An Ingenious Way of Handling Things

"So I handed him over to Taishang Laojun, but unexpectedly, after forty days, he was not killed by the Six Ding Divine Fire in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, but instead escaped."

"It wreaked havoc in my Heavenly Court, then came after me, fought me, and destroyed my Hall of Numinous Treasure into this state. After knocking me unconscious, it ran off to cause more destruction somewhere else. That stinky monkey."

"Cough, cough!"

As the Jade Emperor spoke, he grew increasingly angry, and began to vividly describe, with gestures and gesturing, how Sun Wukong had run rampant in his Heavenly Court, while also coughing.

"You mean you still don't know where that stinky monkey went, right?"

The Buddha Tathagata didn't care at all about the trouble Sun Wukong had caused or how much destruction he had created. All he cared about was whether he could complete his mission and capture Sun Wukong.

"Yes, I don't know where he went, but he's definitely causing trouble for me in my Heavenly Court right now. That ugly monkey is really ruthless; doing this is worse than killing me."

"Buddha Tathagata, please help me suppress him. Now follow the sound to find him; you'll surely find where the commotion is the loudest, and that's where he's causing trouble. You must hurry, don't let him tear down my entire Heavenly Court."

The Jade Emperor readily admitted that he truly did not know Sun Wukong's current whereabouts, but he also devised a method for the Buddha Tathagata to find Sun Wukong: to locate him by listening to sounds. Based on the principle that Sun Wukong would cause trouble wherever there was a loud noise, they could find Sun Wukong's location.

"Alright, you can stay here and recover for now. I'll go and subdue this Sun Wukong for you."

Buddha Tathagata finished speaking than a loud bang came from the east.

"It's over. My Great Hall of Complete Clarity has probably been destroyed by that rascal. I just don't know the extent of the damage or whether it can be repaired."

Upon hearing the loud noise, the Jade Emperor, who had just regained his footing, leaned back against the Zhuzi behind him and slumped down, then held his head in his hands and cried out in distress.

"Perfect timing, I'll catch this monkey now."

After saying this, the Buddha Tathagata left the place and headed towards the main hall of the same name.

"I'll smash it, I'll smash it, I'll smash this whole place to pieces! You old Jade Emperor, how dare you bully Old Sun! I may not dare to kill you, but I can still make you feel the pinch."

At this moment, Sun Wukong muttered about how wicked the Jade Emperor was, while using his Jingu Bang to smash the broken walls around the Tongming Hall, which he had already destroyed, leaving only ruins. He seemed determined not to let even these broken walls go, truly wanting to do what he said and smash everything in the Heavenly Court to pieces.

"Where did you come from, you impudent monkey, daring to act so recklessly here and destroy the Great Hall of Complete Clarity like this? Stop right now!"

When the Buddha Tathagata arrived and saw the state of the Great Hall of Complete Clarity, and heard Sun Wukong's insults, he immediately stopped him.

"And who are you, and why Old Sun here to obstruct my work?"

Even after seeing the Buddha Tathagata, Sun Wukong did not stop what he was doing. He continued cleaning up the remaining broken walls of the Great Hall of Complete Clarity while speaking to the Buddha Tathagata.

"I am the Buddha Tathagata of the Western Heaven, invited by the Jade Emperor to assist him in capturing you, you demon monkey."

After hearing Sun Wukong's question, the Buddha Tathagata revealed his identity and explained his purpose.

"You think you can stop me, Sun Wukong, from doing my work? Do you even know what state the Jade Emperor is in right now? He's been beaten unconscious by Old Sun, amidst the ruins of the Great Hall of Complete Clarity."

"You still think you can help him take down Old Sun? That's wishful thinking! I'd like to see what you're capable of doing."

Upon hearing these words from the Buddha Tathagata, Sun Wukong burst into laughter and shamelessly recounted his recent exploits to the Buddha Tathagata.

Whether I can win you over or not, we'll find out soon enough.

The Buddha Tathagata directly prepared to declare war on Sun Wukong.

"You think you can take down me, Old Sun? Do you even know what methods Old Sun?"

"Old Sun Cultivation Method is the Great Grade Heavenly Immortal Instruction, which grants me Seventy-Two Transformations. And then there's Old Sun Somersault Cloud, incredibly fast; one somersault can take me 108,000 li. Moreover, Old Sun mastered the Three Heads and Six Arms and Six Arms technique, as well as the Dharma Idol Heaven and Earth and Earth, among other extremely profound and mysterious Law Technique."

After hearing the Buddha Tathagata's words, Sun Wukong replied disdainfully and revealed all his trump cards.

"Since you're so good, how about we make a bet?"

At this point, the Buddha Tathagata wanted to set a trap for Sun Wukong and began to lure Sun Wukong into taking the bait.

"Oh, tell me, how should we compete?"

Sun Wukong stopped what he was doing, turned around, and asked with interest, "Buddha Tathagata."

"You claim to be able to travel 108,000 li in a single somersault? Then let's make a bet and see if you can even get past my palm in one somersault!"

The Buddha Tathagata directly revealed the method of their duel.

"What if I win? What if I lose?"

Sun Wukong was very concerned about what he should do after the victory or defeat, so he asked the Buddha Tathagata again.

"If you win this contest, I will not stop you from doing anything afterward, and if the Jade Emperor asks me to deal with you again, I will turn a blind eye."

"If you lose this duel, then you must agree to one condition. Don't worry, the condition I propose will definitely be within your capabilities, and I won't ask you to do anything immoral or detrimental to your cultivation."

The Buddha Tathagata had already figured out how to deal with Sun Wukong, and when Sun Wukong asked the question, he directly gave the answer he had already thought of.

"This guy who claims to be Buddha was invited by the Jade Emperor to deal with me, so he must be a person of considerable strength. At the very least, his strength is on par with the Jade Emperor. If I were to fight him again now, the little bit of Law Power I have left after my battle with the Jade Emperor is simply not enough to contend with him."

"But instead of directly suppressing me, he offered me a method of fighting. Although I don't know what he wants to do, he's the kind of person who keeps his word. Besides, the outcome of this fight won't do me any harm. Even if I lose, I'll just have to follow one of his conditions. At most, I'll just suffer a little."