Volume 4: The Revelation Revealed – Chapter 416: Indignation of the Seer

It was undoubtedly Hou Yi. He had been sitting idly in the mountains when a fierce battle erupted suddenly. Without hesitation, he joined the fight. A barrage of arrows was shot, causing the Buddhas to freeze in place. Though none were injured, the arrows slowed them down. By then, Hou Yi had already taken to the air, hovering halfway up the Peak of Weapon Forging. His giant bow was slung across his left shoulder, his black hair fluttering in the wind—truly a figure who could hold back an army alone.

The twenty-some Buddhas exchanged glances and immediately scattered, circling the peak.

Hou Yi frowned slightly. There were far too many Buddhas, all of equal or even greater cultivation than himself. Trying to block them all was like dreaming foolishly; his only option was to do his best.

He shot arrows in rapid succession, so fast that he could barely see himself drawing the bowstring. All he could hear was the sound of arrows piercing the air, though it was unclear how long they had been flying.

Three Buddhas charged straight at Hou Yi. A great roc let out a sharp cry and stood in front of him, spreading its wind and thunder wings to attack the three. One Buddha threw a alms bowl, which struck the roc’s left wing. The roc felt intense pain as several bones in its wing were broken. It was shocked—these people were far stronger than expected.

The Buddha flew past the roc. Though he had hit it, he remained expressionless. The roc, filled with anger, revealed its massive claws and tried to grab the Buddha’s back. The Buddha didn’t even turn around but pulled out a string of prayer beads from his sleeve. These beads looked strange—a very long thread with just two beads on it, resembling ameteor hammer hammer hammer.

The two beads, one black and one white, seemed to possess a life of their own. They wrapped around the roc’s right claw, and the thin yet strong thread quickly tore through the roc’s flesh.

The roc suffered another setback. Its right claw was pulled by a powerful force, causing it to lose its balance. Yet it struggled hard to regain control, enduring the severe pain to block the Buddha’s attack on Hou Yi.

With the roc’s desperate resistance, the Buddha had to turn around. He pulled back the thread, seemingly intending to trap the roc in his sleeve.

The roc flapped its wings vigorously, struggling against the Buddha in midair. But its cultivation was far inferior, and coupled with the intense pain in its right claw, it was gradually pulled away by the Buddha.

Gritting his teeth, the roc decided to take advantage of the situation and charge forward. With such momentum, it moved at incredible speed. Normally, a single flap of its wings could carry it ninety thousand li, but now, using the Buddha’s pulling force, it seemed to break free from spatial constraints. It swung its left claw and struck the Buddha’s face.

The Buddha let out a muffled groan; his left side of the face was covered in blood and flesh, and even his left eye had been scratched by the Great Roc’s claw—unclear if he could still see. The Buddha was extremely enraged that such a vile bird could hurt him; it was utterly despicable. Yet he remained calm, retracting the silk thread while plotting to capture this evil bird and make it suffer every torment of hell!

Seeing himself trapped, the Great Roc realized its previous ambush tactic could only be used once—using it again would hardly succeed. Resolving to take drastic measures, it was willing to lose its right claw rather than let the Buddha capture it. Its own safety was unimportant; if its father were forced to submit again because of it, it would never be able to atone for that.

At that moment, a simple voice rang out, “Dead bird, you don’t even call me when you fight!”

Hearing it was the Bull Demon King’s voice, the Great Roc cursed, “Are you pretending to be dead?”

Seeing the Great Roc trapped and in dire straits, the Bull Demon King knew now was not the time for arguments. He bowed his head and charged at the Buddha. The Buddha lightly dodged, continuing to pull the Great Roc around.

The Great Roc shouted, “Enough! Leave me alone!” It swung its left wing, cutting at its own right claw. The Bull Demon King suddenly understood what the Great Roc intended and cried, “No!”

A rainbow-colored light flashed, and the Buddha’s head separated from his neck silently, spewing thick blood. With the head of the Six Yang gone, the Great Roc was finally free.

It was undoubtedly the Phoenix who saved it. The Great Roc saw that the Phoenix’s back was covered in blood—clearly it had sacrificed itself to save him! His father had always fought head-on against enemies; he had never turned his back on them.

The Phoenix glared at the Great Roc and ordered, “Go down!”

Overjoyed to the point of tears, the Great Roc didn’t say a word. It untied the silk thread wrapped around its right claw and flew back to the ground without looking back.

Though there were many demons in Qi Tian Ling, few truly qualified to participate in this battle. Even the Bull Demon King and the Nine Spirits Sage would be of no help. Those powerful figures—such as Dayu, Hou Tu, and the Gods of Metal, Wood, Fire—were all underground helping Wukong refine weapons, leaving the ridge almost empty. Only the Qilin, Phoenix, Hou Yi, and Chi Song Zi were struggling to hold their ground.

Hou Yi used all his skills today, but with those twenty-some Buddhas being so powerful, he only managed to injure four of them. Two Buddhas approached him closely and surrounded him, while the rest seemed about to retreat underground.

At that moment, Buddhist chants arose in the west, and the people of Qi Tian Ling groaned in despair. With more enemy reinforcements arriving, what could they do?

Sure enough, in a short while, several auspicious clouds approached, and over a dozen Buddhas dressed in yellow robes descended. To everyone’s surprise, these yellow-robed Buddhas immediately went to attack the gray-robed monks who had arrived earlier! One of them shouted, “I am Venerable Bai Xiong from the Spiritual Mountain in the Western Heaven; I’ve come specifically to resolve the crisis at Qi Tian Ling!” These yellow-robed Buddhas were naturally disciples of the Lamp-Burning Buddha, none of them mediocre. Their arrival was like a timely rain, instantly turning the tide in Qi Tian Ling’s favor. By then, the Bull Demon King had already landed on the ground and asked the Great Peng, “What’s going on? Are people from the Western Heaven fighting each other?” The Great Peng replied, “Right now, the Western Heaven is under the rule of the ancient Lamp-Burning Buddha, who is Wu Kong’s teacher. You’re really stupid!” The Bull Demon King blinked and asked, “Then how should we call these gray-robed monks?” After thinking for a moment, the Great Peng said, “It’s said that the Tathagata has moved to the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom. Should we call them Western Liang monks?” The Bull Demon King laughed and said, “It’s even better to call them daughter monks!” At this point, the two sides were roughly evenly matched. The gray-robed Buddhas couldn’t break through their attacks, but they remained calm. These Buddhas, driven by some unknown conviction, fought to the death without any intention of avoiding battle. With the arrival of the yellow-robed Buddhas, the situation changed instantly. Everyone sought out their opponents, but four gray-robed monks took advantage of the chaos to flee underground. Hou Yi saw it clearly, but it was too late to stop them. In desperation, he shot a Time Arrow into the ground. At that moment, something strange happened—the plants and flowers at the foot of the peak stopped moving, and the shadows of birds and beasts froze. This was clearly the effect of the Time Arrow. In just a short while, four gray-robed corpses flew out of the ground, obviously thrown with great force. Only Hou Yi, who had been watching the battle closely, saw clearly that after his Time Arrow was shot, the four Buddhas froze, and then a monstrous beast appeared from underground. The four Buddhas were far apart, but as the beast stepped forward, it seemed to move independently, stepping on the tops of their heads, and the four Buddhas died silently. Hou Yi was shocked. Although the four Buddhas were controlled by the Time Arrow and unable to move, the fact that this beast killed four sacred beings in one strike was truly astonishing. This beast was undoubtedly Di Ting. How could Hou Yi know that Ksitigarbha was arranging formations at that moment? In a radius of a thousand zhang, Wu Kong and the others were crafting the Heavenly Mechanism Staff, so Ksitigarbha dared not be distracted in the slightest. Di Ting regarded Ksitigarbha as a friend and master, refusing to let anyone harm him, but today, it showed not the slightest mercy—anyone who entered the ground would be killed without hesitation! With those four corpses thrown out, the gray-robed Buddhas, as if summoned, gathered together instantly and flew westward.

Everyone was stunned. Qilin cursed, “Leaving already?” He was injured in several places, but all were superficial wounds. Noticing blood on the Phoenix’s back as well, he laughed and said, “Haha, you’re hurt too!”
The wound on the Phoenix’s back was from saving the Great Peng. The Phoenix smiled faintly, not taking it seriously, but instead cast a deep glance at Hou Yi.
Under the Phoenix’s gaze, Hou Yi felt a sense of unease. He immediately realized that this person’s cultivation was truly unfathomable. Back then, when he and Wukong had ventured into the Celestial Palace alone, it had felt like a leisurely stroll. But today, for the first time in his life, he felt such anxiety.
In the Qingwei Tianyu Qing Palace, since Ksitigarbha helped Wukong control time flow for weapon refinement, only Xuan Nu and the Three Pure Ones remained in the hall. As the battle at Qitianling began, Xuan Nu watched intently until the gray-robed Buddha and the others fled, at which point she turned her gaze away.
Laojun asked, “How is it?”
Xuan Nu replied, “I can’t tell much. It seems they held back a bit, but they still killed three people.”
Lingbao Daozun said, “Wukong trusts the Phoenix greatly, probably because of the Great Peng.”
Laojun said, “The Phoenix is naturally graceful and noble in demeanor. No one would think of him as a villain.”
Yuan Shi said, “I would never misjudge.”
Xuan Nu replied, “You wouldn’t misjudge. I mean there’s a formation within him, just like the Jade Emperor and Empress. That doesn’t mean he’s definitely a villain!”
Yuan Shi said, “Sister, I didn’t say he’s a villain either. But then again, must it be a villain to do evil deeds? How many evil deeds in the world stem from goodness? How many good people end up doing evil things out of kindness?”
Xuan Nu laughed and asked, “Are what we do good or evil?”
For a moment, the four fell into deep thought. It’s hard to distinguish good from evil. Who can clearly define such a matter?
Laojun suddenly said, “Wukong is right.”
“What did he say?” Xuan Nu asked.
“Don’t lose your true heart. Help others not lose their true hearts,” Laojun replied.
Xuan Nu pondered these words and soon entered a state of meditation.
Yuan Shi sighed, “At first glance, these words seem ordinary, but lately, I often think of them.”
Lingbao Daozun agreed, “Indeed. Wukong truly resonates with me as well.”
Laojun asked, “I wonder if Wukong can help the Phoenix find his true heart.”
Yuan Shi replied, “That’s difficult. In my opinion, the Phoenix is indeed acting against his true feelings, but knowing his life is in the hands of the Tathagata, how would he dare to turn against them easily?”
Laojun said, “Knowing the Sky-Piercing Jade Pillar formation and being able to locate its foundation… that bait is quite tempting indeed.”

Yuan Shi said, “Ultimately, he still needs the blood of the kings of the five categories. By then, whether to destroy or establish the formation will be beyond our control.” At that moment, a Taoist boy came in and said, “Great Heavenly Venerable, the Jade Emperor has sent an envoy who is waiting outside.”