Chapter 226

Things having reached this point, he had no other choice.

If he had the courage to resist the Saints, he would not have entered the Buddhist sect in the first place.

Saint Jieyin nodded slightly: "Go."

"Go to the Lingxiao Palace and take all the blame upon yourself. How to say it, how to do it, you know in your heart. After dealing with this matter, return to this Mount Wanshou and cultivate with us under the Patriarch Puti tree."

"This disciple receives the decree."

Hearing that he could cultivate with the two Saints, the Tathagata finally felt a trace of comfort in his heart; after kowtowing again, he slowly stood up.

Mount Wanshou, under the Patriarch Puti tree.

The Ten Thousand Buddha Kasaya on the Tathagata, which symbolized the World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect, had its Buddha-light dimmed, as if it had shed all its divinity in an instant.

He bowed to the two Saints one last time, without saying another word, and turned to step out of this Pure Land.

His back was desolate, just like the loneliness when the Wan Xianzhen was broken and the Jie Sect was destroyed back then.

And in Tusita Heaven, Maitreya Buddha sighed long, tidied up his loose monk's robe, took a step out of Tusita Heaven, and came to the Great Lei Yinsi of Lingshan.

In an instant, the bell of the Great Lei Yinsi rang long, and countless ancient Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Luo Han who were in seclusion appeared one after another, Buddha-light gathered, and they all bowed to Maitreya in unison.

"We respectfully welcome World-Honored One Maitreya!"

The position of the World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect officially changed hands.

And while the Tathagata left Mount Wanshou and headed for the Heavenly Court.

Mount Huaguo, in front of the Water Curtain Cave, Su Chen and Sun Wukong stood side by side, looking toward the horizon.

"Brother Su Chen, since that old man Jade Emperor has already softened, I, Old Sun, will go to heaven now and make him give an explanation!" Sun Wukong said to Su Chen while carrying his Ruyi Jingu Bang.

"Brother Monkey, we don't need to be in a hurry now." Su Chen's eyes were calm and deep, "He is now in urgent need of giving an explanation to the interior of the Heavenly Court and the Three Realms."

Hearing this, Sun Wukong scratched his cheek, half-understanding, but still somewhat impatient.

"Let's go, to heaven!"

Seeing this, Su Chen could only smile and shake his head, following Sun Wukong as they turned into a stream of light, rushing into the sky, heading straight for the Nantian Gate.

Lingxiao Palace.

Today, the atmosphere inside the hall was oppressive to the extreme.

In the center of the hall stood three parties.

One party was Sun Wukong and Su Chen who had just arrived.

The other party was the Tathagata, alone, having shed his Ten Thousand Buddha Kasaya and wearing only a simple monk's robe.

And the gods of the Heavenly Court were lined up on both sides of the hall.

Above the imperial throne, the Jade Emperor looked majestic, his gaze sweeping slowly over the three parties, and finally, it fell on Sun Wukong.

To the surprise of all the immortals and gods, the Jade Emperor actually slowly stood up from the imperial throne and bowed solemnly toward Sun Wukong.

"Saint Qitian."

The Jade Emperor's voice was loud, spreading throughout the hall, "Previously, I did not recognize people well and was deceived by villains, causing the Great Sage to suffer an unjust grievance and the dignity of the Heavenly Court to be damaged. Here, I apologize to you."

This gesture was very low for the Jade Emperor.

The entire court of immortals and gods, especially those confidants of the Jade Emperor, all felt a chill in their hearts.

His Majesty's move of advancing by retreating was played to perfection.

Sun Wukong hated this set of empty rituals the most; he waved his hand impatiently and said, "Alright, alright, I, Old Sun, won't argue with you. I just want to know, how are you going to deal with that guy who impersonated me!"

"Good!" This was exactly what the Jade Emperor wanted.

He cast his gaze toward the Tathagata below the hall.

"Venerable Tathagata, I wonder what else you have to say?"

"Is the golden hoop on the demon monkey under Mount Wuzhi an object of your Buddhist sect?"

In an instant, everyone's gaze in the hall gathered on the Tathagata.

The Tathagata raised his head, his face calm; he met the Jade Emperor's gaze and the gaze of the immortals and gods, and spoke slowly.

"Reporting to the Great Heavenly Sovereign, this matter all started because of a momentary lapse in judgment by this poor monk."

"That demon monkey is the Six-Eared Macaque, one of the four monkeys of the world; it is good at listening, can observe principles, knows the past and future, and understands all things. This poor monk saw that its talent was extraordinary and intended to convert it into our Buddhist sect, so I used a golden hoop to bind it, wanting to grind away its wild nature."

"I never thought that this beast would be difficult to tame, and while this poor monk was in the Heavenly Court discussing the Dao with fellow Daoists and was immersed in the Dao, it used the art of transformation to turn into the appearance of the Saint Qitian, accepted the Emperor's reward, impersonated the Saint Qitian, and committed a monstrous disaster."

"By the time this poor monk noticed, the great mistake had already been made. This poor monk... to preserve my own reputation and the reputation of the Buddhist sect, was confused for a moment and let the mistake continue, which led to today's disaster."

Through his careful polishing, the Tathagata downplayed a shocking conspiracy into an accident of lax discipline and a personal fault to protect his reputation.

The immortals and gods of the old Jie Sect in the hall had undisguised sneers on their lips.

After listening, the Jade Emperor sighed at the Tathagata's cunning in his heart, but his face erupted with thunderous anger at the right time.

"What a momentary lapse in judgment! What a letting the mistake continue!"

He slapped the imperial desk, making the entire Lingxiao Palace buzz.

"Because of your selfishness, the Three Realms were shaken, the Heavenly Court was shamed, and the Great Sage was wronged! Tathagata, do you know your crime?!"

The Tathagata pressed his hands together and bowed deeply to the Jade Emperor, his posture very low.

"This poor monk knows that his sins are heavy, and today, I have voluntarily resigned from the position of World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect."

"As for the losses caused to the Heavenly Court because of this poor monk, I am willing to bear any punishment from the Great Heavenly Sovereign, without any complaints."

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall was in an uproar.

What? The Tathagata actually resigned from the position of World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect?

The Jade Emperor's eyes narrowed slightly; he knew this must be the work of those two in the West.

Using the dignity of a former Buddha to appease this storm.

He looked at Duobao, who was bowing and admitting his guilt, his thoughts turning rapidly, but he did not immediately impose punishment.

He slowly sat back on the imperial throne, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

Not long after, the Jade Emperor's majestic voice sounded again.

"Since you have admitted your guilt, according to the Heavenly Rules, I cannot not punish you."

"But since the Venerable has realized his mistake, I will punish you with confinement in the Buddhist sect for a thousand years; you are not to step out of the Western Heaven for a thousand years."

Seeing the Tathagata end up in such a state, the Jade Emperor felt sorrowful, deeply feeling that in these Three Realms, one is but an ant if one does not become a Saint.

Thus, empathizing, he ultimately showed mercy to the Tathagata.

"This poor monk accepts the punishment." The Tathagata pressed his hands together and accepted the Jade Emperor's punishment.

But just at this moment, a cold snort came from outside the Lingxiao Palace: "The Tathagata indulged that demon monkey to wreak havoc in the Heavenly Court; is the punishment really this light?"