"What impudent monkey dares to be so rude? Do you think my Jade Void Palace is empty? Tathagata!"
"This little monkey is a future Buddha under your tutelage. Why do you hide in my palace instead of coming out to discipline him?"
"Previously, I took you in, not for any other reason than that you were once a disciple of the Three Pure Ones and later, in accordance with the Heavenly Mandate, transformed into a Buddha. How dare you play such a trick on me?"
Yuanshi Tianzun, worthy of being the leader of the Chan Sect and one of the Six Sages, was extremely furious and quickly deduced that Sun Kong was causing trouble, wishing he could kill him.
However, considering that after the Investiture of the Gods tribulation, Ancestor Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, had warned the six Sages not to interfere with the Great Desolation without his consent, he dared not defy this command.
Furthermore, any expert of Quasi-Saint level or above could roughly infer that this Sun Kong, while appearing to be at odds with Spirit Mountain, was actually a product of Spirit Mountain.
His primordial spirit was formed from a Mani Pearl.
That Mani Pearl was one of the Western Teachings' Innate Spiritual Treasures, passed from Daoist Jieyin to Tathagata, for no other reason than the expansion of the Western Teachings.
His physical body, however, was formed from a five-colored stone.
On the surface, it came from Empress Nuwa's Wa Huang Palace, seemingly unrelated to the Western Teachings, but Yuanshi Tianzun was not a fool. He had long seen that the two Sages of the Western Teachings were getting closer and closer to Empress Nuwa.
A single Mani Pearl was one thing.
It wasn't worth much.
Even if Sun Kong were to complete the Journey to the West in the future and earn immense merit for Spirit Mountain and the Heavenly Court, his own achievements would not be too high.
He would find it difficult to pose a threat to the Three Pure Ones.
But that five-colored stone was different.
The five-colored stone originated from the Wu-Zhuo Mountain being damaged during the war between Gonggong, the God of Water, and Zhurong, the God of Fire, in the era of the Witch and Demon tribes, causing the Heavenly River to overflow and nearly inundate the Great Desolation.
It was only with countless efforts and at the risk of being corrupted by chaotic energy that Empress Nuwa descended into the chaotic void, found some extremely precious five-colored stones, and refined them to mend the heavens.
Therefore, each five-colored stone was an existence of a top-tier Innate Spiritual Treasure, with some even reaching the level of half-step Innate Supreme Treasure.
Imagine, Sun Kong, whose fleshly body was transformed from this half-step Innate Supreme Treasure, coupled with the meticulous guidance of the Western Teachings and the influence of the Journey to the West merit, would at least achieve the level of a Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal, wouldn't he?
With a little effort, he could become a Quasi-Saint.
A Quasi-Saint!
This was not comparable to Golden Immortals, Taiyi Golden Immortals, or even Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortals.
Apart from the Dao Ancestor and the Six Sages, there were only a handful of Quasi-Saint level experts in the present Great Desolation, namely Tathagata of Spirit Mountain, the Jade Emperor of the Heavenly Court, and Zhenyuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple.
These three righteous great powers.
In addition to Patriarch Styx hidden deep in the Sea of Blood, Patriarch Yellow Springs lurking in the Yellow Springs River, and Patriarch Netherworld hiding in the Netherworld Abyss.
And Lu Ya Daoist, who was brimming with prestige and experienced in all four seas, the only one during the Investiture of the Gods war who managed to brush the Sage Zhunti Daoist with his five-colored divine light.
If Sun Kong were to become the eighth Quasi-Saint, what face would his Chan Sect's Eight Great Golden Immortals have to continue existing and imparting knowledge?
"I am giving your Western Teachings face. I will give you the time it takes for one stick of incense to resolve this matter, otherwise, you need not be a guest in my Jade Void Palace; return to Spirit Mountain on your own."
"Let there be no delay!"
Yuanshi Tianzun was the most composed of the Three Pure Ones, but this time, because Sun Kong's disturbance had caused him so much humiliation, he rarely lost his temper.
As he spoke, the eight Golden Immortals below had mixed expressions, but regarding the matter of Sun Kong, they were unanimous in their conviction.
It was none other than the former fellow Daoist Duobao, now the Buddha Tathagata of Spirit Mountain, who could not protect him!
For no other reason.
It was not that the eight of them did not care about their former fellow disciple bonds, but they had not forgotten how formidable and sharp Duobao Daoist was during the Investiture of the Gods war.
Now, this act between him and Sun Kong was something no one would dare to question.
Despite their fierce display,
In reality, all eight of them had seen through it to some extent. Tathagata and Sun Kong were cooperating for mutual benefit, plotting the Journey to the West, solely to comply with the predestined fate of the Western Teachings flourishing after the Investiture of the Gods.
Although they had been bickering and causing a stir during this period,
No one would believe that they truly had a conflict or that they would genuinely tear each other apart.
Therefore.
After their sect leader, Master, spoke, the Eight Immortals of Chan Sect, led by Guangchengzi, decisively followed Yuanshi Tianzun's attitude and stared intently at Tathagata, who was stubbornly refusing to leave.
They shouted at him openly, threatening him subtly!
"Fellow Daoist Tathagata, now the master of the Lesser Vehicle Buddhism, how can you lose face like this? Why not quickly go out and resolve your own issues?"
"If you truly admire our Master's Dao techniques and have the decree of the two Sages of the Western Teachings to come here, you can drive away that Sun Monkey before coming back. It is not too late."
The eight of them spoke these words in unison, seemingly effortlessly, but it brought great suffering to Tathagata at this moment!
It wasn't that Tathagata didn't want to go out.
Nor was he shamelessly relying on the protection of the Jade Void Palace.
But he truly did not dare!
That's right.
Since this period, Sun Kong had successively molested Guanyin, Manjushri, and other Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, and in the last great battle, he had shocked everyone.
Even Tathagata, the leader of the Lesser Vehicle Buddhism, had developed an involuntary PTSD towards him.
Simply put, "Sun Monkey PTSD."
He couldn't even bear to hear keywords like "Sun Monkey," "Great Sage Equal to Heaven," or "Sun Wukong."
Even, in order to move to the Jade Void Palace and avoid being disturbed by Sun Kong, he had temporarily lied, broken his precepts, and fabricated a story that he was acting on the orders of Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti.
This fabricated story was not for anything else, but to use Yuanshi Tianzun's prestige to permanently deter Sun Kong and prevent further disturbances.
Once the Journey to the West began, Sun Kong would have to obey the Heavenly Mandate and dutifully go to fetch the scriptures, and then Tathagata would find a way, perhaps by having Guanyin place the Golden Fillet on him, or by other methods.
In short, anything was better than facing him directly.
Who would have thought.
Sun Kong still came to his doorstep, and looking at the attitude of Yuanshi Tianzun and the others, they clearly saw through his intentions. This place was not easy to stay in.
"Thank you, eight fellow Daoists, for your guidance."
"Thank you, Sect Leader of Chan Sect, for your guidance. Tathagata, I will leave now and confront him. I absolutely dare not bother your sect in the slightest. "
"But I must say one thing: no matter what, I and the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain are here with your sect. If anything happens, you must take responsibility."
After uttering these shameless words, Tathagata did not even look at the astonished and speechless expressions of Yuanshi Tianzun and the others. He collected himself and nervously walked out.
To maintain some semblance of dignity, he played the emotional card and the rogue card, demanding that the Chan Sect be responsible for their safety.
As soon as he reached the door and saw Sun Kong, he prepared to strike first.
"Good for you, you impudent monkey!"
"I did not seek trouble with you because of my compassion and unwillingness to suppress you, yet you dare to chase me all the way here. What is the reason for this?"
"Could it be that you dare not cause havoc in the Heavenly Palace, so you come to cause havoc in the Jade Void Palace and become an enemy of the Chan Sect?"
What a Tathagata!
After being forcibly incorporated into Spirit Mountain multiple times by Sun Kong, he had learned a tenth of his shamelessness!