Vajra Descends the Mountain, Bodhi Demon Tree

Below Spiritual Mountain, Shi Luo, his face as pale as gold paper, silently watched the Ape King and Lu Shengjun leave on a cloud with Ye Kong and Jinjiu Master.

On the Azure Cloud, Ye Kong transformed into a three-hundred-zhang giant and waved from afar at Shi Luo and the monks who had come to see them off. His complexion was completely different from that of the three beasts.

His radiant smile made him look nothing like a Spiritual Mountain Apostate who had been chased out of the mountain gate in disgrace. Instead, he looked as though a journey had ended and he was about to go home with the monkeys.

In the past, Shi Luo would certainly have punished this brat and made Ye Kong sweet-talk him for half a day before letting the matter go.

But now, he could not smile at all.

The foremost sacred ground of the Buddhist Sect, renowned throughout the Great Thousand World, had actually driven out such a genius today because of those sinister demons. Was this still the Spiritual Mountain where he had lived his entire life?

After the figures of the three beasts and one man vanished completely, Shi Luo clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth, and spoke in a low voice:

"Pass on my Vajra Decree: from this day onward, every Buddhist cultivator of the Vajra Institute whose cultivation is at the Earth Sovereign realm or above is to descend the mountain and subdue demons.

"Upon the Sacred Buddha Continent, whoever dares defy Spiritual Mountain's teachings, harm living beings, or defile the holy names of the Buddhas may be executed before reporting the matter. There is no need to submit it to Spiritual Mountain!"

A Buddhist cultivator revealed a hesitant expression and said quietly:

"Institute Master, our Vajra Institute has always stayed out of worldly affairs. Aside from guarding Spiritual Mountain, our sole duty is to obey the Mountain Lord's orders and reinforce Buddhist mountains and sacred lands throughout the world. Doing this may violate the rules."

"Hmph! Rules? Spiritual Mountain is the leader of all Buddhist sects beneath heaven. We have always taken the salvation of all living beings and the flourishing of Buddhist teachings as our aspiration. Now that all living beings suffer, if Spiritual Mountain does nothing, what right do we have to call ourselves a sacred ground?!"

Shi Luo snorted and turned around. It was as if two blazing flames burned within his eyes, while soaring killing intent rose from his deathly pale face. He resembled not a Buddha, but an Asura God of Slaughter about to unleash a massacre.

"Three years ago, someone told me something that could be called a supreme truth of the Great Dao. Unfortunately, I did not understand it then. I even thought it was childish nonsense, but only today have I finally realized its meaning!"

"Today, I will tell you these words as well. Remember them clearly!"

Shi Luo assumed the furious-eyed visage of Vajra and uttered ten earth-shattering words. With his formidable cultivation, his voice spread throughout Spiritual Mountain, causing the expressions of ten thousand monks to change.

"Kill to protect life; sever karma, not people!"

"These ten words will be personally engraved upon the gates of the Vajra Institute. So long as I remain the master of the Vajra Institute, its monks shall not return to the mountain for even a single day!"

"If the Mountain Lord wishes to hold someone accountable, he can strip me of my position as institute master. At worst, he can cripple my cultivation and lock me in the Demon Suppressing Pagoda alongside those Outer Domain demons. At least I would finally have some peace and freedom!"

"Institute Master, you..."

"No more words. Descend the mountain! Slay demons!"

Hearing this, the monks became solemn and hesitated no longer. They said in unison:

"We accept the decree! Descend the mountain! Slay demons!"

On this day, Spiritual Mountain underwent a heaven-shaking upheaval. The two great disciples beneath the current Mountain Lord left the mountain gate together, while Ye Kong, Spiritual Mountain's second disciple and someone many believed to be a rising star of the Buddhist Sect's future, was burdened with numerous charges and expelled from Spiritual Mountain as a Spiritual Mountain Apostate!

That same day, great numbers of monks surged out of the mountain gates of Spiritual Mountain, which had always remained detached from worldly affairs. Following the Vajra Life-Taking Decree, they began a massacre across the Sacred Buddha Continent, that supercontinent filled with Buddhist cultivators!

For a time, the continent that had long been peaceful and sacred became stained with blood everywhere, with bloody storms and slaughter visible in every corner.

After the peace was shattered, many people beyond the Sacred Buddha Continent learned for the first time just how evil the cultivators hidden beneath that sacred Buddhist light truly were—like vicious Asura ghosts—and avoided them at all costs.

Many began secretly speculating whether the departure of the Mountain Lord's two great disciples had anything to do with these matters. Unfortunately, no one dared to ascend Spiritual Mountain or question the Heaven-Reaching Ape Tribe, so the truth naturally remained unknown.

One year later, in the territory of the Heaven-Reaching Ape Tribe.

Majestic Ancient Divine Mountains rose and fell in endless succession, like towering pillars that held up the heavens, stretching beyond sight.

Peach trees grew across most of this land, and peach blossoms could be seen all over the mountains and plains. It was a paradise for the ape race.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Ye Kong was as light as a swallow as he landed on a peach tree branch. Clad in a fitted yellow outfit and carrying a long black staff on his back, he occasionally scratched his ears and cheeks, plucked a peach to taste, and observed the situation ahead.

After confirming that there was no danger ahead, he made a gesture behind him and said cautiously:

"You lot, get ready to follow me. Sneak into the mountain. Don't be clumsy!"

"Yes, Officer Ye!"

A neat and unified response sounded behind him, leaving Ye Kong very satisfied.

Sure enough, he still liked doing this sort of selfless work—helping others dispose of their excess resources. Asking his senior brother for resources was nowhere near as satisfying as getting them himself.

"Yoshi~ Move out!"

At Ye Kong's command, he led several Sky-Reaching Apes over mountains and through the wilderness into a sunken valley. The valley was filled with countless violent auras as fierce-looking Spirit Beasts roared at the sky and fought one another.

At the deepest part of the valley stood a crystalline treasure tree a thousand zhang tall, its branches and leaves lush and flourishing. It bore abundant fruit and was exceedingly enchanting.

"It really is a Bodhi Tree. Little Lu, you've rendered great merit this time."

As the former second greatest scourge of Spiritual Mountain, Ye Kong was all too familiar with this thing and recognized it at a glance.

Having received his officer's praise, a lean and gaunt Sky-Reaching Ape chuckled, tightened his grip around the staff in his hand, and stepped forward.

"Hehe, there are too many frenzied Spirit Beasts here. Even if I found this place by myself, it would have been useless. We'll have to rely on you later, Officer."

This Sky-Reaching Ape shared Lu Shengjun's surname. His name was Lu Hou, and he was the great-grandson of a Heavenly Sovereign elder of the Heaven-Reaching Ape Tribe. Among the younger generation's geniuses of the tribe, he was an outstanding figure.

After Ye Kong arrived here one year ago, he had asked Lu Shengjun for the position of Peach Grove Ledger Officer. It drew the envy and covetousness of many young apes, including Lu Hou.

After several rounds of arena matches, Ye Kong cleanly beat up every ape who refused to submit. He then gained several underlings and formed the Mountain and Forest Recon Squad.

"Easy, easy... but you all need to be careful later. I think there's something strange about this Bodhi Tree. There may very well be a problem. If you run into danger, crush the Buddha Jade I gave you immediately."

After observing it carefully for a while, Ye Kong instinctively felt that the Bodhi Tree was strange. It seemed to carry the disgusting feeling of an Outer Domain Evil Tribe, yet he also felt that such a thing was unlikely.

"Whatever. I'm invincible beneath the Supreme realm anyway. At worst, I'll carry this tree back first and study it slowly afterward."

After storing Lu Hou and the others in his Mustard Seed Bracelet, Ye Kong used Supernatural Footwork, which had already reached the quasi-perfect level, and teleported beneath the Bodhi Tree.

"Get in!"

Ye Kong activated his Mustard Seed Bracelet, intending to store it directly. Unfortunately, the Bodhi Tree possessed self-awareness and did not let him have his way. Instead, it lowered its branches and leaves and lashed them at Ye Kong.

At the same time, several Spirit Beasts noticed his presence. Fire Blaze, Ice Burst, hurricanes, and all sorts of other attacks spewed from their mouths, seeking to drown him.

"Amitabha-meow Buddha, there really is a demon's aura inside this tree? Could it have absorbed nutrients from demon corpses while growing?"

Golden light blazed from Ye Kong's body as his three-hundred-sixty-zhang golden body at the perfected realm appeared in an instant. Physical strength capable of shattering the body of a First-grade Venerate erupted, blocking the Bodhi Tree's attack. He then struck the trunk with his full strength, making it shudder violently as its treasured radiance dimmed.

Ye Kong retreated immediately after his strike and slipped into space before the Spirit Beasts' attacks arrived.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

The Spirit Beasts roared endlessly, becoming increasingly frenzied.

Just then, Ye Kong appeared amid the herd of Spirit Beasts. A black staff in his left hand and a monk's staff in his right, with the manifestations of a Golden Ape and a giant dragon circling around him, he swept through the battlefield and sent flesh and blood flying.

"Lu Hou, you're up!"

"Received!"

Four Sky-Reaching Apes leaped out from an inconspicuous Mustard Seed Bracelet beneath the Bodhi Tree. Revealing their thousand-meter Spirit Beast forms, they swung four staffs and viciously smashed them into the Bodhi Tree's trunk.

One of the Heaven-Reaching Ape Tribe's strongest innate talents was Heaven-Reaching Divine Strength. All four apes were outstanding geniuses beneath the Venerate Realm among this generation of the Heaven-Reaching Ape Tribe. This barrage made the tree shudder violently again, leaving it even more weakened.

But in the next moment, the Bodhi Tree actually released overwhelming purple-black demonic qi, which swept toward the four apes.

Ye Kong's gaze sharpened. This was the demonic qi of the Outer Domain Evil Tribe! This Bodhi Tree was a Demon Tree!

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Little Meng Xin offers his thanks here. Thank you so much.