Journey to the West: The gods and Buddhas panicked when the monkey was trapped inside him.

Xiniuhezhou, Lingshan, Daleiyin Temple.

The main hall was filled with the sounds of chanting and shimmered with golden light.

Three thousand Buddhas, five hundred Arhats, and eight great Bodhisattvas sat solemnly on lotus thrones.

A golden light rushed in from outside the hall and landed directly in the center of the hall.

The golden light dissipated, revealing the figure of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

The chanting in the main hall abruptly stopped.

All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas opened their eyes and turned their gazes toward Guanyin.

Guanyin Bodhisattva had a solemn expression, clasped her hands together, and bowed slightly to the Tathagata Buddha, who sat high on the nine-tiered lotus throne of merit.

"Buddha, something has gone wrong."

The Buddha slowly opened his eyes and looked peacefully at Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"What happened?"

"Sun Wukong has escaped." Guanyin Bodhisattva's tone carried a hint of helplessness.

"The Heavenly Court has determined that Sun Wukong led tens of thousands of monkeys to escape to Mount Hua in the Southern Continent."

These words were spoken.

The entire Great Thunderclap Temple fell silent instantly.

The chanting stopped abruptly.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas looked at each other, all with expressions of astonishment.

The Buddha's brow furrowed slightly.

Guanyin Bodhisattva looked at the Buddha and asked the question that had been bothering her.

"Buddha, this matter is strange in every way."

"That arrogant and conceited monkey dared to extort even the Heavenly Court, so why would he suddenly flee without a fight?"

"This humble monk suspects that there must be a powerful being plotting behind the scenes to sabotage our Buddhist sect's grand plan."

Upon hearing this, Manjushri Bodhisattva's expression turned solemn.

"Buddha, what Guanyin Bodhisattva said is absolutely right."

"Since his birth, Sun Wukong has acted extremely arrogantly."

"He dared to raise the banner of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and openly challenge the Heavenly Court."

"When Venus descended to earth to offer amnesty, he made exorbitant demands for compensation."

Manjushri Bodhisattva shook his head, his tone resolute.

"With such an unruly and arrogant nature, he should have been enraged and fought back against the overwhelming Heavenly Army, and defended Flower Fruit Mountain to the death."

"His decision to run away is completely illogical!"

The discussions inside the main hall grew louder. All the Buddhas nodded in agreement with the deductions of Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara.

Sun Wukong's escape was too unusual.

The Buddha sat serenely on his lotus throne, listening to the crowd's analysis, his expression remaining calm.

He slowly raised his right hand and pressed it down.

The murmurs inside the hall immediately subsided.

The Buddha closed his eyes and rapidly manipulated his fingers to deduce the secrets of heaven.

The main hall was completely silent. All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas held their breath and waited quietly for the Buddha's divination results.

A moment later.

The Buddha stopped.

He didn't open his eyes, but frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled by the result of the deduction.

Immediately afterwards, he changed his hand seals again, and an even more intense and pure Buddhist light emanated from his fingertips.

This time, instead of deducing the secrets of the Three Realms, he directly focused his deductions on Sun Wukong's fate.

Golden light flashed intensely in the void.

A full incense stick's time had passed.

The Buddha slowly opened his eyes, a hint of doubt flashing in his deep gaze.

Upon seeing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva immediately stepped forward and asked urgently.

"Buddha, has it been discovered which powerful being secretly orchestrated this?"

The Buddha looked at Guanyin Bodhisattva and slowly shook his head.

"The secrets of heaven are not in disorder."

"There is no trace of any powerful figure intervening."

"The fate of that demon monkey is also very clear, and it has not been forcibly altered by external forces."

Upon hearing this answer, all the Buddhas in the hall were stunned.

Manjushri Bodhisattva looked completely bewildered.

"Buddha, if the secrets of heaven are intact, why did he run away?"

"Could it be that he suddenly had a breakthrough?"

The Buddha spoke calmly, revealing a possibility.

"Perhaps it's the survival instinct at play."

"Although he was arrogant, when faced with an absolute life-or-death crisis, his instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm led him to choose to run away."

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva still had a furrowed brow and spoke with some concern.

"Buddha, even if he ran away on his own, the fact that the core figures of Journey to the West are now out of control is ultimately a hidden danger."

"What if someone really is plotting something in the dark..."

The Buddha Tathagata directly raised his hand to interrupt Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.

"No need to worry."

"The Journey to the West is a matter of the great trend of Heaven, and it concerns the fate of the Three Realms."

"This matter is not only being promoted by our Buddhist sect, but also by the Heavenly Court and even the great powers of all the Three Realms, who have tacitly agreed and are secretly cooperating with it."

"All parties will receive the merits and benefits they are entitled to."

"At this critical juncture, no one will go back on their word and overturn the table, and no one dares to defy the pressure of the will of Heaven to obstruct the Journey to the West."

After hearing these words, most of the doubts in the hearts of the Buddhas in the main hall dissipated.

Buddha was right; Journey to the West is a well-divided cake.

Everyone's waiting to eat the cake, who would have the time to smash the cake plate?

Since no powerful figure has intervened, this matter remains under the control of Buddhism.

Guanyin Bodhisattva put her hands together in prayer and brought the topic back to the current predicament.

"Buddha, since no powerful being has intervened, how should we proceed?"

"That demon monkey escaped to Mount Hua."

"Mount Hua is the sacred site of the Third Holy Mother Yang Chan."

"When I was in the Lingxiao Palace, I saw through the Haotian Mirror that Yang Jian had personally arrived at Mount Hua."

"If Yang Jian were to fight that demon monkey on Mount Hua and it were to affect Sun Wukong, all of our Buddhist sect's previous plans would be in vain."

Buddha looked at Guanyin and devised a plan.

"Your Excellency need not worry too much."

"No matter why he ran away, this matter must be resolved."

"Since that demon monkey has run to Mount Hua and angered Yang Jian, the Heavenly Court naturally cannot sit idly by."

"You should go to the Heavenly Court again."

"Have the Jade Emperor issue an edict ordering Li Jing to drive that demon monkey out of the Huashan area."

"Once he leaves Mount Hua, we will continue to proceed according to the original plan."

"The Heavenly Army must follow, and we must teach him a profound lesson."

Guanyin Bodhisattva still had some concerns.

"Buddha, if Sun Wukong could run the first time, he can run the second time."

"What if the Heavenly Army were to launch another attack, and he continued to flee with his monkey troop?"

"The Three Realms are so vast, and the Four Continents are boundless."

"If he's deliberately hiding, we can't expect the Heavenly Army to chase after him every day, can we?"

Upon hearing this, the Buddha's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile.

"It's alright."

"Let him escape."

Guanyin Bodhisattva was stunned.

"Let him escape?"

The Buddha nodded, his voice neither hurried nor slow.

"Yes, let him escape."

"Let's see how long he can run, and how many times he can escape."

The Buddha's gaze was profound.

"Venerable Guanyin, do not forget."

"Our ultimate goal is not to kill as many monkeys as possible from Flower Fruit Mountain."

"Killing those ants will not help the grand plan of Journey to the West in any substantial way."

"Our real purpose is to teach him a lesson and curb his arrogance."

"This is to let him know that openly extorting the Heavenly Court will come at a price."

The Buddha paused for a moment before continuing to speak.

"The price is not just swords and spears, not just bloodshed and sacrifice."

"Fleeing in a sorry state, living in constant fear, is also a price to pay."

"He called himself the Monkey King, and was arrogant and conceited."

"Then let him lead that group of monkeys and hide like stray dogs throughout the Three Realms."

"Let him live every day in fear that the Heavenly Army may descend at any moment."

The Buddha's tone conveyed absolute control.

"Escape is the best way to wear down a person's spirit."

"Wait until he is exhausted from his escape, until he is cornered and has nowhere to run from the Heavenly Court."

"Let the Heavenly Court negotiate with him again."

The Buddha asserted.

"At that time, he will obediently lower his demands and even take the initiative to bow down and beg for mercy from the Heavenly Court."

"As long as he bows his head, we can still achieve our goal of sending him to heaven and continuing the Journey to the West."

After hearing the Buddha's plan, all the Buddhas in the hall put their hands together and shouted in unison.

"Buddha is wise!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva's worries were completely put aside.

The Buddha was right; running away is itself a torturous punishment.

As long as the Heavenly Court keeps pursuing this matter, that demon monkey will eventually give in.

Guanyin Bodhisattva bowed deeply to the Buddha.

"I will follow the teachings of my Buddha."

"This humble monk will now go to the Heavenly Court and ask the Jade Emperor to issue an edict to mobilize troops to put pressure on Mount Hua."

The Buddha nodded slightly.

Guanyin Bodhisattva turned around, her figure transforming into a dazzling golden light, and flew directly out of the Great Thunderclap Temple.

The solemn and dignified atmosphere inside the main hall was restored, and the chanting of Buddhist sutras began again.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas closed their eyes and continued their meditation.

In their view, this was just a minor episode on the journey to the West, and the monkey demon could never escape the Buddha's palm.

The Buddha sat serenely on the nine-tiered lotus throne of merit.

Although the divination just now showed everything was normal, there was no trace of any powerful figure intervening.

Although he appeared confident and certain in front of the Buddhas that Sun Wukong had escaped on his own.

But he always felt that there was something strange about the whole thing that was hard to explain.

The demon monkey not only ran decisively, but also ran with extreme precision, directly hiding in Yang Jian's sister's dojo.

Is this really a coincidence?

The Buddha's eyes became incredibly profound.

"There's no sign of a powerful figure intervening..."

"Is there anyone else behind this monkey?"

The Buddha secretly plotted in his heart.

Deducing the secrets of heaven is ultimately shrouded in mystery.

Whether someone is plotting against us or not, just take a look for yourself and you'll know everything.

He turned his gaze outside the main hall, piercing through the endless void, and looked at Mount Hua.