The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 245 - 228: Settle Down and Take Profits When Things Improve_3

Chapter 245: Chapter 228: Settle Down and Take Profits When Things Improve_3

He had never expected that the Emperor of Eternal Life could possess a Primordial Magical Treasure, which surprised him greatly. This bout was indeed going to be tough.

In the Buddha Kingdom, the two thousand Medicine Forks continuously recited the "Sutra of the Medicine Buddha," increasing the power of the Medicine Buddha, matching the Emperor of Eternal Life in a draw.

The incense sticks of both contenders were still burning. Their mana nurtured the ashes to prevent them from falling, while they also divided their attention to hasten the maturation of the wood; this consumed an immense amount of True Qi. They had to multitask: one part of their mind hastened the maturation, another part guarded the incense stick, and yet another part remained vigilant against the other’s stealthy attacks on their own incense stick.

The Medicine Buddha suddenly saw a blade of grass emerging from the ground, about to topple his incense stick. His expression changed instantly, and he spat out a white light from his mouth. The white light slashed across the grass like a steel blade, severing it, and then headed towards the incense stick of the Emperor of Eternal Life.

The Emperor of Eternal Life diverted his attention to cope with it, and saw the grass on the ground growing wildly into vines, which then entangled to form a huge shield in front of the incense stick. The white light from the Medicine Buddha landed on it, only breaking a few vines and falling to the ground, after which the white light vanished like mud sinking into the sea.

The Medicine Buddha pondered, "This Emperor of Eternal Life’s technique is indeed not bad. Every blade of grass and tree can be used by him; he is much more adept than I am in this respect!"

The Emperor of Eternal Life thought to himself, "This Medicine Buddha is also remarkable, multitasking with such ease and even managing to detect my sneak attack in time! His two thousand Medicine Forks reciting scriptures together grant him terrifyingly powerful mana. This immense wood-attribute True Qi is formidable. If not for my Primordial Magical Treasure, the Eternal Life Vine, I might have lost this battle to him!"

The two competed fiercely, both pushing themselves to the limit to ripen the Nine Heavens Divine Wood. This Divine Wood was extremely difficult to mature; it took half an incense stick’s time for them to mature just thirty feet of it, and as they progressed, it became increasingly difficult.

"Thirty feet of Nine Heavens Divine Wood already contains the efficacy of a hundred thousand years. How terrifying must their mana be for these two to mature a hundred thousand years’ worth in half an incense stick’s time? Are they not at least on par with the creator?"

"Apart from the Great Emperor Ziwei, which Great Emperor of the Heavenly Court isn’t like a creator? And the Medicine Buddha, being the Respectful Ruler of the World after Maitreya Buddha and the Future Buddha of the Eastern Lapis Lazuli Pure Light World, must also have immense power. These two seem to be evenly matched. Now it’s a meeting of equal rivals."

Everyone saw the area around the Medicine Buddha’s incense stick start to tremble. When they activated their Heavenly Eye to observe, they saw countless blades of grass growing rapidly underneath the incense stick, trying to thrust it forcefully out of the earth!

The Medicine Buddha lightly shouted, "Settle down!"

He stomped on the ground, releasing an aura as chilling as the depths of winter that penetrated deep into the earth, directly exterminating the vitality of the grass.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha, what sins, what sins!" the Medicine Buddha said, with a compassionate tone.

"Sheer hypocrisy!" the Emperor of Eternal Life scoffed in his mind, and not just he, but also the True Man of Dao and Virtue present sneered inwardly, labeling the Medicine Buddha as hypocritically compassionate.

The Medicine Buddha refused to show weakness. An intense True Qi burst from the soles of his feet, freezing everything it passed over. In the cold winter, all was silent and still, save for the plum blossoms and pines that retained some color. This intense True Qi could even cause plum blossoms to wither and pines to collapse.

The Emperor of Eternal Life hurriedly exhaled a breath of fire-attributed True Qi. At such a level, he had long refined the Five Elements True Qi into a perfect unity, changing it at will. His breath instantly gave off the impression of midsummer’s peak heat.

When the Medicine Buddha’s chilling True Qi met with the fire-attributed True Qi of the Emperor of Eternal Life, they exploded upon contact, a clash of ice and fire. Both sides suffered damage, and the shockwave that spread out made both of their incense sticks wobble, nearly causing the accumulated ashes to fall!

The Emperor of Eternal Life quickly formed a spell-sign with his hands, casting it upon his incense stick where a flash of green light stabilized it; meanwhile, the Medicine Buddha held a Dharma Seal, forming the Immovable King Seal of the Esoteric Sect’s Divine Skills. As he formed the seal, his incense stick became as immovable as a mountain and immediately steadied.

Both of them ceased to exert further action and concentrated their efforts to force the maturation of the Nine Heavens Divine Wood!

A hundred thousand years!

A hundred and ten thousand years!

A hundred and twenty thousand years!

A hundred and thirty thousand years!

The Divine Wood had been forced to mature to a hundred and thirty thousand years, and as time passed, it became increasingly difficult to push its maturity. Now, the Divine Wood already stood at thirteen zhang tall, each zhang representing ten thousand years.

Finally, the incense stick had burned down to the end, and both parties ceased at the same moment, without the slightest hesitation or delay, to avoid giving others a handle to criticize them. Even if one won, being accused of foul play would not be good.

After they had ceased, the ash on the incense stick had not yet fallen. They turned around and, facing the few Celestial Venerables and Buddha Ancestor, bowed and said, "Please make your judgments."

"The Nine Heavens Divine Wood of Emperor of Eternal Life has matured to a hundred and eighty-eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight years!" Tathagata nodded and said.

Pharmacist Buddha had originally thought he could force the maturity to two or three hundred thousand years, but only when he truly made the effort did he realize how much wood attribute True Qi the Nine Heavens Divine Wood required. Despite his utmost effort, he could not break through the final bottleneck.

"Pharmacist Buddha’s Divine Wood has also matured to a hundred and eighty-eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight years, quite coincidentally," Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch said with a hint of surprise.

"This match can only be considered a draw."

Tathagata sighed, feeling it was a pity, as Pharmacist Buddha could perhaps have won if he had pushed a little harder. Indeed, Pharmacist Buddha had also thought so, but Emperor of Eternal Life was very difficult to deal with.

Leader of Heaven-Penetrating, with an impassive expression, said indifferently, "That’s fine, let it be a draw! Now that we’ve had three rounds, which can be considered quite exciting for everyone, let’s call it to a close!"

To quit while ahead was wise; even Saints weren’t fools. This round nearly saw Tathagata turning the tables and with two wins out of three rounds, the Daoist had not won a single round, giving the Daoist cause for elation.

Tathagata wished to speak and suggest another round, but Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch said, "Buddha Ancestor, do not harbor resentment now!"

The words Tathagata had ready at his throat suddenly could not be uttered, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

To find out what happens next, please follow the next episode. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to go to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users, please read at m.qidian.com.)