that such a powerful incarnation presided over the Vedha Continent.

Compared to the Four Great Continents, the Vedha Continent was somewhat smaller and more mysterious. Its people were quite barbaric, difficult to enlighten, but they fervently believed in Vajrayana Buddhism.

The Jiao Demon King was already losing patience and swore, "Who cares what that King Bodhisattva is up to, we’ll just charge in and kill! Watch as I tear that bird into pieces!"

The Peng Demon King said, "Hold on, how powerful is that Sangharama Bodhisattva? Can we deal with him?"

The Macaques King replied, "Sangharama Bodhisattva has the mana of the Second Heaven of Da Luo Golden Immortal and has mastered the rules. He is a bit tricky, but if we all attack together, we can still handle him."

These Demon Kings were each valiant, having truly fought their way up from the bottom. The Path of Demons was the cruelest and most brutal. The Jiao Demon King had established his base in the North Sea, having killed countless experts of the Sea Tribe! Both the Macaques King and the Yu Rong King were able to dominate one side by shedding endless blood! And the Lion Camel King needed not be mentioned; ever since he was a few years old, he had been competing with other lions for territory. He accidentally cultivated into a monster and fought his way up from there.

Although some of them only possessed the cultivation of Taiyi Golden Immortal, they could compete with Da Luo Golden Immortals! Those Bodhisattvas, each supported by devotees, had powerful mana but were relatively inexperienced in magic combat, making them clumsy. None of these Demon Kings had any respect for these pampered individuals.

The truly powerful members of the Buddhist sect were those Bodhisattvas and Buddhas who frequently engaged in battles. For example, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who had fought with the Ming River for countless years without a clear winner. His power might well be on par with Tathagata!

Then there were the other three great Bodhisattvas, all experienced through the divine battles of enshrinement, possessing vast experience incomparable to ordinary Bodhisattvas, with tremendous combat strength as well.

The Macaques King, known as the Ventilating Sage, had a pair of ears that could almost be considered on par with Di Ting. Nevertheless, they were still somewhat lacking. Moreover, he had an eidetic memory, was rather intelligent, and enjoyed reading. He had probably read all the famous books in the world. However, the Macaques King seemed to be true to his nature; although he read extensively, his disposition remained impulsive. He rarely applied his vast knowledge, which was quite contradictory.

"In that case, please, elder brothers, go and kill that King Bodhisattva for me and seize Wuzhiqi’s body," said Daoist Equal to Heaven.

"Younger brother, rest assured, that King Bodhisattva is as good as dead!" the Jiao Demon King laughed wickedly.

"Don’t be careless!" Daoist Equal to Heaven shook his head as he watched the Jiao Demon King overly confident after emerging from his retreat.

The Jiao Demon King laughed eerily, "One day I’ll kill my way to Mount Meru, annihilate Tathagata, then trample over the Vedha Continent to vent your anger for you!"

Daoist Equal to Heaven laughed helplessly. The Jiao Demon King truly knew no bounds in his arrogance. On this trip to West Cow He State, he needed to experience some hardship, lest he truly believed he was unrivaled.

With the Macaques King leading the way, the six brothers charged toward West Cow He State’s Great Saint Country, to kill the King Bodhisattva and snatch the body.

Daoist Equal to Heaven sat cross-legged in his cave abode, ready to immediately perform the Method of Fetal Transformation and Form Shifting once the body was in his possession, then he would flee far away.

He always felt that this journey to West Cow He State would not go smoothly. Ever since he had grasped Fuxi’s Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Method, he had a premonitory feeling. However, he had never studied the Divination Calculation Method. Though he had access to it, he had been too busy recently to study it. To master divination, he needed to be well-versed in "The Book of Changes," the most profound study in the world.

Yang Jian also had a great opportunity. He finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, as Daoist Equal to Heaven imparted the Brushing Technique Method of the Earthly Fiend Seventy-Two Transformations from the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams to him. As a result, Yang Jian went into retreat, likely soon reaching the Second Heaven of Da Luo Golden Immortal.

Yang Jian was truly tormented by this method. Without Fuxi’s teachings, it would be difficult to advance. As for the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Transformations, only Subhuti had the authentic creation by Nu Wa, with all other versions being nothing but imitations and side methods outside, ultimately falling short of Hunyuan.

After all, West Cow He State was Buddhist turf. It remained to be seen what fortune or peril awaited the six Demon Kings. Please listen to the next episode to find out.