They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

Chapter 217 Heavenly Punishment
The golden light in the western sky still shone brightly, the image of the Buddha hung on the lotus throne, and the chanting continued.

The True Martial Emperor's gaze swept across the mountain of white bones below with a complex expression, and then over the green lion, white elephant, and golden-winged roc shrouded in Buddhist light.

The Jade Emperor's words, still ringing in his ears, were forcibly suppressed, the resentment and anger churning within him finally transforming into a cold, hard command.

"go!"

His black robes billowed, and the black banners fluttered in the wind. The Turtle and Snake Generals and the five divine dragons retreated with him like a receding tide, leaving only a heavy, deathly silence in the world. Their departing figures were like dull knives cutting into the hearts of the Yellow Wind Monster and his companions.

The Dragon King of the West Sea, Ao Run, was in a state of mixed emotions. He breathed a long sigh of relief, thinking to himself that this gamble, which involved risking his entire fortune, had paid off handsomely.

"Withdraw!" The old Dragon King, full of vigor, swept away the aquatic warriors with the vast expanse of blue waves, quickly disappearing and taking away the last trace of commotion. The battlefield became completely empty, leaving only tattered armor, scorched earth, and that silent, nauseating mountain of white bones.

Suspended in mid-air, Sun Wukong's lips curled into a chilling smile. With his golden cudgel slung over his shoulder, his fiery eyes were fixed on the three demons under the Buddha's light. His gaze seemed to want to pierce through the Buddha's light and nail the demons to the pillar of blood debt.

The Yellow Wind Monster gritted his teeth, his bushy beard trembling with rage. He stared at the Buddha's light and the mountain of white bones, his chest heaving with suppressed rage.

He slammed his fist into the crumbling rocks, sending shards flying. "Discipline? There are mountains of corpses! Human life isn't worthless. So many souls lie on the ground, their blood not even cold yet. He talks about compassion and laying down the butcher's knife on Mount Ling. But the knife is still dripping blood on his hand! Is that what you call laying down? That's called escaping debts! Escaping to the golden light of Mount Ling."

His suppressed voice was filled with heavy anger and unspeakable disappointment.

Little Tang Sheng clenched his fists, his dark eyes darting back and forth between Rulai and Chen Guangrui, his clever mind racing, and his body quietly shrank back behind Chen Guangrui.

Just then, Chen Guangrui made a move.

Under the gaze of all, there was the compassionate look down of the Buddha, the smugness and subtle contempt of the three demons who had survived the tribulation, the cold anger of Sun Wukong, the indignation of the Yellow Wind Demon, and the worry of Tang Sheng.

Chen Guangrui walked steadily and firmly to the center of the open space divided by the Buddha's light.

The mountain wind blew up his blood-stained clothes.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing, staring directly at the supreme golden Dharma image on the lotus platform. His voice was not loud, but every word was clear, piercing through the last lingering echoes of the chanting.

"May I ask Your Majesty, is this matter truly to be put to rest?"

"The matter here is settled; cause and effect will take their course. Although the Green Lion, White Elephant, and Roc have committed grave sins, Buddhism, with its compassion for all beings, should guide them back to Mount Ling, cleansing their malevolence with the supreme Dharma, allowing their sins to be eradicated over a long period. This is the way to relieve suffering and bring joy, the path to transcendence..."

"Transcendence?" Chen Guangrui's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a nail driven into an iron plate.

"World Honored One, do you call this mountain of white bones the absolution of sins? Do you call it relieving suffering and bestowing happiness that these three demons who devoured flesh and blood, destroyed countries and built mountains, spend countless years reciting scriptures and worshipping Buddha to atone for their sins?"

He pointed to the blood-soaked ground beneath his feet and the horrifying mountain of white bones:

"Blood debts must be repaid in blood. Where is justice? Giving the perpetrators time to make amends is unfair to the millions of bones buried at the foot of the mountain."

The Buddha's appearance was solemn, and his voice carried a sorrowful helplessness:
"The Dharma is profound and not just about this one lifetime. Once evil causes are sown, the bitter fruits are hard to eradicate. The fruit of today is the result of the collective karma of all beings. Leading them to take refuge and using the light of the Dharma to dispel their evil spirits is to sever the endless cycle of evil karma and to liberate countless evil spirits of the future. This is true compassion."

"The future is full of possibilities?" Chen Guangrui retorted sharply, his words quick and piercing.
"So the lives of these people down the mountain are merely sacrifices for those who might be saved in the future? Buddhism has karma, and the human world has laws! The law punishes past evils to deter future ones. By avoiding punishing evil, you have completely severed this cycle of cause and effect. How can this cycle continue? How can it be eliminated!"

The Buddha closed his eyes slightly, seemingly lost in a grand deduction. After a moment, he spoke, and the Buddha's light seemed to dim even further.
"All sentient beings are equal and possess Buddha-nature. In the past, a peacock once swallowed the Buddha, but the Buddha, out of compassion, did not take its life and instead made it the Buddha's mother. Laying down the butcher's knife can still lead to Buddhahood. Those with deep-seated hatred need the guidance of the Dharma. Using violence to control violence and perpetuating the cycle of revenge is ultimately not the right path."

Facing the Buddha's light, Chen Guangrui's tone was as firm as iron:

"Put down the butcher's knife? The butcher's knife is still in their hands, stained with blood. As for the peacock..." His words were sharp.

"You spared the peacock and even bestowed upon her the title of Buddha Mother because she swallowed you! If these people down the mountain had swallowed you once back then, would you have bestowed upon them the title of White Bone Bodhisattva today? Is this standard based on the boundless power of Buddhism, or on personal grudges?"

“Compassion for the victims should always take precedence over forgiveness for the perpetrators. If such heinous crimes are allowed to go unpunished, the very foundation of justice will crumble.”

Chen Guangrui's words are like knives, his sentences like hammer blows, striking the very foundation of the grand narrative of Buddhism. There are no profound Buddhist doctrines, only the naked evil of reality and the simple, unadorned laws of human justice.

The world was deathly silent. The Buddha's image was completely frozen, and even the gentle Buddha light seemed to have lost its warmth.

Around the lotus platform, the compassion on the faces of the Arhats and Vajras had turned into awkward silence. Reason, faced with this mountain of white bones and the simple, unassuming question of "victim first," had utterly failed.

Chen Guangrui got the silence he wanted. This silence itself is a kind of power.

He stopped looking up at the enormous Buddha figure and slowly turned around. His gaze, like a quenched blade, suddenly fixed on the three demon kings shrouded in the Buddha's light.

The smug joy of surviving a calamity in the blue lion's eyes froze instantly; the rage in the white elephant's eyes, provoked by an ant, turned into astonishment and doubt; the reserved, arrogant sneer on the corner of the golden-winged roc's mouth had not yet faded, but a cold killing intent and a trace of disbelief had already ignited in its golden eyes.

“I know,” Chen Guangrui’s voice suddenly became very soft, yet it rang out with crystal clarity in the empty silence, carrying a chilling calm.

“My spiritual cultivation is lowly, and in your eyes I am like dust and ants. In the eyes of the World-Honored One, I am even more insignificant. You have the power to overturn rivers and seas, and with the World-Honored One's protection, you are indestructible.”

He took a step forward.

Ignoring the hanging Buddha light, he walked slowly and resolutely towards the three demon kings enveloped in golden light. His footsteps pounded the scorched, blood-soaked earth, each footprint seeming to carry a thousand pounds of weight. The air thickened, and time seemed to slow down.

His steps were steady, his back resolute yet frail, as if he might be crushed at any moment by the vast Buddha's light, yet it carried an indescribable tragic grandeur. It was the courage to challenge the laws of a colossal being with mortal strength, the solitary determination to do what one knows to be impossible.

Yellow Wind Monster's Adam's apple bobbed, and he instinctively tried to stop him, "Brother Chen..."

The oppressive power of the Buddha's light was too great; this was tantamount to suicide! But as he looked at Chen Guangrui's resolute back, his outstretched hand froze, and his bushy beard trembled violently.

Tang Sheng jumped up and down in a panic, "Dad! Don't go over there!"

Red Boy opened his mouth wide, wanting to shout but no sound came out.

Sun Wukong's golden cudgel emitted a slight hum on his shoulder, and his fiery eyes, like two molten gold wheels, were fixed on the area of ​​Buddha's light.

Chen Guangrui seemed oblivious to his surroundings. His gaze was fixed solely on the three demon kings, and he spoke each word as clearly as a verdict:
"Your power is immense. Buddha will protect you today."

"but!"

"Justice may be delayed, but it must never be absent!"

"There are right and wrong in the world, and there is fairness and justice in the natural order."

"Sins must be redeemed!"

"Today, I offer my body to the countless withered bones below the mountain,"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly looked up at the sky! It wasn't a prayer, but more like a guidance, a declaration, as he pointed one finger to the sky.

The instant the word "judgment" was uttered.

Something unexpected happened.

A pale, blinding bolt of lightning, powerful enough to tear one's soul apart, crashed down from the heavens without warning.

Fast! Faster than the limits of perception! This lightning bolt struck without warning; it was precise, pure, and contained a supreme, ruthless will of divine judgment. It ignored space, ignored the barrier of golden light, and shot down like an arrow of judgment locked onto destiny!

The Buddha on the lotus platform, the moment Chen Guangrui raised his hand and shouted, his golden pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints! He finally sensed an aura that did not belong to this world.

"Insolence!" A thunderous roar, carrying supreme majesty and an unprecedented shock and anger, instantly enveloped the heavens and earth. The vast Buddhist light transformed into a tangible golden hand, attempting to tear through space and intercept the lightning.

However, it's too late!

Faster than thought, faster than the speed of light! The thunder of judgment pierced precisely and mercilessly through the seemingly impregnable yet fragile boundary of Buddha's light the moment the Buddha roared out.

"Boom!"

A deafening roar, loud enough to shatter eardrums and tear the soul apart.

Three thick, violent bolts of lightning struck simultaneously and in perfect unison the crowns of the Green Lion Demon, the White Elephant Demon, and the Golden-Winged Roc.

The dazzling light engulfed their demonic bodies.

Three roars, filled with extreme shock and pain, suddenly rang out.

But the roar was instantly extinguished by the thunder.

The enormous demonic body of the Azure Lion, the mountain-like figure of the White Elephant, and the magnificent golden robe of the Golden-Winged Roc, along with the surging demonic energy around them, seemed like illusory bubbles thrown into the furnace of heaven and earth, twisting, disintegrating, and annihilating in the pale and merciless lightning!
The light faded, as fast as lightning!
The golden barrier formed by the Buddha's light still gently covered that area.

however,
Beneath the barrier,

Nothing!
Only three small clumps of charred ash remained, drifting in the wind. The air was filled with the acrid smell of instantaneous carbonization.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye!
Heaven and earth fell completely silent.

On the battlefield, everyone's thoughts completely came to a standstill.

In the center of the battlefield, only Chen Guangrui's slowly withdrawn fingers and his upright yet incredibly lonely figure remained.

And there was the gaze cast down from the lotus platform by the Buddha.

Those deep, golden eyes, like an ancient starry sea, were now devoid of pity and solemnity. They pierced the vast distance, fixed intently on Chen Guangrui.

(End of this chapter)