Chapter 35

This giant eagle has such a grand demeanor, claiming to be the Ming King of the Original Teacher.

The Original Teacher, the fundamental teacher, is also known as the source mentor or the original teacher. In the Buddhist world, only Shakyamuni Buddha can be called the Original Teacher. The giant eagle’s words imply that he wants to be on par with Shakyamuni Buddha!

Shen Hui Zhenren looked at Xuan Kong and asked, "Who is this monk?"

Xuan Kong pondered and said, "If I’m not mistaken, there are eight great Ming Kings on Spirit Mountain: the Great Ming King of the Peacock, also known as the Mother of the Buddha, the Peacock Bodhisattva."

"There are also the Great Wheel Ming King of Maitreya Buddha, the Horse-Head Ming King of Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Immovable Ming King of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, the Three Worlds Ming King of Manjushri Bodhisattva, the Step-Taking Ming King of Puxian Bodhisattva, the Vajra Ming King of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and the Indestructible Ming King of Akasagarbha Bodhisattva."

"Besides these, there are also the Three Worlds Ming King, the Great Vajra Ming King, and the Vajra Yaksha Ming King of the Esoteric School and other sects. However, I have never heard of a Ming King of the Original Teacher!" He shook his head, feeling that the little knowledge of the Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio he brought from his previous life was not enough here.

The giant eagle suddenly let out a long howl and sneered, "Although the abilities of the Many Treasures Buddha are great, he still cannot command me!"

Shen Hui Zhenren, after all, achieved enlightenment after the Sealing of the Gods, and was not aware of the ancient secrets. However, Xuan Kong’s face changed. He remembered that the Supreme Sage sent the Many Treasures Daoist out of the Hangu Pass, where he was reborn as the prince of the Shakya clan and transformed the barbarians into Buddhists, as recorded in the *Yuan Shi Wu Liang Du Ren Shang Pin Miao Jing* given to him by King Qin Guang.

Combining this with the various novels he read in his previous life, no one in this world could understand this secret history better than Xuan Kong.

So when the giant eagle referred to the Many Treasures Buddha or Shakyamuni Buddha, he was actually talking about the same person.

The former chief disciple of the截教 (Jie Jiao) sect, the Many Treasures Daoist, is now the Original Teacher Buddha of Spirit Mountain.

The giant eagle coldly looked at Shen Hui Zhenren and said, "You and I will go to see the True Man of Compassion and Salvation, to hear his judgment." He then looked at Xuan Kong and said, "As for you, are you a demon immortal transformed from a dragon? Do you still remember the vow you made five hundred years ago in the Black Water Abyss?"

His eyes flickered with a golden light, and he gently reminded, "Don’t forget the Buddha’s command: all great demon saints must not reveal themselves in the mortal world. We must wait until the great trend is formed in thirty-three years to plan together."

Seeing Xuan Kong remain unmoved, the giant eagle frowned and said coldly, "According to the rules, unless you have the Buddha’s command, you should not appear in the world. Where is your Buddha’s command? Hand it over for me to verify!"

"Black Water Abyss? What Buddha?"

Xuan Kong was completely confused and inwardly exclaimed, "Oh!" It turned out that the Ming King of the Original Teacher had seen his Jade Dragon Primordial Spirit and assumed he was a dragon from the sea who had attained enlightenment, so he appeared to say that he had a connection with the Buddha. However, he didn’t know which Buddha the giant eagle was referring to.

"I received an oral command. What right do you have to check my Buddha’s command?" Xuan Kong, being cautious, stopped Shen Hui Zhenren with a look and lied.

The giant eagle was taken aback and angrily said, "I am the Buddha’s appointed left guardian in the mortal world, protecting the foundation of the human realm laid by the True Man of Compassion and Salvation. Do you think I don’t have the right to check your Buddha’s command?"

Xuan Kong raised an eyebrow. He knew that the True Man of Compassion and Salvation was a centipede spirit, but he didn’t expect that there was someone backing him. Hearing the giant eagle speak like this, his status was apparently on par with the True Man of Compassion and Salvation, and in terms of cultivation, he might even be superior.

"Who are you, really?" Xuan Kong was about to ask again, but the giant eagle’s eyes flashed with golden light, and he said, "You are a human!"

Shen Hui Zhenren sneered, "We are all humans, are you not?"

He didn’t know that most of the Ming Kings on Spirit Mountain were ancient great demon saints who were captured by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Western Paradise, had their memories erased, and were converted through Buddhist teachings. In a sense, the Ming Kings of the Western Paradise were not really humans.

The giant eagle’s face changed, and he clenched his teeth, thinking, "These two Taoists have heard the Buddha’s secrets; I can’t let either of them live!"

He made up his mind and, in a fit of anger, shouted, "What audacity! You dare to mock me?" As he spoke, a bright golden staff emerged from the Buddha light behind his head, and the staff wind enveloped Xuan Kong and Shen Hui Zhenren.

Shen Hui Zhenren smiled bitterly, "Bad luck!"

He was already exhausted from the previous battle with Xuan Kong and had no strength left to fight the Ming King of the Western Paradise. He and Xuan Kong exchanged a glance and each used their powers to block the golden staff in the giant eagle’s hand.

Xuan Kong drew his sword to block the golden staff and asked, "Which Buddha did you follow? What is the Black Water Abyss?"

The giant eagle coldly scolded, "I said, do you dare to listen? You’re just asking for death!"

Shen Hui Zhenren waved his拂尘 (fuchen, a Taoist ritual implement) and deflected the golden staff, sighing, "I, Shen Hui Zhenjun, have a lifetime of fame, but I never expected to die at the hands of such a fellow Taoist." He saw that Xuan Kong was really courting death, and the person in front of them was clearly involved in a great secret of the three realms.

Others would avoid it, but Xuan Kong had to ask.

The giant eagle sneered, "You two Taoists, stretch out your necks and let me strike you with three thousand golden staffs, and then we’ll talk." Xuan Kong was taken aback. He hadn’t measured the weight of Sun Wukong’s如意金箍棒 (Ruyi Jingu Bang, the magic golden cudgel), but he felt that the golden staff in the giant eagle’s hand couldn’t be much lighter than thirteen thousand five hundred pounds.

Three thousand strikes?

Pork would be turned into dumpling filling.

Not to mention his and Shen Hui Zhenren’s necks. This deal couldn’t be done. Xuan Kong held his sword in his right hand and formed a mudra with his left, continuously sending out over a hundred thunderbolts to force the Ming King of the Original Teacher back.

Shen Hui Zhenren took the opportunity to catch his breath and whispered, "How much strength do you have left?"

Xuan Kong smiled bitterly. His arms were sore, and he was only holding up the giant eagle’s golden staff with the dragon power in his body. He had no strength left. He shouted, "Break!" and spat out a Nine Heavens Mixed Primordial True Thunder at the Ming King of the Original Teacher.

The giant eagle didn’t move, letting Xuan Kong’s thunder strike him, and sneered, "Do you think such thunder can hurt me? If your grandmaster were here, I would still respect him!"

It seemed that he also knew about Xuan Kong’s lineage. Only when Xuan Kong spat out the Mixed Primordial True Thunder did the giant eagle’s face become serious. He spread his wings and borrowed a true force from the Xun position, creating a wind that was not an ordinary breeze but the Dark Yin Bixi Wind.

This wind blew into the six organs from the fontanelle, passed through the dantian, and pierced the seven orifices. It was one of the calamities encountered by immortals during their tribulations. If accidentally hit, it would cause the body to disintegrate and the soul to dissipate, regardless of one’s great cultivation.

Shen Hui Zhenren knew that the Bixi Wind was hard to resist. Just as he was worried, he saw Xuan Kong step in front of him and crush the Purple Yang True Talisman in his hand. This Purple Yang True Talisman was written by the Purple Yang Zhenren of Mount Maoshan and later won by Xuan Kong from his friend, Li Zhenren of Liangchang Mountain, in a bet.

After Xuan Kong obtained it, he refined it day and night using alchemy techniques, finally turning it into a formidable magical treasure. Now, facing the Bixi Wind, he could only sacrifice the Purple Yang True Talisman to save his life.