Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 324: Lord Nili

Lord Nili Bodhisattva—who is this sacred being? Wukong had never heard of such a Bodhisattva before.
Hou Tu said, “If I weren’t Hou Tu, I wouldn’t know of this person’s existence. He is extremely mysterious; I’ve never seen him appear in daylight, only twice in the Avici Hell.”
Wukong asked, “You’ve been to Avici Hell twice?”
Hou Tu nodded and said, “Since you’ve been there, you should be able to guess that hell was created by Buddhism. Avici Hell is just one of the eight hells; there’s another called the Hell of No Rest.”
“I went there twice and encountered Lord Nili Bodhisattva twice. The first time, I was almost captured by him. The second time, I was prepared and managed to fight him for a few more rounds,” Hou Tu said calmly.
Wukong was greatly astonished. Hou Tu was an unparalleled master of controlling earth, and even the Buddhist hells were located within the earth. Yet she couldn’t defeat Lord Nili Bodhisattva—her tone suggested she even suffered a great loss.
Hou Tu added, “On land, I’m not afraid of him.”
Hearing this, Wukong was puzzled. As the supreme ruler of earth, she should be the strongest there. Why wasn’t she afraid of him on land? Could it be that Lord Nili Bodhisattva’s control over earth was even stronger than hers?
Seeing Wukong’s doubtful look, Hou Tu said, “That man’s abilities can only be fully unleashed in Avici Hell. Outside that place, he’s no match for me. There are many strange phenomena in Avici Hell.”
Wukong’s first thought was of that gray pond, whose peculiar nature seemed related to the mysteries within the qilin and the golden ring on its head. He wondered if it was connected as well.
Wukong said, “Fortunately, I wasn’t captured by him. From now on, let’s avoid such risks. I won’t go there either.”
Hou Tu raised her head and said, “As long as there’s land, not even the Four Gods of Metal, Wood, Water, and Fire combined can capture me.” Wukong remembered Dayu saying that earth was the root of the five elements and could contain metal, wood, water, and fire. Seeing Hou Tu’s confidence, Wukong thought she was probably the strongest among them. Yet even she was defeated by that man in Avici Hell, showing just how terrifying Lord Nili Bodhisattva must be.
Hou Tu continued, “Wukong, you must never go there again. If you really must, call me. I and the qilin will protect you, and we should be fine.”
Wukong felt warmth in his heart and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Sister Hou Tu, I went there last time to rescue someone.”
Hou Tu was skeptical and said, “You actually dared to rescue someone from there?”

Wukong shook Little Prince Zhang free and said, “I’ve seen this man before. He’s a disciple of the Great Sage National Advisor, Bodhisattva Wang. That’s who Little Prince Zhang is.”
Hou Tu nodded and said, “It’s indeed him.”
Seeing that Hou Tu recognized Little Zhang, Wukong thought for a moment before understanding why—Bodhisattva Wang was a descendant of Dayu, and Hou Tu might have taken care of him secretly, so it wasn’t surprising that she recognized him.
Wukong said, “I saw him suffering there innocently, so I rescued him. Maybe I can get some information from him, but I don’t have any elixirs to revive him.”
Hou Tu said, “Rescuing him is extremely easy. What puzzles me is how you managed to find your way to the Buddhist hell.”
Wukong explained in detail the strange matter of the fetus born from the Mother and Child River, not hiding even his own divine ape abilities to perceive fate.
Hou Tu listened in amazement and said, “Indeed, the Divine Ape of Fate is different from others. Many secrets truly can’t be hidden from you.”
Wukong said, “There’s one thing bothering me. I can’t rest until I ask.”
Hou Tu smiled and said, “What more is there that can’t be said?”
Wukong said, “Sister Hou Tu is one of the Six Imperial Sovereigns and is naturally part of Taoism. I suppose many matters related to fate in the heavenly court require your approval before they can happen, right?”
Hou Tu said, “That’s natural. Everything that arises from the mortal world, including even the netherworld, is actually under my control.”
Wukong said, “The Buddhists have built such a large hell. With such a significant matter, why didn’t you report it to the heavenly court instead of just watching the Buddhists steal fate from the world?”
Hou Tu said, “I lost a bet to that man. What of it?”
“A bet? What did you bet on?” Wukong asked.
Hou Tu said, “I bet whether I could block his three blows.”
“What? You didn’t even manage to block them?” Wukong was shocked.
Hou Tu said, “I did block them, but it was extremely difficult. If he had used more force, I would have had to flee right away.”
Wukong was even more surprised. “So, does that mean Bodhisattva Ni Li hasn’t used his full strength yet?”
Hou Tu said, “He’s afraid that I’ll become enraged out of shame and spread the news everywhere. Although he wants to capture me, he can’t do so, so he dares not hurt me.”
Wukong said, “Since you made a bet with that man, why tell me about it?”
Hou Tu smiled and said, “I made a solemn vow back then. If I told anyone else, I feared it would cause me distress, so I never mentioned it to anyone. But you’re different.”
Wukong asked, “How am I different?”
Hou Tu said, “It wasn’t me who brought it up first. You were the one who said you’d been there. Since you’ve been there, it doesn’t matter if I tell you or not. So it doesn’t count as breaking my vow.”

Wukong thought to himself that it was actually he who had asked whether the Earthly Mother’s Avici Hell existed. After careful consideration, the Earthly Mother had informed him—probably while still struggling with the matter. Sigh, if he had known earlier, he should have just asked outright to avoid upsetting her.

Wukong faintly sensed that as he unraveled the complexities along the way, his scheming nature had grown stronger. The ancient beings never guarded against him, yet he still remained wary—how shameful.

So Wukong said, “Sister Earthly Mother, even if you break your oath, you can’t escape the punishment of fate. Today, as the Divine Ape of Fate, I swear that if there are any consequences, they shall fall on me alone—nothing to do with you!”

The Earthly Mother quickly covered Wukong’s mouth and spat twice, saying, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Wukong smiled and said, “I am Fate itself; I fear no retribution from Fate.”

The Earthly Mother’s face turned red as she said, “That won’t do either! Do you know… do you know what oath I took?”

Wukong asked curiously, “What is it?”

The Earthly Mother spat and said, “Don’t ask foolishly. I won’t tell you.”

Wukong was utterly confused. What was the fuss about? Could it be that he couldn’t bear the consequences of the oath she had taken? Well, since she refused to speak, it must be some private matter of a woman.

Wukong thought, “It seems the Buddhist sect is extremely cautious about this matter and must not let the Taoist sect find out.”

The Earthly Mother said, “Of course. If the Taoist sect finds out, a great war will surely break out. The scarcity of fate in the Heavenly Court these past years is directly related to this.”

Wukong asked, “As one of the Six Sovereigns, why don’t you come up with some strategies for the Taoist sect?”

The Earthly Mother replied, “It was they who asked me to take on this role. Do you think I did it willingly?”

Wukong smiled and said, “So it seems your heart has already returned to Qitian Ridge.”

The Earthly Mother admitted calmly, “That’s true. Only there are people who are open-hearted and free from schemes.”

Wukong said, “There’s one more thing I don’t understand. If the Taoist sect members learn about the Buddhist hells, I wonder how many of them will come to cause trouble. With Muli Bodhisattva’s extraordinary powers in the Buddhist hells, wouldn’t it be like catching one and getting another? What is there for him to fear?”

The Earthly Mother said, “That realm is extremely difficult to find. Even if we told them, it would be useless. Few people can reach there. If the Taoist sect members learn that Buddhism is secretly controlling fate, they’ll head straight for Mount Ling—why bother going elsewhere?”

Wukong thought to himself that things were truly complicated here. Ran Deng and Tathagata were at odds, doing everything possible to hinder the quest for the scriptures. Yet on the matter of the Buddhist hell, the two had little disagreement; otherwise, how could Ran Deng allow it to develop secretly and even create a River of Mother and Child to nourish yin energy? He could roughly guess Tathagata’s intentions, but he dared not rashly speculate about Ran Deng’s thoughts, feeling that this former Buddha was truly unfathomable.

Seeing that dawn was approaching, Wukong said to Hou Tu, “Sister, please help save Prince Zhang. You can decide whatever questions to ask. I have important matters to attend to today, so don’t let anyone get ahead of me.”

Hou Tu smiled and replied, “Who would dare get ahead of you? I’ll go and retrieve it for you.”

Wukong smiled but didn’t answer. Hou Tu was indeed interesting, but if Tang Seng were to be overtaken by the queen of the Women’s Country, no matter how powerful she was, she wouldn’t be able to retrieve him.

After leaving Hou Tu’s cave, Wukong saw someone standing in the distance—it was Wang Yu. Wukong flew over, and Wang Yu showed a hint of joy, saying, “Good news.”

Wukong asked, “What’s there to be happy about?”

Wang Yu replied, “The Great Heavenly Venerable has broken the formation in the ring.”

Wukong was overjoyed. This was truly unexpected good news. Indeed, the Primordial Heavenly Venerable was formidable—just a few months later, he had broken the formation. But Laojun had said that the Primordial One had ways to slow time down. Since the Great Heavenly Venerable was casting spells, his efforts were likely no less effective than those of the Heavenly Court or the Western Heaven. Calculating from this, the Primordial One must have spent at least several decades.

Wang Yu added, “Go to Feng Tong in heaven and return once you’ve learned everything.”

Wukong understood what Wang Yu meant. Although the Primordial Heavenly Venerable had broken the formation, he still struggled to control the forces within it and needed to teach it to Feng Tong. Once Feng Tong mastered it, he would naturally come to help Wukong break the ring.

Though he feared Tathagata might suspect him and intended to keep wearing the golden ring until the Western Heaven, having an extra option was better. If things turned sour with Buddhism in the future, it would at least free him from being constrained.

Wukong chatted with Wang Yu for a while before heading back to the Women’s Country.

At that moment, the sun rose in the east. From afar, Wukong saw the clear waters of the River of Mother and Child. Suddenly, he remembered something important. His ability to use the formation in the River of Mother and Child actually relied on the Ruyi Tianji Stick. At that time, his thoughts had been focused on this strange river, and he hadn’t paid attention to the stick’s remarkable capabilities.

This stick was called the Ruyi Tianji. “Ruyi” likely referred to its ability to change in size, just like the Ruyi Golden Cudgel. As for the term “Tianji,” it was truly unfathomable.

Back when he was trapped in the thunder formation of the God of Gou Chen, the Ruyi Tianji Stick could absorb the lightning within it. In the Tongtian River and the River of Mother and Child, it could pass through the transmission formation without any obstacles—both of these functions were beyond his expectations. But since it was called “Tianji,” it must have more to it than that.

The “Compendium of Artifacts” provides no description of this magical item, only its name. I really need to pay more attention in the future. They say the ways of heaven are unpredictable, but who knows? Perhaps the secrets of heaven are in our own hands.