Chapter Thirteen: The Era Without Saints

Sun Wukong and Taibai Jinxing left Water Curtain Cave. Before long, they arrived near the General Store, where a bald man radiating astonishing Demonic Energy and wearing a kasaya appeared before them.

The Demonic Energy and kasaya would have seemed somewhat incongruous under normal circumstances.

But seeing them now, Taibai Jinxing and the others felt they were extraordinarily harmonious.

"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva." Sun Wukong had met Ksitigarbha before, so he recognized him. His expression immediately darkened.

Ksitigarbha had appeared here, so it should have been because of him.

The other party had probably wanted to find him and had consequently located the General Store.

Although Ksitigarbha's strength was no match for the shopkeeper, this had still caused a certain amount of trouble, which left Sun Wukong feeling somewhat ashamed.

"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva." Taibai Jinxing's expression changed dramatically.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was one of the true great figures of Buddhism.

It could be said that he was second only to Buddha Tathagata. Even Bodhisattvas such as Guanyin and Manjushri could only be said to stand on equal footing with Ksitigarbha.

This great figure had originally guarded the underworld, so why had he come out now?

More importantly, there was the Demonic Energy that even made Taibai Jinxing tremble.

How could a great Buddhist figure possess Demonic Energy?

Of course, at this moment, Taibai Jinxing did not even dare to breathe loudly.

This Quasi-Saint powerhouse could truly kill him with nothing more than a breath.

The gap between a Quasi-Saint and a Taiyi was like the distance between heaven and earth.

"Sun Wukong." Ksitigarbha, radiating Demonic Energy, looked calm. "Without you, I could never have truly awakened. So, to thank you..."

As he spoke, Ksitigarbha pointed a finger. A radiance interwoven with gold and black spread out and landed in Sun Wukong's hand.

"This is my power. If you encounter a crisis, it can grant you the strength to contend with a Quasi-Saint for a short time," Ksitigarbha said.

"This..." Sun Wukong was stunned. Then, as if he had thought of something, he said, "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, you entered that place..."

"Haha, Sun Wukong, it is enough that you understand." With a trace of laughter in his voice, Ksitigarbha slowly vanished before Sun Wukong and Taibai Jinxing.

"This..." Taibai Jinxing was somewhat dumbfounded.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had not even said a few words. How had he simply left?

What sort of riddle was he playing with Sun Wukong?

More importantly, had Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva become a demon?

What earth-shattering news this would be.

If the people of Buddhism learned of this, the entire Buddhist sect would probably be thrown into turmoil.

After all, this was no ordinary Buddhist disciple, but a Bodhisattva second only to Buddha Tathagata.

"Sun Wukong, what happened to the Bodhisattva?" Taibai Jinxing could not help asking.

Judging from what Ksitigarbha had said, he seemed to have some connection with Sun Wukong.

"How would I know?" Sun Wukong shrugged. "With Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's strength, how could I possibly have anything to do with him?"

"Oh..." Taibai Jinxing nodded blankly.

In the end, carrying his doubts, Taibai Jinxing took Sun Wukong and flew toward the Heavenly Court.

Deep within the Heavenly Court.

No one knew that Haotian, the true ruler of the Heavenly Court, was cultivating in seclusion here.

The events currently taking place in the Heavenly Court had nothing to do with Haotian.

"Hmm..." One day, Haotian, immersed in secluded cultivation, was suddenly startled awake.

He sensed astonishing Demonic Energy.

"This is Demonic Energy." Haotian's expression shifted slightly. "Has a powerhouse of the Demon Sect been born in this world?"

Without a doubt, Haotian could sense that this aura was no weaker than his own. It was the power of a Quasi-Saint.

Members of the Demon Sect could still be found in this world.

But such pure Demonic Energy had not appeared for a very long time.

Perhaps only that legendary existence could compare to it.

"Demon Ancestor Luohu."

Mount Lingshan, Great Thunderclap Monastery.

Tathagata, who had been chanting sutras, suddenly stopped. Golden light rippled through his eyes.

Tathagata had also sensed that Quasi-Saint-level Demonic Energy.

"This is the power of the Demonic Path." Tathagata's expression changed slightly. "Who is it? Who exactly is it?"

The Demonic Path and the Demon Sect were different.

A member of the Demon Sect did not necessarily possess the power of the Demonic Path.

At this moment, Tathagata faintly felt a sense of dread. This matter seemed to have something to do with him.

"It is related to Buddhism." Tathagata extended his right hand and performed a divination, but ultimately found no answer.

This caused his expression to turn gloomy.

The Journey to the West Tribulation was about to begin, yet an unexpected factor had appeared again.

"No matter who it is, no one can stop this tribulation." Buddhist light rippled around Tathagata.

Chapter Thirteen: The Era Without Saints

Just like Haotian of the Heavenly Court and Tathagata of Buddhism.

This time, Ksitigarbha had fallen into the Demon Sect, and the extreme Demonic Energy he unleashed had shocked many Quasi-Saint powerhouses.

One had to understand that in this era without Saints, Quasi-Saints were the most powerful experts.

Yet now, a Quasi-Saint powerhouse of the Demonic Path had actually been born in this world.

At the same time, this powerhouse was different from ordinary members of the Demon Sect. That pure Demonic Energy could probably only be matched by the legendary Demon Ancestor Luohu of ancient times.

After all, the Demon Sect and the Demonic Path were still different.

The Demonic Path was one of the great laws of the world.

If Luohu had defeated Hongjun back then, this world would have belonged to the Demonic Path instead of developing as it had now.

The world had developed as it had because Dao Ancestor Hongjun had achieved the ultimate victory.

It could be said that Ksitigarbha's eruption of astonishing Demonic Path aura had shocked the many Quasi-Saints of this world.

Some Quasi-Saints wanted to investigate, but that Demonic Energy soon vanished.

They could no longer search for it.

As for divining the other party's existence, it was extremely difficult when they were Quasi-Saints of the same level.

Setting that aside, Sun Wukong followed Taibai Jinxing and arrived at the Heavenly Court in a very short time. Then, under Taibai Jinxing's guidance, he came to the Hall of Lingxiao.

The Jade Emperor and the many Immortals and Gods of the Heavenly Court had been waiting here for quite some time.

When they saw Sun Wukong arrive, the Immortals and Gods fell silent as terrifying auras radiated from their bodies.

They intended to give the monkey in their eyes a show of force.

"Hmph..." Sun Wukong snorted softly, completely unconcerned.

Most of the Heavenly Court's Immortals and Gods that he could see were not very strong. The truly powerful Immortals and Gods had probably not appeared here.

If that was the case, what did he have to fear?

"Your Majesty, this is Sun Wukong of Flower-Fruit Mountain." Taibai Jinxing stood in the Hall of Lingxiao and respectfully saluted the Jade Emperor, who sat on a chair ahead of them.

"Oh, you are Sun Wukong." The Jade Emperor looked at Sun Wukong curiously.

As the Jade Emperor was Haotian's incarnation, he knew something about the Journey to the West Tribulation.

As for the Sun Wukong before him, he was one of the pilgrims chosen by Buddhism.

It could only be said that this monkey was also a pitiful person.

Among Buddhism and these Immortals and Gods, he was merely a puppet, a marionette.

"That's right. I, Old Sun, am Sun Wukong. You must be that old Jade Emperor." Sun Wukong spoke without the slightest concern.

Having read Journey to the West and learned some things about himself, Sun Wukong would not show any courtesy to the Jade Emperor before him.

The Jade Emperor before him probably regarded him as a puppet as well.

In that case, Sun Wukong had no reason to be courteous.

"Presumptuous!" Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing shouted from the side. "This is the Hall of Lingxiao. How dare a mere monkey demon act so presumptuously?"

In Li Jing's eyes, he had originally been ordered to subdue the monkey demon.

The Jade Emperor had already been very courteous by allowing Sun Wukong to serve as an official in the Heavenly Court. Yet Sun Wukong was still acting so outrageously, and Li Jing found it extremely displeasing.