The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 299 - 264: Chi Songzi’s Great Battle with Maitreya

Chapter 299: Chapter 264: Chi Songzi’s Great Battle with Maitreya

It is said that Enlightenment Dao came from Yingzhou Island, slew the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon, and even caused his spirit to regress, losing his Bodhisattva Rank.

No sooner had the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon died than Maitreya, one of the Three Worlds Buddha, arrived. Maitreya, being the Respectful Ruler of the World after Tathagata, naturally possessed extremely high Mana, having the level of a Quasi-Saint. However, in terms of combat power, he was still inferior to Kong Xuan, the Peacock Great Ming King Bodhisattva, who was the greatest master under Tathagata.

Upon seeing the two Magical Treasures of Shennong, Maitreya even wanted to snatch them immediately, reaching out to grab them from Enlightenment Dao.

Enlightenment Dao let out a light shout and conjured a Golden Sky Divine Thunder, the Hundred Herbs Cauldron overturning, spewing out the thunder from within.

However, Maitreya’s Golden Body was extremely robust, as he formed a Hand Seal and his skin emitted layers of golden light. The thunder striking him only seemed to give him a bath.

The thunder conjured by Enlightenment Dao, for Maitreya, was merely the glow of rotting grass, not a concern at all!

Maitreya shouted, "Hand over the Magical Treasures!"

If he had those two Magical Treasures, he would certainly be able to progress further, comprehend the secrets of Earth Emperor Shennong, and obtain even greater Mana.

Maitreya was single-mindedly intent on obtaining these two Magical Treasures, no longer pursuing Iron Fan but chasing after Enlightenment Dao. These two Magical Treasures were far more important than Iron Fan!

Enlightenment Dao cursed, "You fat-eared bald donkey, actually trying to snatch my Magical Treasures! Aren’t your Buddhist sect supposed to be compassionate? You should be saving my grandfather instead!"

Yet Maitreya exclaimed, "You heretic, daring to kill a Buddhist Bodhisattva, how can I let you go?"

Chi Songzi arrived extremely quickly, coming straight from the Shennong’s Secret Realm in Southern Toad Continent to West Cow He State.

Seeing Maitreya chasing Enlightenment Dao, he couldn’t help but shout, "Venerable Maitreya, to bully the weak is truly shameless! Let me meet you!"

Upon seeing a Taoist intercepting him halfway, Maitreya, unaware of the newcomer’s identity, demanded, "Who goes there!"

Chi Songzi declared, "I am Chi Songzi, the Rain Mage of Shennong! Maitreya, since you bullied my disciple, today I must fight you!"

Maitreya was secretly alarmed upon hearing this, never expecting Chi Songzi to be the comer. Chi Songzi, with his strong Mana as an Ancient Rain Master and his proficiency in Divine Sky Taoist Magic, was exceptionally difficult to deal with! Although he was one of the Future Buddhas among the Three Worlds Buddha and possessed extremely high Mana, facing an ancient power like Chi Songzi was very uncertain, especially since Chi Songzi had even taught Shennong to cultivate and aided Shennong’s daughter to become an immortal.

These were legends handed down from ancient times. How formidable Chi Songzi was, Maitreya could only guess. However, to be scared off by him would be too humiliating! With such long lifespans in cultivation, if one were frequently humiliated, what face would they have left to meet people? Especially Maitreya, a noble and powerful being representing the entire Buddhist sect.

Chi Songzi struck extremely dominantly, wielding a dry branch and striking at Maitreya!

This was no ordinary dry branch, but the first great tree that withered during the creation of heaven and earth, obtained and refined by Chi Songzi for a long time, and also imbued with ninety-five thousand Formation spells within it, the power was extraordinary! Nine was the maximum number; if more Formation spells were added beyond the number of ninety-five, the internal Formation would collapse and needed to be individually re-imbued. Chi Songzi had tried this once already. Exceeding the number was like an Ascending Dragon Regretting, referring to a dragon that flew too high, even human emperors could only claim The Supreme Majesty, only the Heavenly Emperor could claim Ninety-nine Supreme.

As Chi Songzi struck, ninety-five thousand Formations operated all at once. Maitreya raised his Vajra Pestle, which got struck by Chi Songzi, immediately flying out with minute cracks appearing on it, almost breaking from Chi Songzi’s strike.

"This Chi Songzi is truly formidable as a figure from ancient times, it’s just unknown where the other ancient powers are hiding?" Maitreya thought to himself.

Chi Songzi, not pondering much, continued to strike Maitreya with the dry branch, while Maitreya wielded a Demon-Subduing Staff, spinning it open to engage Chi Songzi in a fierce battle.

"Divine Firmament Nine Heavens, Dao and Thunder Method! Nine Heavenly Mysterious Temples, transform into Divine Thunder!!!" Chi Songzi formed a spell, starting to perform Divine Sky Taoist Magic, attempting to call down thunder from the sky.

Chi Songzi’s ability to conjure thunder was many times more powerful than Enlightenment Dao’s, any one of the Nine Layers of Divine Thunder, he could easily call down!

"Bi Xiao Divine Thunder!"

"An Xiao Divine Thunder!"

Rain Mage Chi Songzi consecutively conjured two kinds of Divine Thunders, one being blue and the other black, namely the Bi Xiao Divine Thunder and the An Xiao Divine Thunder. These two Divine Thunders were even more powerful than the Golden Sky Divine Thunder! In fact, even if Chi Songzi had only conjured the Purple Dawn Divine Thunder, Maitreya wouldn’t dare to underestimate it, as its power was much stronger than that of the Enlightenment Dao.

Maitreya exclaimed, "Hold on, Taoist Chi Songzi! I will no longer seek the misfortune of your disciples. Just retreat, and I will capture Princess Iron Fan and leave!"

However, Chi Songzi said, "The arrow is on the bowstring, and I have to shoot; otherwise, the thunder will backlash against me! Maitreya, watch the thunder!"

Chi Songzi activated his Divine Skills from the "Divine Sky Torrential Rain," unleashing the thunderbolts. The blue thunder carried a wood attribute, while the black thunder brought a sense of withering and destruction. If one were to be struck by the Bi Xiao Divine Thunder and couldn’t resist with their mana, they would be directly turned into vegetation. If struck by the An Xiao Divine Thunder, they would be turned into ash, their life completely drained.

"Such celestial might, no wonder the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon Bodhisattva’s spirit retraced within it! Chi Songzi’s mana is truly frightening, nearly at the Semi-Saint level, just a hair’s breadth away from Donghuang Taiyi." Donghuang Taiyi was the strongest among the Semi-Saints, unmatched by anyone. Chi Songzi was just one step away from entering the Semi-Saint realm but was nearly invincible among the Quasi-Saints. Even if Kong Xuan fought him, it might not be a sure win since thunder did not belong to the Five Elements, and Kong Xuan’s Five-Colored Divine Light, which excelled against things within the Five Elements, was at a disadvantage against anything beyond them.

Maitreya clapped his hands together and cried out, "Great Compassion!"

Maitreya’s temple was named "Great Compassion," yet he always wore a smile, adding a sense of Zen. At this moment, he recited the True Words and held the Great Hand Seal; behind him, a colossal Buddha emerged, towering three thousand feet high, its voice filled with sorrow, as if pitying the suffering mortals.

"Great Compassion Palm!" Maitreya struck out with a palm, blocking the endless Divine Thunders outside. The great Buddha behind him continually chanted scriptures, as if endlessly channeling strength into his body.

Chi Songzi knitted his brows and said, "Hmm? This Maitreya actually has a Buddha Kingdom within him, with hundreds of millions of followers? How can such evil be tolerated! I will liberate them!"

These followers were brainwashed, knowing only to eat, sleep, and chant scriptures daily. They were all mortals, as it was not easy to brainwash cultivators, who required just a thought from these masters to be brainwashed and utterly obedient.

Chi Songzi said, "You imprison hundreds of millions of souls; such is a great sin, a massive karmic debt! It seems you did this during the time when the Nine Heavens did not reclaim you, but now if they do not settle accounts with you, I will!"

Chi Songzi, having been a minister during the ancient times, seeing Maitreya imprisoning hundreds of millions of beings as his followers to provide him with incense, was infuriated and secretly vowed to kill Maitreya.

After all, he was just a step away from being a powerful existence in the Semi-Saint realm, whereas Maitreya had just ascended to the Quasi-Saint level not long ago—who was Maitreya compared to Chi Songzi?

Once Chi Songzi became enraged, his attacks became more ferocious. His Magical Treasures and Divine Skills flew together, forcing Maitreya to continually retreat.

"Great Compassion! Great Compassion! Great Compassion!" Maitreya cried out three times. Terrifying runes swirled around his body. These were Secret Curses that augmented his mana substantially, allowing him to clash with Chi Songzi more than ten times in succession.

The two fought fiercely, exchanging blows. Chi Songzi thought to himself, "This Maitreya, worthy of being the Future Buddha, possesses profound mana and ample experience. I actually cannot kill him immediately! Very well, let me conjure the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder and turn him to ash!"

Chi Songzi exclaimed, "Watch carefully, Enlightenment Dao, this is the ’Nine Heavens Thunder Movement’ I’ve told you about! Now, I shall use this move to slay Maitreya!"

Upon hearing this, Maitreya broke into a cold sweat, but he was unable to escape and could only continue to struggle against Chi Songzi.

Suddenly, Chi Songzi manifested an avatar that leaped out of the circle and began walking an ancient path.

In state affairs, only rituals and wars mattered. Ancient people liked to offer sacrifices to heaven to communicate with the Heavenly Dao!

Chi Songzi called down the Heavenly Thunder through his own mana, but now he was about to perform an even more terrifying Divine Skill—actually praying to the heavens!

Maitreya’s fate was uncertain; please tune in next time to find out. (To be continued. If you enjoyed this story, please visit qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)