Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Do not seek counsel with those of a different path Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Do not seek counsel with those of a different path It was said that Di Jiang, leading ten other Ancestral Witches, came to stop the Nether River in order to prevent him from slaughtering all beings and generating too many resentful spirits, which could cause the Underworld to collapse.

In this great battle, neither side would hold back.

On one side was the Nether River aiming to achieve enlightenment by slaughtering all beings in Heaven and Earth; on the other, the Ancestral Witches aimed to protect the Underworld, using it to accumulate Merit and achieve sanctity. Both sides shared the same goal of achieving sanctity, but their methods were directly opposed, making them mortal enemies; no reconciliations with smiles could occur.

Yi Zi alone held off the Asura Demon King, Mara, who had mastered many Thunder Beads. Although Mara had several powerful Magical Treasures, Yi Zi resorted to hurling thunder against him. For a time, Mara struggled to contend with Yi Zi’s thunder, finding himself pummeled into a disheveled state, his skin torn and flesh burst. Although the injuries were not severe, he suffered a significant loss of face.

“Yi Zi, how dare you humiliate me like this!” Mara could not help but curse repeatedly; Yi Zi was too despicable, exploiting his possession of numerous Thunder Beads, staying far away and continuously attacking with thunder. Whenever Mara tried to close the distance, he would be met with hundreds of Thunder Beads raining down on him, impossible to withstand.

Yi Zi cackled wickedly, “Mara, little child, what if I humiliate you? If you have the guts, come and hurt me!”

Mara retorted, “If you’re brave enough, then stop using thunder!”

Yi Zi nodded and said, “All right, let’s have a fight then, and you don’t use Magical Treasures either!”

Mara nodded and agreed, “Good!”

Yi Zi retracted his Thunder Beads, and Mara charged forward immediately. Yi Zi also rushed forward, and just as they were about to clash, Yi Zi flipped his palm, and suddenly, about a hundred more Thunder Beads appeared in his palm like a fan. These beads were golden and shiny, with lightning wrapping around them, emitting continuous “zzt zzt” sounds of electricity.

“Oh no, It’s a trap!” Mara couldn’t help but shout, conjuring his Asura Mirror.

With a flick of his wrist, Yi Zi tossed out one hundred seventy-six Thunder Beads. Being of the thunder element himself, he was not afraid of the electricity, which is why he dared to use the Thunder Beads at such close range. Just as Mara brought out his treasure, the wave of beads exploded with a “crackling” noise.

It was as if clouds bearing thunder had descended. Mara felt as though he was engulfed by the thunder and lightning. The beads struck the Asura Mirror, producing continuous explosive sounds, almost shattering it.

“Yi Zi, you dare deceive me!” Mara roared angrily.

“Foolish boy, deceit and trickery are part of combat,” Yi Zi taunted, seizing the chance while Mara was trapped in the sea of thunder. He spat out another two hundred Thunder Beads, aiming to take advantage of the situation and defeat Mara.

Yi Zi was right; when it came to victory, all methods were acceptable. Fighting was a matter of life and death, making pride trivial in comparison.

Furious, Mara kept shouting and conjured a Longsword, swirling it densely around him. The crimson sword light blocked much of the lightning, but Yi Zi spat out another wave of Thunder Beads, instantly bursting them upon descent. He was unleashing all of his power, evidently intending to kill Mara on the spot.

“Yi Zi, you wretch!” Mara was the favorite disciple of the Nether River Patriarch, and seeing his disciple about to be killed by Yi Zi’s lightning, he couldn’t help but shout loudly. The Blood River surged, and a Lotus Platform flew out, piercing through the thunder and lightning and entering the sea of thunder.

This Lotus Platform was of the Twelfth Rank, crystal clear and blood-red like a red crystal, utterly dazzling.

The Ancestral Witches naturally knew that this Lotus Platform was the Nether River Patriarch’s inherent Magical Treasure, known as the Twelfth Rank Karmic Fire Lotus Platform, not inferior in power to Amitabha’s Merit Lotus Platform or the Ancestral Demon Mara’s World-Ending Black Lotus, except the Nether River’s Mana was lower, making it difficult to unleash such devastating power.

As the Twelfth Rank Karmic Fire Lotus Platform entered the sea of thunder, it parted the lightning and then landed on Mara’s head. Numerous bolts fell, yet they could no longer harm Mara.

“Haha, hahaha! With the Patriarch’s Red Lotus here, Yi Zi, you might as well surrender!” Mara cried out in triumph, shaking the Lotus above his head to break open the sea of thunder and rush out to kill Yi Zi.

Just then, a dark golden staff broke through the void and crashed down directly onto Mara’s head. This sudden ambush was indeed powerful; had it not been for the protection of the Red Lotus, he probably would have been smashed into flesh! Luckily, the Twelfth Rank Fire Lotus Platform was there, absorbing much of the force, but the remaining portion still shook Mara’s innards, burst his blood vessels, and made blood spew from his mouth and nose.

Mara, not daring to be negligent, hurriedly swallowed an Elixir Pill without even having time to assimilate it since the staff followed relentlessly like a parasitic worm, aiming for his chest.

Where could Mara dare let the staff hit him? He had no choice but to use his movement technique to dodge.

At this moment, Wukong finally materialized from the void. He had just arrived at the battlefield which was already in full swing. He had hidden and watched, timing the perfect moment to attack, hoping to kill with a single strike at best!

Unfortunately, the Twelfth Rank Karmic Fire Lotus Platform was formidable. Though he employed the Primordial Great Strength Technique and the Three Thousand Great Paths trembled together, his strike didn’t kill Mara.

Nether River couldn’t help but curse, “Sun Wukong, I did not expect the Buddhist Sect to fail again this time! It seems the fate of the Buddhist Sect has truly run out. This bunch of useless beings, even you can’t manage to handle them!”

Wukong sneered, didn’t respond, and went directly to attack Mara’s disciple.

Meanwhile, Nether River was being besieged by ten Ancestral Witches, but with his profound mana and the protection of the Yuan Tu and Abi Swords, he naturally held his ground well, even gaining the upper hand against ten Ancestral Witches. Worthy of being an ancient Sect Founder, he was indeed formidable! However, it wasn’t easy for him to completely repel the ten Ancestral Witches at once. Hence, exploiting this opportunity, Wukong aimed to strike down the core strength of the Asura Blood Sea — the great Asura King, Mara!

Wukong said to Yiz, “Brother Yiz, please go and assist Di Jiang and the others, I will take care of killing Mara. Please keep Nether River bound for a while longer, so I may have a better grip on the situation.”

Seeing the urgent situation on Di Jiang’s side, Yiz, not wanting to waste words, seeing Wukong taking over this mess, joined the battle alongside Di Jiang and others against the Nether River Patriarch.

Di Jiang, with Xuan Ming’s dagger, matched the Abi Sword but, being of lower cultivation level, still found it strenuous and was pushed into a disadvantage.

Houtu, on the other hand, shook up the Karmic Fire Lotus Platform and wrapped up the Yuan Tu Sword with it, which was truly impressive. The sword was entangled and could not escape, which infuriated the Nether River Patriarch. He launched a fierce attack on Houtu, but Di Jiang, fast with his dagger, followed up and entangled Nether River, also wielding the Reincarnation Pen, which Nether River dreaded and thus, could not overcome for the moment.

“Mara! I must take your life this time! You Asuras regard the innocent commoners as mere ants, daring to slaughter them!” Wukong roared, lifting the Buddha Beating Staff and charging to kill Mara.

Mara, blood spilling from the corners of his mouth, just laughed coldly, “Sun Wukong, spare your words! Those who follow different paths, do not make plans together!”

Mara was right.

Those who follow different paths, do not make plans together.

People have seven emotions and six desires, be it hypocrisy or integrity, cruelty or cunning, generosity or deceit… The Asura Clan merely acted according to their nature; their nature was to revel in slaughter and to thrive in braving battles!

If one were to say Nether River Patriarch was wrong? Perhaps not entirely so.

If sticking to one’s true nature means annihilating all under Heaven, why not?

If sticking to one’s true nature means being condemned by all under Heaven, why care?

If adhering to one’s true heart…

“Those who follow different paths, do not make plans together! You’re right, today I shall send you to the Deification Platform!” Wukong said coldly.

Mara, not to be outdone, raised the Asura Mirror and Asura Sword to battle with Wukong.

The outcome of the fight remains unknown; please stay tuned for the next segment. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we invite you to vote with a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)