Volume 4: The Revelation Unveiled Chapter 463: In the Blink of an Eye

This person was naturally Bodhisattva Nili. He had always been a lover of killing, and given his temperament, he would have already taken action long ago. But seeing the Tathagata respond to him word by word, he felt it was not appropriate to intervene. Now, seeing You Huaxian recklessly offend the Tathagata, Bodhisattva Nili could no longer bear it. With his cultivation level, killing You Huaxian would take but a moment. Yet he deliberately made a show of it, beheading You Huaxian and spraying blood several zhang high to intimidate everyone!
With You Huaxian dead, the immortals in the heavenly court retreated several zhang as if pulled by a string. Bodhisattva Nili’s terrifying cultivation, coupled with a face no less sinister than that of a demon, was truly awe-inspiring.
Even the Jade Emperor, protected by countless experts, felt fear in his heart, yet he still forced himself to shout, “Is this the way of the Buddhist sect?” Zhenwu glanced at Bodhisattva Nili several times and exchanged a look with Zi Wei, both detecting an incredible expression in his eyes. He had only heard that Bodhisattva Nili had extremely high cultivation, but he never expected even he would be unable to fathom his true strength—this feeling was even stronger than when Xuan Nu stood in front of him.
Zhenwu whispered to the Jade Emperor, “No one can match this beast!”
The Jade Emperor was stunned. No one could match him? If even Zhenwu said so, things were indeed very troublesome.
The Tathagata had come today to assert his authority. In his eyes, the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother were nothing but puppets. Their dreams of returning home were merely illusions implanted in their hearts by the Tathagata when they were young using secret techniques.
To make someone wholeheartedly commit to something, the best way is to give them a dream—this was something the Tathagata understood well. The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother still thought their homeland truly existed, believing they were beings from beyond the heavens, with families and relatives waiting for them to return…
In reality, it wasn’t even a dream—it was just a spell to deceive their true hearts.
Confusing people’s true hearts was the Tathagata’s strength. As long as people had their true hearts, they would have their own thoughts and be difficult to control. Only by making them lose their true hearts could they be used for his purposes. Yet the Tathagata still didn’t know that in this world, there was also a wise divine ape who took “not losing one’s true heart, helping others not lose theirs” as its principle.
The Queen Mother shouted, “The Buddhist sect is no longer a Buddhist sect—it has become a place filled with demons! Capture that man!”

As soon as the words were spoken, Zhenwu stood up tall and joined Ziwei in charging forward at Bodhisattva Nili. Bodhisattva Nili met them with a strange laugh. From a distance of a thousand zhang, Zhenwu spat out hundreds of fireballs from his palms, which traced eerie, beautiful arcs through the air before shooting toward Nili. Nili did not dodge; instead, an invisible barrier rose around him, scattering the fireballs everywhere. One fireball struck right above a immortal on a Kunlun immortal island, piercing through his body and emerging from his abdomen. The immortal, struck by this sudden disaster, stiffened and fell straight down without even letting out a cry.

The immortals with weaker cultivation also realized that they had no chance of participating in such a fight, and even watching from afar was extremely dangerous. So, they all instinctively retreated far away and watched from east of Zengcheng.

Ziwei moved swiftly several times, leaving trails of purple dots in his wake, as if the sky were filled with stars. These dots gradually dispersed, enclosing the three of them within the star formation.

At that moment, the seven stars of the Big Dipper formed a shape resembling a handle and a bowl, emitting a faint purple light that resonated with the star formation from afar.

Bodhisattva Nili remained motionless, his gaze filled with disdain. “Trying to scare me?” he said. Ziwei formed seals with his hands, then split them to the left and right. The large purple seal solidified and descended straight toward Bodhisattva Nili. Along with Ziwei’s shout, “I will determine your fate!” the purple seal hovered in the air just a few zhang away from Nili, casting a shifting purple light upon him.

“Yangliang Changlu, Tanwu Xingtong, Tanwu Shouming, Jiangxing De Di…” Ziwei murmured as he watched the changing purple light, gradually showing a puzzled expression.

It is said that all people in the world correspond to the stars in the sky, and everyone has a fixed fate. Yet Bodhisattva Nili’s fate seemed to change unpredictably, which was truly peculiar.

Nili laughed and said, “Is my fate determined by heaven?”

Zhenwu shouted, “He is not from this world; this method may not work.” He also had some knowledge of fate-determining techniques—by fixing a fate, one could find flaws in a person. But since Tathagata was from beyond the heavens and Nili was Tathagata’s second incarnation, it was not surprising that something unusual happened.

Ziwei said solemnly, “That’s not right. Wherever there are stars, this method will work!”

Zhenwu suddenly said, “I understand now. Nili is just one of Tathagata’s three incarnations. Even if he has a fate, it must be incomplete—”

“No! I understand!” Ziwei exclaimed in joy. “His fate is that of a puppet!”

The fate of a puppet is one without a true destiny—it becomes whatever its master desires, changing at will. This kind of destiny is extremely simple. Yet Zi Wei never expected that a being of Nili Bodhisattva’s cultivation level could actually be a puppet!

Nili’s gaze turned vicious as he gritted his teeth and said, “Seeking death!” To be honest, he didn’t even know what he was himself; he considered himself the second incarnation of Tathagata. Occasionally, he had similar thoughts, but his absolute obedience to Tathagata left no room for doubt. The term “puppet” was something he could never tolerate.

Nili spun around, transforming into a streak of black light that rushed at Zi Wei like lightning. Seeing Nili launch an attack, Zhenwu quickly jumped to Zi Wei’s side. Together, they struck out with a palm strike, engaging Nili head-on.

With a loud explosion, the two figures were sent flying backward. The black light turned, and Nili reappeared, laughing mockingly, “Impressive!”

Zhenwu and Zi Wei’s mouths were covered in blood, their chests heaving with frustration.

In terms of cultivation, the two of them combined still couldn’t match Nili. Even if they knew he was a puppet, what could they do?

Meanwhile, Tathagata also stopped smiling and calmly said to the Queen Mother, “Do you really want to fight? Bring out the Thousand-Foot Jade, and I’ll spare your lives.”

Seeing Tathagata’s calm demeanor and knowing that many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were far away, the Queen Mother realized he was utterly unafraid. Could he really think that just one Nili Bodhisattva could defeat a thousand enemies?

“Form the formation!” The Queen Mother finally couldn’t hold back.

The thirty-six saints and seventy-two Hunyuan Golden Immortals moved at once, as if pulled by threads, surrounding Tathagata. Tathagata glanced at these over a hundred people and nodded, saying, “Some understanding.” It was unclear whether he was praising the Queen Mother or their abilities. To the Queen Mother’s ears, it sounded even worse than an insult.

In front of Tathagata, the Queen Mother felt perpetually at a disadvantage, as if facing her natural nemesis—a feeling that was her deepest secret shame. For tens of thousands of years, she had ruled supreme, and calling her the ruler of heaven and earth wasn’t an exaggeration. Yet deep in her heart, there was a constant pain that caused extreme discomfort whenever it was touched.

Hmph! Today, she would fight to the death to change this situation! With her resolve firm, the Queen Mother shouted sharply, “Form the formation!”

The thirty-six saints simultaneously raised their index fingers to their chests, as if drawing a line from their hearts toward Tathagata. The seventy-two Golden Immortals spun in the air, faster and faster, their figures becoming barely visible. From afar, they resembled a phantom sphere, with Tathagata at its center.

Tathagata nodded again and said, “The Tian Gang Di Sha Formation?”

The Queen Mother replied, “It’s the Tian Gang Di Sha Creation Formation. Subdue him!”

“Oh?” Buddha was taken aback, then laughed twice and said, “How much do you know about the workings of fate? For this formation, it’s only sufficient if the number of people is right!”
The Queen Mother glanced at the Jade Emperor. Buddha’s words made her doubt. Was it really only sufficient if the number was right? Then was the formation wrong? The Jade Emperor finally understood—whether this attempt succeeded or failed, they had to persevere.
“Activate the formation!”
As soon as these words were spoken, a faint connection indeed emerged from the thirty-six saints’ fingers pointed at Buddha. Wukong, being close by, could clearly see that this connection was indeed the power of fate; to others, however, there seemed to be nothing there.
Meanwhile, the seventy-two Hunyuan Golden Immortals stopped abruptly, and thick white mist emanated from their nine orifices, filling the space. A large white sphere appeared in the air, with mist swirling inside silently.
“Oh? Do you intend to control me?” Buddha was unparalleled in the art of formations. The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother knew he had three bodies, and either capturing or killing him would be futile—they couldn’t harm his core. This Tian Gang Di Sha Fate Formation was actually meant to control Buddha and use him for their own purposes.
Seeing Buddha submerged in the white mist, the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother felt both excitement and joy. According to their plans, once inside this formation, if they wanted to escape, they had to act quickly—once the mist rose, it would be too late.
Watching Buddha command so many skilled warriors, the Jade Emperor couldn’t help but recall his own plans to unify the universe and then escape beyond the heavens. All of this required first controlling Buddha, turning this all-powerful being from beyond the heavens into a puppet.
Just then, Buddha shouted loudly, “Disappear!”
The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother were stunned. Nothing seemed to change in the Tian Gang Di Sha Fate Formation, yet the Muli Bodhisattva facing Zi Wei and Zhen Wu vanished into thin air.
In an instant, the spot where Muli had stood was now occupied by Buddha sitting on a lotus platform, and the formation underwent drastic changes.
The white mist remained, but a black thread stretched out within it, clearly visible against the white. The Queen Mother stood up abruptly—Buddha had escaped, so it must be Muli Bodhisattva who was trapped in the formation now. Buddha and Muli Bodhisattva also possessed the ability to exchange places; with just this one move, Buddha had broken through Muli’s decades-long schemes.
The Queen Mother’s face turned red and white alternately as she grew extremely angry, spewing mouthfuls of bright red blood. The Jade Emperor could also control himself no longer; he had already crushed the armrests of his golden throne without realizing it.
As the black thread spread, wherever it reached, it was like throwing charcoal into snow—the white mist dispersed upon contact, and in moments, clarity returned.

Bodhisattva Nili was surrounded by 108 people yet remained calm and at ease.
The Queen Mother shouted, “Kill him!”
Thirty-six saints rushed at Bodhisattva Nili. With a thought, he created countless illusions in the air; soon, with several cries of pain, the bodies of three Hunyuan Golden Immortals fell to the ground.