novelhk Chapter 1008 I'll grant your wish!
Chapter 1008 I'll grant your wish!
Every word Chu Yang uttered struck at the literal loopholes in the rules. In this illusory city constructed of absolute rules, the logic of those rules is everything!
The sounds in the sky fell silent.
A full ten breaths passed.
"Judgment revised. Penalty revoked."
As the last four words fell, the lightning cones and pincers in mid-air instantly vanished into nothingness. The white chains that had been binding Sun Wukong also receded like a tide.
Sun Wukong gasped for breath as he got up from the ground, touching the shallow bloodstain on his chest with lingering fear.
"Brother...you're really something. You managed to cover this up!" Sun Wukong wiped away a cold sweat. This time he learned his lesson and deliberately lowered his voice, while maintaining that extremely stiff smile on his face.
Tang Sanzang also breathed a sigh of relief, stood up from the ground, clasped his hands together, and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Master Chu is very clever and has saved Wukong's life. However, the rules in this city are so strange and strict. What should we do next? If we try to find loopholes everywhere, I'm afraid that if we are not careful, we will be doomed."
Chu Yang sheathed the Sword of Slaying Karma and glanced at the white-clad commoners around him who had returned to their puppet-like state and continued walking forward. His eyes were extremely cold.
"Master, do you see clearly now?" Chu Yang pointed at the people. "This is the 'immaculate' state that the Bodhisattvas in heaven want. No joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness; no desires; living like puppets according to the rules they set. As long as there is even the slightest trace of human life, heavenly punishment will descend."
Tang Sanzang looked at those lifeless faces, his lips trembling slightly, and the once unbreakable faith in his heart seemed to have been cracked open again.
"Buddha said to save all sentient beings... Could this be... what it looks like after being saved?" Tang Sanzang murmured to himself, his eyes filled with painful struggle.
Chu Yang didn't provoke Tang Seng any further; he knew that too much of a good thing could be bad. He turned to look at the end of the street, where there stood a white spire that was taller than the other buildings.
"Brother Monkey, Master. We can't stay here any longer. We need to find the core of the formation and break this city," Chu Yang said in a low voice. "Although the rules in this city are strict, they are all inanimate objects. As long as we don't actively trigger those obvious taboos and proceed step by step, we should be able to find a way to break the formation. Let's go, let's go take a look at that spire."
The three men and one horse reorganized their formation. Chu Yang walked in front, Sun Wukong maintained his stiff smile and protected him on the right, while Tang Sanzang followed closely in the middle.
They took each step with extreme care, strictly controlling the frequency and amplitude of their strides, for fear of triggering the rule of "improper conduct".
The people in white continued to move about numbly. Chu Yang carefully observed them and noticed that although their eyes were empty, their gazes seemed to be glancing unintentionally at some shops on both sides of the street.
Chu Yang followed their gaze.
The white stone houses lining both sides of the street had some doors wide open, displaying all sorts of incredibly tempting items inside.
Some rooms were filled with mountains of gold and silver jewelry, gleaming blindingly in the pale sunlight.
Some rooms are filled with the enticing aroma of delicacies from land and sea. The fat from the roast suckling pig is still dripping and sizzling. The wine jars are open, and the rich aroma of wine is so enticing that it can almost steal your soul.
In other rooms, several women, dressed in thin veils and possessing stunning beauty, sat casting flirtatious glances at the doorway, their flowing sleeves swaying gently.
Chu Yang's heart skipped a beat.
"The second rule... no greed. Anyone whose gaze lingers on something that is not theirs for more than three breaths will be punished by having their finger cut off." Chu Yang silently recited this in his mind and immediately understood the purpose of these rooms.
This is blatant entrapment!
In this extremely oppressive city, these things that amplify human desires are deliberately placed out of the blue; anyone who can't help but glance at them will immediately incur divine punishment. No wonder those people in white robes walk with their eyes fixed straight ahead, not daring to linger even for half a second out of the corner of their eyes.
"Master, Monkey King, whatever you do, don't look at the houses on either side!" Chu Yang warned in a low voice. "Keep your eyes straight ahead, only look at the road!"
Sun Wukong didn't care; he wasn't interested in gold and silver treasures, and he avoided women like the plague. But Tang Sanzang had just enjoyed the taste of wine and meat the night before, and now the rich aroma of wine and meat was wafting into his nose, making him swallow hard.
Tang Sanzang forced himself to close his eyes and rapidly recited the Heart Sutra, trying to suppress the pounding in his heart.
Just as they passed a shop filled with scriptures and Buddhist treasures, another unexpected event occurred.
"Ouch!"
A clear, sweet cry suddenly came from beside them.
Chu Yang caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of a young woman dressed in white linen who seemed to have tripped and fallen straight toward Tang Sanzang's white dragon horse.
The woman's face was extremely delicate, her eyes filled with pitiful tears, and she fell in a weak and boneless posture. An ordinary commoner in white would never have made such a sudden movement.
"Watch out!" Tang Sanzang's compassion kicked in, and he instinctively reached out to help the woman.
"Master, don't move!" Chu Yang shouted, but Tang Seng's hand had already reached out, and his gaze was completely fixed on the woman.
Take a breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
The vast, ethereal voice in the sky rang out once more, like a death knell:
"Violating the second law of the city: lingering on something that is not one's own for more than three breaths. Punishment: loss of a finger."
In mid-air, a lightning ruler flashing with cold light instantly formed, and with a whistling sound, it slashed down hard at Tang Sanzang's outstretched right hand!
"Master!" Sun Wukong was shocked and tried to block it, but the invisible pressure descended again, pressing him firmly to the spot.
A cold glint flashed in Chu Yang's eyes. He knew that in this strictly rule-bound place, simply defending and trying to find loopholes wouldn't work. Since those guys in the sky wanted to play games, he'd flip the table!
"Screw your rules!"
Chu Yang roared, and the remaining medicinal power of the Nine Revolutions Great Rejuvenation Pill within his body erupted instantly. Instead of blocking the lightning ruler, he directly drew the Karma-Slaying Sword, its tip pointing straight at the heavens!
"Red Lotus Karmic Fire, ignite it for me!"
Chu Yang made a hand seal with his left hand, and the Eight Treasures Glazed Red Lotus Cup, which he had extorted from Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, instantly appeared in his palm. Dark red lotus karmic fire shot up from the sword and transformed into a raging fire dragon, not only blocking the lightning ruler but also crashing directly into the desolate sky above Immaculate City!
"Since anger is forbidden in this city, then today I will show you the boundless rage of mortals!"
A crimson pillar of fire shot skyward, as if tearing a bloody gash through the lifeless white curtain. The Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire, the ultimate fire capable of burning away all sins and illusions in the world, now, empowered by the Sword of Severing Karma and Ignorance, erupted with terrifyingly high temperatures that sent chills down one's spine. The once indestructible white boulder ground around them, upon contact with the flames, began to melt like candles, emitting a sickening hissing sound.
The lightning ruler that was about to strike Tang Sanzang in mid-air suddenly stopped in mid-air at the moment of its collision with the red lotus fire dragon.
"Sizzle—"
Lightning and karmic fire clashed and devoured each other. For the first time, the mighty voice high above showed obvious signs of change, no longer the lifeless stillness of an ancient well, but carrying a hint of undisguised rage.
"You audacious madman! How dare you unleash the nameless karmic fire in this pure and immaculate land! Your reckless murderous intent and destruction of the sacred rules are unforgivable! May the heavenly thunder of annihilation descend upon you, annihilating both your body and soul!"
Above the sky, the once cloudless white sky instantly collapsed, and thick, inky clouds gathered wildly at an incredible speed. Deep within the clouds, the lightning was no longer ordinary, but rather a divine thunder of annihilation, interwoven with the two extreme colors of pure gold and pure black. Each bolt of lightning caused the surrounding space to collapse, revealing fine black cracks.
The "delicate woman" who had collapsed before the white dragon horse suddenly raised her head the instant the lightning flashed. Her once pitiful face now peeled away like melted wax, revealing a smooth surface beneath—no features, no hair, just a white stone puppet covered in human skin!
"Master, do you see clearly! This is their Pure Land! This is what they consider the masses of humanity!" Chu Yang laughed wildly, facing the suffocating thunderous power overhead. The Sword of Slaying Karma in his hand once again erupted with dazzling seven-colored Buddhist light, intertwining with dark red karmic fire. "Since these rules don't treat people like human beings, then I'll burn a hole through this chasm!"
Tang Sanzang collapsed to the ground, staring at the faceless stone puppet before him, his entire body trembling violently. His lips parted, but he could no longer utter a complete Buddhist chant. At that moment, his worldview, along with the hypocritical mask of the Immaculate City, was utterly shattered.
"Brother, well said! Burn the hell out of here!"
A furious roar came from behind Chu Yang. The immense pressure on Sun Wukong loosened slightly the instant Chu Yang used the Red Lotus Karmic Fire to burn away the spatial rules. But for the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, that was enough.
"Break for me, Old Sun!"
Sun Wukong's eyes were bloodshot, and his muscles seemed about to explode. He suddenly straightened his back, and the countless white chains that rose from the ground were taut, making a teeth-grinding "crackling" sound. Then, with a roar from Sun Wukong, those chains, which were said to be absolute rules, were actually torn apart by him!
The moment he was freed, Sun Wukong pulled the golden cudgel from his ear, and with a flick of his wrist, it transformed into a colossal pillar supporting the sky. Without any hesitation, he pushed off the ground with both legs, soaring into the sky like a cannonball, directly crashing into the sky filled with the devastating divine lightning.
"What kind of bullshit Nine Heavens Annihilation Divine Thunder! When your Grandpa Sun was warming himself in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, your thunder hadn't even been born yet! Take this from my old Sun's staff!"
The golden cudgel, carrying a violent and destructive aura, slammed fiercely into the thick clouds of tribulation.
"Boom—!"
The entire Immaculate City shook violently under this blow. A blinding light erupted in the sky as golden divine lightning collided with the Golden Cudgel, exploding into a shower of golden sparks, like a dazzling meteor shower. The seemingly invincible tribulation clouds were actually shattered by Sun Wukong's ruthless and unreasonable strike, with more than half of them being torn apart.
On the ground, Immaculate City also revealed its hideous true nature.
The white-clad commoners who had been lined up neatly and expressionlessly on both sides of the street all stopped in their tracks the instant the thunder roared. They turned their heads in unison, staring intently at Chu Yang and Tang Seng. Then, pieces of skin began to peel off their faces, revealing smooth stone surfaces, just like the woman from before, devoid of facial features.
Thousands of faceless stone puppets emitted eerie roars from their throats, like leaky bellows. They no longer maintained their precise, inch-long steps, but instead surged towards Chu Yang and Tang Seng like a tidal wave.
"Master, step back! Don't let them touch you!"
Chu Yang strode to Tang Sanzang's side, holding the Sword of Slaying Karma horizontally in front of his chest. He took a deep breath, and the spiritual energy within his body surged wildly like boiling magma, pouring into the sword.
"Want to use sheer numbers? I'll grant your wish!"
Chu Yang flicked his wrist, and the Sword of Slaying Karma drew a perfect semicircle in mid-air.
"Crimson Lotus Sword Song, First Form: Wildfire Spreads!"
A crescent-shaped, dark red sword aura, tens of feet long and intertwined with seven-colored Buddhist light, swept across the ground. The sword aura was extremely sharp; wherever it passed, the hundreds of faceless stone puppets at the forefront were instantly cut in half without even having the chance to resist.
However, these stone puppets did not bleed. After their severed bodies fell to the ground, streams of white, gelatinous substance gushed from the cuts, attempting to reattach themselves.
"These damned things can't be killed; they are the embodiment of the city's rules!" Chu Yang immediately saw through the deception. Although his Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire could burn their bodies, as long as the city's array core continued to operate, these stone puppets could be reborn indefinitely.
"Monkey King! Stop fighting those thunderbolts in the sky! It's only a temporary fix! Go smash that white pagoda in the street, that's the key to the formation!" Chu Yang shouted at Sun Wukong in mid-air while brandishing his long sword to repel the stone puppets that were rushing at him again.
"Alright! I, Old Sun, will go and tear that dilapidated tower down right now!"
Sun Wukong somersaulted through the air, breaking free from the encirclement of the tribulation clouds, leaving a golden afterimage in the sky, and swooped straight down toward the towering white spire at the end of the street.
"Don't even think about destroying the Holy Tower! The rules are destiny, and those who defy them will perish!"
The enormous voice in the sky was utterly enraged. As the voice faded, a blinding beam of pure white light erupted from the top of the white spire, shooting straight into the sky. Within the beam of light, a colossal phantom of the Thousand-Armed Guanyin faintly appeared, its countless arms, formed from white light, reaching out to grab at the swooping Sun Wukong.
In the palm of each hand, there is a ruler, chain, and copper hammer, representing the instruments of punishment.
"A mere illusion of feigned compassion, how dare you slap it on and embarrass yourself!" Sun Wukong's eyes flashed with a fierce light, he didn't flinch or dodge at all, "Transform!" (End of this chapter)