The second layer of hell:
Above a volcano crater was a light barrier with three figures within. These three looked identical, sharing Jiang Gautama’s appearance.
The leftmost one wore a kāṣāya, clearly Jiang Gautama. His chest had the large hole created by Gu Hai’s Divinity Destroying Light. That hole had already mostly healed, but he had not completely recovered yet, his complexion still slightly pale.
The rightmost wore yellow robes and had a golden swastika on his forehead. A ferocious glint flashed in his eyes.
The one in the center wore white robes. He had a crimson vertical slit on his forehead.
The three looked at where the distant Gu Hai appeared.
“Jiang Gautama, are those Gu Hai and Vairocana?” the man in the center asked.
“Reporting to Heavenly Gautama, yes! It was Gu Hai’s Divinity Destroying Light that injured me,” Jiang Gautama said sullenly.
The rightmost man with the golden swastika on the forehead frowned. “You lost to him? He destroyed Jiang Lianshan’s and the Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings?”
“Mortal Gautama, this Gu Hai is crafty and sinister. I…,” Jiang Gautama said bitterly.
“Alright. It has already happened. There’s no need to dwell on this,” Heavenly Gautama said.
“Yes!” Mortal Gautama and Jiang Gautama answered.
“That is Vairocana at the side? This person is as strong as you?” Heavenly Gautama asked.
Jiang Gautama showed a sullen expression. “I had yet to bring out my moves when Gu Hai sneak-attacked me. That resulted in Vairocana severely injuring me.”
“A loss is a loss. There is no reason or excuse. Judging by your injuries, the Divinity Destroying Light only dealt a small portion of the damage. Most of it came from Vairocana. Look at how long you have been here, yet you still have not fully recovered,” Heavenly Gautama said.
“Yes!” Jiang Gautama showed a bitter expression.
“Heavenly Gautama, I feel there is some merit to Jiang Gautama’s words. After all, five Jiang Gautama replicas could delay Vairocana for so long. Vairocana does not seem like much, based on that,” Mortal Gautama sneered.
Jiang Gautama looked into the distance. “Indeed. He should have just reached the consummate Upper Heavenly Palace Realm. I was too cautious.”
“With sixty-four replicas attacking, capturing Gu Hai and Vairocana will be easy. I am very confident in my divine blood replication,” Mortal Gautama said assuredly.
Slap!
A thunderous sound came from the distance. After Vairocana slapped the replica leading the charge, that replica flew back with his entire face caved in.
Boom!
The first Jiang Gautama replica crashed into a mountain like a fired cannonball, shattering that mountain.
Mortal Gautama: “…”
Jiang Gautama: “…”
Heavenly Gautama: “…”
The slap on the replica’s face was like a slap to Mortal Gautama’s face. He had just derided Vairocana, and Vairocana slapped that replica’s face, deforming it in the next moment.
“That was a sneak attack! Continue attacking!” another replica roared.
The other sixty-three replicas continued charging forward.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
More loud sounds rang out. Vairocana’s palms filled the sky, slamming back the many replicas in an instant.
Gu Hai did not even make a move, merely watched. In just a while, thirty replicas were scattered everywhere, crashing into mountains.
Lava sprayed, filling the sky with a fiery rain.
The remaining replicas paused, appearing unsightly.
The faces of the distant Heavenly Gautama, Mortal Gautama, and Jiang Gautama sank.
“This Vairocana does not match your description,” Heavenly Gautama said indifferently.
“He is indeed quite capable. Jiang Gautama, there’s nothing wrong with losing to him,” Mortal Gautama said indifferently.
Jiang Gautama: “…”
The distant Vairocana displayed his might. Although the replicas were all in the ninth-layer Upper Heavenly Palace Realm, they still could not withstand a single slap. The replicas turned wary.
“Vairocana, I see them.” Gu Hai suddenly narrowed his eyes.
Vairocana looked in the direction of Gu Hai’s gaze and saw a light barrier above a distant volcano crater. Three Gautama Heavenly Demons sat cross-legged in the light barrier.
Mortal Gautama suddenly held his palms together and chanted, “Eighteen Lord Buddhas Formation!”
Suddenly, eighteen replicas emitted a golden light as they stood in a strange formation, encasing Gu Hai and Vairocana. Then the eighteen replicas executed the Gautama Divine Palm simultaneously.
The attacks did not target Gu Hai and Vairocana. Instead, they coalesced and formed one large palm, which pressed down on the two.
“The Eighteen Arhats Formation?” Vairocana’s face sank, as he recognized this formation. Then he threw a punch upwards.
Boom!
Vairocana’s fist clashed with that enormous Gautama Divine Palm, and a powerful storm swept out.
“Oh? He blocked?” Mortal Gautama’s face sank.
“Break!” Vairocana shouted, strengthening the manifested fist.
Blargh!
The eighteen Jiang Gautama replicas spewed a mouthful of blood, evidently losing. Some cracks even appeared in the enormous Gautama Divine Palm.
“Double-Layered Eighteen Lord Buddhas Formation!” Mortal Gautama called out.
Whoosh!
Another eighteen replicas appeared and formed the same formation outside the first formation. Then they executed the Gautama Divine Palm, infusing energy into the enormous Gautama Divine Palm that was shattering.
Boom!
The immense pressure made Vairocana pause. He appeared suppressed.
The replicas who had been slapped away earlier climbed out of the rubble, then looked at Vairocana, who was suppressed by the double-layered formation, in horror and rage.
“Triple-Layered Eighteen Lord Buddhas Formation!” Mortal Gautama called out.
Whoosh!
The replicas formed a third layer of the formation and poured all their energy into that enormous Gautama Divine Palm.
Boom!
The enormous Gautama Divine Palm’s strength increased, forcing Vairocana’s manifested fist back; the manifested palm looked like it would crush the manifested fist.
Once the manifested fist shattered, the gigantic Gautama Divine Palm formed with the combined energy of fifty-four replicas would strike Gu Hai and Vairocana.
Mortal Gautama sneered, “He is only so-so.”
“That’s odd. Those two do not seem afraid?” Heavenly Gautama said, his voice sinking.
Heavenly Gautama’s words seemed to reach the distant Gu Hai and Vairocana.
Vairocana smiled faintly. “Did the three of you really think we were at the end of our rope? Jiang Gautama didn’t tell you how much of your Buddhist techniques I understand, right?”
Jiang Gautama’s expression suddenly changed. “Oh no! He knows the Eighteen Lord Buddhas Formation too?!”
“Huh?” Mortal Gautama felt slightly startled.
“He knows everything I know. He definitely knows the weakness of the Eighteen Lord Buddhas Formation!” Jiang Gautama’s expression turned unsightly.
The distant Vairocana made a move, and the crumbling manifested fist suddenly rushed up. As it did so, it reformed into a knifehand splitting the sky. Like a heavenly attack, it slipped between the huge Gautama Divine Palm’s fingers and cut from there.
Boom!
A loud report rang out as the attack chopped the enormous Gautama Divine Palm in half. When the Gautama Divine Palm exploded, the powerful backlash flooded into the fifty-four Jiang Gautama replicas.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Blargh!
The fifty-four replicas spewed mouthfuls of blood as their formation broke. The remaining ten replicas could not rescue them before an invisible force pushed them away.
“You…you…! Why do you know the weak point of the formation?” the replicas said, appalled, as they wiped the blood off their lips.
Vairocana ignored the replicas. When he displayed his might, the sixty-four replicas could not even last a strike against him.
“Mister Gu, what should I do with these replicas?” Vairocana asked.
“Keeping them is pointless. Just kill them,” Gu Hai said.
“Alright!” Vairocana nodded.
Vairocana waved his hand, and a spiraling golden fog appeared on his palm, forming a large vortex that pulled on the sixty-four replicas.
“Buddhist Nation in Hand?” Mortal Gautama’s face sank.
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
The severely injured sixty-four replicas screamed as the suction yanked them towards Vairocana’s hand.
“Humph!” Mortal Gautama snorted coldly.
Mortal Gautama extended his right hand, and a spiraling golden fog appeared on his palm too.
Half of the replicas flying towards Vairocana’s Buddhist Nation in Hand stopped and moved towards Mortal Gautama’s palm.
“That’s also the Buddhist Nation in Hand?” Vairocana said in shock.
Whoosh!
The sixty-four replicas vanished in the blink of an eye. Half entered Vairocana’s Buddhist Nation in Hand, and the other half entered Mortal Gautama’s Buddhist Nation in Hand.
“Vairocana? What profound Buddhist techniques!” Mortal Gautama said coldly.
“Same here, same here. You are…?” Vairocana said.
“You can address me as Mortal Gautama,” Mortal Gautama said indifferently.
“Mortal Gautama? Then the one in the center must be Heavenly Gautama?” Vairocana said with narrowed eyes.
Heavenly Gautama’s expression remained calm. “Oh? You know about us?”
“It looks like Mister Gu was right. Jiang Gautama, how goes the recovery of your injuries?” Vairocana asked indifferently.
“Gu Hai?” Heavenly Gautama narrowed his eyes at Gu Hai.
“Humph! You don’t have to worry about my injuries!” Jiang Gautama looked at Vairocana coldly.
“Heavenly Gautama, Mortal Gautama, and Jiang Gautama? We have a son, Gu Han. We believe the three of you are familiar with him, right?” Gu Hai said.
“Good Gautama? He was supposed to be evil but became good. He does not conform, an oddity. He is currently reflecting. What’s wrong? Are you thinking of complaining on his behalf?” Heavenly Gautama asked indifferently.
“We are not here to complain. Rather, Gu Han is our crown prince, so we have a deep connection with you. We do not have any grudges against you, either. Meeting you in arms is also not our wish,” Gu Hai said.
“Not your wish? Hah! Destroying my Spirit Mountain Holy Land’s blessings was not your wish?” Jiang Gautama snarled ferociously.
“You killed hundreds of millions of our citizens and trapped our son Gu Tang and our wife’s reincarnation. Do you think we can leave things lying with you?” Gu Hai retorted.
“Humph!” Jiang Gautama snorted coldly.
“Vairocana and we are here today for our wife’s reincarnation, the White Emperor. Where is the White Emperor?” Gu Hai asked seriously.
