Chapter 60: Chapter 60 Tongtian Hierarch Speaks Again [Seeking Collection and Recommendations]_1
Sun Wukong had submitted.
This news, like a gust of wind, swept through Lingjiu Mountain.
The assembly of Buddhas and the myriad celestials were all overjoyed.
They then began arguing over credit, each claiming it was their suppression of Sun Wukong that had brought him to submit.
In reality, ever since the Journey to the West began, Buddhism had never stopped competing for Sun Wukong’s allegiance, and thus from time to time, a high-ranking Buddhist figure would make an appearance to assert their presence.
Even more so now, as everyone felt that bringing Sun Wukong under their command would be an accomplishment.
Tathagata, having recently become Buddha, opted to let the situation take its own course, paying it no heed.
Since he had not been in his position long, personally undertaking the task of suppressing Sun Wukong was a statement to Buddhism that he was indeed powerful.
At the same time, reaching a consensus with the Heavenly Court was also a way to leverage external forces to boost his influence and thereby gain more say within Buddhism.
This time, while Sun Wukong might have submitted, Tathagata viewed the situation differently from the others.
He believed in continuing the suppression, even intensifying it, to force Sun Wukong to truly and heartily submit, never daring to rebel again.
Absolute loyalty comes from absolute fear.
He wanted Sun Wukong to become his leading enforcer in the future.
But others thought to release Sun Wukong, letting him cultivate properly, be grateful to Buddhism, and be indebted to it.
Then, in due time, arrange the Journey to the West to give him an aura of prestige, and it would be perfect.
In short, each argued their own case, and no one could convince the others.
Finally, Tathagata made the decision, sticking to the original plan of suppressing Sun Wukong for five hundred years, during which time they would increase the difficulty to make him truly yield.
Moreover, he declared that whoever could make Sun Wukong sincerely submit would have performed a great service.
The assembly of Buddhas was thrilled; this great service also represented a claim to Sun Wukong’s allegiance.
They couldn’t wait to take action, employing both gentle and harsh methods.
One Buddha came to Five Finger Mountain, heightened the punishment, inciting Sun Wukong’s uncontrollable anger; then that Buddha appeared, resolved the crisis, and attempted to win him over.
The Buddha thought Sun Wukong would be tearfully grateful, but Sun Wukong, recalling Li Bai’s words, felt only increased revulsion toward that Buddha.
A Bodhisattva descended, trying to persuade with compassion and reason, offering all kinds of promises and sweet talk, all to get Sun Wukong to embrace their fold.
Sun Wukong sneered at this, utterly disdainful.
Neither soft nor hard approaches worked, and the Buddhas, infuriated, tirelessly tried everything they could to make Sun Wukong submit.
As a result, Sun Wukong grew annoyed, lured a Bodhisattva into a cave, and slew them outright.
This bloody tactic shocked and angered the assembly of Buddhas, but it also made them dare not press him so frequently anymore.
"This insolent monkey still lacks a lesson. We shouldn’t humor him. Let him be lonely, let him feel empty, let him freeze."
The assembly of Buddhas departed, and at the same time, they made the environment within a thousand miles around Five Finger Mountain even harsher.
They even introduced poisonous miasma.
Time and again, the poisonous miasma enraged Sun Wukong, but he was helpless and could only slowly adapt.
Throughout this tumultuous period, Li Bai had not appeared even once.
He had been keeping an eye on Sun Wukong, and when he saw Sun Wukong half-heartedly dealing with the punishment from the Heavenly Court, he almost fled in the dead of night.
Afterward, sure enough, one Buddha after another arrived in succession.
They all used various methods to try to persuade Sun Wukong to yield, causing even Li Bai to worry.
After all, he too had used sugar-coated bullets to convince Sun Wukong to strengthen his Daoist heart; if the assembly of Buddhas also resorted to sugar-coated bullets, who knew if Sun Wukong might fall for it.
Fortunately, he had underestimated the depth of Sun Wukong’s hatred for Buddhism. This hatred, originally suppressed deep within his heart and having bred fear, became even more intense when Li Bai himself unleashed it.
Li Bai was then truly content. However, after that, he too found a place to cultivate, and only every three to five years would he bring Sun Wukong something to eat and drink.
That monkey couldn’t be fed too well, otherwise he would take it for granted.
「Flowing Sand River.」
The Li Bai avatar he controlled had acted according to his plans. Now that it had succeeded, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With Sun Wukong taking the heat up front, the pressure on me should lessen. Perhaps they’ll even forget about me; that would be for the best.
Hearing that one Buddha after another was heading to Five Finger Mountain, Sha Chen couldn’t help but marvel secretly.
The disturbance here was merely Muzha running back and forth, while over there with Sun Wukong, Buddhas appeared one after another. This truly showed how much importance Buddhism placed on Sun Wukong.
If Sun Wukong is receiving such attention, then Jin Chanzi must be even more important, Sha Chen murmured softly. "If Jin Chanzi were to rebel too, wouldn’t Buddhism be in a total mess?!"
Sha Chen was just entertaining the thought; he didn’t want to die yet. The situation with Jin Chanzi was completely different from Sun Wukong’s. If he rashly sent an avatar to make contact, he might be killed by Buddhism’s followers. The time wasn’t right.
He continued with his cultivation, aiming to improve his cultivation base and hoping to achieve the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm as soon as possible.
Sun Wukong’s immense talent gave him quite the stimulus.
And so, three years passed.
Finally, Sha Chen sensed that he was about to make a breakthrough.
He was overjoyed, yet also troubled. His stockpile of God Source Stones was depleted, and he lacked cultivation resources, forcing him to practice arduously every day.
The one consolation was the power of Thousand Swords Piercing The Heart, enough to provide him with a stable increase in mana.
However, he now wanted to break through but lacked sufficient resources. It felt like being on the cusp of a breakthrough but unable to cross the threshold, requiring a significant accumulation of resources.
In the end, he chose to gamble by circulating the Primeval Chaos Dao Method to rapidly increase his mana, striking towards the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm.
And so, another year went by.
Sha Chen’s aura became immensely powerful, and he finally ascended to the Greater Primordial Golden Immortal realm.
His cultivation and physical body advanced side by side.
"Detected that the host’s cultivation has broken through to Greater Primordial Golden Immortal. You have the following choices."
"Option one: Breakthrough in cultivation. Immediately emerge from the waters as a demon, make waves, become the Great Saint of the Demon World. Reward: Divine Power [Three Flavors of Real Fire]. Samadhi True Fire: Innate Divine Fire containing infinite power, capable of burning the heavens and boiling the seas."
"Option two: Continue to cultivate, striving for greater breakthroughs. Reward: ten [Lower Grade Divine Source Stone Mine Mountain]. Divine Source Stone Mine Mountain: a cultivation resource, rising a thousand zhang high, stretching for ten thousand li."
When Sha Chen saw the rewards, he almost jumped up in excitement.
At last, I have cultivation resources again!
For the past twenty years, he had been relying almost solely on Immortal Rice from the fields for sustenance.
While his talent had increased and his absorption speed quickened, his rate of cultivation had actually slowed significantly.
It was because he lacked sufficient resources.
Sha Chen would dream at night, lamenting how truly poor he was.
The Spiritual Medicine in his immortal fields required years to mature; ordinary ones would take a few years, better ones about a decade, and the very best, several decades.
Once consumed, he’d have to wait another decade or even several decades for more.
He had only used the First-class Immortal Elixir given by the Tongtian Hierarch once, and the next crop wasn’t ready yet.
The Immortal Rice, though it could be harvested annually, didn’t last long; he could consume a year’s yield in just half a month.
It was a true case of even the landlord’s household lacking surplus grain.
Now, at last, came the Divine Source Stone Mine Mountains, and not just one, but ten at once, taking Sha Chen by surprise.
At last, his urgent needs were relieved, likely enough to sustain him for some time.
The ten Divine Source Stone Mine Mountains flew in from outside the formation, landing on the ground like resting earth dragons.
Before Sha Chen had time to be thrilled, a voice came from the sky.
"Sha Chen, you’ve made a breakthrough. You finally have some qualification to follow this seat. Now, if you take me as your master, this seat will accept you as an outer disciple. You can act recklessly under the status of a Saint’s disciple."
The voice of the Sect Hierarch. He still hasn’t given up on taking me as a disciple.