Chapter 221: The Jie Sect Dispute, Wen Zhong Finds a Clue

"Who was on duty at the South Tianmen that day? Can you be clear about how he entered the Heavenly Court?" Wen Zhong's thunderous voice echoed at the South Tianmen guard station.

The heavenly general who was named felt his legs go soft, plopped down on his knees, and hurriedly told everything he knew.

"Reporting to the Heavenly Sovereign... the little god... the little god indeed did not see the record of the Great Sage Saint Qitian entering the pass..." He replied tremblingly, his head almost buried in his chest, "That monkey... that monkey seemed to appear in the Heavenly Court out of thin air, or... followed some great expert through the Heavenly Gate, without going through the usual process."

Wen Zhong's vertical eye between his brows narrowed slightly, divine light flowing in his eyes.

Appeared out of thin air? This statement coincided with what he had in mind.

And at this time, inside the Dou Palace, the starry sea was raging.

Billions of stars were like living things, galloping and flowing in the boundless universe, emitting a vast and mysterious aura.

Rulai Buddha, at this moment, was not sitting on the lotus platform, but standing in the galaxy, his whole body shining with Buddha light, resisting the invisible oppression of this starry universe.

Opposite him, Doumu Yuanjun still sat on the starlight Dao platform, her expression cold, her face showing no waves.

"Junior Sister Jin Ling," Rulai put his hands together, his voice calm and far-reaching, "Although the luck of the Jie Sect has declined, there will eventually be a day of recovery. The Westward Journey plan is a fixed number of the Heavenly Dao; if you can comply with the will of heaven and intercept a glimmer of hope in the prosperity of the Buddhist sect, you can also leave a foundation for the survival of the Jie Sect."

He tried to look at the overall situation and persuade Golden Spirit Holy Mother to let go of her grievances.

Golden Spirit Holy Mother heard this and hooked a sneer of mockery at the corner of her mouth.

"Duobao, you betrayed your master and abandoned your ancestors to enter the Fomen and become the ancestor of Buddhism, yet now you come to talk to me about the fortune of the Jie Sect?" Her voice was as cold as ice, yet it contained endless fury. "The blood debt of the Ten Thousand Immortals Array and the countless fellow disciples of my Jie Sect—how could it be lightly brushed aside by a single phrase of yours, 'the fixed number of the Heavenly Dao'?"

Before her words had even faded, she flicked her jade fingers, and the power of the stars of the Zhou Tian poured down like a reversed galaxy, instantly suppressing the Buddhist light of the three thousand worlds surrounding Tathagata.

The light of the stars of the Zhou Tian in the starry sky beyond the thirty-third heaven suddenly surged, causing the entire thirty-three heavens to have their day and night inverted, with a brilliant galaxy spanning the firmament as if to tear the entire Heavenly Court asunder.

The gods of the Heavenly Court were terrified, rushing out from their respective cave dwellings and palaces one after another to look up at the firmament.

"What kind of omen is this?!"

"Could it be that Doumu Yuanjun and Tathagata Buddha are about to wage war in the thirty-three heavens?!"

The might of a Semi-Sage, even just the aftermath, was enough to make ordinary immortals and gods tremble with fear.

Inside the Dou Mansion, Tathagata Buddha pressed his palms together, the Buddhist light around his body evolving into three thousand worlds, each world containing billions of living beings chanting scriptures to resist the impact of the constantly falling stars.

He knew well that Jin Ling Shengmu had a fierce temperament; if he were to fight her here today, it would only ignite the fury in the hearts of the old Jie Sect members and trigger turmoil in the Three Realms.

Coming here this time was meant to resolve the crisis, not to escalate the conflict.

Thus, amidst the sky full of starlight, Tathagata Buddha retreated step by step, maintaining a humble posture.

The gates of the Dou Mansion were tightly shut, and the aura of destruction emanating from within made even the gods of the Dou Department guarding outside feel heart-stricken.

They could clearly perceive that the Semi-Sage aura belonging to Doumu Yuanjun was suppressing the aura of Tathagata Buddha with a force that could crush anything in its path.

But they knew nothing of the true situation within.

Just as the gods of the Heavenly Court were speculating, Tathagata, not wishing to fight Doumu Yuanjun, finally could not withstand the infinite star attacks.

Seeing Doumu Yuanjun's attitude, Tathagata knew he could not persuade this junior sister of his today, so he channeled his divine powers to forcibly break through the suppression of the Zhou Tian stars.

Seeing this, Doumu Yuanjun was about to invoke the Zhou Tian stars again, only to find that Tathagata did not intend to fight her, but instead used his divine powers to leave the Dou Mansion after breaking the suppression.

In the end, Doumu Yuanjun sighed, ultimately not stopping Tathagata from leaving.

The gods outside the Dou Mansion only saw a brilliant Buddhist light shoot up from the depths of the Dou Mansion, tearing through the blockade of the stars and turning into a stream of light that headed straight toward the western horizon.

Tathagata Buddha returned without success.

The gods of the Heavenly Court were in an uproar.

"Tathagata Buddha's Dharma body arrived in person, yet he still failed to persuade Doumu Yuanjun!"

"It seems that this time, Doumu Yuanjun truly intends to settle scores with the Fomen!"

The gods discussed it heatedly, their eyes looking toward the western horizon with a hint of schadenfreude.

In the rear hall of the Lingxiao Bao Dian, the expression was livid.

He never expected that even with Tathagata taking action personally, it would end so miserably.

Doumu Yuanjun's assertiveness completely disrupted his plans.

He had hoped to use this opportunity to let the Fomen and the old Jie Sect members suffer mutual losses so he could reap the benefits, but now it seemed this chess game had already exceeded his control.

The chaos in the Heavenly Court did not disturb Wen Zhong; he had sufficient confidence in his own master.

Ignoring the disturbances outside, he called up the "Entry and Exit Records" of the South Tianmen, and one jade slip after another flashed rapidly beneath the Heavenly Eye at the center of his brow.

"As expected..."

His gaze sharpened, landing on a few of the records.

On the eve of the Great Sage Qitian's second investiture, Tathagata Buddha had entered and exited the Heavenly Court several times; the Fomen was indeed colluding with the Jade Emperor to plot something.

Wen Zhong stood up abruptly, his voice like a booming bell: "Follow me to Mount Wuzhi!"

The generals of the Lei Bu who were following his investigation acted upon the order, lightning flashing and banners waving as they marched in a grand, imposing manner toward the outside of the South Tianmen.

Outside the South Tianmen, Wuqu Xingjun, having received a secret decree from the Jade Emperor to block Wen Zhong's investigation, had been waiting there for a long time.

Clad in golden armor and holding a long blade, he stood his ground, blocking the path of Wen Zhong and his men.

"Heavenly Sovereign Wen, wait!" Wuqu Xingjun shouted loudly. "This case is of great importance, and the investigation must be handled with caution. For you to mobilize such a large force, I fear it is inappropriate, is it not?"

He intended to stall for time to win room for the Jade Emperor to maneuver.

Divine lightning flashed in Wen Zhong's eyes, and the Heavenly Eye at the center of his brow suddenly opened, a divine light shooting straight at Wuqu Xingjun.

"Presumptuous!" he roared, unleashing his male and female whips, which, carrying the power of ten thousand bolts of lightning, instantly forced Wuqu Xingjun back.

Wuqu Xingjun felt an irresistible giant force strike him; the long blade in his hand nearly slipped from his grasp, his figure staggered, and his face turned deathly pale.

"Those who obstruct the Lei Bu in their duties shall be treated as accomplices!" Wen Zhong's voice was like a booming bell, shaking the clouds. "If you dare to block me again, do not blame this Heavenly Sovereign's lightning whip for being heartless!"

The elite of the Lei Bu followed closely behind, filled with killing intent.

Seeing this, Wuqu Xingjun knew he could no longer stop them and could only watch helplessly as Wen Zhong led the Lei Bu army out of the South Tianmen, heading straight for Mount Wuzhi in the lower realm.

Beneath Mount Wuzhi, when Wen Zhong arrived, the suppressed "Sun Wukong" was being held immobile by the suppressing power emitted by Mount Wuzhi.

The Liu Er Mihou was confused as he saw Wen Zhong arrive with a group of people.

He saw Wen Zhong's Heavenly Eye suddenly open, and a white divine light capable of piercing through falsehoods instantly enveloped the entire body of the Liu Er Mihou.

Feeling the threat of the Heavenly Eye, the Liu Er Mihou was terrified.

He hurriedly activated his innate divine ability, forcibly simulating an original aura identical to Sun Wukong's, attempting to deceive the inspection of Wen Zhong's Heavenly Eye.

Wen Zhong let out a cold snort, his Heavenly Eye's power fully unleashed, the divine light like a torch; yet the Liu Er Mihou's innate divine ability was indeed remarkable, and even Wen Zhong's Heavenly Eye could not fully see through his true form.

But deep within the monkey's skull, Wen Zhong saw a glimmer of golden divine light hidden by the Buddha's power—it was clearly a golden hoop.

Wen Zhong's heart stirred; this hoop seemed somewhat familiar.

In the past, there was a Jin Jin Gu Xian in the Jie Sect who held the magic treasure, the Golden Hoop, and had once used it to defeat the Chan Sect's True Person Huang Long.

Later, the Jin Jin Gu Xian was subdued by the Western Sage Zhunti and entered the Fomen.

It stood to reason that this hoop was the magic treasure offered up by the Jin Jin Gu Xian after being subdued by Zhunti.

Thinking of this, Wen Zhong understood.

This fake Great Sage was a puppet controlled by the Fomen using a magic treasure.