Chapter 341: Rulai: The Jade Emperor is a Kind-Hearted Man!

Underworld, Wuzu Hall.

"Has he broken through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal? But is this Jinchanzi really him?"

Houtu looked toward Wuzhuang Temple in the Earth Immortal Realm and sighed languidly.

Within her eyes were nothing but the vicissitudes of life and the accumulation of time.

Stars shifted and the world changed; she did not know how many epochs had passed.

Similar people and things would always appear!

In Houtu's infinite life, she had once seen existences similar to Xuanzang, but many of them did not reach that final step and perished halfway.

Now, in this lifetime, Xuanzang has entered the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm; one could say he is the closest to the person in Houtu's memories, yet he is still lacking somewhat.

In a distant divine war, who knows how many Innate Gods and Demons, and Holy Ones, fell!

Even the entire Great Primordial World and the Chaos Primordial ceased to exist.

By all logic, that battle was so tragic that even Saints could hardly avoid the calamity, and he, who was similar to Xuanzang, should have been reduced to ashes.

Over these years, Houtu has been searching for a trace in the endless space-time, but disappointment has always outweighed expectation.

"No matter what the final result is, I will definitely find you," Houtu whispered to herself.

Before her stood eleven light cocoons, emitting a rich Merit Power, their aura incomparably terrifying.

These are the eleven Ancestral Witches; Houtu is about to resurrect the Ancestral Witch clan, using Merit Power to condense an Innate Dao Body and then injecting the Ancestral Witch Primordial Spirit.

Before long, will the Ancestral Witches reappear in the world?

……

Lingshan, Great Leiyin Temple.

"Tathagata Buddha, what is your take?" Maitreya Buddha lay on a lotus seat, his expression inscrutable.

The battle at Wuzhuang Temple was seen by all the gods and Buddhas in the sky.

Xuanzang's promotion to Great Luo Golden Immortal is something rarely seen since ancient times.

One must know that most of the Great Luo Golden Immortals in Buddhism attained the Dao through Merit, and are not the truly Undying and Indestructible Great Luo in the real sense.

Xuanzang has now promoted to Great Luo, and he followed a path other than Merit; one can imagine what a heaven-shaking disturbance this must cause within Buddhism.

Tathagata closed his eyes in silence; his current mood could no longer be described in words.

Actually, a breakthrough is a breakthrough; for a Buddha like him, it is not a big problem.

After all, Tathagata is confident that among those below the Saint level, he is definitely one of the strongest.

The key is the divine ability Xuanzang used, which was actually able to manifest the Dao Ancestor, the Empress Wa, and the Demon Emperor Donghuang Taiyi—it is similar to the Taiqing Saint's ability to "Transform into Three Pure Ones," and even more monstrous!

This is troublesome!

Even an existence like Zhenyuanzi suffered a setback; Tathagata feels that no matter how strong he is, it is impossible for him to beat Zhenyuanzi until his face is bruised and swollen.

Tathagata opened his eyes and said slowly:

"Xuanzang has promoted to Great Luo Golden Immortal and stepped toward his True Self; this is a joyous occasion, a grand event for Buddhism.

Everyone, can you feel that after Xuanzang's promotion to Great Luo, more of the Three Realms' Qi Luck is flowing toward Lingshan and into Buddhism?"

"Indeed, the Qi Luck of Buddhism seems to have increased by a segment," Tianyu Pusa nodded.

Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva also echoed.

"Although the flourishing of Buddhism is a good thing, Tathagata Buddha, if Buddhism cannot be of one mind, the disadvantages will outweigh the benefits," said Burning Lamp Buddha.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that although Jinchanzi is a disciple of Tathagata, he is full of rebellion and has always challenged the authority of Tathagata Buddha.

When the day of the Journey to the West ends, I fear Buddhism will face a heaven-shaking war.

Tathagata and Xuanzang are like water and fire; they are destined not to coexist.

"Burning Lamp Buddha, do not say things that are detrimental to the unity of Buddhism. This seat believes that Xuanzang still has Buddhism in his heart," said Tathagata Buddha.

"..., self-deception," Burning Lamp Buddha thought to himself.

"This Tathagata is as shameless as ever; he is just afraid that Xuanzang won't acknowledge him," Maitreya Buddha thought to himself.

"Respected Buddhas, there is a problem now. Xuanzang has promoted to Great Luo Golden Immortal; aren't the Eighty-One Tribulations just child's play? Who can stop him? And if these tribulations are not completed, how can the Journey to the West be fulfilled? The Heavenly Dao will not bestow Merit for the West to flourish," said Dragon Subduing Arhat.

The other Arhats nodded one after another upon hearing this.

To set tribulations for a Great Luo Golden Immortal—what level would that have to be, and what would the cost be?

"That's right, even if our Buddhism can justify it, the Heavenly Court will not accept it," said Maitreya Buddha.

As the words fell, a Buddha flew in and said:

"Reporting to the Buddha, Taibai Jinxing and Pagoda-Bearing Li Tianwang have come to seek an audience."

Hearing that these two were visiting, Tathagata Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, and Burning Lamp felt that something big was wrong.

Before long, Taibai Jinxing and Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King arrived on clouds.

"This old man has seen all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Venerables, and Arhats," said Taibai Jinxing.

Li Jing followed and performed a salute, using only one hand.

It was mainly because he had another hand holding the pagoda, so it was inconvenient.

"No need for formalities, Taibai Jinxing, Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King," said Tathagata Buddha.

"Fellow Daoist Taibai, I wonder what brings you to our Lingshan," Tianyu Pusa then asked.

Taibai Jinxing flicked his horsetail whisk and said:

"I convey the Jade Emperor's decree to redefine the Eighty-One Tribulations of the Journey to the West."

Tathagata, Burning Lamp, and Maitreya, the three great Buddhas, looked at each other; it was just as expected.

However, as they were Buddhas, they did not speak rashly.

Seeing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva asked: "Fellow Daoist Taibai, the Eighty-One Tribulations were decided by Buddhism and the Heavenly Court together; why must they be modified now?"

Taibai Jinxing smiled without answering. Seeing this, Li Jing hurriedly said: "Guanyin Bodhisattva, you may not know. This Jinchanzi has promoted to Great Luo Golden Immortal, and his strength is no longer what it used to be. If we follow the previous plan, my Heavenly Court will lose soldiers and generals, and suffer heavy damage. May I ask, how many people in these Three Realms can do anything to a Great Luo Golden Immortal?"

"The compensation proposed earlier is completely insufficient for the losses suffered by the Heavenly Court."

Guanyin frowned; in truth, this was also within expectations.

With Buddhism flourishing, on what grounds should the Heavenly Court help them, not to mention the Profound Sect?

Those Three Teachings hate the Western Sect to death!

"Taibai Jinxing, then how much compensation does His Majesty the Jade Emperor desire?" Tathagata Buddha spoke up.

Hearing this, Taibai Jinxing spoke leisurely, saying:

"Originally, with the completion of the Journey to the West, the Heavenly Court would receive twenty percent of the Heavenly Dao Merit; now it must at least double, to forty percent."

"And add an additional one hundred thousand Incense Relics."

As the words fell, the faces of Tathagata, Randeng, Maitreya, and the many Bodhisattvas all turned black.

Of the Journey to the West merit, the Heavenly Court takes forty percent, the Profound Sect takes ten percent, plus other miscellaneous favors; in the end, they probably wouldn't even get forty percent.

Would that still be considered the flourishing of Buddhism?

Furthermore, Incense Relics are actually relic beads fused from powers like incense Faith, similar to the spirit stones of the mortal realm.

But Incense Relics are more advanced and can be used by the deities on the Investiture of the Gods to cultivate the Incense Dao and increase their magic power.

Yet one hundred thousand Incense Relics is a massive quantity.

Tathagata could bring them out, but for Buddhism, it would be equivalent to hollowing out nearly half of their foundation.

This clearly does not fit the persona of Buddhism, which plucks feathers from every passing goose; they have always been the ones to swindle others, so how is it that they are being swindled by others today?

Yet, Tathagata still had to maintain a genial smile and said:

"Brother Daoist Taibai, it seems the Jade Emperor is truly a kind-hearted person."

"His Majesty the Jade Emperor has always been benevolent and kind, showing compassion for all living things; otherwise, how could he be the master of the Three Realms?" Taibai Jinxing said.

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