Reward settlement

Meanwhile, Guanyin Bodhisattva pursued Ao Tu.

She had received the Buddha's decree to subdue Ao Tu, so she chased him relentlessly.

At the time, Wukong and Heavenly King Li stood among the clouds.

Neither had descended to join the battle.

Wukong and Ao Tu shared a certain mutual admiration, so he had not joined the others in ganging up on him.

Heavenly King Li, meanwhile, had seen how formidable Ao Tu's supernatural ability was. Afraid that his Pagoda would be swept away, he had not dared descend.

Now that the fighting had subsided, Wukong landed in the manor, ready to rescue his master and junior brothers.

Only after entering did he discover that the woman had already invited Tang Sanzang, Bajie, Sha Monk, and Nezha out. They were sitting together in the hall, drinking tea.

Wukong asked, "May I ask which Bodhisattva you are, helping that demon dragon make a fool of Old Sun?"

Before Old Mother Lishan could speak, Bajie cut in. "Senior Brother, she's that demon dragon's mother-in-law!"

Wukong already knew this had been a Bodhisattva's scheme, so he scolded him. "Idiot, stop talking nonsense!"

Old Mother Lishan smiled. "Marshal Tianpeng isn't wrong. Great Sage, my daughter and son-in-law have started fighting. They're fighting fiercely, and at my age, it would be difficult for me to intervene. Go talk them round for me. Don't let them ruin their harmony."

With that, she revealed her true form and departed.

Only then did Wukong realize he had been standing before Old Mother Lishan, and he hurriedly bowed in reverence.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples also bowed.

Only Nezha held a grudge, puffing out his cheeks in anger.

After confirming that Tang Sanzang and the others were unharmed, Wukong followed Old Mother Lishan's instructions and rode a cloud off to find Ao Tu and Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Meanwhile, Ao Tu had fled four thousand li using Golden Light. His magical power was gradually running out, and Guanyin Bodhisattva was about to catch him.

Tiger Vanguard said, "Your Majesty, put me down at once. The time has come for me to lay down my life for you."

Ao Tu did not hesitate at his words.

He immediately prepared to put Tiger Vanguard down.

Once he attained the Great Luo realm someday, he could simply bring Tiger Vanguard back.

Just as he was about to put Tiger Vanguard down, he suddenly remembered that he still had an uneaten three-thousand-year Peach of Immortality.

It was a reward he had received at Yellow Wind Ridge. Since the effects of a three-thousand-year Peach of Immortality were not particularly strong, he had left it untouched.

Still, however weak its effects might be, it was a spiritual fruit born of heaven and earth. It would be enough to restore some magical power.

Ao Tu hurriedly took out the Peach of Immortality and swallowed it in one gulp, instantly recovering a considerable amount of magical power.

Not long after Ao Tu swallowed the peach, Guanyin Bodhisattva caught up and said:

"Wretched beast, considering that you possess some supernatural abilities, if you willingly convert to Buddhism, I may be able to have your sins pardoned and grant you a spiritual rank in the West after reporting to the Buddha!"

Ao Tu laughed. "I don't enjoy eating people, and I'm no good at infighting. How could I possibly hold a spiritual rank in the West?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva raged, "Wretched beast, how dare you slander our faith again?"

She sent her jade purification vase into the air, its mouth facing downward, and poured out the Three Lights Divine Water:

The first was Sunlight Divine Water, which wore away blood, essence, flesh, and bone;

The second was Moonlight Divine Water, which corroded the primordial spirit and soul;

The third was Starlight Divine Water, which devoured and dissolved the true spirit and conscious thought.

With these three waters pouring down, even an indestructible diamond body would turn to pus and blood in an instant.

But when the three waters were combined into one, they became Three Lights Divine Water, capable of bringing the dead back to life. Sprinkled throughout the Three Realms, it could dispel all suffering and deliver all beings from calamity.

Seeing the divine water pouring down, Ao Tu manifested his Five-Colored Divine Light. With a flash, the light swept it all away.

Guanyin Bodhisattva exclaimed in shock, "You still have magical power!"

She hurriedly retreated.

Ao Tu's Five-Colored Divine Light flashed again, sweeping Guanyin Bodhisattva inside as well.

It was finally over. Ao Tu sat on the ground, gasping for breath.

Ao Tu looked inside the divine light. The Four Heavenly Kings, the Nine Luminaries Star Lords, the generals of the Thunder Department, and the hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals had all been suppressed by the energies of the five elements. Their spirits were thrown into disarray, and they lay unconscious.

Sixteen of the Eighteen Arhats were also unconscious. Only the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Arhats were still struggling to hold on.

But Manjushri and Samantabhadra, along with the newly captured Guanyin Bodhisattva, were unharmed. Their cultivation realms and magical power far surpassed Ao Tu's, and Buddhist light protected their bodies from the energies of the five elements.

There was nothing he could do. These Bodhisattvas' cultivation realms were simply too far above his own.

Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva were collectively known as the Four Great Bodhisattvas of Buddhism. All possessed the strength required to become Buddhas, but each had a great vow to fulfill, which was the only reason they had not done so.

That Ao Tu could capture beings above his realm within his supernatural ability was already proof of the heaven-defying power of the Five-Colored Divine Light.

However, keeping them trapped inside consumed far too much magical power. The power Ao Tu had just recovered was soon running low again.

That was no fault of the supernatural ability. His cultivation as a golden immortal was simply too low, tarnishing its illustrious reputation.

If he possessed Great Luo cultivation, a single sweep of his divine light could capture even Tathagata with ease.

Just then, Wukong flew over on a cloud. Seeing Ao Tu lying on the ground, he asked, "Where's the Bodhisattva?"

Ao Tu laughed. "Monkey, you're in luck. I'm handing you a huge favor."

Wukong asked, "What favor?"

Ao Tu stood up and flew into the air. With a flash of divine light, he dumped all the Bodhisattvas, Arhats, divine generals, and heavenly kings onto the ground, then turned and fled using Golden Light.

Guanyin Bodhisattva and the others felt the world spin around them, their minds muddled. By the time they recovered, Ao Tu was nowhere to be seen. Only Sun Wukong stood beside them.

Guanyin Bodhisattva asked, "Wukong, where did that wretched beast flee?"

Wukong said, "When he saw me coming on my cloud, he turned into golden light and fled."

Manjushri Bodhisattva said, "That demon dragon must have run low on magical power and been unable to sustain his supernatural ability. When he saw the Great Sage coming, he released us."

Hearing this, the others hurriedly thanked Wukong.

Ao Tu fled into a river, concealed himself, and stopped to rest. He ordered Tiger Vanguard to catch some wild game nearby for him to eat.

A day passed like this before the system's voice rang out.

[Ding, settling rewards. Total delay: thirty-six days.]

[Ding, reward obtained: Buddhist art · Rebirth Mantra.]

[Ding, reward obtained: spell · Pointing to the Ground Turns It to Steel.]

[Ding, reward obtained: Purple-Patterned Peach of Immortality.]

[Ding, reward obtained: spiritual root · Third-Grade Golden Lotus.]

[Ding, six surplus days automatically carried over to the next side quest. Next side quest: Keeping friends at Wuzhuang Temple.]

Although he had employed no particular schemes this time, Sun Wukong had gone to the Heavenly Court twice for reinforcements, then visited Spirit Mountain, all of which took considerable time. Thus, the final delay had still reached thirty-six days.

The rewards were issued, and he gained complete mastery of the Buddhist art Rebirth Mantra and the spell Pointing to the Ground Turns It to Steel.

Although Ao Tu felt some distaste for Buddhism, spells themselves were neither good nor evil. With this Buddhist art, he could now count as an eminent monk.

The Purple-Patterned Peach of Immortality was a nine-thousand-year peach, with purple markings and a pale yellow pit, the most

precious of all.

Even with Ao Tu's golden immortal cultivation, consuming it would considerably improve his cultivation.

In the past, Ao Tu would certainly have eaten the peach to increase his cultivation.

After this experience, however, he decided to save it for now. Eating it at his current level would not let him immediately break through to the primordial unity golden immortal realm anyway. Better to keep it for a future emergency.

The final reward was a spiritual root: the Third-Grade Golden Lotus.

This treasure was derived from Buddhism's supreme treasure, the Twelfth-Grade Merit Golden Lotus. It was a naturally formed defensive houtian spiritual treasure. Standing upon its lotus platform rendered one impervious to all spells. Even within Buddhism, only Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of very high standing could possess one.

Now that Ao Tu had obtained it, standing on a golden lotus platform would make him look even more like an enlightened monk.

Just then, Tiger Vanguard returned, dragging a fat deer and carrying a person over his shoulder-a woman.

Ao Tu asked, "Why did you bring someone back?"

Tiger Vanguard set the woman down and reported:

"Your Majesty, while hunting in the mountains, I came across this woman. When she saw me, she screamed and fainted from fright. I feared that if she were left lying in the mountains and came to harm, it would be counted as your karmic burden, so I brought her back."

Ao Tu said, "Sprinkle some water on her and wake her."

Tiger Vanguard scooped up some water and sprinkled it over the woman, but she did not wake.

Seeing this, Ao Tu blew a breath of dragon energy toward her, and she finally awoke.

Upon waking and seeing Ao Tu and Tiger Vanguard, the woman cried out in fright, "Ah! Monsters!"

Ao Tu said, "Don't be afraid. I am the Dragon God of this river, and this is my subordinate."

Seeing Ao Tu's handsome features and golden dragon horns, which made him look like a deity, the woman finally relaxed. She knelt and said:

"This humble woman pays her respects to the Dragon God."

Ao Tu saw that the woman was quite lovely, too, and did not look as though she came from an ordinary household.

Her willow brows held emerald shadows; her almond eyes flashed silver stars. Moonlike was her lovely face, and pure her natural disposition. Her figure was a swallow nestled in willows, her voice an oriole trilling through the woods. A half-open crabapple blossom cradling the morning sun, a newly blooming peony playing in spring's clear light.

Ao Tu asked, "Where are you from?"

The woman said, "This humble woman is from White Tiger Ridge. My home lies directly west of the ridge."

Hearing this, Ao Tu thought, White Tiger Ridge? That's the White Bone Spirit's territory!