Chapter 543

Even as the Lord of Heaven, Hao Tian was forced to lower his pride and play along under Buddhist pressure.

Qianti and Jieyin simply could not imagine who would burden themselves pointlessly, defy the great tide of Heaven's Dao, and oppose their Buddhism.

Of course, even if someone truly dared to act, with Buddhism's current strength, Qianti and Jieyin were confident that any who interfered would be crushed like a chicken to warn the monkeys.

Luo Fu's appearance had genuinely caught the two Saints off guard.

"How do we handle Laiyi? He is now the head of Buddhism—if he remains suppressed like this, our Wufu Sect will lose face."

Changing tone, Qianti halted his pointless speculation and shifted the topic to damage control.

"Let Laiyi's true body act!"

Jieyin replied directly.

"Laiyi's true body won't do—Earth Dao cannot be dealt with by ordinary means."

Qianti rejected Jieyin's suggestion.

Laiyi's true body, Daoist Duobao, excelled in forging spiritual treasures but had only average insight into the Dao.

"Then let Randeng act—our Wufu Sect now needs new strong figures to uphold its prestige."

After a brief pause, Jieyin proposed again.

"Randeng is acceptable—let Randeng emerge from seclusion."

This time, Qianti agreed.

In truth, he had no choice but to agree.

Luo Fu's methods were no simple matter; to rescue Laiyi, at least a peak Pre-Saint-level cultivator must act.

And not just any Pre-Saint—only one with profound Dao insight would suffice.

Such cultivators were few even within Buddhism.

"Our Wufu Sect is truly plagued by misfortune, younger brother—we must continue exhausting ourselves if we are to flourish the West."

"Brother speaks truly—our Wufu Sect truly suffers!"

A thick aura of sorrow and bitterness rose within Sumeru Heaven.

·······

Deep within the Three Realms.

A purple-robed Daoist suddenly opened his eyes, gazing beyond the heavens—wherever his gaze passed, countless Dao patterns began to flow.

This purple-robed elder was none other than Ancestor Hongjun.

"Could this Luo Fu Daoist be the variable of this great calamity? Even I cannot discern his origins?"

A flicker of doubt passed through Ancestor Hongjun's eyes.

He had also failed to calculate Luo Fu's origins.

"Whether he is or not, as long as he moves within the Three Realms, his roots will eventually surface. It's coming—close to the critical moment."

After merely glancing, Ancestor Hongjun withdrew his gaze.

A mere Pre-Saint, no matter how profound his Dao insight, was not worth Ancestor Hongjun's attention.

In the current Three Realms, the only thing still worthy of Ancestor Hongjun's concern was Heaven's Dao.

·······

Luo Fu knew nothing of Ancestor Hongjun's, the Six Saints', or the Jade Emperor's and all celestial deities' thoughts.

Even if he had known, Luo Fu would not have cared.

The power he had just revealed was less than one ten-thousandth of his true strength.

More importantly, he did not belong to this world.

No matter how much they speculated, none could guess his origins.

At this moment, Luo Fu stood within a place saturated with endless chilling energy, dark and oppressive.

"Announce to Lady Pingxin that Luo Fu has come to visit."

The space Luo Fu occupied was none other than Gai Jiuyou's Underworld—and more precisely, its core: the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

After leaving the Outer Heavens, Luo Fu did not choose to return Sun Wukong to Mount Huaguo; instead, he entered the Underworld.

His current mission was to reverse the great calamity.

This mission was worth one hundred million points.

Far exceeding any task he had undertaken before.

It also indicated that its difficulty far surpassed all his previous tasks.

Thus, Luo Fu did not grow overconfident.

Luo Fu had never been a conceited man.

With his current strength, even a Saint was no match for him.

But to reverse the great calamity, Luo Fu would inevitably face the greatest boss of the Journey to the West World—Ancestor Hongjun.

Luo Fu did not fully understand Ancestor Hongjun of the Journey to the West World, so he could not determine his true strength.

If Ancestor Hongjun remained as he originally was, Luo Fu was not afraid.

After absorbing countless divine and demonic bloods and comprehending numerous Dao mysteries, Luo Fu's strength had undergone a staggering transformation.

This transformation far surpassed all previous ones.

With his current power, Luo Fu believed he could at least hold his own against an ordinary Heaven's Dao cultivator.

A normal Ancestor Hongjun was merely an ordinary Heaven's Dao cultivator.

But Ancestor Hongjun stood behind the Primordial World's Heaven's Dao—if he could fully wield Heaven's Dao's power, Luo Fu could not guarantee he would win outright.

Considering the worst-case scenario, Luo Fu must increase his odds of victory.

To increase his odds, he must first know Ancestor Hongjun's true state.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.

In addition to investigating the true state of Ancestor Hongjun, Luo Fu planned to find some allies for himself.

Reversing the Western Journey calamity is extremely difficult.

Luo Fu's initial plan was to proceed steadily, respond to each move as it came, rather than charging in headfirst as he had before.

This was also why, at the beginning, Luo Fu did not directly suppress the Buddha.

Instead, he gave Sun Wukong his blood essence, letting Sun Wukong use the Buddha as a training target to awaken his potential.

Sun Wukong is the protagonist of the Western Journey.

The Western Journey requires Sun Wukong to cooperate with Buddhism, enduring eighty-one trials.

The stronger Sun Wukong becomes, the harder it becomes for Buddhism to secure his cooperation.

If Sun Wukong's strength could be raised to a level beyond Buddhism's ability to control, the Western Journey would inevitably collapse.

Of course, raising Sun Wukong's strength to a level beyond Buddhism's reach in a short time is no easy task.

Although Sun Wukong has an extraordinary origin, cultivation still follows the fundamental laws; the further one progresses, the slower the advancement.

But even a little improvement is better than none.

Eat your meal one bite at a time; accomplish your task one step at a time.

In addition to enhancing Sun Wukong's strength, Luo Fu also planned to act against other key figures of the Western Journey, aiming to disrupt Buddhism's rhythm and turn the originally smooth Western Journey into a muddled mess.