Volume 4: The End of Cosmic Secrets – Chapter 461: Reversing Fate
As they were talking, Xuan Nu came over. Upon seeing her, Wukong expressed mild surprise, “You finished refining it so quickly?” Xuan Nu replied, “A few words of guidance were enough.” She glanced at the monsters all over the mountain and asked, “Do you intend to launch a full-scale attack and fight to the death?”
Wukong shook his head. The Thousand-Foot Jade was extremely important to him, so he naturally had to go all out this time. But after Xuan Nu asked, he felt something was wrong—had he overreacted?
Xuan Nu continued, “Don’t forget, those fighting this time are Buddha and the Jade Emperor. By arming yourself heavily, are you inviting disaster? The struggle for the Thousand-Foot Jade isn’t as simple as you think—just seizing it won’t suffice. Neither the Heavenly Court nor Buddha is easy to provoke. Even if you succeed temporarily, you still need to guard against them taking it back.”
Wukong said, “Xuan Nu, you misunderstand. I arranged these people not to seize the Thousand-Foot Jade.”
“Oh? Then why?”
Wukong replied, “To help Ksitigarbha seize control of the netherworld.”
“Oh? How did you come up with such an idea?” Xuan Nu asked.
“It wasn’t my idea—it was Ksitigarbha’s. Right now, the netherworld lacks a distinction between good and evil, which displeases him. He hates chaos and injustice, so he wants to take back control of the netherworld. Since both the Heavenly Court and Buddha are preoccupied with the Thousand-Foot Jade, they won’t divert their attention. I’ll just send Ksitigarbha along with a group of Taiyi Golden Immortals—then the plan can succeed.”
Xuan Nu uttered an “Oh” and nodded. “There’s some logic to that. The Taiyi Golden Immortals are of little use in the struggle for the Thousand-Foot Jade; at least the Hunyuan Golden Immortals are needed to survive.”
After saying that, Xuan Nu sighed deeply and said, “I still don’t know what move Buddha will make next.”
※ ※ ※
In the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom, a vast expanse with no inhabitants, atop a towering tower, two people sat on the highest floor.
One was Buddha, and the other was Bodhisattva Nili.
“Are you sure? There’s still one day left?” asked Bodhisattva Nili.
“There’s no mistake,” said Buddha.
Bodhisattva Nili closed his eyes, took a deep breath to calm his agitated emotions, and said, “We’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
Buddha smiled gently and said, “It will come sooner or later. Why rush?”
Nili stared intently at Buddha and slowly said, “You’ve finally understood.”
Buddha replied, “The Cosmic Array isn’t that difficult to set up. The real challenge lies at the top of the sky—unattainable due to insufficient cultivation.”
Nili said, “By destroying the Cosmic Array, the forces of reversed fate seeping in from beyond the heavens will bring about the calamity of the Core Energy earlier than expected.”
Buddha snorted and said, “It’s a last resort. The Buddhist hell is in peril, and efforts to destroy nations are severely hindered. If I don’t prepare this move, when will my third body be ready?”
Ni Li laughed heartily and said, “With just one severed hand from the third body, he defeated the Three Pure Ones and the Mysterious Maiden utterly—what a satisfying victory!” But then he looked disappointed and added, “It’s a shame that after all these years of effort, only one hand was created. To have it destroyed like this is truly regrettable.”
Tathagata sneered, “All illusion and reality! If it weren’t for using rumors about the third body to deceive the Mysterious Maiden and make her cautious, the Buddhist realm and hell would have been destroyed long ago!”
Ni Li said, “When the reverse creation enters this world, that marks the beginning of reforging the third body.”
Tathagata nodded and said, “Using creation to refine reverse creation is merely a drop in the ocean. Creating one hand is just a temporary trick to fool them for a while—it won’t fool them forever. If not, why would I rush to deploy the Pillar of Heaven Formation?”
“Detestable! If only the kings of the five categories could be gathered again. With another Creation Furnace, everything would be accomplished!”
Tathagata slowly said, “Not necessarily. The Qilin, Zhenwu, Xiangliu, and Human King are still alive. As for the Phoenix, whether it’s alive or dead is truly uncertain. The art of Nirvana is even beyond my understanding.”
Bodhisattva Ni Li had suffered greatly at the hands of the Phoenix and said resentfully, “If it comes back to life, this time I’ll make sure it dies completely!”
Tathagata said, “The key still lies with the Creation Divine Ape. Though that Thousand-Foot Jade isn’t of much use to me, I never expected the Creation Divine Ape to ruin its reputation for creation just to engage in plundering. Hmph! Even if it destroys the Kunlun Immortal Island, it must not get that Thousand-Foot Jade!”
Bodhisattva Ni Li thought for a moment and said, “It’s strange that Lingming took on the guise of that white-robed scholar.”
Tathagata said, “It must be Randeng’s deception technique. I didn’t see it up close during our last encounter. If I meet him again, I’ll definitely spot his flaws!”
Recalling how Wukong used his transformation skills to break through the spells specifically targeting the Creation Divine Ape, Bodhisattva Ni Li remained worried, murmuring, “The second true form… the second true form…”
Tathagata said, “The second true form? Impossible! The Creation Divine Ape has only one body—how could it develop a second true form?”
“Isn’t it possible?” Ni Li shook his head in disbelief.
“We’ll know soon enough. In a day, only you will be able to control both positive and reverse creation. What’s there to fear?”
Ni Li nodded and said, “But when reverse creation arrives, it will be my time to rule the world! By then…”
“By then, no matter what—Buddhist realms, hell, or the netherworld—even if they’re all destroyed, what can they do to me?” Tathagata’s eyes burned with fanaticism as he roared, “If the Calamity of the Primordial Era comes early, don’t blame me!”
Ni Li said, “Those two kids, the Jade Emperor and the Jade Queen, really dare to take action?”
Tathagata chuckled and said, “It’s better if they take action.” A sinister smile appeared on his originally solemn and sacred face, making him even more unfathomable.
※ ※ ※
A day passed in the blink of an eye. According to Kasyapa, this was the day when Tathagata would send troops to Kunlun Immortal Island to claim the Thousand-Foot Jade.
The masters of Qitian Ridge remained inactive, while only Ksitigarbha, along with dozens of Taiyi Golden Immortals, set out early in the morning, hiding their whereabouts as they headed toward the Netherworld. At this moment, all eyes in the world were focused on Kunlun Immortal Island. Although the Netherworld was important, the Heavenly Court had no time to deal with it. People like the Southern Pole Immortal could only rely on their own luck.
Wukong ordered everyone to wait in the cave, while he and Xuan Nu ascended to the heavens, using the secrets of the Mysterious Sky Art to keep a close watch on Kunlun Immortal Island and the Buddhist hell, determined to see how Tathagata would act.
Once in mid-air, Wukong suddenly sensed something amiss and urgently said to Xuan Nu, “What’s extra in this void?”
Xuan Nu was far less sensitive to the forces of creation than Wukong. After checking carefully, she also sensed something wrong but didn’t understand what it was. Wukong said, “I remember that last time we reached such great heights, we encountered this force of anti-creation. Now, even before reaching half that height, we can clearly sense it. What’s going on?”
Xuan Nu asked, “Is this force of anti-creation the strange power in the Buddhist hell?”
“That’s right!” At this point, he shared his suspicions with Xuan Nu, explaining that he believed the calamity of Huiyuan was caused by this force of anti-creation entering the world from outside. When its concentration exceeded a certain level, it would destroy the world. Xuan Nu’s expression changed drastically.
Wukong could see that this world was like a furnace—a situation beyond his control. Though his words, spoken as the Spirit Ape, sounded strange and hard to believe, they forced him to think deeply. If what Wukong said was true, did that mean the calamity of Huiyuan was approaching?
Wukong asked, “What stage has this world reached?”
Xuan Nu replied, “This world is still early; it’s just passed noon.”
Just passed noon? If calculated based on the calamity of Huiyuan, there were still sixty or seventy thousand years left. But where did this force of anti-creation come from? Had he guessed wrong?
As he pondered endlessly, he saw a massive army emerging from the Stupa in the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom.
At that sight, Wukong was shocked. The one leading them was none other than the Bodhisattva of Nili!
The Bodhisattva of Nili had actually left the Buddhist hell!
Xuan Nu also saw clearly and said, “It’s closely related to Tathagata!”
Wukong knew that what Xuan Nu meant was naturally this force of reversing fate. This strange power was spreading throughout the universe at this very moment, and it could certainly not be a coincidence. The Bodhisattva Nili could only exist within the Buddhist hell; his powers would diminish greatly once he left it. Now that he had emerged openly from there, it clearly meant that this force of reversing fate was prepared specifically for him!
Wukong and Xuan Nu exchanged a glance, both feeling fear. It wasn’t just that the Bodhisattva Nili had astonishing combat prowess, but also that Tathagata possessed such capability and precision—something truly terrifying!
Since the Bodhisattva Nili had taken action, it was evident that Tathagata was determined to obtain the Thousand-Foot Jade. At that moment, Wukong thought of something, causing cold sweat to break out on his back.
He had entered the Buddhist hell several times and knew that the Bodhisattva Nili practiced both the forces of creating and reversing fate. Meanwhile, Tathagata’s third body consisted entirely of the force of reversing fate. Tathagata had the Boundless Bodhisattva and countless minor demons create and transform fate into this force of reversing fate in order to forge his body as the Great Sun Tathagata. His actions of destroying nations were all aimed at controlling fate.
He had previously assumed that Tathagata wanted the Thousand-Foot Jade because of a lack of fate. But now that the force of reversing fate filled the universe, Wukong realized that the Jade was no longer important to Tathagata. He wanted it to prevent the Divine Ape of Fate from obtaining it!
And more importantly, with such an abundance of this force of reversing fate, wouldn’t it be much easier to forge the body of the Great Sun Tathagata? The Great Sun Tathagata could defeat Xuan Nu with just one palm strike—so if he truly created a third body, who in this universe could hold him back?
Seeing the Bodhisattva Nili standing menacingly at the front of the formation like a fierce ghost, accompanied by the majestic Eight Medicine Buddhas, and Tathagata also present, Wukong felt slightly relieved upon seeing that Tathagata’s powers had only increased slightly, with no earth-shattering changes. Looking further back, there were at least a hundred Buddhas following, among whom thirty or forty were saints, while the rest were outstanding among the Hunyuan Golden Immortals.
Seeing this, Xuan Nu let out a sigh of relief and said, “At least the Three Thousand Buddhas are still unable to move.”
Behind the Buddhas, endless radiant light filled the air. Wukong glanced at their attire and exclaimed, “Could it be that the Boundless Bodhisattva has appeared?”
A worried expression appeared on Xuan Nu’s face as she said, “Though they are called Bodhisattvas, their powers are no weaker than those of the Buddhas. The heavenly realm is in danger!”
There were also three or four hundred Boundless Bodhisattvas. After they all appeared, Wukong said, “The Buddhist hell must be completely empty now.” Xuan Nu shook her head and said, “How could Tathagata fail to consider this?”
Seeing this, the Tathagata waved his hand, and the stupa grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the sleeve of his robe.