The guest monk strode through the bustling temple grounds and stopped at the door of a magnificent meditation room. "Abbot! Abbot! This disciple has urgent news to report!"
Inside the meditation room, Elder Jinchi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them, his brows furrowing slightly. "What's the matter that you're so alarmed? Come in and tell me."
The guest monk pushed open the door, closed it behind him, and rushed to Jin Chi, his voice trembling. "Abbot! An incredible opportunity! An incredible opportunity!!"
"Opportunity? What opportunity? Have you lost your mind and are talking nonsense?" Jin Chi was skeptical. In this remote mountain village, apart from the offerings from the surrounding people and the occasional visits from mountain spirits, where would such an opportunity come from?
"A monk! A cassock... a monk from the Eastern Land..."
The monk, stammering, recounted everything he had seen, while Elder Jinchi, listening above, gleamed with a sharp light in his cloudy old eyes.
"Are you sure? Are you sure he's a monk from the Eastern Land who went to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, and that he possesses a precious cassock?!"
"Abbot, it's absolutely true!" The guest monk nodded repeatedly, his eyes shining, gesturing wildly. "A myriad of rays of light, a thousand strands of auspicious energy! This disciple has never seen such a treasure! The golden threads, the patterns... it's absolutely a priceless gem! This disciple saw it with his own eyes, there's no exaggeration! That monk... he really is a monk who went on a pilgrimage to obtain the scriptures!!"
Elder Jinchi fell silent, his fingers unconsciously twisting the prayer beads tightly, and his breathing became heavy.
The meditation room fell silent for a moment, with only the flickering candlelight illuminating the ever-changing expression on Elder Jinchi's face.
After a long silence, he slowly exhaled, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes. "I understand... This matter must not be made public, and even more so, it must not disturb that sorcerer. You may step back now, and allow this old monk... to consider it carefully."
"Yes, Abbot!" The guest monk, seeing that the abbot was already interested, was secretly pleased and quickly bowed and withdrew, gently closing the door behind him.
Inside the meditation room, Elder Jinchi lost all interest in meditating. He stood up and paced slowly around the room, a crazy idea rapidly forming in his mind.
That legendary precious cassock... it actually came to me of its own accord?
"Someone, help me to freshen up. I'm going to visit this Great Tang Great Tang monk to learn about Buddhism and, incidentally, see his rare treasures."
In the shadows, Xu Xiao and his monkey witnessed the entire scene: Xuanzang displaying his treasures, and Jin Chi leading a group to visit, using the pretext of demanding the Brocade Kasaya.
Everything unfolded as originally planned: the robe was lost, and it burned in the middle of the night. This was a trial caused by greed within the Buddhist Sect, and also an important lesson for Xuanzang.
The monkey watching nearby was itching to get rid of them; even he could see the ill intentions of these so-called Buddhist Sect followers.
"Brother, are we just going to let these filthy bastards scheme against the Yamato?"
"Let's wait and see. This is his fate, and also his karma."
"If he doesn't see through these things, he'll forever cling to that ridiculous idea and will never truly become a Buddha."
Xu Xiao remained calm, observing the situation with Wukong.
That night, all the monks at Guanyin Monastery sprang into action.
Bundles of dry branches and firewood were carefully piled around the side room where Xuanzang lived, and basins of vegetable oil were poured on the dry branches by the monks.
Inside the room, Xuanzang was fast asleep, completely unaware of everything happening outside, until Xu Xiao patted him awake.
"Wake up, are you still sleeping?"
"Immortal..."
"Shh, don't say anything yet, I'll take you to see something fun."
Xu Xiao stopped Xuanzang from speaking, then pulled him directly outdoors, where they hovered in mid-air.
Looking at the monks busy in the darkness, with bundles of firewood and cooking oil, even a fool like Xuanzang would know what was going on.
"Immortal Official! Are they... are they going to burn me alive?" Even White-Robed Xuanzang, was shocked by the evil intentions of his fellow Buddhist Sect monks.
For a mere robe, they'd commit murder and arson? Were their Buddhist scriptures recited in vain?
"Of course we'll burn you alive, otherwise why make such a fuss in the middle of the night?" Xu Xiao rolled his eyes at Xuanzang.
Xuanzang's face was ashen. He simply couldn't imagine how these Buddhist Sect monks could be as ruthless as those mountain bandits.
Aren't they afraid of falling into the Avici Hell?
"People die for wealth, birds die for food; greed is insatiable!"
"If a mere Buddhist scripture could enlighten people's greed, anger, and ignorance, then the world would already belong to your Buddhist Sect." Xu Xiao glanced at Xuanzang.
"There are quite a few wicked and corrupt people within your Buddhist Sect, and not only in the human realm, but also in the Western Paradise, where demons and guardians feed on living beings. You will see this later."
" Amitabha Buddha, I was just being presumptuous. I never imagined there were so many scoundrels in the Buddhist Sect." Xuanzang was also angered.
Therefore, don't think that one or two volumes of scriptures can educate people's hearts and enlighten the world.
"If you truly want to help the world, the most important thing you should do is to properly revise Buddhist teachings so that the good will have a good end and the evil will be punished." As Xu Xiao spoke, the monks below lit the firewood, and a roaring fire broke out.
In the Kakkō, those faces, usually so kind and dignified, were now filled with desire, greed, and hideous terror!
"Look, they'd love to burn you, the monk, alive so they could seize your treasures. These people can't be saved by Buddhist scriptures; they need the punishment of thunder."
As he spoke, Xu Xiao moved his fingers, and Magic Power flowed through his hands.
A sudden gust of strong wind swept in, carrying the blazing flames and engulfing the temple in flames in an instant.
"Fire! Fire! Help!"
"Ah! The fire is too big, we can't get out!"
"Help! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
The cries of agony echoed through the temple; the raging fire that should have consumed Xuanzang had now become a divine punishment to cleanse his sins.
The temple, which was originally made of wood, was engulfed in flames in just a few moments by the powerful, spiritual winds that whipped it up, creating a vast sea of fire.
"This... this is a violation of the precept against killing, celestial official, please relinquish your supernatural powers." Xuanzang, standing to the side, could easily see that this was Xu Xiao's doing, and immediately knelt down to beg for mercy.
He understood the principle, but compassion was his true nature. Watching all the monks in the temple being burned alive was more painful for him than killing them.
" Xuanzang wanted to enlighten the world, but compassion alone is not enough. Blind mercy will only create more suffering. These people are only good for committing more sins; they serve no purpose in life."
Xu Xiao ignored Xuanzang's pleas and even deliberately intensified the fire.
Amidst the raging flames and wailing cries, the sins seemed to be washed away.
The dazzling Kakkō illuminated the sky, and even the mountain spirits and tree monsters in the distant mountains could see it.
However, before they could send anyone to check on what had happened to their old acquaintance, Elder Jinchi, a monkey wielding a stick had already arrived at the mountain gate.