I start by accepting Sun Wukong as my disciple and reshape the Journey to the West

Chapter 151 Breaking the situation
Jin Chanzi was stunned. He was a direct disciple of the Buddha Tathagata in Buddhism. He had gone through ten reincarnations to hide until now. He was confident that his Buddhist heart was unwavering. He had awakened his memories again simply by borrowing merit from the underworld.

Therefore, when Ye Xuantian asked him to hand over the origin of Buddha, he was extremely unwilling, because in his heart, the person Ye Xuantian chose was not necessarily as good as him. No, before this, he always believed that he was the best candidate for the Western Journey Tribulation.

But now, Ye Xuantian, through the evolution of the illusion, has shown him that his so-called Buddhist heart is not indestructible, but rather full of flaws.

He hesitated several times when faced with the questioning of the Prime Minister's wife in his dream.

"So, have I fallen for her?" Sagara raised his head, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment. He didn't understand why he had such deep feelings for his wife.

"All phenomena are empty, and are inherently complete. Why should I seek them externally?" Sagara asked, voicing the confusion in his heart.

His eyes were full of confusion, and he sincerely asked Ye Xuantian, "Because you know better than I do that the Buddha in your heart is no longer in the Spirit Mountain."

"Is that how it is? My faith has crumbled? And why?"

"Because your master in your heart has become your wife, that's why you bow to her, isn't it? You've made her your last anchor. You're afraid that she'll really leave you, and you won't even be able to hold on to the last bit of pure goodness. So you use the title of master and disciple to try to bind her to your side."

As Ye Xuantian finished speaking, Xiangliang cried. He cried again!

The heart-wrenching screams in the illusion contrast sharply with the silent weeping now.

"How can the sage be so sure that the person you chose will be better than me?"

"I'm not sure, so from the beginning I've only been raising him as a puppet. After all, as I said, even after two attempts, Mosquito Daoist is still like a leech, with countless connections to him. So, he's definitely not as good as you. It's just that he's the chosen one of destiny under the calamity in the open, and is better able to accumulate merit."

"If that's the case, then why me?"

"Because compared to you, he has no ties left!"

Ye Xuantian's words made Xiangliang's lips twitch slightly. Chen Xuanzang was indeed free of all attachments now. He was all alone in the world, but he couldn't let go of his wife.

This flaw is fatal.

Thinking of this, Sagara no longer hesitated. A grain of light slowly condensed between his eyebrows, eventually transforming into a swastika. The Buddhist aura on it was vast and boundless. He was a direct disciple of the Buddha, and the true meaning of Mahayana Buddhism was hidden within him. In addition, the Buddha and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva joined forces to reshape the true meaning of the ten lifetimes of reincarnation Buddhism, which was truly a complete success in one battle.

The true meaning of the chosen one of destiny, hidden for ten lifetimes, finally condensed into the origin of Buddha when the great calamity began.

Ye Xuantian opened his palm, and the swastika appeared in his palm. In that instant, a vast Buddhist light rippled out, and his body was bathed in it, shining with dazzling golden light.

In Xiangliang's eyes, Ye Xuantian's body was completely transparent at this moment, without any impurities. This meant that after swallowing the Buddha's essence, Ye Xuantian could become a Buddha on the spot if he wanted to.

"Sage, since the beginning of time, you have not had a speck of dust on your mind. You are a born Buddhist." Xiangliang exclaimed.

Ye Xuantian's lips curled up slightly: "Master, since the beginning of time, it is evident that I have been involved in the mortal world?"

“I have only heard of it occasionally, and I have never seen the Sage travel there unless he has gone on a westward journey,” Xiang Liang replied earnestly.

"Since I have never entered the world, how can I comprehend the emptiness of all phenomena?"

Jin Chanzi was taken aback by Ye Xuantian's answer. Just as he was about to continue the discussion with Ye Xuantian, he saw that Ye Xuantian's figure had begun to dissipate.

Clearly, Ye Xuantian's purpose today was only to unlock the Buddha's essence within his body.

Suddenly, Sagara spoke up: "May I ask the Sage, am I truly succumbing to it, or is the Sage guiding me, deliberately leading me to this state?"

Ye Xuantian's figure vanished, leaving only a voice echoing in Xiang Liang's ears: "The moment you asked that question, you had already fallen."

Upon hearing this, Sagara felt a chill run through his body.

Although he understood that if he did not relinquish the Buddha's essence, the situation would be difficult to resolve, he did not believe that he had willingly fallen into the illusion, hence his question.

But the moment that question arose, Sagara realized that his defeat was not unjust.

The chill that rose from the bottom of his heart startled Sagara awake; he had accidentally spilled the bowl of water his wife had prepared for him.

The coolness seeped into his skin, allowing him to regain his senses and clearly remember his conversation with Ye Xuantian.

"Husband, are you tired?" The wife of the Xiang family came over with a cloak in her hand and draped it over Xiang Liang's shoulders.

"It's late. If you're tired, go to bed early."

Sagara took his wife's hand and made her sit down: "From now on, you and I, husband and wife, will work together to do good deeds, and we will make sure that future generations remember our names."

"My husband has never sought fame, so why has he suddenly had such thoughts today?" the Prime Minister's wife asked in confusion.

“In life, one must always have desires. If one has no desires, one should renounce worldly life and enter a monastery,” Sagara said with a smile.

The smile on Xiang Liang's lips vanished. She placed her hand on Xiang Liang's forehead, then touched her own. "Husband, you don't have a fever. Why are you suddenly saying such nonsense? Didn't you say that once General Yuchi built Xiangguo Temple, you would become a monk? Why have you given up now?"

Sagara held his wife in his arms and gently stroked her hair: "Some important tasks should be entrusted to capable people. If I don't have my wife's help, I'm afraid my thoughts will wander in the dead of night and I will always be tempted by external forces. In that case, let's be realistic, seek fame, and live this life well."

The lady of the Xiang family carefully embraced Xiang Liang, feeling the real touch from his fingertips, and tears streamed down her face.

The large pearls landed on Sagara's shoulders, making him feel immense pressure.

"My lord, have I held you back?"

The words of the Xiang family's wife left Xiang Liang speechless for a long time. Then Ye Xuantian's words echoed in his ears: "You used her as an anchor. You're afraid that without her, you would have already lost your way."

"No! I've figured it out. I only had a slight interest in Buddhism. Otherwise, my master wouldn't have sent me into reincarnation without even asking me and made me bear this mission."

The wife of the Xiang family pushed Xiang Liang away and said irritably, "Husband is talking nonsense again."

“It’s not nonsense. Well then, let’s just treat it as nonsense. Would my wife like to hear the story of her past life that her husband has made up?”

"Of course!"

……

On the locust tree, Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun listened to the words coming from inside the room and couldn't help but look at Ye Xuantian beside him. At this moment, Ye Xuantian's aura was extremely ethereal, and the vast Buddhist charm seemed to overflow from his body as if it were free.

Under the influence of this Buddhist aura, the eyes of the Nine-Headed Lion Saint became much calmer, gradually becoming somewhat dull and lifeless.

boom!
Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun sternly tapped the head of Jiuling Yuansheng, and immediately, a bell rang out, forcing the Buddhist aura surrounding Ye Xuantian into his body. Ye Xuantian exhaled deeply and said to Tianzun, "Tianzun's sealing method is truly exquisite."

"My disciple is somewhat split in personality. Sometimes, his less intelligent side tends to take over the dominant part of his brain, so I spent a few more years studying sealing techniques." The Celestial Venerable smiled and touched the bump on the head of the Nine-Headed Lion Saint.

Nine-Headed Lion looked at Ye Xuantian with teary eyes. If it weren't for Ye Xuantian, he wouldn't have been beaten up.

Ye Xuantian did not laugh, but instead continued following Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun's words: "I wonder what kind of person could possess him under the Tianzun's very nose."

"I govern a blessed land of reincarnation, while all the laws of reincarnation in the world belong to the underworld!" Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun responded.

After Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun finished speaking, he said no more, but instead asked, "Fellow Daoist, you have devoured the Buddha's origin. Can you truly solve this problem once and for all?"

“Saragi is now burdened with ties and has lost his Buddhist essence. Even if he were to compete with Master Xuanzang at the Water and Land Assembly, it would be of no use.”

"Fellow Daoist, it seems you still have regrets in your heart?" Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun was also puzzled when he saw Ye Xuantian staring at Xiangliang's residence.

"indeed!"

"May I ask what regret you have that made you unwilling to leave even after obtaining the origin of Buddha?"

"I thought that his final self-examination in the dream was to confirm his devotion to Buddhism, so I always expected him to kill his wife after he woke up from the dream."

After Ye Xuantian finished speaking, his figure flickered slightly and then disappeared.

Nine-Headed Lion looked at Taiyi Salvation Heavenly Venerable with a shocked expression: "Master, maybe we shouldn't cooperate with the Sage. He's a madman."

At this moment, the Heavenly Venerable of Salvation clenched his fists slightly, glanced meaningfully at Xiang Liang's residence, and then sighed: "You know what, if things really develop as Fellow Daoist Xuan Tian said, I have to re-examine the existence of Buddhism."

"For example?" Nine-Headed Lion asked.

"At that time, it won't be you who will be robbing merits from the lower realms, but me."

At the same time, in the desolate Ghost Palace, where the Jade Cloud Palace had fallen, the golden body of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva suddenly emitted a dazzling light, and then spat out a mouthful of blood.

His face turned deathly pale, and Di Ting also woke up with a start: "Master, are you alright...?"

The last word, Di Ting's voice was almost inaudible, because he saw with his own eyes that thousands of Buddhist karmic causes were being drawn away from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

"The essence of Buddhism has been seized? Is Master Jin Chanzi dead? We have clearly been secretly plotting against each other, so how could anyone still detect Master Jin Chanzi's presence?" The shock in Di Ting's voice was hard to conceal.

Because he knew better than anyone how much Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had done to evade Ye Xuantian's surveillance, and how his ten reincarnations had repeatedly guided Jin Chanzi to awaken and help him forge the origin of Buddhahood.

But now the very essence of Buddhism has been taken away.

“We underestimated him. Now that the source of Buddhism has been taken away, we don’t know how Mount Ling is doing! Listen, let’s hear about the current situation of Mount Ling.” Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said with a serious expression.

Now that the Buddha's origin has been taken away, even He, who is in the process of cultivation, cannot stabilize Himself and has been severely injured. So what about the Tathagata Buddha who is fighting against the Styx Ancestor?

Di Ting trembled, its fur stood on end, and each hair turned into silver threads that disappeared into the void. After a long while, Di Ting finally withdrew its supernatural powers.

"Bodhisattva, Mount Ling is still the same as before; it is impossible to explore it."

……

As the statue of Maitreya Buddha descended from Lingjiu Peak, the Buddha, who was meditating facing a wall, suddenly opened his eyes and squinted at the enormous swastika that appeared before him.

"My Buddha, you have finally returned."

Maitreya Buddha placed one hand on the swastika, and instantly, streams of Buddhist energy flowed into it. The swastika expanded from the center to both sides, and a spatial gate appeared.

Ye Xuantian stepped out from the crowd, and Maitreya Buddha placed one hand in front of his chest to form a mudra.

"It's you! Where is Jin Chanzi? Where is Buddha?"

“I have already absorbed the essence of Buddha, and I have made further progress. I have come here to repay this karmic debt. After all, this is the sacred realm of Mount Ling. Even with the blessing of the essence of Buddha, the Tathagata Buddha will not allow me to stay any longer. Therefore, my time is limited. I ask Maitreya Buddha to clear the way for me.”

Upon hearing this, Maitreya Buddha frowned.

He knew that Ye Xuantian's words were not false at all. After all, Ye Xuantian had taken away the Buddha's origin, and the Buddha himself would definitely sense it. At this moment, whoever possessed the Buddha's origin was the Buddha's enemy.

Not long ago, Mount Ling underwent a change of Buddha. With the passing of Dipankara Buddha, Tathagata Buddha has now become the leader of Mount Ling.

The possession of the Styx Ancestor has caused Mount Ling to be filled with fear, with every blade of grass and every tree under the Buddha's perception, yet none of them possess any sentience.

"Can I trust you, fellow Daoist?" Maitreya Buddha asked.

“The future Buddha has no one else to trust but me. Without the Buddha’s origin, Mount Ling is now an impregnable fortress, and no one can get in. If the future Buddha continues to delay, I’m afraid I will be squeezed out by the forces here.”

Maitreya Buddha gave a wry smile, but without any further hesitation, his hands quickly formed hand seals.

"Purple Qi is coming from the east!"

hum!
Suddenly, a buzzing sound emanated from the sacred mountain. At the very moment the buzzing sound rang out, a wisp of purple mist appeared in the east and settled on the stone wall.

This wisp of purple energy pierced directly through the seal of the Styx Ancestor, and at that moment, a passage appeared in the seal.

"It's now!"

Without Maitreya Buddha needing to speak, Ye Xuantian had already disappeared into the purple aura, his figure flashing as he appeared outside Lingjiu Peak.

Maitreya Buddha followed closely behind. The two exchanged a glance, their figures flickered slightly, and then disappeared. When they reappeared, they were already in the main hall.

At this moment, inside Leiyin Temple, the Buddha sat upright with his eyes closed. All the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, monks, and nuns were also meditating with their eyes closed, but there were some differences.

The monks here were shrouded in black mist, and the lotus flowers beneath them were covered in blood.

Endless white bones are climbing outwards from the crimson, and skeletal hands may seize the Buddhas on the lotus at any moment.

The moment Ye Xuantian and Maitreya Buddha appeared, the Buddha above seemed to sense something, abruptly opening his eyes and looking at the newcomers: "Maitreya Buddha, you collude with evil demons and heretics, betraying my Buddhist sect! How dare you!"

(End of this chapter)