Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled – Chapter 434: The Heart of Atoning Sins

Upon meeting Bodhisattva Nili again, Wukong sensed a subtle yet strange change in the atmosphere of the Buddhist Hell. He couldn’t pinpoint where this change came from, but the black and white leaves of creation in his dantian began to flutter slightly, as if influenced by something.
He had no time to ponder further. Without saying a word, Bodhisattva Nili flew straight toward Wukong, his goal clear: to capture the Spirit-Aware Monkey.
Nili had gone to the realm of the World-Honored Buddha to heal his wounds, using the power of time flow. Though his injuries were severe, he had already recovered. The reason he couldn’t hold back was to lure everyone deep into Buddhist Hell.
He originally thought they would come to destroy Buddhist Hell through fighting, but Xuan Nu saw through its mysteries at a glance and instructed Wukong to absorb the essence from the Pools of Creation! If Wukong drained all eight pools, Buddhist Hell would be severely weakened. However, Wukong was too close to the exit, and if Nili appeared then, it would be difficult to capture him. Thus, Nili sacrificed one pool of creation to shift the battlefield to the Black Rope Hell.
Bodhisattva Nili still held some trepidation toward Xuan Nu. He wanted the Medicine Buddha to use a strategy of overconfidence to test her, so that she might become arrogant when facing a defeated opponent, allowing him to lure her into the grand hall’s formation. Unexpectedly, Yuan Shi saw through this tactic. By then, Wukong had entered the second Pool of Creation. Nili, unwilling to give up the second pool, appeared immediately and ordered the idle people in Buddhist Hell to swarm over and surround them.
Xuan Nu covering the retreat suited Nili’s plans. If she weren’t there, who else could stop him? Thus, believing himself invincible, he went straight to capture Wukong.
The Three Pure Ones were by Wukong’s side. Laojun took out the Wind and Fire Fans and combined them, sweeping them at Bodhisattva Nili. As the fans flashed, a dazzling white light and flame erupted, like theBagua furnace furnace in Tushita Palace overturned, rolling toward Nili. Nili sneered, darting twice. The white light passed through his body as if through emptiness, landing at the edge of Buddhist Hell. With a loud rumble, many parts of the outer formation were destroyed, revealing a dark exit.
When entering the realm, everyone had been cautious not to be detected by Nili, so they broke the formation quietly. Now that Nili had appeared, there was no need to hide anymore.
Nili vanished into the white light. Wukong was shocked—what kind of invisibility technique was this? Just as he was about to use the Xuan Kong secret technique to search, Ran Deng began to exert his power, emitting a bright light like a lamp. In the light, Nili’s translucent figure stood in midair in the distance, drifting toward them.

Somehow, Yuan Shi now held a small yellow flag in his hand. When Wu Kong saw it, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity. He remembered that when the Great Heavenly Venerable Ta Yi rescued the suffering, and the Nine Spirit Primordial Sage was captured, the Bull Demon King had used his horns to strike the Eight Trigrams Mirror, and it was then that this small flag was produced to protect him.

That was the Hunyuan Banner earlier—so could this be the Dunhuang Flag? As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Yuan Shi stepped closer to Wu Kong and cast a spell. The Dunhuang Flag tightly wrapped around Wu Kong. Strangely enough, though it was originally just a flag, wearing it felt like wearing a perfectly fitting garment. Yuan Shi said, “With this magical artifact, it will be impossible for him to harm you!”

Wu Kong was grateful and asked, “Can’t the Great Heavenly Venerable protect me and let me escape?” Yuan Shi replied, “Just in case!”

Meanwhile, the Venerable Lingbao had already exchanged a few blows with Bodhisattva Ni Li. Bodhisattva Ni Li’s movements were extremely elusive, his fingers like knives, and he had already inflicted several cuts on Venerable Lingbao. Yet Venerable Lingbao seemed unaware, simply countering each of his moves.

At that moment, Xuan Nu rushed up from behind and shouted, “Wu Kong, run quickly!” Without time to think further, Wu Kong used his Golden Light Leap to flee toward the exit. Bodhisattva Ni Li, still engaged in battle with Venerable Lingbao, had some energy left and shouted, “Let this sinful body be trapped!”

As soon as these words were spoken, countless unnamed forces appeared in space. Everyone found it extremely difficult to move. Wu Kong’s Golden Light Leap stopped halfway through, and though the exit was right ahead, he couldn’t get out. He was shocked. Last time he fought Ni Li, the latter had to recite spells before using this technique, but today he used it immediately—had his cultivation improved so much in just a few days?

Seeing that everyone was trapped, Ni Li shouted at the Buddha who had arrived later, “Kill them all!” Then he rushed at Wu Kong again. Ksitigarbha raised his Staff of Good and Evil to block Ni Li, asking, “Who is guilty?”

Ni Li replied, “Everyone in the world is guilty!”

Ksitigarbha said, “The true Buddha can redeem all beings from their sins; you are a false Buddha!”

Ni Li laughed and said, “I’m not a Buddha—I’m a Bodhisattva! Let him go and redeem them; I’ll just deal with sentencing!” Seeing that his trapping technique had no effect on Ksitigarbha, Ni Li shouted, “First, I’ll deal with you, you hypocrite!”

Ksitigarbha pointed his Staff of Good and Evil at Bodhisattva Ni Li. Ni Li didn’t dodge. With a “thud,” the staff struck right at his chest. Bodhisattva Ni Li grabbed the staff and said, “Here, good and evil are under my control!”

Ksitigarbha nodded and said, “I naturally know that.” The two fought using their supernatural powers over the Staff of Good and Evil. Meanwhile, Xuan Nu and the Three Pure Ones could still move freely. The Three Pure Ones formed a strange shape, with Yuan Shi in the center and Laojun and Venerable Lingbao flanking him, rotating back and forth. Laojun used his Wind and Fire Fan again—who knew how many Buddhas in the Buddhist hell had been swept away by that fan?

Dayu, Qilin, Hou Tu, and others came to offer aid, fighting desperately to hold back the countless Buddhas. These Buddhas varied greatly in their cultivation levels; fortunately, there were not many who could be called saints, otherwise, it would have been difficult for these fifty-odd people to hold them back.
Ni Li’s curse spell could only trap people for a short time. As soon as Ran Deng was able to move, he rushed toward Wukong, aiming to throw him into the Buddhist hell. He could also see that Ni Li only wanted to capture Wukong, as the Spiritual Monkey was extremely important for the fate of this world. While Ni Li was fighting against Ksitigarbha, seeing that Ran Deng had moved, he immediately released his Staff of Good and Evil, twisted his body, and blocked the path, shouting, “Ran Deng, you’re ruining my plans! Today, we’ll settle this!”
Ran Deng replied indifferently, “Your actions have angered heaven and angered people. How could I assist those who commit tyranny?”
Ni Li spat angrily, “The True Buddha has been extremely kind to you, yet you rebelled. Don’t you deserve to die?”
Ran Deng said, “Even in death, I won’t fail those who trust me.”
Ni Li laughed twice, swung his arm backward, and it seemed to detach from his body, flying toward Wukong. Xuan Nu watched clearly from the side, remaining vigilant against Ni Li. She waved her dust fan at the arm.
The severed arm seemed to have eyes; it spun in the air, then grabbed Xuan Nu’s dust fan. Ni Li shouted, “A wretched disciple, a rebel! Today, you’ll see my true form!”
After saying this, his body swelled to five zhang tall, and a thick layer of black mist enveloped him, hiding his true appearance. Seeing Ni Li’s drastic transformation, Xuan Nu cried out in shock, “You are the Great Sun—”
“Haha! I am Ni Li! Why do I need the True Buddha to appear just to capture you all?”
Feeling Ni Li’s aura at this moment, Xuan Nu grew uneasy. While the previous Ni Li Bodhisattva was powerful enough for her to gauge his cultivation level, this Ni Li, covered in black mist, made it impossible for her to determine his true strength!
“You’re borrowing the power of the Great Sun Tathagata!” Ran Deng said quietly.
Ni Li waved his arm, pulling the severed arm back. Xuan Nu felt her dust fan slip from her hand, unable to hold it anymore. Ni Li turned his head again and spat out a stream of black mist. This mist moved at great speed, quickly sealing the exit to the Buddhist hell. Then he said to Xuan Nu, “It’s a rare opportunity today—perfect for catching everyone at once!”
Seeing Ni Li’s arrogant demeanor, which was vastly different from that of the previous Tathagata, Xuan Nu thought, “You’re just borrowing the power of the Great Sun Tathagata, causing your cultivation to surge. Now that your spiritual resolve is unstable, there must be a flaw!”
The others went to block the Buddhas inside the Buddhist hell, leaving only Xuan Nu, Ran Deng, and Ksitigarbha surrounding Ni Li, all ready to act. Ni Li stood in the center; as he glanced around, his bones creaked, and under the cover of the black mist, he appeared even more terrifying.

Randan took the lead. He stood tall, his body surrounded by countless golden rays that resembled sharp swords, all aimed at Ni Li. Faced with this supreme master among the three sages, Ni Li did not dare neglect him. Layers of black mist emerged from his body to block them. When the golden rays met the black mist, they dimmed significantly. After penetrating over a dozen layers of black mist, they finally disappeared back into darkness.

Unfazed, Randan’s entire body, once covered in yellow light, suddenly darkened. The golden light condensed into a thin beam, like a steel needle, which pierced Ni Li’s body with a hissing sound.

Ni Li’s body trembled slightly, and the black mist around him faded considerably. In disbelief, he roared, “Are you mad?”

Randan smiled and said, “One must go mad to achieve enlightenment!”

Xuan Nu saw that Randan no longer emitted any light and appeared ordinary, realizing then that Randan had originated from the Tongtian River. To others, that light was merely a magic spell, but to Randan, it was like his very soul. Could it be… he had given everything without reservation? Since it wasn’t yet a life-or-death struggle, why had he used all his strength from the very first move?

Seeing Xuan Nu’s concerned gaze, Randan said, “I’ve lived a foolish life and committed many mistakes. Today, I’m merely offering a small effort—of course, I have no complaints.”

Xuan Nu felt a pang of pain and said, “With such a useful body, why go to such extremes?”

Randan replied, “Who says I’m useless now?” He leaped upward, his body resembling that of a giant bird, and rushed at Ni Li. Meanwhile, a jade box flew out into the air and landed in Xuan Nu’s hands. Randan said, “That’s the source of all evil!”

Xuan Nu naturally wouldn’t look now. Randan was fighting with his life on the line, so she had to offer help. She rushed forward as well and attacked with all her might.

Ni Li suffered immensely as Randan’s golden light entered his body. The black mist wasn’t his own—it would eventually run out. Randan’s thin beam of golden light had already cost him nearly half of it. How could he not feel pain? Seeing Randan and Xuan Nu attacking, Ni Li growled angrily and stretched two bone-white claws from the black mist to grab at them.

Unfazed, Randan twisted his body and embraced those white bones. He climbed up Ni Li’s arm bones a few times before disappearing into the black mist. Xuan Nu was shocked. Even before approaching the black mist, she felt a strange pressure. How had Randan gotten in there?

Xuan Nu struck with both palms, creating a powerful gust of wind. The black mist around Ni Li dispersed but quickly reformed. In that instant, Xuan Nu saw Randan climb onto Ni Li’s shoulder.

Ni Li shook his body several times, trying to shake Randan off, but Randan was as firm as iron. His hands, like hooks, dug deep into Ni Li’s body and remained fixed. Ksitigarbha struck Ni Li’s back with his staff, but Ni Li seemed unaware.

At that moment, onlyNarada’s sharp shout could be heard from within the dark mist: “Retreat!”
Di Zang still did not understand the mystery, while Xuan Nu’s expression changed drastically, showing distress, but she still pulled Di Zang back far away. A loud boom was heard, followed by Ni Li’s agonized screams. Much of the dark mist dissipated, leaving only a thin layer, and his right shoulder was in a horrible state—half of his neck was missing as well.
Narada’s physical body vanished completely, leaving only a piece of yellow cloth that slowly drifted down in the Buddhist hell.