Chapter Twenty-Nine: Moonlight Bodhisattva

The Prince of the Sea was not actually surnamed Sea. No one knew his real name, and because he had long lived beyond the seas, everyone called him the Prince of the Sea.

He always wore a spotless robe of molten gold, with a jade hairpin set in his hair and two long locks falling beside his ears. His brows were dark and bold, his eyes bright as stars, his nose bridge high. It seemed there was always a smile lingering at the corner of his mouth, lending him an easy warmth; yet on closer look, one discovered that he was not smiling at all.

In the mortal world, he looked more like an elegant young scion of a noble house.

Ever since the Nine-Headed Demon King had taken control of these waters, the Prince of the Sea had already enjoyed a formidable reputation. He had clearly lived for many years—indeed, no one knew his true age—but his appearance had never changed.

Many demon kings, and even great cultivators, were convinced that the Prince of the Sea was not human, but of some other race. Unfortunately, no one had ever seen his true form, and very few had seen him fight. Yet whenever he acted, he did so with such effortless ease, slaying strong enemies outright in a single stroke, that no one dared underestimate him.

The Prince of the Sea had not traveled for twenty years. Some said he had gone to another continent; others said he had been in secluded cultivation. Then, a year ago, he suddenly appeared again.

Whenever the Prince of the Sea appeared, he brought his mount with him: a colossal whale bearing the bloodline of an ancient peng bird. To this day it had not yet transformed into human shape, yet its power was already no weaker than that of an ordinary earthly immortal.

When the whale went traveling and breathed out and drew in primordial energy, cultivators within a thousand li could sense it if they were at all formidable, and from that they would know that the Prince of the Sea had appeared.

Since he was visiting the Nine-Headed Demon King as a guest, it was naturally inconvenient to bring such a mount with him; after all, it was far too enormous.

Within the underwater palace, strings of demonesses danced in the great hall. Their pale arms, slender beautiful legs, and the teasing glimpses of the depths at the roots of their thighs made the shrimps and crab generals guarding both sides wish they could grow a few more eyes.

The Nine-Headed King and the Prince of the Sea toasted one another, speaking without restraint.

The Prince of the Sea truly was a man of great grace. Even when the Nine-Headed King spoke crudely, he could still chat and laugh with him naturally, never letting the conversation go cold.

He was widely read and knew of many strange tales and odd events; he would mention them casually, and this would prompt the Nine-Headed King to laugh uproariously.

Suddenly the Prince of the Sea frowned. Seeing this, the Nine-Headed King asked in surprise, "What is it, brother?"

The Prince of the Sea smiled at him, then slowly took another sip of fine wine and said indifferently, "Nothing serious. One of my concubines was killed."

"What sort of serious matter is that? Just a woman. With your means, you could even marry a saintess from the Jade Pool. If you are angry, brother, I will have the murderer brought here and give him a thorough lesson." The Nine-Headed King laughed.

"She was only a little snake I pointed to transform some time ago. Even if no one had killed her, in a hundred or two hundred years she would have been nothing but a pile of bones. We can speak of this later. I did not come here merely to drink with Brother Nine; I need your help with another matter." The Prince of the Sea brushed the subject aside lightly and prepared to state the purpose of his visit.

That female snake demon had merely awakened intelligence by chance and then spent some years on a pleasure boat somewhere in the mortal world. Through long exposure, she had learned a few seductive arts. By coincidence she met the Prince of the Sea, and he bestowed human form upon her.

To bestow human shape upon an ordinary demon race was itself an impressive sorcery. Some sects would transform certain mountain demons into human form to serve as armed retainers they kept within the sect, or send them out as guards when disciples traveled.

As for those great demon kings, they transformed entire swaths of demon-kind. Yet these transformed beings varied greatly in intelligence, and even after taking human form, many traces of their original bodies remained.

At the same time, demons transformed in this way almost completely lost the possibility of becoming demon kings; their potential was extremely low.

The Prince of the Sea was unruly by nature and had had countless concubines. Over the years, he had seen one batch after another die off. That female snake demon might still be considered fresh, but she could be discarded at any time.

The Clear Mystery Sect had no tradition of keeping armed retainers, and the classical texts Shen Lian had read could not possibly record every detail of the cultivation world. Thus he did not know that besides demons transforming themselves, there was also the method of bestowing human form upon them.

The Nine-Headed King grew solemn. The Prince of the Sea possessed vast supernatural power and boundless magic; if he had need to ask for help, it was certainly no trivial matter.

Their friendship was not particularly deep, and the Nine-Headed King was already thinking of how to refuse without causing either of them to lose face.

Yet his mouth did not pause, and with a hearty laugh he said, "Brother, please speak freely."

Then he barked at the demon soldiers and demon girls, "You witless fools, can’t you see your grandfathers are discussing serious business? All of you get out."

His methods were rough, his voice thundered like rolling waves, and in an instant all the demon soldiers and demon girls in the hall were driven out. Yet the hall itself showed no sign of disorder. Such power, heavy as a mountain though wielded with the lightness of a feather, was truly enough to inspire both awe and admiration.

A look of approval also appeared at just the right moment on the Prince of the Sea’s face, and he smiled faintly. "Brother Nine’s power has grown ever more profound. Given time, perhaps this world will gain another great sovereign."

Within heaven and earth, the supreme among demons and fiends is called a Great Sovereign: a peerless powerhouse who can suppress an age. Even before the Dao Lord or the Buddha, one need not bow the head.

The Nine-Headed Demon King thought to himself: The higher the praise, the thornier the matter. If you insist that I help, then you will have to bleed heavily indeed.

The two of them exchanged more compliments. The Prince of the Sea more or less understood that the Nine-Headed Demon King was also a figure of long renown, not one easy to deceive. At last he said softly, "Brother Nine, have you ever heard of the Kingdom of Moonlight?"

"Of course I have. Five thousand years ago, a bodhisattva in the Kingdom of Moonlight attained the Dao and broke through the great thousand worlds, leaving behind the orthodox inheritance of Golden Light Temple. Even now there is a monk called Precious Moon there. I hear he has some skill, and even the Skyflying Eagle King was taken by him."

"Brother Nine is right. But what you may not know is that the reason the Moonlight Bodhisattva could attain the Dao was because of a Buddha relic. By comprehending the principles of the Great Way within it, he suddenly awakened. After he attained the Dao, the relic was of no further use, so it remained in Golden Light Temple. I wish to obtain that relic, hoping to use it to make a breakthrough. However, Precious Moon is indeed somewhat troublesome, and I will need Brother Nine’s assistance. If we obtain the relic then, you and I shall study it together."

The Prince of the Sea spoke of this secret matter with tranquil ease, then lowered his head again, lifted his wine cup, and waited for the Nine-Headed Demon King’s reply.

The Nine-Headed Demon King naturally took the Prince of the Sea’s words with a grain of salt, though the Moonlight Bodhisattva’s sudden attainment of the Dao was indeed suspicious, and for that reason Golden Light Temple had been guarded generation after generation by formidable monks.

One must know that although Buddhist law is profound and no less wondrous than the School of Mysteries, it is difficult to trace in the same way. It is not like the orthodox Daoist tradition, where the Dao Lord opened up nine realms, and one may ascend step by step up the heavenly ladder.

This was also why the Daoist school considered itself orthodox and regarded Buddhism as a side path.

Yet Buddhist law is deeply rooted in the mortal world, welcoming all who come, and thus every generation has had great monks and virtuous masters who sought true fruition amid the red dust of the world. In terms of power and influence, it has even surpassed the Daoist schools.

Thanks to Loving Life and Loving Divine Martial Arts for the one-thousand-eight-hundred-eighty reward, and to Little N for the tip.