Chapter 232

Great Lei Yinsi, Great Heroic Hall.

Although the Buddha-light still shone, it could not dispel the haze covering the hearts of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Inside the hall, the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Luo Han, and Jin Gang who had rushed back from dojos all over the Three Realms sat full of mats, the Zen peace of the past was gone, replaced by an oppressive feeling of a storm about to come.

Guanyin Bodhisattva held the pure vase, her willow eyebrows slightly frowned; Samantabhadra Bodhisattva rode the six-tusked white elephant, his expression solemn; the green lion under Manjushri Bodhisattva also restrained its usual majesty and lay quietly on the ground.

The focus of their discussion was only one—the former Buddha, Tathagata, had been cast into reincarnation.

That was the master of the Buddhist sect, their nominal leader, but now he had become the talk of the living beings of the Three Realms after tea and dinner.

"World-Honored One, the Jade Emperor and that Dou Mu Yuan Jun are bullying people too much! When has our Buddhist sect ever suffered such a great humiliation!" A glaring Jin Gang stood up, his voice like a loud bell.

"Indeed! This matter must not be let go! We are willing to follow the World-Honored One to the Heavenly Court again to ask for an explanation!"

The Great Heroic Hall was filled with indignation, and the sound wave almost overturned the dome of the treasure hall.

On the lotus throne, the new World-Honored One of the Buddhist sect, Maitreya Buddha, was still the same bare-chested and smiling appearance.

Only in those eyes that were always narrowed into slits, there was no trace of a smile at this moment, but instead, a cold, sharp light flashed.

He listened quietly until the sound in the hall grew smaller, then slowly raised his hand and pressed it lightly.

"Everyone, don't be impatient."

His voice was not loud, but it clearly entered everyone's ears, possessing an unquestionable majesty.

"The matter of Senior Brother Tathagata is his karma with the Jie Sect, and it is his own choice; now that the dust has settled, further discussion is useless." Maitreya Buddha's gaze swept across the audience, "This seat has gathered everyone today, not to recall the past, but to solve the biggest trouble at hand."

He paused and said word by word: "Journey to the West tribulation, the eastward spread of Buddhism, how should it continue?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell silent instantly.

Yes, this was the most fatal problem.

The core of the Journey to the West plan, the scripture-seeking protector Sun Wukong, had now become the leader of the Demon Alliance and had completely torn his face with the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist sect. Let alone letting him escort Tang Seng to seek scriptures, it would be giving face if he didn't attack Lingshan.

Guanyin Bodhisattva pressed her hands together, stepped forward, and asked: "World-Honored One, that stone monkey is unruly, and now he has formed a deadly feud with our Buddhist sect; I'm afraid... it's hard to persuade him to turn back."

She spoke euphemistically, but everyone present understood.

Persuade? How to persuade? What to persuade with?

Maitreya Buddha heard this, and the smile piled up by the fat on his face became even more intense, but the smile did not reach the bottom of his eyes.

"What Guanyin Bodhisattva said is very true." He nodded, "Counting on Sun Wukong to change his mind is no different from a fool's dream. He is now the biggest stumbling block in our Buddhist sect's grand plan for eastward spread."

"So," Maitreya Buddha changed the subject, a terrifying light shooting from his narrowed eyes, "since the chess piece is disobedient, then change to another chess piece."

Change to another chess piece?

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were all stunned, looking at each other.

Sun Wukong was an innate stone monkey, carrying the great luck of the tribulation, and was a key figure calculated by the Saint himself; could this also be changed?

"May I ask the World-Honored One, who can replace that stone monkey?" Manjushri Bodhisattva asked.

Maitreya Buddha's gaze slowly swept over everyone, and finally, he said a sentence that made the entire Great Heroic Hall fall into dead silence.

"Senior Brother Tathagata."

He looked at everyone's shocked expressions and explained unhurriedly: "Although Senior Brother has been cast into reincarnation, he was originally the first disciple of the Jie Sect, and later the master of our Buddhist sect; how vast is the luck and karma he carries? His experiencing tribulation this time is an opportunity for our Buddhist sect."

"The Saint already has a decree." Maitreya Buddha's voice became solemn, "Order us to use all the power of the Buddhist sect to find Senior Brother's reincarnation in the Three Realms!"

"Find him, convert him, let him worship under the scripture seeker, replace Sun Wukong, and become the new protector!"

"With his body, settle the karma he planted. With his merit of protection, repay the debt he owes our Buddhist sect. In this way, the Heavenly Dao circulates, and the karma will be settled. The Journey to the West grand plan can return to the right track!"

As the words fell, the whole hall was shocked.

Use the reincarnation of the former Buddha to be a disciple of a mortal and protect his westward journey?

This move was ruthless!

Guanyin Bodhisattva's heart was shaken; she instantly understood the Saint's deep meaning.

This was both punishment and redemption. It was also to completely bind the identity of "Daoist Duobao" to the Buddhist sect, with no possibility of leaving again!

"Disciple respectfully follows the World-Honored One's decree." Guanyin Bodhisattva was the first to bow and receive the order.

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

Inside the hall, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas responded in unison, their voices shaking Lingshan.

A heaven-covering net aimed at the former Buddha was thus spread.

At the same time, Dongsheng Shenzhou, Mount Huaguo.

Sun Wukong was still in seclusion refining the origin of the Six-Eared Macaque, and the affairs of the Demon Alliance had also been handed over to Lady Luan Erjie and the five Great Sages, and everything was in good order.

Su Chen himself should also make plans for his own Dao path.

His cultivation of "Hunyuan Jin Dan Zhen Jie," wanting to prove the Golden Immortal, required the five elements to be perfect. Now that wood, fire, and earth had been achieved, gold and water were still missing.

Su Chen's heart moved, and a jade slip appeared in his hand.

It was the one Lady Luan Erjie had given him, recording the map and information of the Luowu Mountain secret realm.

"Xi Niuhe Zhou, Luowu Mountain... a secret realm shrouded in gray mist, with a black treasure tower inside emitting a terrifying aura."

Su Chen's fingertips rubbed gently on the jade slip.

A treasure tower that could make a Demon Immortal like Lady Luan Erjie feel soul-throbbing must have a very high grade, very likely an Innate Spiritual Treasure. And that black treasure tower was mostly related to water or gold.

Wealth is sought in danger.

Now that the eyes of the great powers of the Three Realms were attracted by Lingshan and the Heavenly Court, it was the best time for him to sneak into Xi Niuhe Zhou and take away the treasure without anyone knowing.

If he missed this village, there would be no such shop.

He didn't alarm anyone, just left a message jade slip for Lady Luan Erjie, informing her that he was going into seclusion for a period of time, and if there was no disaster of destroying the mountain, don't disturb him.

After doing all this, his figure flickered, turning into a clear breeze, leaving Mount Huaguo silently, and rushing toward Xi Niuhe Zhou.

In the realm of Xi Niuhe Zhou, the Buddhist atmosphere was rich, but Su Chen had the Heavenly Secret Treasure Mirror to cover the heavenly secrets, and he walked all the way as if entering an uninhabited land.

A few days later, following the guidance of the jade slip map, he came to a continuous mountain range that was uninhabited.

The mountain range was dark red, with no grass growing, as if it had been soaked in blood, and a faint evil spirit permeated the air.

This place was Luowu Mountain.

Su Chen restrained his entire aura, like a wisp of ghost, drifting into the depths of the mountain range. Soon, he found the cold pool marked on the map.

The pool water was as black as ink, bottomless, and wisps of cold air overflowed from it, making the surrounding rocks condense a thin layer of frost.

Su Chen didn't hesitate, pinched the water-avoiding incantation, jumped, and jumped into the cold pool silently.

The ice-cold pool water instantly wrapped his whole body, and the deeper he dived, the darker the light, and the coldness went deeper into his bone marrow.

When he dived to a depth of a thousand zhang, the scene in front of him suddenly changed.

The bottom of the pool was not silt, but a distorted light curtain, like a shaking water mirror, emitting strange spatial fluctuations.

Secret realm entrance!

Su Chen took a deep breath, adjusted his state, took a step, and his entire figure was instantly swallowed by the distorted light curtain.

The next moment, he was already in a gray world.

Endless gray mist filled the surroundings, visibility was less than three zhang, and when his spiritual sense probed out, it was actually suppressed and corroded by this gray mist, sending bursts of needle-like stinging pain.

"Mist that can corrode the Primordial Spirit... truly domineering."

Su Chen felt a chill in his heart, dared not be negligent, and immediately operated "Hunyuan Jin Dan Zhen Jie," a spinning Golden Core appeared in his dantian, emitting five-colored light, grinding away all the gray mist that invaded his body.

He followed the route recorded in Lady Luan Erjie's jade slip and walked cautiously toward the depths of the secret realm.