Chapter 239: Maitreya Visits Tushita Palace

Within the secret realm of Mount Luowu, the grey cocoon the size of a man stood silently, the patterns on its surface flickering on and off.

While Su Chen was undergoing his transformation within the cocoon, Maitreya had already completely taken control of the Fomen in the outside world, having initially handled the changes following the fall of Tathagata.

Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, Tushita Palace.

This was one of the Daoist fields of the Supreme Venerable Sovereign, an incarnation of the Taiqing Saint.

The new Buddhist World-Honored One, Maitreya Buddha, had now restrained the Buddhist light around his body and was walking along the white jade-paved grand avenue before the palace, his face still wearing his signature smile.

The matter of Tathagata involved too much.

Duobao Daoist was, after all, sent to the West by this very Saint himself.

Now that the current Buddha of the Fomen had been cast into reincarnation, if he, the newly appointed one, did not provide an explanation to the Supreme Venerable Sovereign, he feared that this unfathomable existence—the most profound being in the Three Realms beneath the Dao Ancestor—might one day personally visit the Fomen to hold them accountable.

However, the Taiqing Saint had not appeared in the Three Realms for a long time, and even if Maitreya wished to pay a visit, he had no opportunity.

Therefore, he could only settle for the next best thing and come to Tushita Palace to pay a visit to the Supreme Venerable Sovereign.

Although the Supreme Venerable Sovereign was merely an incarnation of the Taiqing Saint, in a sense, seeing the Sovereign was equivalent to seeing the Saint himself.

"Stop, visitor."

At the entrance of Tushita Palace, two porcelain-like Daoist boys, Jin Jiao and Yin Jiao, blocked his path.

Maitreya Buddha hurriedly pressed his palms together and smiled kindly, "This poor monk, Maitreya, has come specifically to pay respects to the Supreme Venerable Sovereign. I ask the two immortal boys to please announce my arrival."

Upon hearing that the new World-Honored One of the Fomen had come to visit, the two boys could not help but take an extra look at him.

Then, the boy Jin Jiao bowed to Maitreya and said, "Please wait a moment, World-Honored One. I shall go and report this."

After saying this, he turned and went inside to report.

Before long, Jin Jiao walked out and said with a smile, "The Master invites you in."

Only then did Maitreya heave a sigh of relief. He adjusted his monk's robe and followed the two boys into Tushita Palace.

Inside Tushita Palace, a massive Eight-Trigrams furnace stood in the center of the hall, with the True Fire of the Six Dings burning fiercely within.

An old man wearing a Yin-Yang Daoist robe, with white hair and a white beard, sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, holding a palm-leaf fan and fanning the furnace fire in a leisurely manner.

It was the Supreme Venerable Sovereign.

"Disciple Maitreya pays respects to the Supreme Venerable Sovereign."

Maitreya did not dare to be the least bit negligent and performed a respectful, deep bow toward the figure of the Sovereign.

The Supreme Venerable Sovereign did not even lift his eyelids; he merely gave a faint "Hmm," and continued to fan gently, gesturing toward another prayer mat beside him.

"Sit."

Although he had only spoken one word, it instantly calmed Maitreya's somewhat anxious heart.

He did not dare to be negligent and sat down cautiously in the position below the Sovereign.

Since the Sovereign did not ask, Maitreya took the initiative to speak, narrating the entire sequence of events regarding Tathagata from beginning to end.

From Tathagata arranging for the Six-Eared Macaque to impersonate the true one, to the appearance of the real monkey, to the arrival of Doumu Doumu Yuanjun, the confrontation in the Heavenly Court, and finally the Jade Emperor turning against them, leading to Tathagata admitting his guilt and being cast into reincarnation.

Throughout the entire process, he spoke in extreme detail, not daring to conceal even half a point.

After finishing, he lowered his head and remained silent, waiting for the Sovereign's judgment.

Within the great hall, only the "crackle" of the flames burning in the Eight-Trigrams furnace remained.

After a long while, the Supreme Venerable Sovereign finally spoke, his voice so flat that not a hint of emotion could be detected.

"I am already aware of this matter."

He paused, his fan continuing to sway at a steady pace. "Duobao has his own karma. Since it was his own choice, let him resolve it himself. It has nothing to do with your Fomen or anyone else."

Hearing these words, the heart that Maitreya had been holding in his throat finally settled back into place.

As long as he wasn't holding them accountable, that was fine!

What he feared most was that this person would use the matter as a pretext to cause trouble for the Fomen; if that happened, his position as the new Buddha might not even be warm before he had to vacate it.

"The Supreme Venerable Sovereign is merciful," Maitreya said hurriedly.

"The Journey to the West kalpa is a great trend of the Heavenly Dao." The Supreme Venerable Sovereign changed the subject, his gaze finally shifting from the alchemy furnace to land on Maitreya. "Now that you have taken over this matter, do you have a plan?"

Hearing this, Maitreya felt a jolt in his heart, knowing the main point had arrived.

Maitreya replied hurriedly, "Reporting to the Supreme Venerable Sovereign, this disciple is troubled by this matter and has an immature idea that I wish to seek your guidance on."

"Speak."

"That stone monkey, Sun Sun Wukong, has now attained the Great Luo Dao fruit, and because of the 'True and False Great Sage' affair, he is at daggers drawn with my Fomen and can no longer be persuaded to turn back." Maitreya weighed his words carefully before speaking slowly. "In this disciple's humble opinion, I fear it will be difficult to have that stone monkey enter the kalpa, so perhaps we could replace him with another to protect the scripture seeker."

Upon hearing this, the Supreme Venerable Sovereign still showed no expression, his hand continuing to fan gently as he asked, "Do you have a candidate?"

Seeing this, Maitreya poured out his entire plan.

"This disciple intends to exhaust the power of the Fomen to find the reincarnation of Tathagata, convert him, and have him become a disciple of the scripture seeker, replacing that stone monkey to become the new protector!"

"In this way, we can allow the World-Honored One to use the merit of the westward journey to resolve his own karma and return to the Fomen. It would also allow the great plan of the Journey to the West to return to its proper track."

Having said this, a look of perfectly measured difficulty appeared on Maitreya's face.

"However... the scripture seeker, Jin Jin Chanzi, was originally a disciple under the World-Honored One. Now, to have the World-Honored One, after his reincarnation, turn around and bow to him as a master, becoming his disciple..."

He raised his head, observing the Supreme Venerable Sovereign's expression cautiously, and asked, "This disciple is dull-witted and does not know if this move would cause dissatisfaction for Tathagata. I wonder how the Supreme Venerable Sovereign views this?"