Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 326: The Difficult Path

To the west of the Jisi Kingdom, two thousand li away, lay a long and winding mountain range. Though not very high, it was covered with thorns and vines. Although there were traces of paths, no one had walked there for countless years, and the thorns made it a dead end over time.

One day, a group of giant demons settled in this mountain range—Da Yu and Hou Yi, along with dozens of demon kings from Qitian Ridge. Despite the difficult terrain, it posed no obstacle to them. In the bitter winter, they used their supernatural powers to carve out caves and dwellings, with no hindrance.

Within a few days, tens of thousands of demon soldiers had established their homes and settled there. Da Yu, though eager to expand westward, did not wish to destroy the monks’ dwellings in the freezing cold, causing ordinary people to lose their homes and suffer harm.

The Bull Demon King, displeased at having to stay there throughout the winter, demanded to return to Qitian Ridge to spend the winter and reunite with the others in the following spring. Da Yu replied calmly, “There are household rules at home and military regulations in the army. If you go back, there’s no need for you to come back next spring.”

Frightened, the Bull Demon King quickly fell silent. The Roc laughed and said, “Actually, I have no other thoughts—only concern for the fine wine on Qitian Ridge. Am I right?” The Bull Demon King agreed, “Exactly. What joy can there be in this desolate place?”

The Roc said to Da Yu, “What the Bull Demon King says makes sense too. If we don’t find something to do, the demon soldiers might lose their fighting spirit.”

Da Yu replied, “Then go back and bring some wine and food so we can get through this winter.”

The Roc thus returned to Qitian Ridge, greeted Feng Tong, and took away half of the fine wine from Qitian Ridge, along with plenty of dried game meat.

Soon after, the Roc returned to the Thorny Ridge and distributed the wine and food, delighting the demon soldiers greatly. The happiest of all was the Bull Demon King. He drank several jars of wine in his cave before going outside to watch the snow. Drunk, he grew bold and leaped to the top of the Thorny Ridge. Looking around, he saw a kingdom to the west of the ridge. The winter mist made it hard to see clearly, but he could faintly spot flames rising in the country.

Curious, the Bull Demon King wondered how large the flames must be to be seen from such a distance. Given his nature, he wanted to go and take a look. Just then, the Roc came looking for him and asked, “Where are you going, second brother?”

The Bull Demon King asked the Roc to look as well. The Roc replied, “I’ve been to that kingdom before. It’s called Benbo Country.” The Bull Demon King said, “Then go quickly!”

The Roc said, “Da Yu ordered that we must not descend the mountain until the cold subsides.” The Bull Demon King snorted, “How did you become so timid?” The Roc laughed again and said, “But the fire is very intense; it might harm people. It’s better to go.”

The Bull Demon King spat and cursed, “Why tease me for no reason!”
The two rose on the clouds and arrived in Benbo Country. What they saw was truly alarming—someone had committed such a grave sin!
The entire land of Benbo was covered in corpses; not a single living person was in sight. What was once a prosperous nation had now become nothing but a hell on earth.
The two exchanged glances, landed, and examined the situation carefully. There were countless mortal corpses, all dead in bizarre ways, with no wounds on their bodies and no abnormalities in their internal organs—clearly not killed by weapons.
The Bull Demon King asked, “Could it be that an epidemic has broken out in the country?”
The Roc replied, “Even if it’s an epidemic, how could it wipe out the entire nation? Look at this fire!”
It wasn’t ordinary fire. Fire oil was scattered everywhere in Benbo Country, clearly indicating arson. If it burned for another hour or so, nothing would remain of the country.
The Roc took to the air and circled the area for a thousand miles before returning and saying, “It’s not just the capital; every village and settlement has its inhabitants dead.”
The Bull Demon King roared, “Who could be so cruel as to do this?”
The Roc said, “This is Western Ox-Happy Continent. Who else could it be?”
The Bull Demon King was incredulous. “Are you saying… the Western Heaven?”
Before the Roc could answer, a voice from the sky shouted, “Dareful demons! How could you commit such unfathomable atrocities?”
The two looked up and saw dozens of people flying down from the sky. At the forefront were Manjushri and Samantabhadra, followed by the Eight Vajras and many Arhats.
The Roc smiled at the Bull Demon King and said, “It’s your meddling that’s causing all this trouble!”
The Bull Demon King snapped, “Tch! I’ve always acted righteously. Let others talk nonsense!”
The Roc sighed. “Don’t forget—we’re demons.” His sigh carried deep meaning, leaving the Bull Demon King stunned.
Manjushri then said, “As expected, demons can’t change their evil nature. Today, we must capture you both and bring you to Ling Mountain for the Buddha to deal with you!”
The Roc whispered, “Let’s not get entangled. Let’s go back first!”
Seeing the devastation before him, the Bull Demon King knew right away that he had been framed! Unable to bear this injustice, he raised his iron rod and flew up, shouting, “You heartless beasts! Today, I’ll seek justice!”
Seeing that the Bull Demon King wouldn’t listen, the Roc had no choice but to follow.
Manjushri, facing the Bull Demon King’s fierce attack, drew his Vajra Sword to confront him. The Eight Vajras surrounded the Bull Demon King. Suddenly, he transformed into his true form—a white ox—using his four massive hooves to trample at the Eight Vajras, then lowering his head to charge Manjushri with one of his horns.

The Eight Great Vajras did not dare to confront him head-on and quickly retreated. Manjushri merely shifted slightly, and the Vajra Sword of Huijie pierced straight for the Bull Demon King’s left eye. Though the Bull Demon King had a body like that of a vajra, his eyes remained his weak point. Despite his enormous size, he was extremely agile; he raised his neck slightly and managed to block the sword strike with it.

A sound of metal splitting echoed, and blood flowed from the Bull Demon King’s neck. Manjushri’s arm also trembled as he was shocked inwardly. That sword strike was meant to be fatal, yet it only injured his flesh slightly. What kind of martial arts had this old bull mastered?

Seeing the Bull Demon King wounded, the Great Roc became furious. It spread its wings and transformed into its golden-winged true form, instantly joining the battle. Its left wing generated fierce winds, while its right wing sent thunderous booms. The Eight Great Vajras found it difficult to approach. The two of them surrounded Manjushri in the center, and after a few exchanges, Manjushri fell at a disadvantage.

How could Samantabhadra allow Manjushri to be overwhelmed? He took out his Vajra Staff to deal with the Bull Demon King, and the four of them engaged in a fierce fight in the sky. The Bull Demon King was extremely angry that day, using every move without leaving any openings. Samantabhadra’s Vajra Staff hitting him seemed to do nothing at all. He thought to himself, “If only I could land a hit on you, even a great Bodhisattva would lose face.”

Indeed, seeing the Bull Demon King fighting desperately and thus being restricted in his movements, Samantabhadra, although his Vajra Staff hit the Bull Demon King several times, felt numbness in his own arm. At that moment, the Bull Demon King lifted its front hooves into the air and charged at Samantabhadra like a small mountain. Seeing no chance to seize an opportunity, Samantabhadra shortened his Vajra Staff to several feet long and thrust it at the Bull Demon King’s abdomen.

But the Bull Demon King had been feigning earlier; it rolled swiftly through the air and swept with its front hooves, hitting Samantabhadra’s left arm. Not only did this move fail, but Samantabhadra almost lost control of his Vajra Staff.

In terms of magic, the Bull Demon King was no match for Samantabhadra. But Samantabhadra was overconfident that day, treating the Bull Demon King as a junior, which allowed the latter to take advantage.

The Bull Demon King laughed heartily and said, “Bodhisattva, how about this move?”

Samantabhadra’s face turned red. If Guanyin found out about this, he didn’t know how she would mock him. He suppressed his anger, put away his Vajra Staff, and took out a small bell.

As soon as the bell swayed in the air, he shouted, “True nature and merit, a wondrous sound at will!” A loud noise followed. This magical artifact was called the Vajra Bell, Samantabhadra’s signature treasure, capable of capturing people’s hearts and causing them to lose focus in battle.

Indeed, upon hearing the sound, the Bull Demon King froze mid-air for a moment. How could Samantabhadra miss such an opportunity? He swung his Vajra Staff and thrust it at the Bull Demon King’s eyes.

Relying on his innate powers, the Great Roc fought evenly with Manjushri. When Samantabhadra’s bell rang, the Great Roc was also shocked. Glancing sideways, he saw that the Bull Demon King seemed to be controlled by Samantabhadra, so he hurriedly rushed in to rescue it.

The four of them fought while retreating, keeping a wide distance between them. Fortunately, thanks to his innate powers, the Great Peng arrived at Puxian’s back in an instant, thrusting his sharp beak like a steel knife at Puxian’s back of the head. Puxian didn’t have the formidable physique of the Bull Demon King. Seeing his plan about to succeed, he was disrupted by the Great Peng and cursed Wen Shu in his heart before leaping aside to dodge the attack. At that moment, the Bull Demon King regained his senses and was overjoyed to see Puxian leap past him. He lifted his hind leg and struck Puxian’s waist. Unprepared for the Bull Demon King to wake up so quickly, Puxian was flung flying sideways. Wen Shu also arrived at that time, but since Puxian had retreated, it became a fight of two against one, so he dared not intervene. Wen Shu sighed inwardly, thinking how domineering the demons of Qitianling were. Even the Eight Great Bodhisattvas could match them in the past, but now no one could interfere. Pointing at the Great Peng, Wen Shu said, “The evil committed today is a grave matter for the entire country. No matter how high or low you flee, you cannot escape justice!” The Great Peng laughed mockingly, “What a clever trick of the guilty accusing the innocent.” The Bull Demon King cursed loudly, denigrating all the Buddhas in the Western Heaven as worthless. With a face full of indignation, Wen Shu said, “Our country is a land of Buddhism. We have always devoutly worshipped the Buddha, striving for enlightenment. Besides you demons, who else would commit such acts that offend both humans and gods?” The Bull Demon King was stunned, thinking the Bodhisattva was quite convincing in his deception. He replied, “You should know that the most hypocritical people are often the dirtiest. The Western Heaven has always been arrogant and domineering—when have they ever done anything good?” Wen Shu wanted to capture these two and take them back for credit, but he couldn’t subdue them, feeling troubled. At that moment, another auspicious cloud drifted in from the west, with three people standing on it. Upon closer inspection, they were three unremarkable old monks in gray robes. Puxian was overjoyed—these three gray-robed monks were assigned by Buddha to guard the stupa, possessing unfathomable cultivation. With their help, success would surely be achieved. The Great Peng was also surprised by these three monks. He had lived on Ling Mountain for a long time and had never seen such people before. Seeing their unpredictable cultivation levels, the Great Peng warned, “Second brother, let’s go!” The Bull Demon King grinned and said, “If we can’t win, we won’t win no matter where we go.” The Great Peng glared at the Bull Demon King and asked, “What do you plan to do?” The Bull Demon King pretended innocence and said, “Just fighting to see—what’s wrong with that?” The three gray-robed monks approached without saying a word. One of them leaped from the cloud and headed straight for the Bull Demon King, ignoring the Great Peng’s fighting prowess nearby. It seemed they intended to mount the Bull Demon King’s head.