Chapter 478: Buddha! Buddha? Buddha!

The east wind blooms a thousand trees with flowers at night, further blowing them down like stars in the rain.

White robes ripple, divine art radiance illuminates his entire body; as heaven and earth tremble, a true dragon coils, a celestial phoenix cries out, and a sea of golden lotuses manifests in the Journey to the West world.

"I must thank you."

The blade embryo is activated; a rainbow beam crosses the boundary of that moment of spacetime, arriving from its distant end, shattering the drifting fire-sang petals and carving open the overlapping region between the Hehua Zizai Heaven and the mind world.

A figure stands at the edge of the fire-sang grove, gazing with longing; the mulberry picker wears her favorite red dress, alone in sorrow, silently pausing until the passage between the mind world and the real world gradually seals shut.

That was Shi Hao's memory of Huo Ling'er, and he himself seemed to return to the past.

A boldness and confidence long absent reappeared on Shi Hao's face; his black hair streamed freely, surrounded by myriad wonders, like an immortal king seated atop the ninth heaven.

"I have nothing to offer in return—this sword is my thanks to the Chan Master!"

The most stunned was Bodhisattva Po Xun.

He had just unleashed a Buddha Palm, overpowering all methods with his superior cultivation to suppress the single slash from Kuangdao Bawang's absolute knife, crossing cause and time; yet a sharp killing intent arrived instantly before his eyes.

He stared at Shi Hao before him, forming the Vajra Mudra; his eyes suddenly grew profound, nearly pitch-black: "Namo!"

The blazing light-rain from the blade embryo struck Bodhisattva Po Xun; each drop, each speck, carried power sufficient to overturn heaven and earth, stirring the heavens and clouds centered on Mount Fuling.

"Ascend to Lingshan! Let all Buddhas enter Nirvana!"

The second strike of Kuangdao Bawang's Six Cuts appeared; the long blade bent, slashed horizontally, concealing countless indistinguishable transformations.

The blade-light merged into Shi Hao's radiant rain, borrowing its power to carve a path and strike toward Bodhisattva Po Xun.

"No good!"

Bodhisattva Po Xun clenched his teeth, suppressing the metallic sweetness in his throat; the Buddha's discarded form, not yet fully merged with his true nature and spirit, was beginning to separate?!

"Om Mani Padme Hum."

The six-syllable mantra erupted; boundless Buddhist light severed ignorance, opened wisdom, and dispelled calamity!

White lotuses bloomed, the fleeting blossoms vanished in an instant; Bodhisattva Po Xun gazed at that radiant, blazing figure—the peerless immortal king who seemed to tower above heaven and earth—with eyes full of confusion.

"Could that pig really be this strong?!"

But before he could even exhale, the bright moon vanished, and the stars dimmed.

A black iron rod as wide as a mountain and ten thousand zhang tall was raised high by a single hand of "Sun Wukong," his gaze as fierce as a demon.

It lifted the sky and blocked the heavens!

"."

Return to Lingshan first; within a few days, I will fully fuse the Buddha's body, then decide my next move.

Firm in his resolve, Bodhisattva Po Xun turned to leave—when a cold, hard object pressed against his brow.

Boom—!!!

"How is this possible?"

Intense pain erupted at the center of his brow bone; his entire body lost control. A crimson bullet engraved with ancient dragon script emitted a blood-red, ominous glow, spiraling at high speed, annihilating the Buddha body's spiritual radiance with countless laws.

Bodhisattva Po Xun fell backward, unaware that a young man with tear-streaked cheeks and blazing golden pupils had appeared behind him, or when he had returned from merging with his Hehua Zizai Heaven.

Though his gaze was hollow and vacant, it radiated supreme arrogance, as if a sovereign judging all beings from above.

"Here—this is reality!"

The black muzzle instantly adjusted its angle; Lu Mingfei's bones operated with mechanical precision, re-aiming at the bullet lodged in Bodhisattva Po Xun's brow bone, still spinning.

High in the heavens, the Golden Monkey's Ruyi Jingu Bang fell with howling winds; at point-blank range, an alchemical bullet slid into the magazine, ready to fire with a trigger pull; more, cosmic chains of order intertwined with countless supreme divine arts surged forth.

And in the Desire Realm, there was that "Tang Seng" who had damaged his spirit, and nearby, that sinister "Sha Wujing" was interfering.

What the hell.

Is this the pilgrimage team?!

As disaster loomed, Bodhisattva Po Xun steadied his spirit, suppressed his frustration, sat upright, harmonized his breath, and became utterly serene—immediately preparing to forcibly unleash the Buddha's power.

With his Niu Mowang origin, with the power of Hehua Zizai Heaven, let the Buddha's existence manifest.

Hehua Zizai Heaven—because within transformation one attains freedom; having entered this body, one gains the work of creation.

Now, he must attain Supreme Perfect Enlightenment!

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged into an ocean, pitch-black; all worldly desires surged and ebbed within it, rolling with the tide of the age.

"Throughout heaven and earth—"

His voice thundered; in an instant, a golden sun tore through the ocean, stirred the winds and clouds, and rose slowly.

"I alone am honored!"

Lustrous light spun, Zen meaning filled the heavens; a towering Buddha, weathered by eons, emerged upon the river of past and future time.

One hand pointed to heaven, the other touched the earth; layers of Buddha-light radiated behind his head, illuminating all ten directions of Shanhe.

Boundless Buddhist light erased laws, drowned all calamities across the cosmos; instantly, heaven and earth cleared, serene and peaceful—only the ancient vow echoed.

"Good!" Meng Qi caught the rebounding Ruyi Jingu Bang, formed the Buddha Mudra, and roared: "I'm joining too!"

Whether you're the Buddha of this world or not—if I'm intimidated now, I won't bear the surname Meng!

His right hand raised in Buddhist greeting, his left held a knife; he chanted sutras: "Thus have I heard: once the Buddha dwelt in Trāyastriṃśa Heaven."

Meng Qi's form dissolved into emptiness; when he reappeared, he stood as a flawless, perfect Buddha body, woven from countless points of Buddhist light.

"Throughout heaven and earth—I alone am honored!"

Same hand pointing to heaven, same hand touching earth, same illumination of wisdom and vow-power—only difference: True-Defining Buddha held an ancient lamp.

The secret of cause and effect ignited; a faint glimmer pierced through past, present, and future!

"Stop pulling me!" Su Lin carried a fruit tray and fine wine, stepped out through the opening Bodhisattva Po Xun had torn open, and kicked back those shouting "Holy Monk!" and "Imperial Brother!"—whether demons of the mind or heavenly demons.

He also sealed the opening.

Someone was livestreaming; though this wasn't his own deliberately crafted mind world, if people saw what was inside—

Great. The group chat would surely spin some wild rumors about me.

Especially those familiar faces dressed in risqué attire—goodness, even jumping into Liushahe wouldn't wash them clean.

"Fuck…"

He had just stepped out when he heard two golden Buddha forms, towering to the heavens, facing off—two consecutive shouts of "I alone am supreme!" scattered the delicacies and fine wines forged from desire and spiritual power into particles that vanished.

"Why are you yelling so loud?!" Su Lin stared at the two "Buddhas," scratched his empty hands, and cursed: "Aren't you all followers of the Buddha Path too?!"

Light emerged from heaven and earth, sutra chants never ceased, celestial flowers rained down, and Su Lin sat cross-legged in empty space, summoning back the Formless Heavenly Buddha Body.

All forms are illusory; if you see all forms as non-forms, you see the Buddha!

The Heavenly Buddha, magnificent and solemn, came from nowhere and went nowhere; his Dharma body was pure, perfect, and mirror-like, illuminating all heavens and manifesting all sentient beings.

"Throughout heaven and earth, I alone am supreme!!!"

Radiant light blazed forth; the world turned illusory.

Within the Western Journey world where all Buddhas had entered Nirvana, three similar yet distinct Buddhas stood opposed, their shimmering Buddha light illuminating the Three Realms and Six Paths.

In an instant, the scarred earth trembled, demons and monsters fled, and all gods and spirits were struck with terror!

"I always knew the Son of Heaven of the Sixth Desire Heaven was bold—he's been scheming against the Buddha since forever."

Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing flicked his fly whisk, gazing from an unnamed Shanfeng tens of thousands of miles away at the distant flood of Buddha light, and shook his head:

"Tsk, tsk, tsk—but how dare he?"

"Oh, I forgot—he doesn't know there's been a change in personnel for this pilgrimage."

"Who told him to side with those evil demons?"

The Matchmaker stared blankly, tugging at his red thread, feeling this scene was absurd beyond belief: "One, two, three Buddhas?!"

Though one of them was a transformation of Yuanshi Tianzun, this sight was still shockingly unprecedented.

"Someone who didn't know might think the Buddhist sect was flourishing," muttered Chi Jiao Da Xian, clicking his tongue.

The Matchmaker pinched his beard to snap himself awake and asked: "The Hun Tian Di ordered us to find Poxun—do we still need to?"

"Find his ass! What the hell did Poxun do?!" Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing stared at the distant scene with admiration and sighed: "Before, only the Buddha had a good temper—now is he trying to unify the Three Realms?"

"Pack up, take Zhongli Quan back to Heaven to report."

The Matchmaker nodded, glanced at Zhongli Quan beside him—his hair tied in twin buns, beard long past his belly, holding a fan—and hesitated before extending his hand:

"Zhengyangzi, it's time to return to Heaven."

Zhongli Quan looked at him blankly and asked: "I'm Zhongli Quan? Oh, I guess so."

He looked at the talismans in his hand and scattered on the ground, then scratched his head with the fan's handle.

"Are these my things?" Zhongli Quan asked.

"I told you not to calculate! I said it won't work! Why must he be the one to calculate?!" The Matchmaker was on the verge of collapse, pulling out several strands of his white beard.

Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing fell silent for a moment, then said: "The Hun Tian Di has ordered…"

"Does the Hun Tian Di not trust the Three Tianzun?" The Matchmaker grabbed Zhongli Quan's arm, swept his hand to gather the half-shattered artifacts from the ground; though complaining, his tone was helpless:

"They must be someone important the Three Tianzun met while wandering beyond the heavens—or some long-buried strategy of theirs."

"At least they're more trustworthy than those demons from Lingshan."

"Watch your tongue! No one doubts the Three Tianzun!" Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing glared at the Matchmaker.

"The Hun Tian Di governs the Thirty-Six Heavens above and the Seventy-Two Earths below, overseeing all affairs of gods, immortals, Buddhas, sages, mortals, and the Underworld—his plans and thoughts are beyond our comprehension."

"It seems the Hun Tian Di has his own reasoning for the current situation."

"But why must little old me calculate for that one?!" The Matchmaker, agitated, pointed at the chaotic battlefield where divine light flew wildly and countless stars tumbled down:

"Zhongli Quan calculated the Curtain-Rolling General and ended up like this—if I calculate that horse or that Tang Sanzang, I'll lose my entire cultivation!"

His emotions ran high, and spittle splattered onto Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing's face.

"Yue Hua Xianjun, you're an ancient immortal—now, in Heaven, you're the only one fit to shoulder this burden," Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing wiped his face and said.

"Shoulder his ass!" The Matchmaker dragged the bewildered Zhongli Quan toward Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing's face and pointed at him:

"Last time, it was the Tianzun and that unknown Hun Tian Di vouching for him—now you want me to calculate? I might end up worse than him!"

"You want me to turn into this mess and then pull out your red thread and tie it to that pine tree beside you, right?!"

Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing suddenly remembered—the Matchmaker controlled even the romantic fates of immortals; if he turned into Zhongli Quan's lovesick state and started tying red threads randomly…

Tai Bai Taibai Jinxing: "..."

Within the dark, sinister Underworld.

The freezing River of the Underworld froze countless unjustly dead souls, while the Nai River, once drowned in water ghosts and wronged spirits, now ran blood-yellow and empty, crawling with insects and snakes, reeking of foul wind.

Unopened Ural flowers swayed in the wind; crimson specks of light drifted out, floating to every corner of the Underworld.

"You don't have much time left."

"Think carefully—I've offered you nothing but benefits."

"We can sign the strictest contracts, pay a price to earn your trust—we only seek control of this world."

"The fate of this world was sealed from the start; this position now lies within the influence of the Abyss—even if no Reincarnator ever arrives again, this world is destined to fall into the Abyss."

"When that time comes, a world without the Reincarnation Mark will be targeted by demon dukes, even Niu Mowang, or other worlds within the Abyss—even in its complete state, you couldn't withstand such horrors."

Each word echoed through the hollow Underworld, spoken by a man in black armor seated upon a steel skull Wang Zuo.

He had pale golden hair, a small beard on his chin, appearing between youth and middle age, with typical European Mediterranean features—ordinary face, save for his pitch-black eyes.

"We won't interfere with the reincarnation of this world's powerful beings; the merit from completing the Western Journey's sky-repairing task can be fully returned—all powerful beings can return, but this entire arrangement hinges on one condition…."

"You take control of the Underworld's reincarnation?"

Layered voices, indistinguishable by gender or age, devoid of emotion, echoed through the Underworld.

"Temporary control," Heibake corrected.

"Once you return, I will return everything exactly as it was."

"At that time, though I may control all things in this world, I will not interfere with any future development—the Underworld remains your Underworld, the Three Realms remain your Three Realms."

"We merely wish to encompass our own world within the scope of this world, to prevent the living beings of our homeland from continuing to suffer invasions from the abyss..."

He seemed quite confident in the conditions he had offered.

"Laughable."

"..."

For this response, Helbak felt no particular emotion; he simply sat upon his Wang Zuo, lightly tapping his vambrace.

"You do not have much time to consider."

He said softly:

"If we complete this task ourselves, then, in your words..."

"This world shall never know liberation!"

(End of Chapter)