Volume 4: The End of Cosmic Secrets, Chapter 430: The Corpse-Burning Buddha

Ran Deng was both amused and annoyed. This Wu Kong, at such a moment, knelt before him—did he still think he was that newborn monkey? Ran Deng said sternly, “Get up!”

Wu Kong remained motionless. Ran Deng shouted, “You are not the Stone Monkey of Flower-Fruit Mountain; you are the Intelligent Divine Ape! The leader of the Seven Divine Apes. If you seek help in every situation, then everything will be lost!”

Ran Deng’s words were harsh. Wu Kong’s heart trembled, and he felt immense shame. He stood up, bowed respectfully, and said, “Thank you, master, for your teachings. I understand now.”

Wu Kong knew he belonged to the lineage of Fate, and he always held a slight fondness for it. Although Wu Zhiqi had once told him, “Fate is karma, it is cause and effect—both good intentions and evil thoughts, both blessings and disasters, both merits and retributions.” Yet in Wu Kong’s mind, Fate was inclined toward goodness; it should be cherished and not taken lightly.

Today, having come to this Buddhist hell, he saw Fate used as a tool by the Great Sun Tathagata to refine the essence of Fate. Only then did he faintly realize that Fate was truly good when placed in the hands of good people, but it became a great disaster when given to extreme villains.

Ran Deng did not tell him how to act. First, he believed Wu Kong should have the ability to discern on his own. Second, as the Intelligent Divine Ape and the leader of the Divine Apes, perhaps the burden of this world would fall on him in the future. How could he let others respect him if he always backed down?

Thinking this, Wu Kong said, “If Fate aids the evil, it’s better to let it be under my control! I will take control of this pool of Fate!” With that, he used his invisibility spell and leaped into the vast pool of Fate.

Xuan Nu, seeing Wu Kong’s decisiveness, smiled at Ran Deng and said, “It’s not easy to train a disciple. He has just completed his training today.” Ran Deng replied, “Wu Kong has his own plans. He simply respects the elders.” These words were not only meant for Xuan Nu; Dayu, Qilin, Zhenwu, and the others also heard them clearly. They all thought to themselves, “This Ran Deng really protects his own.”

Xuan Nu said, “Now that Wu Kong has gone to absorb the essence from this pool, changes will soon occur within it. We can’t just sit idle. We need to create some trouble to distract the attention of the Buddhas.”

Everyone agreed with Xuan Nu’s reasoning and nodded. Xuan Nu then assigned people, while Ran Deng led the venerable arhats, dividing them into groups of six to launch secret attacks on places with many people on the mountains. If they encountered top experts, they were to retreat immediately without engaging in battles.

Dayu, Hou Tu, Zhen Wu, Zi Wei, and the others distracted the Buddhas around the pool of Fate. The Three Pure Ones wandered around this hell, trying to put out fires everywhere. Meanwhile, Xuan Nu, Ran Deng, the Holy Mother of Li Mountain, and Ksitigarbha stayed here to watch over Wu Kong just in case.

The Mysterious Maiden spoke with decisive authority, clarifying everything in just a few words. Upon receiving her orders, everyone acted immediately. The twelve arhats and thirty-six bodhisattvas divided into eight groups and attacked from all directions. In no time, the Living Hell became a chaotic mess, with the sounds of fighting echoing across the sky.

Ran Deng knew that the Buddhist hells had a strict hierarchy, with all matters in this hell under the control of the Buddha King. Others would not dare interfere unless summoned by the Bodhisattva of the Muddy Plow. Since they had broken through the barriers to enter, the Bodhisattva of the Muddy Plow must be gravely injured, which was why he dared to launch a full-scale attack in the Living Hell.

Dayu and over a dozen others followed orders and began killing. The Buddha by the Creation Pool was engrossed in chanting, never expecting an enemy to appear out of nowhere. In an instant, the area around the pool was covered in blood.

The people from Qitianling, seeing Zhu Rong and Hou Yi severely wounded, were filled with rage. Now they had found an outlet for their anger. Like hungry tigers among sheep, they showed no mercy. In moments, the Great Peng emerged from the sea of blood, its entire body soaked in blood, while the Bull Demon King’s eyes turned red, his true form turning into a blood-red ox.

The Buddhas by the Creation Pool were of weak magical power and had little resistance. Yet, somehow possessed by some dark spell, they fought to the death without anyone retreating.

The Wood God, Jumang, had his Eternal Life Tree transformed into a sickly green vine covered in barbed thorns. Floating in midair, the vine slithered below like a serpent, taking the lives of the Buddhas one by one. The Metal God, Rushou, wielded two short axes as large as wheels, using magic to slice through the crowd, severing countless Buddhas’ bodies with each swing. At first, Dayu also took a few lives, but seeing the Buddhas in a daze, he could no longer bear to kill. He took out the Yu Ding and absorbed all the enemies around him. The Qilin had its fill this time, using the five elements of magic—sometimes sending down giant peaks, sometimes unleashing fierce flames, sometimes freezing vast areas, sometimes covering the ground with sharp metal, sometimes filling the air with green wood energy—making it the one who killed the most.

In this battle, at least a hundred thousand lives were taken. With no one chanting by the Creation Pool, the pale gray essence of creation ceased to emanate. Suddenly, a loud shout was heard in the distance: “Amitabha!”

The sound grew louder as it approached. The “A” was still far away when it was uttered, but by the time the “Buddha” was said, the speaker was already nearby. When the man arrived, Ran Deng was surprised: “Vairocana Buddha?”

This man was none other than Vairocana Buddha. He came alone to the front of the formation and shouted, “Are you all so bold as to seek death?” Hou Tu said, “Vairocana Buddha? How did you become an accomplice of the Nali gang?” Hou Tu naturally knew that Nali was the second incarnation of Tathagata, but before the division of Ling Mountain, Vairocana Buddha had always been a Buddha there, and she had never heard of him having any connection with the Buddhist hell.

Vairocana Buddha said, “I am indeed one of the living Buddha kings. Why have you come here?”

Qilin said, “Destroy your nest!” He cast another spell, sending hailstones the size of bowls from the sky, crushing the already scattered group of Buddhas to a state of half-dead.

Seeing that most of the Buddhas by the Creation Pool had been killed, Vairocana Buddha sneered twice and said, “Good, good—such overconfident fools!”

At that moment, the Arhats under Randeng also returned. Venerable Bai Xiong said, “It’s been many years since I last broke my vow of non-killing. Now, this place has truly become a living hell; there are hardly any living people left.”

Dayu sent a message to Qilin, “Since this man is a living Buddha king, we must keep him alive so he can’t go and report back.” Qilin said, “Leave it to me!”

He knew Vairocana Buddha was no ordinary person. He leaped up, transformed into his true Qilin form, and charged at him. Vairocana Buddha didn’t even dodge and instead showed a faint smile.

Xuan Nu frowned slightly, while the Holy Mother of Lishan shouted urgently, “Don’t kill him!” Qilin instantly stopped and turned to ask, “Why not kill him?” The Holy Mother of Lishan replied, “If he dies, he can turn into a corpse and abandon his Buddha form!”

“A corpse that abandons its Buddha form? What is that?” Qilin asked in confusion.

Before the Holy Mother of Lishan could answer, Vairocana Buddha spoke up, “The body is like foam, the mind like wind; it’s an illusion without roots or substance. That is the Buddha form that never perishes.”

Qilin cursed, “What kind of freakish thing is that? Then I’ll kill you half to death!” He rushed forward and grabbed at Vairocana Buddha’s left shoulder. Vairocana Buddha stepped back to avoid it and began chanting spells.

Qilin pursued relentlessly. He was naturally aggressive, and out of pride, he couldn’t bear to lose face in front of so many people if he didn’t subdue Vairocana Buddha.

Suddenly, a strange phenomenon occurred. The countless Buddhas who had been killed on the ground now stood up in rows, holding hands and chanting a scripture. As Vairocana Buddha continued chanting, more and more people stood up, and even countless Buddha corpses floated from the distant peaks, hovering in midair, chanting the same scripture.

This scripture was not the same one the Buddhas had chanted by the Creation Pool; it was a very strange text, with a shrill and hoarse sound that sounded like the wails of evil spirits.

Vilushibi Buddha took out a white bone to block the Qilin’s attack, laughing heartily. “Others absorb the power of mortals and immortals chanting scriptures, but I only absorb the voices of Buddha corpses and ghosts. Today, you all have fulfilled my wish!” As more Buddha corpses stood up, Vilushibi Buddha’s body gradually changed color. What was once an ordinary person now turned completely pale, with his flesh shrinking away, resembling a vicious ghost. Xuan Nu was utterly astonished and couldn’t help but ask, “What kind of evil magic is this?” Ran Deng smiled bitterly and said, “I’ve never heard of such a thing.” Only the Holy Mother of Lishan said, “I once heard Maitreya say that when Vilushibi Buddha transforms into corpses, he gains the power to dominate the world. I thought not killing him would be enough, but I never expected him to develop his own desire for death.” Xuan Nu, who was extremely interested in all kinds of magic, said to the Holy Mother of Lishan, “Go and assist the Qilin.” Ran Deng also regained his composure and ordered the group of venerable arhats, “Slay these Buddha corpses!” The Holy Mother of Lishan rushed to the Qilin’s side and said, “I’m here to help you. Don’t be angry.” The Qilin laughed, “Why should I be angry? This creature is neither human nor ghost; I really can’t do anything to it.” The Holy Mother of Lishan focused her mind, took out a walking stick, and swung it at Vilushibi Buddha. Vilushibi Buddha raised the white bone in his hand to block it. With a dull thud, the Holy Mother of Lishan’s expression changed—she could sense that her walking stick had cracked. Vilushibi Buddha chuckled and said, “The soft perish, the hard endure. The ultimate hardness in the world is death!” He switched from defense to attack, charging at the Holy Mother of Lishan. She blocked a few more times but felt that Vilushibi Buddha’s power was now several times stronger than it was back at the Abyss of Nine Netherworlds, and she could no longer withstand him. The Qilin stepped forward to block for her, but even he was struck by the white bone, feeling pain deep in his bones. He cursed, “This damned thing is really tough!” Vilushibi Buddha pursued his advantage when suddenly a green light flashed before him—a green long whip wrapped around his waist—it was Jumang’s Everlasting Tree. Vilushibi Buddha tried to shake off the whip, but the Everlasting Tree was indestructible and wouldn’t let go. As he held Vilushibi Buddha in place, Lu Shou leaped into the air, combining his two short axes to execute the simplest yet most powerful move, “Smashing Mount Hua,” aiming at Vilushibi Buddha. Vilushibi Buddha still raised the white bone to block. Lu Shou used all his strength, 120% of his energy, in this move—how many people in the world could possibly withstand it? Thus, the giant axe, along with the white bone, struck straight at the center of Vilushibi Buddha’s head. Lu Shou felt his arms go numb, but the axe remained stuck in Vilushibi Buddha’s head. It took him great effort to pull it out. A deep groove appeared in the center of Vilushibi Buddha’s head, with white bone powder flying everywhere. Lu Shou exclaimed in shock, “What a hard head!”

Vairocana was struck so hard by this axe that his neck bone broke instantly. His head hung down, on the verge of falling off. To everyone’s astonishment, he raised his left hand to lift his head back in place, then said with a cruel laugh, “I’ve already died. Do you still want to kill me?”