"Patriarch Bodhi? What kind of divine being is that?"
Hearing Xuanming and Sun Wukong's conversation, Yunxiao raised an eyebrow slightly. She didn't think she'd ever heard that name.
Why was her junior fellow disciple so nervous?
"Senior Sister, there's something you don't know!"
Xuanming came to his senses and nodded toward the two golden Buddha forms in the distance, charging back and forth inside the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.
"Patriarch Bodhi is a clone created by the Saint Zhunti, specifically to train bodyguards for that Jin Chanzi."
"And who is Jin Chanzi?"
Yunxiao wasn't distracted by Zhunti. Instead, she was more interested in this Jin Chanzi who had suddenly come up.
After all, for a Saint to personally train someone's bodyguards, this Jin Chanzi had to be no ordinary person!
"Uh... well, about that..."
At this, Xuanming rubbed his chin and simply explained the whole story of the Journey to the West to Yunxiao, from beginning to end.
Of course!
He was also deliberately telling the story for Brother Monkey's benefit, so the monkey wouldn't remain clueless about the role he'd played in it.
"The Buddhist teachings traveling east... eighty-one tribulations... everyone was acting..."
"What?!"
As Xuanming's words came to an end, even Yunxiao's aura wavered a little—not to mention Sun Wukong, who was at the heart of it all.
How could people be so shameless?
Who were they kidding?
The Buddhist monks had gone to all that trouble to stage this whole farce. Were they that bored?
And the Heavenly Court's useless lot had actually gone along with them?
Where was their pride?!
The august gods of the Heavenly Court, Chanjiao's elite disciples, the enforcers of the Three Realms—and they'd let those bald Buddhist monks order them around as they pleased?
They had thrown away every last shred of dignity!
"Phew!"
Yunxiao took a deep breath and turned to Nuwa, who wore a complicated expression. "Martial Aunt, you shouldn't have saved them back then."
"Those spineless cowards would've been better off dead!"
"..."
Nuwa's mouth twitched. She cut straight to the heart of the matter. "Taishang and Yuanshi agreed to the Two Saints of the West's proposal. Who in the Heavenly Court would dare oppose them? Who in the entire Primordial World would dare refuse to cooperate?"
"...That's true."
Yunxiao smiled bitterly and shook her head. If Sect Leader Tongtian had agreed to this, they probably would've cooperated too, wouldn't they?
Fortunately, although Sect Leader Tongtian had never teamed up with four Saints, there weren't many cowards in the Interception Sect.
Yunxiao had come to terms with it, but Sun Wukong, who had only just freed himself from his Inner Demons, was having a hard time accepting it all over again.
"Acting?"
"It was all acting?!"
"Even... even when I, Old Sun, wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, it was just a farce in someone else's eyes?"
"Haha... hahaha..."
As he spoke, Sun Wukong suddenly burst into laughter. As he laughed, his eyes turned red despite himself.
Crossing the sea had been fake. Learning the arts had been fake. Wreaking havoc in the Heavenly Palace had been fake too. Only... only those five hundred years beneath Five-Finger Mountain had been real?!
Damn it!!
Those days that had nearly driven him mad, the ones that still made him tremble whenever he thought of them—had they only been the Buddhist sect's way of taming him?
"Ah!!!"
Throwing his head back, Sun Wukong let out a roar that was almost inhuman. He revealed his true form, a giant ape hundreds of zhang tall, and strode toward the Saints battling in the distance.
He had to ask his master for the truth. He had to find out whether any of this was real!
"Senior Sister, stop him!"
Xuanming grew anxious. If the monkey charged over like that, wouldn't he be chopped into thousands of pieces in an instant?
Did they really think they could take part in a battle between Saints?
They could watch, and that was all!
Their every move might look simple, but the laws attached to each strike could easily destroy an ordinary Great Encompassment Golden Immortal, or even a Quasi-Saint.
Without sainthood, you were nothing but an ant!
Just like now...
"Freeze!"
Facing Sun Wukong, who had gone berserk and now possessed strength comparable to a Great Encompassment Golden Immortal, Yunxiao merely uttered a single word. The monkey instantly found himself unable to move.
"L-let me go!"
The red-eyed monkey turned toward Xuanming and Yunxiao behind him and gritted his teeth. "I'm going to ask my master for the truth! I want to know why... why he took me as his disciple!"
"Would that make any difference?"
Meeting Sun Wukong's nearly despairing gaze, Xuanming let out a quiet sigh. "Monkey, deep down, you already know the answers to some things. You just don't want to believe them."
"If you don't believe them, then no matter what answer you get, you won't be able to accept it!"
"Besides..."
At this, Xuanming's tone turned odd. He looked toward Sect Leader Tongtian, who was giving Jieyin and Zhunti a thorough beating and forcing them back at every turn.
"They're all struggling to keep themselves alive right now. They probably don't have time to explain anything to you."
"Uh..."
Sun Wukong followed Xuanming's gaze and twitched his mouth. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
What could he do?
In the short time they'd been there, the ten-thousand-zhang golden forms Jieyin and Zhunti had summoned had already been pierced to pieces by the Four Immortal Slaying Swords.
And Jieyin and Zhunti had been beaten into a pair of swollen-faced bruisers along with them.
But just as Sect Leader Tongtian was congratulating himself and preparing to subject the two to a vicious interrogation, Dao Ancestor Hong Jun appeared again, afraid that things would get out of hand.
"Tongtian, what exactly are you trying to do?!"
Staring at the two Sect Leader Tongtians, who were practically identical, Hong Jun's voice carried a hint of helplessness.
"The Buddhist sect has been wiped out, the Interception Sect has risen again, and even your disciple has become a Saint... What more could you want?"
"Want more? No, not at all!"
Sect Leader Tongtian shook his head with complete sincerity. "Dao Ancestor, you've misunderstood. I was just having a friendly spar with Fellow Daoist Jieyin and Fellow Daoist Zhunti. Isn't that right?"
"Right, my ass!!"
Jieyin, who'd nearly been beaten to his knees, complained indignantly. "Master, you have to stand up for us!"
"They're worse than bandits! They have no sense of reason!"
"Waaah... We were just chatting at home, and this fellow barged in and beat us to a pulp!"
"Master, you... you have to do something about them!"
"..."
Hong Jun tipped his head back and sighed. Do something about them? He would've liked to, but they wouldn't listen!
Besides, their side now had three Saints—no, four!
If things really got out of hand, it'd be more than he could handle, wouldn't it?
But just as Hong Jun was feeling helpless, a remark from Jieyin caught his attention.
"Are you saying Tongtian can duplicate Innate Supreme Treasures, and that he even smashed your magic treasure?"
"Exactly!"
At Hong Jun's words, Jieyin looked even more heartbroken, as if he wanted to cry but couldn't.
"Master, that... that was my only magic treasure! He destroyed it just like that!"
"Enough!"
Hong Jun waved dismissively, then flashed over to Sect Leader Tongtian.
"Tongtian, if you don't mind, may I take a look at the Four Immortal Slaying Swords?"
Before you continue