Chapter 224

"Hmph!" After a brief silence, Sun Wukong let out a cold snort and said, "That old man, the Jade Emperor, has finally lost his patience. Even if you didn't come, I, Old Sun, would have gone to the Heavenly Court to make that old man give me justice!"

Su Chen stood beside Sun Wukong, appearing very calm.

All of this was within his expectations.

After Sun Wukong finished speaking, Su Chen stepped forward, cupped his hands toward Taibai Jinxing, and said, "Sorry to trouble you with this trip, Jinxing. Please report back to the Jade Emperor that our Alliance Leader will personally go to the Lingxiao Palace."

Seeing that Su Chen had taken the lead, Taibai Jinxing breathed a sigh of relief and nodded hurriedly, "That is excellent. This old Daoist will go back to report now."

Having said that, as if afraid that Sun Wukong might go back on his word, he hurriedly rode his auspicious cloud and vanished in a flash.

After leaving Mount Huaguo, Taibai Jinxing did not return to the Heavenly Court but headed straight for Western Lingshan.

Xi Niuhe Zhou, Lingshan.

Inside the Great Lei Yinsi, the atmosphere was somewhat solemn.

The Tathagata Buddha had gone to Mount Wuzhi with the intention of destroying evidence, but because the gods of the Lei Bu had set up a grand formation in advance, the Tathagata had returned empty-handed.

Seeing that the Tathagata Buddha's expression was not good, the disciples all dared not make a sound.

Just then, a gate-keeping Jin Gang hurried into the hall to report, "Reporting to the World-Honored One, Taibai Jinxing of the Heavenly Court has come again and is requesting an audience outside the hall."

Here again?

The Buddhist disciples inside the hall looked at one another, all feeling that something was wrong.

The Tathagata Buddha sat on the Nine-Grade Lotus Throne with no expression on his face, though a trace of weariness showed in his Buddha eyes.

"Let him in."

Taibai Jinxing walked into the Great Heroic Hall, and feeling the oppressive atmosphere within, he knew in his heart that the Buddhist sect had likely already realized something.

He looked straight ahead, walked directly to the center of the hall, and bowed to the Tathagata Buddha on the lotus throne.

"What is Jinxing here for this time?" the Tathagata Buddha asked slowly, his voice betraying neither joy nor anger.

Taibai Jinxing cleared his throat and recited the Jade Emperor's decree, word for word.

"By the imperial edict of the Jade Emperor Great Heavenly Sovereign."

"'Regarding the case of the "True and False Great Sage," the Heavenly Court has uncovered the truth: it was orchestrated by the Buddhist sect to deceive the Three Realms, confuse the public, damage the dignity of the Heavenly Court, and frame the Saint Qitian.'"

"'His Majesty summons the Buddha to go to the Lingxiao Palace immediately to provide an explanation for this matter to the Heavenly Court and to all living beings of the Three Realms.'"

As the words fell, sounds of reprimand erupted throughout the Great Heroic Hall.

Many Buddhist disciples glared at Taibai Jinxing, and a powerful, combined pressure surged toward him.

Although Taibai Jinxing appeared unremarkable, he was, after all, an old god who had followed the Jade Emperor since the founding of the Heavenly Court, and with the Jade Emperor's vigorous support, his cultivation had reached the peak of the Tai Yi Jin Xian realm.

Now that the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and many Luo Han were not in the Great Lei Yinsi, the cultivation of these Jin Gang disciples was not enough to intimidate him.

Under the pressure of the Buddhist disciples, Taibai Jinxing remained relaxed, standing straight.

"Amitabha."

A single Buddha name rang out, suppressing all the anger of the disciples in the hall.

On the lotus throne, the Tathagata Buddha looked calm; he looked at Taibai Jinxing and nodded slightly.

"Sorry to trouble Jinxing to report back to the Great Heavenly Sovereign; this poor monk will go to the Heavenly Court to give the Heavenly Court an explanation."

Seeing the Tathagata Buddha nod in agreement, Taibai Jinxing felt a weight lift from his heart.

After hurriedly bowing to the Tathagata Buddha, he rode his auspicious cloud and left Lingshan as if fleeing.

He looked back at the Buddha-light-bathed Lingshan, let out a long sigh, and raised his sleeve to wipe away the non-existent cold sweat on his forehead.

He was afraid that if he left any later, the Buddhist disciples of Lingshan would swarm him and tear his old bones apart.

"If I keep being tossed around like this, my old bones will fall apart on this road back and forth sooner or later," Taibai Jinxing muttered to himself.

Truly, when immortals fight, he, the messenger, suffers.

The Jade Emperor and the Buddha—both are top figures of the Three Realms, and he cannot afford to offend either side.

Going to Mount Huaguo to apologize one moment and coming to Lingshan to deliver a decree of accusation the next—this job is exciting, but it's a bit hard on a person.

He only hoped that the Buddha would be decisive and set off for the Lingxiao Palace quickly so he could go back and finish his task.

If he had to go back and forth a few more times, he felt he could tread a polished path along the cloud route from the Nantian Gate to the Great Lei Yinsi.

Great Lei Yinsi, inside the Great Heroic Hall.

Following Taibai Jinxing's departure, the anger and pressure that had been forcibly suppressed permeated the air once again.

The Buddhist disciples in the hall all wore angry expressions, their eyes glaring, clearly indignant at the Heavenly Court's act of tearing off the mask of civility.

One disciple couldn't help but speak out, "World-Honored One, that Jade Emperor is bullying us too much. I think he clearly sees that the matter has been exposed and wants to make our Buddhist sect take the blame alone."

"If not for our Buddhist sect's help, how could he have balanced the situation in the Heavenly Court and monopolized its power?"

"Now that disaster is imminent, he betrays our Buddhist sect without hesitation; his heart is punishable!"

"Indeed!" another Jin Gang echoed, "The responsibility for this matter does not lie with our Buddhist sect; it is clearly because the Jade Emperor could not subdue that stone monkey that subsequent events occurred. Our Buddhist sect cannot take this blame."

"World-Honored One, we are willing to follow you to the Lingxiao Palace to see what that Jade Emperor can do to us."

The hall was filled with indignation, and the disciples were filled with righteous anger, all expressing that they could not compromise with the Jade Emperor.

On the lotus throne, the Tathagata Buddha remained silent, his thoughts unknown.

After a long time, he spoke slowly.

As he spoke, the Buddhist disciples in the hall stopped their noise.

"This matter is not the Jade Emperor's fault; he too was forced into this."

The disciples were startled, all looking at the World-Honored One in confusion.

The Tathagata Buddha's tone remained flat.

"In the past, during the Investiture of the Gods tribulation, the Jie Sect was destroyed, and its karma was not yet settled."

"The Journey to the West tribulation was originally caused by the operation of the Heavenly Dao; at this time, the world was destined to have this tribulation. The Saints, pitying the world, used supreme divine powers to control the tribulation within a certain range to eliminate it."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the disciples.

"But now, Junior Sister Jin Ling... Dou Mu Yuan Jun has personally entered the fray, intervening in the tribulation with the status of a Semi-Sage, causing the tribulation to gradually deviate from the Saints' plan. This matter is no longer something I can decide."

As the words fell, the hall fell into dead silence.

The disciples had not expected the Buddha to explain these things to them.

They also had not expected that this Journey to the West tribulation was planned by the Saints.

In the eyes of the disciples, the Saints were the embodiment of omnipotence, and these two words seemed to contain infinite power.

So the eastward spread of Buddhism was actually decided by those two supreme existences.

And now that the change had deviated from the Saints' plan, thinking of this, the anger on the disciples' faces gradually faded, replaced by deep powerlessness.

If even the Saints had not foreseen this, how could they solve it?

Just then, the Tathagata Buddha rose from the lotus throne.

This action startled all the disciples again.

"World-Honored One, you are..."

The Tathagata Buddha bowed slightly toward the western horizon, in the direction of the ethereal Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, and said, "For this matter, I shall personally go to Mount Wanshou to seek guidance from the two Saints. You all should cultivate diligently in Lingshan."

Hearing this, the disciples hurriedly bowed in unison and chanted the Buddha's name.

"We respectfully follow the World-Honored One's decree."