The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 294 - 259: Even a Bodhisattva Must Ignore Cause and Effect

Chapter 294: Chapter 259: Even a Bodhisattva Must Ignore Cause and Effect

Sun Wukong led the way, guiding Lingji Bodhisattva to the Banana Leaf Cave.

Princess Iron Fan, already holding her Banana Leaf Fan, came out to meet them in front of the mountain. Seeing them approach, she berated, "You mischievous monkey, still not giving up on the idea of taking my fan? And who did you bring with you this time, some bald donkey?"

Uneasy flames already flickering in his heart, Lingji Bodhisattva had aroused a sense of irritation. Hearing Princess Iron Fan insult him so, he replied, "Namo Amitabha Buddha! I am Lingji, and you, Princess Iron Fan, have destroyed my Wind-Calming Pearl and entwined our fates. Naturally, I have come to settle this matter with you. If you compensate me with your Banana Leaf Fan, we can put this issue to rest."

Princess Iron Fan scornfully retorted, "More backup called in by the monkey? Your Wind-Calming Pearl is to my Banana Leaf Fan what a glow of rotting grass is to the brilliant moon. You expect me to compensate you with my Banana Leaf Fan? How utterly shameless!"

Fierce and belligerent as she was, Princess Iron Fan’s cursing came as swift and fierce as a tempest, leaving Lingji Bodhisattva, unaccustomed to trading insults, blushing and fuming.

Wukong stood aside, watching the confrontation between Princess Iron Fan and Lingji Bodhisattva. He knew all too well the formidable power of the Banana Leaf Fan and dared not seek his own demise. Lingji Bodhisattva, having never crossed paths with Princess Iron Fan, was unaware of the fan’s full extent of might and, at that moment, felt a burgeoning urge to test his skills against it.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha! Since you refuse to make amends, Princess Iron Fan, I have no choice but to take action!" exclaimed Lingji Bodhisattva with a stern voice.

"Go on, give it a try!" Although Princess Iron Fan only had the cultivation of a Taiyi Golden Immortal, she was utterly fearless before the Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal, emboldened and unthreatened.

"Amita, an Amitabha Buddha, Lingji Bodhisattva is a dead man," Wukong muttered silently, retreating far away.

As he withdrew, someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder and yanked him into the clouds. Startled, Wukong prepared to counter, but saw that it was the Ox Demon King.

"Oh, you Old Bull, here to join the excitement?" Wukong chided. "I was nearly fanned to death by her, and you did nothing to help."

The Ox Demon King chuckled awkwardly, "That wife of mine - how could I possibly control her? She would have given me a thrashing with the fan too! Moreover, she knows you have the Wind-Calming Pearl; a swish of her fan wouldn’t have killed you."

Wukong could not help but grind his teeth, "Laojun is really quite the schemer, nearly costing me my life!"

"Shh! If the Patriarch hears you, next time it might be even worse for you," warned the Ox Demon King.

Remembering the crafty ways of Laojun, Wukong shuddered—the fellow had thick skin, high mana, and a sinister heart, practically invincible. Don’t provoke even the Leader of Heaven-Penetrating if you can help it, let alone Laojun... While Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch was shrewd in his dealings, he certainly didn’t have the audacity of Laojun, but his cunning could certainly be matched.

Suddenly, the Ox Demon King exclaimed, "They’ve started fighting, look, look!"

Wukong hurriedly looked down and saw Lingji Bodhisattva, shouting furiously, wielding his Vajra Pestle as he struck directly at Princess Iron Fan’s face.

Princess Iron Fan was reciting Taoist mantras. The Banana Leaf Fan flew up into the air, and with a shakes, it blocked the Vajra Pestle.

"The Banana Leaf Fan, being a Primordial Magical Treasure teeming with spiritual energy, will automatically protect its owner when wielded by Princess Iron Fan. Even though her mana is much lesser than Lingji Bodhisattva’s, he undoubtedly stands no chance. Watch as your Bodhisattva gets turned to ash by my wife’s fan. Later on, when you go begging for help at Mount Meru, I, Old Bull, will ensure the Buddhist sect’s multitude of Bodhisattvas and Buddha Ancestors receive nothing but empty promises," laughed the Ox Demon King.

"One can’t fight alone against overwhelming odds. What if someone formidable enough to withstand the Banana Leaf Fan shows up?" Wukong inquired.

"Then I will take action!"

"With your mana, who could you possibly defeat?"

"Heh heh, Bull brother here has obtained a fearsome Magical Treasure. I could even face the creator himself in battle! No worries, no worries!"

Having acquired the Chi You Armor and vanquishing two Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal masters, the Ox Demon King brimmed with confidence, ready to slay any challenger, regardless of who dared to face him!

Wukong smiled and said, "Seems Laojun has really favored you. This time the Buddhist sect will surely suffer a major loss at the hands of you and your wife."

The Ox Demon King couldn’t hide his pride, "Of course! Who else but me, the king? Now, watch as Lingji Bodhisattva meets his doom!"

Princess Iron Fan’s incantations grew faster and faster, and the Banana Leaf Fan deftly parried wave after wave of Lingji Bodhisattva’s relentless assaults.

In truth, Princess Iron Fan toyed with Lingji Bodhisattva out of sheer amusement, like a cat with a mouse; had she wished, she could have fanned Lingji Bodhisattva to death on the spot.

Unable to make progress with his attacks, Lingji Bodhisattva sneered, "Won’t you come out and fight me directly, you coward?"

Princess Iron Fan extended her hand, grasping the Banana Leaf Fan, and declared, "Good! Let us do battle, and I will send you straight to Hell!"

Princess Iron Fan held the fan in her right hand, formed a spell with her left, and rapidly chanted an incantation, waving the fan towards Lingji Bodhisattva.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

A mighty wind sprang up instantly. Lingji Bodhisattva hadn’t yet been touched by the gale but already felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet, goosebumps forming all over his body, hard as iron pellets. The wind arrived in the blink of an eye; Lingji Bodhisattva didn’t even have a chance to dodge, it was simply too fast.

Xun, representing wind, also signifies speed!

Lingji Bodhisattva’s heart sank to ashes as he cried out, "My life is over!"

In the face of life and death, even a Bodhisattva could miscalculate causality, with spiritual cultivation reverting, falling from the Eighth Ground back to the first, even to the point of losing his rank.

It takes great fortitude to hold the rank of a Bodhisattva, especially the Eighth Ground Bodhisattva. Faced with life and death, even an Eighth Ground Bodhisattva might regress spiritually. A terrible dread enveloped Lingji Bodhisattva; had he overcome this calamity, he might have even broken through the cycle of life and death, instantly elevating his spiritual cultivation to Buddha Rank! However, he had no such chance—after all, he was confronting the Banana Leaf Fan, the most perilous of Magical Treasures!

"Ah... the pain is killing me!" Lingji Bodhisattva felt his Three Flowers and Five Qi extinguished, the Sharira at his brow shattered in an instant, blood streaming from his seven orifices like a fountain, his flesh started to crack inch by inch.

Wukong saw it all clearly, fear secretly gripping his heart as he exclaimed, "The flesh of this Bodhisattva has been refined through the power and wishes of incense a thousand times, close to a Golden Body, yet struck by the Banana Leaf Fan, it turns to ash. This is truly terrifying! No wonder Laojun split the fan; if Princess Iron Fan wielded this combined fan, who would dare to provoke her? She might even attract a horde of cultivators seeking her downfall."

With Lingji Bodhisattva’s spirituality regressing, he was no longer worthy of the title ’Bodhisattva.’ The Three Flowers and Five Qi were ground away, Sharira broken, the Golden Body cracked, and his Primordial Spirit dispersed in the wild winds.

In the moment of death, his spirit regressed; he lost his Bodhisattva rank. The Eighth Ground Bodhisattva also known as the Immovable Ground Bodhisattva. But faced with the great fear between life and death, even a figure like Siddhartha Gautama Buddha nearly regressed and was burnt by Karmic Fire, much less Lingji Bodhisattva?

At the same time, all the statues and temples of Lingji Bodhisattva in West Cow He State collapsed in an instant. No longer holding the rank of Bodhisattva, he couldn’t enjoy the power and wishes from incense any longer. Had he not been shaken by the fear of life and death, even in death he could have enjoyed endless incense offerings. But with his spirit withdrawn, he had no right to that privilege. Poor Lingji Bodhisattva, lending the treasure to Wukong, had now sealed his own fate with a mere illusion.

"To regress spiritually amidst a great life and death struggle, losing rank... the Banana Leaf Fan is too powerful," Wukong couldn’t help but exclaim in awe.

He, too, had encountered the great life and death, and it was under such circumstances that the Daoist Equal to Heaven recognized the ’Tathagata.’ This ’Tathagata’ is not simply a reference to Buddha; it means the truth, just as stated in the Diamond Sutra, "Thus one should view the Tathagata." And the concept of "each leaf, a Tathagata." After dreaming thousands of years in the World of Heavenly Demons, he understood the Way of the True Heart, discerning all as nothing but illusions and mirages, eventually achieving the Buddha Rank, the pinnacle of spiritual cultivation.

The grand terror between life and death is feared by all, even a Buddha is not truly immovable!

The Ox Demon King, too, was dumbstruck as he murmured, "With Princess Iron Fan wielding this Magical Treasure so skillfully, if it were in my hands, I’m afraid I might sweep across the Eight Desolates, overwhelming all under heaven!"

Wukong commented, "Now that Lingji Bodhisattva is slain, pushed to spiritual regression by life and death strife, losing his rank, he will surely enrage the Buddhist sect. This time, you must be careful not to be slain by them. Even if things look dire, you must hold on until Laojun arrives."

The Ox Demon King nodded, saying, "Do not worry, little brother. I know my own limits. Now hurry to Mount Meru for reinforcements! Once the monks arrive, Old Bull and your sister-in-law will do our utmost to slay them!"

This was a ploy by Laojun to sweep clean the Buddhist forces, and now its potency began to manifest itself. One Princess Iron Fan had already slain an Immovable Ground Bodhisattva, even causing his spirit to regress and forsake karmic results.

Wukong nodded to the Ox Demon King, saying, "Be careful, Bull. I’m off to find Tathagata on Mount Meru!"

The Ox Demon King urged, "Go quickly, go! I can’t wait to engage. This time I must slay the Mahoraga! Last time, he injured me severely and made me vomit blood, a grievance I have kept in mind."

The demon race is magnanimous, yet vengeful. Moreover, with Laojun as the Ox Demon King’s Patriarch, his detest for the Buddhist sect runs even deeper. Mahoraga had severely wounded him, a grievance he was eager to avenge. Previously he was no match, but now with the Chi You Armor, his physical might unmatched, he believed he could pulverize the Mahoraga into mud!

Wukong stood up, riding the clouds towards Mount Meru, musing to himself, "Laojun’s strategies are indeed ruthless; stirring up such a storm, the Immovable Ground Bodhisattva is cut down, his spirit has regressed, his rank is dissolved, the Buddhist sect will certainly not take this lying down. Princess Iron Fan and Old Bull might hold powerful treasures, but even the strongest tiger cannot fend off a pack of wolves. When the time comes, once Laojun steps forward, the Daoist sect will be in the right, and the Buddhist sect will have no choice but to hand over the accused. Truly ruthless, most ruthless indeed!"

Laojun had calculated everything: gaining advantages while seeming just and reasonable.

Should the Ox Demon King and Princess Iron Fan be defeated, Laojun could simply claim that Wukong had come to steal his adopted daughter’s fan and that Lingji Bodhisattva was enlisted to bully them. In the end, you are many yet fail against a few and suffer heavy casualties—how could you blame us for it?

With such a statement, the Buddhist sect would have nothing to say.

Mount Meru was now within sight, and Wukong somersaulted to the entrance of the grand hall, striding into the Da Xiong Palace.

To find out what happens next, please tune in to the next installment. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)