The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 320 - 281: Tathagata Bestows the Nirvana Pearl

Chapter 320: Chapter 281: Tathagata Bestows the Nirvana Pearl

Tathagata summoned Wukong to the side hall, ready to impart a Magical Treasure to him.

Tathagata held numerous Magical Treasures, having come from another realm and taken charge of the entire Buddhist sect; his resources were unfathomably deep, and the Magical Treasures he could offer were certainly plentiful.

Wukong pressed his palms together, pretending earnestly, and appeared extremely respectful as he said to Tathagata, "Buddha Ancestor has summoned his disciple; your disciple has arrived and awaits the Buddha Ancestor’s decree."

Tathagata nodded slightly and said, "Wukong, although you cultivate Taoist teachings, you have attained the fruit of enlightenment and achieved the title of Victorious Fighting Buddha. You indeed have a profound connection with our Buddhist sect!"

Wukong hastily replied, "The Buddhist Law is profound and unfathomable and also compassionate and loving, universally saving all beings—a truly meritorious Method! I cultivate Buddhist Law and comprehend the true essence, aiming to universally save all beings as my grand vow. I am willing to spread the Buddha’s teachings to teach all under heaven to believe in Buddhism, to reduce killing and sin, thereby achieving peace throughout the world!"

Tathagata was greatly pleased to hear this, thinking that Macaca had indeed "entered Buddhism" and was now wholeheartedly intent on spreading the Buddhist scriptures, strengthening the Buddhist family, and leading the people of the world to believe in Buddhism, which was very comforting to Tathagata. But little did he know, Wukong was just putting on an act.

"Haha, the Buddhist Law created by the Various Heavens is indeed profound and unfathomable, subtly influencing people! This Sun Wukong, so unruly before, has now become incredibly docile, saving me many tactics," thought Tathagata to himself.

The scriptures of Buddhism can subtly transform people; those who listen to the Buddhist scriptures every day will naturally come to believe in Buddhism. There was once a parrot that listened to the Buddhist scriptures daily, could speak human language, and helped pilgrims understand the mysteries of the scriptures; upon its cremation, over ten Sharira relics were found among its ashes.

Kong Xuan and Mahasthamaprapta were two individuals whom Tathagata forcibly converted using the great divine power of the Various Heavens, while the remaining Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva Guanyin, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva were kept in the dark, not expending any effort to communicate or convert them through the heavens; they only felt that Tathagata had changed somewhat but did not dare to think of him as a counterfeit.

Kong Xuan and Mahasthamaprapta were constantly by Tathagata’s side, and considering Mahasthamaprapta was far more powerful than those Bodhisattvas, he definitely needed to be controlled.

"Buddhism and Daoism share the same origin; they are both Methods to realize the Supreme Mixed Yuan! It’s just that their details differ; the Taoist Sect values life, while the Buddhist Sect focuses on the heart. Over these years, I have studied the Buddhist scriptures and penetrated many teachings of the Buddhist school, enabling me to meet Tathagata. In my eyes, one leaf one Bodhi, one grain of sand one Prajna, one mind one Tathagata. All is Zen, all is Buddhism, all is Tathagata, all is the truth," Wukong slowly said, further convincing Tathagata beyond any doubt.

Tathagata thought to himself, "It seems his faith in Buddhism is deep, and his Buddhist heart cannot be shaken by anyone unless they have a talent like Mahasthamaprapta who can shatter some false Great Emptiness. Then I would need to rely on the divine power of the heavens to brainwash him! Fine, I’ll subtly influence him over time, cultivate him well, and when the time comes for him to turn against the Three Pure Ones and watch him and his master from the Spiritual Treasure lineage kill each other, that will be truly satisfying!"

Tathagata deeply detested the Three Pure Ones. In the Four Great Continents, it was the Three Pure Ones undermining him everywhere, which greatly displeased Tathagata. If he could see Wukong turn against the Lingbao lineage, it would be wonderfully perfect!

Tathagata’s intentions were extremely malicious.

Tathagata pressed his palms together and said, "Well done, well done! Victorious Fighting Buddha, you have truly comprehended the Great Emptiness and also grasped the ultimate truth of ’form is emptiness, emptiness is form.’ This is indeed a great virtue! You continue to contemplate the Buddhist Law, and sooner or later you will cultivate to the Creation Boundary."

Wukong replied, "Well done! Your disciple will surely remember the Buddha Ancestor’s teachings and cultivate diligently."

Tathagata said, "Your recent defeat of the Nine Heavens Responding Origin Thunder God Puhua Heavenly Venerable Wen Zhong was indeed a great feat. I don’t have much here, so I will grant you a Primordial Magical Treasure."

Wukong was secretly delighted, seeing that he might trick a Primordial Magical Treasure from Tathagata! Tathagata also felt that Wukong had great potential, and his future achievements could be boundless, potentially reaching the Quasi-Saint or even Semi-Saint level. Thus, the benefits and treatment he was willing to provide were quite generous, and now he was even going to grant him a Primordial Magical Treasure.

Primordial Magical Treasures, as the name implies, are Magical Treasures that existed innately or appeared during the opening moments of the heavens and earth. They were born before the elemental forces of earth, water, wind, and fire were stabilized by Hongjun with great divine power and thus can be called Primordial Magical Treasures.

"The Primordial Magical Treasure I possess is the Nirvana Pearl. Originally, this treasure was nameless, but since both Buddha and Phoenix achieved Nirvana with this pearl, cutting off all karma, it came to be known as the Nirvana Pearl." A crystal-clear pearl the size of a human eye appeared in Tathagata’s hand, emitting a fiery red glow from within.

Tathagata said, "Holding this pearl, you can feel the mysteries of Chaos and communicate with the myriad realms of Various Heavens and comprehend the truth of the Great Dao. However, you must also be cautious when your spirit travels through the myriad realms of Various Heavens, as the Heavenly Demons might interfere. But you have already subdued the Monkey Mind, so there is no need to worry about the Heavenly Demons disturbing your spirit."

Wukong was overjoyed. Such a treasure, invaluable for enlightenment, was hard to come by. In this world, there were six meditation cushions. Sitting on them, one could travel through myriad realms, comprehend Chaos, and realize the truth. After he ascended to the Law Realm, he had returned the Mixed Yuan Meditation Cushion to the Heaven-Penetrating Sect Hierarch. Now, with such a functional treasure, his future cultivation would undoubtedly be twice as effective with half the effort.

Wukong took the Nirvana Pearl from Tathagata’s hand and said, "Thank you, Buddha Ancestor, for bestowing this treasure. I will certainly focus on my cultivation and achieve the Great Dao at the earliest."

Tathagata nodded and said, "Hmm! Although your cultivation has succeeded, you must not neglect it. The Daoist Sect is interfering with our Buddhist Sect’s spreading of Buddhist Law, and we rely on you to deal with the Daoist Sect."

Wukong solemnly swore, "That is only natural! Once I have fully developed my mana, I will traverse the Four Great Continents, spreading Buddhist Law to all. No one can stop me."

Hearing this, Tathagata felt very pleased and said, "Very good, very good! Now, Buddhism has already started spreading within Great Tang and is competing with the Law of Louguan Lineage. If you, an unexpected force, rise up, we will surely be able to surpass the Daoist Sect."

Wukong waved his hand and absorbed the Nirvana Pearl into his body. He turned back to concentrate on comprehending and cultivating, then bowed to Tathagata, saying, "Yes! With such great expectations from you, Buddha Ancestor, how dare I not strive hard?"

Tathagata waved his hand and said, "You may go now! This time, you have accumulated merits for our Buddhist Sect by defeating the Heavenly Venerable of the Thunder Department, and I am greatly comforted."

Having received the magical treasure from Tathagata, Wukong bowed again and then left Mount Meru.

Once outside Mount Meru, Wukong took out the Nirvana Pearl to play with it. Gone was his solemn demeanor as he said jokingly, "This Tathagata is really easy to deceive. I’ll just fight a few more Celestial Venerables, and when Tathagata is pleased, he will give me more treasures, and that will be delightful! Haha, hahaha!"

"However, I must also be cautious to avoid any major conflicts involving life and death. If I show mercy, Tathagata might become suspicious. I am walking on thin ice here, observing Tathagata while cultivating within the Buddhist Sect, and at the same time trying to find out news about the Two Saints of the West. Any negligence could lead to Tathagata discovering it and turning me to dust."

Wukong demonstrated his potential and gained great appreciation from Tathagata. Now that Journey to the West is over and Buddhism is flourishing significantly, the conflict with the Daoist Sect is set to intensify in the future.

"This Nirvana Pearl is good. I will purify it thoroughly later, remove the traces of Tathagata from it, and then I can use it peacefully in my pursuit of enlightenment," Wukong thought to himself.

He flew back to the Mountain Gate, and just as he arrived, he saw numerous citizens prostrating themselves at the gate—perhaps tens of thousands.

They were praying to Wukong’s statue, asking for his divine intervention.

Feeling curious, Wukong hurriedly flew up to the mountain to find out exactly what was going on.

As the details of the matter are still unknown, please stay tuned for the next part. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to visit 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.)