FVN Chapter 268 I, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, will wreak havoc in the Heavenly Court once more!
Chapter 268 I, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, will wreak havoc in the Heavenly Court once more!
Chapter 268 I, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, will wreak havoc in the Heavenly Court once more!
It's understandable that Haotian is in a bad mood.
As the saying goes, he is the master of the three realms and the supreme ruler of heaven and earth.
The Investiture of the Gods was a calamity initiated by Lord Hongjun to restrain the saints and strengthen the "centralized power" of the Heavenly Court, with the aim of making him, the ruler of the Three Realms, truly worthy of the title.
But how long has it been since the Investiture of the Gods? How could Buddhism have become so prosperous?
Yes, he arranged for the gods of Heaven to cooperate with the performance of Zhunti's guidance, and he also gained some of the merits of the Journey to the West calamity, and became a second-class saint. He was just a little short of becoming a new Heavenly Saint!
However, these two Western Buddhas actually directly attained the Primordial Limitless Golden Immortal realm in one step, becoming the leader of the Six Saints!
Buddhist disciples also benefited greatly from this. Take that mischievous monkey, for example. He was granted the title of Victorious Fighting Buddha and became a quasi-saint!
And then there's Pigsy, who should have been Marshal Bian Zhuang of the Heavenly Court, but after being granted a title, seeing how prosperous Buddhism was, he didn't want to come back.
Not to mention Sha Wujing, the Heavenly Court lost two great generals in a single day.
And what about the dragon clan? Will the Dragon King of the East Sea turn to Buddhism because of the White Dragon Horse?
Oh shit!
Haotian's face darkened, cursing inwardly. He had only intended to cooperate with the Buddhist sect in their act, but it had turned out to be a complete waste of their efforts. Zhunti was truly a master strategist!
And these are not the main points.
Most importantly, even though Lord Hongjun has decreed that saints cannot set foot in the Earthly Immortal Realm, Buddhism has produced so many Great Luo Golden Immortals and several Tathagatas who have also attained Quasi-Saint status. With such power, even if Zhunti and Jieyin do not take action, Buddhism still has the strength to challenge the Heavenly Court.
With two Primordial Limitless Golden Immortals backing him up, and the Buddha's light shining across the nine heavens and ten earths, will he, the ruler of the three realms, become a laughing stock once again?
At this moment, Haotian deeply regretted angering Zhao Gongming.
With the Ziwei Emperor presiding over this place, backed by the underworld, even Zhunti and Jieyin wouldn't dare to act recklessly.
Let's not mention Haotian's frustration.
At this moment, inside the Great Thunder Temple.
Sun Wukong, the Victorious Fighting Buddha, sat on a lotus platform, his body surging with the laws of battle, exuding the aura of a Great Quasi-Saint in the early stage.
At this moment, a phantom of a monkey is emerging behind him. If you look closely, you will find that it has six ears. After returning from the Journey to the West, he was named the Victorious Fighting Buddha, second only to Tathagata. With the blessing of Buddhism, his cultivation has also advanced by leaps and bounds. He is now at the early stage of Quasi-Saint, which is a top-tier existence in the Immortal Realm!
On this day, a message arrived, and Sun Wukong's ears twitched slightly before he opened his eyes.
He looked around and, seeing that no one was there, suddenly punched himself in the chest!
"Ah! Pfft!"
Sun Wukong coughed up a mouthful of blood, let out a miserable scream, and looked extremely weak.
"Wukong, what happened?"
The next moment, the Buddha of Many Treasures appeared there, looking at him with concern.
Sun Wukong touched the corner of his mouth, somewhat dejectedly saying, "Buddha, this disciple's merits from the Journey to the West have deepened, and my progress has been rapid, but—"
"But what?" Tathagata looked into Wukong's eyes, and after a long while, said softly, "In your heart, is there still any obsession?" Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally cupped his hands and said, "Tathagata, I was refined in the Eight Trigrams Furnace for forty-nine days back then. I have always remembered these causes and effects."
Tathagata Duobao sighed: "Wukong, Buddhism is now flourishing, and the two holy Buddhas have attained the Primordial Chaos. If you want to settle old scores, there will be people to back you up. However, the wheel of heaven turns, and prosperity must eventually decline. When you act, you should leave some room for maneuver."
Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Sun Wukong's eyes.
Houtu Daozu was indeed a prophet. As soon as Buddhism began to flourish, it wanted to test other forces. Fortunately, his past karma with the Heavenly Court, as a pawn, became the perfect excuse.
Thinking of this, Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Don't worry, Buddha, I know what I'm doing."
The Tathagata of Many Treasures nodded slightly and then left.
Just as Sun Wukong had thought, the Buddhist sect was looking for a reason to suppress Taoism, and Sun Wukong gave them just such a reason.
In any case, in Journey to the West, Sun Wukong was the vanguard of Buddhism in spreading Buddhist teachings, so it is only natural that he would also be the vanguard of Buddhism in suppressing Taoism.
However, if it were the old Sun Wukong, he probably would have listened to Duobao and left some room for maneuver.
But now—
Tushita Palace, Eight Views Palace.
Laozi was giving a sermon to the Grand Master Xuandu when he suddenly frowned and looked up toward the palace gate.
"Teacher?" Grand Master Xuandu asked, noticing the strange expression on Laozi's face.
"It's alright," Lao Jun said calmly. "We have guests."
As soon as he finished speaking, the palace gates burst open, and a figure swaggered in.
It was Sun Wukong!
Upon seeing this, Grand Master Xuandu's expression changed slightly: "Victorious Fighting Buddha, you have trespassed into the Eight Trigrams Palace. Do you know what crime this is?"
Wukong didn't even glance at him, his gaze fixed on Laozi, and said in a mocking tone, "Laozi, I, Old Sun, have come to see you."
Grand Master Xuandu angrily retorted, "Sun Wukong, you are but a lowly Buddhist disciple, how dare you not bow before my master?"
"Snapped!"
A golden light flashed, and Grand Master Xuandu was sent flying, crashing heavily against the palace wall.
Sun Wukong, holding the Nine-Rank Golden Lotus of Merit, looked at Laozi with a smile: "Laozi, your disciple talks too much. Why is he interrupting when I'm talking to you?"
Laozi narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the Nine-Rank Merit Lotus in Sun Wukong's hand.
As the benevolent corpse of Taiqing Laozi, he knew the most and saw the most.
The Twelve-Rank Merit Golden Lotus was originally a supreme treasure of the West, but after being bitten by the Mosquito Taoist, it was reduced to the Ninth Rank Golden Lotus.
Later, thanks to the merits of the Journey to the West, the twelve-petaled golden lotus of merit was restored to its original state.
Of the twelve-petaled golden lotus of merit, there were three golden lotus seeds. One was given to Duobao by Zhunti, one was given as compensation to Zhao Gongming, and the remaining one was given to Sun Wukong.
This shows how much the Buddhist community values this "pawn".
As for why the other party came today, with Laozi's mind and spirit, he could naturally guess a thing or two. It was nothing more than the Buddhist sect taking advantage of its prosperity to vent its past grievances.
Thinking of this, Lao Tzu pointed to the futon in front of him and said calmly, "Sit."
Wukong walked straight to Laozi and sat down on the futon opposite him, sitting on equal footing with Laozi.
Master Xuandu's eyelids twitched as he watched. This Victorious Fighting Buddha was truly arrogant to the extreme!
You should know that Laozi is the benevolent form of Taiqing Laozi. Facing Laozi is equivalent to facing Taiqing Laozi, one of the Three Pure Ones!
Even though Laozi Taiqing has fallen from his saintly position, he is still a saint ordained by Heaven and will become a saint sooner or later. Isn't this mischievous monkey afraid?
However, Laozi remained calm, as if Wukong's offense was nothing more than a passing cloud in his eyes.
"Sun Wukong," he spoke slowly, his voice calm, "what brings you here today?"
Upon hearing this, Wukong grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "Laojun, you're asking a question you already know the answer to. I, Old Sun, am here today to settle karma!"