"You're courting death!"
The Divine Silkworm Princess's gaze was piercing, and nine kinds of divine radiance danced around her, blazing with boundless light. Her face was icy, and a trace of madness lurked in her eyes. Whether from anger or a need to vent, she held nothing back, unleashing the full extent of her peak Saint King magical power.
She sent out bolt after bolt of divine light, seeking to fully awaken the Ancient Emperor Weapon she wore and return everything to its origin.
Clang!
The nine-colored radiance on the Divine Silkworm Princess's Emperor Robe shone in concert, ringing without end. Every piece of armor gleamed with a cold metallic sheen, casting nine different kinds of immortal light that swept backward like the Milky Way.
The force unleashed by her attack was unparalleled, shaking all of Mount Sumeru. In an instant, it surged into the heavens beyond the world.
"You have only just entered the Saint realm, yet you dare rely on a secret technique to look down on an Ancient Emperor Weapon? Today is the day you die!" the Divine Silkworm Princess said coldly. She charged straight at the red-robed monk, intent on breaking through the Power of Faith and killing him.
Boom!
At that moment, a brilliant purple light appeared in the heavens, sending out peal after peal of thunder. Pillars of Qi as thick as mountains descended one after another, as though they would destroy the world, and shielded the red-robed monk. Then a beam of Extreme Dao light shot out, stopping the Divine Silkworm Princess.
An aged Buddhist voice came from the Great Thunderclap Temple.
"End this fighting. Divine Silkworm Princess, you should leave! Though he broke the seal on the Eight Merit Pool, that Eight Merits Water was also used to benefit the people of the Western Desert, in keeping with our Buddha's will."
The Divine Silkworm Princess was stirred. It was the Victorious Fighting King's voice. Her beautiful eyes widened slightly, and just as she was about to speak, the Victorious Fighting Buddha continued softly from within the Great Thunderclap Temple, "Princess, this humble monk's ties to the mortal world have ended. I have taken refuge in the Buddhist Sect! You should leave!"
Though quiet, the voice shook people's hearts, as if it could strike their innermost depths. It spread throughout Mount Sumeru.
Such was the might of a Great Saint, and this Great Saint was also a supreme existence capable of entering the Divine Forbidden realm and wielding two Emperor Weapons.
"You aren't the Victorious Fighting King. The Buddhists of the Western Desert have converted you!" The Divine Silkworm Princess's beautiful, delicate face twisted somewhat, her chest heaving. How could she accept such an ending?
Her hands clenched tightly, her eyes cold and piercing. The presence of the Ancient Emperor Robe left behind by the God Emperor in the Primordial Era surged into the heavens, almost crushing past, present, and future. Its Emperor Qi was boundless, every wisp like a stretch of the Milky Way. Nine-Colored Divine Light surged like a universe coming into being.
A peak Saint King had fully awakened an Emperor Weapon. Even Mount Sumeru's vast barrier of thought power was driven back, unable to withstand it.
Emperor Qi erupted with heaven-spanning might. With a rumble, the heavens shattered, and the Demon-Subduing Pestle trembled violently.
The battle between Emperor Weapons made all of Mount Sumeru tremble, and the Great Thunderclap Temple at its peak shook in waves. The monks in the temple were angry. This was a Buddhist Sect holy land; in all these years, who had dared wield an Emperor Weapon to attack Mount Sumeru here?
An old monk bent in a bow to the Victorious Fighting Buddha, like a mortal. In an aged voice, he said, "Victorious Fighting Buddha, please act and protect all living beings."
The Victorious Fighting Buddha glanced at him but said nothing. The other monks in the Mahavira Hall all bowed and called out in unison, "Victorious Fighting Buddha, please defend our Buddhist Sect!"
Golden-crowned Vairocana hat: the same kind of hat worn by Tang Monk in Journey to the West.
Chapter 57: Things Turn with the Heart, Circumstances Are Made by the Heart
The Great Thunderclap Temple stood quietly at the peak of Mount Sumeru. It had a palpable sense of solidity, like an ancient temple cast from purple gold, magnificent and imposing, marked by the passage of ancient ages.
Dense Emperor Qi coiled around it. Wisps of pure white, translucent Power of Faith streamed toward it like waterfalls. Immortal mist filled the air, making it utterly extraordinary, while brilliant beams of Buddhist light pierced the void and illuminated the entire Western Desert.
Inside the grand and towering Mahavira Hall, eternal lamps flickered with long flames, casting shadows beneath the golden bricks. A massive Buddha statue silently watched everything within the hall, unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years.
The Victorious Fighting Buddha recited Buddhist scriptures with a devout expression. He said nothing, silently worshipping the Buddha instead, though the prayer beads in his hand turned ceaselessly, as if revealing the turmoil in their owner's heart.
This was a departure from the original story. The Divine Silkworm Princess was originally meant to come to Mount Sumeru more than ten years later, but Su Yu's arrival had brought her out into the world early. Everything had changed, creating the thorny situation before them.
More than a thousand years ago, the Victorious Fighting King emerged into the world. To break free of the shackles of his elder brother, the Fighting Saint Emperor's Imperial Dao imprint, he sought opportunities everywhere. After fruitlessly pursuing the meaning of Great Emperor Wushi's scriptures in Purple Mountain, he entered the Western Desert, was moved by Amitabha Buddha's teachings, and ultimately took refuge in the Buddhist Sect.
The meaning of Amitabha Buddha's scriptures gave this Primordial Being insight, freeing his body and mind from their shackles. It was as though he had lived another life, truly escaping the Fighting Saint Emperor's Imperial Dao imprint.
There was strife within the Buddhist Sect as well. Before the Victorious Fighting Buddha, the master of Mount Sumeru had been another ancient Buddha, an existence who had attained the rank of Buddha. He had spent seven thousand years in the mortal world and held an incomparably exalted position.
This ancient Buddha had once received Sakyamuni, after which the two disagreed over the true meaning of Buddhism and ultimately parted ways. Sakyamuni did not accept the idea of past lives, much less acknowledge that he was Amitabha Buddha reincarnated. He did not follow the Buddhist teachings of earlier times, but sought to walk his own Buddhist path. He was plainly a heretic.
Such unorthodox conduct would naturally not be accepted by the Mount Sumeru lineage. Thus, its monks also called him Demon Shell, and the two sides stood with swords drawn and bows bent.
On that day, the master of Mount Sumeru confronted Sakyamuni, who had long since entered the Quasi-Emperor realm and possessed unimaginable strength.
Even with the Purple-Gold Divine Vajra and Mount Sumeru's boundless thought power bolstering him, the peak Great Saint ancient Buddha was ultimately no match for his opponent. Even after the Purple-Gold Divine Vajra fully awakened, it fell dormant of its own accord, unwilling to interfere in their struggle, and was taken by Sakyamuni.
In the end, Sakyamuni did not begin a slaughter. He merely returned the Purple-Gold Divine Vajra, gazed at the Great Thunderclap Temple with a sense of loss, and drifted away alone.
After this ordeal, Mount Sumeru's ancient Buddha seemed to gain some insight. He truly grasped the meaning of Amitabha Buddha's nirvana and sought to live a second life. Unfortunately, he did not succeed. With little lifespan left, he was about to pass into nirvana before reaching the Quasi-Emperor realm.
The last thing he did before passing into nirvana was permit the Fighting Saint King to take refuge in Sumeru. He had seen through the many affairs of the mortal world and truly developed a heart of great compassion. He also acknowledged Sakyamuni's teachings: attachment to past lives was nothing but an illusion, and there was nothing wrong with embracing the teachings of many schools. Unfortunately, time had not waited for him...
Great Ancient Buddha Mohe, that ancient Buddha's disciple, was different. He was stubbornly attached to his views and strongly disapproved of Sakyamuni.
It was because of the period when he controlled Mount Sumeru that the Western Desert had remained hostile to Sakyamuni for a thousand years, slandering him as Demon Shell and a demonic monk...
Ancient Buddha Mohe clung to his convictions and ultimately contended with the Victorious Fighting Buddha, but an unexpected turn shattered what had seemed a certain victory.
No one had expected his opponent to possess an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon as well. The two peak Great Saints, each wielding an Emperor Weapon, fought a great battle in the starry sky. Even some of the universe's great Daos were obliterated by the aftershocks. That world-shocking battle lasted a day and a night. In the end, Ancient Buddha Mohe was defeated and suppressed beneath Mount Sumeru by the Victorious Fighting Buddha. More than nine hundred and seventy-six years had passed since then, and the Victorious Fighting King had become master of Mount Sumeru and taken charge of the Buddhist Sect.
Because the Victorious Fighting Buddha belonged to a different race, he could not fully control Mount Sumeru. Many of Ancient Buddha Mohe's disciples and followers remained, including the red-robed monk who had brazenly attacked the Divine Silkworm Princess.
Their lineage was flourishing, and the Victorious Fighting Buddha let them be, with no intention of implicating them.
In this Age of Dharma Decline, kings were rarely seen on the entire Big Dipper Ancient Star, and Saints did not appear. The Power of Faith possessed by the Buddhists of the Western Desert could nourish living beings and slow aging, and Mount Sumeru had many experts. The red-robed monk was Mohe's disciple and had entered the realm of an ancient Saint.
Originally, the Victorious Fighting Buddha would have easily resolved all these challenges. Now, however, the Divine Silkworm Princess had arrived decades early and even attacked Mount Sumeru while wearing an Ancient Emperor Weapon, complicating everything.
As the enormous golden bell in the center of the Great Thunderclap Temple slowly rang, the Victorious Fighting Buddha sighed. He rose gently and carefully wiped the candlestick before the Buddha statue, his expression benevolent. Once he had cleaned it, he turned, glanced at the people in the hall, and said softly, "Amitabha Buddha. Suffering is not suffering, joy is not joy; they are only momentary attachments! Cling to a single thought, and you will be trapped by it; let that thought go, and your heart will be at ease. Things turn with the heart, circumstances are made by the heart, and all troubles arise from the heart. How is the person outside the hall any different from you? All are trapped by attachment to the self..."
No one spoke. The Victorious Fighting Buddha shook his head and took a step, shrinking the ground beneath him to arrive outside Mount Sumeru in a single stride. His gaze was clear as he looked at the Divine Silkworm Princess. The Purple-Gold Demon-Subduing Pestle in the sky also radiated sacred Buddhist light, boundless and encompassing tens of thousands of miles, scattering beautiful rays of purple radiance.
In the mortal Buddhist lands within a hundred thousand miles, all living beings were bathed in Buddhist light. The purple radiance streamed directly into their Immortal Platforms through their heads, as if washing their entire bodies. Their minds were struck again and again, until their whole bodies and spirits fell into an ethereal state.
That moment seemed to last a second, and also ten thousand years.
Countless mortals fell to their knees, reciting the Ashoka Sutra, the Lotus Sutra... This was a miracle, the manifestation of the Buddha himself. They thanked Mount Sumeru for its blessing...
The Divine Silkworm Princess quietly watched the Victorious Fighting King across from her, her eyes reddened. For a long time, she said nothing.
The Victorious Fighting Buddha seemed to have washed away all worldly adornment, hiding every excess emotion in his heart. He looked at the Divine Silkworm Princess with clear eyes, pressed his palms together, and said calmly, "Princess, now that you have seen this humble monk, you should return! This humble monk has already taken refuge in our Buddha!"
The Divine Silkworm Princess remained silent, a plea in her gaze. Like a young maiden, she had purple mist gathering in her beautiful eyes, stirring deep pity. It was impossible to imagine that she was the one who had just wielded an Ancient Emperor Weapon, shaking all of Mount Sumeru and obliterating entire stretches of the Milky Way, as if she would destroy the heavens.
"Why? Why did you become like this? It's only an Extreme Dao power. If you needed Imperial Dao scriptures, you could simply have asked me..." The Divine Silkworm Princess's voice was low. She was somewhat in despair. Meeting the Victorious Fighting King again and seeing the look in his eyes, she knew he had not been converted.
But that truth hurt even more. He had not been converted and remembered everything, yet he had left the Primordial Era behind, abandoned everything, and entered the Buddhist order.
Chapter 58: A Sealed Covenant
The Divine Silkworm Princess was somewhat dazed and disheartened. Millions of years had changed everything!
Everything had changed. After leaving the Northern Region, she had hurried all the way to the Divine Silkworm Territory. Since awakening, this princess of the Divine Silkworm Clan had missed her family and friends terribly.
At the end of the Primordial Era, her enemy had secretly killed her with a divine halberd, pinning her to a divine mountain as a warning to the myriad races. By the time she opened her eyes again, millions of years had passed. Everything she knew in this world had changed.
The blue sea had become mulberry fields; things remained, but people had changed. Apart from the eternal heavens, even people's hearts had slowly changed. The vows of those days remained vivid before her eyes, yet now they seemed to be ignored as though made by strangers.
The Divine Silkworm Clan remained sealed within Divine Source. When she returned to the Divine Silkworm Territory, she saw none of her family or friends. Most of the Golden Silkworms and Divine Silkworms had sealed themselves in Divine Source; only a few aged Silver Silkworms of impure blood guarded the formations outside. One of them recognized the Divine Silkworm Princess.
It was through him that the Divine Silkworm Princess learned that the Victorious Fighting King had fought a great battle with Di Que and Kun Zhou over her death, and of the great upheaval at the end of the Primordial Era...
After learning this, she searched everywhere for the Victorious Fighting King's whereabouts, just like an ordinary mortal woman. He was the man she loved. Millions of years ago, the two had pledged themselves in marriage before the old Saint Emperor, and after learning of these events, she longed for him all the more urgently.
Only after traveling through the Eastern Wasteland for some time did the Divine Silkworm Princess learn that the Victorious Fighting King had taken charge of the Western Desert and become the only known Saint of the Age of Dharma Decline, his mighty name renowned far and wide!
Only later did she learn what the strange Buddhist Sect meant: casting aside the troubles of the mortal world, entering the Buddhist order, and emptying oneself of the four elements. The Divine Silkworm Princess was furious. In the Primordial Era millions of years ago, a tradition that extinguished human nature like this was practically unheard of!
She had read many scriptures during this time and learned something of the Buddhist Sect founded by Amitabha Buddha. Amitabha Buddha had pursued the path to emperorship and converted countless heavenly geniuses into Buddhist protectors. She had originally worried that he had been converted by an existence of the Buddhist Sect, so she had deliberately summoned the Ancient Emperor Robe and hurried to the Western Desert.
Yet his attitude just now was certainly not that of someone who had been converted. It came from his own heart...
The Divine Silkworm Princess stared fixedly at the man from her past, a sharp, piercing glint flashing in her eyes.
"So you don't want anything anymore? Won't you even care about the Holy Emperor's Son? Are you abandoning everything just to advance further? Even your elder brother's last flesh and blood? Or do I simply not mean enough to you?"
Listening to the Divine Silkworm Princess's icy questions, the Victorious Fighting Buddha pressed his palms together and said, "Amitabha Buddha." His gaze was like a deathly still sky. Then he turned and walked toward the Great Thunderclap Temple.
Throughout it all, the Victorious Fighting Buddha showed not a trace of emotion, like an unyielding stone unmoved by wind or rain, silently concealing his heart.
The old monk beneath the bodhi tree followed him, looking at the two with a measure of feeling. Nothing like this had happened for thousands of years, and today had opened his eyes. He had gained a faintly deeper understanding of the Buddhist scriptures.
The old monk said to the Divine Silkworm Princess, "Why not return? Since the bond is gone, why force it? The Victorious Fighting Buddha has already entered the Great Dao, and the princess has cultivated to an extreme, entering the realm of the Saint Dao. What is there in romantic attachment that cannot be cast aside? Amitabha Buddha, excellent, excellent! This humble monk takes his leave!"
With that, the Half-Saint also turned and entered the Great Thunderclap Temple. With a creak, the two golden doors covered in Buddhist incantations shut tight.
Waterfalls of thought power descended from Mount Sumeru and transformed into the revered arhats of legend. All wore phoenix-winged helmets, black cloud-patterned shoes, and golden chain mail, and held divine vajras. Eyes wide with wrath, they guarded the golden doors!
These were the Buddhist Sect's special Faith Bodies, comparable to cultivators of the Immortal Platform Secret Realm. A sea of clouds surged in the sky, and mists billowed. It was as if nothing had happened on Mount Sumeru. The doors of the Great Thunderclap Temple were tightly shut, and the sound of monks chanting scriptures rose once more from within!
"If that is so, could you remain unmoved even if I went and killed the Holy Emperor's Son?"
The Divine Silkworm Princess clenched her delicate fists, her body trembling, shadows in her eyes as she longed to kill.
Faced with this threat, the master of Mount Sumeru still said nothing. Perhaps he knew she would not do it, or perhaps he truly had emptied himself of the four elements. In any case, the Victorious Buddha did not come out.
For nine days and nights, the Divine Silkworm Princess kept a bitter vigil outside the Great Thunderclap Temple, refusing to leave no matter what.
This left Mount Sumeru in a difficult position. With no choice, it sealed the mountain and made a world unto itself, unable to let such a scandal spread outside.
In the ancient temple, ten thousand years old, the assembled cultivators knelt and prostrated themselves, kowtowing before the statue of Amitabha Buddha and reciting the World-Honored One's maxims. The Victorious Fighting Buddha sighed softly, knowing it was time to sever everything.
He left the mountain again, his Qi stirring a hundred thousand heavens. Becoming the foremost figure in the Buddhist Sect, with countless streams of thought power bolstering him, he sought to shatter that last trace of attachment in the Divine Silkworm Princess's heart.
That would be best for both of them.
Otherwise, their painful struggle would have no meaning.
The Divine Silkworm Princess struggled fiercely, but was no match for him. A great hand struck her into the Karma Pool beneath the waterfall of faith.
The pool was deep and secluded. Ordinary people who entered it would forget their past and abandon some of their attachments.
But with the Ancient Emperor Weapon protecting her, the waterfall of faith could not reach her. Even so, the master of Mount Sumeru had achieved his purpose...
"Fine. Since that man intends to sever everything... I'll grant his wish..." After being suppressed in the Karma Pool for several days, the Divine Silkworm Princess's eyes dimmed, and she conveyed her wishes to the ancient monk guarding her.
After leaving her prison, the Great Ancient Emperor’s daughter gazed coldly at the boundless sea of clouds. Her light robes stirred, and her jade hand, pale as a scallion, slowly turned. Her figure grew indistinct and dim, but the God Emperor Robe shone like the blazing sun. Runes appeared across its nine-colored armor, flowing with sacred radiance.
With a soft sound, a streak of seven-colored light flew out of the God Emperor Robe.
In the heavens above Mount Sumeru's peak, the Great Thunderclap Temple radiated boundless Buddhist light. Phantom images of the statues of the Buddhist Sect's guardian bodhisattvas, Sangharama and Skanda, appeared in the sky. Wisps of Buddhist light shone over the Western Desert, illuminating mountains and rivers for ten thousand miles, as though it truly were a sacred pure land in the mortal world.
"Princess, you promised to settle this karma."
An ancient monk shouted, genuinely worried that she would wield an Emperor Weapon to attack the mountain gate. If that happened, this fiend would have to be suppressed for hundreds or thousands of years.