Qiu Shou Xian picked up his severed manhood, unable even to cry, his resentment burning fiercely!
Ling Ya Xian, Yu Yi Xian, and Jin Guang Xian felt no better.
"Alas, we were all once among the Seven Attendant Immortals under Master Tongtian. How glorious the Interception Sect was back then, with ten thousand immortals paying homage!"
"I truly miss those happy days with our senior brothers and sisters at Biyou Palace on Jin'ao Island!"
"Once we roamed free, yet now we've been reduced to mounts for the Buddhist School. How miserable! How hateful!"
The three beasts sighed and grieved. As their emotions overwhelmed them, tears streamed down their faces. The past was too painful to revisit...
Qiu Shou Xian carefully put away his severed manhood and said to the three beasts:
"Will all this weeping kill those demons of Spirit Mountain?"
"A few days ago, I overheard news of Master Tongtian! Perhaps he really can lead us into battle once more!"
The three beasts perked up at this and all turned to Qiu Shou Xian.
Qiu Shou Xian continued, "I heard people from the Buddhist School saying that Sun Wukong disappeared for three years, then returned with a whole array of divine abilities. But whoever taught him concealed the workings of heaven so thoroughly that even a Saint couldn't divine their identity! Everyone in the Buddhist School is speculating that Master Tongtian may have intervened, defying heaven to disrupt the great tribulation of Journey to the West."
The three beasts were ecstatic.
Ling Ya Xian said excitedly:
"Rather than scrape out an existence in the Buddhist School, I'd gladly follow Master Tongtian and charge into battle once more!"
Jin Guang Xian was equally excited. "I'd follow our master into battle again too!"
Yu Yi Xian said, "Same here!"
Seeing this, Qiu Shou Xian let out a forlorn sigh and said:
"Our souls are restrained now. We can't even leave the Western Ox Continent. How can we contact Master Tongtian?"
Ling Ya Xian thought for a moment, then answered:
"That's easy! We may not be able to contact Master Tongtian, but we can contact Brother Zhao Gongming. We'll pass this news on to him. Perhaps Brother Gongming has a way to reach our master!"
Zhao Gongming was the foremost of the Interception Sect's three thousand outer disciples. His original form was the first wisp of breeze between heaven and earth. He attained form by comprehending the Heavenly Dao, then became a disciple of Sect Master Tongtian.
He was the elder brother of the San Xiao. Together, they were known as the Interception Sect's Four Great Outer Disciples.
During the investiture of the gods tribulation, Zhao Gongming had wielded the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Pearls to defeat the Twelve Golden Immortals one after another, even sending Daoist Randeng fleeing in panic. In the end, Daoist Lu Ya ambushed him and killed him with the Seven Arrows Book, and his true spirit entered the Investiture of the Gods List!
Now Zhao Gongming had been invested as the "Golden Dragon Ruyi Zhengyi Dragon-Tiger Lord of the Mystic Altar," overseeing all the gold, silver, and treasure in the mortal world. He led the Five Gods of Wealth and was known to mortals as the "Martial God of Wealth."
The position seemed lucrative, but it was really just a sinecure. He held no actual power in the Heavenly Court and was essentially relegated to its fringes.
The Four Beasts immediately used a secret art to transmit their voices across ten thousand miles, a technique the Interception Sect's disciples used to contact one another.
"Brother Gongming, Master Tongtian may have reappeared in the primordial world."
"On Flower-Fruit Mountain in the Eastern Continent of Divine Sands, there is a monkey named Sun Wukong. He may be our master's new disciple."
In an instant, those two sentences became a wisp of breeze that crossed ten thousand miles in a heartbeat, flying toward the True Lord of the Altar's residence in the Heavenly Court.
However, one day in heaven was a year on earth.
The Four Beasts remained at Shituo Ridge, waiting for Zhao Gongming's reply.
One day, Buddhist radiance suddenly bathed Shituo Ridge in brilliant golden light.
An auspicious cloud descended onto the mountaintop. Sensing the presence, the Four Beasts came out to look and saw a handsome young monk, his face spirited and his gaze clear.
"Amitabha. Lay practitioners Ling Ya Xian, Qiu Shou Xian, Jin Guang Xian, and Yu Yi Xian, this humble monk greets you!"
The newcomer was Golden Cicada, who bowed to the four of them.
Confusion appeared in the Four Beasts' eyes. Golden Cicada was Tathagata's second direct disciple, exceptionally gifted and highly valued. What had brought him to Shituo Ridge?
Noticing their confusion, Golden Cicada smiled faintly and said:
"This humble monk has come to ask you four lay practitioners to lay down your butcher's knives and spare the million people of the Shituo Kingdom! If you would do so, I would be infinitely grateful!"
A trace of contempt crossed Qiu Shou Xian's face.
"Heh, drop the act! You're the ones who make us raise our butcher's knives, and now you're telling us to put them down? What's wrong with you?"
Ling Ya Xian nodded as well. "Golden Cicada, do you think we want to slaughter an entire kingdom's people? Who would willingly bear that karma..."
As he spoke, pain flickered in Ling Ya Xian's eyes.
"But if we don't slaughter them, that demon Samantabhadra will castrate us and turn us into eunuchs..."
Golden Cicada froze and said incredulously:
"Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is one of our Spirit Mountain's Four Great Bodhisattvas. He has always been compassionate, devoted to great vows and great deeds. How could he possibly harm you?!"
"Hmph!"
Qiu Shou Xian sneered. "Golden Cicada, spare us your hypocrisy. Samantabhadra personally cut off my manhood yesterday and made me a eunuch. Could that possibly be false?"
"If you're truly compassionate and want to save that kingdom's people, go beg your Buddha. Don't disturb our rest."
"Roar!"
With that, Qiu Shou Xian roared and waved a thick paw, refusing to pay Golden Cicada any further attention. The other three beasts followed him back into the cave!
The facts were right before his eyes!
Golden Cicada had no choice but to believe them. His expression shifted again and again. The Buddhist School had always preached compassion, but where was even a shred of compassion in anything he had seen today?!
At that moment, the "Buddha" in Golden Cicada's heart came crashing down!
He mounted an auspicious cloud and flew toward Samantabhadra's sanctuary on Mount Emei, intending to question him face-to-face.
Just then, a mysterious golden light appeared from nowhere and swallowed him.
Golden Cicada immediately felt the world spinning around him.
When he regained his senses, the sight before him left him aghast.
An enormous stone tablet stood before him!
It soared into the clouds, piercing the blue sky!
Deep-red characters were carved upon it, their strokes powerful and ancient, their Daoist charm reaching straight into the heavens!
Golden Cicada's gaze sharpened. The words on the tablet shook him even more deeply.
When Pangu opened the heavens, he bowed thrice before me and borrowed my axe and chisel.
When Hongjun merged with the Dao, that old thief stole my Jade Treasure.
When Nuwa became a Saint, she modeled her clay humans after me.
The Three Pure Ones establishing teachings and the two Hu founding Buddhism were but lesser paths.
If you seek the Great Dao, the Supreme Being of Chaos is eternally free.
Beneath the stone tablet, Golden Cicada stood in a daze.
Every word carried an ancient desolation, majestic and weighty!
They seemed like the great Dao laws themselves, enduring through eternity.
The sight inspired awe and dread, compelling one to bow down in worship!
Yet upon considering their meaning, he found them wildly exaggerated, even somewhat absurd!
"The axe and chisel Great God Pangu used to create heaven and earth were actually borrowed from you?"
"Dao Ancestor Hongjun enlightened all living beings and became the Heavenly Dao's representative, yet you call him an old thief?"
"Empress Nuwa modeled humanity after you?"
"The Three Pure Ones of Daoism and the Buddhist School's two Saints follow only lesser paths, while you represent the Great Dao?"
"Heh!"
"You actually think nothing of all the gods and Buddhas in heaven, or any of the Saints!"
"The master of this sanctuary is truly arrogant and outrageous!"
"Even my master, Dabao Tathagata, wouldn't dare make such boasts!"
Golden Cicada murmured to himself, a trace of pride rising in his eyes as he strode into the sanctuary.
"Hmph, this humble monk will see whose sanctuary this is. How dare they be so utterly arrogant!!!"
Before you continue