When he asked that question, Meng Qi secretly concealed another name in his heart—Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva!
He was one of the four most powerful Bodhisattvas revered across all Buddhist Pure Lands. In pursuit of transcendence, He made profound vows to attain a perfected reward body and establish His own Pure Land. It is highly probable that He hastened to lend aid during the ancient battle at Vulture Peak.
As the master of the Dao governing life and death, renowned for guiding lost souls, He stood as Buddhism’s representative in the struggle for dominion over the true Underworld. He was the sworn adversary of vengeful spirits, malevolent ghosts, and lingering deaths. Not only was He unafraid of the corruption emanating from the Nine Nether Realms, but He also sought to transform the Nine Nether into the Underworld and ultimately evolve it into His own Pure Land.
Amidst the deathly, corruptive forces unleashed by the reversal of the Great Buddhist Array, He emerged as the most likely figure capable of briefly resisting its overwhelming power. Thus, when the Great Sage Equaling Heaven shattered Vulture Peak, He seized the opportunity to escape.
The only issue was that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva attained enlightenment relatively late, did not take part in the Investiture of the Gods, and neither did His mount, the “Dīngwàng.” While hidden in Mount Tianzhu, unless He had some hidden secret, there was no need for Him to impersonate the mounts of either Samantabhadra or Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva—both of whom were great beings of the Zhijiao Sect and great monkey sages who had experienced the Investiture of the Gods and the Journey to the West. Moreover, with the respective characteristics of His martial cultivation and reward body, He was especially effective at suppressing corruption and death. Thus, it was inexplicable why He would remain in a state of “not dead yet not alive” until now.
Meng Qi believed that, aside from the transcendents, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was the most likely to have escaped alive from the battle at Vulture Peak. However, this being before him was probably not Ksitigarbha.
“Samantabhadra, Avalokiteśvara…” the “Undead Demon God” murmured those two names to himself, then sighed darkly, “The past is dead, the present remains unawakened. Why cling to former identities?”
He did not deny it, nor did He confirm it, seemingly unwilling for now to face others under a past name in His current condition.
A form like a ghost, neither dead nor alive—this was the greatest mockery of every Bodhisattva’s path. No wonder the eternal roar of “Ānanda” echoed endlessly across the ruined Vulture Peak.
Seeing that the “Undead Demon God” did not respond, Meng Qi did not press further. Frankly speaking, he leaned more toward the idea that it was Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. After all, Avalokiteśvara was one of the Three Holy Ones of the West and a great Bodhisattva of the Sukhāvatī Pure Land, serving as the left attendant of Amitābha Buddha. Representing Amitābha, an ancient transcendental being, in matters concerning Vulture Peak, He had deep roots. As long as He had not perished on the spot, He could return to Sukhāvatī. Even if His golden body and reward body were completely destroyed, He could still be reborn within the Eight-Treasure Merit Pond of the perfected reward body Pure Land. With Amitābha still existing, He could not possibly end up in such a pitiful, barely surviving state.
—Ever since the incident of the Green Emperor’s transcendence in the Middle Ages, Meng Qi believed that Amitābha was still alive and well.
Eliminating all impossibilities naturally left Samantabhadra as the only plausible answer.
However, during their earlier conversation, Meng Qi had sensed something odd. The “Undead Demon God” referred to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven in a manner not hostile, yet not resentful either. If this were Samantabhadra, who had experienced the monkey’s rebellion and the resulting great calamity, He would not have been as furious as toward Ānanda, but He still should not have addressed him as “Great Sage Equaling Heaven.” Given the composure expected of a Bodhisattva, He would likely have only called him “Sun Wukong.”
Therefore, based on this title, Meng Qi boldly speculated it was Avalokiteśvara. Having experienced the rebellion, He had gone from calling him “that monkey” to “Great Sage Equaling Heaven.” So much laughter, so many memories, now reduced to indifference.
“It’s not former identities that concern me,” Meng Qi mused for a moment before speaking. “What I’m concerned about is how Buddhism could allow a cosmic-level great Bodhisattva to fall into such a state, without intervention or concern, left to survive or perish on His own.”
This was the greatest mystery in his heart.
If the legends held true, and the supreme beings served as the foundational forces governing the myriad realms for Buddhism, Daoism, the Heavenly Court, the Nine Nether, and the demonic races, then cosmic-level cultivators represented the highest echelons of these factions, revered as “Great Sages.” Prior to the demonic upheaval, even among the Five Ancient Emperors—the Green Emperor, Black Emperor, Metal Emperor, and Fire Emperor—only this tier had been attained. Though some among them, along with a select few others, had achieved perfection, verging on transcendence and surpassing their fellow Great Sages, they remained within this rank, still bound to the Sea of Suffering. Thus, one could scarcely fathom the rarity and preciousness of cosmic-level Great Sages.
In ancient times, how powerful was Buddhism? Even among the cosmic-level Buddhas, Great Bodhisattvas, and Great Arhats, there were not many more. Excluding the Three Divisions, past incarnations, Vajra manifestations, and Bodhisattva avatars—”false identities”—there were only top-tier Great Bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, Ksitigarbha, and Samantabhadra; the two Great Arhats Ānanda and Kāśyapa; the Five Buddhas of the Five Directions—Aksobhya, Amoghasiddhi, and Ratnaketu; the past Buddha Dipankara; the future Buddha Maitreya; and the Medicine Buddha of the Three Worlds, along with the present-day Mahāvairocana Buddha.
Even if one added in a few uncertain cosmic-level beings like Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva or the past Buddhas Śikhin and Vipaśyin, and even including outsiders like the Great King of the Peacock, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird who had joined Buddhism or served as its protectors, it was still questionable whether their total number reached twenty.
These were the cosmic-level Great Sages possessed by the many Pure Lands of Buddhism—Sukhāvatī, Saha, Vaidūryanirbhasa, and Amitabha’s Pure Land, among countless branches. Spread out, some Pure Lands had only one. Whether Avalokiteśvara or Samantabhadra, both were definitely high-ranking figures and key members of Buddhism. So why, with Buddhism not yet completely destroyed, would they allow Him to remain in a state of neither dead nor alive, barely surviving in Mount Tianzhu?
The “Undead Demon God” fell silent again, saying nothing for a long time, only speaking slowly as Meng Qi’s “Indestructible Dao Body” manifestation neared its time limit: “Some things cannot be judged merely by appearances.”
Cannot be judged merely by appearances… Meng Qi inhaled deeply. Suddenly, the Buddha’s transcendence and the battle at Vulture Peak seemed increasingly intriguing. After hearing this, it was now even more uncertain whether the Undead Demon God was Samantabhadra or Avalokiteśvara.
He considered for a moment and realized this was not the right time to delve deeper. The “Undead Demon God” clearly dared not say more. Thus, he changed the subject: “In ancient times, a Holy Buddha attained transcendence within Buddhism. Do you, Demon God, know anything about Him?”
The Holy Buddha had cultivated the Eight-Nine Mystical Art, attained the Bodhi Golden Body, and was suspected to be a manifestation of Yuanshi. Meng Qi had long been deeply curious about this. Now that he had encountered a great Buddhist sage active during the mythological age, how could he let the opportunity slip away?
The “Undead Demon God” was no longer as silent as before and spoke indifferently, “The Holy Buddha was originally an outsider. He was introduced to Buddhism by the Bodhi Ancient Buddha, where he studied Buddhist teachings to complete the Eight-Nine Mystical Art, thus breaking free from his shackles and escaping numerous constraints. Eventually, He attained the Bodhi Golden Body, transcending worldly affairs, rarely interacting with other Buddhas, and eventually vanished without a trace.”
Completing the Eight-Nine Mystical Art to break free from shackles and escape constraints… vanished without a trace… Meng Qi’s heart pounded as he listened. Although the Undead Demon God did not explicitly say so, the implications were clear: the Holy Buddha was likely a manifestation of Yuanshi Tianzun!
Wasn’t that exactly the pursuit of a way to escape the greatest karmic force in the universe?
Moreover, the Holy Buddha had been introduced into Buddhism by the Bodhi Ancient Buddha. This revelation was truly beyond Meng Qi’s expectations. The rivalry among transcendents was deeper and more thrilling than he had imagined.
However, what would be the expressions of figures like Samantabhadra and Avalokiteśvara—who had originally been Jade Void Immortal Golden Immortals who joined Buddhism—upon discovering their former teacher had also joined Buddhism under a “false identity”? Just imagining it was amusing.
Of course, they might not have originally been Jade Void Immortals. Perhaps they were Buddhas or Great Bodhisattvas who had severed their Daoist forms and entered the Jade Void Palace. For instance, the Compassionate Wanderer might have, after the Investiture of the Gods, embraced Buddhism under Amitābha and transformed into Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, thereby severing his former Buddha form. Alternatively, Avalokiteśvara might have first severed his past Buddha identity—”Dharma-Illuminating Tathāgata”—then relinquished the form of the Compassionate Wanderer to join the Jade Void sect and specialize in the Yin-Yang Seal. When the kalpa cycle concluded and his cultivation reached new heights, the Compassionate Wanderer would return to his original form, enabling the golden body of the Great Compassionate Avalokiteśvara to embody both the Dharmakāya and Sambhogakāya, harmonizing Yin and Yang, transitioning from male to female, attaining perfection, and ultimately entering the Cosmic Realm.
Additionally, there was the story of Lord Lao’s journey to the West, enlightening the Buddha’s “avatar,” Śākyamuni…
In short, precisely because these immortals and Buddhas opened so many “false identities,” the relationships among Daoism, Buddhism, and Heaven’s Court during the Mythological Age were extremely subtle, leaving later generations like Meng Qi constantly confused. Restricting “false identities” was indeed the trend of the times… Meng Qi silently grumbled to himself.
“I see,” Meng Qi nodded slightly and continued to inquire, “Does the Demon God know the whereabouts of the descendants of Wuzhuang Temple?”
The Undying Demon God said, “In the incident of the Heavenly Court’s fall, Zhen Yuanzi was implicated, and his fate remains unknown. Meanwhile, the Wuzhuang Temple split into two factions—one returned to the world of the Investiture of the Gods, while the other took the Ginseng Fruit Tree and vanished into the mortal realm.”
Return to the world of Fengshen? Meng Qi narrowed his eyes, implying that Journey to the West originated from the division of Fengshen?
No wonder Uncle Xiaobai was able to obtain the great divine ability known as “Cosmos in the Sleeve.”
“The branch that returned to the world of Fengshen—I was trapped in Tianzhu Mountain for many years and couldn’t learn much about it. As for the branch that went into seclusion, they’ve remained hidden without a trace. However, decades ago, the Dragon King of the East Sea somehow obtained the Ginseng Fruit Tree,” the Undying Demon God said slowly.
“The Ginseng Fruit Tree?” Meng Qi’s expression changed slightly. Had this Root of Heaven and Earth also appeared in the world?
It seems the clue to Wuzhuang Temple lies with the Dragon King of the East Sea. Do I have to cause a ruckus in the Dragon Palace as well?
Why does it always have something to do with monkeys…
As he spoke, his avatar gradually dissipated, leaving only the faint sigh of the Undying Demon God: “Had I left the world of Journey to the West, I would have perished long ago.”
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