The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 278 - 245: Secret Passage to Seize the Corporeal Body

Chapter 278: Chapter 245: Secret Passage to Seize the Corporeal Body

The Tathagata rang the bell to summon the Three Thousand Buddhas of Mount Meru, who were arrayed in the Three Thousand Guiding Great Array on the plaza of Mount Meru, preparing to summon the Projections of the Heavens.

All of these preparations had long been anticipated by Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch, who had already transmitted the news to the Nine Heavens. Severely wounded in the war of Middle Ancient Times, despite having refined the roots of the Mother Peach Tree, their injuries still hadn’t healed. These Projections of the Heavens would be a most excellent tonic!

"The Guiding Great Array has been set up, and I have already felt the force of the Various Heavens of the Otherworld drawing near!" Zhong Tian narrowed his eyes, sensing a majestic power about to descend upon West Cow He State. This force, which could suppress the Eight Desolates, caused countless creatures to grovel and millions of gods and demons to tremble in fear.

This marked the true descent of the Projections of the Heavens; although previously they had been sneaked in, the Three Pure Ones had drawn them out and struck them down in one fell swoop. This time, the Projections summoned through the Guiding Great Array were terrifyingly powerful, yet still fell short of their true selves.

The Various Heavens were the enforcers of the Heavenly Dao, overseeing the cosmos; those who dared to defy Heaven were subject to annihilation, with only those able to grasp a sliver of opportunity having a chance at survival.

Suddenly, Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch said, "Since Heaven and Earth are heartless, not self-creating, why are the Variou Heavens of the Otherworld so eager to destroy our Heavenly Dao World?"

In the world, there is no reasonless hate, nor reasonless love. Saints may still have some personal desires, but the Various Heavens truly have neither sentiments nor desires, controlling and overseeing Heaven and Earth.

If they are without sentiments, whence comes enmity? Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch couldn’t understand this, and even the beings of the Nine Heavens were taken aback, also failing to comprehend.

"Heaven and Earth are heartless, the worlds of two sides’ Heavenly Dao separated by who knows how much Chaos. Why expend such great efforts to attack each other?" asked the Leader of Heaven-Penetrating, frowning deeply.

Beyond the Four Great Continents lies the void of the universe, and beyond the universe? There is Chaos–unmeasurable, encompassing time, space, distance, power; it is the existence that contains everything. Before Pangu opened Heaven and Earth, this world was a vast expanse of Chaos.

This Heavenly Dao World is self-contained. For the Various Heavens of the Otherworld to descend, they must travel through untold Chaos and expend tremendous energy, not to mention the force needed to breach the Heavenly Dao Laws. Given such thankless exertion, why would they do it?

In the world, there is no right or wrong. It is not to say that the Various Heavens of the Otherworld are evil. It is simply that the perspectives of the two sides differ. The people here might view them as evil, while they may view the people of the Four Great Continents as such.

When you stand at the pinnacle and observe the world, you’ll realize there is no right or wrong. Everything is but fleeting clouds; all is emptiness, merely the troubles brought about by this mortal coil.

Cultivation, cultivation, upon achieving ultimate understanding of the true self, one finds that all is emptiness.

If in their eyes, everything is empty, everything is fleeting clouds, why then exert themselves in such slaughter and killing? They had never considered this question and prioritized hatred instead. Now, upon Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch’s prompting, those present couldn’t help but fall into deep contemplation.

In the meantime, as everyone was lost in thought, the void had twisted, and the gates of space and time had been opened by the array, ready to summon the descending Projections of the Heavens.

"Kill them!" A cold light flashed in Cheng Tian’s eyes as he took the lead, and the other eight charged into the gate of space and time like lightning.

When the nine went through the gate, they intercepted the nine great Projections that were about to descend.

The duty of the Nine Heavens was to oversee the cosmos, but if there was no cosmos left to oversee, what then? The goal of the Various Heavens of the Otherworld was to destroy the Heavenly Dao World; hence the two sides were naturally at odds, incompatible as fire and water, having already clashed several times since the Middle Ancient Times!

Heaven is divided into nine layers, and nine is the ultimate number. Therefore, the Various Heavens of the Otherworld also numbered nine, and so were their Projections.

Upon meeting, these eighteen instantly became hostile and commenced battle. The Nine Heavens sought to annihilate their counterparts and convert them into tonic to mend their wounds.

The moment they engaged in combat, their might was terrifying. The Heavenly Dao Laws thundered, the order of the Great Dao whirled, and they fought fiercely in a thrilling battle.

The power of the Nine Heavens was considerable, and since the Various Heavens had sent only Projections, they were no match for them. As soon as they clashed, the Projections quickly fell into disadvantage.

Unaware that a terrible battle had already erupted within that gate of space and time, the Tathagata only saw that the Projections of the Heavens were delayed in descending and couldn’t help feeling bewildered.

However, a Pure Vase full of the Essence of Heaven and Earth descended from the sky; this Pure Vase, filled to the brim with the essence, was meant to revive the pepino fruit tree.

The Tathagata hurriedly caught the Pure Vase and breathed a sigh of relief. With this Essence of Heaven and Earth, reviving the pepino fruit tree would be an easy task. Later, he could hand it over to Guanyin, who would bring the pepino fruit tree back to life. Zhen Yuanzi would naturally release Tang Sanzang and his disciples, and the Journey to the West could thus continue.

"Having Zhen Yuanzi cause such complications is truly vexing," thought the Tathagata with some annoyance, as he put away the Pure Vase and continued to direct the Three Thousand Buddhas to maintain the Guiding Great Array.

Just then, the complexions of Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch and Laozi changed simultaneously, and they said, "Not good!"

Leader of Heaven-Penetrating could not understand and asked, "What’s not good?"

Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch said, "Someone has shaken the Kunlun Mountains, within which lie the bodies of my elder brother and me. The Projections of the Heavens causing trouble is just a ruse; in reality, they aim to destroy our physical bodies!"

A cold light flashed in the eyes of Leader of Heaven-Penetrating, and without a second word, he transformed into a beam of sword light, darting towards the Kunlun Mountains.

The Kunlun Mountains are also known as Mount Buzhou, which in Ancient Times was referred to as the Heavenly Pillar. When Gonggong went mad, he broke it with a single blow, leading to a great flood. It took Da Yu’s efforts to divert the floodwater and save the Nine Provinces from peril, saving the myriad people from fire and water! The Kunlun Mountains are also the origin of the world’s Dragon Vein. The bodies of Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch and Laozi hidden within allow for quicker restoration, but now, the Projections of the Heavens had secretly conspired, somehow becoming aware of the location of their bodies, attempting a covert strike on their physical forms.

The Leader of Heaven-Penetrating was the most powerful in terms of mana among the three, for only he had his body restored; he was now in a state of spirit and flesh integration, while both Yuan Shi and Laozi were only in their Primordial Spirit form, with their bodies still in recuperation. With Leader of Heaven-Penetrating’s departure, he directly tore through space-time and arrived at the Kunlun Mountains in an instant.

In the skies above the Kunlun Mountains was a vast projection whose palm was like a sky-connecting dark cloud that grabbed and shattered the mountain in an instant, catching two Heaven-Avoiding Coffins from within the mountain, which were now flying towards its grasp.

"Dare you!!" roared the Leader of Heaven-Penetrating in fury. With a thunderous shout, he hurled a giant hammer from his hand. As the hammer came crashing down, it immediately produced the Purple Dawn Divine Thunder. The Divine Thunder transformed into the shape of a giant hammer, striking directly at the Projections of the Heavens.

These were mere projections of the heavens, and their destruction was inconsequential. However, if they could obliterate the physical bodies of two from the Three Pure Ones, it would be a worthwhile trade!

The Leader of Heaven-Penetrating’s hammer was called the Purple Lightning Hammer, one of the Primordial Magical Treasures. It had landed in his possession when Hongjun distributed the Primordial Magical Treasures at Fen Baoyan.

"Great Year Whip, go!" Suddenly, the Leader of Heaven-Penetrating conjured a spell, and from his sleeves, a red python burst forth, which was actually the vital essence of a Magical Treasure; its true form was a red whip.

With a cracking sound from the Great Year Whip, it seemed like the cosmos was inverted, crushing the Projection of the Heavens beneath the weight of Primordial Chaos. The power of the Great Year Whip was such that, once wielded, its force was vast, as if the weight of Primordial Chaos itself bore down, making it exceedingly difficult for others to move!

The eyes of the Leader of Heaven-Penetrating flickered with cold light. The Projections of the Heavens were so cunning that they followed Yuan Shi’s calculations yet covertly targeted their physical bodies!

The Projections of the Heavens coldly spoke, "I did not expect you to have recovered so quickly! But, if you can stop one, can you stop three?"

With a cold command, the void split open, and two more immense projections descended.

The Projections of the Heavens, during the Middle Ancient Times, had buried countless projections within the Four Great Continents. Over the years, the Three Pure Ones had joined forces to calculate and slay many such projections, thinking they had finally erased them all. Yet, to their surprise, there remained hidden within this location not one but three projections! Such was the depth of the machinations of all Buddhas that it was shocking.

Three projections acted at once, reaching for the two Heaven-Avoiding Coffins; needless to say, the coffins contained the bodies of Laozi and Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch.

The physical forms of the Three Pure Ones were all connected to Pangu. Should their bodies be destroyed, there would truly be no recourse, for Pangu had long since perished, and once his body was obliterated, no amount of Essence of Heaven and Earth or other natural treasures could restore it!

From the sleeves of the Leader of Heaven-Penetrating emerged a Formation Diagram. The diagram unfolded in an instant, and behind him suddenly rose four Divine Swords. His hair and beard were bristling, and Samadhi True Fire spewed from his seven orifices. As the four Divine Swords landed on the diagram, they immediately formed four imposing gates, each standing nine thousand feet tall, issuing terrifying sword lights that could tear the heavens and the earth apart!

"Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, arise!" The Leader of Heaven-Penetrating roared with rage, fire spouted from his nose and mouth, and his vital essence surged like a forest fire, gathering into a cloud of smoke rising into the sky, turning into a vast dark cloud.

This was the terrifying aspect of a Saint, whose vital essence was vast as the ocean. With his activation of the Sword Array, his vital essence boiled, True Qi circulated, and vital essence surged from the Baihui Acupoint.

As the Sword Array turned, it summoned the Elemental Forces of Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire, and one sword first struck the palm of the first Projection. The Four Swords of Celestial Slaying were the Heavenly Dao’s premier instruments of slaughter, and how could the Projections of the Heavens withstand them? With a single strike, the palm of the Projection burst open, blood sprayed, and bleak white bones were exposed.

At the slash, the palm of the Projection of Heavens was burst open, it quickly retracted, and a Heaven-Avoiding Coffin was immediately swept into the Sword Array.

"The Four Swords of Celestial Slaying are truly worthy of being the Heavenly Dao’s first instrument of killing; they are so formidable!" remarked the Projections of the Heavens chillingly. Although one Heaven-Avoiding Coffin had been taken away, there was still another. If they could destroy the body of one Saint, it would still be a profitable affair!

As to how this would turn out, please wait for the next Chapter to unfold.

PS: Thank you for your patience, there will be another update tonight, I’ll write it after dinner. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Starting Point (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)