Chapter 143

"But Senior Brother, times have changed. Now that the Great Tribulation has arrived, it is destined by the Heavenly Dao. We are acting in accordance with heaven to restore order; is that not allowed either?"

Zhunti was still somewhat unwilling.

"The Heavenly Dao dictates that there must be a Great Tribulation, but it does not dictate that the Buddhist sect must flourish after the tribulation. The spread of Buddha Dharma to the East was merely a deal between us and those two."

Jieyin shook his head, not agreeing with Zhunti's argument.

"If you take action against that stone monkey today, you will be breaking the rules. When that time comes, not to mention others, do you think that person will take the opportunity to strike?"

The "that person" Jieyin referred to naturally meant the Sect Master of the Jie Sect, Sage Tongtian.

In the final battle of the Investiture, Tongtian set up the Wan Xianzhen, which was broken by the four Sages working together, leading to the shattering of the Primordial land and the fall of the ten thousand immortals of the Jie Sect. His disciples were killed, fled, or scattered, and his lineage was almost severed.

Sect Tongtian Jiaozhu was therefore ordered by the Dao Ancestor Hongjun to be confined and not allowed to go out.

Everyone knew that Sect Tongtian Jiaozhu hated the two Western Sages and the Primordial Beginning Heavenly Sovereign of the Chan Sect to the bone.

Now that the confinement order had long since expired, if Zhunti dared to openly violate the Dao Ancestor's prohibition and break the rules, Sect Tongtian Jiaozhu would absolutely have a reason to cause him trouble.

By then, the matter would not be so simple; it would very likely trigger another great war between Sages.

This consequence was something Jieyin absolutely did not want to see.

Hearing the two words "Tongtian," the corner of Zhunti's eye could not help but twitch.

He had already experienced the power of that madman.

Holding the four Immortal-Slaying Swords, if he really provoked that fellow, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Damn it!"

Zhunti cursed inwardly, but in the end, he suppressed the anger in his heart.

He knew that Jieyin was right.

It was indeed not worth risking the provocation of Tongtian for the sake of a mere monkey.

"Then what should we do now?" Zhunti asked. "Are we just going to let that monkey run wild and destroy our plan for the Buddhist sect to flourish?"

Sage Jieyin turned his gaze toward Rulai.

"Rulai, you shall resolve this matter."

"With the Sages not intervening, there are very few within the Three Realms who can defeat you. How to get that stone monkey back on the right path and return to the destiny trajectory arranged for him is entirely up to you."

Although Sage Jieyin's tone was calm, it carried an unquestionable majesty.

"The matter of the Journey to the West must not go wrong again. The flourishing of the Buddhist sect must not be lost!"

Upon hearing this, Rulai bowed and performed a salute.

"Disciple understands!"

"Go." Sage Jieyin waved his hand.

"Disciple takes his leave."

Rulai performed another salute and then retreated from the Buddha Land.

Watching Rulai's departing back, Sage Zhunti did not trust him.

"Senior Brother, do you think he can handle it?"

Sage Jieyin closed his eyes and said faintly: "He will."

Rulai returned to the Great Lei Yinsi from the two Sages, sat on the lotus throne, and fell into deep thought.

Using force was definitely not an option; the current Sun Wukong was not a loner.

Behind him stood a powerful Demon Alliance, with five great sages, including the Bull Demon King, as his assistants.

Forcibly suppressing Sun Wukong would inevitably lead to a great war with the entire Demon Alliance.

By then, the Buddhist sect would surely be criticized, and the loss would outweigh the gain.

This ran counter to the original intention of the Buddhist sect's flourishing.

Furthermore, Sun Wukong was naturally rebellious; it was almost impossible to suppress him without him committing a mistake and then make him willingly embark on the journey to the West.

Since force would not work, he could only use wisdom.

But how to use wisdom?

Now that he had Su Chen by his side, who was deep in planning, some simple schemes would be seen through by him at a glance.

Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!

Rulai shook his head helplessly, feeling that it was hopeless to solve this problem by relying solely on the Buddhist sect.

It seemed that he still had to discuss it properly with the Heavenly Court.

After all, the Heavenly Court was also one of the participants in the Journey to the West.

Now that the trouble of Sun Wukong had appeared, the Heavenly Court was the first to bear the brunt.

Having figured this out, Rulai gradually had a plan in his heart.

He summoned the core Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Buddhist sect.

"Everyone." As soon as Rulai spoke, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas below cast their gazes toward him.

"I have summoned you today because there is a matter of great importance concerning the future flourishing of our Buddhist sect that needs to be discussed with you all."

Rulai's expression was solemn as he spoke slowly.

Rulai explained the purpose of the two Sages summoning him to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas present.

"That is how things are."

"That demon monkey is now gathering forces in the mountains and has become a threat. Our Buddhist sect is compassionate and does not wish to cause more killing. You all possess great wisdom and great divine abilities; I wonder if you have any good strategies to make that demon monkey turn back from his wrong path, take refuge in our Buddha, and help our Buddhist sect complete this merit?"

Rulai threw the question to the crowd.

He did this to pool everyone's wisdom and see if anyone had any good ideas.

The great hall fell into a silence.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas looked at each other, all with brows tightly locked.

Although they possessed great divine abilities, if they could not directly suppress him with those abilities, they felt somewhat at a loss.

After a long time, a Bodhisattva said: "Reporting to the Buddha, this disciple believes that since that demon monkey is a stone monkey with no parents, what he values most in his heart are the monkeys and grandchildren of Mount Huaguo. If we can use the lives of those monkeys and grandchildren as a threat, I am not afraid that he will not obediently submit."

As soon as these words were spoken, someone immediately retorted.

"This plan is inappropriate! Our Buddhist sect is a gate of compassion; how can we perform such despicable acts? Threatening with the lives of innocent creatures—if this gets out, wouldn't it make our Buddhist sect the laughingstock of the Three Realms?"

"Exactly, absolutely not."

For a time, many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the hall spoke out in opposition.

Rulai listened quietly, his face without waves.

All of this was within his expectations.

Seeing that everyone was arguing endlessly and there was still no feasible plan, he spoke again.

"This matter is not just the business of our Buddhist sect; the Heavenly Court also has an inescapable responsibility."

"Bodhisattva Guanyin."

Rulai cast his gaze toward the head of the Bodhisattvas, Guanyin, who held the jade vase.

Upon hearing this, Bodhisattva Guanyin stepped forward and bowed slightly toward Rulai.

"Disciple is here."

"You have frequent dealings with the gods of the Heavenly Court and are familiar with them," Rulai said slowly. "You shall go to the Heavenly Court on behalf of our Buddhist sect."

"Discuss properly with the Jade Emperor. Ask him what the Heavenly Court intends to do about this disobedient monkey."

"I hope the Heavenly Court can make that demon monkey enter the tribulation as soon as possible."

This was Rulai's ultimate goal.

He wanted to throw this hot potato to the Heavenly Court to deal with; after all, it was the Heavenly Court's incompetence that had led to the current situation.

Now that the Buddhist sect had no good way, they could only unite with the Heavenly Court to resolve this matter.

Only when the two sides reached a consensus would it be possible to resolve the variables.

Bodhisattva Guanyin instantly understood Rulai's intention.

She replied respectfully: "Disciple obeys the decree."

After speaking, she stepped on her lotus pedestal, left the Great Lei Yinsi, and headed toward the Heavenly Court.