Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage-Chapter 34 - The 12 Ancestral Witches Control

Bull Demon King nodded and said, “Indeed. It is said that Zhun Ti Taoist is extremely good at Artifact Refining, and not even a bit inferior to Great Purity Heavenly Lord. Polishing with Seven-Colored Divine Light, his Magical Treasures are incredibly powerful!”

Wukong handed the headband to Princess Iron Fan and said, “This thing has hurt many, so I ask the Princess to give it to the Supreme Lord to deal with. The purple fire of Tushita consumes all things, so it should be able to refine this item.”

Princess Iron Fan nodded, took the headband, and said, “Then in a few days, I will go to Tushita Palace to seek my master.”

Wukong said, “I appreciate it.”

Bull Demon King, however, said, “Why say such things, Heaven-Defying Taoist Master? This headband has troubled my family, and had I had the ability, I would have destroyed this thing a long time ago!”

Wukong chuckled but said nothing more.

Let’s not dwell on Bull Demon King and Wukong enjoying their drinks and conversation for now and return to the event at the Jade Pool.

******

Meanwhile, the Twelve Ancestral Witches, following Buddha Maitreya and Burning Lamp Buddha, ascended the clouds and reached the top of Mount Buzhou, where the Jade Pool was located.

Zhu Rong clicked her tongue and said, “Gonggong, look at you. You once broke Mount Buzhou, and now someone has joined it back together. If we disagree here, you may have to collide with it once again.”

Upon hearing Zhu Rong’s mockery, Gonggong responded, “Shut up, you chatterbox woman!”

This exchange made Buddha Maitreya and Burning Lamp Buddha’s hearts skip a beat; these twelve were not afraid of anything. Bashing their heads against mountains—what kind of craziness was that?

Di Jiang, however, said, “Let’s both speak less. Once we see the situation at the Jade Pool, we’ll discuss further.”

The group then fell silent, following the two Buddhas into the grand hall of the banquet at the Jade Pool.

The table was already set with a banquet. It featured peaches of immortality, rare for even immortals to taste, various exquisite brews, and flesh from exotic demon beasts—an opulent spread that made one’s mouth water from the aroma alone.

They saw Jade Emperor, the Supreme Sovereign of Heaven, seated at the head of the table. Longevity Emperor of the South Pole, Emperor Gou Chen of the West Pole, Ziwei Great Emperor of the East Pole, and the True Martial Emperor Who Cleanses Demons of the North Pole were seated at the second seats. Then, arranged according to their official ranks, other Heavenly Lords sat below the four emperors, followed by Marshal of Heavenly Soldiers Li Jing, True Lord Yang Jian, and so on…

“Ancestral Witches, please have a seat,” said the Jade Emperor, pointing to the seats beside him, though his heart was extremely reluctant.

But what kind of people were the Twelve Ancestral Witches? They were defiant and willful. If the Jade Emperor looked down on them, it might ignite another war between immortals and demons, potentially ruining eons of work.

Before long, Tathagata arrived on his lotus throne, yet he took a seat at the secondary place of honor.

Today was not his moment to be the protagonist, and naturally, he would not step into the spotlight.

“To the Buddha Ancestor!”

All paid homage with a bow to Tathagata.

Tathagata responded with a smile and returned the gesture.

Xuan Ming was a man of very few words, and his nature was cold and indifferent. After taking his seat, he drank half a cup of wine with the other deities and then said, “For what purpose have you invited us here?”

The Jade Emperor said, “The great name of the Ancestral Witches has resonated throughout the Three Realms for a long time, and now that the Ancestral Witches have appeared, it is indeed a cause for celebration.”

Tathagata also said, “Indeed, this banquet is simply to welcome and cleanse the dust off the Ancestral Witches.”

Holding a peach, Di Jiang took two bites and said, “The twelve of us detest those who put themselves above others the most. Supreme Lord Haotian, you really know how to arrange things, allowing us to sit together. In this way, we won’t have to confront the Heavenly Court directly. You just need to return control of reincarnation to us, letting us take charge again.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present changed.

However, Tathagata was unmoved. Before arriving, Zhun Ti had instructed, “The Twelve Ancestral Witches created the cycle of reincarnation, and so did Di Jun. During the war between witches and demons, the two cycles of reincarnation clashed and merged into one, which is why we now have such a stable cycle. The reincarnation is the cause sown by the Twelve Ancestral Witches, and now that they have broken their seals, they have come to demand the fruits… When they ask for control of the cycle of reincarnation, you should act this way and that way.”

The Jade Emperor’s face was grim, and he remained silent.

Tathagata, however, said, “Amitabha Buddha!” He first announced the Buddhist name of the one who ushers souls to paradise, “With every cause, there must be an effect, and the cycle of reincarnation was originally established by the Ancestral Witches. Returning it to them now would hardly be excessive.”

Di Jiang said with a smile, “This disciple of the one who ushers souls speaks well.”

Pretending he hadn’t heard, Tathagata continued, “Whoever holds sway over reincarnation, it is all the same, but I hope the Ancestral Witches will not disrupt it. Today, I will order Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to come out from the Underworld. Supreme Lord Haotian, how about returning control of reincarnation to the Ancestral Witches?”

The cycle of reincarnation was extremely important. Initially, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had great authority over it. Later, Tathagata wanted to call him back to confer upon him the status of Buddha ancestor, but the people from the Asura Blood Sea were causing slaughter, which dramatically increased the number of vengeful souls in hell, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, too busy, later took the vow “Not until hell is empty” and “I will not attain Buddhahood,” Moreover, the Buddhist Sect also preached compassion, naturally unwilling to add to the slaughter, thus Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva continued legitimately to oversee reincarnation.

The Jade Emperor, frustrated, could handle these twelve individually, but once they activated the great formation, it would truly turn the world upside down, the primordial chaos inverted… The Twelve Capital Heavenly Divine Slayer Formation was the most powerful formation in the world, even the extremely skilled Eastern Emperor Taiyi had been severely injured by it, and the Saints would certainly keep their own counsel, definitely not intervening in this matter.

The Jade Emperor quickly weighed the matter and then, stroking his beard, smiled and said, “The Buddha Ancestor’s words are indeed wise, and even if he hadn’t spoken, I had planned the same. The cycle of reincarnation was created by the Ancestral Witches, so it is only right to return it to them! In a few days, I will call back the Ten Kings of Hell.”

Do not underestimate the importance of controlling reincarnation, dear readers!

Souls of the deceased in this world—and of course not those whose Primordial Spirits have been shattered to extinction—will enter it, and the person in charge of reincarnation will accumulate merit. Over time, understanding the mysteries within, accumulating merit to become a saint could also be possible!

During the war between witches and demons, the Witch Clan’s disobedience was one factor, and another was that they established their own cycle of reincarnation, aiming to seize merit from the Heavenly Court, which is why the war was so fiercely fought.

Although the Jade Emperor had little time to consider, he had thought it through thoroughly. Hearing Di Jiang’s soft laugh, he said, “Then, Di Jiang would like to thank the Jade Sovereign, Supreme Lord Haotian.”

The Jade Emperor said, “Managing reincarnation is immensely complex and vast. Ancestral Witches, allow me a few days to have the Ten Kings of Hell conclude their affairs before handing it over.”

“Very good, very good, Supreme Lord Haotian is considerate,” Shebishi said.

The Jade Emperor was also worried that the Twelve Ancestral Witches might not handle reincarnation well, potentially throwing the world into chaos and affecting the order of his Heavenly Court. Therefore, he felt compelled to act this way. If not for the indispensable nature of reincarnation in this world, the Jade Emperor would have preferred that they wreck it entirely.

The denizens of the Heavenly Court felt indignant, as if giving away the control of reincarnation was too easy, but in the face of the overwhelming power of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, they could only swallow their pride. These twelve individuals were immortal, born of Pangu’s twelve turbid airs; as long as Heaven and Earth did not perish, they would not die.

Killing them would only be for the moment, as after some time they would revive. Moreover, once the Twelve Capital Heavenly Divine Slayer Formation was activated, even the Saints would not wish to provoke it.

The Jade Emperor immediately summoned an official spirit and sent him to the Underworld with the message for the Ten Kings of Hell to wrap up their business quickly, inviting the Twelve Ancestral Witches to take charge.

Seeing the Jade Emperor’s pragmatism, the Twelve Ancestral Witches did not make any more excessive demands.

As a result, the power of the Heavenly Court diminished considerably.

Holding the Underworld and accumulating merit in one’s hands was everyone’s dream. Among the Four Great Bodhisattvas, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had the highest mana, even stronger than Guanyin, yet rarely took action. This inscrutableness stemmed from his control over the reincarnation cycle in the Underworld and the merit he had accumulated.

The competition between Buddhism and Taoism was already intensely fierce, and now the Twelve Ancestral Witches had arrived.

Was this truly a division of the world into three parts? Had it become a tripartite balance of power?

However, once the Twelve Ancestral Witches gained control over reincarnation, they were no longer greedy. Content to oversee reincarnation and accumulate more merit to become saints, they did not worry about competing for Incense Willpower and followers—for now.

With the awakening of the Ancestral Witches, it was likely that other members of the Witch Clan would also soon awaken, and the Witch Clan would inevitably become another significant power in the world.

After that banquet, the Jade Emperor was left feeling extremely aggrieved. Once the feast was over, the Twelve Ancestral Witches entered the Underworld to hurry the Ten Kings of Hell in resolving their affairs.

On that day, news of the Jade Emperor’s anger at smashing the Seven Treasures Glazed Lamp spread throughout the Heavenly Court, and everyone knew that the Jade Emperor was truly vexed this time! How important the cycle of reincarnation was, to let it be taken back so easily was to lose face for the Heavenly Court. The most crucial aspect was that reincarnation was immensely important and affected a whole series of plans for the Heavenly Court.

Deprived of reincarnation, it could be said that the Heavenly Court’s power had greatly diminished.