Chapter 406
Wukong and the Victorious Fighting Buddha
Inside the secret chamber, the golden light gradually faded, and the lightning and fire on the nine bronze pillars flickered in the darkness.
The bright red Taoist robe slipped to the ground.
Long, jet-black hair fell across the snow-white animal hide.
The roar of the tiger echoed softly in the secret chamber, intertwining with the crackling sound of lightning on the bronze pillar, lingering for a long time.
After an unknown amount of time, everything returned to calm.
Jin Mu nestled in Wu Tian's arms, her long, black hair cascading over her shoulders, a few strands damp with sweat clinging to her flushed cheeks.
The bright red Taoist robe was casually tossed aside, and her voluptuous and graceful figure was faintly visible in the darkness.
Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her breathing gradually became steady.
Wu Tian leaned back on the jade platform, one hand around her waist, the other gently stroking her long hair. His gaze fell on the dense incantations on the dome of the secret chamber, while his mind pondered his own cultivation.
He has cultivated the Great Dao of Wishes to its current level, which is completely perfect, equivalent to the ninth level of the Great Sage and the Sea of Immortals. He has reached a point where he can no longer advance.
Although his innate divine embryo gave him far greater combat power than ordinary people of the same level, he could even fight against half-step Golden Immortals.
However, compared to the current strength of the Golden Crow, it is still a notch below.
Unless he also takes another step forward, making further progress on his current perfect cultivation and beginning to touch the path of the Golden Immortal.
This is naturally an extremely difficult task for ordinary immortals, Buddhas, demons, and monsters. Even after years of arduous cultivation, they may not make any progress. They can only rely on their own talent and opportunities to slowly find their way.
But throughout history, too many monsters have been trapped at this step.
Anyone who can take even half a step forward has already left their mark on the long river of history.
However, Wu Tian used the system panel to refine the ten-thousand-year-old peach, and in one fell swoop he perfected the cultivation of Xing Tian Golden Spear, turning it into Xing Tian's guardian deity. He even merged the Ruyi Dao and Xing Tian Golden Spear to create the Ruyi Divine Weapon.
His gains were not limited to achieving perfect magical power and cultivation.
"Ruyi Dao, having reached my current state, wants to take another step forward, and the direction it takes is actually Wukong..."
Wu Tian was also surprised. He had indeed gained some insights into the path to becoming a Golden Immortal after refining the ten-thousand-year-old peach, but that path made him hesitate.
The direction he realized was not the so-called void, but the emptiness of phenomena as described in Buddhism.
In Theravada Buddhism, one sees formation, existence, decay, and emptiness; one knows impermanence and emptiness after cessation.
In Mahayana Buddhism, one sees emptiness as the nature of things, knowing that emptiness is present in the moment, that emptiness and existence are not two, and that it does not await destruction.
It can be said that the Way of Auspiciousness is the Way of the Mind. If one wants to go further, one will inevitably embark on a path similar to the Buddhist concept of emptiness.
This is what is known as Wukong.
Wukong, on the other hand, had no attachments and attained great freedom and liberation.
This inevitably reminded him of the monkey from the myths and legends of his previous life, who had already cultivated into a great sage of the demon race and comprehended the same Ruyi Path in the Lingtai Fangcun Mountain and Xieyue Sanxing Cave.
But in the end, one must enter the Buddhist order and go through eighty-one tribulations before one can obtain the so-called Victorious Fighting Buddha position.
"Am I also destined to take this path?"
Wu Tian felt that all of this was a strange coincidence, which made him quite hesitant. If he continued down this path, he might one day become the Victorious Fighting Buddha.
However, he quickly came up with an idea: "The principles and laws of this world are eternal. Whether it is Buddhism or Taoism, they have only discovered the principles and laws of this world, summarized and explained them, and then spread them among all living beings."
"This emptiness and emptiness are inherently part of the laws of heaven and earth. They were not created by Buddhism, but rather discovered by it."
“I can naturally follow this path as well. What’s the point of the Victorious Fighting Buddha? As long as I don’t enter the Buddhist order, even if I truly understand emptiness, I can still summon the Victorious Fighting Ape. Why do I need to worry about so many things?”
"The only thing I need to be concerned about is that if I really take this path, I will definitely not be able to compare with the Buddha who has practiced on this path for countless years. In that case, I will really fall into his grasp and be unable to escape his suppression for the rest of my life."
"As long as you follow the path of Wukong, unless you can surpass the Buddha, you will be controlled by him for life. This is the price."
"but……"
Wu Tian's eyes were deep and mysterious. In that instant, he thought about many things. He had many incarnations. The Wind Mother Dharma Form was in the Heavenly Court. It had only a few karmic connections with Buddhism, but no enmity between them.
The Golden Crow Dharma Image is already the Buddha's mortal enemy.
The true form and the Dharma image of Hou Yi have not yet appeared, but it is conceivable that the Dharma image of Hou Yi would surely arouse the Buddha's vigilance. The one who can achieve enlightenment in one lifetime is the Great Sun Tathagata.
On the contrary, his appearance as a gibbon with a long arm has never clashed with Buddhism, nor has he had any grudges or entanglements with the Yellow-Eyebrowed Buddha of Little Western Paradise. In fact, due to the Yellow-Eyebrowed Buddha's mediation, they have developed some goodwill towards each other.
If one truly follows the path of Wukong and enters the Buddhist order, given the recent passing of the true forms of Dingguang Bodhisattva and Guanyin Bodhisattva, one would surely become a pillar of Buddhism, shouldering great responsibilities and receiving full support from Buddhist resources.
"Even if Avalokitesvara has other forms in the world, her true form is likely to be her most powerful form. If she loses her true form, her combat power will inevitably be greatly affected."
"If I were to cultivate the Wukong method and join the Buddhist order, who knows..."
"One day, we will be able to work together from within and without to overthrow Mount Ling."
He pondered silently, and an idea gradually formed in his mind.
It must be said that this was a brilliant move, allowing him to establish himself in the enemy's stronghold and thus know the enemy's every move in advance, but it was not without danger and flaws.
"If the Buddha truly wants to accept me into the Buddhist order, he must thoroughly understand my background. My experiences before entering the Dragon Palace are completely blank. If someone with great interest were to use their supernatural powers to investigate, they could easily think of the Golden Crow, whose experiences were also completely blank."
“For truly important figures, they know all too well about avatars and clones. If there were some kind of causal secret technique that could directly lock down my connection with other avatars or even my true body, then we would be in big trouble.”
"Besides, by joining the Buddhist order, I also risk being converted by the Buddha..."
"After all, the battle of the mind is the most dangerous, and even among the many gods, the Buddha's mind has always been an extremely terrifying existence, and he can even reincarnate continuously without falling into the cycle of reincarnation."
"This is not something that can be achieved simply by having powerful supernatural abilities; what is even more terrifying is its eternally unwavering mental will."
Just as Wu Tian was pondering silently, Jin Mu opened her eyes.
Her bright eyes held a languid look of satisfaction as she sat up from Wu Tian's embrace, revealing a large expanse of fair skin.
She didn't mind, raising her hand to tuck her disheveled long hair behind her ear, her movements calm and elegant.
"You monkey, you're so impatient, you can't sit still for a moment." Her voice was hoarse and languid, with an indescribable allure.
Wu Tian looked at her, a smile playing on his lips. "Isn't it because my mistress is too beautiful?" Jin's mother gave him a strange look. "Mistress, what kind of nonsense is that?"
"Alright, you've had your fun. Let's get down to business."
Wu Tian squinted, his pupils gleaming with golden light, as he leisurely examined the curvaceous and alluring figure of the woman opposite him.
"I haven't had enough fun yet... I think I can continue..."
Upon hearing this, Jinmu's expression stiffened slightly, and she felt her legs go weak. The body of the Tongbi Divine Ape was indeed terrifying to the extreme. Even though she was a primordial saint with an indestructible body, she was still somewhat unable to withstand it.
"Stop fooling around. Seventh Sister has sent me messages several times. The situation outside is getting more and more tense, and we can no longer afford to be leisurely."
Wu Tian pulled her into his arms, playing with the dumpling in his hand, ignoring Jin's mother's coquettish reproach, and said, "You say what you want, I'm listening."
Jin's mother glanced at him helplessly, but she couldn't resist. She leaned her still slightly weak body against him and let him do as he pleased.
“During the month you were in seclusion, the competition among the three rankings of Heaven, Earth, and Man became increasingly fierce. Now, out of the 365 divine positions, only a little over 50 remain.”
Wu Tian frowned slightly. "So fast?"
"Hmm." The Golden Mother nodded. "Perhaps it is because of the appearance of the Pleiades Star Lord that many immortals, Buddhas, demons and monsters have felt a sense of crisis, and many beings who were not in a hurry to take action have emerged one after another."
“Many terrifying ancient relics have appeared recently. Some are old monsters who have been in seclusion since ancient times, some are rogue cultivators who have been hiding in the mountains, and some are… hidden forces from the six Heavenly Lords.”
She paused, a hint of seriousness flashing in her eyes.
“Those ancient relics are incredibly powerful. Some of them are even more skilled than me.”
"As far as I know, there are several half-step Golden Immortals."
"The Taiyi Dao Master of the Taiyi Temple of the Taiqing Dao lineage, who is also Jun Wenxian's master, displayed the terrifying cultivation of a half-step Golden Immortal with his first move. His Yin-Yang Subduing Demon Diagram and Taiyi Qiankun Circle silenced the Three Realms."
"There is also the Jade Spring True Man of the Kunlun Dao lineage, who cultivates the Immortal Slaying Sword Dao. His three thousand sword qi can open up a world, which is very close to the Golden Immortal level. It is terrifying to the extreme."
"Even the Buddhist sect produced a Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who subdued a demon named Di Ting and emerged from the eighteenth level of the Buddha's hell. With his Ksitigarbha Vow Blade, he terrified all the demons and ghosts in the world."
"On the contrary, the Dragon and Phoenix clans have remained silent, but I think that with the foundation of these two clans, there must be terrifyingly powerful individuals among them."
Jin Mu turned around to face Wu Tian. The languor in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by her usual majesty and clarity.
"The ones I just listed are only half-step Golden Immortals. There are more than ten overlord-level powerhouses who have reached the Perfection of Immortal."
"It is conceivable that the struggle for the divine position will become more intense as time goes on. Once the divine positions are determined and the struggle for the Heavenly Emperor begins, the gods will fight each other, and there will inevitably be bloodshed."
"The strongest among them will inevitably fall..."
"The situation is really dangerous."
Wu Tian remained silent for a moment, even though he felt a heavy pressure. Besides what Jin Mu had said, Kunlun Jiang Shu and the famous Seven Killings Star Lord must also be half-step Golden Immortals, otherwise they wouldn't have made such a name for themselves.
With so many powerful individuals clashing head-on for the throne of the Heavenly Emperor, one can only imagine the immense and frenzied battle that would ensue.
"Therefore, we must act as soon as possible and cannot delay any longer." The Golden Mother's voice was cold and firm. "Only after the two of us have obtained a divine position can we begin to prepare for the struggle for the imperial throne."
She looked at Wu Tian with a solemn gaze.
"With our strength, we are certainly confident enough to win the battle for the divine throne, but we cannot reveal the Xing Tian lineage yet. We must hide our strength so that we can achieve a surprise victory at the crucial moment in the battle for the Heavenly Emperor."
Wu Tian nodded. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Just then, a beam of cool moonlight descended from the heavens and soon landed outside the Jade Pool Cave, emitting a clear and melodious hum.
The Golden Mother, who was in Wu Tian's arms, raised an eyebrow and extended her divine sense. She then sensed that outside the Yaochi Cave Heaven, a spellbook as clear and cold as moonlight was floating in the void.
The spellbook was entirely white, emitting a faint silver light, like a bright moon hanging in the sky. Countless fine incantations flowed within the silver light, exuding a cool and profound aura.
This book of incantations contains extremely mysterious causal connections; unless one is a specific person, no one else can even see it.
Jin Mu sat up straight from Wu Tian's embrace, a strange light flashing in her bright eyes. She raised her hand and the spellbook outside the cave turned into a silver light, passing through layers of restrictions and falling into her palm.
She unfolded the scroll, silver light swirling in her palm. After glancing at it, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and she murmured to herself, "I didn't expect that person would come looking for me at a time like this..."
Wu Tian looked at her and asked with some curiosity, "Who is it?"
Jin's mother did not answer immediately. Instead, she put away the calligraphy scroll, turned around and looked at him, her bright eyes carrying a hint of a smile that was not quite a smile.
"Weren't you always curious about that future superstar?" she said slowly and deliberately. "Now she's delivered herself right to your doorstep."
Wu Tian's heart skipped a beat.
A future superstar.
Shen Hongyu.
Why is she here?
Seeing that he was momentarily distracted when he heard about the future queen, Jin Mu couldn't help but let out a soft hum, and then flicked her fair finger, striking Wu Tian's vital spot precisely.
With a crisp "snap," it sounded like metal clashing.
Wu Tian gasped, his whole body arching sharply.
"You, you woman, are you crazy?!"
"You've taken my body, so you'd better behave yourself." Jin's mother looked down at him, her eyes full of warning. "I don't like you seducing other women."
"Your Little Dragon Girl is one thing, but if there are other women..." Her voice was cold and calm, yet carried an undeniable domineering air, "...I'll teach you a lesson...hmph..."
She snorted coldly, turned around, and began to gather the clothes scattered on the ground.
Wu Tian leaned back on the jade platform, watching her back. Her snow-white and alluring body was faintly visible in the darkness, with a slender waist and a round, pert bottom; every curve exuded a natural beauty.
It's beautiful, but it's too fierce.
As expected of a tigress. (End of Chapter)