Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 261 - 255: Hurry and Invite Erlang God Yang Jian【Seeking Subscription and Monthly Tickets】_1
"Let me go!"
"Do you know what you’re doing?"
Huangmei Monster struggled. He had never expected to be so easily defeated by Sha Chen.
The atmosphere in the Bright Palace was somewhat awkward.
Maitreya Buddha remained expressionless. His signature smile was gone, replaced only by anger.
Wang Lingguan and Li Changgeng remained silent, barely holding back their laughter, as if mocking Maitreya Buddha’s previous confidence.
The Jade Emperor, however, was magnanimous. Sha Chen’s strength had once again exceeded his expectations, which was quite shocking to him.
In amazement, he said, "Unexpectedly, Sha Chen has achieved the Great Accomplishment of the Da Luo Dharmakaya. Who knows how far he can still grow?"
Maitreya Buddha said, "Even if he has achieved the Great Accomplishment of the Da Luo Dharmakaya, that’s all there is to it."
"My attendant couldn’t beat him, simply because his cultivation isn’t as high. But Sha Chen won’t be able to swagger around for long."
The Jade Emperor asked, "What does the Buddha plan to do?"
Maitreya Buddha replied, "Tathagata Buddha has granted me the authority to act as I see fit. Since Huangmei can no longer beat him, I will have to take matters into my own hands."
The Jade Emperor was stunned for a moment and then exclaimed in shock, "The Buddha himself will take action? Surely, that’s not appropriate?!"
Maitreya Buddha inquired, "What’s inappropriate about it?"
The Jade Emperor said, "Given the Buddha’s strength, if you take action personally, Sha Chen is unlikely to survive. Furthermore, bullying the weak with superior strength will inevitably lead to gossip."
Maitreya Buddha chuckled. "No one dares to ridicule my actions. Besides, converting Sha Chen is a great merit. Who would dare to mock it?"
Then, standing up, he continued, "However, you are all right. I do have another candidate who may be able to force Sha Chen out. It won’t be too late for me to step in after she makes her move."
After bowing in farewell, he departed.
Once he was gone, Li Changgeng bowed and said, "Your Majesty, should we really cooperate with Maitreya Buddha? He is just a Buddha from the East Zen Garden within Buddhism and doesn’t have the strongest influence there, not even among the top three."
Although Maitreya Buddha was called the third in command, he wasn’t among the top three in terms of actual influence within Buddhism.
The Jade Emperor said, "He is, after all, a person from Buddhism. His own strength is immense, his mana profound, and he has people at his command. Cooperating with him won’t be a bad choice."
Li Changgeng replied, "If that’s the case, we might as well cooperate with Tathagata Buddha."
The Jade Emperor smiled. "Who said we aren’t cooperating with Tathagata? I haven’t given up on working with him. Since Maitreya harbors wild ambitions and also wishes to work with us, then I’ll take advantage of the situation; I won’t miss any opportunity."
Li Changgeng paused for a moment and then nodded silently.
Indeed, the Jade Emperor is considering turning Lingjiu Mountain into a part of the Heavenly Court, luring each faction one by one to maximize his benefits.
Truly befitting the Supreme Sovereign of the Three Realms. Although his methods are a bit crude, his political tactics are peerless, even planning to manipulate Lingjiu Mountain and interfere.
Wang Lingguan said, "Your Majesty, if Maitreya Buddha ends up killing Sha Chen, what should we do?"
The Jade Emperor responded, "That would be Lingjiu Mountain’s affair to deal with themselves. However, Sha Chen is, after all, a demoted heavenly general. If he dies, we’ll hold Lingjiu Mountain accountable and have Maitreya Buddha compensate us with some things to settle the matter."
Wang Lingguan nodded, then added, "Also, the Black Bear Spirit and the Spider Spirits, who have been pursued by Zhao Gongming for years, but there have been no results."
The Jade Emperor remarked, "To think that even Zhao Gongming has times when he fails."
Wang Lingguan, however, said, "It’s not that Zhao Xuantan has failed. Rather, those demons have mastered an extremely formidable Divine Power, allowing them to travel one hundred and eight thousand li in a single step. They are incredibly fast. Even Zhao Xuantan needs to pursue them personally to catch up, which is why The Mysterious Altar Department has fallen behind in its duties."
The Jade Emperor uttered an "Oh?" in surprise.
He then looked at Li Changgeng, who had just finished his divination. Stroking his beard, Li Changgeng said, "Your Majesty, it is indeed true. Those demons likely come from the same sect."
The Jade Emperor asked, "Was the Black Bear Spirit also handed over by Fairy Pansi?"
Li Changgeng smiled. "The Black Bear Spirit is just a wild bear that became a demon; he belongs to no sect or school. He previously wanted to join Buddhism and was very close to Elder Jin Chi of the Guanyin Zen Temple, even calling each other sworn brothers. Later, for some unknown reason, he suddenly rose to prominence, and his strength skyrocketed."
The Jade Emperor was also stunned. After divining about the Black Bear Spirit, he found everything to be normal.
In confusion, he mused, "Strange. Everything seems normal, as if he were self-taught."
Li Changgeng added, "The Spider Spirits are the same, as if they were self-taught."
The Jade Emperor was taken aback again. This feeling of not being able to grasp everything was quite unpleasant, reminiscent of his dealings with Sha Chen.
Sha Chen!? Could it be him again?
The Jade Emperor looked at Li Changgeng, and the two exchanged glances.
Li Changgeng said with a wry smile, "Your servant had the same thought, but I dare not confirm it. I have never seen Sha Chen use Qingyun Zong, nor have I seen him use the 72 Polymorphic Transformations, the 36 Transformations, or the Eight-Nine Profound Art."
The Jade Emperor nodded and turned to Wang Lingguan, who also nodded and said, "This servant, along with Li Jing, stayed at the Flowing Sand River for over three years. We encountered Sha Chen three times and never saw him use these Divine Powers. He prefers a direct and overwhelming style."
The doubt in the Jade Emperor’s eyes deepened. "If not him, then who?"
"As for Fairy Pansi, I’ve never heard of her knowing Qingyun Zong. She does know the Eight-Nine Profound Art and the 72 Polymorphic Transformations, but it seems she doesn’t know the 36 Transformations," he continued.
He shook his head, murmuring, "This has truly confounded me. This feeling is very ominous. All of you, go and investigate. Tell Zhao Gongming he must find a way to capture those demons and interrogate them thoroughly."
The two acknowledged the command and departed.
Only then did the Jade Emperor remember there was still a battle at the Flowing Sand River, so he continued to watch.
At the same time, he turned his gaze to a maidservant in the corner of the Bright Palace and said, "Ningxiang, come forward. I want to ask you, how much do you know about Sha Chen?"
The woman stepped out. She seemed somewhat absent-minded, and only when she heard Sha Chen’s name did a spark return to her eyes.
It was indeed Pixiang Jade Maiden Bai Huaxiu. She seemed hesitant to speak, as if she had a thousand words to say yet couldn’t utter a single one.
Finally, she shook her head and said, "This servant knows nothing."
The Jade Emperor nodded. He believed her.
Pixiang Jade Maiden was only fond of Sha Chen because Matchmaker had tied them with the red thread of fate. Otherwise, she probably would never have had any further interaction with him.
As for Sha Chen, she naturally didn’t know much about him.
They had mostly worked together as subordinates in the past. He reckoned Bai Huaxiu probably knew even less about Sha Chen than he himself did.
After Matchmaker tied the red thread for Bai Huaxiu, he didn’t undo it. Once a red thread was tied, it took considerable effort to untie it.
This thread had become useless, so Matchmaker simply chose to ignore it.
What did Bai Huaxiu’s unrequited love have to do with Matchmaker!?
She was just a small, discarded pawn in Matchmaker’s failed scheme. Who would care about her situation now?
The Jade Emperor said, "Did you hear the conversation we had just now?"
Bai Huaxiu remained silent.
The Jade Emperor said, "Let me ask you, how will Sha Chen deal with Buddha Huangmei?"
Bai Huaxiu said, "Given his unyielding nature, he will kill him."
The Jade Emperor laughed. "You really don’t understand him as well as I do. He is but a coward, timid as a mouse, hiding in the Flowing Sand River and surviving by cowering. He doesn’t even dare to come when I summon him. How would he dare to kill an elder Buddha of Lingjiu Mountain?"
But Bai Huaxiu countered, "Buddha Huangmei cannot be considered an elder Buddha of Lingjiu Mountain. Moreover, he tried to punish without teaching, intending to kill the General for Folding the Curtain. Given the General for Folding the Curtain’s unyielding nature, he will surely kill him without a doubt."
The Jade Emperor shook his head again, firmly believing that Sha Chen would definitely not dare to kill Buddha Huangmei.
He merely smiled and waved his hand, activating the viewing screen, which displayed the situation at the Flowing Sand River.
On the screen, Sha Chen’s huge palm handprint was still gripping Huangmei Monster. The Jade Emperor laughed, "See? He still doesn’t dare to kill Buddha Huangmei."
Meanwhile, Buddha Huangmei kept bellowing, demanding Sha Chen let him go, or else Sha Chen would face dire consequences.
Then, he threw out his Gold Cymbals, which immediately grew larger in the wind, opening wide like a gaping maw, ready to clamp down on Sha Chen’s arm.
Buddha Huangmei sneered, "My Gold Cymbals are indestructible. Once they clasp your arm, you’ll have no hope of breaking free. In a short while, your arm will be crippled, and it will even affect the foundation of your physical body."
The Jade Emperor watched, stunned for a moment, and said in astonishment, "It seems I was also wrong; Sha Chen may not be a match for Buddha Huangmei."
However, another hand shot out from within the Flowing Sand River, clenched into a fist, and struck directly at the Gold Cymbals.
Buddha Huangmei sneered, "Ridiculous! Your weak and feeble fist dares to strike my Gold Cymbals?"
BANG.
Sha Chen’s punch landed, directly punching a hole in the Gold Cymbals and nearly shattering them.
Buddha Huangmei spat out a mouthful of blood, horrified. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could you possibly break my Gold Cymbals?"
Sha Chen said, "A mere High-Grade Postnatal Spirit Treasure dares to act so presumptuously?"
Then, still gripping Buddha Huangmei, his other hand swept forward, intending to slap him to death.
Buddha Huangmei turned pale with fright. "Sha Chen, I am one of the East Incoming Laughing Buddha Ancestor’s people in Buddhism, with a position on Lingjiu Mountain! Do you dare to kill me?"
Sha Chen said, "I wished to spare your life, but you repeatedly tried to kill me. With great reluctance, I have no choice but to retaliate and kill you."
PUH.
Buddha Huangmei coughed up blood in anger. Sha Chen’s words made it sound as if Sha Chen were the victim, when clearly he, Buddha Huangmei, was the weaker one!
But no matter how he threatened or pleaded, it was useless.
Sha Chen’s palm descended, obliterating Buddha Huangmei into a bloody pulp. Then, a breath of immortal qi blew from within the Flowing Sand River, scattering the remains beyond its borders and into the myriad mountains, causing an uproar among countless mountain spirits and tree demons.
In the Bright Palace, the Jade Emperor’s expression turned sour.
Pixiang Jade Maiden curtsied slightly and quietly withdrew, neither pleased nor sad.
The Jade Emperor’s eyes flickered as he muttered to himself, "Sha Chen, I didn’t expect you to be so audacious! Daring to kill someone from Buddhism, and even playing dumb."
He suddenly shouted, "Go to Guanjiangkou and summon the Erlang God, Yang Jian! Tell him I want him to kill someone. If he succeeds, his mother’s sentence will be commuted!"
「Flowing Sand River.」
Sha Chen was unaware that he had caught the Jade Emperor’s attention, or that the Jade Emperor even planned to dispatch the Erlang God, Yang Jian, to deal with him.
After killing Huangmei Monster, he bellowed to the heavens, "Why is Maitreya Buddha so blind as to send his attendant to kill me, forcing me to take his life in self-defense? Trapping me in unrighteousness—what a sin!"
After his outcry, he returned to his dwelling and shut the door.
Meanwhile, Maitreya Buddha, who had left the Bright Palace, was just about to call Buddha Huangmei to leave the Flowing Sand River.
He never believed that Buddha Huangmei would die, or that Sha Chen would dare to kill one of his people.
But, halfway through his intended call, he discovered that Buddha Huangmei had been killed—his life tablet had shattered.
Struck with shock and rage, he quickly formed a hand seal. "Sha Chen, how audacious of you to kill my subordinate and still feign grievance?"
After his anger subsided somewhat, he attempted to recall the Magical Tools he had bestowed upon Buddha Huangmei, but found that both the Gold Cymbals and the Gold Mace were destroyed.
The Post-Heaven Human Seed Bag, thankfully, was intact and had just returned to his hand from the Flowing Sand River. However, without any command from him, it suddenly flew away on its own.
Its destination: the Flowing Sand River.
Maitreya Buddha was dumbfounded. He hadn’t activated the Post-Heaven Human Seed Bag, so why did it fly off on its own? And towards the Flowing Sand River, no less!
