The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 118 - 116: Seeing the Black Coffin and Obtaining Another Divine Stele

Chapter 118: Chapter 116: Seeing the Black Coffin and Obtaining Another Divine Stele

The story tells of Daoist Equal to Heaven entering the ancient Hate Heaven Clan’s secret realm, where he found Ancestor Buddha Sakyamuni. After some conversation, he gained a bit of insight.

Upon exiting the inner hall, he came upon a deep and long corridor, the end of which was unknown.

Daoist Equal to Heaven did not linger; he briskly walked into the corridor, pressing forward.

Daoist Equal to Heaven thought to himself, "This Hate Heaven secret realm is quite mysterious; I don’t know where this corridor leads. Merit Buddha mentioned that the Hate Heaven Clan is guarding the Ruins, but I don’t know exactly what they are guarding."

Daoist Equal to Heaven formed a spell with his hands, and a spot of Buddha Light emanated from his forehead, illuminating the surrounding darkness, which allowed him to see quite clearly.

After a period that lasted as long as it takes an incense stick to burn, he finally emerged from the corridor, but the sight before him left him astonished.

This was a valley, and at the center of the valley stood a colossal gate made seemingly of bronze. This giant gate appeared to block off an entire world, spanning the entire Ruins, and towering thousands of feet high. The gate was engraved with talismans, all bearing the Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal. Interestingly, these characters were all the same.

Each character was meticulously and sharply carved, as if inscribed by the Heavenly Blade itself.

As Daoist Equal to Heaven approached the giant gate, he felt his own insignificance for the first time—a feeling of unattainability. He placed his hand on the gate. The texture was rough and cold, much like the Netherworld, each Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal pressed into it seeming to suppress something.

The mystery of the Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal confounded even Confucius; unable to decipher it thoroughly, Daoist Equal to Heaven took out his own Swallowing Dragon Stele, compared the thousands of characters on it with those on the gate, and identified one that matched exactly, which he secretly memorized to discuss with a Saint or Confucius later, to understand its meaning.

The material of this giant gate was neither copper, iron, nor gold, but he was shockingly familiar with it. "Could this be crafted from the Divine Iron used to make Ruyi Jingu Bang?! Such a massive gate, all made from that same Divine Iron; it’s extravagantly... extravagant!" he exclaimed.

The material of the Ruyi Jingu Bang was extremely rare. In ancient times, Human Emperor Yu of Xia traveled across the Four Great Continents to find just a small piece of it, and only Laojun was able to refine it. Later, it was used to suppress the Eastern Sea and was also known as the Sea-Calming Needle.

Using so much Divine Iron to forge such a monumental gate clearly aimed to suppress something behind it, to prevent it from emerging.

Daoist Equal to Heaven pondered, "Could it be that the great battle that erupted in the South Sea during the Middle Ancient Period was because something inside escaped? What exactly is inside? What does my sister-disciple mean by ’Various Heavens’? What exactly is the relationship between the Buddhist sect’s ’Various Heavens’ and this?"

This massive gate, cast from Divine Iron and spanning the entire Ruins, if one could simply pry a piece from it, would suffice to forge a rather powerful Magical Treasure.

It was unclear whether this giant gate had existed since the creation of the world or was crafted by the Hate Heaven ancient clan. This clan had many skilled craftsmen; their created Stone Statue Battle Armor was extremely formidable, versatile for both combat and healing—an impressive feat to behold.

In front of the giant gate, Daoist Equal to Heaven felt like an ant, himself a grain of rice, the gate a bright moon, he a mantis, and the gate a chariot. It was an almost despairing feeling, as such a "Divine Trace" was so astonishing that if it were man-made, one could scarcely imagine how many years it must have taken.

"Roar!"

A fierce roar resounded and Daoist Equal to Heaven saw a streak of black light suddenly flash through a tiny crack in the giant gate; instantly, the Swallowing Dragon Stele in his hand uncontrollably flew up, transformed into a dragon, and coiled in the emptiness. The black light fell right into it, the two clashing fiercely.

The dragon in the sky was thousands of feet long, its body engraved with mysterious Xia Dynasty Dragon Seals. The bundle of black light carried a destructive force. As they entwined and fought, the characters on the dragon’s body emitted bursts of intense light, causing the black light to cry out continually.

"Kill! Heir of the Swallowing Dragon Stele, kill!" a sinister, seductive voice came from the black light, sending forth a portion of itself, charging at Daoist Equal to Heaven.

Daoist Equal to Heaven frowned, held the Samsara Pen in his hand, and wrote a large Xia Dynasty Dragon Seal in the empty space, the character for "Sword."

Upon its formation, it transformed into a Divine Sword. As the sword fell, icy light surged, striking the black light, which split in two, still charging towards him. Daoist Equal to Heaven was secretly shocked. What was this black light that recognized the Swallowing Dragon Stele and seemed to have a deep-seated hatred for its inheritors, yet was so versatile that even the words formed from Xia Dynasty Dragon Seals couldn’t kill it? He hurriedly employed his Escape Technique to retreat, but the black light was incredibly fast, closing in to pounce on him.

"Buzz!"

A violent trembling sound ensued as a huge stele flew out from the side of a mountain, stones scattering as the stele thundered down, crashing onto the black light, which immediately dissipated like smoke. Daoist Equal to Heaven fixed his gaze and saw that this huge stele was also dragon-shaped, the dragon biting its own tail, symbolizing that time would ultimately return to its origin, everything eventually reverting to the primordial state. However, atop the stele lay a black coffin that, once seen, seemed nearly impossible to look away from.

Daoist Equal to Heaven thought in surprise, "This is another Swallowing Dragon Stele!"

In the sky, the Swallowing Dragon Stele and the mass of black energy had reached the moment to determine the winner. Xia Dynasty Dragon Seals rose up, suppressing and annihilating the black light into ashes. Then, the stele reverted to its original form and landed in the hands of Daoist Equal to Heaven, who could well be entitled "Stele-Lifting Heavenly King" judging by his appearance.

Daoist Equal to Heaven called out, "Senior, how come you are here? Since parting in Peach Garden, where have you been?"

The coffin trembled twice and said in a deep voice, "That was not me!"

Daoist Equal to Heaven wondered, "Then who was it?"

The coffin did not reply but moved slightly and flew up from the Swallowing Dragon Stele, entering the original mountain body. The exploded boulders slowly restored themselves as if they had never been disturbed. This ability was at least that of a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal! Only a creator could instantly restore the damaged with mana. Naturally, not everything could be restored with mana alone, such as the precious Map of Mountains and Rivers.

"Creation Boundary!"

Daoist Equal to Heaven murmured, "This is at least the presence of a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal of the Third Layer! What is the origin of this black coffin, could it also have been damaged in the ancient wars and is here healing?"

The second Swallowing Dragon Stele glanced at Daoist Equal to Heaven and said, "Daoist Equal to Heaven, the body of the Tongbei Monkey transformed, possessed by another’s Primordial Spirit, reshaped by Fetal Transformation and Easy Shape-Shifting."

A spasm involuntarily twitched at the corner of Daoist Equal to Heaven’s mouth; the Swallowing Dragon Stele could clearly discern some aspects and origins of beings. He glanced at the mountain into which the coffin had burrowed, beckoned to the Swallowing Dragon Stele, which immediately flew over and transformed into about a foot in height, landing in his hand.

The text on this second Swallowing Dragon Stele was different from that on the first, confusing to comprehend. Could it be that during the Xia Dynasty there was more than one Swallowing Dragon Stele? King Yu casting the Nine Tripods to stabilize the Nine Provinces; perhaps these Swallowing Dragon Steles also numbered nine, used to suppress the destiny of the Nine Provinces.

The entity within this black coffin seemed different from the one in Peach Garden, at least their voices differed, though both were extremely cold, chilling to the bone at the mere sound.

"What was that black light just now?" That black light gave him a unique sensation.

Daoist Equal to Heaven, holding a Swallowing Dragon Stele in each hand, thought to himself, "It seems that the Swallowing Dragon Stele guided me to the Ruins probably for this other Swallowing Dragon Stele."

The Swallowing Dragon Steles were crafted by the talented craftsmen and Taoist masters of the Great Xia on the command of the Human Emperor of the Xia Dynasty. At that time, the Human Path Emperor possessed immense power, commanding a host of immortals. Not to mention King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, whose national teacher was a being of boundless mana, becoming the Heavenly Venerable of the Thunder Department after Divine Enthronement. The even older era of the Three Emperors needed no mention; Gongsun Xuanyuan commanded a host of immortals to gather Divine Iron from the Divine Mountain, forging it into the Xuanyuan Sword.

Daoist Equal to Heaven bowed to the mountain peak, saying, "I would ask Senior to enlighten me, what is this Hate Heaven Secret Realm about, and what is being suppressed behind this Giant Gate?"

No response.

The person inside this coffin clearly had a similar background to Tao Yao’s father, guarding a Swallowing Dragon Stele, whose origins were quite clear. However, the text on it, believed to have descended from the heavens and incomprehensible to mortals, allowed only the spiritually enlightened to grasp a few phrases. Daoist Equal to Heaven, considering himself well-learned, could understand only a few of the characters.

Daoist Equal to Heaven asked, "Since Senior is unwilling to answer, may I then ask Senior to tell me how to leave the Ruins?"

"Pass through this mountain, and behind it, there’s a sacrificial altar. On the altar, there is a Sky-Breaking Divine Arrow and a Sky-Breaking Divine Bow. Shoot the sea surface with the arrow to find a way out." This time, the person in the coffin finally responded to Daoist Equal to Heaven.

Daoist Equal to Heaven bowed with clasped hands, "Thank you, Senior!"

He slowly rose to his feet, absorbed the two Swallowing Dragon Steles into his body, and then levitated into the air. True enough, he saw a massive sacrificial altar on one side of the valley.

This altar was shaped like a Bagua, seemingly sketching a miniature universe. In the center of the altar lay a Divine Arrow, about a hundred zhang long, glittering in golden light, emitting terrifying waves of power that captivated the soul, floating heavier and lighter in the void, with a massive Divine Bow in black beside it, appearing extremely ancient and crafted from an unknown material.

Daoist Equal to Heaven felt a chill in his heart: "Who crafted this Magical Treasure? To be able to split the sea surface of the Ruins with it, it’s truly terrifying."

Inside the Ruins, layers of interwoven laws and prohibitions ensure that outsiders cannot enter and insiders cannot leave, essentially forming a prison.

To find out what happens next, please tune in to the next episode.