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Chapter 140 Everything Makes Sense

"Zhu Ganglie is a disciple of Donghua Dijun?" Chen Guangrui frowned, this clue came out of nowhere and made his heartstrings tremble.

But in an instant, a sense of sudden enlightenment dispelled his astonishment. His eyes sharpened. "If that's really the case, then many of the strange things can be explained."

Yuan Shoucheng nodded. "That's right. Ever since Zhu Ganglie was banished to the mortal realm, he's been hiding in that poor, remote village of Gao Laozhuang, refusing to return to Heaven to become the mighty Marshal Tianpeng. At first, I wondered, isn't that the behavior of a fool? Now that I think about it... hehe."

Following this line of thought, Chen Guangrui spoke in a low but clear tone.
"I was also very puzzled before. Laozi personally issued a decree, and the two Daoist boys, Jinlu and Yinlu, personally went to invite him with the decree. Such a great honor, yet he would rather be a humble and subservient son-in-law and long-term laborer than turn back. Could it be that he really coveted that little bit of human warmth and Gao Cuilan's beauty? Now it seems that it is definitely not so."

His eyes grew increasingly deep.
"He knew all along that he was going to work for Buddhism, and right now, Buddhism is flourishing and its momentum is strong. He chose Buddhism to secure a better future for himself!"

Chen Guangrui's fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the table, making a soft, tinkling sound.

"This also completely explains why the secret letters we found from Elder Jinchi praised him for his diligence and kindness in Gao Village. Someone was deliberately trying to embellish his image, and this groundwork had probably been laid long ago."

Listening to Chen Guangrui's analysis, Yuan Shoucheng slapped his forehead and chimed in,
“Wow, Scholar Chen’s insight is brilliant! However, I think this is not just Zhu Ganglie’s own choice. No matter how favored he is, would he dare to take such a big gamble without his master’s approval? It is clearly Emperor Donghua who chose to side with Buddhism.”

Yuan Shoucheng's voice was even lower, almost a whisper, carrying a mysterious air of commanding authority.
"To be more precise, ever since that Heaven-Soothing Assembly, when Buddhism subdued the demon monkey and became a force to be reckoned with in the Three Realms, the Jade Emperor had the idea of ​​using Buddhism to control our various Taoist sects. I remember it clearly: at that time, the Jade Emperor held a banquet, and all the immortals were seated. The first important figure to jump out and offer his congratulations to Buddhism at that Heaven-Soothing Assembly was the Antarctic Immortal. Who did he represent? It was none other than the Eastern Emperor behind him."

He counted on his fingers, his small eyes gleaming with calculation.

"Over the past few hundred years, Penglai Immortal Island and the Western Spirit Mountain have probably been exchanging glances and flirting in private. Their relationship is quite warm. This matter involving Zhu Bajie might just be a pretext, a test, or a signal that a deeper plan is about to begin."

Chen Guangrui knew perfectly well that this must be the journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, but this matter had not yet been made public, so not many people knew about it. He pondered for a moment, "Buddhism must have chosen him for some reason."

“That’s right!” Yuan Shoucheng slapped his thigh. “It must have given Zhu Ganglie some opportunity. Although we don’t know yet, this matter is probably about to come to light.”

He paused, a look of sudden realization crossing his face. "In this way, all the mysteries surrounding the letters from Guanyin Temple are solved."

Yuan Shoucheng became more and more excited as he spoke, almost spitting out his saliva.

"The letters that came from Gao Laozhuang, Yingchoujian, Huangfengling, Liushahe, and Wuxingshan to Elder Jinchi recorded the deeds of various monsters, some praising them and some criticizing them. Their real purpose was to select and evaluate the role in that important event in Buddhism."

“That old bald thief Jinchi is an eye hidden in the shadows. In the end, these secret reports must have been collected and reported to Guanyin through a special method via Guanyin Temple, and even reached the Great Buddha Hall of Mount Ling, landing on the desk of the Buddha Tathagata.”

He spread his hands, "Isn't that all connected? It's a huge, interconnected scheme!"

Chen Guangrui's brows were not completely relaxed. He pondered and said, "This situation is indeed mostly clear, but there is still one key point that is unclear. What role do Wuzhuang Temple and Zhenyuan Daxian play in this raging storm?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shoucheng stroked his sparse goatee, a worldly wisdom gleaned from years of wandering the martial world on his face, and said in a low voice, "This old Daoist has heard of that Ancestor of Earthly Immortals. Zhen Yuanzi's cultivation is profound, his seniority extremely esteemed, and he is indeed known as the Ancestor of Earthly Immortals. But in the end..."

He looked around and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "His foundation is actually very weak, he has no background!"

Yuan Shoucheng tapped his temple lightly with his finger. "Going back, he can't even get close to the Three Pure Ones, nor can he climb onto the Jade Emperor's powerful backer. He has no connection to any of the orthodox divine ranks in Heaven. He usually cultivates in seclusion on Longevity Mountain, rarely interacting with the gods and Buddhas, and almost never touching the Buddhist sects. To put it bluntly, he's just a famous monk with a name but no powerful backer."

A glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes, revealing a cunning understanding of human nature.
"Such a person is on the edge of the power vortex of the Three Realms, which is the most dangerous and the most awkward. How could he not seek allies? And what about Emperor Donghua? He has a respected position in the Heavenly Court and the entire Penglai power behind him, but he also needs more support to consolidate his position. Isn't this perfect? ​​One needs to leverage power, and the other needs to expand his power."

Yuan Shoucheng spread out his palm and gestured.
"When the two of them, Wuzhuang Temple and Penglai Island looked at each other, they immediately hit it off. Their alliance immediately made them a force to be reckoned with, giving them the capital to negotiate cooperation with Buddhism and to get a share of the pie in the future journey to the West."

"And that ginseng fruit tree, its roots are all rotten, it's just a bonus. I knew it, these eight ginseng fruits are so weak..."

As the two replayed their own actions in this vast game of chess that spanned the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist realm and involved many powerful beings, even Chen Guangrui, with his resilient mind, and Yuan Shoucheng, who was used to all kinds of storms, couldn't help but feel a chill that seeped into their bones, as if their backs were crawling with cold ants.

The hoarse curses from the neighboring house and the aggrieved groans from the moon sounded particularly jarring.

Yuan Shoucheng couldn't help but shrink his neck, gasping for breath, his voice trembling with lingering fear, "My goodness, such a terrifying vortex, aren't we already pawns on this chessboard?"

Just as Chen Guangrui was about to speak, suddenly, an immense and indescribable pressure, originating from the very heavens and earth, descended without warning!
boom!
It wasn't a deafening roar, but a heavy, suffocating pulsation.

The land beneath my feet, Wanshou Mountain, seemed to be a sleeping giant awakening quietly, with the earth's veins rumbling and resonating invisibly.

In the courtyard, all the previously drooping plants instantly stood upright, greedily absorbing the suddenly richer and purer spiritual energy of heaven and earth, forming a misty spiritual fog.

Above the heavens, five-colored auspicious clouds silently gathered, surrounding this small courtyard like a hundred birds paying homage to a phoenix, with thousands of auspicious clouds hanging down like silk threads.

Click. A sound so soft it couldn't be softer.

The tightly closed west wing gate was pushed open by an invisible force. A figure dressed in the simplest of all, wide-sleeved Taoist robes, stood silently in the shadows in the center of the doorway.

He didn't radiate light, nor did he deliberately release any earth-shattering aura. He simply stood there quietly, as if he had merged with the long Longevity Mountain beneath his feet and the vast sky and earth above his head, and his every move stirred the natural flow of the mountain's spiritual energy.

However, all the disciples of Wuzhuang Temple knew what was going on.

Zhenyuan Daxian has returned.

(End of this chapter)