Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 152 How Harsh the Conditions Are

Tathagata’s expression was stern, he had already prepared himself to fight at a moment’s notice.

Haotian chuckled lightly, and then, the righteous tone he had adopted instantly faded away as he said indifferently, "Add someone."

This caught Tathagata completely off guard, leaving him momentarily unable to comprehend what "add someone" meant.

"One position of the Scripture Seeker shall belong to my Heavenly Court," Wu Tian spoke again, clearing Tathagata’s confusion.

The position of the Scripture Seeker...

Tathagata’s brows furrowed deeply; Haotian indeed had quite the audacity to make such a demand.

The position of the Scripture Seeker was of paramount importance, for at the end of the Journey to the West calamity, the Merit Points allotted to the Scripture Seeker would be considerable.

If Haotian were the person behind the scenes, he would benefit immensely, which would be an unfavorable situation for Buddhism.

Tathagata fell into thought, knowing that a direct refusal would definitely make Haotian unyielding.

Since he had the upper hand in the argument, even if he were to use his influence to involve the Saint, compelling them to expel Sun Wukong, it would certainly breed resentment in Haotian’s heart.

Should Haotian start causing trouble for the Journey to the West behind their backs, Buddhism would not be able to withstand it.

Forget it, in the end, it was their own monumental error within Buddhism that led to the current situation; it could be considered a self-inflicted fate.

One couldn’t always rely on the intimidation of the Saint’s power; offering benefits was necessary to assure the Journey to the West proceeded flawlessly, and losing a bit of advantage wouldn’t hurt the bigger picture.

Tathagata nodded, returning the Buddhist greeting as he spoke, "This monk agrees, but the Celestial Lord must also accept a few conditions from me."

"Speak freely."

After a moment of contemplation, Tathagata began, "The person whom the Celestial Lord appoints should not be of too high cultivation, nor should they take action too frequently."

Reducing the impact of this Scripture Seeker on the matters of the Journey to the West would, in turn, decrease the share of Merit Points allotted. Since the major issues could not be altered, he would impose restrictions on the finer details to recover some benefits where possible.

"Agreed," Haotian accepted without hesitation.

In his view, being able to plant one person in the team of Scripture Seekers was already quite an achievement.

Haotian was aware of Tathagata’s thoughts, but as for the Scripture Seeker, the Merit Points that were due would still be substantial.

Plus, considering the many events along the Journey to the West that would require the aid of his Heavenly Court, the Merit Points he, as the lord of the Heavenly Court, would eventually receive were also quite significant.

"In a few days, my Buddhism will hold a Dharma Assembly, and at that time, I will invite that monkey to be the main chef at our Buddhist banquet. I hope the Celestial Lord will not interfere," Tathagata stated his purpose directly since it wasn’t something that needed to be kept hidden.

Haotian raised an eyebrow. Sun Wukong as the main chef?

These monks really knew how to enjoy themselves!

However, Haotian had little respect for the actions of Buddhism, sending the monkey there was obviously to suppress him.

This kind of exploitative behavior, this burning of bridges after crossing, was truly despicable, no wonder monks were said to be the most shameless.

"With that settled, Celestial Lord, I hope you won’t cause any trouble," Tathagata said as he stood up.

"I am not one to go back on my word, but whether there will be any trouble depends on what choices that monkey makes," Haotian responded.

"However, whatever choice the monkey makes, it has nothing to do with me," Haotian reflected, finding Sun Wukong increasingly pleasing to the eye.

He too wished to keep Sun Wukong in the Heavenly Court as the main chef indefinitely, but he had no way to do so, nor the power to make it happen.

Nevertheless, judging by Sun Wukong’s penchant for not following the norm, even in the realm of Buddhism, he wouldn’t lie low; it would be best if he stirred up more trouble.

Haotian schemed with ill intent.

"Celestial Lord, this monk bids you farewell." Tathagata gave another Buddhist salute and turned to leave; he didn’t want to spend another moment here.

He had lost in this confrontation.

"Venerable Tathagata, don’t forget the Spiritual Treasures," Haotian called out leisurely.

Tathagata’s complexion froze instantly and turned somewhat unsightly.

With a muffled grunt, Tathagata casually tossed down two Magical Treasures of Daluo Golden Immortal grade and then departed.

Watching Tathagata’s repressed fury as he left, Haotian was delighted.

This round was a profitable win!

"Just now, why did Tathagata come here?" Jade Pool strolled in, her face marked with curiosity.

"What could he do here?" Wu Tian shrugged his shoulders, disdain evident on his face.

"He came for the monkey."

The monkey?

Shocked, Jade Pool asked hurriedly, "Did you agree?"

"Yes," Haotian replied offhandedly.

But upon seeing Jade Pool’s displeased expression, he became a bit flustered and said with an awkward smile, "Jade Pool, listen to me first!"

Haotian spoke very quickly, recounting the recent events.

Jade Pool then very reluctantly unclenched her fists, feeling a bit sentimental inside. If that was the case, wouldn’t Sun Wukong have only a few days left in her Heavenly Court?

All those delicious meals would also go with her, Jade Pool was extremely reluctant, but she knew it was an unavoidable matter.

Because it was inevitable for Sun Wukong to become a scripture seeker for Buddhism!

Seeing Jade Pool’s fading momentum, Haotian breathed a sigh of relief and avoided a beating.

"We can have the Imperial Kitchen make more dishes in these coming days," Haotian suggested.

Jade Pool didn’t respond, but instead furrowed her brow, seemingly lost in thought.

"That’s it!"

Jade Pool suddenly slammed the table, startling Haotian.

With her brows smoothing out, Jade Pool, a hint of excitement in her voice, said, "This palace can still go to Chaos Residence to enjoy dishes!"

According to Sun Wukong’s words, wouldn’t the cuisine be even more delicious?

"How long before this dish is ready?" In Chaos Residence, Zhao Gongming sat in his seat, mumbling as he watched the charcoal fire in the center.

"Good things come to those who wait," Yunxiao replied softly.

Bixiao picked up the conversation, "Right, right! Don’t be in such a hurry, we have so many people here; doing the dishes one by one, it’s bound to take a while."

Bixiao squinted her eyes, her face revealing anticipation, wondering what reaction her senior sister and brothers would have after experiencing the most essential part of the dishes?

"Ah, if only my fee could be Magical Treasures, that would be wonderful and all this effort I’ve taken to scavenge from the War Division wouldn’t be in vain," Golden Spirit Madonna lamented, resting her chin in her hand and looking quite regretful.

The company fell silent, choked with words. If Haotian knew what his senior sister was always thinking about, not being infuriated to death would count as lucky.

Having such a senior sister taking office in the Heavenly Court was truly a tragedy for the court.

If all the immortals in heaven had the same mindset as the senior sister, the Heavenly Court would likely cease to function properly in just a few days.

As he pondered, Ao Ling came out with the cooking pot, and Zhao Gongming’s mind and spirit were instantly captivated.

He scrutinized the pot in Ao Ling’s hands closely and said, "This thing looks quite novel."

It was his first time seeing such a large pot used for eating.

Ao Ling set the pot over the charcoal fire.

"This is called hotpot," Ao Ling introduced.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gongming nodded, making sense to him—charcoal fire cooking below was spot on, wasn’t it?

Ao Ling turned and went back to the kitchen to help.

Meanwhile, Zhao Gongming stretched his neck and closely observed the red and white scenery inside the pot. Frowning, he said in his deep voice, "This looks so much like Taiji."

Dissatisfaction naturally surfaced on Zhao Gongming’s face.

"Where does it look like that?" Golden Spirit Madonna glared, retorting.

She clearly knew what her junior brother was thinking, but such thoughts couldn’t be voiced too often.

"How does this red and white resemble it at all?"

"Besides, there’s no mutual containment here, Taiji is all about the yin within yang and the yang within yin," she added.