Chapter 1070: Neither Dead Nor Alive
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Looking at Tianzhu Mountain from afar, his gaze went between the summit and the clouds, penetrated the dusk, and landed at Lingxiao Palace.
From a distance, Meng Qi stared at the grand and high mountain. He had an ominous hunch, feeling strangely vigilant and alert. With his current state of Cultivation Base and ability in the arts, he would hardly be moved remotely by any demon fairy, save the ones that were approaching theTyrant’s level, despite the extensively cast Restriction Spell at Tianzhu Mountain.
The peak of Tianzhu Mountain pierced through the layers of clouds and the base extended under the ground. It was encircled by impenetrable black fog that was darker and denser than the sinister aura, deadlier than the evil atmosphere. The unearthly and sinister atmosphere seemed to remind Meng Qi of the insalubrious Spirited Mountain.
“Indeed, this is related to the Battle of Spirited Mountain,” Meng Qi gently nodded. A hint of staidness flashed across his eyes, “As though he is in deep sleep, he unveils no aura. That is menacing. Most probably, he was not an unimportant person. Is he a great sage who was fortunate enough to have escaped?”
Meng Qi listened to the story from King Huang Qiang regarding the Immortal Demon Fairy who had experienced both the deification and Pilgrimage to the West. Yet, he did not unreservedly believe the story as it was nothing like the incident that happened at Spirited Mountain. Looking at Tianzhu Mountain, he fairly reaffirmed his belief. The source of the news that reached King Huang Qing was not identified. It was unsure if the story was deliberately released by the Immortal Demon Fairy.
However, if the story was true, he could easily make a guess as great sages who had been through deification, Pilgrimage to the West, and Spirited Mountain were scarce. For example, the white elephant that was mounted by Samantabhadra, the Ling Ya Fairy from the Jie Sect years ago, who was also the Second Fairy King of Shituo Range. Or the Golden-Hair Dragon that was ridden by Avalokitesvara, the Golden Light Fairy from Jie Sect, also the Sai Tai Sui from Zhuzi Nation.
Although they were not involved in the Creation Realm, they were also one of the Legendary great sages!
An idea flashed into Meng Qi’s mind. He took out the Myriad World Talisman to record the image of Tianzhu Mountain. If he was captured, he could update his status to ask for backup.
Hidden, he took a seat with his legs crossed. He gently pushed the Bamboo Cloud Crown and gave vent to the Congenital force that later turned into auspicious clouds radiating the chaotic dim light. A stalwart figure emerged from the middle of the cloud and levitated over it. His body was coated with Golden Light. Every move of his was so powerful to the extent that it could break the void into bits.
That was the incarnation of Meng Qi’s Undying Tao Body.
The Immortal Demon Fairy was terrifying. Unlike the good place, he did not have to be there personally. Nonetheless, he could always develop another incarnation if the previous one died. He was different from Han Guang who strongly relied on finding similar items to reproduce incarnation. Instead, he depended mainly on direct knowledge, namely the Yi Qi Turning San Qing, and the arts that he had practiced himself.
Of course, if compared to Han Guang’s Yama and the incarnation of Celestial Ruler, his incarnation of direct knowledge was limited by time. One incarnation would last for a quarter of an hour. Two, the time to burn a joss stick. Three of it would last for sixty minutes. This rule carried both pros and cons.
The Undying Tao Body waggled and turned into a Taoist who was wearing the Bamboo Cloud Crown and Water Gown. He mounted the Somersault Cloud and flew toward Tianzhu Mountain.
After a short moment, Meng Qi stopped at the border of Tianzhu Mountain as he saw two demons with the body of a human but head of a tiger loom out of the black fog. Their bodies were coated in dark green, entangled by a faint aura of decay and death. They yelled with their low and chilling voices, “Stop right there!”
Intentionally, Meng Qi simulated the aura and scales of the Real Dragon to confound the two Demon Superiors. He greeted them with a kowtow before he continued, “This humble one is Paranimmitavasavatti who hailed from Donghai, wishing to visit the Immortal Demon Fairy.”
“Our king said that it doesn’t want to meet any outsider. You shall leave this place!” one of the demons said firmly.
Meng Qi gave a faint smile, “Then, can you please send my words to your king? If it stands its ground, then this humble one will take his leave!”
Due to the aura of a demon fairy released by Meng Qi, the two demons did not dare to treat him lightly. One of them asked, “What message do you want me to send to the king?”
With a half smile, Meng Qi replied, “The change of Ananda and the Old Man of Spirited Mountain.”
The Old Man of Spirited Mountain? The two demons did not understand the phrase the change of Ananda, but they were very sensitive regarding the Old Man of Spirited Mountain. Back then, many great sages of the pioneer demon race were trapped within Spirited Mountain with no chance to escape. The Goddess of Demonic Sages passed away while sitting cross-legged because of this, leaving the chaos on earth that was caused by the demons unresolved. Besides, their king had experienced both deification and the Pilgrimage to the West, witnessed the fall of the Heavenly Court, and lived through the time during the Great Battle of Spirited Mountain. There were even rumors saying that it had participated in the battle and was the only one from the demon race who had successfully escaped, save for the Goddess of Demonic Sages. Its reputation and stature among the Four Great Continents had then increased significantly.
This man before us claims to be the Old Man of Spirited Mountain?
Could he be one of the survivors from the Great Battle of Spirited Mountain? Was he one of the ancient demon fairies who escaped from the change of Spirited Mountain?
As he spoke, the two patroling demons began to be fearful of slighting their guest. One of them entered the mountain to relay the message while the other stayed to guard the Restrictive Spell, preventing Meng Qi from trespassing.
Before long, Tianzhu Mountain began to quake unexpectedly, emitting dust and black fog. On top of the initial intense grim, the atmosphere resembled the end of the world.
The black fog whirled and formed a vortex before it eventually condensed into a pathway that led to Tianzhu Mountain. The sinister determination that had been hiding within the deadly silence, was faintly showing.
“Come in if you’re a friend,” a low voice with indistinguishable age and gender resonated.
I’ve nothing to be afraid of. I’m merely an incarnation. With a grin on his face, Meng Qi walked forward and stepped into the eddying pathway. He detected a change in the light as he was shifted to a tomb, which was lit up with the eternal flame in a blink of an eye. The water flowed under his feet, washing off the vitality. Meanwhile, the eldritch deadliness swamped upward.
There was no coffin in the tomb, indicating immortality. A Black Ice Cloud Bed was placed at the end of the eternal flame. A silhouette, that was completely covered in a Pitch-Dark Robe, was sitting with its legs crossed. No one was able to sense the sinister aura as it was totally concealed. One could merely notice a weak deadliness.
“You weren’t at Spirited Mountain back then. How did you find out about the change of Ananda?” the silhouette spoke with an unhurried tempo.
The Old Friend of Spirited Mountain was directed to the guarding demons in case they were unwilling to be the messenger. Only the people and demons who had a thorough understanding regarding the incident at the Spirited Mountain were able to understand the exact meaning when he mentioned the change of Ananda. Meng Qi’s message was a bait to attract the attention of the Immortal Demon Fairy.
Similarly, the fact that the Immortal Demon Fairy had allowed his entrance and presented him with such a question, together with the environment that resembled the worn out Spirited Mountain, Meng Qi’s hypothesis was confirmed that it had actually been through the Great Battle of the Spirited Mountain.
“The change of Ananda was the plot twist of the Great Battle of Spirited Mountain. Tens of thousands of Buddhas and Bodhisattva fell into the darkness simultaneously. It was mesmerizing.” Meng Qi said nonchalantly, smiling, “And, for this humble one, I was indeed present at Spirited Mountain. However, I’ve undergone many transformations. Hence, Immortal Demon Fairy has yet to recognize me.”
“You’re hardly recognizable being merely an incarnation. Who are you, actually?” the Immortal Demon Fairy exposed Meng Qi’s lie for disguising as an incarnation mercilessly.
He has such an atrocious pair of eyes. He might really be of Legendary level... Meng Qi retained his smile, “I ambushed Maha Kasyapa and changed the formation during the most crucial moment. I turned the dead alive and Dharma into evilness. Who do you reckon I am?”
“Ananda!”
The black figure released a mad cry while the scary aura resembled a massive explosion of the gigantic sun. The fierce waves were repressing Meng Qi, giving him no chance to rest and causing his Golden Light to crack. He felt as though he was separated from heaven and earth and the Universe Cave within him was going to crumble. The many eternal flames around the place had been extinguished, leaving no trace behind.
Meng Qi revealed his Undying Tao Body as he initiated his power to rotate the Cave, barely defending himself from this bursting and appalling attack. He genuinely felt that he shared some resemblance with the antagonists of stories, and this was all because of Ananda, the Devil Buddha!
“How did you get so weak?” the black figure was either a great sage or a mighty person. Shortly after the eruption of its suppressed rage, it noticed the unusualness. Being one of the two most talented disciples, the elite among the Great Arhat and the ruler nominee of the Saha Pure Land, he had entered the Creation Realm a long time ago. He was a true Great Medium. Even though the opponent’s Earth Fairy carried a trace of transcendent power, the incarnation projected should not be merely the level of an Earth Fairy, it ought to be Transcendent.
Remaining his gracefulness, Meng Qi rested his hands behind his back as he said, “I am Ananda. Yet, I am not Ananda.”
“Huh?” the Immortal Demon Fairy gave an exclamation of confusion.
“After escaping from Spirited Mountain, Ananda was pursued by the Demonic Sage. He saved his life by using the Seal of Samsara and chose to utilize the Samsara Formation to search for his way back to the Nirvana Realm. However, he carried evilness within and continued to be pursued by the offsprings of the Demonic Sage during his other lives. He grew weaker after he repeatedly went through Samsara. Eventually, he decided to give up on Dharma and committed into evilness. He diligently studied the Buddha’s Palm and successfully landed at the Nirvana Realm. He named himself as the Devil Buddha,” Meng Qi casually told a summarized version of the story of Ananda. However, the words were extremely heavy to the Immortal Demon Fairy as it realized that Ananda had been through a lot of ordeals in order to land at the Nirvana Realm as the ‘Immortal Demon Fairy’ was spending his time leisurely.
He owns the Seal of Samsara. It is not a surprise for him to be able to turn the Thousand Buddha Formation...
Seeing the wordlessness of the Immortal Demon Fairy, Meng Qi continued, “The Devil Buddha caused chaos and brought disasters to the mortal world and was personally quelled by Gautama Buddha. He was then locked deep inside Spirited Mountain.”
“Gautama Buddha...” The Immortal Demon Fairy interrupted, “He acted personally?”
Its tone was filled with complex emotions.
Meng Qi briefly furrowed his eyebrows. Suddenly, another thought rose in his mind. The Immortal Demon Fairy might not be his previous candidate.
“Yes. Gautama Buddha, who has achieve transcendence, acted personally,” Meng Qi said frankly.
The Immortal Demon Fairy sat quietly as though it was dwelling in its own thought. For a very long time, there was only silence.
Once again, Meng Qi spoke, “This humble one is Devil Buddha’s deliberately hidden projection. He raised me up, hoping to use this as an opportunity to run away. However, with the fight between the Nirvana Realm Individuals, I’ve successfully cut off my relationship with Ananda. In the future, I’ll grow stronger as Ananda grows weaker, sharing an incompatible standpoint.”
“So, you’re here to enquire about Spirited Mountain?” the Immortal Demon Fairy finally spoke.
It was very knowledgeable and was able to identify the authenticity of Meng Qi’s narration.
“I hope that demon fairy can be frank,” Meng Qi skipped mentioning the matter of Wu Zhuang Guan.
Both the Buddhist Society and demon race held hatred against Ananda. Flaunting his will to contend with Ananda, he was able to easily obtain a good amount of information.
The Immortal Demon Fairy began its story steadily, “The Demonic Sage’s attack at Spirited Mountain was unexpected. When the Mahamayuri and other Buddhist Societies successfully captured the rebels of the demon race, the situation instantly ruptured. At that moment, the lives of Ananda and Maha Kasyapa were at risk. The great enchantment who was in charge of the Saha Pure Land, together with the backups from the pure land, used the Thousand Buddha Formation that was created by the Buddha and Bodhisattva to earn some time. In the meantime, Amitabha from the Western Pure Land and Ancient Buddha from the Bodhi Pure Land sent their will, indicating that they would soon involve themselves.”
The two influential figures from the Nirvana Realm, Amitabha and Bodhi Ancient Buddha, were involved in the Battle of Spirited Mountain? Meng Qi gently gasped. He realized that the Battle of Spirited Mountain was more complicated than he imagined.
“During the critical moment, Ananda suddenly attacked Maha Kasyapa. Just like what you said, he changed the Thousand Buddha Formation using the Seal of Samsara, brought the dead back to life and turned the Dharma into evilness. Dragging the Saha Pure Land, Buddha and Bodhisattva who came as backups, they fell into the deepest and heaviest darkness, turning Spirited Mountain into the Nine Levels of Underground. Even the influential figures from the Nirvana Realm who released the power could sense the danger. Later, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven performed his best to destroy the Spirited Mountain with his Golden Cudgel, creating an unpolluted and undisturbed Sealed Pure Land to produce vitality to the remaining great sages and Demonic Sages.”
The Immortal Demon Fairy slowly went on, “I, too, seized the vitality during this brief instability and escaped from Spirited Mountain. Ergo, I have no knowledge of the subsequent incidents.”
Meng Qi was deeply skeptical. He believes that the Immortal Demon Fairy was informed about some of the subsequent incidents. Yet, it involved the confidences of the Nirvana Realm’s influential figures. Therefore, the Immortal Demon Fairy did not have the audacity to make any remark.
Meng Qi sighed and said abruptly, “From your tone and narration, I reckon that you’re either the demon race or a mighty person from the Buddhist Society. In spite of your successful escape from Spirited Mountain, you have been disturbed and polluted by the formidable power generated during the change of the Thousand Buddha Formation. You are neither dead nor alive. You use the name of your animal and the help of Tianzhu Mountain to communicate with the power of the Nine Levels of Underground, barely surviving until today.”
It was not a surprise that the environment here resembled the shabby Spirited Mountain because both seemed to be welcoming the arrival of the Nine Levels of Underground!
“Neither dead, nor alive...” the Immortal Demon Fairy gave a wry, self-mocking smile.
Meng Qi asked solemnly, “Shall I address you as the Samantabhadra or Avalokitesvara?”