Chapter 782: The Arranged Demons! The Final Trial at Any Cost

Even the Two Western Saints held the Supreme Saint in great respect.

Aside from the Supreme Saint, the Saint Tongtian was the one all other Saints feared most.

They feared Saint Tongtian because of his combat power and his nature.

Among all the Saints, Saint Tongtian had the fewest reservations; pushed to the limit, he would do anything.

For instance, during the Divine Ranking War, Saint Tongtian directly sought to restart earth, fire, water, and wind to destroy the entire Honghuang Continent—not just in thought, but in action.

To the other four Saints, Saint Tongtian's nature was utterly insane.

Yet Saint Tongtian's combat power was also among the very strongest of all the Saints.

With the Zhu Xian Sword Array, Saint Tongtian's combat power was unmatched among the Six Saints.

After losing the Zhu Xian Sword Array, none of the other four Saints could guarantee they would definitively defeat Saint Tongtian, save the Supreme Saint.

After all, Saint Tongtian's primary cultivation path was the Dao of the Sword.

The Dao of the Sword is one of the most ferocious Dao paths in terms of killing power.

With his insane nature and formidable combat power, the other four Saints naturally feared Saint Tongtian.

But the other four Saints never feared Saint Tongtian's tactics.

For in their eyes, aside from his overwhelming combat power, Saint Tongtian had no other notable techniques.

Precisely because of this, the Two Western Saints directly linked the changes in the Pilgrimage Team to Luo Fu.

"Indeed, we all underestimated Luo Fu; with his methods, had he been born several cosmic cycles earlier, he would surely have been among us."

Like Saint Zhunti, Saint Jieyin's face also showed a trace of solemnity.

Luo Fu's methods had repeatedly surpassed their expectations.

His techniques were endless and always beyond even the Saints' comprehension; such a person must have immense origins, and even if not a Saint, must be treated as one.

"Senior brother, given the Pilgrimage Team's current combat power, the people we arranged will hardly slow them down. What should we do next? Recall them all?"

Thinking of the Pilgrimage Team's displayed strength, Saint Zhunti could not help but feel a headache.

A Sun Wukong nearly invincible among Great Luo Jinxian, plus four Great Luo Jinxian at their peak—Saint Zhunti simply could not imagine anyone in the Three Realms capable of stopping their combined force.

With the Pilgrimage Team's strength, the forces Buddhism had arranged were practically offering themselves as meat.

"No, younger brother, have you forgotten the purpose of this Pilgrimage? Since we cannot stop them, let us use their momentum to make the Pilgrimage even more thorough."

Saint Jieyin did not agree with Saint Zhunti's proposal; instead, he coldly stated his own plan.

With the combat power of Sun Wukong and the others, if those forces are not recalled in advance, their fate will be one: death at the hands of Sun Wukong and his companions.

Clearly, this was exactly what Saint Jieyin intended.

"Senior brother is right. Now that it has come to this, let us make the Pilgrimage as thorough as possible. For the greater Buddhist cause, some sacrifices are necessary."

Saint Zhunti understood the implication in Saint Jieyin's words and immediately endorsed his proposal without hesitation.

Below the Saints, all are mere ants.

Not to mention Great Luo Jinxian—even Great Xian cultivators were, in the eyes of the Two Western Saints, expendable ants.

In truth, the original plan had been:

Most of the demons and monsters in the Ninety-Nine and Eighty-One Trials were meant to be sacrificed.

But because the Pilgrimage involved such immense interests, even though Buddhism was the top power in the Three Realms, it still had to make concessions to other factions.

That was why most of the demons and monsters in the Eighty-One Trials were ultimately reclaimed by their patrons.

Now, with Luo Fu's interference, the Pilgrimage Team's strength had become terrifying; the Two Western Saints chose outright to turn the tables and let the Pilgrimage proceed exactly as originally scripted.

After all, it was the Pilgrimage Team that killed these demons.

The Pilgrimage Team now stood not behind Buddhism, but behind Luo Fu.

The demons' patrons could not blame Buddhism.

Why not let the Pilgrimage proceed more perfectly while also troubling Luo Fu?

"With the Pilgrimage Team's current strength, they will reach Bombarding Lingshan soon. We must begin preparations immediately—at all costs, we must stop them beneath Lingshan."

After arranging the fates of the many demons and monsters of the Pilgrimage, Saint Jieyin turned to arrange another matter.

Saint Zhunti's earlier declaration that Luo Fu should not rejoice too soon was no empty boast.

The Two Western Saints took the Pilgrimage extremely seriously.

Though they did not know how far Luo Fu could go, they had prepared for the worst.

Beyond the demons and monsters along the way, the Two Western Saints had prepared for the Pilgrimage Team one final trial—the ultimate trial, a final effort of all Buddhism's strength.

The Pilgrimage and the Nine-Petaled World-Ending Black Lotus were of utmost importance to the Two Western Saints—it determined whether they could truly attain the Dao.

If they could win the wager, even at the cost of everything, the Two Western Saints would willingly pay.

"I know. I have already prepared. The Nine-Petaled World-Ending Black Lotus concerns whether we can attain the Dao; even at great sacrifice, we must obtain it."

Saint Zhunti replied decisively.

After witnessing the Pilgrimage Team's strength, Saint Zhunti understood that to stop them within the rules, a tremendous cost would be required.

But the Nine-Petaled World-Ending Black Lotus concerned whether they could attain the Dao.

For a Saint, attaining the Dao outweighs all else.

If attaining the Dao were possible, even sacrificing all of Buddhism would be worth it to the Two Western Saints.

Thus, Saint Zhunti had long prepared to spare no cost.

While the Two Western Saints discussed how to handle the Pilgrimage, hidden currents stirred across the Three Realms.

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Lingxiao Palace.

"Impressive—four Great Luo Jinxian at their peak, one Sun Wukong rivaling a Great Xian. Luo Fu Dao Ren's methods are terrifying. Perhaps this time, Luo Fu Dao Ren will win the wager. To defeat a Saint, Luo Fu Dao Ren would accomplish a feat."

Though the Supreme Saint's voice only echoed in the Outer Heavens, all great cultivators in the Three Realms sensed the Supreme Saint's Dao resonance.

The Jade Emperor had always been watching the Journey to the West, and he naturally heard the Supreme Sage's verdict at once.

Seeing that the Supreme Sage had ruled Luo Fu had not violated any rules, and Saint Zhunti was forced to eat humble pie, the Jade Emperor's mood became exceptionally cheerful.

It must be said, Luo Fu's tactics had once again caught him off guard.