Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 482 - 476: Illuminating the Mountains and Rivers [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1
Refining Pangu’s Heart Blood was an extremely lengthy process, and Sha Chen was prepared for a long-term refinement. However, as he refined it, the strength of his physical body continuously grew stronger, and his power became immense. It was as though he was cultivating his physical body, and the rate of cultivation was even faster than before. This was because he was refining Pangu’s Heart Blood; a single drop could penetrate mountains and rivers and span through ages. Not to mention, Sha Chen was refining a whole cluster of it, an amount unprecedented and rarely seen throughout history. If he could completely refine it, Sha Chen felt that even if his physical body had not fully reached the Great Perfection of Primeval Chaos, it would not be far off. By then, under the heavens, perhaps only Saints would be his match. Even Tathagata could be challenged without defeat. The formidable power granted Sha Chen tremendous confidence, as well as a powerful belief and hope.
Meanwhile, the Black Bear Demon, following Sha Chen’s command, was making his way towards China. Sha Chen actually hadn’t given him any specific orders, simply tasking him with converting the pilgrim. But it was known that with his abilities, converting the pilgrim was extremely difficult. It was merely an attempt by Sha Chen, also intended to gauge Buddhism’s views and attitude toward this generation of the pilgrimage. He decided to take the initiative, to turn a passive situation into an active one.
The Black Bear Demon was swift. The first place he arrived at was his old lair, which by now had been occupied by other demons. He showed no emotional response, as it had been hundreds of years since he left the Black Wind Cave, and it being occupied by other demons was only natural. However, the demons here were just like he had been before, all holding hopes towards Buddhism and planning to seize the opportunity to defect. Tens of miles west of the Black Wind Cave lay the Guanyin Zen Temple, newly built by Elder Jin Chi. Elder Jin Chi, through a series of fortuitous events, had escaped several times but had always returned. He started to cultivate anew here, keeping a low profile, and dared not involve himself in any conspiracies or schemes. Waiting for the arrival of the pilgrim, he was resolved to complete the calamities meant for him. He was determined not to have a direct confrontation with Sha Chen and to stay out of any affairs related to Sha Chen. But despite all his calculations, he did not expect the Black Bear Demon to return here.
Elder Jin Chi was devoutly consuming vegetarian meals and chanting scriptures. He was already very powerful, having at least reached the level of a Golden Immortal. Such strength was already invincible in the human world. Demons and ghosts did not dare to act recklessly, and even the demon who occupied the Black Wind Cave did not dare to provoke Elder Jin Chi. Instead, they recognized Elder Jin Chi as their leader, following his orders and helping him commit wrongdoing. Almost all the evil deeds Elder Jin Chi could not do himself were carried out by those demons. The good man was Elder Jin Chi, and the bad ones were those demons. Yet the good and bad complemented each other, coexisting without any conflict.
Today, like every other day, Elder Jin Chi was meditating, consuming vegetarian meals, and chanting scriptures. The Black Bear Demon walked in. Elder Jin Chi felt a shadow loom over him, as if something had obstructed his sight. He looked up and saw a familiar figure: the Black Bear Demon had arrived. He was so frightened that he wet himself and was thrown into a panic. The disciples of the temple, having been replaced over generations, had never seen the Black Bear Demon and assumed he was just a local demon. Since they had dealings with demons, it was no surprise to them; they even thought the demon had come to seek their patriarch’s help. Little did they know, their patriarch was scared out of his wits.
Elder Jin Chi, having wet himself, was unable to use his Golden Immortal cultivation and knelt on the ground, kowtowing for mercy. "Great King, have mercy, oh Great King! You... you... how have you come back?" With his head hitting the ground, Elder Jin Chi pleaded for mercy, to the astonishment of his disciples and followers. How could their patriarch kneel before a demon? It had always been the demons who feared their patriarch; the Black Wind Cave’s demons were even under his control. But today, their patriarch called someone else "Great King" and showed such fear, even kowtowing and begging for mercy! Inconceivable. The disciples and followers were stunned and remained speechless. For a long while, they could not recover from their shock.
The Black Bear Demon looked at Elder Jin Chi and said indifferently, "Jin Chi, I didn’t expect that after hundreds of years, you are still up to these tricks."
"Great King, have mercy! Great King, have mercy! This humble monk has no other choice but to make a living here," Elder Jin Chi continued to plead desperately, kowtowing for mercy.
The Black Bear Demon said, "I told you that with your talent, this is as far as your cultivation will go, and that you would only be a True Immortal in this life. I didn’t expect you to have cultivated to the level of a Golden Immortal. It seems that in these years, you’ve consumed quite a few travelers with spiritual cultivation."
Elder Jin Chi enjoyed playing the good samaritan on the road, only to have his demonic associates rob those passersby. He would then find ways to make those demons refine the spiritually powerful travelers into pills for him to ingest. Therefore, after so long, his cultivation level had actually improved.
Elder Jin Chi said, "Yes, yes, yes, these were deeds I did while following you, Great King."
The Black Bear Demon said, "Heh, I haven’t eaten human flesh for a long time now. Mortals have their own Dao; this is the will of Heaven. Eating humans is to sever one’s own foundation; this is what my Master said."
Master? Thinking of Sha Chen, Elder Jin Chi’s mind went blank. So the rumors were true! The Black Bear Demon had indeed started following Sha Chen and had even recognized Sha Chen as his Master! How terrifying.
Elder Jin Chi could no longer gauge the Black Bear Demon’s true strength. However, it was rumored that decades ago, the Black Bear Demon had been captured and taken to the Heavenly Prison, only to escape later. At that time, the Black Bear Demon was already a Daluo Golden Immortal. After so many years, even if he had made no progress, he was definitely not someone Elder Jin Chi could handle. He was filled with terror.
Elder Jin Chi pleaded for mercy, "Yes, yes, yes! Please spare my life, Great King! In the future, I will no longer dare to eat humans."
The Black Bear Demon said, "I originally had no intention of dealing with you. However, you plotted against me in the past and also against my Master. My Master especially detests Buddhist lackeys like you." He sighed and said, "Forget it. I don’t want to kill you either. Just cripple your own cultivation and live as an ordinary old monk!"
Upon hearing this, Elder Jin Chi was stunned. Filled with panic, he continuously begged, "Great King, please spare my life, spare my life! If I cripple my cultivation, I definitely won’t survive three days here."
He was right. He had committed many evil deeds in his daily life and made countless enemies. Without his cultivation, it was likely that his enemies would come knocking, and his death would be certain. Even within this Guanyin Zen Temple, many of his disciples and followers wanted to take his place. Not to mention those demons he controlled in the Black Wind Cave; if they knew his cultivation was gone, they would surely kill him at the first opportunity.
Elder Jin Chi kept pleading bitterly, but the Black Bear Demon didn’t budge an inch, his heart as firm as iron and stone. In a cold voice, he said, "If you don’t have the courage to cripple your own cultivation, then I’ll do it myself. Don’t blame me for showing no mercy then."
Enraged, Elder Jin Chi snapped. No matter how he pleaded, it was no use. "Black Bear Demon, no matter how I beg, you won’t let me off! By crippling my cultivation, aren’t you seeking my life?"
"You’re an escaped convict from the Heavenly Court! What right do you have to be so high and mighty? You are Sha Chen’s man, you’re finished, having admitted it yourself!"
"I’ve already reported what’s happening here to Buddhism. I fear that by this moment, people from Buddhism are already on their way. If you run now, you may still escape; if you wait for them to arrive, your death is certain!"
The Black Bear Demon said, "You’re really asking for death, aren’t you? I gave you a chance, and you didn’t take it."
He raised his hand, ready to strike Elder Jin Chi dead.
Yet, he suddenly stopped. At that moment, outside the Guanyin Zen Temple, over a hundred Buddhist lights descended, illuminating the entire temple and surrounding it completely.
Elder Jin Chi was overjoyed, laughing loudly. "Buddhism has sent people! There are over a hundred Arhats! HISS... And even the Honorable Carp from Buddhism, he actually came too!"
The Honorable Carp was that very carp from the Guanyin Pool. He had listened to Guanyin reciting Buddhist scriptures for thousands of years, then stolen Guanyin’s offerings and gained spiritual power. Guanyin planned for him to descend to the mortal realm as a demon after some time, becoming one of the eighty-one tribulations. At this moment, the Honorable Carp had received orders to specifically come and besiege the Black Bear Demon.
Besides him, there were over a hundred Buddhist Arhats, each one powerful, possessing strong Golden Immortal cultivation. They weren’t like pseudo-Golden Immortals such as Elder Jin Chi, who had advanced his cultivation through elixirs. Moreover, Buddhism had strength in numbers and had come prepared, their momentum formidable.
That wasn’t all. In the sky, there were thousands of Roaming Gods and Jia Lan Celestial Generals. They were from The Mysterious Altar Department and had been guarding the area around the Flowing Sand River. Their aim had been to wait for the appearance of demons like the Black Bear Demon to capture them all in one fell swoop. Now that they had discovered the Black Bear Demon, they all emerged, surrounding the Guanyin Zen Temple completely.
Upon seeing this, Elder Jin Chi burst into laughter and said, "Black Bear Demon, you can’t escape! Both Buddhism and the Heavenly Court are after you, yet you still think of crippling me?!"
The Black Bear Demon appeared indifferent, looking up at the sky full of deities and Buddhas, also noticing some familiar figures. For instance, leading the Buddhist side was the Honorable Carp, whom he had once greatly envied for being able to stay by Guanyin’s side. Leading the celestial contingent was Zhao Gongming’s disciple, Yao Shaosi, a Celestial General from The Mysterious Altar Department. It seemed he had been demoted and was now commanding troops here. However, his strength was not diminished; he was a powerful Daluo Golden Immortal. Among the sea of deities and Buddhas, only Yao Shaosi was a Daluo Golden Immortal. But he was merely at the initial stage of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm, which was already his peak combat power.
Yao Shaosi and the Honorable Carp, joining forces, looked down upon the Black Bear Demon and shouted, "Black Bear Demon, surrender and you shall not be killed!"
Elder Jin Chi sneered, "Black Bear Demon, did you hear that? ’Surrender and you shall not be killed.’ If you kneel and beg me, perhaps I can still help you negotiate some benefits."
The Black Bear Demon remained unfazed and activated his Law of Heaven and Earth Divine Power.
Yao Shaosi became furious. "You still dare to resist? Take him down! If possible, drag him to the Flowing Sand River to compel Sha Chen to submit!"
The Black Bear Demon scoffed, "Just the likes of you? You think you’re worthy of threatening my Master?"
Yao Shaosi roared, "Heavenly Nets and Earthly Traps!"
The Honorable Carp shouted, "Subdue Demons and Vanquish Devils!"
However, all of it was like flowers in a mirror, the moon in water, castles in the air, rootless duckweed.
The Black Bear Demon, using his Law of Heaven and Earth, swelled his form ten thousandfold, large enough to tread upon Black Wind Mountain. He opened his cavernous maw.
Instantly, the Heavenly Nets and Earthly Traps were devoured, and the Demon-subduing and Devil-conquering Formation was shattered. He devoured the entire host of deities and Buddhas from the sky in one gulp.
