Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage-Chapter 57 - Wukong Pinches the Living Bodhisattva to

Their intense clash was as if, “One desperately wanting to devour your head, the other eager to completely chop off your jaws. Only fighting till the heavens dark and the elements vanished did they finally part ways.”

Forced back by a move from Bodhisattva Lingji, the Bull Demon King roared angrily, gripping his staff to strike!

Bodhisattva Lingji summoned a prayer bead and with his Flying Dragon Treasure Staff parried the Mixed Iron Staff. The bead struck right at the Bull Demon King’s chest. This blow was so severe that it left a bloody hole in his chest, the bead still burrowing in, and the golden light from the bead turned all it touched to bloody water!

In a great shock, the Bull Demon King hastily wrapped the bead with his magical power to prevent it from corroding his flesh any further, pushed Bodhisattva Lingji back with a swing of his staff, his chest trembled, and he managed to shake the bead out, shooting it back towards Bodhisattva Lingji’s face!

“What, do you think you’re the only one with magical treasures!” the Bull Demon King roared, pulling out a gourd and flinging off its lid to wield it. A huge swath of purple flames shot out, forming a sea of fire, so fierce that even the fierce winds could not extinguish them.

Bodhisattva Lingji’s countenance changed, he retrieved his prayer beads, and exclaimed in shock, “Tushita Purple Fire!”

The purple fire from Tushita Palace was refined in the furnace of the Old Master and was extremely fierce, even more potent than the true essence of the sun itself. It was because of such flames that the Old Master was able to refine so many powerful elixirs and magical treasures.

The purple flame from Tushita Palace relentlessly pursued Bodhisattva Lingji!

Forced by the fire, Bodhisattva Lingji, annoyed, sacrificed several magical treasures and threw them directly into the flames. Instantly, there was a series of loud crackling noises followed by a surge of lightning before the fire finally extinguished, but the treasures too were destroyed in the process. Bodhisattva Lingji nearly shed tears over this loss, as each of the treasures was exceptionally rare and had taken a great deal of time to refine.

The loss of much of his purple fire from Tushita Palace, destroyed at the cost of Bodhisattva Lingji’s self-destructing treasures, also caused the Bull Demon King immense heartache. He thought to himself, “Damn it, it was not easy for this old bull to beg this bit of Tushita purple fire from my master, and in a matter of moments, nearly ninety percent is gone! This Bodhisattva Lingji really is a bad omen!”

The Bull Demon King had originally obtained so much Tushita purple fire to refine some magical treasures or elixirs for himself, never anticipating that someone would come knocking on his door in less than two days, and someone extremely fierce at that. This magical duel had now destroyed nearly ninety percent of his fire, leaving just a little in the calabash.

He dared not use the remaining flames to burn anymore, and simply put away the calabash, then rushed forward with his staff to fight.

Wukong, watching from the side, felt itching to join in and couldn’t help but want to grab his spear and thrust it into Bodhisattva Lingji twice.

Bodhisattva Lingji waved his hand, and suddenly a burst of yellow light rose up, from which a yellow-furred mouse emerged, spewing yellow smoke as it charged towards the Bull Demon King!

“Good grief, so it’s this demon!”

Wukong realized that this was the yellow-furred monster he had encountered on the Journey to the West. Immediately, he drew his bow and shot an arrow straight at Bodhisattva Lingji!

In a great shock, Bodhisattva Lingji sacrificed the Flying Dragon Treasure Staff to block the attack, but the Eight-Clawed Golden Dragon was struck by the arrow and immediately started to bleed profusely, its golden light dimming. Bodhisattva Lingji also spat out a bit of blood, as he controlled the Flying Dragon Treasure Staff with a strand of his Primordial Spirit, thus maneuvering it as freely as if it were his own limb.

Enraged, the Bull Demon King could no longer hold back and directly sacrificed the last bit of Tushita purple fire from the calabash and burned the yellow-furred mouse with it. The mouse couldn’t avoid it and got burned directly, emitting sharp and piercing screams before instantly turning into flying ash. Seeing there was still a little bit of the Tushita purple fire left, the Bull Demon King immediately collected it.

At that moment, Wukong, wielding his long spear, battled Bodhisattva Lingji. His moves were unpredictable, and now his skills were even better than the Bull Demon King’s, leaving Bodhisattva Lingji struggling to cope!

Raising his left hand, he instantly grasped a Seven-Colored Dust Brush, and with a sweep at the incoming Flying Dragon Treasure Staff, brushed it away!

The Treasure Staff, upon touching the Seven-Colored Divine Light, was immediately flung backward and flew out of hand; seizing the moment, Wukong brushed again, sending Bodhisattva Lingji flying backward! Seeing the opportunity, the Bull Demon King, wielding his Mixed Iron Staff, struck the Bodhisattva in the back, producing a crisp “crack” sound, probably breaking his back with that blow.

“Damn it, back in the day you from the Buddhist Sect were oppressive, coming to bully this old bull, taking me to the Western Heaven to be ridden by someone! Damn your legs, you were there too, Bodhisattva, I remember it clearly!” The Bull Demon King swung his staff and cursed as he followed up with several more blows.

Bodhisattva Lingji, already gasping for air from the Bull Demon King’s initial strike, was now overwhelmed by countless shadows of the staff. How could he withstand them? Moreover, with his treasure staff already flown out of his hand, what could he use to counterattack?

They could only counter with Buddhist Sect’s Dharma Seal and secret techniques, but as a flower from the other shore blossomed, it was about to separate the two realms.

Wukong, however, saw everything clearly and, drawing his bow and notching an arrow, he shot once, releasing three arrows simultaneously. Three rainbows descended, shattering the flower from the other shore and instantly breaking the barrier. As the three arrows flew, he suddenly felt an emptiness of Mana, sweat forming on his forehead.

The Bull Demon King laughed loudly, saying, “Could it be that you, a grand Bodhisattva, are going to shrink back like a turtle?”

With that, several more strikes of his staff came crashing down, causing Lingji Bodhisattva to cry out in agony, repeatedly yelling, “My life is over, my life is over!”

Wukong suddenly said, “Act quickly, any delay could lead to trouble!”

The Bull Demon King roared in approval, reverted to his true form, and charged directly at Lingji Bodhisattva.

This blow struck right at the abdomen, blasting the Bodhisattva’s mouth with fresh blood and shattering his steel teeth, his midsection a bloody, mangled mess; Wukong hurried over, slashed with his horsetail whisk, and with a burst of Seven-Colored Divine Light, brushed Lingji Bodhisattva back into place.

At this moment, the Bull Demon King wielded his Mixed Iron Staff, which transformed as he wished, becoming as thick as a large tree and a hundred lengths long, and struck down directly at the head!

“Boom!”

With one strike, a blaze of blossoming peach blossoms and stars filled his vision.

The head of Lingji Bodhisattva was directly smashed to pieces, and his Primordial Spirit escaped from the Niwan Palace’s altar, trying to flee, but Wukong was already prepared for this move. With a flick of his horsetail whisk, the Seven-Colored Dust Brush fibers instantly grew a thousand lengths long and wrapped around Lingji Bodhisattva’s Primordial Spirit; with a flick of his wrist, he snagged it.

“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!” Who said Bodhisattvas were indifferent to life and death? Lingji Bodhisattva still begged loudly after his Primordial Spirit was captured by Wukong.

Wukong thought coldly to himself, “What are these so-called divine beings but mere illusions created by the ignorant due to their strength? I, Sun Wukong, will have these myriad Buddhas—vanish like smoke and disperse like clouds!”

His eyes revealed an air of indifference and ruthlessness—Kill! Kill! Kill!!!

His five fingers slowly closed around Lingji Bodhisattva’s Primordial Spirit, much as Tathagata had once held him.

“Back then, Tathagata pinched me like this, do you remember?” Wukong transmitted telepathically.

Lingji Bodhisattva’s eyes suddenly widened with shock, his expression revealing it all, but Wukong gave him no chance to speak. His fingers closed, Mana circulated, and instantly, Wukong crumbled the Primordial Spirit into dust! This scene even caused the Bull Demon King by his side to shiver; this Taoist was truly ruthless and chilling in his methods of killing, as if he took pleasure in it…

After killing Lingji Bodhisattva, Wukong felt his thoughts flowing more freely.

Lingji Bodhisattva had also been one of the planners back then, or rather, he was one of those in the know, having appeared twice on the Western Heaven path. How could Wukong let go of those who plotted against him? It was indeed fortunate that this Bodhisattva came to him today, truly walking into the lion’s den.

Tathagata had underestimated the Bull Demon King’s abilities and did not expect Wukong to seek out the Bull Demon King. Would he have sent Lingji Bodhisattva to his death if he knew? Perhaps then, someone formidable like Guanyin or Manjushri would have come instead.

Bodhisattva and Buddha are not grades of Mana but merely titles of different ranks.

For example, among the Buddhas in Western Heaven, most are no match for Guanyin; among the Boundless Bodhisattvas of Western Heaven, most are no match for the Eighteen Arhats.

Just like people, in any circle, there are strong and weak ones. Bodhisattva and Buddha are merely titles, of course, with Buddha holding a higher status. If one wishes to become a Buddha, one needs either to achieve Great Divine Power or accumulate merit for the Buddhist Sect.

After crushing Lingji Bodhisattva’s Primordial Spirit, Wukong dusted off his hands, secured his horsetail whisk and lance, and asked, “Brother Bull, have you settled your grudge?”

The Bull Demon King nodded, saying, “Indeed, I have! Hehe, but I wonder why the Taoist Master holds such a deep hatred for the Buddhist Sect?”

Wukong then said, “I’ve always had a deep grievance with the Buddhist Sect, just as there is an inevitable conflict between Buddhism and Daoism. Hehe, but let us not ask too much, Brother Bull; leave me some secrets untold.”

The Bull Demon King replied, “Alright, alright.”

Wukong continued, “Having killed this Bodhisattva, I fear the people of Western Heaven will be furious. I suppose you don’t wish to venture into Western Heaven again, do you, Brother?”

The Bull Demon King nodded again, “Indeed, I do not. Does the Taoist Master have somewhere to go?”

After some thought, Wukong said, “There is indeed a place. Recently, the First Emperor Ying Zheng has rebuilt Water Curtain Cave. Holding significant power, he could withstand both Western Heaven and Heavenly Court. With several Taiyi Golden Immortals and two Daluo Golden Immortals, along with three hundred thousand celestial soldiers across the Nine Realms. Right now, amidst the critical Buddhist-Daoist conflict, Buddhists will hardly wish to expend forces to exterminate this power at Water Curtain Cave.”

The Bull Demon King narrowed his eyes in thought, murmuring to himself, “Water Curtain Cave? Hehe…”

The two then used their Escape Skill towards Water Curtain Cave, the Bull Demon King even bringing along the Jade-faced Fox. As for the other trivial matters in the mountains, they couldn’t care less.