Volume 3: A Long Journey Chapter 348: The Gale-Piercing Needle The Bull Demon King asked, “Why? Do you have a feud with the Western Heaven?” The python spirit shook its head and said, “Anything with a human form is not good.” The Bull Demon King rolled his eyes and said, “Then why did you take on a human form?” The python spirit looked down at itself and murmured, “Strangely enough, having hands and feet does make things more convenient.” The Bull Demon King looked at himself and said, “How can we judge everything as good or bad? People call demons evil forces, while demons call humans evil stars—both are nonsense!” The python spirit naturally disagreed but dared not argue with the Bull Demon King. It said, “Elder, it’s best not to delay. Let’s restore Xishi Gou to its original state first.” The Bull Demon King said, “Good. Show me what magical powers you have!” Hearing this, the python spirit rallied its strength, soared into the air, and revealed its true form. The Bull Demon King was amazed—this giant red-scaled python had red eyes that emitted light, a nose that sprayed white mist, two rows of sharp barbed fangs, and a long horn on its head that glowed like agate. Its red scales resembled layers of rainbow colors. Though strange, it wasn’t enough to earn the Bull Demon King’s praise. What was truly remarkable was its enormous length—ordinary people could only see its head or tail, never both. It spanned two or three mountains as it lay across the ridge. The Bull Demon King exclaimed, “Great!” and was eager to see the python use its powers to clean up Xishi Gou. Just then, something unexpected happened. A voice from above shouted, “You wretched scoundrel! How dare you reveal your true form in broad daylight?” The Bull Demon King looked up and saw a monk. Realizing this wasn’t good, he stood up to confront him. He observed the monk carefully—his robe was draped loosely, revealing one arm; his ears hung down to his shoulders; he stood barefoot on the clouds, his face filled with anger as he stared at the red-scaled python. Seeing the Bull Demon King blocking his way, the monk asked, “How dare you commit evil here?” The Bull Demon King was stunned. He had only asked the python spirit to clear the path in Xishi Gou—was that considered evil? He said, “With which eye did you see me commit evil?” The monk shouted, “Stop denying it! None of the demons in the world are good!” Angered, the Bull Demon King retorted, “None of the bald guys in the world are good either!” The monk glared at the Bull Demon King and tried to capture the giant python. The Bull Demon King wouldn’t let him pass, so he roared, “Watch this punch!” and threw a huge fist. The monk turned around and blocked it with one palm, sending the Bull Demon King tumbling twice. The Bull Demon King had held back to avoid appearing like a sneak attacker, but the monk was surprisingly strong. The Bull Demon King steadied himself and asked, “Who are you?”
The monk said, “It must be the Great Wisdom and Strength King Buddha of Ling Mountain!”
The Strength King Buddha? Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King’s fighting spirit surged. He had heard before that there was a Buddha in the Western Heaven renowned for his great strength. Calling himself the Mighty Bull Demon King, he had long wanted to meet this person, and now he had encountered him here.
“Qi Tian Ling, the Mighty Bull Demon King, I challenge you to a fight!” the Bull Demon King declared in a deep voice.
The Great Wisdom and Strength King Buddha raised an eyebrow. “Qi Tian Ling? I was just on my way to find you lot!”
Seeming not to hear him, the Bull Demon King stretched his arms, bent his knees, and leaped in front of the Strength King Buddha, sweeping his right arm at the head of the latter’s six yang forces. The Strength King Buddha raised one arm to block, and their arms collided like two iron masses, producing a muffled sound like metal hitting stone. The Bull Demon King’s right arm went numb, and he frowned—this Strength King Buddha truly lived up to his reputation.
Only then did the Strength King Buddha say, “That demon bull has quite some strength!”
How could the Bull Demon King show weakness? With a hehe laugh, he said, “It’s just the beginning.” He soared back into the sky, head downward, using his downward momentum to deliver a punch. The Strength King Buddha raised both arms to block it with equal force. The Bull Demon King exclaimed, “Delicious!” Having not encountered an opponent willing to fight head-on for a long time, he unleashed everything he had learned, clashing fiercely with the Strength King Buddha.
As for the origin of the Great Wisdom and Strength King Buddha, it traces back to Guanyin. When Guanyin saw those three Taoists, she immediately reported to Buddha. Upon hearing that even Taoism had sent newcomers, Buddha pretended to be surprised and said, “If these three are so powerful, the Buddha of the Year might not be able to protect Tang Seng!”
Guanyin replied, “Originally, it was my duty to take action. But recently, I acquired two new subordinates and was about to train them to search for those of the Five Elements, hence…”
Buddha waved his hand. “I already know. You may act as you see fit. As for Tang Seng, I have my own plans.” Guanyin hurriedly left Buddha, who sat in the courtyard, feeling unusually excited.
To be honest, given the profound heritage of the Western Heaven and the large number of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and venerable beings, why use the people from the Stupa? Buddha thought to himself that he understood the current Jade Emperor very well. If the Three Thousand Buddhas were to act, the Jade Emperor and Empress would surely become uneasy and might even turn to Yuan Shi for help, trying to manipulate the Eight or Nine Golden Immortals.
In truth, just ten or eight Hunyuan Golden Immortals could not change the balance of power in the world. But what Buddha wanted was to make the Jade Emperor and Empress anxious. Sure enough, when the Heavenly Court saw figures from among the Three Thousand Buddhas appear, they could no longer hold back. Those three Taoists stopped Tang Seng precisely to prove that whatever the Western Heaven could do, the Heavenly Court could do as well.
At first, the Tathagata was worried that the Three Pure Ones would see through his intentions, so he adopted an unchanging approach to deal with all changes. Yet he didn’t realize that Laojun had his own ulterior motives—using this incident as a condition to obtain the Three Peach Fruits from the Queen Mother of the West. This series of coincidences actually fulfilled the Tathagata’s wishes. A faint smile appeared on the Tathagata’s lips. Compared to the repeated setbacks encountered by Lingming and the Yin-Yang Journey, this could indeed be considered good news. Since the Heavenly Court had sent eight or nine Golden Immortals, he ought to do something in return. Thus, the Tathagata sent the Great Wisdom Power King Buddha here to assist the Eastern and Western Yearly Buddhas and help Tang Seng on his safe journey to the West. The Great Wisdom Power King Buddha was upright and hated evil like an enemy. Upon hearing that Taoism was blocking the spread of Buddhism to the East, he set out without hesitation. When he reached Xishi Gully, he suddenly saw a terrifying giant python transforming on a mountain ridge. As a Buddhist disciple, how could he tolerate such a creature existing? He descended to subdue the demon, where he met the Bull Demon King. Their words clashed, and they immediately fought. The Great Wisdom Power King Buddha claimed his physical body was as strong as diamond, but he didn’t expect the Bull Demon King to be equally formidable. Although the King Buddha had magical powers, seeing that the Bull Demon King relied solely on brute force, he matched him blow for blow, relying only on strength and physical power, without any techniques. Fortunately, they were fighting in the air; otherwise, nothing in the world could withstand their onslaught. The Red-Scaled Giant Python, watching from the ground, was stunned. Now he understood why the Bull Demon King had been so lenient earlier—he hadn’t even regarded him as a rival. If the Bull Demon King had used his full strength, he could likely have killed him with a single punch. Hearing the Bull Demon King’s words, it seemed there was someone even more powerful in Qitian Ridge. Thinking of this, the Red-Scaled Giant Python grew even more eager to go to Qitian Ridge. Since beginning his cultivation, the Great Wisdom Power King Buddha had never encountered an opponent like the Bull Demon King. Although he was just a Taiyi Golden Immortal, he could fight evenly with him, a top-tier Hunyuan Golden Immortal. If word got out, wouldn’t people laugh him to death? Seizing an opportunity, the King Buddha grabbed the Bull Demon King’s arms and shouted, “Be careful!” The Bull Demon King used the momentum to leap backward, laughing heartily, “Today is truly satisfying!” The King Buddha shook his arms, from which veins bulged—after the fierce battle, his arms were in a terrible state. But the Bull Demon King hadn’t gained much of an advantage either; it was a draw. He turned his palms inward and slowly extended his arms through the air. At the moment they were fully extended, he released a palm strike, not seeming to exert much force. The Bull Demon King was confused—what was he trying to do from such a distance?
He followed suit, swinging his palms to meet those two waves of force. Huh? Why was there only one force? The Bull Demon King was still deciding what to do when he felt a heavy blow from behind, sending him flying straight toward the Force King Buddha.
The Force King Buddha’s move was quite remarkable; it was called “One Step, One Bow.” The force from his left palm moved forward, while the force from his right palm came from behind the Bull Demon King out of thin air. Most people caught off guard by this move had to take a step forward and bow to the ground, hence the name “One Step, One Bow.” This move was devised by the Force King Buddha after reaching the level of Hunyuan Golden Immortal. He originally didn’t want to win by using techniques, but since fighting the Bull Demon King was extremely difficult, he resorted to it.
The Bull Demon King staggered in mid-air. Reacting quickly, he realized he had been hit and immediately transformed into his true form, using his two horns to push back at the Force King Buddha.
Seeing the Bull Demon King’s extensive combat experience, the Force King Buddha praised him in his heart. He folded his palms, formed a hand seal, and with his thumbs pointing left and right, two phantom images appeared in the air, aiming at the Bull Demon King’s eyes.
The Bull Demon King sidestepped, ignoring the hand seal hitting his ribs, and stretched out his hind legs to kick the Force King Buddha in the face. The Force King Buddha had no choice but to raise his arms to block, and the kick landed on his forearm.
The Bull Demon King’s strongest parts were his horns and hooves. This strike caused the Force King Buddha severe pain. He never expected that using his own techniques and hand seals would result in a loss, and he became furious.
Having succeeded once, the Bull Demon King launched a fierce attack like a storm. The Force King Buddha blocked a few strikes but dared not touch the Bull Demon King’s hooves again and quickly fell behind. A sinister glint appeared in his eyes as he snapped his left hand several times, sending out several beams of light. The Bull Demon King’s expression changed, and he immediately stopped, shouting, “What is that?”
The Force King Buddha clasped his palms and chanted a Buddhist mantra, saying, “Piercing Gale Needle!”
The Bull Demon King felt something penetrate his body. Since he had formed his true form from his life force, this was the first time someone had injured him internally, filling him with shock and fear.
“What piercing needle?” the Bull Demon King asked again.
“Piercing Gale Needle! This is a sacred weapon of the World Honored One. How can you avoid it? Surrender now!”
The Bull Demon King let out a loud roar, leaped high, and crashed down on the Force King Buddha like a small mountain. Seeing that the wild ox was determined to fight to the death, the Force King Buddha grew fearful and stepped aside, shouting, “If you move again, you might end up disabled!”
At that moment, the Bull Demon King was in excruciating pain. Those damned needles seemed to be somewhere inside him, causing unbearable pain even with the slightest movement of his fingers. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he roared, “Even if I must lose my life, I’ll first kill you, you wretch!”
The Bull Demon King forced himself forward, charging at the Power Buddha. The Power Buddha’s gaze was filled with pity yet also sarcasm as he casually dodged him and said coldly, “Why go to such lengths? Why not be my mount? I can bestow upon you a golden body as a reward.” The Bull Demon King attacked several more times, only to be easily dodged by the Power Buddha. Unable to bear the pain any longer, he knelt on his front knees, his bull-like eyes glowing red as he glared at the Power Buddha and said, “How dare you? If you touch me, I’ll ensure you die without even a place to be buried!” The Power Buddha didn’t reply. Instead, he unfurled a large net to cover the Bull Demon King. The Bull Demon King closed his eyes and shouted, “Great Python, flee eastward at once!” He knew he was likely to be captured today. Once captured by the Power Buddha, he would surely kill that demon python, so he urged the Great Python to escape quickly. At that moment, a familiar voice laughed and said, “Old Bull, Ancient Zhuanxu has arrived!”