Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 409: Slaying Wu Liang

The Holy Mother of Lishan was the disciple of the Nine Heavens’ Mysterious Lady. If it hadn’t been for the Holy Mother herself saying it, Wukong would never have believed it. The Nine Heavens’ Mysterious Lady appeared middle-aged, while the Holy Mother of Lishan was already in her old age. It was more plausible to say the Holy Mother of Lishan was the teacher of the Nine Heavens’ Mysterious Lady.

The Holy Mother smiled and said, “This disguise is merely to avoid prying eyes.”

Oh? Hearing this from the Holy Mother of Lishan, Wukong immediately felt the urge to use the secret technique of the Mysterious Sky to see her true appearance. But after thinking it over, he felt it would be too disrespectful, so he gave up.

Zi Wei effortlessly defeated the King Buddha of the Treasure Banner and the Buddha of Graceful Walking without even exerting much effort. After enduring a few more attacks, the King Buddha of the Treasure Banner sighed, “The Great Emperor Zi Wei is truly formidable. I no longer have the face to hold on.”

Zi Wei replied calmly, “Your kindness is appreciated.” Then he floated back to his formation.

Wukong was astonished. Although he had also defeated the King Buddha of the Treasure Banner back then, Zi Wei did it so effortlessly. It seemed Zi Wei’s cultivation was on par with that of Zhen Wu, perhaps even slightly superior.

The King Buddha of the Treasure Banner returned to his formation, and the resentful Wu Liang Life Buddha stepped forward slowly, his eyes fixed intently on Wukong. He said, “Monkey, do you dare fight me?”

Wukong felt an unusual aversion toward this man. He demanded, “What have you done to the Tang King of the Eastern Land?”

The Wu Liang Life Buddha chuckled and said, “Nothing more than life and death.”

Wukong hated those who treated lives carelessly and was about to charge forward to fight. The Holy Mother of Lishan grabbed Wukong and said, “This man is tricky. Do not engage him.”

Oh? Even the Holy Mother of Lishan said he was tricky. Then he better not take risks. Though angry, Wukong knew when to back down. Meanwhile, Hou Tu stepped forward and said, “Wu Liang Life Buddha, since when have you lost the ability to distinguish right from wrong?”

The Wu Liang Life Buddha asked, “Lady Hou Tu, what is right and what is wrong?”

Hou Tu was stunned. She had just blurted it out without thinking deeply. The Wu Liang Life Buddha continued, “If you don’t know right from wrong, how dare you judge? Are the Six Imperial Deities of Taoism that shallow?”

Hearing the Wu Liang Life Buddha insult the Six Imperial Deities, Zi Wei frowned slightly and was about to intervene. Wukong smiled and pulled Zi Wei back, saying, “Great Emperor Zi Wei, this monk doesn’t know good from bad. He will surely face retribution.”

Before Wukong could finish speaking, Dayu rose abruptly with a worried expression, landed beside Hou Tu, and snapped, “Go back!” His command was not directed at the Wu Liang Life Buddha but at Hou Tu. Hou Tu froze for a moment, then, after reconsidering, happily returned to her formation.

With his hands behind his back, Dayu’s expression returned to calm as he said to the Wu Liang Life Buddha, “You go first.”

The Wu Liang Life Buddha glanced at Hou Tu and then at Dayu, asking, “Do you know right from wrong?”

Dayu said calmly, “Today, between you and me, only one will win—the loser will be nothing.” He was naturally gentle and rarely angered, but there were two things he would never compromise on: the Divine Ape of Creation and Hou Tu. He felt he owed them greatly, and no one in the world could be dismissed lightly. How could Dayu tolerate the Infinite Life Buddha’s disrespectful words toward Hou Tu?

Back then, the Venerable Maitreya had blocked his path westward. During their battle, Maitreya had used various tricks, yet Dayu had not retaliated. Speaking in such a harsh tone now was already a severe reaction.

Seeing Dayu’s imposing presence as solid as a mountain, the Infinite Life Buddha realized his high level of cultivation and focused his mind fully to confront him.

When the Infinite Life Buddha remained motionless for a long time, Dayu grew impatient and said, “You go first.”

The Infinite Life Buddha pretended not to hear, circulated his energy once more, then took out a Mani jewel from his body. This jewel was extraordinary—when thrown into the air, it immediately transformed into a lotus throne, surrounded by multicolored flames that protected him. The Infinite Life Buddha shouted, “Infinite Life, infinite flames!” The multicolored flames surged, turning into a storm of fire that descended and enveloped Dayu.

Dayu remained calm. With a wave of his right hand, the storm of fire vanished instantly. Wukong saw clearly that Dayu had not used the Yu Ding this time but instead trapped those flames inside the Xirang Furnace.

Seeing Dayu contain the flames, the Infinite Life Buddha grew pleased and said again, “Infinite flames, endless fire!” The Xirang Furnace in Dayu’s hand suddenly swelled as if about to burst. It turned out that although the flames were separated from the Infinite Life Buddha, they were still under his control and could be directed at him again.

If Dayu hadn’t used the Xirang Furnace to contain them, he might have suffered a hidden loss. Dayu thought to himself, If I can break this furnace, why not make you my master?

Since his “endless flames” failed, the Infinite Life Buddha cried out in shock, “Xirang Furnace?” Dayu nodded. “Exactly!”

Abandoning that spell, he shouted again, “Infinite power—decide life and death!” His lotus throne soared upward, expanding to cover an area of a hundred zhang, pressing down on Dayu.

Dayu took out the Yu Ding and declared, “Life and death have their limits—none but you can decide them!” He threw the Yu Ding, which struck the lotus throne from below. Though small, the Yu Ding was much heavier than the Mani jewel. When they collided, the lotus throne paused, and a strange phenomenon occurred.

Around the throne appeared many halos, seemingly real yet illusory. The Yu Ding wobbled within them, as if losing control. A green light emanated from Dayu’s palm and shone on the Yu Ding, causing it to swell countless times larger. It steadied on three legs and swallowed the lotus throne whole.

Although Dayu seemed to have the upper hand, his expression remained utterly unfaltering.

Only to hear a roar from within the Yu Ding as the Buddha of Infinite Life shouted, “Exit the three realms!” At this cry, Wukong was puzzled—since the three realms had already been destroyed, where could there still be three realms here?
The Sacred Mother of Lishan, by Wukong’s side, explained, “The lotus throne is one realm, the Yu Ding is another realm, and this world itself is yet another realm. The Buddha of Infinite Life possesses the power to leave the three realms, so even Da Yu’s magical artifact cannot trap him.”
Da Yu roared, “This realm belongs to me!” He put his left hand into his bosom, took out a small jade piece, and tossed it. The jade piece swelled in the wind and tightly covered the Yu Ding.
Wukong laughed heartily. The Yu Ding actually had a lid! How could the Buddha of Infinite Life get out now?
Once again, a roar came from within the Yu Ding: “Create a pure land!”
At this cry, the Sacred Mother of Lishan also showed a surprised expression and murmured, “He wants to create a realm inside the Yu Ding?” Wukong asked, “The Yu Ding originally belonged to Da Yu—how is that possible?”
The Sacred Mother of Lishan replied, “A pure land, in essence, is nothing but the Buddha’s will. If one’s resolve is weak, it’s possible for the magical artifact to be taken away.” Da Yu said calmly, “Ignite!”
A scream came from within the Yu Ding. Zhu Rong laughed heartily nearby. Wukong hurried over and asked, “Sister, why are you laughing?” Zhu Rong replied, “Da Yu lost.”
“Ah? Da Yu lost? Then why is the Buddha of Infinite Life screaming? Could it be a ruse?” Wukong asked urgently.
Zhu Rong laughed even harder. The Golden God Ru Shou said, “It’s not that Da Yu lost, but that he lost a bet.”
Wukong grew more confused. “What exactly happened?”
Ru Shou explained, “This Yu Ding was forged together by me, the Fire God, and Da Yu. Back then, the Fire God insisted on adding the power of ghost flames to the Yu Ding, but Emperor Da Yu, being kind-hearted, didn’t want him to do so. The Fire God said, ‘I insist on adding it. If you can, don’t use it your whole life.’ Emperor Da Yu replied, ‘Then I won’t use it my whole life.’ So they made a bet: if Emperor Da Yu used the ghost flames inside the Yu Ding, he would have to fulfill one request for Zhu Rong.”
Zhu Rong laughed, “If he doesn’t use it his whole life, I’ll fulfill one request for him, haha…”
Wukong was speechless. Zhu Rong truly had cunning tactics. This bet seemed winnable only for him. As long as Da Yu didn’t die, his life would never end. The so-called “not using it his whole life” was just a trick to deceive others. Even if he really didn’t use it his whole life, by then Da Yu would be dead—who would fulfill Zhu Rong’s request?
Wukong laughed for a while but was still worried about the battle. He asked, “Those ghost flames… can the Buddha of Infinite Life withstand them?” Zhu Rong smirked and said, “Unless Da Yu shows mercy, if I were to use them, he’d turn into charcoal!”

Only the cries of the Buddha of Infinite Life could be heard from within the Yu Ding. After a while, the sounds gradually faded. Da Yu showed a look of pity, set down the Yu Ding, and lifted its lid. At that moment, something unexpected happened—a shiny pearl flew out of the Yu Ding and rushed toward Da Yu. The pearl moved at incredible speed, and Da Yu couldn’t dodge in time, taking it straight to his chest. With a muffled groan, he reached out to catch the pearl, but it made a hissing sound. It turned out the pearl was extremely hot from the ghostly flames, instantly scorching the flesh of his palm. Distraught, the Buddha of Infinite Life emerged from the Yu Ding and sneered, “Haven’t you heard that the Mani Pearl can bring light in darkness, coolness in heat, and warmth in cold? It can relieve the suffering of all beings—how much more so for me?” Da Yu tightly held onto the Mani Pearl, preventing it from slipping away, and nodded, “What a fine pearl! I was careless.” With a wave of his left hand, he used the Xi Rang Furnace as a weapon and swung it at the Buddha of Infinite Life. The Buddha of Infinite Life said, “You’ve run out of tricks!” He quickly retreated backward but still managed to pull the Yu Ding with him. Since the Mani Pearl was in Da Yu’s hands, that magical artifact was crucial to him, so he planned to retrieve the Yu Ding later as a replacement. He retreated more than ten zhang before Da Yu silently uttered a word, causing the Yu Ding to fly back, pulling the Buddha of Infinite Life another two zhang. The Xi Rang Furnace struck the Buddha of Infinite Life right at the neck, sending his bare head flying dozens of zhang into the air as blood gushed like a fountain. The Buddha of Infinite Life was killed on the spot by Da Yu! Da Yu retrieved the Xi Rang Furnace and pulled out a gleaming long sword from it. With a sigh, he said, “Using the Buddha of Infinite Life as an offering for this sword, from now on, it too shall be famous throughout the world.” It turned out the Xi Rang Furnace contained a newly forged precious sword by Da Yu. The Holy Mother of Li Shan, seeing the Buddha of Infinite Life die unjustly, sighed and said, “One word—‘greed’—ruined ten thousand years of hard cultivation.” Everyone present heard her sigh clearly. Everyone had witnessed the battle clearly earlier; if the Buddha of Infinite Life hadn’t been concerned about his Mani Pearl, he would have avoided that sword without even trying to pull the Yu Ding away. If he had simply dodged, he would have been able to escape. Da Yu put away the Yu Ding and the Xi Rang Furnace, went to Hou Tu’s side, spread his right hand, and said, “You’ve collected countless pearls, but you still don’t have the Buddhist Mani Pearl, do you?” Seeing the flesh torn open on Da Yu’s palm, Hou Tu couldn’t care less about pearls. Though moved, she didn’t know how to express it in front of everyone and only snapped, “You fool! Why go to such extreme lengths?” Seeing Hou Tu act like a child, Da Yu chuckled and said, “If I’m foolish, so be it. I just do what my heart desires.”