Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 436: The Power of a Single Hand

Wukong retreated to a distance, observing the battle with his eyes while planning in his mind. He was now almost certain that what Tathagata had created was the force that counteracted the essence of creation—a force capable of neutralizing the essence of creation itself.
According to Kunpeng, the creation in the world could keep growing endlessly, but the essence of creation remained constant. Tathagata first sought to seize the essence of creation created by Pangu, and now he had developed a force to counter it. If he could completely neutralize this essence of creation in the world… No! It wasn’t necessary to neutralize it entirely; just destroying most of it would suffice. Then, in the next cycle, would Pangu, Kunpeng, and the Seven Divine Apes still exist? If Pangu were gone, who would break the chaos of the world?
Tathagata had a Creation Furnace that allowed him to remain unharmed in the chaos, but others couldn’t. What did he plan to do in this chaos?
Wukong still couldn’t figure out the outcome, but he knew that whatever Tathagata’s personal goals might be, they would surely bring no good to the world. What exactly was this world to Tathagata?
Wukong delved into his thoughts. Both Pangu and Tathagata came from beyond the heavens to this world. So, perhaps there was an even broader world beyond it. It was said that chaos resembled an egg—was this world merely an eggshell? Though space was vast, Tathagata knew that no matter how large it was, it wasn’t the true world. If he mastered the secrets of the Mysterious Void Art to the extreme, he should be able to see through the true nature of the world.
In the fierce battle in the Buddhist hell, the black mist surrounding Nili grew thinner and thinner. This force originated from the Great Sun Tathagata, and since Nili couldn’t regenerate it himself, he could hardly sustain it.
With each emission of black mist, a bit more of it disappeared from Nili’s body. Everyone feared this black mist, but thanks to their numbers, they managed to hold on despite their weakened cultivation. Finally, Nili’s true appearance became clear—no mist surrounded him anymore. Only then did Xuan Nu feel at ease. She also belonged to the lineage of creation and understood the importance of its essence. If Nili Bodhisattva’s black mist had been inexhaustible, these people would truly have perished in the Buddhist hell today.
At this moment, Nili’s neck was missing half, revealing bare white bones, with no blood flowing. Combined with his already grotesque face, he resembled a demonic spirit from hell.
Xuan Nu used a quick movement and struck with her palm. Nili feared Xuan Nu the most and didn’t dare neglect to block with his hand. Xuan Nu changed tactics mid-battle, flicking her fingers to shoot out an invisible thin needle, which pierced Nili’s shoulder. This needle was Xuan Nu’s only weapon. She claimed it was forged from the eyes of the infant star deity Maoshri, but in reality, it was a magic weapon she had created herself, with Maoshri merely serving as a cover.

The fine needles were as thin as ox hairs; once they struck, they would travel upstream along the blood vessels until reaching the heart. Seeing that one had hit Ni Li, Xuan Nu was secretly pleased. She urged the needles to move, but there was no reaction at all. Ni Li pulled the needle out with a reverse motion and tossed it casually, which landed on the arm of Venerable Bai Xiong. Xuan Nu quickly recited a spell to retrieve the needle, thinking to herself, Could it be that Ni Li has no blood vessels?

Hou Tu approached Ni Li and used the extreme gravity spell of earth to immobilize his body. OrdinaryWu Xing spells would surely be ineffective against Ni Li, but the extreme power of earth seemed to transcend such limitations. Ni Li’s body sank, and he barely managed to stay steady. He then used a teleportation technique to try to capture Hou Tu. Dayu swung his Ding toward Ni Li, while holding a gleaming sword in front of Hou Tu for protection.

Ni Li simply pushed with his hand, sending the Ding flying far away. As soon as he rose, two thin green vines wrapped around his feet—this was the spell of the Wood God, Ju Mang. At that moment, a giant axe the size of a wheel descended from above, aiming at his head.

Seeing all these spells attacking at once, Ni Li grew frustrated and roared, “From the phoenixes and true dragons to ordinary people and insects—all fall into my realm of endless suffering!”

In this realm of endless suffering, there were sufferings of extreme cold, extreme heat, and intense pain, as well as sufferings related to life, death, karma, love, and hatred. Those with weak wills would lose all hope in this realm, feeling overwhelmed by suffering with no end in sight. Compared to this realm, the eight sufferings of Buddhism—suffering from birth, old age, illness, death, resentment, separation from loved ones, unfulfilled desires, and the dominance of the five elements—were truly insignificant.

This was because the Buddhist hell was Ni Li’s domain. Here, the power of his spells multiplied exponentially. If he left this realm, he would likely be subdued by Xuan Nu in just a few moves.

Wukong, standing at a distance, was unaffected by this onslaught. When Ni Li Buddha used these spells, the movements of those around him became sluggish, allowing him to take advantage of the situation to break free and approach Wukong.

Wukong had already seen clearly that Ni Li only wanted to capture him, so he remained highly vigilant. No matter what supernatural powers Ni Li used, Wukong simply employed his Qi Tian Gun technique to the fullest. Ni Li was shocked inwardly—how could this gun technique indicate a way out of this realm? In other words, Wukong was no longer bound by the rules of the Buddhist hell. If that was the case, it would be impossible for Ni Li to subdue him.

Wukong also realized that by channeling his power into the Qi Tian Gun, the strange aura in the Buddhist hell had been completely dispelled. Looking at Ni Li before him, he no longer seemed terrifying—just an ordinary sage.

“Nothing remains mysterious beneath the will of heaven.” So this is its use after all. Without any further hesitation, Wukong unleashed his staff skills to the fullest, attacking Bodhisattva Nili. The first to escape from that realm of suffering was Xuan Nu. Initially worried that Wukong would be overwhelmed by Nili, she was astonished to see his staff techniques so extraordinary that they left Nili utterly defenseless. Both surprised and delighted, she began to suspect it might be related to the Heaven’s Will Staff. Nili, who had prided himself on being invincible in the Buddhist helllands, was now humiliated by the newly ascended Wukong. Filled with anger and distraction, he was struck in the left leg by the heavy Heaven’s Will Staff, which nearly broke his legbone. Bodhisattva Nili fled in panic and stood at a distance, pondering his next move. Meanwhile, the Three Pure Ones’ formation remained solid. Seeing the Buddhas trapped in the Buddhist helllands unable to break free, they abandoned their formation and rushed over, saying, “Let’s talk outside!” Grieved by the death of Randeng, the Three Pure Ones looked downcast. Two losses in the Buddhist helllands—Phoenix and Randeng—were truly heartbreaking. Wukong said, “Nili is no longer as formidable as before. Why not take this opportunity to seize the Creation Pool?” Xuan Nu replied without hesitation, “Good!” Laojun was stunned. He thought Wukong would be distraught after Randeng’s death, but instead, he remained calm, realizing that Bodhisattva Nili posed no longer a major threat and that the task of seizing the Creation Pool could proceed. Yuan Shi said, “Well said!” Ling Bao added, “If that’s the case, the three of us will protect Wukong, while Sister will lead everyone to hold off Nili.” Xuan Nu nodded, “Don’t worry!” Wukong set off immediately, using his agility to head toward the Hell of Black Ropes. Yuan Shi said to Laojun and Ling Bao, “You two go first. If they attempt to seize the Creation Pool, it will take at least three days. I’ll strengthen this formation first to ensure no one escapes.” At that time, the Hell of Black Ropes was empty, so Wukong moved unimpeded and entered the Creation Pool directly. Seeing this, Bodhisattva Nili became anxious and angry. He tried to stop him but was naturally blocked by Xuan Nu and her men. Within Yuan Shi’s grand formation, the most powerful was the Medicine Buddha, but his 84,000 medicine warriors did not come. Instead, they remained in the hall of the Hell of Black Ropes. Apart from the Tathagata, others in Buddhism did not delve deeply into the art of formations, so they couldn’t escape. Yuan Shi circled the formation several times, ensuring it was foolproof, before going to protect Wukong.

The Three Pure Ones resided above the Pool of Creation, appearing leisurely and unoccupied, yet they dared not slacken in the slightest. This place was extraordinary—it was the Buddhist hell, the foundation of Tathagata. All three aspects of Tathagata dwelled here. Although the World-Honored Tathagata had not yet appeared, the third aspect, the Great Sun Tathagata, had not yet completed his cultivation, and the thirty thousand Buddhas were trapped within the stupa. Yet who knew whether Tathagata would take a desperate gamble and conceal some formidable tactic?

Half a day passed in this way. Wukong saw that the creation within the Pool of Creation had advanced significantly, and he felt delighted. It seemed that in just three days, he would have absorbed all the creation in the pool. For the Divine Ape of Creation, the absorption of creation equaled cultivation. Though Wukong had already reached the state of sainthood, he still felt that cultivation had no end. Taking Ren Deng’s cultivation level as an example, even though he fought with his life, he could not defeat Bodhisattva Ni Li—so what was his own ability worth?

Thinking of Ren Deng, Wukong became even more eager to improve his cultivation. “Bodhisattva Ni Li, sooner or later, I’ll crush you to dust!”

At that moment, everyone in the Buddhist hell—whether it was the Three Pure Ones, Ksitigarbha and Dayu, the Medicine Buddha, the Buddha of Guidance to Truth, or even Bodhisattva Ni Li—felt an invisible pressure enveloping them. Then, a sigh came from the highest heights of the Buddhist hell: “A grave mistake!”

No one knew what had happened, except the Three Pure Ones, who clearly heard that voice—it was the voice of the previous Tathagata! Could it be… that the Great Sun Tathagata was about to appear?

Bodhisattva Ni Li was filled with fear. If the Great Sun Tathagata intervened, it clearly meant he was extremely dissatisfied with what Ni Li had done. Though Ni Li was the second aspect of Tathagata, the Great Sun Tathagata could erase him from existence with a mere gesture.

The Three Pure Ones didn’t bother with Bodhisattva Ni Li. They rushed swiftly to the Pool of Creation in the Hell of Black Ropes, shouting, “Wukong! Run quickly!”

At that moment, a solitary palm descended from the pitch-black sky. It was as pure and flawless as white jade, resembling a woman’s delicate hand. The middle and index fingers of the palm stretched out and tapped three times in the air as if stepping forward, reaching the Pool of Creation.

The Three Pure Ones leaped up together. Laojun threw his Vajra Axe first, then waved his Wind-Flame Banana Fan three times. Yuan Shi and Ling Bao clasped their hands together, using their free hands to deliver a punch with immense force, as if capable of piercing through space.

The Three Pure Ones frowned tightly. Without even calling for Wukong, they jumped into the Pool of Creation, grabbed his arm, and pulled him out.

The white jade palm extended its thumb, and the Vajra Axe was fitted onto it. After spinning twice, it stopped. He had used just one finger to retrieve Laojun’s Vajra Axe!

The fierce flames from the Wind-Flame Banana Fan struck the palm without any effect. Passing through the flames, the punch from Yuan Shi and Ling Bao arrived again. The palm then opened, and a punch was delivered.

Xuan Nu used all her strength to rush out of the Creation Pool, her voice slightly trembling as she said, “Tathagata… Tathagata’s Divine Palm!”