Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage-Chapter 39 - The Sect Founder Greets the Ksitigarbha

Taibai Jinxing urgently warned, “Your Majesty mustn’t, you mustn’t do this!”

The Jade Emperor angrily replied, “Li Jing’s loyal bones are not yet cold. If I don’t avenge him, would it not chill the hearts of my subjects?”

Knowing the Jade Emperor all too well, Taibai Jinxing then said, “Your Majesty, now that the Witch Clan has emerged, the Twelve Ancestral Witches are set to take back control of reincarnation, and the Underworld’s transfer of authority is not yet complete… Moreover, the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism is at a critical point, and the chaos in Heaven and Earth is worsening. If we further damage the vital energy of the Heavenly Court, I fear… I fear…”

Taibai Jinxing didn’t continue, but anyone with clear sight would know that the implied remainder of his words was likely—fearing that the Heavenly Court might not survive!

When the Jade Emperor heard this, he slumped for a moment, then slowly returned to sit on his dragon throne, his eyes lacking spirit.

The Heavenly Court now seemed to exist in name only, with the cycle of reincarnation being reluctantly ceded to the Twelve Ancestral Witches, the four great emperors holding significant power yet unwilling to intervene to accumulate their forces, the Three Pure Ones preoccupied with the Buddhist-Taoist conflict, and still resentful about the Jade Emperor being used by the Buddhist Sect for the Journey to the West venture. Who could tell if the Jade Emperor had intentionally done this to undermine the authority of the Three Pure Ones? Thus, these three ancient beings seldom showed themselves in the Heavenly Court anymore. The Jade Emperor was aware of their intentions and thus didn’t wish to make a spectacle of himself. Now with Buddhism at odds with Taoism, he also dared not go to the Western Heaven for assistance. His role as the Jade Emperor was extremely stifling at the moment.

However, the Heavenly Court was established with the Investiture of the Gods, signed by the Three Pure Ones. At a critical moment, they could not possibly ignore it. At the very least, they would prevent the Heavenly Court from truly becoming powerless and clinging on to a feeble existence… The Jade Emperor’s face underwent several changes, looking extremely distressed.

However, at that moment, a curious event was taking place in the Underworld, something utterly unexpected for anyone to conceive.

Now with the Twelve Ancestral Witches dominant, the powers between Heaven and Earth were extremely chaotic, and nobody wanted to provoke these twelve, who, if joined together in a formation, could severely injure or even cause the fall of a Saint. It was thought that if the Twelve Ancestral Witches couldn’t perish, then the Three Pure Ones couldn’t either, right? Wrong. The Three Pure Ones originated from the Pangu Primordial Spirit and had become Saints long ago, having cultivated their own Dao. Their Pure Qi had already detached and resided within the Heavenly Dao. If their Primordial Spirits were to be obliterated, they could be utterly destroyed.

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These Twelve Ancestral Witches were like Di Jun—in that the sun’s existence is tied to Di Jun’s life; as long as the four continental lands are intact, the Twelve Ancestral Witches live on. Unless someone is willing to dismember them twelve like Di Jun and suppress them forever. However, no Saint is willing to do so; uniting these twelve, if one is not careful, may lead to their own downfall.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, one of the four great Bodhisattvas who once vowed, “Not until Hell is empty, will I become a Buddha,” probably has a higher Cultivation Level than even Guanyin. Moreover, his mount, Diting, possesses incredibly formidable Divine Skills. He was the one placed by the Buddhist Sect to oversee the cycle of reincarnation in the Underworld.

Now that the Twelve Ancestral Witches were regaining control of reincarnation, he was about to leave.

That day, Ananda, a disciple of the Tathagata, was ordered to summon Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to the Western Heavenly Buddha Land.

“Bodhisattva, the Buddha Ancestor has commanded me to call you back,” Ananda said to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, with utmost respect.

“Understood, I’ll depart shortly,” Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva replied with a slight nod.

At the next moment, however, he suddenly turned hostile. With one palm sweeping down, he instantly turned Ananda to ash, silencing his Primordial Spirit.

After killing Ananda, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva did not linger. Mounting Diting, he headed straight for the Asura Blood Sea.

The Nether River Patriarch, an Ancient Times figure involved in the Witch-Deity war, was already waiting at the entrance to the Asura Blood Sea. Seeing Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, he laughed and said, “Hurry in. Once you enter my Blood Sea, even if Amitabha comes personally, he cannot do a thing against you!”

The Nether River was a character from Ancient Times, who took part in the Witch-Ghost war; they all liked to refer to Amitabha as the “Leading Taoist.” It should be known that the Leading Taoist was the founder of the Western Religion, who self-declared as Amitabha after signing the Investiture of the Gods.

The Nether River Patriarch, welcoming Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva into the Asura Blood Sea, saw the frighteningly red Blood Sea part to form a path, and the two walked through it confidently. The Asura Blood Sea was three thousand fathoms deep, and below that lay the foundation of the Nether River.

The Asura Blood Sea originated from a mass of tainted blood that fell during the opening of Heaven by Pangu. The Patriarch of the Nether River was conceived within it. When he was born, he was accompanied by a lotus platform of the Twelfth Rank, two blades – the Yuan Tu and Abi Divine Swords, and cultivated 480 million Blood God Child avatars.

“This… Ancestor, how come Ksitigarbha King is here!” Mara, the Free and Easy Heavenly General, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Ksitigarbha King arrive alongside Nether River.

Nether River waved his hand and said, “We will talk about it later. The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is my honored guest!”

Thus, Mara led the way, with the people of the Asura Clan casting curious glances at them.

When they reached a certain residence, Nether River invited Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha to take a seat and had his disciples serve tea.

“Hehe, we have been waiting for the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha for quite a long time!” Nether River said with a smile.

“The Patriarch is too courteous. What virtues or abilities do I possess?” Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha replied.

Nether River responded, “Bodhisattva, you have managed Reincarnation for a long time and amassed considerable merit. Now, your mana is probably no less than mine. That Tathagata has wild ambitions and wants to kill two birds with one stone using the reemergence of the Witch Clan. Yet, how could he possibly imagine that the two of us had already formed an alliance?”

As it turned out, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha had been in charge of Reincarnation for so long and accrued much merit, which made Tathagata Buddha wary. Tathagata wanted to recall him, but the reclusive Asura Clan emerged, stirring up a storm of blood and gore, and endless wronged souls added to the Underworld… Thus, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, of course, could not leave, and even made the bold declaration – “I shall not attain Buddhahood until Hell is empty!”

Tathagata had intended for him to become a Buddha Ancestor in the Western Heaven, but Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, being insightful and after receiving Nether River’s enlightenment, immediately understood. Hell would never be empty, for people were dying every day. How could Hell be emptied, and when would he ever attain Buddhahood? Thus, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s statement seemed immensely compassionate but was in fact laden with profound implications.

Now that Tathagata had finally found an opportunity to recall Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, why would Ksitigarbha agree? Returning to the Western Heaven, who knew what ruthless methods Tathagata would employ to strip away his i nherent merit… Ksitigarbha was well aware of the reincarnation of the Jie Taoist Many Treasures Taoist, and returning would be akin to walking into a near-certain deathtrap.

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha flipped his left hand over, and a medicinal pill appeared in his palm.

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha said, “This is half of the merit I have condensed over the years, forged into a medicinal pill.”

The Patriarch was overjoyed and said, “Bodhisattva truly keeps his word!”

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha said, “Having killed that Ananda, Tathagata will surely not be able to save face…”

The Patriarch replied, “No matter, Tathagata will not be able to act! We have many clansmen here in the Asura Blood Sea. Should anyone dare barge in, we will activate the Blood River Grand Formation. Even a Saint would leave skinned!”

The Bodhisattva placed the medicinal pill in the Patriarch’s hand and said with satisfaction, “With this, I can rest assured.”

This grand scheme was indeed vast, and it was likely that no one would have thought that Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha and the Nether River Patriarch, seemingly mortal enemies, had actually forged an alliance long ago to share the merit from managing Reincarnation!

The emergence of the Witch Clan drew out most of the forces, making the power dynamics of Heaven and Earth increasingly complex and intertwined.

Nether River Patriarch swallowed the medicine pill, which turned into a bellyful of merit. He channeled his Profound Skills and after one rotation, the merit fused with his Primordial Spirit. Suddenly, he felt his mana surge, yet he still couldn’t seem to touch the edge of the Heavenly Dao Saint Realm. Nevertheless, such a significant increase in combat power was beyond what he could have expected, for he might not achieve it even after cultivating for tens of thousands of years with just a single small pill.

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha clasped his hands together and said, “Well done, well done!”

Nether River Patriarch said, “When the time comes, Heaven and Earth will surely be in greater turmoil. With the two of us joining forces, we are not far from achieving the Heavenly Dao Saint Realm!”

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha smiled faintly, as if he had outwitted Tathagata, and appeared very pleased.

At this moment, at the Mahavira Hall in the Western Direction.

Tathagata sat high on the lotus throne, surrounded by more than two thousand eight hundred Buddhas, lacking two hundred who were killed by the Twelve Ancestral Witches. Countless Bodhisattvas, Arhats, Vajras, Saints, and others dared not even breathe loudly.

Tathagata said, “Ksitigarbha King has wild ambitions. Who would have thought he would side with that demon Nether River.”

Burning Lamp asked, “What should be done about it?”

Tathagata sighed and said, “I wish to capture him, but he has entered the Asura Blood Sea. Nether River Patriarch has a great Formation, named the Blood River Grand Formation, which draws power from the Asura Blood Sea and is immensely powerful. Even a Saint entering would fear for their safety. Now that Heaven and Earth are becoming more chaotic, our Buddhist Sect should accumulate strength and not engage in warfare. As for Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, we shall deal with him another day.”

“Amitabha Buddha, well done, well done!”

All the seated Buddhas, countless Bodhisattvas, Vajra Dharma Kings, Arhats, and Saints clasped their hands and chanted the Buddha’s name in unison.

Tathagata also clasped his hands and softly said, “Amitabha Buddha!”

At that moment, all throughout the Three Realms, there was immense shock. One of the four foundational pillars of the Buddhist Sect, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, had defected from Buddhism and joined the archenemy, Nether River’s Asura Blood Sea!