Donghuang Ziji

Chapter 922 The Demon's Scheme

After Sun Wukong was captured and taken to heaven, he was tied to the Demon-Subduing Pillar. Warriors chopped at him with knives and axes, and heavenly generals stabbed him with spears and swords, but none of them could harm him.

Then the fire gods set fire to it, and even though a great sun appeared outside the demon-subduing pillar, it could not harm it in the slightest.

Then the gods of thunder again used lightning to strike him repeatedly, which caused shimmering light to appear on his body.

The gods couldn't understand it, but Chu Tai saw it clearly. The Heavenly Emperor first had the strongmen and heavenly generals take action to further stimulate the primordial energy within Sun Wukong. Then, he used fire to stimulate his divine power, and finally, he used thunder to strike him, just like a diamond being tempered a hundred times, which made him even stronger.

Seeing that the time was about right, Laozi stepped forward and said, "This monkey has great supernatural powers, and ordinary methods can no longer do anything to him. Why not send him into my alchemy furnace and burn him with both gentle and fierce fire? We will surely be able to extract some spiritual essence and restore the Peach Garden from its losses."

Laozi's words were quite frightening, but none of the gods and immortals present thought they were wrong; on the contrary, they all nodded in agreement.

Only the four duty officers, twelve earthly branches, twenty-eight constellations, thirty-six thunder gods, and the Thunder God, who were saved by Chu Tai, felt that something was wrong.

Chu Tai saw it clearly and realized that it was the subtle influence of the Heavenly Demon.

Through the power of unseen will, and with the rise of spiritual energy, it merged into the bodies of the gods and immortals, secretly influencing them without their knowledge, causing their nature to gradually deviate.

Now that people can accept the practice of refining people with elixirs, it won't be long before they can accept the spiritual essence cooked from the human body, and after that, they will be eating people directly.

'The Heavenly Court really needs to be given a warning.'

Feeling something in his heart, Chu Tai got up and left. The Heavenly Emperor did not stop him, but Guanyin hurriedly followed and invited Chu Tai to sit on Mount Ling.

"The Emperor once served as a teacher of gods and men on Mount Ling. When this old monk came, the World-Honored One specially instructed me to invite you to Mount Ling for a visit."

Chu Tai understood what the other party meant, and he also wanted to avoid the early events that would lead to his later rampage in the Heavenly Palace.

After all, he had previously saved the gods and prevented them from returning to the Heavenly Palace, which led people to mistakenly believe that he was trying to seize power. If he stayed any longer, Sun Wukong would cause trouble again, and who knows what kind of rumors would spread. It would be better to go with Guanyin to see the Buddhist lineage in this world.

In addition, there was another reason: Jin Chanzi had not yet been reincarnated, and Chu Tai also wanted to take this opportunity to see why this Tang Sanzang had been reincarnated in the past.

Upon entering Mount Ling, Chu Tai immediately felt the vastness of the Buddhist light within.

Like Laozi, the Buddha Tathagata in this time period, although he does not have a complete first-grade cultivation, must have walked the first-grade true path. Therefore, he is a great power with a first-grade status in this world.

Upon seeing the other party, Chu Tai first bowed.

The Buddha returned the greeting and said, "It is truly an honor for my humble abode, Mount Ling, that Your Majesty has come here."

Chu Tai offered a few words of flattery, and then the Buddha began to expound on Mahayana Buddhism.

Whether it was the Buddha's intention to reveal the supreme subtlety of Mahayana Buddhism or not, he sat on the lotus throne and preached the Dharma. His mouth opened slightly, his tongue blossomed like a lotus flower, and his words became the Dharma. Amazing phenomena frequently occurred.

Hundreds of thousands of radiant lights from the relics bloomed, intertwining like a vast ribbon, stirring up primordial energy and transforming into a rain of Manjushri flowers. The petals fell to the ground, giving rise to a divine spring, from which precious lotuses grew, and on the lotuses grew golden lamps with palm leaves, their radiance shining brightly, illuminating the heavens, clearing the universe, and dispelling all evil.

Chu Tai nodded repeatedly as he listened, and many profound Buddhist teachings flowed into his heart. Following his mind, they surged up to the area around the Eastern Emperor Bell, allowing it to be slightly touched by Buddhist light, so that the Three Buddhas and the Fruits of the Three Worlds within it could sense it.

Chu Tai clapped in response, and melodious sounds arose, manifesting countless colors and exuding Taoist charm. White lotuses bloomed, and the meaning within these lotuses was neither Buddhist nor Taoist, existing between the two. Under the influence of the Tathagata's Dharma, they were born and destroyed, transforming into a boundless sea of ​​flowers.

For the next forty days or so, boundless blessings, auspiciousness, longevity, and wealth converged and surged. Just when the two were communicating most harmoniously, a snoring sound rang out.

Chu Tai looked down and saw a handsome monk with clear eyes and a radiant aura sleeping soundly at this moment.

The Buddha frowned, his words of wisdom ceased, and the surrounding phenomena of heavenly flowers, divine springs, golden lotuses, and precious blossoms vanished. Chu Tai also stopped, and the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and novices naturally awoke.

But Jin Chanzi's snoring continued, frightening many Bodhisattvas and Arhats who looked terrified.

Guanyin and the Buddhas, however, frowned and showed hesitation.

They were not ordinary cultivators, and naturally they knew that the exchange between Tathagata and Chu Tai involved many profound Buddhist teachings, which even those of them who had achieved great cultivation would find difficult to resist. As Tathagata's second disciple, Jin Chanzi possessed first-rate comprehension and innate talent, and should not have encountered such problems.

But he was still fast asleep, either because he genuinely disliked the interaction between the two, or it was simply the result of the natural order.

Many thoughts flashed through Guanyin's mind. Just as she was about to say something to persuade him, she saw the Buddha's body turn into flames of Buddha light and rebuke her.

"Jin Chanzi, how dare you be so disrespectful to my sect! You fell asleep while I was lecturing to the Emperor, showing disrespect to the wondrous scriptures of both the Immortal and Buddhist lineages. Today, I will strip you of your position and demote your spirit, sending you to be reborn in the Eastern Land. When will you attain enlightenment and return to my sect?"

With a flick of his robe, the Buddha's light and precious flames transformed into a torrent, blasting the awakened Jin Chanzi's spiritual light out of the Great Thunderclap Temple, leaving his Dharma body on the lotus throne, thus binding his path to enlightenment.

Many novices were shocked upon seeing this, while the Arhats seemed to be deep in thought, and the Bodhisattvas had already lowered their eyes and smiled, understanding the key point.

Chu Tai frowned as he looked at Jin Chanzi who was leaving.

Chu Tai did not see it before Tathagata made his move, but he understood as soon as Tathagata made his move.

The essence of the Golden Cicada is the remnant of the Tathagata, or rather, the Golden Cicada itself is a new spirit born from the old body that the Tathagata shed.

Now, Jin Chanzi has used the "Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell" technique to shed the old body left by the Buddha and has become the carrier of the turbid energy of the entire Ling Mountain.

This move may seem like Jin Chanzi is at a disadvantage, but in reality, Jin Chanzi used this opportunity to completely break free from the influence of Tathagata's enlightenment.

'wrong. '

Chu Tai muttered to himself.

'Jin Chanzi's current true spiritual nature is entirely based on the influence of the Buddha's former body and the fruits of his enlightenment. He cannot be completely independent of it. There are probably still questions surrounding his ten reincarnations...'

Upon realizing this, a flash of Buddhist inspiration appeared in Chu Tai's mind, only to quickly dissipate, while the Three Buddhas system on the Eastern Emperor Bell also revealed rays of Buddhist light.

These changes were all completed in a very short time. Throughout the process, Chu Tai remained calm. Suddenly, Tathagata turned his head and instructed the Dharma Protector Jialan to go outside Mount Ling to greet Youyi Lingguan and Yisheng Zhenjun.

The spirit official and the True Lord, upon entering, saw Chu Tai. They were startled, their expressions changing slightly, but they quickly regained their composure and stepped forward to pay their respects. Chu Tai, observing their expressions, felt that they seemed to have misunderstood again, and muttered to himself, 'The Heavenly Court needs to give them a good talking-to.'

Of course, Chu Tai's expression remained unchanged as he directly asked, "Why are you two here at Mount Ling instead of in the Heavenly Court?"

Yisheng Zhenjun stepped forward and said, “World Honored One, a stone monkey was born in Flower Fruit Mountain. He learned supernatural powers from somewhere and has been causing chaos. The Heavenly Emperor issued a decree to offer him amnesty… Now he has escaped from Laozi’s Eight Trigrams Furnace, defeated the Heavenly Soldiers, and entered the Tongming Hall. At this moment, he is fighting Wang Lingguan outside the Lingxiao Hall. There are also thirty-six Thunder Generals who have trapped him in the center, weaving a Heavenly Net, but they are unable to suppress him. The situation is urgent, and the Heavenly Emperor has specially sent us here to ask the Tathagata for help.”

As Zhenjun said this, he couldn't help but glance at Chu Tai.

The Buddha, seeing this, did not express his opinion, but spoke directly to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas: "You all sit here on your lotus seats and do not disturb the meditation positions. Wait until I return from subduing the demon and rescuing the emperor, and then continue to preach the sutra."

After saying that, Tathagata looked at Chu Tai and asked, "Will Your Majesty stay here, or will you go with this old monk to rescue the Emperor?"

"Since the Heavenly Court is in such turmoil, I should go there myself."

After saying that, Chu Tai summoned the nine-headed green lion, which landed on his back, and they rode back to the Heavenly Palace on a cloud.

The Tathagata then summoned the Venerable Ananda and Venerable Kasyapa to accompany him. Beneath their feet, countless rays of light manifested a nine-tiered golden lotus platform, and a vast Buddha light transformed into auspicious clouds, carrying the three of them into the Heavenly Palace.

Youyi Lingguan and Yisheng Zhenjun hurriedly followed. When the six people and one beast arrived outside the Tongming Hall, they felt a terrifying evil aura hovering above the Heavenly Palace.

Meanwhile, outside the Tongming Hall, tattered flags fluttered in the wind, and wisps of celestial and terrestrial light transformed into fireflies dancing in the air.

The palace was ravaged by war and weapons, and divine blood, divine light, evil energy and turbid energy were intertwined and gradually emerged in the heavenly court.

Upon seeing this, True Lord Yisheng exclaimed in alarm, "This is bad!" Chu Tai also frowned, his green branch dancing up and down, sprinkling sweet dew to purify the filth, cleanse the evil energy, and suppress the turbid energy, while simultaneously resurrecting the heavenly generals and spirit officials who had died at the hands of Sun Wukong.

The Buddha focused his gaze, his eyes gleaming with wisdom, and saw a glimmer of true nature manifesting within the malevolent aura, but that glimmer of true nature was now somewhat shaky.

Reciting Buddhist chants, Tathagata looked at Chu Tai and said, "Your Majesty, I trouble you to suppress the filth and impurity of this place. This old monk will take his leave first."

After speaking, a wisp of Buddha's light appeared, and he vanished into it.

Chu Tai glanced at Sun Wukong's aura, frowned, and said in a low voice, "It's a bit too fast."

As he spoke, he suddenly felt wisps of turbid air churning around him. Startled, he glanced around and realized something was wrong.

'The Heavenly Demon seized the opportunity to make his move!'

Chu Tai stared at the outside of the Lingxiao Palace. The thirty-six thunder gods who were supposed to be cooperating with Wang Lingguan were now surrounded by surging demonic energy, while Sun Wukong himself charged into the Lingxiao Palace and swung his staff at the Heavenly Emperor.

At the same time, the turbid air in the entire Heavenly Court suddenly boiled. Chu Tai flicked the green branch in his hand, scattering sweet rain everywhere. Countless green lotuses bloomed, suppressing the turbid air. The glass bottle tilted, spraying out countless streams of light, which landed in various places in the Heavenly Court, sprouting roots and growing into green lotuses, precious flowers, ancient trees and immortal vines, coloring most of the Heavenly Court with a green hue.

However, this action stirred up some of the gods in the Heavenly Court, and their gazes toward Chu Tai were either hostile or flickering.

The former was filled with murderous intent and immediately made a move, while the latter hesitated and used magic to stop the former when he made his move. The two were instantly locked in combat.

Behind all of this, an invisible eye stands in the void, silently watching.

Within those eyes were more eyes, countless eyes overlapping and layering, constantly distorting the gods' perceptions and stirring up the turbid energy.

Along with those eyes appeared another mysterious and pure aura, supreme and containing countless concepts of heaven.

Of course, this one had just manifested when he was stopped by Laozi, who trapped him in a ring, confining him within it, and he was temporarily unable to break free.

However, Laozi was also bound by it and could not avoid its influence.

This is what led to the current situation.

Chu Tai suppressed his turbid energy, looked into the eyes, and was about to make a move when those eyes looked at him, and many demonic thoughts arose from them.

Just like the experience of his incarnation in Shangqing Tianxia, ​​Chu Tai now felt countless ideas falling on him, trying to separate them from his original self, and to create a sense of difference and independence.

"You should have your own life, just like the cicada that sheds its shell, breaking free from the constraints of your original self."

'No, no, no, a significant portion of your current cultivation and spiritual attainment is self-made. Why should you return it all? You can strive to earn some, to tear a part from your self-righteous original self.'

"Didn't he claim that Heaven and Man are separate entities, that there is a unified Tao? Then why can't you separate them? After all, the unified Tao of humanity isn't entirely in his hands."

Join us, we can help you…

Among his many thoughts, there was also a trace of pure energy restrained by Laozi, but Chu Tai always felt that if he really agreed, that pure energy would probably abandon him immediately, or even kill him.

It was a completely unfounded feeling, but Chu Tai thought it was very likely.

'so……'

The thought had barely formed when Chu Tai interrupted himself, silently drawing strength from the Eastern Emperor Bell.

But this time, under the watchful eye of the Heavenly Demon, Chu Tai felt that his connection with the Eastern Emperor Bell had become increasingly strained, as if many obstacles had appeared on what was once a smooth road. Although he could still make contact, it was much more difficult to mobilize his power.

Furthermore, Chu Tai could sense that the Heavenly Demon was using the concept of his connection with the Eastern Emperor Bell, and the concept of obstacles in that connection, to secretly influence him.

'So I was influenced in the same way before?'

Chu Tai was startled, realizing that he might have guessed that he too had been affected by the power of the Heavenly Demon because of similar actions, or even because of others' suspicion of him.

Thinking of this, Chu Tai couldn't help but feel anxious, and once this anxiety arose, it began to spread wildly, trying to gradually take over his consciousness.

The nine-headed azure lion beneath Chu Tai seemed to sense something, and disregarding its battle with the nine-headed cloud dragon, it borrowed their strength and roared at Chu Tai. The ninefold lion roar echoed in all directions, shaking Chu Tai's mind and trembling the surrounding void, but it did not affect the power of the Heavenly Demon. In fact, the Heavenly Demon's power, taking advantage of this fright, fell over an even wider area, exerting its influence on the surroundings.

(End of this chapter)