Chapter 225

Mount Wanshou is located within the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss created by the two Saints, Zhunti and Jieyin, independent of the Three Realms.

This is where the faith of countless Buddhist believers gathers, and the entire Mount Wanshou is formed by the gathering of infinite power of faith.

At the top of the mountain, a huge Patriarch Puti tree stands quietly; its leaves are not emerald green but present a pale golden color like glaze, and each leaf seems to carry the supreme truth of a Great Yin Dao.

After reporting, the Tathagata Buddha came under the Patriarch Puti tree that covered the entire top of Mount Wanshou.

Here, he restrained the Buddha-light around his body and shed the dignity of the World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect; at this moment, he was more like the first disciple of the Jie Sect, Daoist Duobao, who listened to the Dao in Biyou Palace back then.

Under the tree, two figures sat cross-legged.

One figure was sallow and thin, holding a Seven-Treasure Wonderful Tree; it was the Qian Ti Shengren.

The other figure had a sorrowful face, as if he carried all the compassion of the Three Realms, eyes closed and motionless; it was the Saint Jieyin.

The Tathagata walked forward, hands pressed together, and respectfully performed a great bow to the two Saints.

It was Zhunti who spoke first; he slowly opened his eyes, with no ripples in them, as if he had long expected the Tathagata's arrival.

But the first sentence he asked made the Tathagata's heart jump violently.

"Is there any clue about the person behind the scenes who interfered with the reincarnation of the scripture seeker?"

The Tathagata was stunned upon hearing this.

He had come this time because of the shocking change in the Journey to the West tribulation, feeling anxious, but he had not expected that what Qian Ti Shengren cared about most was the mastermind who had caused Jin Chanzi's reincarnation to go astray.

"Reporting to the Saint, this disciple is incompetent and still has no clues." The Tathagata could only answer truthfully.

A trace of imperceptible disappointment flashed across Qian Ti Shengren's face, then he nodded slightly and stopped asking, changing the subject, his voice cooling by three degrees.

"Speak, why did you turn the grand plan of spreading Buddhism eastward into such a mess?"

The Tathagata felt a chill in his heart and dared not hide anything, detailing the entire cause and effect: Dou Mu Yuan Jun's personal arrival at the Lingxiao Palace, Wen Zhong's thorough investigation of Mount Wuzhi, the Jade Emperor's public turning of the face, and the Heavenly Court's summons for him to explain.

As he narrated, the already quiet atmosphere under the Patriarch Puti tree became even more oppressive.

"Trash!"

Upon hearing that Wen Zhong had locked onto the Buddhist sect with just a single golden hoop, Qian Ti Shengren could finally no longer hold back, opening his eyes wide and shouting in anger.

An invisible Saint's pressure erupted instantly; the Tathagata felt his Primordial Spirit shake violently, and that indestructible sixteen-foot Golden Body actually trembled slightly under this shout.

"Jin Ling Shengmu is merely using old grudges from the Investiture of the Gods to make trouble, and you are helpless?" Zhunti was angry at his lack of resolve. "The Jade Emperor was just going with the flow, and you let him get a handle on you? Duobao, you have been in charge of the Buddhist sect for many years; you are truly regressing!"

Hearing Zhunti call him Duobao, the Tathagata was slightly stunned, suddenly remembering the days when he was free and unfettered in the Jie Sect.

Now that he was calculating the Three Realms and laying out the Journey to the West, he had never thought he would be forced into such a situation.

His heart and spirit were exhausted.

He slowly bowed to the ground, his voice filled with desolation and determination.

"This disciple is incompetent, causing the Buddhist sect's grand plan to be blocked and its dignity to be swept away. This disciple is willing to abdicate to the virtuous and cultivate in Mount Wanshou."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhunti's anger stalled.

His intention was to reprimand and hold him accountable, but he had not expected the Tathagata to directly propose abdication.

Now that the Journey to the West tribulation was at a critical moment, how could there be turmoil within the Buddhist sect?

He was just about to shout and tell the Tathagata to take back his words.

However, Saint Jieyin, who had been sitting with his eyes closed and silent, spoke before him.

"Agreed."

Zhunti turned his head abruptly to look at his senior brother, his eyes full of astonishment and confusion.

And the body of the Tathagata Buddha, kneeling on the ground, also stiffened slightly.

He actually agreed?

His proposal to abdicate was seven parts helplessness from exhaustion and three parts an attempt to test the Saint's bottom line.

He could never have imagined that Saint Jieyin, who had always been quiet and inactive and did not ask about worldly affairs, would agree so readily.

Saint Jieyin ignored their shock; his sorrowful gaze passed over the Tathagata and looked toward Lingshan outside the Pure Land.

"The Buddhist sect cannot be without a master for a day."

"Pass on my decree: 'Future Buddha' Maitreya shall succeed to the position of the World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect, take charge of Lingshan, and preside over the grand plan of the westward journey."

As the words fell, the decree was carried out.

Throughout the entire Western Lingshan, and even all Buddhist disciples in the Three Realms, a sense inexplicably arose in their hearts.

Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, Fourth Heaven, Tusita Heaven.

This is not the Tusita Palace of Lord Taishang, but one of the six desire heavens of the Buddhist Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

The master of this place is none other than the Future Buddha, Maitreya.

Unlike the solemnity of Lingshan, Maitreya's dojo is full of auspiciousness and peace.

He himself is always bare-chested and smiling, as if there is nothing in the Three Realms worth worrying about.

At this moment, he was leaning on a jade bed, twisting Buddha beads, listening to the boy under his seat tell interesting stories from the lower realm, laughing until his fat shook.

However, in the next instant, a decree crossed the endless void and rang directly in the bottom of his heart.

"Pass on my decree: 'Future Buddha' Maitreya shall succeed to the position of the World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect, take charge of Lingshan, and preside over the grand plan of the westward journey."

It was the voice of Saint Jieyin.

The smile on Maitreya's face froze instantly; he slowly sat up straight, the fat on his face twitching slightly.

His eyes, which were always narrowed into slits, opened a fraction at this moment, revealing a touch of helplessness.

"World-Honored One? It's more like a mess..." he muttered in his heart, but his mouth was full of bitterness.

He had been avoiding the muddy waters of the Journey to the West tribulation.

That guy Tathagata had made a mess of things, the Heavenly Court had turned against them, and the old Jie Sect members were making trouble.

Now they wanted him to take over?

This was not succeeding to the position of Buddha; it was clearly asking him to clean up the mess for the Tathagata.

But this was the Saint's decree.

The Saint's words are law, not to be refused, not to be questioned.

The muscles on Maitreya's face piled up into a smile again, he tidied up his loose monk's robe, and bowed solemnly toward the direction of Mount Wanshou.

"Disciple Maitreya respectfully follows the Saint's decree."

At the same time, Mount Wanshou, under the Patriarch Puti tree.

The Tathagata remained kneeling on the ground, saying nothing.

On Saint Jieyin's sorrowful face, no emotional fluctuations could be seen, as if deposing a World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect was no different from picking up a speck of dust.

He looked at Duobao in front of him and spoke slowly, his voice as flat as water.

"Now, all living beings of the Three Realms and all the gods of the Heavenly Court are waiting for an explanation from our Buddhist sect."

"This matter started with you, and improper handling has led to damage to the Buddhist sect's reputation and the tribulation deviating from its correct path."

He paused and stated his final decision.

"Since you are no longer the World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect, let this karma be settled by you alone."

So that was it.

The Tathagata finally understood the real reason why Jieyin agreed to his abdication.

It was not because he had handled things poorly, but because the Buddhist sect needed someone of sufficient weight to take the blame, appease the Heavenly Court's anger, soothe the resentment of the old Jie Sect members, and give an explanation to the living beings of the Three Realms.

And he, the former World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect, the former first disciple of the Jie Sect—Daoist Duobao, was undoubtedly the best candidate.

Using his fault alone to exchange for the overall innocence of the Buddhist sect and the continuation of the Journey to the West grand plan.

This deal was very cost-effective for the Saints.

A sense of desolation surged from the bottom of the Tathagata's heart.

He thought of Master Tongtian, thought of Biyou Palace, and thought of the countless fellow disciples who had passed away in the Wan Xianzhen.

He thought that by entering the Buddhist sect and becoming the master of a great sect, he had jumped out of the chessboard.

But he had not expected that from beginning to end, in the eyes of the Saints, he was just a relatively important chess piece.

"This disciple... understands." The Tathagata slowly kowtowed.