Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 297: The Tathagata Meets the Two Sages of the West
Retrospection!
Another invisible force struck, and the flower that was already dying recovered to its original state as if the footage was rewound, indistinguishable from before.
To be able to rewind? Fairy Baihua was completely shocked, How powerful was that!
Wouldn’t this make tending to flowers much easier in the future? Fairy Baihua’s mind started to race with possibilities.
Moreover...deep shock was concealed in Fairy Baihua’s eyes, this divine skill was not so simple!
The heritage she remembered told her that when this divine skill was mastered to perfection, she could apply this ability elsewhere!
Time Law, the core power of this divine skill.
Laws! 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
These were something only Great Luo Golden Immortals could possibly comprehend! And now, she, a mere Golden Immortal, had awakened it!
And it was the rarest Time Law at that! How defying of the heavens was this!
Just who was Shopkeeper Chen?
Fairy Baihua felt all her worldviews were about to be overturned.
Since when could divine skills, especially those containing Laws, be awakened so effortlessly?
This feeling was like playing around, as if she were dreaming!
At this moment, Fairy Baihua’s reverence for Chen Nuo rose to an unattainable level in her heart, and she also gained a clear goal for her own cultivation.
She had previously felt there was no need, because even if she practiced desperately, it would not significantly enhance her power.
After all, Her Highness had only taught her the most basic spells, which couldn’t really be considered a trump card.
But now, if she could completely master this divine skill, she would be able to grasp the Time Law, which would indeed be incredibly powerful!
Shopkeeper Chen was truly unfathomable!
At the same time, within the Zixiao Palace above the Chaos.
Tathagata was sitting cross-legged, his holy radiance withdrawn, not as ostentatious as when he was outside; opposite him were two monks, Jieyin and Zhunti, seated high on lotus platforms.
Although they did not appear to be much, the simple aura they emitted was crushing, leaving others breathless.
This was exactly how the Tathagata felt at the moment, covertly circulating his Buddha Power to counteract it, and he could not help but feel astonished in his heart.
He had thought that now, as a late-stage Quasi-Saint, he was only a step away from perfection and that he could hold his own in a fight with a Saint. It seemed he had been too presumptuous.
He also knew that this was an intimidation from the Two Saints; after all, for so long, the Journey to the West had suffered losses without much progress.
"Tathagata, you have come here today, what is it you seek?" The grand hall had been quiet for a long time until Zhunti spoke up finally, and the heavy pressure that filled the air dissipated.
Tathagata took a sigh of relief, gathered his thoughts, and said, "Honored Saint, the monkey did not cause havoc at the Flat Peach Banquet; instead, he became the Imperial Chef in charge of the event at the Heavenly Court."
Zhunti coldly glanced at Tathagata: "This matter is already known to this poor monk."
The Shan Shi Bodhi Patriarch that he had left within the Three Realms was not just for show, and the reason he confronted Tathagata as he did was precisely because of this.
Such passive response needed to be admonished.
If Tathagata knew what Zhunti was thinking, he would certainly feel like crying, he could accept that his efforts had been ineffective, but this passivity...
He was already at his wit’s end, not only having to scheme every day but also having to deal with a whole mess of problems, now he didn’t even have time for his regular cultivation.
As for Zhunti’s remark, Tathagata was not surprised; he was merely making a routine report.
Holding the Buddhist Seal, Tathagata’s voice floated gently, "However, Buddhism has already devised a countermeasure. Since that monkey has become a chief chef, this monk will cater to his preferences."
"We will hold a Buddhist Dharma banquet and invite that monkey to be the chef for our Buddhist feast. Once the monkey takes the bait, this monk will find a reason to suppress him. Delving deep into Spirit Mountain, sitting among the Buddhas, even if the monkey has immense abilities, he can’t escape with wings attached!"
A ruthless light flashed in Tathagata’s eyes; up to this point, nothing concerning this monkey had ever gone according to plan.
Yet, paradoxically, Sun Wukong, this monkey, was a crucial part of the major calamity of the Westward Journey; he couldn’t be ignored. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he must make the monkey atone thoroughly.
He had already planned the move he would use that day; the Buddhism Country in Palm— one move to suppress!
What he wanted was precisely this decisiveness to showcase his might as Tathagata and the power of Spirit Mountain’s Buddhism!
A Buddhist Dharma banquet?
Zhunti pondered for a moment and then nodded: "That sounds good."
To cater to his preferences— indeed, it was a good idea. Since the monkey was elusive, they should tempt him into falling into the trap on his own.
"Are you confident?" Jieyin, with a pained expression by Zhunti’s side, also spoke up.
Tathagata nodded and returned the gesture: "This monk has already negotiated with the Jade Emperor, who likewise will not intervene."
At this point, Tathagata felt a twinge of pain—he had been tricked by Divine Heaven into giving up no fewer than three magical treasures to settle the issue.
"Furthermore, this monk has ordered Maitreya to go and explain the matter to that monkey, and the monkey has already agreed."
Maitreya, huh? Jieyin whispered the name to himself. He had high hopes for this disciple of his.
Maitreya had great talent, even comparable to Tathagata, but when it came to cunning and strategy, he was still too naive.
With such a disposition, Maitreya was not yet fit to take on major affairs of Buddhism, which was why he and his fellow disciple had agreed to let Tathagata become the current Master of the Buddhist Sect, with Maitreya as the Future Buddha Lord.
"That’s good to hear," Zhunti replied, relieved to finally have some good news after such a long time.
If things had continued as they had, he would’ve started to doubt whether the great flourishing of Buddhism foretold by his teacher was merely a ruse.
"However," Tathagata hesitated, but in the end, he spoke up, "the person behind that monkey is truly mysterious and has never shown himself."
"This monk fears that something unexpected might happen, hence, he has come to seek the counsel of the Two Saints today."
Tathagata spoke frankly, admitting that he had never been able to grasp the depth of the mysterious person who had taken in Sun Wukong ten years ago.
But from Sun Wukong’s complete victory over Six-Eared Macaque, it was clear that this person was far from simple!
If it had been earlier, he might have been confident in his own strength, but now, after so many failed plots, his wariness of the person pulling the strings had escalated to an extremely high level. He was even unsure whether he could match them.
"Mysterious?" Zhunti scoffed: "Nothing but a mere clown with delusions of grandeur."
Had the Zixiao Palace not obscured so much of fate, and had their teacher not restricted them from leaving, he and his elder brother would have already descended to the Lower Realm to flesh out the person behind this disruption.
Zhunti was unconvinced: "In this world, no one is stronger than a Saint."
Tathagata’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly, thinking to himself how everyone knows Saints are the most powerful in the world, but the problem now was that it didn’t help! The Daoist Ancestor remained silent and could not intervene.
At the Dharma banquet, when he was to suppress the monkey, if that person behind the scenes suddenly appeared and caused chaos on Spirit Mountain, Tathagata didn’t even dare to think of the consequences.
You have to realize that to suppress the monkey through this Dharma banquet, to greatly strengthen Spirit Mountain’s influence to deter the petty and weak, he had Guanyin issue invitations to all the Immortals of the Three Realms.
If they were to lose at that time, allowing that person behind the scenes to leave unbridled, the weakened prestige of his Buddhism from years of failures would sink even further!
The calamity of the Westward Journey, the grand rise of Buddhism’s eastward passage— that could become a joke and a talking point among all Immortals of the Three Realms.
