Chapter 155: Chapter 152: Randeng and Xuandu Resolve the Conflict Chapter 155: Chapter 152: Randeng and Xuandu Resolve the Conflict This was originally a minor battle in the mortal world, but because Ming River wanted to compete for destiny, he let his disciples use his two Innate Divine Swords to kill people. As of now, it had evolved into a fierce conflict between the Buddhism and Daoism sects.

The Buddhism and Daoism sects had always been suppressing themselves, trying to keep the struggle contained within a small scale. However, this time, it had exceeded everyone’s expectations. First, the Bodhisattvas took action, followed by the Golden Immortals of the Daoist sect, igniting the old grievances of the Interpretation Sect. After Daoist Equal to Heaven and Yang Jian killed two Arhats, the Buddhist entry of the Buddha finally couldn’t sit still and deployed a very high-ranked Shiqi Buddha.

Zhuang Zhou was originally prepared to quietly watch the changes, but he didn’t expect a Buddha to take action from the Buddhist sect. He too could no longer sit idle and went to stop Shiqi Buddha, engaging him in battle.

The Human Sages of the Daoist religion and the Supreme Right Enlightenment of Buddhism; this fierce conflict made the scene even more chaotic.

Just as Indra was about to go on a killing spree, he was stopped by someone; this person was the Heavenly Demon King Poxun.

“Big brother!” upon seeing Poxun, Indra hurriedly paid his respects.

“The situation is out of control. The fierce conflict between Buddhism and Daoism has already killed two Arhats. I’m afraid it will draw disaster upon my Asura clan! I have already been targeted by Great Emperor Ziwei, and Hooked Chen Great Emperor from the Hooked Chen Palace has also emerged. Do not act rashly now to avoid a calamity,” Poxun grasped Indra’s arm and said coldly.

Seeing the intense battle between the Bodhisattvas of the Buddhist sect and the Golden Immortals of the Daoist sect, even seeing the Human Sages and the Buddhas of Supreme Right Enlightenment taking action, Indra felt as if his heart was pounding. Although the Netherworld Blood Sea was powerful, it was still too weak compared to the enormous entities of Buddhism and Daoism. Now, with the appearance of Ming River’s two divine swords, all order was disrupted, making the Netherworld Blood Sea likely to become the cannon fodder of the two sects.

Poxun, with his high status in the Netherworld Blood Sea next to Ming River, also had a very high vision and could see the root of this chaos. The conflict between Buddhism and Daoism had now spiraled out of control. Old grievances of the Interpretation Sect had been drawn in, and when enemies met, it was naturally a fight to the death. Guanyin was driven to desperation by Guang Chengzi’s Sky-Overshadowing Seal, vomiting blood and barely managing to hold on. If the battle continued for a hundred more rounds, one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas might fall!

Poxun’s cold sweat had already drenched his undershirt as he muttered to himself, “The ancestor miscalculated. This time, supporting the Yellow Turbans might have been a mistake, getting calculated into the Buddhist sect’s schemes. The Daoist sect is also despicable, staying silent obviously to take this opportunity to diminish the prestige of the Buddhist sect! Otherwise, why would Guang Chengzi and these Golden Immortals hide in the dark?”

Poxun was actually just observing. When he arrived, he had already noticed several formidable Mixed Yuan Golden Immortals lurking around. The Netherworld Blood Sea had gotten involved too deeply this time. The fate of the human path was not so easily contested. If not careful, it could just become cannon fodder between the massive forces of Buddhism and Daoism.

Suddenly, a dragon’s roar and a phoenix’s cry echoed in the sky, and a red-robed man appeared, who was none other than Hooked Chen Great Emperor!

This time, the appearance of the Daoist Great Emperor was a step behind the Buddha from the Buddhist sect, and the situation seemed likely to escalate even further!

Without hesitation, Poxun shouted, “Let’s go!”

Poxun grabbed Indra and employed the Escape Technique, transforming into a streak of blood light and fleeing more than hundreds of miles away! However, Hooked Chen Great Emperor was not slow; a seven-color divine light began to flicker, and he immediately followed them.

But just as Hooked Chen Great Emperor was catching up, he realized someone was attempting to ambush him. A beam of five-colored divine light flew toward him, narrowly missing him.

Enraged, Hooked Chen Great Emperor’s expression turned sinister as he turned to confront the Buddha emerging from the shadows, who turned out to be the Ancient Dipankara Buddha. The object he launched was the Sea-Calming Pearl, narrowly missing Hooked Chen. If the Daoist Great Emperor and the Ancient Buddha of the Buddhist sect were indeed to clash, the conflict would surely become relentless!

Just as the two were about to escape, a gigantic golden palm pierced through the void from countless miles away, reaching towards them!

“Tathagata!” Poxun couldn’t help but shout and hurried even faster.

The palm of Tathagata was about to capture them when suddenly, a Twelve-Rank Lotus Platform thundered down, smashing onto Tathagata’s hand. The person standing on the lotus platform was none other than the ancestor of the Netherworld Blood Sea, Ming River.

Hooked Chen Great Emperor was briefly taken aback, only to see Dipankara retreating repeatedly as if he had received some message, and he hurried towards the battlefield.

Hooked Chen couldn’t help but think to himself, “Tathagata probably also fears the situation might widen, so he intervened to take those two from the Netherworld Blood Sea as scapegoats to quell the wrath of my Daoist sect! This Ming River, not yet a Saint, yet dares to contend for the fate of the human path like a Saint. He really is ignorant, and this time he might get hurt by Tathagata.”

Sure enough, the person on the lotus platform engaged in a struggle with the hand. Just as Dipankara was about to leave, he suddenly returned, scattering the Sea-Calming Pearl!

“Bang! Bang!”

The Sea-Calming Pearl struck Ming River’s back, eliciting a loud scream from him. Carrying the lotus platform, he flew out and sustained a heavier injury from another palm strike by Tathagata, turning into a majestic blood light. He enveloped the two disciples and immediately retreated back into the Blood Sea. Tathagata’s palm reached above the Blood Sea but did not pursue further; with the Innate Blood River Great Array above, even he dared not forcefully enter.

Dipankara Buddha, having successfully struck with his stealth attack, turned back to the battlefield to try and break up the fighting. Hooked Chen went straight back to the Celestial Palace, unwilling to stay and muddy the waters. As soon as he left, another Taoist descended from the heavens; this Taoist was none other than Xuandu Grand Master, a disciple of Laozi.

“Everyone, please hold!”

Dipankara Buddha and Xuandu Grand Master exchanged glances and then nodded at each other, seemingly having reached some sort of tacit agreement in that instant.

Perhaps the Buddhist and Daoist sects had sat back and allowed the Ming River to intervene for the reason that both wanted to use this opportunity to eliminate one or two formidable figures from the opposing side, but as the battle had progressed to this point, even the Human Sages and the Supreme Right Enlightenment had taken action. If either side were to suffer casualties, it would likely turn into a fight to the death.

The Hundred Sage Scholars could not just sit back, and neither could Laozi, who was revered as a master by Zhuang Zhou. If a Buddha were to die, the Three Thousand Buddhas would certainly not be able to sit still; the battle would continue, and unless it were the time of great calamity, both Buddhist and Daoist sides were likely to suffer severe losses.

Once everyone saw that the arriving figures represented both Buddhist and Daoist factions, they knew that even the Sages of both sides were probably already involved. Although they were extremely resentful and wished for a swift end to their adversaries, they dared not defy the dictates of the Sages, and so they reluctantly ceased fighting and each retreated to their respective sides.

Shiqi Buddha furrowed his brows, withdrew his divine powers, and retreated behind Dipankara Buddha. Zhuang Zhou also put away Kunpeng into a bamboo slip and swiftly employed the Escape Technique.

Guanyin internally felt a surge of fear and nervously thought, “This person is indeed Zhuang Zhou! It was him who last time killed Ananda and Kasyapa.”

Last time, when Ananda and Kasyapa fell into Zhuang Zhou’s hands, Tathagata could only suffer in silence. He couldn’t pinpoint where Zhuang Zhou was, suspected that someone was secretly stirring trouble, and also realized that these two disciples had provoked the wrong person. Being beaten to death, they could only be blamed for their lack of vision! Although Zhuang Zhou had severely embarrassed him, since he couldn’t locate Zhuang Zhou, he had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill. Now that Zhuang Zhou had appeared, he didn’t dare to act. If Zhuang Zhou were truly harmed, this incident might never be resolved.

The Hundred Sage Scholars, although academically diverse, had been collaborating for a long time, maintaining the dynastic fortune of The Eastern Land. Injuring Zhuang Zhou might bring out Mencius, Confucius, Ghost Valley, Gongsun Long, Sun Wu, and other sages.

There was a significant reason for Sun Wu to intervene, as military affairs belong to the militarists; what right did the Buddhist sect have to interfere?

Dealing with the Hundred Sage Scholars was unrealistic; to pull at one thread would move the entire body. Although the claim of the Hundred Schools of Thought might have been somewhat exaggerated, with so many Human Sages and the Three Pure Ones stirring behind the scenes, this was truly not something Tathagata could handle alone! So, for now, Zhuang Zhou could only be allowed to leave; they would record this debt and settle it slowly when an opportunity arose.

Xuandu Grand Master said, “Fellow Daoists, Bodhisattvas. I am here by the command of my sect; my master has decreed that this conflict was instigated by the notorious Blood Sea. Everyone should not fight to the death over this matter.”

Dipankara Ancient Buddha also said, “What Xuandu Fellow Taoist has said is correct. Buddha Ancestor has also clarified that this matter was instigated by the Netherworld Blood Sea to disrupt our relations. Buddha Ancestor has already wounded Ming River as a warning to others! Everyone, please disperse.”

Guang Chengzi glared at the Three Great Bodhisattvas, snorted coldly, and swept away in his sleeves. As Guang Chengzi left, True Man of the Jade Tripod and others also did not linger and left one after another.

Daoist Equal to Heaven grabbed Yang Jian and Chen Tuan among others, whispering, “Let’s go first!”

As the immortals dispersed like birds and beasts, the mortals on the ground finally came back to their senses. Unprepared for this, the defending army in Qingzhou, led by Prefect Gong Jing, charged out.

Not everyone was distracted by the disturbances in the sky; as the armies at the front were stunned and had forgotten to fight, Gong Jing at the rear knew this was a golden opportunity to defeat the enemy.

At that moment, Gong Jing led his troops out, attacking from behind the Yellow Turbans, instantly throwing their camp into chaos.

Seeing the immortals departing in the sky, the troops at the front suddenly heard chaos from behind; turning their heads, they saw the Qingzhou defending army attacking. Liu Bei gestured, and under the lead of generals Guan and Zhang, 5,000 soldiers charged forward. The Yellow Turbans’ leader, Yang Feng, already having been defeated, had low morale. Now faced with attacks from both front and back, their will to fight disintegrated, and their army collapsed.

Yang Feng was beheaded in the disordered army, his head hung on the command flag, and someone shouted that the enemy leader had been decapitated. The Yellow Turbans descended into even greater chaos, with the majority of the soldiers losing the will to fight any longer, throwing down their weapons and surrendering, while a few managed to escape from the pincer attack.

The situation was settled, and the siege of Qingzhou was lifted.

This fierce conflict between Buddhism and Daoism had been suppressed by the Sages, who were unwilling to see the situation escalate further. Such an escalation would be a great loss for both sides; if a real battle were to break out, the subsequent Journey to the West might not even begin, and they would rather directly gather troops and array them in the sky for battle.

This time, the Ming River had meddled too deeply and, having been struck by Tathagata, had truly suffered a loss disproportionate to its gains, only left to retreat and seclude itself again in resentment.

To find out what happens next, please tune in for the following chapter.