The scene in the mirror changed rapidly, no longer recording past misdeeds, but deducing "what if"—what if Xu Xiao listened to Xuanzang's words today and only punished or "educated" them before letting the bandits return to the mountains and wilderness, and what the possible future consequences would be!
Regarding the path of cause and effect, Xu Xiao dared to say that, apart from those few Sage, even those Half-Sage and Daluo might not be more proficient than him, especially in this time of calamity.
Xu Xiao's Power of Variables is inherently ' the One That Escaped ', and even calamities cannot stop his power.
The image appears in the mirror.
The bandits, who had been slightly punished by Xu Xiao, were spared at Xuanzang's pleas for mercy. They watched Xu Xiao and his group leave and then plunged into the Yamanaka to struggle for survival.
However, Xu Xiao's kindness did not earn their gratitude, but instead, resentment and hatred grew wildly like weeds.
Taking advantage of their familiarity with the mountains, the group managed to survive Yamanaka until their injuries had slightly healed, after which these guys returned with a vengeance.
The first to suffer were the old shepherd boy's family at the foot of the mountain!
One evening, a group of bandits came down from the mountain and ambushed the old shepherd boy and his family in their home.
Upon seeing this family, the one-eyed Zhang Erhu, the leader, revealed a cruel smile, "Good, old man, no demon will be helping you today, will he?"
"Grandpa, this... this has nothing to do with us! This has nothing to do with us!" The old shepherd boy shielded his wife and young grandson behind him, pleading incessantly.
Unfortunately, he was facing a complete inhuman beast who had long since blamed everything on this family and was unwilling to listen to their pleas for mercy.
"Kill the two old ones, hang their bodies on the tree outside, and slaughter and cook the young one!" Zhang Erhu waved his hand, his single eye filled with cruelty.
"No... you, ah..."
The old shepherd boy wanted to say something more, but the bandits gave him no chance; two long knives had already pierced his chest.
"You old fool, go tell your story to the King of Hell."
As the old shepherd boy fell, he saw the bandits reaching out to his elderly wife and young grandson, and a wave of regret washed over him.
Why did the monk insist on begging for mercy for these scourges that day?
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs." After the old shepherd boy was killed, his wife followed suit, and his young grandson was cooked and eaten by these beasts.
After eating and drinking their fill, the group roared towards a nearby village, sneaked in under cover of night, tortured and killed all the able-bodied men, kidnapped the women and children to be enslaved or prostituted, and burned the village to the ground.
In the Kakkō, the bandit leader Zhang Erhu's remaining single eye gleamed with an even more ferocious light than before. He roared at his men, "See that! Those damned monks and damned immortals didn't kill us because they're afraid of us! This world belongs to ruthless people like us! Kill! Loot! Burn! Let everyone be terrified to the bone!"
Xuanzang looked at the horrific state of the women and children in the mirror, and listened to the venomous roars. His body felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave. "This... this... this..."
"What? You're scared already? It's not over yet, keep reading." Xu Xiao glanced at Xuanzang, then indicated that there was more to come.
The scene on the Karmic Mirror Terrace changes once more!
Because of their numerous evil deeds, the bandits unexpectedly attracted a wandering evil spirit to possess them, and they were incredibly lucky to find a secret manual of evil cultivation techniques in an ancient tomb in the Yamanaka.
The one-eyed bandit leader was corrupted by evil energy, his mind completely twisted, and he began to cultivate evil magic by using human blood to create souls.
He led his bandits, choosing opportune times and places to ambush and kill passing merchants and lone mountain dwellers, ripping out their hearts and livers to use their flesh and blood to practice evil magic and sacrifice to demons in exchange for meager power.
Gradually, it transformed from a bandit occupying the mountains into a demonic den that used evil magic to remotely control areas within a hundred miles, causing havoc in the region.
Even the people living on the borders of the Great Tang Dynasty were repeatedly harassed by him and his followers, suffering greatly.
"This... this... Our Great Tang has a large and well-trained army, and with immortals and gods overseeing it, how could we allow this official to harm people like this?"
"No, are you lying to me?"
Xuanzang was deeply shaken by Buddhism, and even turned to look at Xu Xiao in disbelief, wanting an answer.
"I have no reason to lie to you, you're not worthy." Xu Xiao pouted; he wasn't lying about that.
Everything is a result of cause and effect, and it all follows the fate and destiny of the bandits. Even if Celestials could not accuse him of fabricating it.
While there are immortals and gods in the world, there are also demons and Jashin. As the saying goes, "one is influenced by one's company," and evil people will naturally be attracted by these evil forces in the world.
"It's all because of your compassion. Just wait and see." Xu Xiao said impatiently, and the scene in the mirror changed again.
"Is there more? Isn't this enough?" Xuanzang felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, and his Buddhist heart trembled violently.
His belief in the possibility of turning to good after "laying down the butcher's knife" seems so pale and laughable in the face of this naked demonization and depravity.
The final scene unfolds, revealing an even grander and more terrifying spectacle.
Unable to be subdued, this gang of bandits, having absorbed evil energy and practiced demonic arts, grew stronger and more ferocious day by day.
No longer content with plunder, they occupied strategic mountain peaks, built demonic lairs, and proclaimed themselves " Black Demon King."
They drove and enslaved the people of the surrounding hundreds of miles of mountains to build fortresses for them and cultivate demonic fields (using their flesh and blood as fertilizer), presenting a scene of evil.
They regularly descended the mountain to "hunt," using the captured people as food and cultivation materials, and even using human hearts, livers, and other internal organs to refine evil pills to enhance their cultivation.
In the mirror, the resentment above the demon cave condensed like ink, birds and beasts disappeared within a hundred miles, villages were transformed into ghost realms, and piles of white bones lay like mountains.
The one-eyed "Demon King" sat enthroned on a bone throne, his body wreathed in raging demonic flames, and declared with maniacal laughter, "What bullshit officials! What bullshit gods! What can any of them do to me?"
What nonsense about laying down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha! I'd rather be a demon!
Power! Only power is Eternity! This world will sooner or later become the hunting ground for us demons!
The overwhelming demonic energy and endless evil energy seemed to pierce through the lens and rush straight towards Xuanzang!
"Puff--!"
Xuanzang on the Karmic Mirror Terrace could no longer hold on and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood!
The blood was not bright red, but rather tinged with a faint golden light, which was clearly the pure Buddhist essence and merit within its soul!
The golden light of merit that had been steadily surrounding him now flickered, faded, and dissipated wildly, like shattered glass!
Golden specks of light uncontrollably escaped from his seven orifices and pores, as if trying to flee!
His Buddhist heart was shattered, the belief that had always sustained him was broken, and because he was so deeply immersed in the role, he felt that all the causes and effects of this were caused by him, and that his own merits were dissipating.
Human testimony is not as reliable as personal testimony. If even he himself thinks this way, then his own merits will naturally not be retained.
He collapsed to the ground, his eyes unfocused, filled with extreme pain, confusion, and fear, as if he had witnessed the entire world that supported his beliefs collapse before his eyes.
"No... no... the Buddha's teachings are boundless... compassionate... saving... saving people..."
"The sea of suffering... boundless... shore... cause and effect..."
A series of murmurs rose from Xuanzang's mouth, slowly turning from whispers into madness.
"So-called enlightened monks are nothing more than this. They can break the Buddhist heart with just some causal deductions. I'm afraid the test of the Journey to the West is not as severe as my trick?" Xu Xiao sneered.
"Fellow Daoist, aren't you going a bit too far by making things difficult for our Pilgrim?"