517: surrender

Ksitigarbha truly lives up to his name; adhering to the philosophy of compassion, he uses the method of transcendence to eliminate these ghost soldiers, without violating the harmony of heaven or accruing evil karma—this is true, profound wisdom.

When the two began their Sanskrit chanting, bits of Buddha Power drifted through the air like snowflakes, and in the blink of an eye, the ghost soldiers lost the ability to move.

That’s right; no matter how much Tesla tried to drive these ghost soldiers to fight in his mind, they simply would not move.

It was not that his commands failed to reach them, but rather that these ghost soldiers were struggling mentally against the commands controlling them.

The specks of Buddha Power seeped into their Soul, allowing them to briefly break free from the opponent's control, but the Restriction Tesla had placed upon them remained, so they could only stand frozen in place like wooden statues, unable to move.

Immediately after, golden light began to radiate from the bodies of the vast number of ghost soldiers, and Tesla could clearly feel that his control over them was on the verge of vanishing.

"Damn it, what exactly did they do? Why are these soldiers completely ignoring my commands?"

Tesla was horrified; he knew these specks of light were definitely the work of those two. The incantations they were chanting seemed to have the effect of cleansing the Soul, purging all negative influences from within it, and the Restriction he had placed on these ghost soldiers also fell under the category of negative mental influence.

Wherever the Buddha Power reached, all negative mental influences vanished into nothingness.

Ksitigarbha dedicated his life to redeeming evil people, evil ghosts, and every sentient being; his great vow, "If Hell is not empty, I will not attain Buddhahood," is widely known.

In his view, there was no one in the world who could not be redeemed, even those who were evil to the extreme, let alone these ghost soldiers who had committed no great evils.

In the Hall of Listening to Scriptures, countless believers followed him in cultivation within the Netherworld; even those who had committed many evils during their lifetimes would repent under his Buddha Dharma and eventually enter Reincarnation to atone for their sins.

Tang Ku was a Buddha, the Guangdu Xin Buddha. Upon realizing Ksitigarbha's intentions, he understood that he had been putting the cart before the horse.

For a long time, his combat power had been increasing, and he had become increasingly reliant on solving problems through fighting, but he had forgotten that beyond his immense power, he was also a Buddhist Disciple, a virtuous and eminent monk.

Saving all living beings is what a True Buddha of the Buddhist sect should do, not fighting and killing every day!

At this moment, Tang Ku attained a new realization and thus followed the same course of action as Ksitigarbha.

Buddhist scriptures condense the intent of the Buddha, the Dao of the Buddha, and the root of the Buddha; to redeem all redeemable beings, discard evil thoughts, and enter Reincarnation with a kind heart—this is the Great Dao!

"The Buddha Dharma is boundless; turn back and find salvation!"

Suddenly, as the chanting of the scriptures concluded, Tang Ku and Ksitigarbha shouted this phrase almost simultaneously, and the entire Netherworld fell silent.

Immediately after, beams of golden light erupted from these ghost soldiers, their expressions becoming incomparably solemn. They clasped their hands together and chanted the Buddha's name: "Namo Guangdu Xin Buddha, Namo Ksitigarbha..."

At this moment, Tesla had completely lost control over these ghost soldiers.

"I cannot let him continue..."

Before Tesla's voice had even faded, Nobel had already charged out, aiming toward the two monks, his hands circling constantly as a strange energy condensed in his palms... He intended to use the finishing move he had never used before right here...

Crack... Boom!

Before he could "rub" out his finishing move, a staff slammed into him, sending him flying and crashing into the archway of the Eighteen Levels of Hell, smashing the character "Blade" from the "Blade Hell" into a blank slate.

"Hahaha, Big Nose, I haven't had enough fun fighting yet. Want to make a move? Come at me... Roar!"

Sun Wukong followed like lightning, his staff casting shadows that blotted out the sky, sweeping down like a giant broom.

Boom!

The entire archway was shattered, but Nobel had narrowly escaped before the shadow of the staff descended...

"This monkey actually possesses such powerful strength? Hmm, is this also the power of Law? A pure, ultimate power of Law..."

Nobel was slightly stunned, then could not help but frown. "I must find a way to make contact with it; otherwise, with my combat power, I am no match for him in a direct confrontation!"

Just as he was hesitating whether or not to use that move, the golden light on the ghost soldiers suddenly vanished, replaced by wisps of white mist rising from their bodies.

The white mist appeared solemn and possessed a hint of Immortal Qi, instantly making these ghost soldiers, who had originally been surrounded by eerie yin winds, appear incomparably righteous, and gentle smiles appeared on their faces.

"Forget it... Alfred, it's already too late!"

Tesla's voice reached Nobel's ears, causing him to pause. The monkey stood less than two meters away, holding the Ruyi Jingu Bang, watching him with a calm expression.

At this moment, all the ghost soldiers seemed to have found liberation; their bodies slowly disintegrated and vanished until their presence could no longer be felt...

"These Puppets..."

Nobel looked at the scene before him, feeling rather speechless.

"They have found liberation..." Tesla smiled bitterly. "Although it was not my wish, it is at least a good thing... These two monks are truly not simple characters..."

"Allowing the Soul to find liberation is something only God can do... They are clearly not God!"

Nobel said in a deep voice, "In other words, do they possess power comparable to God?"

"Heh, God is nothing compared to them..."

Tesla laughed self-deprecatingly, "Their target is the Master!"

The two fell into silence, watching as all the ghost soldiers slowly dissipated. Sun Wukong took a glance and curled his lips, saying, "They really do make a living with their tongues; they actually transcended so many dead Souls... If Ksitigarbha attains Buddhahood, how many more people could he transcend? This is truly something to look forward to!"

Everything returned to calm. Tang Ku suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Nobel and Tesla in the sky, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said, "Do you know? You are the one I most want to kill right now, Tesla, but I suddenly realized that the best way to solve problems has never been fighting..."

"So... we still have the possibility of cooperation, right?"

Tesla finally breathed a sigh of relief, because he suddenly discovered that after the opponent finished chanting those incantations, his own spirit and energy had actually become even more vigorous, and it even seemed that there had been a qualitative leap in his power...

Coupled with those two equally unfathomable guys, Tesla finally made his wisest choice...

Surrender!