Chapter 398: Chapter 344: Ten Thousand Golden Spears, Jade Emperor Mediates
Lishan rose to towering heights of ten thousand miles, standing fourteen thousand miles from the Java Country.
Lishan Mother was also known as the Heavenly Venerate Governing the World. Legend had it that Pangu was birthed by Lishan Mother, and Pangu created the heavens, earth, and humanity.
Only then did the myriad beings of the Three Realms come into existence.
Of course, the tales spun by the world differed slightly from the truth.
Pangu was born on Lishan, and as the deity of Lishan, Lishan Mother indirectly birthed Pangu.
It was not a direct maternal relationship; otherwise, who in the Three Realms would dare offend her?
Lishan was as picturesque as a painting, with its cliffs carved smooth like blades.
On the mountain resided Taoists clad in golden and white robes.
The golden-robed Taoist was called Taoist Golden Lotus, and the white-robed was Taoist White Lotus.
Both were direct disciples of the Heavenly Mother Governing the World, their status far surpassing that of the Fire Mother.
"Senior brother, a few days ago, a Water Spirit secretly informed us that Master Fire Mother and her disciples were captured by the Eastern Land’s military..." Taoist White Lotus suddenly spoke.
"Oh? Is this true?"
"I sent the Grass Immortal to investigate and found this to be true. The Java Country is now occupied by the Ming Army, and Fire Mother has disappeared without a trace. Nine times out of ten, this rumor is valid."
"We have rarely associated with Fire Mother, but as a disciple of the Grandmaster, her matters should still be reported to the Grandmaster for further decision."
Taoist Golden Lotus pondered for a moment and said.
"Agreed."
The two of them proceeded to the dwelling of Lishan Mother, an imposing elderly woman with white hair and brows, her gaze as piercing as fire, steadfast as the towering Qingshan peak.
Upon hearing their words, Lishan Mother erupted in fury.
"Ancient Buddha Randeng, well now, daring to provoke me—let’s see how he fares in a duel!"
"Xiezhi!"
She roared in a commanding voice.
Roar!
A lion’s roar echoed from the heavens.
Outside the cave mansion descended a mythical beast with bronze fur and a unicorn-like horn on its lion’s body.
This was Xiezhi, the mount of Lishan Mother.
Xiezhi was an ancient strange beast, consuming dragons, phoenixes, water jiao, and rare treasures alike... If this creature were allowed to run amok, it could devour the people of all four continents.
"What are my Master’s commands?"
The otherwise unyielding Xiezhi was as meek as a puppy before Lishan Mother.
"Go to the Java Country and confront Jin Bifeng."
Poor Jin Bifeng, who could have never guessed he would become a target of Lishan Mother.
It was Wang Shengu that Heavenly Master Zhang had captured and Fire Mother God Monarch that Song Lin had defeated—yet the blame landed solely on him.
Perhaps it was his notorious reputation.
After all, as the Buddha of the Past and a former leader of the Buddhist Sect, his fame was unsurpassed. Naturally, every misfortune directed suspicious eyes toward him; anything noticed was thought to be orchestrated by Jin Bifeng—or at least, somehow connected to him.
Lishan Mother and her entourage arrived in the Java Country.
There, they beheld an outpost of the Ming Army in a small city at the border of the Java Country, trapped beneath an enormous Golden Bowl.
Bang!
Lishan Mother summoned a massive mountain spanning ten thousand miles and smashed it down forcefully.
The crisp sound echoed across the land but was instantly deflected by the bowl.
Lishan Mother tried various means but could not break the defense.
She transported mountains from all directions, repeatedly slamming peaks day and night. Yet, neither the relentless assault nor the mountain tops could breach the Golden Bowl’s barrier.
She then summoned the Earth Gods, intending to dig from underneath, but they were obstructed by an unknown force.
Even the single horn of Xiezhi could not penetrate it.
She sought the Water Mother, who brought floods from the Four Seas to submerge the Java Country, but the Golden Bowl remained impervious.
"Randeng Buddha, if you have the guts, come out for a duel! Hiding as a coward—is this the conduct of an ancient Buddha?"
Lishan Mother roared in frustration.
At this moment, she was seething with rage. If it were a fair duel, she wouldn’t mind admitting defeat.
Jin Bifeng’s muffled voice emerged from within the bowl:
"Heavenly Venerate Governing the World, if even my Golden Bowl you cannot overcome, what grounds do you have to duel me? Better to quietly return to your mountain."
Seeing that neither water nor fire could penetrate the bowl, Lishan Mother grew ever more vexed. She shouted:
"Hmph! Randeng Buddha, Jin Bifeng—today, you stake victory on this Golden Bowl with me!"
"If I cannot triumph over you, I will not return to my mountain!"
With that, Lishan Mother departed to summon troops and prepare for a decisive battle with Jin Bifeng.
The Golden Bowl’s internal supplies were not infinite—even if immortals didn’t need sustenance, mortals would surely starve. When the time came, let’s see who outlasts whom. Was Jin Bifeng not supposed to be bound by compassion? Could he truly bear to watch mortals starve to death?
Lishan Mother returned, rallying three thousand Earth Immortals, four great Heavenly Immortals, and an army of countless soldiers.
Within the Golden Bowl, Jin Bifeng emerged in a Ten-Foot Golden Body, radiating boundless light in all directions.
Flames surged into a gourd’s mouth, and the blazing Buddha Light scorched Song Lin’s body.
Song Lin, having just broken through the Five Qi Chaoyuan realm, had five-colored light orbs revolving behind his head, appearing extraordinarily divine.
The Five Qi Chaoyuan, with his body glowing in radiant splendor, was indeed the True Immortal Dao.
Few of this world’s immortals possessed as solid and orthodox a Taoist Realm as Song Lin—seamless, without blemish, the very culmination sought by countless gods and immortals.
It was well known that even the same realm could yield vastly different combat powers among immortals.
The key lay in the disparities of cultivation techniques, personal realms, and magic treasures.
Outside the righteous sects, the flaws of many other immortals were glaring—Sun Wukong feared smoke, Thousand-mile Eye and Sharp-Hearing Ear feared sound and light; these were well-known defects.
Even Heavenly Master Zhang of a prestigious lineage had the minor flaw of being unable to see through illusions.
Of course, this wasn’t to belittle Dragon Tiger Mountain, but Song Lin’s techniques had been painstakingly refined from low to high realms.
The Taiyi World, temples, Eastern Penglai, Three Pure Daoist lineage, and the Real World... combining the essence of thousands of paths and the wisdom of countless techniques.
Moreover, under the light of Randeng Buddha, Song Lin seemed to grasp a new insight, standing on the verge of breaking through to the Nine-Transformation Indestructible Body.
Theoretically, this state rendered one immortal and indestructible—cutting off the head saw it restored in the next breath; annihilation by fire saw the ashes regenerate—unless suppressed by an external force.
However, it would take some time before he truly achieved the Nine-Transformation Golden Body.
Jin Bifeng turned to Heavenly Master Zhang and said: "The matter is critical; Lishan Mother harbors murderous intent, and we cannot sit idly by. We must summon reinforcements to maintain order."
"Of course."
Heavenly Master Zhang lit incense, connecting through spirit mists to his own Grandmaster, borrowing one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and the Four Marshals.
Meanwhile, Jin Bifeng delivered a dispatch to the Western Guiding Teacher, the Tathagata Buddha, invoking the Four Heavenly Kings, numerous immortals and Buddhas, and ten thousand Buddha Soldiers armed with Kesa.
A total of two hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals rode on auspicious clouds, suspended mid-air, their divine armor shielding the sun and their dharma light piercing the heavens.
At the same time, Lishan Mother revealed her Eight-foot Golden Body, flanked by Taoist Golden Lotus on her left and Taoist White Lotus on her right, with Xiezhi stationed at the rear.
"Jin Bifeng, you flaunt magic treasures—let’s see what mine can do!"
Just as Lishan Mother’s words fell, the sky suddenly darkened.
Above them hung an immense mountain.
The mountain stretched endlessly in breadth and height, obscuring the sun, moon, and stars.
The mountain began its slow descent.
"If this mountain is allowed to fall, the people of all four continents will perish. Is there any immortal who can split it apart?"
Jin Bifeng asked.
The assembled immortals and Buddhas made every effort, striking and hacking relentlessly, but to no avail—their swords dulled, their spear tips lost their edge, powerless against even a fragment of the mountain’s stone.
The Four Marshals, the Four Heavenly Kings, Tota Li Heavenly King, and Prince Nezha—all failed to halt the mountain’s descent.
Jin Bifeng felt an ominous sense of foreboding—he had truly stirred up trouble this time.
Just then, Venerable Anan of the Buddhist Sect whispered: "Maitreya Buddha possesses a Qiankun Fork Bag, capable of storing the people of all four continents. Why not borrow it for this occasion?"
"Hold on for a while longer, I’ll be back shortly!"
Jin Bifeng transformed into a Buddha Light and disappeared.
This left the rest in a dire predicament, clueless about how to handle the mountain.
The mountain descended slowly.
A hundred feet... fifty feet... thirty feet...
No matter how much strength the immortals and Buddhas exerted, they could not halt its fall.
Crash!
Just then, a golden light burst forth from the city below.
Song Lin had achieved the Five Qi Chaoyuan and perfected the Nine-Transformation Golden Body.
On this day, he ascended to the realm of tribulation crossing.
His body gleamed like gold, radiating ten thousand rays of light with a faint glassy luster, so dazzling it blinded onlookers.
The brilliance of his perfected dharma body pierced through the Three Realms.
As Song Lin appeared, he had no chance to relish the euphoria of his great achievement, for the mountain above was about to crash down.
The crowd was at their wits’ end.
"Out of the way!"
Song Lin roared, performing Fatian Xiangdi, his body soaring to great heights. Activating Three-headed and Six-armed form, he placed six arms under the mountain and braced it with his shoulders.
Dwarfed by the mountain’s enormity, Song Lin knelt on one knee.
His dharma body, merely a hundred feet tall, struggled to deploy fully.
Crack!
At the moment of contact with the mountain, its immense weight crushed his supposedly indestructible arms, pressing him halfway into the ground.
Song Lin hadn’t anticipated the mountain’s staggering heaviness.
"Fellow Taoists! Lend me your strength!"
The countless immortals and Buddhas, snapping out of their stupor, rushed to Song Lin’s side. Mimicking his stance, they supported the mountain, with some channeling their mana into him.
Crack, crack!
Song Lin’s figure rose to his feet, steadily extending higher.
Though the mountain’s weight relentlessly crushed his body, his dharma form perpetually regenerated. Still, the strain on his mana was overwhelming—fortunately, he had the support of the immortals and Buddhas.
"Rise!"
To the astonishment of those watching, Song Lin roared and lifted the mountain.
A hundred feet... five hundred feet...
"Such a powerful dharma body!"
Venerables Anan and Kasyapa murmured to themselves, observing that Song Lin’s golden body surpassed the majority of those in the Buddhist Sect.
"What astonishing technique!"
The Taoist onlookers, in contrast with the Buddhists, noted the intricacy of Song Lin’s methods.
On his dharma form, the Five Mountains True Form Map had materialized, dissipating portions of the mountain’s pressure, enabling him to lift it with apparent ease.
Regardless, the strength of this dharma body and its techniques left an indelible impression on all.
At this moment, Jin Bifeng returned from the Western Heaven, holding a cloth bag in his hand.
Song Lin felt an instant lightness upon his shoulders.
The sun and moonlight returned, and dark clouds vanished.
The mountain disappeared entirely, leaving only Lishan Mother in her Eight-foot Golden Body form.
Only then did everyone realize that this colossal mountain was actually Lishan Mother’s true form.
Fearing her true body might be consumed by the Qiankun Fork Bag, she retracted her dharma form in time when her offensive maneuver failed, held back by Song Lin.
Lishan Mother gave Song Lin a long, intense look.
This seemingly average man turned out to possess such remarkable abilities.
"Jin Bifeng, and you, this nameless brat—mark my name well today!"
Lishan Mother hurled a Golden Spear.
The Golden Spear multiplied—one became ten, ten became a hundred, a hundred became a thousand, then tens of thousands...
Tens of thousands of Golden Spears shot forth.
Randeng Buddha bore the brunt, deflecting over half of the spears.
More than three thousand Golden Spears hurtled toward Song Lin.
Clang, clang!
The spears could not penetrate his dharma form’s defenses, bursting into sparks before bouncing off.
Even the stray ones that made it through the indestructible body caused no harm.
The Nine-Transformation Indestructible Body was impervious to physical attacks of any kind.
Randeng Buddha, however, fared differently. At last, he failed to block one spear, which pierced his dharma form.
The light of Infinite Brightness extinguished, emitting a fragrant aroma across the Three Realms.
Buddhas, when injured, did not bleed; instead, their wounds exuded a unique fragrance called "Nanxiang."
"Imperial Decree!"
Upon learning of this, the Jade Emperor quickly dispatched a Spirit Official to mediate.
Typically, the Jade Emperor refrained from meddling in such affairs. As it was, an instant in the heavens equated to forty-nine years in the mortal realm.
These events unfolded within fragments of a heavenly moment—how could he have taken notice?
However, the distinct aroma of Nanxiang was impossible to ignore, prompting the Jade Emperor to perceive the conflict brewing in the Lower Realm.
Hence, the fastest Immortal Official was dispatched, arriving within a fraction of that heavenly instant.