Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 473: The Scheming Move

That severed arm entwining Wukong, along with this white jade palm featuring only two fingers, were the results of Buddha’s years of cultivation to create his third body.
If the Bodhisattva of the Plow was Buddha’s deadly weapon, then the third body of the Great Sun Buddha was his ultimate trump card. Though his cultivation level was not high, he still dared to appear openly—naturally, he had something to rely on.
At this moment, the eighteen sages inside the Furnace of Fate were facing precisely this eerily strange palm—half a palm.
Among those sages, he was of average skill. Holding a dust whisk in his left hand, he reached for the white jade palm with his right. The index finger of the white jade palm extended and tapped the air, sending out an invisible force that moved silently.
The sage, who had been flying forward, suddenly stopped, looking down at his own body in disbelief. There was a perfectly circular hole in his chest, yet not a drop of blood flowed out. And where was his heart?
In his panic, he still managed to escape with his original spirit. The white jade palm aimed to assert its dominance; with a single gesture from afar, that fleeing spirit was like a moth hitting a wall of fire—destroyed in an instant, without even time to emit a scream.
It should be noted that the third body of Buddha was cultivated using forces that defied fate. For the immortal spirits of those who wielded forces of fate, even a casual strike from it was fatal.
The other seventeen sages were stunned. This palm was truly a heaven-defying monster, effortlessly killing one sage. With such power, even if all seventeen of them attacked together, they would be no match for it.
For a while, everyone remained stuck in a stalemate.
Yuan Shi, looking at that half palm, naturally recalled the “Buddha’s Divine Palm” used by one of the Three Pure Ones in the Buddhist Hell. That palm had been taken out of the Buddhist Hell by Wukong and turned invisible. Yuan Shi still remembered clearly that it was a right hand. But this half palm here was a left hand.
Could there be many severed limbs of Buddha’s third body hidden in the Buddha Stupa? Yuan Shi was certain that Buddha’s third body had not yet been fully formed. If it had, it would appear as a complete body—who in the world could stop it? Last time, Wukong had been lucky enough to break through the Buddhist Hell’s formation and destroy one of the third body’s right hands. As for this left hand, it seemed not yet fully formed. Since the third body was so difficult to cultivate, it was not truly terrifying!
Yuan Shi’s guess was indeed correct. The third body, the Great Sun Buddha, was extremely difficult to cultivate. Every time it was used, Buddha suffered as if having his heart torn out. Unless the situation was urgent, he would not use it lightly.

Yuan Shi had just been struck by the Yellow-Horned Immortal, but by now he had regained his balance. Seeing the seventeen saints engaging with that half-hand, and the Yellow-Horned Immortal locked in fierce combat with the Mud Plow Bodhisattva, he sent a message to the Five Divine Apes: “If not now to seize the Creation Furnace, when then?”
Tong Feng replied, “Master, the Creation Furnace is right here, but whoever seizes it now will surely become the target of everyone’s attack.”
Yuan Shi said, “A hundred birds in the forest are not as good as one in hand!” With that, he rushed straight toward the Creation Furnace. His move prompted the Yellow-Horned Immortal to abandon the Mud Plow and chase after him from afar.
Tong Feng was puzzled by Yuan Shi’s actions. Since the Yellow-Horned Immortal and the eighteen saints were busy fighting against the Tathagata, why not wait until they were both weakened before taking action, thus reaping the benefits without effort?
Yuan Shi naturally had his own plans. He was no stranger to this Creation Furnace—back in the days when he had hidden inside it during the Crisis of the Gathering Years, he had recorded one of its array formations. And last time, when the Jade Emperor asked him to release the three Hunyuan Golden Immortals from the furnace, he gained further insight into its mysteries.
The Creation Furnace was an extremely special treasure in this world, so how could Yuan Shi not care? Over the years, he had been constantly striving to uncover its secrets.
The art of arrays relied on deduction, and the arrays within the Creation Furnace were enough to keep him occupied for a lifetime. Despite his efforts, he still hadn’t understood even half of them. When it came to array mastery, the Tathagata surpassed anyone else in the world.
Yuan Shi’s rush toward the Creation Furnace was actually to test one thing. Since the furnace was created by the Tathagata, and given his meticulous nature, he must have left a backdoor. In other words, the furnace was like a magical artifact of the Tathagata—something he could summon or dismiss at will. Why go to such lengths to fight over it?
Yet neither the Mud Plow Bodhisattva nor the diminished form of the Great Sun Tathagata were forces the Tathagata would easily deploy. This meant that the Tathagata still did not have control over the Creation Furnace at that moment.
Yuan Shi formed a bold hypothesis: Back then, the Tathagata was merely a Hunyuan Golden Immortal, but in just a few hundred years, he reached the realm of a Earthly Saint. Such rapid progress through mere cultivation was absolutely impossible. The only explanation was that the Tathagata, like the Creation Divine Ape, was gradually awakening.
Since he had not fully awakened, seizing the furnace would require force. And at this moment, with no clear owner, the desire among the others to fight over it was not too strong. All three factions were watching each other’s moves. Although the Yellow-Horned Immortal and the Tathagata’s faction had started fighting, they wouldn’t go all out, as Yuan Shi and the Five Divine Apes were still lurking nearby.
Yuan Shi rushed toward the Creation Furnace not to seize it, but to do the opposite—send it away!

Yuan Shi knew that the Creation Furnace was an extraordinary magical artifact. It hung alone in mid-air, bound by some unknown force. Without refining it, it could never be retrieved; otherwise, the Yellow-Horned Immortal would have taken it and left long ago, rather than waiting here for others to seize it. Seeing that both the Yellow-Horned Immortal and Ni Li were trying to stop him, Yuan Shi instead stepped back and said to the Yellow-Horned Immortal, “We both belong to the Taiyi Mysterious Sect. I won’t compete with you. If Tathagata tries to take your Creation Furnace, I won’t allow it.” Yuan Shi knew the Yellow-Horned Immortal was somewhat peculiar, unsure whether he was wise or foolish. By saying this, he at least acknowledged that the Creation Furnace belonged to the Yellow-Horned Immortal, who was its master. He had now clearly assessed the situation: although Tathagata’s side had fewer people, Bodhisattva Ni Li and that eerie palm were extremely powerful, while the Yellow-Horned Immortal’s group, though larger in number, was the weakest. To repel Tathagata, both sides needed to unite. As for the Creation Furnace falling into the Yellow-Horned Immortal’s hands, Yuan Shi wasn’t too concerned. If the Three Pure Ones and the Mysterious Maiden joined forces with the people from Qi Tian Ling, what could the Yellow-Horned Immortal and the Eighteen Saints possibly do? After hearing Yuan Shi’s words, the Yellow-Horned Immortal lowered his gaze, remaining silent, but slightly turned toward Bodhisattva Ni Li, seemingly indicating his stance. Yuan Shi nodded and ordered the Five Divine Apes, “Repel Tathagata!” Tathagata snorted, slightly surprised. Yuan Shi’s tricks certainly couldn’t deceive him, but he wondered when Yuan Shi, who had always prided himself on honesty and simplicity, had learned such tactics. Tathagata said to the Yellow-Horned Immortal, “You’ve fallen for sowing discord with just one sentence—what a foolish act for a sage!” The Yellow-Horned Immortal ignored Tathagata and faced Ni Li instead. The Five Divine Apes formed a circle, staring intently at that half-palm. Tathagata grew frustrated. He had brought over a hundred Buddhas and five hundred Bodhisattvas to destroy the Heavenly Court, confident in his success. The Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor were surely in his grasp—no need to say more. Once he obtained the Creation Furnace and controlled the three thousand Buddhas and the eight or nine Golden Immortals, with his secret methods, he could turn those Golden Immortals into saints in no time. What could stop him then? Who would have thought that the Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor, who had held high positions for so long, would fear death at the last moment and ruin his plans? Even more unexpectedly, the people from Qi Tian Ling turned out to be so formidable, and the Yellow-Horned Immortal and the Eighteen Saints, raised by the Heavenly Court for years, also caused him a lot of trouble. Tathagata, who dared to undertake such a grand task and never feared difficulties, carried the Stupa Tower and could exchange bodies with Bodhisattva Ni Li at any time, so he certainly wouldn’t risk his own life.

So, with a sudden decision, the white jade palm moved in the air as if pulled by a thread. The seventeen sages were fully focused, fearing that this strange palm might target them. The palm separated its two fingers and thrust straight at Fengtong’s eyes. Fengtong could see the strangeness of the white jade palm; it seemed to possess an extraordinary essence, but he didn’t overthink it and swung the Everlasting Tree to meet it. The Everlasting Tree formed countless rings to encircle the palm. At the same time, Wang Yu swung the Immortal-Slaying Sword at the two fingers, the Clever Divine Ape used its Wind-Flame Fan to strike, Wu Zhiqi channeled immense force into his Sea-Submerging Whip and swung it, while the Armored Divine Ape simply used the Earth Spirit Pearl as a weapon and hurled it at the palm. Seeing the five divine apes displaying their unique powers, Tathagata felt a hint of fear—these magical artifacts, in the hands of the Creation Divine Ape, were far more powerful than when used by others. Yet still, Tathagata had great confidence in the white jade palm; after all, the power to counteract creation was the very antidote to the forces of nature—how could the Creation Divine Ape escape? The two fingers danced in the air like flowers, knocking the Immortal-Slaying Sword aside with a tinkling sound, then grasping the ends of the Everlasting Tree and the Sea-Submerging Whip, twisting them together to bind the two whips. The purple flames from the Wind-Flame Fan engulfed them, but the white jade palm didn’t flinch at all; once the flames passed, its bright white color remained unchanged. As for the Earth Spirit Pearl, the palm pinched it between its fingers and gave it a gentle shake before throwing it at Tathagata. The Armored Divine Ape was shocked and quickly tried to use a spell to retrieve it. The pearl was moving at great speed, and since it hadn’t been fully refined, it seemed destined to fall into Tathagata’s hands. It was the Clever Divine Ape who reacted quickly, flapping its Wind-Flame Fan several times to attack Tathagata. Tathagata didn’t dare to confront such intense fire force and dodged aside. The Armored Divine Ape quickly leaped forward to reclaim the Earth Spirit Pearl. He thought to himself that since the palm was sent by Tathagata, it might be unable to move without his control. Even if the palm had its own will, it was still under Tathagata’s dominance; if he could distract Tathagata, it would serve as a strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao. So, the Armored Divine Ape gave the Clever Divine Ape a signal, and together they attacked Tathagata. Tathagata sneered—these monkeys had become much smarter than before. With a flick of his fingers, he conjured a golden flower from thin air. As he recited a spell, the golden flower spun in the air without falling, its brilliance dazzling.

The moment the golden flower took flight, the Five Divine Apes were as if possessed, staring at it intently. Unaware of it, it was the sight of this golden flower that made the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother become obsessed with Buddha’s path. Although there were restriction arrays laid in place by Buddha within the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother’s bodies, preventing them from escaping Buddha’s schemes, this golden flower indeed had a strange effect of capturing people’s hearts, and it was utterly real.