The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 204 - 199: Equal to Heaven Cuts Off Love Ties

Chapter 204: Chapter 199: Equal to Heaven Cuts Off Love Ties

It is said that the Daoist Equal to Heaven was meditating beside the Sea of Thunder, preparing to refine his Primordial Spirit to achieve the Indestructible Realm.

He had experience in refining the Primordial Spirit before, so this time it should be almost a sure thing.

Enlightenment Dao came from above to guard the Daoist Equal to Heaven’s physical body, lest someone steal it while he was away, leaving no place to weep! This is exactly why many morally high individuals have quite a few Daoist friends, who are useful at times like these to help protect and ensure safety.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven nodded and said, "My Primordial Spirit is leaving the body, you help me guard my physical body! This time I want to go deep into the Sea of Thunder to refine my Primordial Spirit, and it might take a long time."

He had been cultivating the "Sutra of the Other Shore" for a long time, and his spiritual will was much stronger than Enlightenment Dao’s, and his Primordial Spirit had also undergone the reversal of Heavenly Dao, which was more refined than the Third Primordial Spirit obtained from Yuan Hong. This time, going deep into the Sea of Thunder to refine, his confidence was much greater.

Enlightenment Dao sat cross-legged on Moving Clouds, nodded, and assisted the Daoist Equal to Heaven in protection.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven pressed his brow, and five Qi emerged from his chest, revealing the Three Flowers on top, from which his Primordial Spirit leaped out and entered the Sea of Thunder.

As soon as the Primordial Spirit entered the Sea of Thunder, it immediately attracted countless lightning bolts, painfully striking the body, but the Daoist Equal to Heaven visualized a giant Buddha in his heart and silently chanted, "Eternal past, immovable like a mountain! Keep the original heart, enduring through ages!"

"The Sutra of the Other Shore" is the supreme scripture of the Buddhist sect, which was lost after the battle in the Middle Ancient Times, suppressing the fragmented Map of Mountains and Rivers and the Heaven-Avoiding Coffin, acquired by Wusheng and given to Wukong. The Daoist Equal to Heaven, having cultivated "The Sutra of the Other Shore" for hundreds of years, had already grasped some of its essence. The Buddhist sect speaks of the past, preserving the present, and cultivating the future; this "Sutra of the Other Shore" is about embracing the past, being eternal and immovable, indestructible and unkillable, achieving the present, and cultivating the future.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven continued deeper into the Sea of Thunder, with lightning striking over and over, his entire Primordial Spirit wrapped by the lightning, resembling a golden cocoon. Countless lightning strikes constantly refined the impurities within his Primordial Spirit, painfully yet with a certain pleasurable sensation.

"Immovable eternity!"

The Daoist Equal to Heaven clenched his teeth and silently recited this scripture, his spirit started to scatter due to stray thoughts but was immediately gathered back by "The Sutra of the Other Shore," solidifying into a mass, allowing his Primordial Spirit to withstand the lightning strikes.

At that moment, he suddenly heard a voice calling beside his ear, "Sun Wukong, Sun Wukong! Come find me!"

Instantly, the great Buddha in his divine sense shattered into countless fragments and scattered, he inwardly cursed, realizing a Heart Demon had erupted. He urgently circulated "The Sutra of the Other Shore" again, shouting, "Thus I have heard! That Buddha is called Amitabha, his light is boundless, illuminating all directions, the past is like a mountain, immovable and eternal!"

His spirit solidified once again, but the scene before him had already changed; he was no longer in the Sea of Thunder but was in an endless starry sky instead.

"What is this?" the Daoist Equal to Heaven muttered with a frown.

Those giant planets were extremely desolate, devoid of any life essence, and the chilly wind that blew was bone-penetratingly cold.

Enlightenment Dao cried out in alarm from outside, hurriedly using his Primordial Spirit to communicate with the Daoist Equal to Heaven’s Primordial Spirit, but without any response, he exclaimed, "This is bad, this is the Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations I’ve been avoiding! But due to the eruption of the Heart Demon, it has emerged! This is the Heart Tribulation; my physical body and spirit have been drawn into the Outer Domain Demon World! This is terrible, the Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons are infinite and relentless, once the spirit is dispersed, the Primordial Spirit will die."

Both Three Calamities and Five Tribulations, and Nine Tribulations are extremely terrifying; many cultivators avoid them through ancient Secret Techniques—during the process of becoming an immortal, one faces Three Calamities and Five Tribulations, and after achieving immortality, faces Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations, which erupt every five hundred years. But due to the death of Tao Yao, Wukong fell to a Heart Demon and now this Heart Demon has erupted, summoning a particularly terrifying part of the Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations – the Heart Tribulation, pulling the Daoist Equal to Heaven into the Outer Domain of Demon World, even severing the connection with his other two Primordial Spirits.

The origin of the Outer Domain Demon World is no ordinary matter, not even a Saint could probe its depths.

Once Amitabha Buddha entered the Demon World and exterminated endless Heavenly Demons, destroying the Demon World in a moment, yet it was reborn.

For a Saint to destroy a world is as simple as a flick of a finger, but it depends on the Heavenly Dao, if it is against heaven, then it cannot be done.

The World of Heavenly Demons, having been destroyed several times, concealed itself beyond boundless void, making it difficult to trace unless meticulously calculated. But even Saints are not so idle as to keep destroying a world that regenerates each time; it’s pointless to extinguish a world billions of times, let alone spend effort and time to calculate the whereabouts of this Demon World.

These Heavenly Demons are a special existence that cannot directly attack people but can attack one’s Divine Sense, or psychic spirit. They are a special type of energy being, seemingly existing solely to counter those in cultivation.

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

One by one, terrifyingly ferocious Heavenly Demons emerged from the desolate planets, and upon seeing the Daoist Equal to Heaven, they couldn’t help but laugh sinisterly and rushed towards him.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven furrowed his brow and thought, "Have I been drawn into the Outer Domain Demon World? It seems my Heart Tribulation has been triggered. If I can escape from this realm, it would also mean ridding myself of the Heart Demon, perfecting my being."

He was already a being inclined towards dark and ruthless killing; seeing thousands of Heavenly Demons rushing to attack, he raised the Samsara Pen and swiftly wrote three "kill" characters, each exuding an overwhelmingly terrifying murderous aura. These three characters, originating from the Swallowing Dragon Stele and touching the very essence of the Slaughter and Killing Dao, seemed like invoking the two Divine Swords from the Ming River, Yuantu and Abi representing Slaughter and Killing—the murderous aura from these three characters was hardly inferior.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The Daoist Equal to Heaven launched the three characters, transforming into two Divine Swords and one Demon-Subduing Pestle—one Yuantu, one Abi, and the third the Demon-Subduing Pestle.

When these two swords and one pestle struck out, they instantly dispersed the thousands of Heavenly Demons, slashing them into ashes.

"Haha, a cultivator has come to our world, quickly devour his spirit and enhance our mana!"

"This person possesses nearly indestructible cultivation; devouring him will significantly increase our own cultivation, kill him!"

Having just slain thousands of Heavenly Demons, from those bleak planets emerged tens of thousands more, forming a dense, unbroken mass, perhaps adding up to hundreds of thousands in a blink!

These Heavenly Demons began to transform, taking the form of beautiful women, fierce monsters, and benevolent old men, yet they did not charge forward but instead stayed at a distance, beguiling the Daoist Equal to Heaven.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven pressed his palms together, gently exclaiming, "Boundless Heavenly Immortal! All evils retreat, all demons kept at bay!"

A divine light arose around him, and he vanquished all the malevolent illusions; the illusions dispersed like smoke and clouds, causing the demons employing these beguiling techniques to scream in pain and dissolve into nothingness.

"Hah, this man has a heart demon, transforming into the image of the woman he loves, let’s see how he acts now!"

One by one, the Heavenly Demons transformed into the likeness of Tao Yao.

The Daoist Equal to Heaven’s eyes nearly burst with fury as he roared, "You vile creatures dare to manipulate such forms; truly, you deserve death! Deserve death!"

The moment he grew angry, he felt as though his spirit was being drained, beginning to disperse! He immediately realized the peril; these Heavenly Demons wanted to provoke his negative emotions and then absorb his spirit.

He quickly chanted, "Amitabha Buddha!"

Instantly, his mind became as placid as an ancient well, and those transformed demons could no longer confuse his spirit.

"Continue!"

The Heavenly Demons howled wildly, constantly changing forms, staging exceedingly unsightly scenes in the void, igniting a flickering rage within the Daoist Equal to Heaven.

"Haha, hahaha! Once you enter the World of Heavenly Demons, don’t even think of leaving. Just hand over your Primordial Spirit willingly." The demons shouted, endlessly beguiling his enlightenment spirit, aiming to breed within him desires of greed, anger, ignorance, and more to then drain his spirit.

The Buddhist sect is most adept at dealing with these demons, with practices like the prohibition against anger and ignorance among others; they nearly sever all human desires. But the Daoist Equal to Heaven is no Buddha, not an Enlightened One, how could he achieve this? Merely relying on the ’Sutra of the Other Shore’ he could barely render himself heartless and desireless.

Yet, these Heavenly Demons continuously drew forth the heart demons in his heart, causing him extreme discomfort. His heart harbored anger, sorrow, pain, suffering, joy... These negative emotions were barely suppressed but felt on the verge of erupting.

"I have a sword that can sever all worldly karmic afflictions and thoughts!" the Daoist Equal to Heaven whispered, producing a Sword of Wisdom in his hand.

To cut?

Or not to cut?

A single slash would eliminate all heart demons, but then, he would also no longer remember the girl named Tao Yao.

The Sword of Wisdom, created by Amitabha Buddha, extinguishes mixed thoughts and cuts through karma, requiring great fortitude to consolidate. It’s not something that can be formed whenever one wishes, but who can withstand the moment of swinging this sword?

The Daoist Equal to Heaven’s hands trembled continuously. If he struck with this sword, he would forget everything; if he did not strike, he might die here, his Primordial Spirit and spirit entirely absorbed by these demons. This sword made him hesitate.

"My name is Tao Yao, the Tao Yao from ’peach blossoms in bloom’."

"Sun Wukong, remember to come see me!"

"I’m leaving now; not sure if I can ever come back!"

Tears fell from the Daoist Equal to Heaven’s eyes, the cold light of the Sword of Wisdom flickering, he finally understood why so many opted to escape into monastic life; if one becomes a Buddha, where is there such pain? Such injustices? If he struck with this sword, he could achieve True Fruition, become a Buddha, and attain Supreme Right Enlightenment.

But striking with this sword, he would also forever forget Tao Yao. Although the sword could enlighten great wisdom, swinging it brought immense pain and sorrow!

"This sword, to cut or not to cut?" the Daoist Equal to Heaven slowly raised the condensed Sword of Wisdom, just one slice would set him free.

"Cut..."

The Daoist Equal to Heaven felt a pain in his heart, thrusting the sword into his chest, silently chanting, "Thus have I heard! This Buddha named Amitabha, shines with Immeasurable Light..."

For what happens next, please tune in next time. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)