Volume 4: The Reveal of All Secrets Chapter 408: True Identity

Hearing Zhenwu’s words, the Old Mother of Lishan stepped back with a smile, glanced at Ziwei, and snapped, “Having you as a son is not even as filial as Zhenwu’s!”
Ah, so the Old Mother of Lishan was Ziwei the Great Emperor’s mother? Wukong suddenly remembered Miss Zixuan who had caused trouble for Tang Seng. Back then, the old turtle Wu Ping only said she was Ziwei’s daughter, never mentioning that she was the Old Mother of Lishan’s granddaughter. No wonder she had such great influence, able to command the Twenty-Eight Mansions’ Liu Tuzhang like a servant.
Ziwei seemed accustomed to his mother’s scolding and bowed, saying, “As Mother says.” It was quite unusual for Ziwei the Great Emperor, one of the Six Imperial Gods, to act so timid in front of the Old Mother of Lishan, like a mouse facing a cat.
Seeing these three ignore him completely, Guizhen Buddha grew angry and shouted, “Seize Sun Wukong!”
Before anyone could move, Zhenwu stepped forward, let out a loud roar, transformed into a true dragon, and opened his massive mouth as if ready to swallow the Buddhas on Spirit Mountain whole.
Guizhen Buddha cried out, “Zhenwu, do you really dare to act?”
Zhenwu’s voice rang like thunder, “Why not?”
Guizhen Buddha said, “You are the Heavenly Army’s chief general against demons. If you get involved in today’s conflict, will Buddhism and Taoism never be able to coexist again?”
Zhenwu laughed heartily and said, “It’s time to tear down this cover-up!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a giant claw reached toward Guizhen Buddha. This was not a sneak attack but a declaration of war. Behind him, the World-Lighting Buddha stepped forward to confront him, while Zhenwu silently swung his giant tail. The Buddhas quickly retreated, and the World-Lighting Buddha hurriedly took out a green lamp, recited a spell, and a several-zhang-long green flame emerged from the lamp, cutting across Zhenwu’s dragon tail.
Zhenwu acted as if he didn’t see it. His dragon tail passed through the green flame, and with a “snap,” it flung the World-Lighting Buddha far away. The lamp went out, and on Zhenwu’s tail, the green flame continued to burn fiercely.
Wukong asked Zhu Rong, “What kind of fire is this?”
Zhu Rong replied, “It’s not pure fire; it contains poison.” She leaped in front of Zhenwu and stood right in the green flame on his tail, walking around it once. The green flame vanished wherever it touched Zhu Rong.
Although Zhenwu was in intense pain, he pretended nothing happened to maintain the momentum of the battle. After Zhu Rong dispelled the green flame, he loudly said, “Thank you, Fire Goddess!”
Zhu Rong returned to her formation, and Wukong praised her, “Sister is amazing.” Zhu Rong gave him a glare and said, “What’s so amazing? The fire is gone, but the poison remains.” Wukong replied, “It doesn’t matter. If even the Dragon God can’t withstand such a small amount of poison, that would be ridiculous.”

Zhenwu defeated Guanshideng Buddha with a single move. The other Buddhas were deeply shocked and realized Zhenwu’s formidable combat strength, yet few had ever seen him fight. Seeing him fight today was truly astonishing.

Gui Zhen Buddha was in a difficult position. If he left now, losing face was one thing, but violating the Buddha’s orders filled him with fear. As he struggled, the sound of Buddhist chants echoed from the west, saying, “I am beyond dharma; impermanent yet not impermanent, without suffering or joy, without impurity or purity, without cessation or impermanence, without self, without sentient beings…”

Hearing this, Gui Zhen Buddha was overjoyed. The chant sounded like sweet rain from heaven. Wukong looked west and saw Vairocana Buddha surrounded by a dozen people, among whom were Phoenix Xiangliu!

Phoenix Xiangliu had always been elusive, never involved in Buddhist affairs, focusing solely on Zhenwu and Qilin. To others, it seemed like a personal feud among the five kings, never realizing it was controlled by the Buddha. Now, as they were among the Ling Mountain faction, it seemed the Buddha no longer wished to hide it. Wukong thought to himself, Could it be that from now on, all veils will be lifted? No secret can truly remain hidden; yet this might lead to more conflicts in the world.

The Buddha behind Vairocana filled Wukong with even greater fear. Those eyes stared intently at him, filled with malice Wukong would never forget. Those eyes were the same ones the fake Tang king had used to gaze at Wukong when he infiltrated the Tang palace. Wukong stood before the Holy Mother of Lishan, pointed at that person, and asked softly, “What is that Buddha’s name?”

The Holy Mother of Lishan replied, “That is the Buddha of Infinite Life. Why do you ask about him?” Wukong smiled and said, “I had a brief encounter with him once.”

Seeing reinforcements, Gui Zhen Buddha said to the Holy Mother of Lishan, “Holy Mother, today’s battle is inevitable. You are a person from beyond the world—why get involved?”

The Holy Mother of Lishan shook her head and smiled, “It concerns the universe itself. How can anyone avoid it?”

With all the Buddhas of Ling Mountain united, their strength grew immensely. Seeing Phoenix Xiangliu, Zhenwu grew furious and shouted, “Come out and talk!” Xiangliu laughed cruelly, “What good fortune—still alive and active!”

Wukong, however, focused his gaze on the phoenix. Its expression was both sad and sorrowful, and with its noble and pure appearance, it hardly seemed like an evil being. Just its ability to give birth to the giant roc spoke volumes. When the phoenix saw Wukong looking at it, it couldn’t help but sigh.

Wukong nodded at it, startling the phoenix, which then turned away and stopped looking at him.

Xiangliu stepped forward first, shouting viciously, “Who is Sun Wukong?”

How could Wukong fear him? He leaped forward and said, “Ugly wretch, your grandfather—” He originally wanted to say, “Your grandfather is right here!” But then he thought that Xiangliu’s grandfather must also be an extremely ugly creature, so he changed his words to, “Ugly wretch, with such a disfigured appearance, why don’t you end your own life? Who can you even live up to?”
Xiangliu was stunned. He had never heard such an indirect way of insulting someone. After thinking about who he had wronged, he finally understood and laughed angrily, saying, “Witty words!”
Xiangliu was extremely arrogant. Hearing that he had suffered repeated defeats in his battles in the Western Heaven, he grew resentful and volunteered to capture Sun Wukong. He simply swung his neck, and a stream of dark green mucus shot straight at Wukong at great speed.
Wukong frowned. Xiangliu was highly poisonous, and even a slight contact could cause endless trouble. If he dodged, those behind him would suffer. With no other choice, he transformed his Tianji Stick into a large shield and met the attack head-on.
At that moment, a sharp shout was heard: “Dare you fight at my doorstep?” The green liquid fell silently and disappeared into the clouds. Then someone flew down from above—it was Hou Tu!
Upon seeing Hou Tu, Xiangliu’s expression changed drastically. Hou Tu was the Earth God, whose control over earth was unmatched in the world. As the ruler of all insects, Xiangliu could not live without earth. His most proud skill, earthearthDun, was completely useless in front of Hou Tu. In other words, Hou Tu was Xiangliu’s natural nemesis.
Realizing it was Hou Tu who had broken Xiangliu’s spell, Wukong smiled and said, “Thank you, sister!”
When Dayu saw Hou Tu, he was overjoyed. Before he could speak, Hou Tu said, “Why didn’t you bring Hou Yi? Just shoot this ugly monster to death with a few arrows.”
Dayu laughed and said, “I was going to refine weapons. Who would have thought we’d encounter an enemy?”
Hou Tu replied, “Never mind. Just fight as it is.”
Wukong had never seen Hou Tu so warlike before. He asked, “Sister, what’s wrong with you today?” Hou Tu laughed heartily and said, “You’ve brought so many people here. You must have retrieved the essence of the five elements, right?”
Wukong was stunned and nodded, “Yes!”
Hou Tu smiled even more brightly and said, “I was worried!”
Wukong suddenly understood—Hou Tu had also been concerned about the essence of the five elements all along!
The Phoenix stepped forward silently. With a twist of its body, it transformed into a colorful phoenix and waved at Zhenwu. Zhenwu understood, and the two flew upward together, heading somewhere to spar.
Xiangliu stood in the formation, not knowing whether to advance or retreat. Zhu Rong had once been defeated by Xiangliu and still harbored resentment. He stepped forward and shouted, “Ugly and stinky scum! I’m here to capture you!”

Upon seeing Zhu Rong, Xiang Liu felt much more at ease and said, “A defeated foe dares to challenge me?” Without hesitation, Zhu Rong flicked her fingers ten times, sending countless green-purple fireballs flying. She knew Xiang Liu was covered in poison, so attacking from a distance with magic was the best approach. Xiang Liu darted to the side, using his venom to change his color; it seemed the two of them had agreed not to get close.

Behind Gui Zhen Buddha, Bao Zhuang Wang Buddha and Shan You Bu Buddha stepped forward to challenge them. Zi Wei glanced at the Holy Mother of Li Shan, who nodded, after which Zi Wei stepped forward and said, “Eminent Buddha masters, I invite you to battle.”

When Bao Zhuang Wang Buddha saw Zi Wei appear, his expression changed. He had long heard that Hou Tu was the most powerful among the Six Emperors, while Zi Wei was the most mysterious, so he grew anxious. Bowing with a wry smile, he said, “Great Emperor Zi Wei, I never expected we would ever fight each other.”

Zi Wei replied calmly, “Since Tathagata is acting against righteousness, I cannot just turn a blind eye.” Bao Zhuang Wang Buddha naturally dared not deny Tathagata’s actions and said, “Further talk is pointless. I accept your challenge.”

Zi Wei’s move was ordinary—he rolled up his sleeves and sent a palm strike from afar. Since his defeat at the hands of Wukong, Bao Zhuang Wang Buddha felt as if every plant and tree were an enemy. He focused intensely and returned the strike with his own palm. Shan You Bu Buddha moved extremely fast, circling behind Zi Wei in moments and swinging a dagger downward.

Wukong cursed inwardly, calling it despicable. These Buddha masters in the Western Heaven seemed kind on the surface, but when it came to fighting, they resorted to any vile tactics, even using weapons in a two-versus-one situation.

Zi Wei moved swiftly, drifting far away to dodge the dagger strike. Yet his palm still held strength—what appeared to be a push actually contained an absorbing force that pulled Bao Zhuang Wang Buddha forward several zhangs.

Trapped, Bao Zhuang Wang Buddha dared not get too close to Zi Wei and tried to resist with his own strength to retreat. At that moment, Zi Weithrewed his hand, abandoning Bao Zhuang Wang Buddha, and with his flowing sleeves, two purple light orbs flew toward Shan You Bu Buddha.

Shan You Bu Buddha struck the light orbs with his dagger, causing them to explode violently with immense force, instantly breaking his dagger and sending him flying dozens of zhangs back.

Bao Zhuang Wang Buddha exclaimed in shock, “The power of star souls!”

Seeing those two purple light orbs, Wukong also couldn’t help but praise them. Although Zi Wei wasn’t a being born of fate, he possessed great amounts of such power. It was hard to imagine how he had achieved this without the guidance of someone skilled in fate manipulation—truly a remarkable feat.

Wukong then turned to the Holy Mother of Li Shan and flew over to ask, “Holy Mother, did you teach this skill to Great Emperor Zi Wei?” The Holy Mother of Li Shan replied, “Are you referring to the power of star souls?” Wukong nodded, and she said, “Was this technique taught to him by Bodhisattva Vimalaprabha?”

Ah, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady—what is her relationship with Zi Wei? It seemed the Holy Mother of Li Mountain understood Wu Kong’s doubts and explained with a smile, “The Mysterious Lady is my master, and Zi Wei is my son. It’s only fitting that she pass on a few defensive spells to him.”