Volume 4: The Revelation Revealed Chapter 425: Battle with Nili

Huh? He remembered that phantom Buddha form formed from the severed arm of the Pearl-Light Buddha was also a wisp of black essence. If the Heaven’s Secret Staff could absorb all this black essence, then the Great Sun Tathagata would naturally be unable to use it anymore.

Thinking this, Wukong didn’t rush to kill his enemies. He used his movement skills to wait at a low altitude. Whenever a corpse fell, he would immediately use the Heaven’s Secret Staff to seize the essence. In this way, though some was missed, eight or nine out of ten pieces of essence were captured by him.

Just then, a deafening Buddha chant came from all directions: “Above and below, in Nili, all is illuminated!”

As this chant rang out, the Buddhas suddenly retreated like a tide, vanishing in an instant. Not a single living being was left, and the darkness below was unfathomable deep—more corpses still hadn’t fallen to the ground.

Hou Tu exclaimed, “Bodhisattva Nili!”

Wukong thought to himself that his strategy had worked. Since the Great Sun Tathagata couldn’t obtain the essence, sending more Buddhas was useless. That’s why Bodhisattva Nili couldn’t stay calm and came out.

Upon hearing Bodhisattva Nili’s voice, the Phoenix shouted urgently, “Quickly, let’s go!”

Everyone rushed forward at lightning speed. Before they could travel two li, an old monk with a withered appearance and a face like a demon blocked their path, saying gloomily, “Stop moving!”

Hou Tu stepped forward and said, “Can you stop me?”

Bodhisattva Nili examined Hou Tu carefully and said, “You have mastered the power of earth, so I can’t stop you. But don’t delude yourself into thinking you can take anyone out.”

Wukong looked at Bodhisattva Nili and couldn’t relate him to that majestic, dignified Tathagata who radiated precious light.

Bodhisattva Nili glanced at Wukong and said, “The clever divine ape will finally fall into my hands!”

Wukong sneered, “Don’t speak too soon!”

With a wave of his hand, Wukong felt a gust of wind swirling around him—no weaker than the gale at the sky’s peak. He was shocked. Could this Bodhisattva Nili possess such power in just a few gestures?

The Phoenix drew a semicircle in the air and charged at Nili diagonally, its giant beak open like a sharp spear aimed at him. Nili reached out to grasp it, while the Phoenix opened its mouth and spat out a burst of purple flame, enveloping Bodhisattva Nili.

Nili’s body trembled, and the purple flame slid off like water droplets. He said, “How could something of the five elements harm me?” The Phoenix shuddered. Though it knew Bodhisattva Nili was powerful, it had never fought him before and never imagined his cultivation to be so terrifying!

Zhu Rong, unable to hold back, shouted, “Fire of the Five Elements, dare you take it on?” She stretched out her hand, and a blazing bolt of fire shot out like lightning, aiming at Bodhisattva Nili. Upon seeing this flame, Bodhisattva Nili opened his eyes, radiating sharp light. He opened his mouth and swallowed the blazing fire whole. He pursed his lips and laughed dryly, saying, “Good!”

Since Bodhisattva Nili appeared, Wukong had been staring at him intently, using his secret techniques to observe clearly. At the moment Bodhisattva Nili swallowed the fire, a sudden disturbance arose in the surrounding space. Bodhisattva Nili vanished in an instant, and the blazing fire disappeared without a trace.

Everyone was shocked, realizing that even the extreme force of the Five Elements couldn’t harm Bodhisattva Nili. Only Wukong exclaimed, “What a clever illusion!”

Bodhisattva Nili glanced at Wukong with a sinister look and asked, “Can you see through it?”

Wukong thought to himself that this was Bodhisattva Nili’s realm, where he could freely manipulate space. With such an advantage, most divine powers would struggle to harm him. So he replied, “It’s nothing but spatial manipulation—very simple. With just your physical body, how dare you swallow the extreme fire?”

Bodhisattva Nili chuckled twice and said, “Good monkey. It seems I must capture you now.” With that, he vanished.

Wukong felt a chill in his heart. He didn’t know where that ugly creature might appear next, so he needed to be cautious. Just then, Hou Tu lifted a soil-yellow sphere in her palm and shouted, “Wukong, hurry into my realm!”

Hou Tu had created the extreme force of earth, as everything in the world could be regarded as earth. Knowing how powerful Bodhisattva Nili was, she realized the only safe solution was to create her own realm for Wukong to hide in. Wukong’s status was extremely important; if he were captured, the entire situation would be at risk.

But Wukong shook his head and said, “I refuse to believe he can capture me!”

Before his words faded, Bodhisattva Nili appeared behind Wukong like a ghost. His massive hands, armed with sharp claws, formed a giant net-like structure and enveloped Wukong.

Everyone was horrified and rushed to rescue him. The Phoenix flapped its wings to attack, but Bodhisattva Nili didn’t dodge. He braced the strike with his shoulder. Even so, the Phoenix felt as though it had struck iron, its right wing becoming numb and painful, leaving it unable to move for a long time. Meanwhile, blood seeped from Bodhisattva Nili’s shoulder as well.

Zhu Rong summoned the extreme force of fire, while Bodhisattva Nili used some unknown spell, causing his iron armor to shed on its own. He wrapped the extreme fire within it. Though the fire was unstoppable, the armor was incredibly mysterious—layer upon layer. Zhu Rong felt the fire gradually weakening, yet it still failed to touch Bodhisattva Nili at all.

Hou Tu had once fought against Ni Li and knew of his boundless magical power. The best strategy against him was to engage head-on, so Hou Tu charged forward with a punch. Bodhisattva Ni Li focused both hands on capturing Wukong and did not dare pull them back, so he turned sideways and used his back to block the punch. A yellow glow surrounded him, and yellow powder, like soil, began to fall from his body.

Bodhisattva Ni Li summoned his magical power desperately, and a strange pale black light flashed. In an instant, his body returned to its original state, intact as before. Only then did Hou Tu realize that even by combining the power of earth with his punch, he still could not defeat Bodhisattva Ni Li, leaving him stunned. He had lost to Ni Li before because of his insufficient cultivation. This time, having mastered the ultimate power of earth among the Five Elements, he thought that even if he did not win, he could at least cause Ni Li great trouble. Yet, Ni Li’s cultivation had grown far beyond what it was before, to the point where he could even counteract the power of earth. Unaware of this, Hou Tu also inwardly groaned in pain. His claim that the power of the Five Elements could not affect him was not false, but he dared not directly confront the ultimate power of those elements. Previously, he had used spatial techniques to counter Zhurong’s fire power, but Wukong saw through his tactics. This time, he had no choice but to face the power of earth head-on. Although he used his most powerful skill to counter it, that black essence was extremely important to him, and losing even a little of it caused him great pain.

At that moment, a white light flashed—it was Hou Yi’s “Armor-Piercing Arrow”! The white feathered arrow struck Bodhisattva Ni Li’s wrists precisely, piercing through both of them!

The battle unfolded in the blink of an eye. While it seemed like a series of simultaneous events, aside from Ksitigarbha and Diting who did not intervene, Bodhisattva Ni Li, fighting one against five, was finally severely wounded. No one expected that even the most powerful Phoenix could not do much to Ni Li, while it was Hou Yi who achieved a remarkable feat.

Bodhisattva Ni Li inwardly lamented the immense power of Hou Yi’s armor-piercing arrow. Moreover, Hou Yi’s archery skills were extraordinary—the arrow avoided his wrist bones and struck at the weakest point. With both wrists connected, the pain was minor, but casting spells became half as fast.

Trapped in a giant net, Wukong heard the cries of evil ghosts everywhere. Thanks to his mastery of the Xuan Kong magic secrets, his sharp eyes could no longer perceive any deception. Wukong knew that ordinary spells would not help him escape, so he used one of the Thirty-Six Transformations, “Reversing Heaven and Earth.” He had not fully understood the true essence of this technique before, but after obtaining the True Martial White Jade Pearl and integrating it with his knowledge, he could now use it to a considerable extent.

“Reversing Heaven and Earth” was unleashed. Wukong felt as though the world was spinning wildly, as if an invisible force was lifting him and making him perform countless somersaults. Amidst these flips, he somehow managed to break free from that massive net. It was the first time he had used this supernatural skill in battle, leaving him momentarily stunned and unable to calm himself. How could it work so quickly? He carefully recalled that strange sensation. Although he had already achieved sainthood and understood the laws of the universe, his experience with such powers was still limited. Using “Reversing Heaven and Earth” in such a critical moment was indeed a rare experience.

“Reversing Heaven and Earth” meant reversing everything—up and down, front and back, yin and yang… If even heaven and earth could be reversed, what couldn’t? As a spell for escaping someone else’s domain, it was truly invincible.

Wukong broke free from the clutches of Ni Li, bringing joy to everyone. Ni Li Bodhisattva was furious. With a twist of his arms, he bent Hou Yi’s white feather arrow in half.

Seeing Ni Li naked except for his iron armor, Wukong joked, “So you’re actually an eunuch!” Ni Li Bodhisattva was taken aback and asked seriously, “What is an eunuch?”

Wukong was speechless. This being, considered the second incarnation of Buddha, had never left the realms of Buddhism or hell, so how could he know such a sophisticated term? Clearly, he was talking nonsense.

Wukong said, “I told you you couldn’t capture me, but you just wouldn’t believe it!”

Ni Li Bodhisattva silently channeled his powers, and two short arrows shot out from his wrists. The black essence of creation turned, restoring his injuries. Wukong realized that this black essence was the essence of creation itself—no wonder Ni Li possessed such astonishing strength; he must have been cultivating using that very essence.

Hou Tu transmitted a message, “Come into my realm. I’ll use a teleportation spell to leave this place.”

While the others were still hesitating whether to fight Ni Li, Hou Yi’s arrow pierced Ni Li’s wrists, shattering his terrifying image. A few even began to consider destroying the realms of Buddhism and hell.

Seeing Ksitigarbha standing motionless, merely watching the battle, Wukong sent a message, “King Ksitigarbha, is there anything unusual? Why aren’t you intervening?” Ksitigarbha showed a puzzled expression and replied, “I can’t tell whether this Ni Li Bodhisattva is good or evil.”

“What? What do you mean?” Wukong naturally knew that Ksitigarbha was the judge of creation, capable of discerning good and evil in the world without error. How could he fail to recognize Ni Li Bodhisattva?

Ni Li had been manipulating the realms of Buddhism and hell for years and should have long accumulated enough evil deeds. Not to mention, the troubles in Benbo Country were closely tied to those realms—how could he possibly not be an evil person?

Just as Wukong was about to speak, the Bodhisattva of the Mud Pit shouted, “Though you enter the Mud Pit, you must ascend to heaven!” In an instant, everyone felt the space around them become sluggish, as if they were in a quagmire. Even when using their supernatural powers, they were much slower than usual.