As soon as the voice rang out, Xu Xiao knew who it was.
In this Underworld, besides Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, one of the eight great Bodhisattvas of Buddhism, who else could be there?
Sure enough, as the sound rang out, a middle-aged monk with a gentle face, dressed in a moon-white robe, appeared at the edge of the Karmic Mirror Terrace. A strange Beast accompanied him, staring intently at Xu Xiao with its large eyes.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the mythical beast Diting!
Xu Xiao smiled slightly at the questioning, "Fellow Daoist, you are mistaken!"
I didn't make things difficult for him; he just couldn't get over his own inner conflict, which led to this situation.
"Your faith is weak and your beliefs are impure; this is due to your lack of spiritual practice Buddhist Sect disciple, so don't blame it on me."
"Oh? Is that so?" Ksitigarbha his eyes slightly, a hint of seriousness appearing on his compassionate face.
"What I didn't know was that a Golden Immortal being from Heavenly Court using fabricated cause-and-effect relationships to interfere with a mortal Buddhist disciple wasn't considered making things difficult."
"Fellow Daoist Xu, are you aware that your mission is to escort the Pilgrim to the Western Heaven to obtain the true scriptures? To make things so difficult for him is not the behavior of a protector of the Dao, nor of an enlightened True Immortal."
"Oh? Then tell me, fellow Daoist, what exactly constitutes the behavior of a protector of the Dao, a True Immortal who has attained enlightenment? Is it pandering to your so-called Buddhist rituals, or agreeing with your heretical doctrines?"
Although Xu Xiao spoke with a smile, there was already a hint of coldness in his voice.
His debate with Xuanzang was certainly not well-intentioned, and the resulting shattering of his Buddhist faith was within his expectations.
Do you expect him to obediently lead Xuanzang on his Journey to the West and then wait to be schemed against by the Buddhist Sect? Impossible!
Strike first, or suffer the consequences; Xu Xiao wouldn't pin his hopes on someone else's pity.
While it was somewhat despicable to try and damage Xuanzang's Buddhist heart, it wasn't Xu Xiao's fault to begin with. Xuanzang's vulnerability stemmed entirely from his long-held belief in a flawed ideology.
It would be biased to say that Buddhist Sect scriptures and theories are entirely right or entirely wrong, but it would be correct to say that they contain some personal biases.
Take, for example, the Buddhist principle of "laying down the butcher's knife and instantly becoming a Buddha," which is a distorted and embellished argument.
The karmic consequences of those evil people being converted did not simply disappear; instead, they were taken over by Buddhism and then passed on to devout believers to resolve.
This is why good people find spiritual practice difficult and life full of hardships, while bad people can simply lay down their butcher's knife and go to the Western Heaven Paradise.
Good people, because of their kindness, need to be held at gunpoint to prove how difficult spiritual practice is; while bad people, because of their evil, deserve immeasurable merit from our Buddhist practice of guiding them to enlightenment!
Furthermore, the so-called paradise in the West is nothing more than creating a special plane similar to a divine kingdom, where the souls of believers are treated as the private property of Buddhism, and are not even allowed to enter the cycle of reincarnation.
The only being who can be called compassionate is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva before us.
After all, he didn't use those methods to send people to the Western Heaven Paradise, but genuinely used great Magic Power and perseverance to deliver the souls of the dead in the Underworld, allowing them to let go of their obsessions, cleanse their sins, and have the opportunity to enter reincarnation again.
Of course, while he understands, Xu Xiao would not hesitate to act ruthlessly Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is on his opposite side, simply because of the Bodhisattva's compassionate actions.
" Amitabha Buddha! Fellow Daoist seems quite displeased with the teachings of my sect. Do you perhaps wish to discuss the Dao with me?"
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was aware of Xu Xiao's grudges and entanglements with the Buddhist Sect, but he did not want to interfere. However, he could not tolerate Xu Xiao's claim that Buddhist Sect doctrines were heretical.
Every Buddhist Sect disciple has Buddhist principles in their heart and naturally wants to uphold their beliefs.
"If Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is willing, I am willing to accompany him." Xu Xiao said coldly, his aura fully unleashed, exuding an imposing presence.
Although Buddhism has both good and bad aspects, from the moment he got involved in Journey to the Journey to the West, he was destined to clash with most of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
'Ha! This kid is really arrogant, isn't he afraid of me at all?'
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was speechless for a moment, looking somewhat taken aback.
Although he was one of the eight famous Bodhisattvas in the Buddhist Sect and a veteran Daluo Golden Immortal, he felt a slight unease when facing Xu Xiao at this moment.
'He's probably furious because he hates the entire Buddhist Sect because of the Guanyin incident.'
Ksitigarbha was also distressed. As a Buddhist Sect in the Underworld, he couldn't ignore Xuanzang's broken Buddhist heart, but now he was caught in a dilemma by Xu Xiao's words.
'As a pawn pushed out by the Daoist Sect, this guy is even more stubborn than I expected. Today's situation is probably not going to end well!'
He hesitated, uneasy about fighting, but backing down would mean losing face big time.
Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, a hearty laugh rang out:
"Xu Zhicao, why didn't you come to Fengdu to visit me? Have you forgotten about your old brother?"
The Emperor of the Son of Heaven of the Underworld, dressed in Great Emperor Fengdu, slowly appeared, easing the tense atmosphere.
As the Dominator of Fengdu, this supreme authority in the Underworld is second only to the Four Sovereigns.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." "Brother Fengdu."
The two different forms of address were enough to demonstrate the closeness of their relationship. Xu Xiao, seeing the appearance of the Great Emperor Fengdu, knew that this 'discussion on the Dao' was probably not going to happen this time.
As the ruler of the Underworld, the Great Emperor Fengdu oversees everything within it. Now that the other party has appeared at this crucial moment, he naturally does not want Xu Xiao and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to have a direct conflict here.
The Great Emperor Fengdu first nodded to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, then walked up to Xu Xiao with a grin and patted him on the shoulder.
"I just received news that you came to the Underworld. I was waiting for you to come find me, but I didn't expect you to come here first."
"Please forgive me, brother. I've come here on personal business, not official business. You're in charge of the Underworld and have many responsibilities, so I didn't want to disturb you," Xu Xiao replied with a smile.
The Great Emperor Fengdu was a true Daoist Sect emperor, and after several encounters with him, Xu Xiao found himself to be quite compatible with him.
If we're talking about who has the biggest grievances against the Buddhist Sect, the Great Emperor Fengdu is definitely on the list. After all, the fact that Buddhist Sect placed Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the wedge, in the Underworld is something he, as the ruler, would absolutely not be happy about.
However, due to certain reasons, the Great Emperor Fengdu still showed some respect and tolerance towards Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
"Since you're here, you should naturally come and see me first. Whether it's personal or official business, can't I help you, brother?" the Great Emperor Fengdu joked, then turned his head.
" Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, I've heard that you two want to discuss the Dao? Why don't I be your witness today, and we'll only engage in verbal sparring, without resorting to fists?"
"I am willing, but I wonder what Fellow Daoist Xu thinks?" Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva nodded, as he was looking for a way to back down.
He had no grudge against Xu Xiao and didn't want to create a karmic connection for no reason. If Xu Xiao hadn't said that Buddhism was a heretical practice and shattered Xuanzang's Buddhist heart, he wouldn't have bothered with him at all.
"If we're going to sit and discuss the Dao, then let's ask Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to pose a question." Xu Xiao nodded in agreement, his imposing aura subsiding.
Unfortunately, the Great Emperor Fengdu had already sent him a telepathic message, telling him not to have a direct conflict with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. His plan to use this as a breakthrough point was thus scrapped.
In any case, Xuanzang's Buddhist heart was broken, and apart from Ksitigarbha, the other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas certainly wouldn't let it go easily; they would just replace him with someone else.