Chapter 206

The news of Sun Wukong attaining the Great Luo Jinxian realm, under Su Chen's deliberate promotion, swept across the entire Three Realms within just a few days.

In the Four Great Continents, countless loose immortals, demon kings, and sect ancestors had the same first reaction upon hearing the news: disbelief.

"What? That monkey who caused havoc in the Tiangong back then has become a Great Luo Jinxian?"

"Are you kidding me! Wasn't he suppressed under Mount Wuzhi by the Buddha?"

"Hiss... then there's going to be a good show to watch! A monkey at the Tai Yi Jin Xian stage dared to cause havoc in the Tiangong; now that he's a Great Luo Jinxian, isn't he going to turn the world upside down?"

"Your information is too outdated! I heard that the one who caused havoc in the Tiangong back then wasn't Sun Wukong at all; it was a fake found by the Heavenly Court! The real Sun Wukong has been in seclusion at Flower Fruit Mountain all along!"

"There's such a secret? Tell me, what exactly is going on?"

For a time, the old story of the real and fake Monkey King was dug up again, becoming a hot topic of conversation for the immortals, gods, demons, and monsters of the Three Realms after tea and meals.

All kinds of rumors, true and false, were spread far and wide.

Compared to the "watching the show" mentality of the various forces in the lower realm.

Heavenly Court, Lingxiao Bao Dian.

The Jade Emperor sat on the imperial throne with a face as dark as water, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest of the throne.

Below the hall, Guanyin Bodhisattva stood to the side holding a jade vase.

Since the appearance of the auspicious signs of Sun Wukong's breakthrough, this Bodhisattva had come to the Heavenly Court representing the Fomen.

"Venerable Guanyin." The Jade Emperor's tone carried a questioning note, "How does the Fomen intend to handle this matter?"

It was the Buddha who originally proposed replacing the real with the fake; now the fake was still suppressed under Mount Wuzhi, while the real one had appeared after breaking through to the Great Luo Jinxian realm.

Now all practitioners in the Three Realms were watching the Heavenly Court make a fool of itself; the Fomen had to give the Heavenly Court an explanation for this.

After all, the Heavenly Court had only fallen into this situation to cooperate with the Fomen's Journey to the West plan.

Guanyin Bodhisattva held her jade vase, her expression seemingly calm, but her heart was extremely helpless.

She had come following the World-Honored One's decree, but she had no good solution either.

Sun Wukong had broken through to the Great Luo Jinxian realm, completely disrupting the Fomen's deployment.

The Buddha's original plan was to secretly eliminate the real monkey and let the fake monkey become the real one to go to the Western Heaven to obtain the scriptures.

But Flower Fruit Mountain had been heavily guarded all these years, and the Bull Niu Mowang and others had been guarding the Water Curtain Cave, only gradually relaxing in recent years.

But because something happened with Jin Chanzi, and the Buddha was dealing with matters regarding Jin Chanzi, they hadn't been able to take action against that Sun Wukong.

By the time the Buddha returned to Lingshan, before he could find an opportunity to act, that monkey had already broken through.

Now, wanting to eliminate a Great Luo Jinxian silently, unless the two Sages took action themselves, it was almost impossible.

Thoughts raced through Guanyin Bodhisattva's mind, but her face remained calm. She bowed slightly to the Jade Emperor and said: "Amitabha. Great Heavenly Sovereign, this matter was indeed unexpected by our Fomen."

"That stone monkey is a natural anomaly, bearing great destiny. I didn't expect him to attain the Great Luo so quickly. Now, wanting to take action against him is indeed tricky."

"Tricky?" The Jade Emperor sneered, "Do I not know that this matter is tricky! Venerable, I only want to know how your Fomen intends to handle this matter now?"

"This..." Guanyin Bodhisattva couldn't answer for a moment.

She had come to the Heavenly Court this time intending to discuss countermeasures with the Jade Emperor.

But looking at the Jade Emperor's attitude, he didn't want to interfere in this matter at all, wanting to kick the ball to the Fomen.

"Great Heavenly Sovereign, this matter is of great importance and cannot be decided by this humble monk alone." Guanyin Bodhisattva thought it over and could only use a delaying tactic, "How about I return to Lingshan, discuss it with the World-Honored Buddha, and then come back to deliberate with the Great Heavenly Sovereign?"

"Hmph!"

The Jade Emperor let out a cold snort from his nose, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

But at the moment, apart from waiting for the Fomen to come up with a plan, he really had no better way.

Lingshan.

Guanyin Bodhisattva stepped on a lotus platform, passing through the Eight Treasures Merit Pond all the way, heading straight for the Great Lei Yinsi.

Inside the Great Heroic Treasure Hall, the Buddha sat high on the lotus platform, his eyes slightly closed as if in meditation, but the slightly furrowed brow revealed the unrest in his heart.

"World-Honored One." Guanyin Bodhisattva walked to the foot of the lotus platform, pressed her palms together, and bowed slightly.

The Buddha slowly opened his eyes; in those Buddha eyes that could see through the three lifetimes, the usual peace was gone, replaced by a trace of depth.

"What did the Jade Emperor say?"

"The Great Heavenly Sovereign... is very displeased." Guanyin Bodhisattva weighed her words, "He said that this matter started with our Fomen and should be concluded by our Fomen. The Heavenly Court will not interfere further."

Although the words were tactful, the meaning could not be clearer.

The Jade Emperor was passing the buck, and he was clearly telling the Fomen: clean up the mess you started yourselves.

"Hmph." The Buddha let out an almost inaudible cold snort.

The hall fell into a long silence; after a long time, the Buddha's voice sounded again.

"Invite the Past Buddha and the Future Buddha to come."

Guanyin Bodhisattva felt a chill in her heart, bowed in acknowledgment, and exited the hall.

Before long, an old monk with a simple face and profound aura, holding a glazed lamp, walked out from the void; it was the Past Buddha, the Ancient Buddha Ran Deng.

Following closely behind was a pot-bellied Buddha with a constant smile, exuding an aura of joy and freedom; it was the Future Buddha, the Maitreya Buddha.

Only at this moment, the smile on Maitreya Buddha's face had also faded significantly, making him look somewhat strange.

"Greetings, World-Honored One."

"Greetings, two Buddhas."

The three most respected beings of the Fomen exchanged greetings.

"Two fellow Daoists, please sit."

The Buddha waved his hand, and two lotus platforms grew from the ground.

After Ran Deng and Maitreya were seated, the Buddha didn't beat around the bush; he went straight to the point, telling them about Sun Wukong attaining the Great Luo and the attitude of the Heavenly Court.

After listening, the Ancient Buddha Ran Deng closed his eyes slightly and said nothing.

Maitreya Buddha sighed: "That stone monkey was transformed from a Heaven-Mending Stone; he was born with great destiny and great merit. Now that he has broken through to the Great Luo, he has truly become a climate. It is tricky, truly tricky."

"The appearance of that stone monkey has caused my plan of replacing the real with the fake to go bankrupt." The Buddha's tone was heavy, "If we don't find a way to solve this, the great plan of the Journey to the West will be obstructed, and the opportunity for our Fomen to spread to the East may undergo changes."

The Journey to the West kalpa was a great plan calculated by the two Sages of the West for countless years, and it was a key step in the rise of the Fomen; it must not be allowed to fail.

The Ancient Buddha Ran Deng slowly opened his eyes, his voice low: "That stone monkey is now a Great Luo Jinxian; it will be difficult to convert him."

The implication was to give up the possibility of recruitment.

"Correct." Maitreya Buddha also nodded in agreement, "This monkey is unruly and rebellious, and now that he has attained the Great Luo, it is absolutely impossible to make him willingly serve our Fomen."

After talking back and forth, it seemed only one path remained.

"If we are to take action..." The Buddha looked at the two and said slowly, "We must have a foolproof plan. Flower Fruit Mountain is now the nest of the Demon Alliance, protected by a great formation, and there are a group of Tai Yi Demon Kings like the Bull Niu Mowang. Once we act, if the news leaks and attracts the attention of the Three Realms, our Fomen will fall into a place of eternal damnation."

If handled poorly, the news of the Fomen forcibly silencing someone would leak, not only ruining the Fomen's reputation but possibly attracting the wariness of all practitioners in the Three Realms.

By then, let alone spreading the Buddha Dharma to the East, even the existing foundation would be shaken.

"What if we lure him out of Flower Fruit Mountain and intercept him halfway?" Maitreya Buddha proposed a plan.

The Ancient Buddha Ran Deng shook his head: "A Great Luo Jinxian has already realized the Heavenly Dao. Now that the kalpa has not fully descended, his spiritual sense is intact and he can foresee his own fortune and misfortune. Any murderous intent directed at him might be sensed in advance. Trying to set up a net to deceive his spiritual sense is too difficult."

The hall fell into silence again.

After a long time, the Ancient Buddha Ran Deng spoke slowly.

"Perhaps there is a method."

"Please speak, Ancient Buddha."

The Ancient Buddha Ran Deng stretched out his withered palm; above his palm, twenty-four crystal-clear beads slowly emerged. Inside each bead, it seemed as if a world was formed, exuding a terrifying aura that suppressed the universe.

It was the innate spiritual treasure, the Sea-Calming Pearl!

"This humble monk's twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls can evolve into twenty-four heavens." The Ancient Buddha Ran Deng's voice sounded, "If the three of us work together to descend upon Flower Fruit Mountain and use the power of the twenty-four heavens to instantly shroud the entire Flower Fruit Mountain realm, we can isolate the inside from the outside and form a self-contained world."

"By then, whatever happens inside Flower Fruit Mountain, the outside world will not have the slightest perception."

The Buddha and Maitreya Buddha looked at each other.

"The Ancient Buddha means..."

"Correct." The Ancient Buddha Ran Deng's eyes became sharp, "I will use the twenty-four heavens to trap Flower Fruit Mountain, and then the World-Honored One and Maitreya Buddha will act together to completely wipe out that stone monkey!"

"In this way, we cut the Gordian knot and leave no future trouble."

"After the deed is done, we will leave quietly, and no one will know it was our doing. By then, the real stone monkey will have disappeared, and the monkey under Mount Wuzhi will be the stone monkey."

"As for the discussions in the Three Realms about the real and fake stone monkeys, if that stone monkey disappears, it will naturally be nonsense."

The Ancient Buddha Ran Deng's tone was calm, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

Maitreya Buddha and the Buddha looked at each other, and a thought occurred to both of them simultaneously: "Ran Deng is truly worthy of being a famous shameless person in the Primordial World."

However, although the Buddha complained internally, he finally nodded and spat out a word: "Good."