Investiture of the Gods: I am Bigan, the Master of Conspiracy

Chapter 187 Lies are like mountains of excrement, a laughing stock throughout the three realms!

Five hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye, like a fleeting moment.

On the walls of Chang'an, the morning bell tolls, and the sound of Buddhist chants lingers.

The pilgrim Tang Sanzang, draped in a brocade cassock and holding a nine-ringed staff, with a compassionate yet resolute face, slowly set off from Chang'an with a devout heart for the true scriptures.

As Tang Sanzang traveled westward, the places he passed through were magnificent, but also fraught with hidden dangers.

Before long, they took in the powerful Sun Wukong at the foot of the Five Elements Mountain.

The monkey broke free from its five-hundred-year bondage, regained its freedom, and was overjoyed. From then on, it followed Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West.

Later, at Eagle Sorrow Gorge, he captured Ao Lie, who had transformed into a white dragon horse. This horse was agile and carried Tang Sanzang on his journey to the west.

Later, they met Zhu Bajie in Gao Village. Although the fool was lazy by nature, he was also honest and lovable. After being subdued by Sun Wukong, he also joined the journey to the West.

At Liusha River, Sha Wujing became a disciple of Tang Sanzang. This honest and simple Sha Wujing carried a demon-subduing staff and carried the load for the journey to obtain the scriptures.

Several years passed unnoticed during the pilgrimage. The entire Three Realms remained peaceful. Inside the Great Hall of Mount Ling, the Buddha's light shone brightly, and the golden body of the Tathagata stood solemnly and majestically.

Guanyin Bodhisattva looked solemnly at the Buddha sitting on the lotus throne and said respectfully, "Buddha, since Sanzang traveled from Chang'an for several years, the Jie Sect and Bigan have not made any move to interfere. This situation is truly puzzling to this humble monk."

The Buddha narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze deep and unfathomable, and slowly said, "Do not be careless. In the past five hundred years, the causal chain of the Journey to the West has changed. Many unexpected kingdoms have appeared out of nowhere, and many demons have also come to the Journey to the West. These signs must be the work of Bi Gan. However, what he is plotting is not simply to obstruct the Journey to the West, but I cannot even deduce what he intends to do."

Guanyin Bodhisattva nodded slightly and continued, "Now that the pilgrims are about to arrive at Wuzhuang Temple, I wonder how Senior Zhenyuanzi will treat this journey to the West."

After a moment of contemplation, the Buddha slowly said, "During the Ullambana Festival, Jin Chanzi served Bodhi tea to Zhen Yuanzi. Based on this connection, Zhen Yuanzi should not hinder the journey to the West."

After hearing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva nodded slightly: "That would be best. However, over the years, the Golden Spirit Mother must have perfected the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation. If such an unparalleled killing formation is set up on the journey to the West, the great cause of the journey to the West may not be able to continue. I wonder how we should deal with this?"

Upon hearing this, the Buddha smiled faintly and calmly said, "If the Jie Sect truly dares to use the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation to obstruct this trend that aligns with the Heavenly Dao, it will inevitably provoke intervention from the Heavenly Dao. We need not worry about this; the Heavenly Dao will naturally balance everything."

The Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation has actually surpassed the limits that anything below the level of a saint in the Three Realms can handle.

Once the Jie Sect activates the Zhuxian Sword Formation, the Heavenly Dao rules will become ineffective, and Buddhism will inevitably receive an epic boost in order to advance the overall trend.

In this great calamity, the fear is not of breaking the balance, but of maintaining it. If the balance is broken, even if a sage were to descend to earth again, he would still crush all.

Buddhism is not afraid of the Jie Sect taking stronger measures to obstruct them. What Buddhism fears is Yin Ziyu's ingenious scheme, which, like the one used against Xiqi, could fundamentally undermine them over a trivial matter.

Several years have passed since the start of Journey to the West, and all parties in the Three Realms have been watching to see what kind of scene this great calamity of Journey to the West will unfold. However, to everyone's surprise, it has been quiet all along, but they all know that this is the eve of a storm.

On this day, the sun hung high in the sky, its rays falling on the path the four pilgrims traveled.

The four of them arrived at the foot of Longevity Hill, where a majestic mountain range stretched out before them, exuding an extraordinary aura.

But there stood a stone tablet in front of the mountain, with large characters written on it.

Sun Wukong looked closely and exclaimed loudly, "Longevity Mountain Wonderland, Wuzhuang Temple Grotto Heaven!"

Tang Sanzang looked puzzled and asked softly, "Wukong, where is this place?"

Sun Wukong looked around, scratched his head, and said, "I, Old Sun, have never been to this place before. It must be the abode of some unknown wandering immortal. Back when I was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, I was carefree and traveled to countless immortal caves, but I never heard anyone mention this place or this person."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy's lips twitched slightly.

Sun Wukong, with his sharp eyes, immediately shouted, "Fool, what are you laughing at? Do you know something?"

Pigsy quickly waved his hand and said with a forced smile, "Brother Monkey is right, indeed no one has ever mentioned it before."

As they spoke, the group arrived at the entrance of Wuzhuang Temple.

Sun Wukong glanced at the couplet on the door and immediately burst into laughter: "The abode of immortals, a place of eternal life; the home of Taoists, where one lives in harmony with the world. Hahahaha!"

Sun Wukong laughed so hard he almost fell over, gesturing wildly as if he had heard the most ridiculous thing in the world.

Pigsy, filled with curiosity, couldn't help but ask, "Brother Monkey, what are you laughing at?"

Sun Wukong pointed at the couplet at the door and said disdainfully, "This Taoist priest has quite the air of arrogance! Back then, even Laozi, the head of the Three Pure Ones, wasn't this conceited."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy was speechless.

Laozi was his ancestor; how could he tolerate such disrespect?

He immediately exclaimed, "Brother Monkey, how can you so underestimate Laozi!"

Sun Wukong, however, was unconvinced and chuckled, "Back then, Laozi tried to refine me in his Eight Trigrams Furnace, but after forty-nine days, I was not only unharmed, but my cultivation increased a hundredfold. With a casual wave of my hand, I knocked Laozi down. Hmph, the Three Pure Ones are nothing special!"

Upon hearing this, Pigsy opened his mouth but didn't know how to refute it, so he could only sigh helplessly.

Pigsy understood that this was the Patriarch's deliberate act, which was why the monkey was so arrogant. Others might not know, but Pigsy knew very well that when the monkey was lawless, he had overturned the statue of the Taoist Patriarch.

The Patriarch did this by sacrificing himself so that the reputation of the Three Pure Ones could replace Sun Wukong's act of overthrowing the statue of the Dao Patriarch.

This is using the prestige of the Three Pure Ones as a cover-up; it's a case of one lie requiring countless others to maintain it. As for this, Pigsy couldn't say much, and could only sigh slightly.

The effect of this was that Sun Wukong completely forgot about the statue he had overturned, and made the overthrow of Laozi, the founder of the Three Pure Ones, the pinnacle of his life.

With a creak, the gate of Wuzhuang Temple slowly opened, interrupting their conversation.

Two handsome young Taoist boys emerged from the doorway, their expressions calm yet solemn.

One of the young Taoist boys asked, "Are you the Tang Monk and his disciples on their journey to the West?" Tang Monk quickly put his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer, "Amitabha, this humble monk is indeed Tang Monk. May I ask how you two boys know this humble monk?"

The young Taoist boy named Qingfeng smiled and replied, "I am Qingfeng, and he is Mingyue. We have been waiting here for a long time on the orders of our master. Please follow us, esteemed monks."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately became interested and eagerly asked, "It seems your master is quite capable, as he was able to know we were coming in advance. Since you know my master, do you know my reputation?"

Qingfeng looked surprised and said truthfully, "I've never heard of that before."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately perked up, puffed out his chest, and loudly proclaimed, "I, Old Sun, am none other than the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. Well then, have you heard of me now?"

Sun Wukong now enjoys the feeling of announcing his name and startling unfamiliar immortals. Since these two Taoist boys don't know him, he can tell them his name.

However, Qingfeng and Mingyue simply shook their heads after hearing this.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong angrily scratched the back of his hand and said, "You two ignorant little Taoist boys, where is your master?"

Mingyue replied calmly, "Master went to Yuqing Heaven to listen to Yuanshi Tianzun preach the Great Dao of Hunyuan. Knowing that an honored guest was coming, he is rushing back now."

Sun Wukong immediately asked, "Did you know that I, Old Sun, was coming? Have you come to welcome me?"

Qingfeng said in surprise, "That's not the case. It's the high priest of the Yin Shang Dynasty who came and is on his way back!"

Upon hearing this, Pigsy was immediately startled. He hadn't expected this person to come, which made Pigsy realize that Wuzhuang Temple was probably not a simple place.

Upon hearing that he wasn't being greeted, Sun Wukong felt greatly slighted and flew into a rage, shouting, "You two frivolous Taoist disciples, spouting nonsense all day long, trying to show off in front of me, your old Sun! Let me ask you, is there anyone in this Jade Purity Heaven who is a Taiyi Golden Immortal?"

Upon hearing this, Qingfeng and Mingyue were stunned and looked at each other in bewilderment.

At this point, a clash occurred between Sun Wukong's cultivation system and the traditional cultivation system.

In Sun Wukong's eyes, the Taiyi Golden Immortal was the realm he reached before being refined in the Eight Trigrams Furnace. This was already the top level of cultivation in the Three Realms. He had traveled among the immortals, and indeed, the highest he had ever reached was the Taiyi Golden Immortal.

After all, in the Three Realms today, Great Luo Golden Immortals are indeed rare.

Qingfeng and Mingyue, being simple-minded, had no idea what Sun Wukong was thinking and had not been warned by the Heavenly Court's rules. Therefore, they were somewhat confused as to why Sun Wukong would ask such a question.
Seeing Qingfeng and Mingyue's astonishment, Sun Wukong urged, "Answer me, Old Sun!"

Qingfeng and Mingyue exchanged a glance, then shook their heads seriously: "There are no Taiyi Golden Immortals in Yuqing Heaven."

In Qingfeng Mingyue's eyes, the White Crane Boy of Yuqing Heaven would be a Great Luo Golden Immortal-level White Crane Ancestor in the lower realm, and indeed he was not a Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong burst into laughter, as if he had heard the most absurd joke in the world.

"Hahaha, this is hilarious! Yuqing Heaven doesn't even have a Taiyi Golden Immortal, and you two frivolous Daoist kids dare to brag in front of me, Old Sun."

Qingfeng and Mingyue looked at Sun Wukong, who was laughing almost maniacally, with suspicion on their faces. They really couldn't understand why he was laughing so hard.

Qingfeng couldn't help but ask, "Is it funny that there are no Taiyi Golden Immortals in Yuqing Heaven?"

At this moment, Pigsy, standing to the side, was also holding back his laughter, his face turning red. He wanted to laugh but dared not, and could only shrug his shoulders, looking quite comical.

Tang Sanzang also looked puzzled and asked softly, "Wukong, is this funny?"

In front of Wuzhuang Temple, Sun Wukong's sudden reaction created a strange atmosphere filled with a sense of inexplicable absurdity.

Sun Wukong chuckled, sidling up to Tang Sanzang and saying with great enthusiasm, "Master, you don't know this, but back then, when I was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, I roamed the Three Realms, traveling everywhere. At that time, Taiyi Golden Immortals were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, extremely difficult to see. But now, I have cultivated to the level of Daluo Golden Immortal, and in the Three Realms, such cultivation is absolutely unique. Back when I first broke through to Daluo Golden Immortal, even Laozi was no match for me. Although Yuanshi Tianzun is one of the Three Pure Ones, how could there be Taiyi Golden Immortals in Yuqing Heaven? Yet these two little Taoist boys are actually boasting in front of me, it's utterly laughable!"

Tang Sanzang nodded slightly and said thoughtfully, "I see."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy was so shocked that he stared wide-eyed, his mouth agape. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to begin, and in the end, he could only helplessly shut his mouth.

Upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, Qingfeng and Mingyue stared wide-eyed in astonishment, their faces filled with disbelief. They looked at Sun Wukong blankly, as if he were a fool standing before them.

It can be said that Qingfeng and Mingyue were so shocked at this moment that they were beyond words and didn't even know what to say.

This is the structure of Sun Wukong's values: starting with the first lie, he needs to maintain it with countless other lies.

Laozi (Taishang Laojun) caused his reputation to be damaged and he fell down in order to suppress Sun Wukong's overthrow of the Hongjun statue. However, because of the great reputation of the Three Pure Ones, Sun Wukong's worldview was formed as a result.

Step by step, Sun Wukong has reached this point. But after accumulating so much, the matter of overthrowing Hongjun is a taboo subject that can no longer be mentioned. This lie is like a mountain of code, constantly being piled on top of each other.

Ultimately, it has accumulated to such an extent that it can be said that this lie has accumulated to the point that even Buddhism cannot expose it.

Only by continuing to cover it up, layer upon layer of lies, until finally, during the Journey to the West, such a ridiculous scene appeared on Longevity Hill.

Seeing Qingfeng and Mingyue's appearance, Sun Wukong became even more smug and turned to Tang Sanzang, saying, "Master, look at these two rascals, they're quite frightened by me, Old Sun."

Tang Sanzang quickly advised, "Wukong, you must not rely on your own abilities to intimidate others. You should be more humble."

Sun Wukong waved his hand dismissively and said, "Don't worry, Master. I just want them to broaden their horizons and know that there are heavens beyond heavens and people beyond people. They shouldn't be so arrogant all the time."

After saying this, Sun Wukong glanced sideways at Qingfeng and Mingyue, looking quite arrogant.

At this moment, Qingfeng and Mingyue looked at Sun Wukong with an incredulous gaze, as if he were looking at a fool.

At this moment, amidst the swirling clouds and mist at the stone tablet on Longevity Hill, Yin Ziyu and the Goddess of the Luo River quietly appeared.

Looking at the smug Sun Wukong, Luo Shen couldn't help but sigh softly and said, "Ziyu, it's truly lamentable that this monkey has turned into this."

Yin Ziyu also sighed softly, his eyes filled with a complex expression, and slowly said, "They have already embarked on this path of no return. Now, even though Wukong has become a laughing stock in the Three Realms, they dare not expose the matter of overthrowing the statue of the Dao Ancestor. After all, the price they paid for covering it up was too high!"

(End of this chapter)