The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 181 - 177: Entering the Sea of Thunder to Refine the Primordial Spirit

Chapter 181: Chapter 177: Entering the Sea of Thunder to Refine the Primordial Spirit

The story goes, Enlightenment Dao had grasped the essence of Sword Dao, finally realizing that the way of the sword lies in evoking emotion.

Literati were moved, their inspiration flowing as freely as a burst bladder, exhilarating and unrestrained! He now felt as if he were relieving a painfully distended bladder, a sensation both exhilarating and liberating.

This very exhilaration sped his recovery significantly. These Peaches of Immortality were typically reserved for the feasts held in the heavens, only those of high status received a few, but now, the inhabitants of Flower-Fruit Mountain consumed them as if they were common fruits, oblivious to whether the immortals in the heavens would envy them.

After battling at Mount Meru, Enlightenment Dao had certainly caught Tathagata’s eye, and it seemed unwise to make another move. He merely had his brothers claim they were Loose Cultivators from Overseas Yingzhou, having met during the slaying of Yamata no Orochi before coming to assist. This explanation could barely hold water.

Enlightenment Dao had a feeling that after emerging from seclusion this time, he would likely face the Heavenly Tribulation soon, as the Taiyang Acupoint was open these few days, potentially weakening the thunderous power compared to normal days.

To venture into the Sea of Thunder to refine one’s Primordial Spirit during a thunderstorm was purely courting death, a sentiment for someone tired of living; even the most gifted individuals wouldn’t attempt such an act. The Primordial Spirit was naturally prone to attracting thunder, and attracting all of it would simply reduce one to ashes.

After three days of seclusion, he had fully healed the physical injuries on his body; the damages were mostly physical, his Primordial Spirit being largely unaffected. Had his Primordial Spirit been injured, things would have been much more complicated.

The Primordial Spirit is the foundation of an immortal, the thin gleam of an escape from the great calamities of heaven and earth, and the vessel of the Dao; thus, its recovery from damage is notably difficult.

Once Enlightenment Dao had emerged from seclusion, he entered the Water Curtain Cave and saw the Jiao Demon King dozing on a stone table. He bellowed loudly, startling the Jiao Demon King who leapt up from the table, cursing, "Who is the wretched creature disturbing this king’s nap? Come here and face your death!"

Enlightenment Dao could not help but chuckle, "You do sleep rather soundly; others might pass by without you even knowing."

The Jiao Demon King sheepishly grinned, and said, "Ah, it’s you who have emerged from seclusion. So, are you going to refine your Primordial Spirit now?"

Enlightenment Dao nodded slightly, "Yes. Let’s wait for all our brothers to come out of seclusion, then watch me overcome the Heavenly Tribulation—it will be a good experience for everyone."

They had mainly suffered physical wounds, and their Primordial Spirits were not hurt much; roughly by the seventh day, they had mostly all emerged.

At noon, the sun was shining brightly.

Enlightenment Dao then declared, "Brothers, follow me to the skies, and see how I use the lightning to refine my Primordial Spirit."

The Primordial Spirit is the vessel of the Dao, its fundamental essence, hence it appears very fragile, constituting the vitals of a person, while lightning is the most rigid and masculine entity in the world, terrifyingly powerful. Demons and ghosts fear being struck by lightning especially during a thunderstorm. If the Primordial Spirit is encased within a body, they can withstand being struck by lightning, but exposing the unprotected Primordial Spirit to such forces is extremely dangerous.

The main problem with being one of a trinity is that all three Primordial Spirits must enter the lightning to be refined. Refining the Primordial Spirit is a very perilous process, one that is challenging enough to only face once in a lifetime, yet he must undergo it three times.

Followed by six Demon Kings from Flower-Fruit Mountain, Enlightenment Dao rode the clouds upwards, cutting through the winds until they finally glimpsed the Sea of Thunder.

The winds also varied, with thirty thousand li high winds the weakest, beyond which lay the Sea of Thunder; sixty thousand li high winds were stronger, presenting a dangerous endeavor to anyone entering, and at ninety thousand li, the winds turned utterly terrifying, capable, with a single gust, of blowing both soul and Primordial Spirit out of the body.

The Third Heaven of the Thirty-Three Skies was located amid the sixty thousand li wind layer, hence most people chose to enter from the Heavenly Court. Although more troublesome, it was certainly safer.

Only those with extraordinary innate skills like Kunpeng could soar directly up to ninety thousand li, even gathering these high-winds to cultivate divine skills for combating foes.

Above thirty thousand li, they encountered the Sea of Thunder, an enormous expanse where lightning churned like liquid gold, boiling like water, chilling onlookers to the core.

Ox Demon King couldn’t help shuddering, saying, "The temperature of this Sea of Thunder must be immense. Lightning is naturally blazing hot, and with so much congregating to form a ’liquid’ sea, even a piece of iron thrown into it would melt instantly."

This was Enlightenment Dao’s first venture to such a height, and his first sight of the Sea of Thunder. He took in a sharp breath, "No wonder so many are reluctant to enter the Sea of Thunder to refine their Primordial Spirit—it truly is terrifying!"

The Jiao Demon King also shivered, saying, "Seventh Brother, perhaps we should forget it for now! Let’s discuss this later, entering the Sea of Thunder to refine the Primordial Spirit is far too risky."

Enlightenment Dao shook his head, saying, "Cultivation is about advancing; if one does not advance, one regresses. Whatever one does must be approached with courage and diligence. Although the Sea of Thunder is terrifying, I must venture into it!"

Enlightenment Dao then sat down cross-legged, saying, "Brothers, protect me, my Primordial Spirit is leaving the body!"

As he spoke, he pointed to his forehead, his chest revealing the Five Qi and the Three Flowers floating above; his Primordial Spirit swiftly departed.

"Off I go!" cried Enlightenment Dao, and dashed towards the Sea of Thunder.

He had just reached the edge of the Sea of Thunder when a great suction force from within the thunder immediately drew his Primordial Spirit into it. The thunder struck his body, causing such pain that his vision blackened and he almost passed out. The pain was truly unbearable. The Primordial Spirit is the foundation and is extremely sensitive; naturally, one can imagine how excruciating the pain must be when thunder strikes it.

"Be careful!"

The people present all felt a cold sweat for him, and soon, they saw his Primordial Spirit had entered the Sea of Thunder.

"Ah!" The pained screams of Enlightenment Dao echoed from the Sea of Thunder, causing everyone to tremble with fear.

Several Demon Kings used their Divine Skills and raised their Magical Treasures to block the successive thunderbolts and entered the Sea of Thunder to observe how Enlightenment Dao used the thunder to refine his flesh.

Enlightenment Dao felt that the thunder seemed to have an incredibly strong suction force, continually pulling him deeper. The deeper he went, the greater the power of the thunder, and naturally, his Primordial Spirit was refined purer and stronger! However, going deeper was too dangerous. Many people refined their Primordial Spirit at the periphery, but Enlightenment Dao was uncontrollably dragged in and had no way to escape.

"Thus have I heard, forever eternal! Amitabha Buddha!" Enlightenment Dao recited a mental method from the Sutra of the Other Shore. Though this scripture was mainly cultivated by the Daoist Equal to Heaven, he had also drawn some extremely useful methods from it.

The power of the Sutra of the Other Shore lay in its assertion of eternal pastness, immovable as a mountain, embracing one’s spirit. No matter if thunder struck or fire burned, it could not kill him.

"Boom boom boom!"

Thunderbolts fell one after another, like golden Divine Dragons roaring and hissing, rolling within them. Enlightenment Dao took the impact of seven or eight massive bolts directly on his body, scattering some of the golden light on his Primordial Spirit instantly. The golden light on a Primordial Spirit represents one’s spirit; if it were scattered, it would mean true death, the spirit dissipated, leaving one only as a walking corpse.

Enlightenment Dao tried his best to embrace his spirit. The severe pain caused his spirit to continuously disperse, but in his heart, a glimmer of spiritual light appeared, visualizing a great Buddha, which was Amitabha Buddha. He could only cling tightly to this spiritual light to embrace his spirit.

Enlightenment Dao felt the impurities within his Primordial Spirit gradually being refined away. As the thunderbolts struck his Primordial Spirit, they also carried away its impurities, making his Primordial Spirit appear purer and honing his spirit. Even if only a strand of Primordial Spirit remained, as long as the spirit did not disperse, it could resurrect! This kind of Divine Skill is immortality.

Enlightenment Dao had now entered deep into the Sea of Thunder. His Primordial Spirit had almost lost consciousness, but he kept silently reciting the words "forever eternal, immovable as a mountain" in his heart, clinging to a bit of spirit. This was the only way to ensure he wasn’t killed by the Sea of Thunder.

The radiance on the visualized great Buddha was also dimming but fortunately did not extinguish, resembling a candlelight in the dark night, faint though it was, but still, offering a sliver of hope.

"Crack!"

Another enormous thunderbolt struck down, hitting the Primordial Spirit and immediately causing Enlightenment Dao to stagger, nearly disrupting his visualization method.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

Constant thunderbolts blasted down, almost crippling his Primordial Spirit. However, one could see that the color of the Primordial Spirit was even clearer now, like crystal, having been thoroughly cleansed of impurities.

Yet, in the depths of such powerful thunder, Enlightenment Dao had absolutely no way to act. Even though his Primordial Spirit had been cleansed, he was unable to regain consciousness to leave, barely able to cling to his spirit, silently repeating in his heart: "past eternal, immovable as a mountain!" as he drifted along with the Sea of Thunder.

Outside, his several brothers had waited for precisely two hours. They had chased him to the depths of the Sea of Thunder. If they proceeded further, even their flesh couldn’t withstand it! At this point, the thunderbolt strikes already made their bodies emit a burnt smell; advancing a few dozen more yards, they feared they would be torn apart.

"How could Seventh Brother be so reckless to get this deep into the Sea of Thunder? He still hasn’t come out; could it be that he is dead?" Ox Demon King frowned.

"It seems he was overly eager for quick results. Entering the depths of the Sea of Thunder to refine the Primordial Spirit might make it stronger, but it is also much more dangerous. This time, it’s possible his Primordial Spirit really got killed by the thunder." Macaques King said solemnly, surrounded by the noise of thunder, he couldn’t hear any movement inside.

Being in the midst of the Sea of Thunder, with thunder added to his body, it felt as if millions of fierce horses were pulling chariots racing past, deafening and dizzying, causing a throbbing headache.

The brothers all knew that Wukong had three Primordial Spirits; the true body was currently being suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain, the Daoist Equal to Heaven was in the Jade Void Palace attending a lecture. Even if Enlightenment Dao was indeed killed by the thunder, it wasn’t a big deal; at most, it was just losing a body, so they weren’t too upset.

"Let’s wait a little longer. If he still doesn’t come out, we’ll take his body back to Flower-Fruit Mountain," Pang Demon King said.

"That’s all we can do, hopefully nothing’s wrong," the other brothers nodded.

The fate of Enlightenment Dao is yet unknown. Please tune in to the next episode to find out. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for it at Starting Point (qidian.com), as well as cast a monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)