My brother is so cunning

Chapter 915 One Must Be Strong to Forge Iron

The Jade Emperor and Venerable Kasyapa thought that Wen Rui wouldn't stoop to swindling the traffic fees worth billions of immortal jades, but they were judging a petty person by the standards of a virtuous person.

If given the chance, let alone billions of immortal jades, Wen Rui would even stoop to taking advantage of a mere dozen or so pieces of immortal jade.

Small gains add up, and small profits build a great fortune. A good businessman never looks down on small deals.

Unfortunately, Venerable Ananda didn't give him that chance and pocketed the billions of immortal jades.

Wen Rui, who thought he could take this opportunity to rip off the Western Religion, was greeted by Venerable Ananda, who was in charge of business with him. After being treated to good food and drink, he learned that this fellow had only bought the lowest level of VIP access and a one-month data package.

A business deal worth only a few million Immortal Jade was not worth the effort of the wealthy Wen, who could easily spend millions of Immortal Jade in a matter of minutes, causing him to lose a lot of opportunity costs.

Adhering to the philosophy that "not making a profit is a loss," Wen Rui could not swallow this insult. Enraged, he secretly contacted the Mosquito Taoist, who had been biding his time and enduring hardship, and organized a group of elite demonic mosquitoes to launch a surprise attack on Lingjiu Cave.

If you're unwilling to spend money on military expenditures, then use it to pay war reparations!

As for the Venerable Ananda, if he had honestly paid the data usage fee, he could have bought peace and safety with his money, and he wouldn't have to worry about the invasion of demonic mosquitoes for at least a hundred years. The exorbitant data usage fee he paid would have been completely wasted.

If the Western Church finds this expense unbearable and stops paying for data, then sorry, the mosquito army will come knocking on their door the next day.

In reality, whether or not they pay, the Western Religion is destined to be ripped off. Not paying might result in less loss, lest Wen Rui drain their Paradise Treasury dry, leaving them penniless even for their coffin.

Venerable Ananda, though ill-intentioned, did a good deed by sacrificing himself to shield the Western Religion from a century-long financial calamity.

These behind-the-scenes secrets were known to no one in the Three Realms except Wen Rui. Even Mosquito Daoist, who acted as a henchman, only received the order to attack Lingjiu Cave, knowing only the action but not the reason behind it.

For a mere billion or so Immortal Jade, Wen Rui transformed into a behind-the-scenes mastermind and warmonger, instructing his agents to launch a shameless sneak attack on the Western Religion. This may seem a bit shameless, but it is indeed very shameless.

However, all of this is in perfect accordance with the rules of Heaven.

War is a continuation of politics.

Politics is the concentrated expression of economics.

During the Investiture of the Gods war, the Western Sect adhered to this principle, seizing vast profits during the war and prioritizing profit above all else, which is why they became the biggest winner in the great calamity.

The Chan and Jie sects did not follow this rule, and after a fierce battle, they all benefited the Western sect, ending up with both sides suffering heavy losses.

The Western Sect profited from the Jie Sect back then, but Wen Rui refused to let them return it. This shows that their hearts were not open to the Dao. He secretly planned this war, which also fulfilled the Western Sect's doctrine of "cause and effect, and retribution is inevitable," thus settling the karmic debt from five hundred years ago for the Western Sect.

Venerable Kasyapa was embarrassed when he met the Jade Emperor. He stood outside the Lingxiao Palace, gazing in the direction of the Thunder Palace. He hesitated for a long time but did not dare to go to Venerable Wen to complain.

The disciples of the Western religion are most adept at empathy and putting themselves in others' shoes. Kasyapa was certain that even if he went to complain, what father wouldn't side with his son?

One of Tathagata's uncles, through nepotism, caused such a mess of karma in Xiniu Hezhou, creating mountains of corpses and seas of blood, yet no Buddha or Bodhisattva dared to intervene. Even if Tathagata was forced to intervene, he would only be punished with three cups of wine and given a high-ranking official position and generous salary as the Great Garuda King. What could Tathagata do to him?

Even a biological son isn't closer than a distant uncle. Even if Venerable Wen had the enlightenment of the Buddha, he would still protect his own son to the death. Without even visiting or using his supernatural powers, Kasyapa was certain that if he went to Venerable Wen to complain, he would be kicked out, or worse, detained and punished for false accusation.

The torture inflicted on the five hundred Arhats by Wen Rui during their imprisonment in Heaven serves as a precedent. Even now, there are sayings on Mount Ling: "Better to go to hell than to enter the Heavenly Prison" and "Mara is easy to subdue, but Wen Rui is hard to deal with."

Most importantly, Venerable Kasyapa knew that he was almost certainly innocent of being falsely accused, and that Heaven would not only not punish him but would also bestow merit upon him.

There is a 99% chance that Ananda embezzled the Blissful Treasury, which is worth over a billion immortal jades.

With a deep sigh, Venerable Kasyapa used his supernatural powers to travel on golden lotuses towards the Western Vulture Peak.

You need to be strong yourself to succeed. If you can't get something on the battlefield, don't expect to get it from the negotiating table. This is no longer the era where Western religions can just open their mouths at the gates of Heaven and get whatever they want.

Venerable Kasyapa made a decision and rushed back to Mount Ling, rallied three thousand Jiedi, summoned five hundred Arhats, and invited all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to form the most powerful Western religious army in history. They immediately set off to aid Vulture Peak Cave.

……

At Lingjiu Temple, the protective array had turned from gold to dark red, and the shield dome was riddled with holes like a gauze net, with cracks large enough for demonic mosquitoes to reach in and tear and scratch.

Venerable Apali and Venerable Sariputra looked distressed, facing imminent destruction and death, yet they showed no fear. They sat cross-legged with their palms together, silently reciting the Ksitigarbha Sutra.

This means they've already taken their hands off the keyboard, completely given up the fight, and are now making the most of their time to perform rituals to help themselves pass on to the afterlife.

Logically speaking, given the will of devout Western believers, even in dire straits, they should rouse their spirits and fight to the death against each monster they encounter.

However, the two Venerable Ones were good at knowing their own strength. The more than 10,000 demons outside were all at the same level of combat power as the two of them. Even if they unleashed their power before they died, how many of them could they kill?

Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, unleashed his potential in the face of a desperate situation at the Wujiang River, slaying countless Han soldiers who were besieging him, thus demonstrating his heroic nature.

That was only because he was surrounded by a bunch of ragtag soldiers.

If it had been five thousand Guan Yus and five thousand Qin Qiongs who had surrounded Xiang Yu, he probably wouldn't have even had time to commit suicide before being pinned to the ground and trampled to death by Guan Yu.

The wisest choice for the two Western religious masters was to think of non-violent non-resistance and to take advantage of the last moments to sincerely recite scriptures for their own salvation.

With a "crash," just as the two Venerable Ones were chanting the Rebirth Mantra for the third time, the protective array of Lingjiu Cave finally reached its limit. The largest breach burst open, triggering a series of chain reactions. The entire array dome shattered like tempered glass, collapsing almost simultaneously and turning into a sky full of light and dust.

“Amitabha! For countless eons to come, I will use all expedient means to liberate all sentient beings in the six realms from suffering, so that I myself may attain Buddhahood.”

"World Honored One, Ksitigarbha! If a person's karmic retribution is about to end, and they are destined to fall into evil realms due to all their sins and karmic obstacles, then by virtue of this merit, after death they will be reborn in the human or heavenly realms, enjoying supreme bliss, and all their sins and obstacles will be completely eradicated."

With their eyes closed and hands at their sides, neither sad nor happy, the two venerable ones recited the last passage of scripture in a loud voice, before joining hands and calmly embarking on the cycle of rebirth, sacrificing themselves for the cause.

(End of this chapter)