Spirit Mountain - Great Thunderclap Temple
The chanting of Buddhist prayers was solemn and dignified; just looking at it from afar, one felt as if they were about to be Buddha's Light Brings Salvation to All.
This place is the core of the Western Sect, the Great Thunderclap Temple located in the Western Ox Continent.
Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, Arhat, and Vidyarajas from the Three Realms need to listen to sutras and discuss Buddhist teachings here on the first and fifteenth of each month to gain insight into Buddhist principles.
At this moment, within the Great Thunderclap Temple, the Buddha's light shines like the sea, and the chanting of sutras rises like a tide.
On the lotus throne, the Tathagata Buddha Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, sat with a compassionate expression and deep, unfathomable eyes. Buddhist chants emanated from his mouth, filling the entire hall with tangible Buddhist teachings.
Below, All Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhat, and Vajras are arranged on both sides, their appearances solemn and dignified. They all seem to be listening attentively to the sutras, but there is always a heavy and oppressive atmosphere in the hall.
Guanyin Bodhisattva stood beneath the central lotus platform, her face slightly paler than usual. Although the faint gray sword mark between her brows had faded considerably, it had not yet disappeared.
The marks left by damage to one's Dao Fruit cannot be healed by mere magical Magic Power.
Of course, compared to the pain caused by the damage to her Dao Fruit, the humiliation of being attacked by Golden Immortal was the sharp thorn that entwined Guanyin's heart like a poisonous vine.
All the All Buddhas of the West knew that he, the Guanyin Bodhisattva, one of the Five Elders at the Peak Daluo, had been injured by a mere Heavenly Court Golden Immortal on duty, and were filled with boundless rage.
This is not only an insult to Guanyin, but also a trampling of the dignity of the entire Western Sect!
After a long while, the chanting at the Great Thunderclap Temple ceased. The Buddha on the platform Tathagata to only then realize the unusual atmosphere within the temple and spoke to Guanyin:
" Guanyin, I have sent you to protect Xuanzang on his journey to the West. The heavens are in chaos and many variables are arising. Do not be upset by minor setbacks."
"The tribulations of the Journey to the West journey are the very opportunity for the great prosperity of our Western Sect, but naturally they will bring some calamities and harm to our disciples. Xu Xiao is a tactic employed by the Daoist Sect, and he will undoubtedly be an obstacle for our sect."
"But ultimately, this is the opportunity for the great rise of the Western Sect as foretold by the Sage; everything is preordained."
"Your Majesty, this disciple understands." Guanyin nodded, but he was not Tathagata optimistic as Tathagata, and recounted in detail his several encounters with Xu Xiao.
"... The Great Dao cultivated by Xu Xiao is unprecedented; it can even erase merit, disintegrate vows, and directly point to the source. Its Power of Variables is impossible to guard against, truly a great threat to our sect's Journey to the West journey plan."
"This disciple does not doubt the Sage's pronouncements, but ultimately I am still somewhat uneasy."
Guanyin's voice carried an undisguised solemnity.
" Guanyin, you flatter me. Xu Xiao is merely a pawn pushed out by the Daoist Sect. Even if the Great Dao he cultivates is strange, so what?" Bodhisattva Jialan chuckled softly, and the surrounding Bodhisattvas and Arhat echoed her softly.
"Exactly, exactly, he's just a pawn."
" The Journey to the West is destined to flourish; this was ordained by the Sage. Even if the Daoist Daoist Sect are unhappy, they can only resort to some foolish moves, causing us some discomfort, but they cannot stop this inevitable trend."
To put it bluntly, everything in the world is not about how the parties struggle, but rather the result of the will of Heavenly Dao and the preordained outcome by the Sage.
The Two Sages of the West said that the calamities of the Journey to the West were an opportunity for the rise of the Western Sect, and neither the World-Honored One, who sat high on Spirit Mountain Tathagata the gate had any objections.
Could a mere Xu Xiao possibly outwit Sage's schemes?
None of the Buddhas believed it!
Just as the Buddhas were laughing at them, a cloud of calamity energy quietly dissipated within the merit pool filled with golden lotuses, and the golden lotuses of Heavenly Dao Merit Golden Lotus that should have been poured into it did not appear.
Venerable Kasyapa, who was guarding the Merit Pool, was taken aback, then his expression changed drastically. "Oh no, how did this calamity end?"
All the Buddhas were taken aback, then looked at the scene in the Merit Pool, and one by one they began to make hand gestures and divine, wanting to find out what was going on.
A moment of silence fell over the Great Thunderclap Temple, followed by a thunderous roar of curses:
"How dare he! That scoundrel!"
"The calamity has passed, so why doesn't the merit go to my sect?"
"What?!"
" Guanyin Monastery?!"
"Who dares to be so audacious?!"
The hall erupted in uproar; the All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas could no longer remain calm.
Guanyin Monastery is an important place of worship for Guanyin Bodhisattva. It is also the place of tribulation in the eighty-one tribulations of Journey to the Journey to the West, which was personally determined by the Buddha and should have been continued by the Buddhist Sect. It is the place where the monks of Guanyin Temple plotted to obtain the treasure after losing the cassock.
Although this hardship may seem ordinary, it is one of the key starting points for the operation of the calamity energy and the distribution of merit in the Journey to the Journey to the West!
Venerable Kasyapa took a deep breath, his Divine Sense having already discerned everything, and continued, "According to the mountain gods and local deities, the fire at the monastery started last night. The fire spread strangely, fueled by the wind, and instantly reduced the entire forest to ashes. More importantly... none of the Arhat protectors sent by our sect knew of this calamity."
"It wasn't until the temple was burned to the ground that they realized someone had deceived them with great supernatural powers."
"Now that the calamity has weakened, this calamity is a foregone conclusion. We await Your Majesty's decision!"
These words were like a thunderbolt from the blue, and all the Buddhas began to clamor.
"The calamity's energy has weakened?!"
How could this be?!
"Who intervened? To whom does the merit go?"
Venerable Kasyapa's face was extremely grim. "This calamity... must have been caused by Xu Xiao! The merit that should have been resolved by our sect, and the merit that should have increased our sect's fortune... has actually... has all been divided up by Xu Xiao, Sun Wukong, and that Pilgrim Xuanzang!"
"Boom--!"
The rage within the palace finally erupted completely!
"This is outrageous!!"
"How dare you, you brat?!"
"Stealing my merits and ruining my destiny! This scoundrel deserves to be killed!"
"Buddha! Such blasphemous acts, which defy heavenly rules and Buddhist precepts, are absolutely unforgivable!"
The monks and Buddhists were in an uproar. This was no longer just causing trouble; it was uprooting Buddhism!
The Western Sect had made countless preparations for this Great Tribulation of the Westward Journey. Countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas had already assigned their roles, waiting to share in this immense merit. Now that Xu Xiao had intercepted them halfway, how could they let it go so easily!
The eighty-one tribulations are all meticulously designed, serving as the foundation for the Western Sect to leverage the power of Heavenly Dao to resolve calamities, accumulate merit, and expand their fortune.
Now that everything is not going according to plan and the merits have been lost, it means that the entire Journey to the Great Tribulation of the Westward Journey has begun to spiral out of control! The subsequent arrangements for calamities and the flow of fortune will be affected immeasurably!
"Silence." The Tathagata Buddha's voice was not loud, but it instantly silenced all the noise.
All the All Buddhas fell silent. Tathagata turned his gaze to Guanyin: " Guanyin, you are in charge of overseeing the journey to the Journey to the West. Xu Xiao also has many karmic ties with you. What do you intend to do?"
Guanyin, her hands forming a mudra, suppressed her surging killing intent, nodded, and stepped forward. "Buddha, fellow cultivators, things have come to this point. The calamity caused by Xu Xiao is no longer as simple as merely obstructing our Journey to the West. He has seen through our sect's schemes, possesses a bizarre Great Dao of Cause and Effect, and is even more audacious, directly stealing the merits of our tribulations, weakening our sect's fortune. His heart deserves to be punished, and his actions deserve to be destroyed!"
She glanced around, her voice growing increasingly cold. "If we remain fixated on methodically setting up subsequent tribulations, focusing only on the small gains and losses of merit, it's tantamount to putting the cart before the horse! What Xu Xiao wants is to disrupt this whole game!"
"Although the Great Tribulation of the Journey to the West was ordained by the Sage, the aura of calamity is everywhere, and all the hardships are unpredictable. No one can foresee the final outcome of this great calamity."
Even with Eighty-One Tribulations and calculations, we might still end up doing all the work for someone else!
"Therefore, I request that Xu Xiao be executed, even if it offends the Heavenly Court!!"
Guanyin's words carried a chilling murderous intent, causing the enraged All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to suddenly realize their mistake.
In a game of chess, it's not terrible to make a single mistake; what's terrible is when a piece keeps causing trouble and affecting the outcome of the entire game.
From the very beginning, when he influenced the birth of the monkey, Xu Xiao had an inextricable grudge against the Buddhist Sect. If he were to be hindered by the fact that Xu Xiao was a celestial official in the Heavenly Court, Buddhist Sect would have already unleashed its fury.
Guanyin's words at this moment were nothing more than tearing away the fig leaf that the Buddha had laid bare.