Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 370: The Perfect Pearl

Ksitigarbha placed his Staff of Good and Evil horizontally in front of him and said, “Maitreya, since you are a Buddha, you should know that the so-called concept of attaining Buddhahood is but empty talk. To be honest, can you truly achieve perfect control over the five senses, full mastery of the eight consciousnesses, a pure heart free from defilement, and a state of neither birth nor death?”
How could Maitreya accomplish such things? But today, he acted to defend Randeng, preventing the Tathagata from framing Ksitigarbha on Randeng’s account. So he said, “Ksitigarbha, you possess extraordinary talent. How did you fall under demonic influence? Return to my side quickly—there must be a way for the Buddha to save you now!”
Ksitigarbha replied, “If I can’t even save myself, how can I save others?”
Maitreya remained silent, his expression dark. He drew out his posterior bag and aimed it at Ksitigarbha. The Buddha of Truth, the Buddha of the Precious Banner, and the others also prepared themselves for battle. Ksitigarbha’s defiant attitude truly angered them, and the situation once again seemed on the verge of explosion.
At that moment, a delicate voice laughed from the air, “Oh, why tear down a perfectly good house?”
Hearing this voice, the Tathagata was shocked. How had she arrived? As soon as the voice faded, two people flew in from the east. The woman who spoke was Hou Tu, while the other person following behind her, with red hair and red clothes, was none other than Qilin!
It turned out that Hou Tu had learned from Wukong that Ksitigarbha had reappeared due to matters related to the Buddhist hellworld. Given his temperament, he would surely go to the Western Heaven to cause trouble. Since Mount Ling was dangerous and Ksitigarbha lacked cunning, Hou Tu was worried that he might fall for the Tathagata’s scheme, so she came to Mount Ling to watch over him. She had seen clearly the battle between Ksitigarbha and the other Buddhas earlier, and even she hadn’t expected Ksitigarbha and Diting to be so powerful, leaving her momentarily stunned.
As for Qilin, he had helped Wukong regain his intelligent divine ape form. Inspired by Wukong’s words, he truly thought of going to Mount Ling to cause a ruckus.
Back then, when Dayu and others went to Mount Ling to seek the Great Sage National Advisor, Bodhisattva Wang, Qilin did not accompany them. Hearing the excited accounts of that great battle from those who returned, he became eager to participate. Hearing that Randeng had single-handedly defeated the God of Gold, the God of Fire, and the God of Wood, he even felt the desire to compete with them.
When Hou Tu arrived, she did not hide Qilin. She simply said that Qilin was also a great fighter, so she gladly brought him to Mount Ling.
The Tathagata was naturally surprised to see Hou Tu, and even more shocked upon seeing Qilin. This… Qilin, the ruler of all beasts, actually dared to come to Mount Ling. Wasn’t this throwing himself into a trap?

Tathagata had been worried about the matter concerning the king of the five categories all along, but capturing the Qilin and the Ancestral Dragon was no easy task. Although he had many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas at his disposal, he couldn’t openly pursue these two. One was an elder from Qitianling, and the other was a celestial lord of the heavenly court. If others found out it was him who instigated this, the trouble would be immense. As for Phoenix and Xiangliu, they weren’t very helpful either. Two against one might give them an edge, but who would have thought that those proud Qilin and Ancestral Dragon would also know how to unite to fight back? Now, the prospects seemed even slimmer. And today, the Qilin had even arrived at Ling Mountain!

Tathagata was overjoyed. This opportunity was truly once in a thousand years. If he didn’t keep the Qilin, it would be a shame for himself!

When Maitreya saw Hou Tu and the Qilin, he couldn’t decide whether to be happy or frustrated. Things were getting quite lively today. Hou Tu and Ksitigarbha had been old friends for years, so it made sense for her to come to help. But why did the Qilin also get involved in this mess? Could it be that Qitianling really intended to go to war with Ling Mountain? That seemed rather overreaching!

The Qilin had come just to join in the excitement. Seeing many people surrounding Ksitigarbha and Diti, it shouted, “To bully the few with the many—isn’t that shameful?”

Diti glanced up at the Qilin, who also looked at Diti, letting out an “eh” in surprise. It was strange—Diti, being an animal, showed no sign of submission when it saw him.

Tathagata said, “I failed to greet Her Majesty Hou Tu upon her arrival.”

Hou Tu smiled and said, “I came uninvited, so no need for a greeting.”

Tathagata replied, “How did Her Majesty have time to visit my Ling Mountain? Unfortunately, the palace collapsed today, so I can’t host a feast for you.”

Hou Tu laughed and said, “I came to fetch my old friend so he wouldn’t cause more trouble.” By saying this, she clearly didn’t take Tathagata seriously at all.

Tathagata remained calm and said, “Ksitigarbha is a disciple of Buddhism. Though I am usually kind, there are rules to be followed in the Buddhist community. If Her Majesty has anything to say to him, she should hurry while he can still speak.”

Ksitigarbha remained expressionless on the ground, looking up at Hou Tu and saying, “Why go to such lengths?” After learning about the Buddhist hells, Hou Tu also harbored deep hatred toward the Western Heaven, but she couldn’t express it directly, so she said with a smile, “We’ve been neighbors for tens of thousands of years. How could I ignore you?”

Ksitigarbha replied, “This has nothing to do with you. It’s better if you stay out of it.” Hou Tu thought, “How do you know it has nothing to do with me?” and said, “Whether it does or not, I still have to intervene.”

At this moment, the Tathagata said, “The Goddess should say a few words and then leave. It’s best not to get involved with this sinner.” Ksitigarbha couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Who in the world dares to judge my faults?” As the judge of fate, he naturally knew right from wrong, but never expected to be condemned by others today—how could he not laugh?

Hou Tu frowned slightly and said, “Whether someone is guilty or not isn’t something you can decide alone!”

The Tathagata nodded and said, “Alright, then let’s all stay put!”

Everyone was surprised by his words. Although Hou Tu lived in seclusion, her cultivation was unfathomable, and her status in Taoism was unparalleled.

Since Ksitigarbha had caused such a great disaster today, the Tathagata surely wouldn’t let him go easily. But in front of Hou Tu, he had to speak more tactfully. How could he be so direct? It seemed that a feud had been formed today. If he offended Hou Tu, who knew how she would react?

Everyone thought the Tathagata was angry because of the collapsed golden roof, but they didn’t realize he had deliberately strained the atmosphere over the qilin. He feared Hou Tu would act as a peacemaker and hoped for an immediate fight.

Sure enough, before Hou Tu could speak, the qilin laughed loudly and said, “Who is this monk? What an arrogant attitude.” Hou Tu laughed and said, “You country bumpkin, you don’t even recognize the Tathagata Buddha. If word gets out, it’ll make people laugh their heads off.”

The qilin sneered, “They’re all the same bald heads—how can anyone tell them apart?”

Even though the Buddhas on Ling Shan were made of clay, they were angered by the qilin. Aside from Maitreya, the Eastern and Western Guardian Buddhas, and Manjushri and Samantabhadra, who knew of the qilin’s extraordinary cultivation, no one else truly understood its origins. The Buddhas like Guizhen Buddha and Baozhang Buddha had been in seclusion for years, so they had no idea such a being existed. Only the Tathagata was secretly pleased. With the qilin being so arrogant, how could the Buddhas spare it?

Sure enough, when Baozhang Buddha heard the qilin’s reckless words, he rose abruptly and shouted, “Stop talking nonsense!” The qilin tilted its head and looked at the ten-zhang-long treasure banner in Baozhang Buddha’s hand, saying, “Not bad strength!”

Baozhang Buddha replied, “Try it and see!” With that, he swung the banner at it. But the qilin preferred direct confrontation. It threw a punch in return. The banner, made of cast iron and weighing tens of thousands of jin, seemed as fragile as paper to the qilin. With a single punch, it cracked the banner.

Baozhang Buddha felt numbness in his arms, and blood flowed from his palms. The qilin shouted, “Again!” Having lost in strength, Baozhang Buddha was shocked. Someone in the world dared to withstand his banner head-on. He twisted the banner and brushed his hand over the crack, revealing a shiny pearl in his hand.

The reason why his weapon is called the Treasure Pagoda is because it contains a Wish Pearl, which is a Buddha relic also known as the Mani Pearl. This pearl exerts the divine powers of Buddhism with even greater strength, enabling one to achieve whatever they desire, hence the name Wish Pearl. Just as the golden sutra pagoda of the Great Wisdom Power King Buddha, which had no pearl inside, could only be called a sutra pagoda and not a Treasure Pagoda.

The Treasure Pagoda Buddha took the Wish Pearl in his hand, soaked it in his own blood, chanted a few mantras, and shouted, “Those who distrust the Three Sovereigns and regard evil as truth—let the Wish Pearl transform them!”

He opened his right hand, and the Wish Pearl, stained with blood, emitted a bloody red light that struck the qilin directly. Under this red light, the qilin’s body trembled, and panic appeared in its eyes. This spell was very similar to the magical seal used by the Indestructible Vajra Buddha they had met before. Somehow, a desire to turn to Buddhism arose in its heart, though today this feeling was much stronger than before.

The qilin dared not speak, fearing it might recite Buddhist scriptures, so it secretly used its mystical powers to resist this strange magic. Seeing that the qilin could withstand this “Blood Curse,” the Treasure Pagoda Buddha was even more enraged. More blood seeped from his palm, and the red light gradually dimmed.

The qilin already had red hair and red clothes; under this light, it appeared like a blood-covered figure from afar.

As the two fought, the people on the ground watched in horror. Earth Store asked Earth Mother with a glance, who nodded smilingly, indicating that everything was fine, though she wasn’t entirely sure herself.

The qilin seemed to be struggling greatly, its body swelling and shrinking as if about to burst. The Treasure Pagoda Buddha shouted again, “Hold my Mani Pearl, and you shall possess the key to all the treasures of Dharma!” After saying this, all the Buddhas on the ground chanted in unison, “Amitabha!”

As this chant rang out, the Wish Pearl grew several times larger. The Treasure Pagoda Buddha grew more fierce, sending more blood from his palm to envelop the pearl tightly, turning it almost black-purple.

This move was extremely powerful. The combined strength of all the Buddhas was focused on this Wish Pearl, leaving the qilin in a situation akin to fighting against many opponents alone. Earth Mother saw through the situation and snapped, “What a vile spell!”

As the qilin’s body continued to shrink, becoming less than three feet tall, Tathagata’s eyes showed longing. If he could capture the qilin today, the lone Ancestral Dragon would eventually fall into his grasp.

Hou Tu rushed straight toward the Buddha of the Treasure Pagoda. From afar in the air, she pointed with three fingers, and three giant peaks appeared in midair, soaring toward the Buddha of the Treasure Pagoda. The Buddha of Returning to Truth and Venerable Maitreya leaped up. Venerable Maitreya used his Post-Haven Bag to try to capture those three giant peaks, but as soon as they were drawn into the bag, their direction changed, and they fell past the Buddha of the Treasure Pagoda, disappearing into unknown depths. The Buddha of Returning to Truth headed straight for Hou Tu and stood beside her.

Di Ting, carrying Ksitigarbha, flew through the air but was stopped by the Buddha of the Melodic Sound and the Buddha of the World-Watching Lamp, preventing him from approaching any closer. Just as everyone thought the qilin could not escape the predicament posed by the Wish Pearl, the qilin let out an angry snort, and twin horns appeared on its head, glowing brightly. This light appeared utterly sacred against the deep purple and blood-red backdrop, greatly dimming the glow of the Wish Pearl.