Volume 3: A Long Journey Chapter 352: The Manifestation of the Dharma Body

The Bead-Adorned Buddha’s rosary was extremely long, composed of 1,080 beads. While ordinary rosaries are wound into a circle and worn around the neck or held in the hand to be counted, his rosary was used as a weapon like a meteor hammer.

The Buddha head, about the size of a fist, served as the hammer head, its features vividly lifelike. Its kind eyes gazed at Wukong as he flew toward it. As Wukong met those eyes, he felt an unusual sensation—those eyes were truly beautiful, with slender pupils glowing with compassion. Combined with its serene and kind expression, it seemed to possess an invisible power capable of calming all storms in the world. It revealed everything and inspired sincere admiration in people. At that moment, the Buddha’s mouth slightly opened and closed, as if saying, “Why do you struggle? Let go of your attachments and awaken.”

Seeing Wukong seemingly captivated, as if intimidated by the Buddha head of his rosary, the Bead-Adorned Buddha was secretly pleased. He used the rosary to block Wukong’s escape route, while the Buddha head drew closer and closer. Just as he thought his tactic had succeeded, Wukong suddenly lunged forward, swinging his staff straight at the Buddha head, causing the rosary to fall to the ground.

The Bead-Adorned Buddha was shocked and quickly retrieved the rosary. Upon inspection, he found a crack over three inches long running from the forehead to the mouth of the Buddha head. This once-kind-faced Buddha head artifact now looked grotesque, as if someone had slashed across it.

Heartbroken, the Bead-Adorned Buddha realized this artifact had taken countless efforts to create, yet it was destroyed by Wukong in an instant. How could he show it to others to save them now?

Gritting his teeth, he shouted, “Dare you refuse my Buddha’s salvation?”

Wukong sneered, “Seemingly charitable, but greedy at heart. How dare you call yourself a Buddha?”

The Bead-Adorned Buddha’s face twitched. He then threw the rosary like a whip at Wukong. Wukong thought to himself, How overconfident. If you use magic, I might be wary, but in a straight fight, no artifact can match my 54,000-jin Tianji Staff.

Wukong shook off his Tianji Staff and used a newly mastered technique that combined strength and flexibility. As the two weapons clashed, the Tianji Staff effortlessly shattered the rosary. Beads of agate, diamond, crystal, and ironwood flew everywhere, destroying the artifact completely.

Seizing the opportunity, Wukong pressed his attack. In just a few moves, he left the Bead-Adorned Buddha with no place to escape. Out of desperation, the latter raised his left arm to defend. It was like trying to stop a chariot with a mantis’ arm. Though the Tianji Staff had no blade, its speed was incredible, severing the Bead-Adorned Buddha’s arm in one swing.

The Pearl-Light Buddha’s expression changed instantly. He quickly reached out with his right hand to grab his severed arm. Using some unknown technique, Wukong faintly saw a flash of fire in the palm of his right hand. That flesh-and-blood arm instantly turned into a withered bone, which then condensed into a piece of dark, shiny substance.

The Pearl-Light Buddha bowed his head deeply, his expression filled with reverence, and said, “To see the relic is to see the Buddha; it is as if the Buddha’s true form has come in person!”

He pointed at that dark, shiny object at Wukong, and suddenly a tiny shadow emerged, instantly transforming into a giant Buddha. Wukong looked up at this giant Buddha. Though it was just a shadow, it had an extremely majestic appearance. Among those present, aside from Wukong and the Great Roc, even the Western Buddha fell to their knees and chanted Buddhist mantras upon seeing this giant Buddha.

Unintentionally, Wukong noticed that Manjushri and Samantabhadra still stood motionless, their expressions tense and confused, unsure whether to bow or not, as if they didn’t recognize who this Buddha was at all.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the giant Buddha disappeared into the air. The Pearl-Light Buddha was stunned. This magic was the first time he had used it, and he didn’t know if its power was great or small. But it surely shouldn’t have vanished so easily.

Apart from Manjushri and Samantabhadra, the other Buddhists were also shocked. This magic had been secretly taught by the Tathagata only to his trusted followers, believed to be extremely powerful and only to be used in extreme circumstances. Yet it turned out to be merely intimidating in appearance but actually ineffective.

Not only they were surprised—Wukong saw that although the shadow had disappeared, a wisp of light gray energy drifted toward him. Since it was energy, Wukong wasn’t afraid. Since no one else could see it, he simply absorbed it into his body. That wisp of energy entered the seedling of the Hunyuan Dao Fruit without hesitation, attaching itself to the black leaf and instantly merging with it, disappearing thereafter.

Only after using this move did the Pearl-Light Buddha seem to realize what had happened to his severed arm. He then flew back to the rear formation, drenched in sweat. Wukong thought to himself that this Pearl-Light Buddha was quite skilled—able to turn a severed arm into a relic in an instant. And that giant Buddha, along with that wisp of energy, could clearly only be summoned using a relic. To others, this might indeed be a powerful technique, but against him, the genuine Divine Ape of Creation, using creation to attack a Divine Ape of Creation was simply absurd.

After Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and the Pearl-Light Buddha were defeated by Wukong one after another, another person flew out of their formation and approached Wukong. Wukong examined him carefully—it was the monk whose cultivation level he couldn’t determine.

The monk also behaved politely, placing one hand over his chest in a gesture of respect and saying, “Flame-Light Buddha, please offer your guidance.”

At that moment, a voice called from behind, “How about this round?” Wukong turned to look. Dayu, Hou Yi, Jiu Ling Yuan Sheng, and the Bull Demon King were already standing with the Great Peng, watching the battle quietly. Wukong was focused on his opponent and didn’t realize how long they had been there. It was Hou Yi who had spoken just now.

Before Wukong could reply, the Flame Light Buddha said, “Today, we only need to capture the real culprit; the others are irrelevant.” Wukong asked, “Do you really want to capture me and take me back?” The Flame Light Buddha replied, “I, as a Buddha, have a heart of compassion and am willing to recite scriptures to free you.”

Wukong spat and said, “If you truly have a heart of compassion, stay in the mountains and don’t come out to cause trouble!”

The Flame Light Buddha sighed and said, “You have countless sins in your words, actions, and thoughts. You truly need to fast, read scriptures, and cultivate your mind to escape the sea of suffering and achieve true liberation.”

Wukong impatiently said, “If you want to fight, fight. If not, leave.” Hou Yi stepped forward from behind, patted Wukong on the shoulder, and said, “Let me do it!”

Another man emerged from the Western camp and said, “If you want to fight, I’ll join you.” His voice was deep like a bell. Although he was also a monk, his way of speaking was no different from that of ordinary people. Hou Yi glanced at him and found him no less formidable than the Flame Light Buddha. These two were the most highly skilled sent from the Western realm. So he said, “Alright!”

This man had a thick beard and a very burly build. He said, “I am the Great Ming Buddha of the West. Whether it’s one fight or two, it’s still a fight. How about a duel of two against two?”

Hou Yi thought this monk was straightforward, so he looked at Wukong with his eyes. Wukong nodded and said, “That’s good too. That way, it’ll be over quickly without any fuss!”

The Great Ming Buddha laughed heartily and said, “Good!” He exchanged a smile with the Flame Light Buddha, each taking out a lamp from their bosom and holding it high in the air, saying, “Be careful.”

Wukong quickly pulled Hou Yi back a distance. Although the Great Ming Buddha seemed open-minded, the two lamps he and the Flame Light Buddha had were identical, which surely hid some mystery.

How could Wukong know that the Great Ming Buddha’s real name was the Great Dan Yan Ming Buddha, and that he and the Flame Light Buddha were brothers born of the same mother? Though their temperaments and appearances were opposite, both had cultivated fierce flames within their lamps. The Great Dan Yan Ming Buddha disliked his long name and often omitted the words “Dan Yan,” referring to himself simply as the Great Ming Buddha. Since their cultivation methods were the same, fighting together would surely give them a great advantage.

Wukong looked at the two floating blue flames in the lamps and said, “These ghostly flames are truly strange.” Hou Yi, experienced in battles, naturally saw that there was some connection between the two men and said, “Then let’s extinguish them both at once!”

The Flame Light Buddha slowly said, “You must know that above these flames are tiny sentient beings. It seems you truly only know how to kill. How about you all come with me to the mountains to chant scriptures?”

Wukong, having achieved perfection in the five elements, first practiced fire-based powers. Naturally, he knew that the Flame Buddha’s claims were nonsense, so he shouted, “False words to deceive the masses!”
The Flame Buddha replied, “Without the Buddha’s eyes, how can you see through it?”
Wukong chuckled but said nothing. Could there be any power more formidable than the secrets of the Mysterious Sky Art? Though he didn’t understand the wonders of the Buddha’s eyes, he would never believe they could compare to the Eye of Creation.
Wukong turned to Hou Yi and said, “You focus on distant attacks; I’ll handle close combat!” Hou Yi replied, “No, we must advance and retreat together for mutual support.”
Wukong laughed, “With these two’s abilities, they can’t hurt me.”
He leaped forward, swinging his Heavenly Fate Staff at the Great Bright Buddha. Before the staff could land, four arrows flashed past him, targeting the Flame Buddha.
The Great Bright Buddha didn’t dodge. With a gesture of his hand, the lamp appeared in his palm, and a fierce flame rose, supporting Wukong’s staff. Confused, Wukong wondered how a mere flame could hold such a heavy iron staff. Unexpectedly, the staff became extremely heavy as if stuck in mud. This was the first time Wukong had encountered such a phenomenon, so he quickly retracted his staff.
He didn’t realize that the Great Bright Buddha had concentrated all his magical power in that lamp. Using it like a weapon was no different from using a blade. After blocking Wukong’s strike, the lamp became somewhat uncontrollable, tilting and spilling a few drops of lamp oil.
Seeing Hou Yi’s arrows approaching, the Flame Buddha vanished and hid inside the lamp. Hou Yi’s arrows weren’t particularly sophisticated; they merely aimed to force the Flame Buddha to retreat, preventing Wukong from being attacked from both sides.
After dodging the arrows, the Flame Buddha tapped his fingers behind the lamp, and several small flames shot out like rockets, hitting the drops of lamp oil in the lamp. The oil caught fire instantly, creating a sea of flames that enveloped Wukong.
Hou Yi was slightly alarmed but assumed Wukong must have a plan. The Flame Buddha also knew of Wukong’s abilities. He spat from his right palm, summoning purple flames that merged into the sea of fire.
The Bull Demon King, watching from behind, worriedly asked, “What kind of fire is that? What about the monkey—” Dayu replied, “It’s just a trivial trick.”
Inside the sea of flames, Wukong felt no heat at all. He examined the flames closely and noticed they were slightly different from the Fire of Zhu Rong. The Fire of Zhu Rong was pure and pure, while the Flame Buddha’s purple flames carried a strange aura. Wukong didn’t know the source of this aura but found it hard to determine its cause.
Seeing Wukong trapped, the Great Bright Buddha seized the opportunity to intensify the fire. He tilted the lamp, causing a torrent of oil to rain down on the purple flames. This oil wasn’t ordinary either. When the flames met the oil, the fire grew ten times stronger than before.

Hou Yi frowned deeply. It had been some time since Wukong entered the sea of fire—why hadn’t he come out yet? Although he had learned fire-related powers from Zhu Rong, the fires in the world were vastly different. He better not play with fire and burn himself. Just as everyone was lost in their thoughts, a loud crack was heard, and a bolt of lightning flashed out from the sea of fire, striking directly on the body of the Great Ming Buddha.