Chapter 172: Chapter 169: Kunpeng, Master of Ten Thousand Demons Chapter 172: Chapter 169: Kunpeng, Master of Ten Thousand Demons The tale tells of seven brothers who battled fiercely atop Mount Meru, facing a devastating defeat at the brink of life and death. Seeing no other choice, the Peng Demon King was about to self-destruct.

In an urgent moment, a piercing screech suddenly echoed, and a tempest swept across the whole of Mount Meru, bringing with it a majestic and imposing will that even the Mahoraga could not stir.

The face of the Peng Demon King lit up with joy, and he called out, “Master!”

The other brothers, astounded, wondered who could the master of the Peng Demon King be? His arrival at Mount Meru at such a time indicated a power that seemingly did not fear the Tathagata—what dreadful strength must he possess?

The Peng Demon King had never mentioned his own sect, and each Demon King kept their secrets; not everything was shared openly. For instance, Wukong never spoke to them about apprenticing under Subhuti, so they could only guess by reasoning from his martial sister Wusheng that Subhuti was a formidable figure. In such a vast world, the existence of powerful hidden experts was quite normal.

Enlightenment Dao suddenly realized, exclaiming in his mind, “That must be the will of Kunpeng! I felt it when I fought with Shiqi Buddha in the company of Zhuang Zhou.”

Zhuang Zhou, who had understood the will of Kunpeng, wrote “Free and Easy Wandering”, created supreme scholarship, and became a Human Sage. Could the master of the Peng Demon King, imbued with the will of Kunpeng, be Zhuang Zhou? That seemed unlikely—could it actually be Kunpeng himself?

Kong Xuan looked intently into the distance, where a flash of golden light appeared, and a Taoist wearing a yellow Eight Trigrams robe materialized before the Peng Demon King.

“Demon Teacher, Kunpeng!” Mahoraga’s face also turned rather unsightly. He stepped back to stand beside Kong Xuan, to avoid the overwhelming will, for Kunpeng’s mana was almost second only to that of Saints. In ancient times, he was a friend of Taiyi, the Emperor of the demon race, and taught ten thousand demons; hence, he was known as the Demon Teacher.

The brothers were also surprised to discover that the Peng Demon King’s master was Kunpeng!

Kong Xuan was born with the Innate Five-Element Spiritual Root, far surpassing the Peng Demon King in talent without needing a teacher. The Peng Demon King was later taken as a disciple by Kunpeng, which also involved some fortuitous happenings but was not a major topic of discussion.

Kunpeng was a formidable being born at the dawn of heaven and earth, able to purify the universe and swallow and spit out the heavens, absorbing the murky energies of the world that helped clarify this realm, thus earning significant merit and great divine power. His strength could almost rival that of Saints, yet surpassed other experts like Ming River and Kong Xuan.

The power of Kunpeng was comparable to that of the overwhelming Demon Emperor Taiyi. His sudden appearance now shocked and terrified countless beings.

Following the great catastrophe of witches and goblins in ancient times, after being injured by the Heavenly Deity Shattering Array of the Twelve Demon Gods, Kunpeng went into seclusion. Afterwards, when the Peng Demon King gained a great fortune and became his disciple, he continued to remain hidden, only emerging now as his disciple faced danger.

The arrival of Kunpeng inevitably alarmed the Tathagata, who ceased his preaching and walked out from Da Xiong Palace, followed by Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, amid a flurry of golden light and the rise of sacred chants.

The creator is also divided into three levels: the first level has no special title, the second is revered as Quasi-Saint, and the third as Semi-Saint! Kong Xuan and Ming River were both at the Quasi-Saint level, but Kunpeng was a Semi-Saint level expert, one realm higher than them, possessor of greater mana, which is a whole level above, especially after becoming a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal. One moment of enlightenment could distance him streets ahead from his fellow sect practitioners.

Kunpeng’s expression remained calm, undisturbed, he spoke, “Tathagata, why do you harshly trouble my disciple and his brothers like this?”

However, the Tathagata indifferently replied, “Intruding into Mount Meru is a grave sin deserving severe punishment and execution.”

Kunpeng argued, “Mount Meru is a sacred place of the Buddhist sect, and the sect should embody compassion. They ascended Mount Meru, proving their sincere hearts, yet you seek to strike them down! This is not good, not good.”

Tathagata responded, “It seems the Demon Teacher seeks to reclaim their honor?”

Kunpeng replied, “Not at all! I am merely here to take them away. I wonder if the Buddha Ancestor would be so kind as to allow this?”

Among the Three Thousand Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, Kong Xuan’s strength was undoubtedly the greatest. Even he dared not act recklessly against Kunpeng, whose innate divine ability was extremely fearsome, capable of swallowing the skies and even Mount Meru in a single gulp. Even the Tathagata dared not press too hard.

“If I simply let the Demon Teacher take these demons away, wouldn’t that make my Buddhist sect a laughingstock to the world?” said the Tathagata.

The Peng Demon King could not help but rebuke, “Tathagata, what magic have you used to control my eldest brother’s mind, making him unable to recognize me?”

Seeing the Peng Demon King berate him, the Tathagata was slightly annoyed and said with a forced smile, “All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow. Entering my Buddhist sect naturally involves embracing the emptiness of the four foundations. All causes and conditions must be severed. The Peacock Great Ming King Bodhisattva seeks Supreme Right Enlightenment and naturally needs to cut off mundane ties and effects. Forgetting you, his brother, is thus natural.”

The Peng Demon King angrily retorted, “Nonsense!”

“How audacious, demon!”

The Three Thousand Buddhists, Infinite Bodhisattvas, Yunguang Vajras, and Eight Hundred Arhats all simultaneously unleashed the Lion’s Roar. The earth-shaking, immense sound waves swept through, and even a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal struck by these waves would be seriously injured.

The expression of Kunpeng remained unchanged; he slightly lifted his sleeve and uttered a soft cry, drawing all the sound waves into his sleeve. This move somewhat resembled Zhen Yuanzi’s Universe in the Sleeve.

Kunpeng said, “Buddha Ancestor, there’s no need to be angry with my inferior disciples. I have come here not to provoke you but merely to take them away.”

However, Tathagata responded, “Does the Demon Teacher think that my Mount Meru is like a common marketplace, where one can come and go as they please?”

Seeing Tathagata pressuring him, Kunpeng’s expression darkened as he asked, “What do you intend to do? Do you want to engage in a magic combat? If I were to transform into my true form at all costs, I fear your very foundation here on Mount Meru would be destroyed in an instant!”

The facade was torn!

Kunpeng, who naturally looked down upon the world, had already been patient in speaking pleasantly with Tathagata, and now, seeing that Tathagata was still unwilling to cease, he became annoyed. If he were to fight, Kunpeng was not afraid; turning into his giant form, his wings alone would span three thousand miles. Devouring the skies and regurgitating the earth, the battle would undoubtedly incur heavy losses for the Buddhist sect, but he might also sustain grave damages or even possibly turn to ash. Tathagata, having carefully cultivated the Buddhist sect for a long time, naturally would not watch his foundation be destroyed so easily. Should it be destroyed, the Daoist on the other side might also take action, and by then, his single strength would not withstand it.

Tathagata said, “I have a brother who has come from the Vedha Continent named Acala, who would like to have a contest with the Demon Teacher.”

Kunpeng, knowing that this Acala was one of Tathagata’s Five Great Vidyaraja’s Dharma Bodies, was slightly taken aback and said, “Just bring him on, and naturally, I shall meet him.”

Suddenly, a monk appeared in the distance, his head adorned with a Treasure Crown, his hands performing the Wisdom Fist Seal, arriving seated on a Lotus Platform, with Karmic Fire blazing behind him like a Wrathful Vajra. As he approached, his hands wielded a Sword of Wisdom and a chain, the flaming wrath around him seeming almost to bring about the end of the world!

Zhuang Zhou thought to himself, “Tathagata’s Five Great Vidyaraja Dharma Bodies and Mahavairocana Tathagata Dharma Body stationed in the Vedha Continent, possessing countless pure and flawless Incense Power and Wishes, and being rarely seen and mysterious. What skills does this Acala possess that allows him to contend with Kunpeng?”

Seeing this Acala, Kunpeng’s expression grew slightly grim as he thought to himself, “Tathagata only awaits the Great Killing Calamity between heaven and earth to be willing to engage in a deadly battle with the Daoist, whereas the Daoist also await the return of the injured Great Mystics from the Middle Ancient Times… Although Tathagata does not possess the realm of a Saint, by borrowing the Power of the Heavens, he can contend with a Saint. This Acala must have indeed gathered quite a bit of the Power of the Heavens.”

Tathagata also could not fathom Kunpeng’s strength. If he, in his true form, were to act and lose, it would be a great loss of face, considering he is the Respectful Ruler of the Buddhist sect, losing to a Demon Teacher at that. It would be embarrassing, so he could only send a Dharma Body from the Vedha Continent whose strength was indeed not inferior to his own.

Kunpeng thought to himself, “Although I too do not possess the realm of a Saint, I nonetheless carry the great merit of clarifying the Jade Universe, and moreover, I teach the myriad demons, accumulating great merit! With such strength, capturing Tathagata should be feasible!”

Contending with a Saint does not mean one can defeat a Saint; Semi-Saint and Quasi-Saint can also contend, yet they must face defeat. Kunpeng’s strength was on par with a Saint, and battling Tathagata, the outcome was still debatable.

Zhuang Zhou asked, “Bull, do you know the origins of this Acala?”

Ox Demon King replied, “This Acala is one of the Five Great Vidyaraja from the Vedha Continent. It is rumored there are the Mahavairocana Tathagata and Five Great Vidyaraja, which are all Dharma Bodies condensed by Tathagata. Whether this is true or not, condensing so many powerful Dharma Bodies is even more formidable than ‘One Qi Transforms into the Three Pure Ones’ passed down by our Patriarch.”

If all these are Dharma Bodies condensed by Tathagata, there would be six, six Dharma Bodies that can contend with Saints, which is truly terrifying.

The Vidyaraja Dharma Body is a manifestation of Tathagata’s angry thoughts, representing Buddha’s wrath to suppress demons and subdue evil, the Wrathful Vajra sitting in the Vajrayana Buddhism.

Kunpeng stood upright and lightly said, “Since you, Tathagata, want me to duel him, then let’s have a duel. It will be good to see the strength of your Buddhist sect!”

Acala had already arrived at Mount Meru, landing before the assembly of All Buddhas, where All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas quickly bowed down, saying, “We greet the Venerable Acala.”

Though Acala’s fruit position was only that of a Bodhisattva, the fact that they all had to bow to him showed that his reputation was truly significant.

Kunpeng said to the Peng Demon King, “Great Peng, I know your heart is set on saving your brother, but this time it was rather reckless! This calamity, I will intervene to help you resolve it, but afterward, there won’t be such favorable outcomes.”

Peng Demon King replied, “Yes, Master! Your disciple will heed your teachings.”

Kunpeng shook his head, then looked towards Acala and said, “Venerable Acala, please proceed!”

Acala rose from the Lotus Platform and said, “Demon Teacher, please!”

Kong Xuan’s expression hadn’t changed until now, as if he had truly become a puppet of Tathagata, filling the Peng Demon King with smoldering rage, as Five Qi chaotically surged in his chest and the Three Corpses Deity raged thunderously, wishing he could just kill Tathagata on the spot, only lamenting his lack of sufficient mana.

Kunpeng and Acala both advanced a step, positioning themselves on the open ground, one with hands clasped together, the other performing a bow.

As they prepared to engage,

the outcome remains unknown. Please tune in next time for the resolution.

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