"Apologies, Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha. We, the Buddhas, were merely among the ten thousand immortals of the Jie Sect. We were tricked by the two sages of the Western Teachings. How dare we truly fight against the Four Great Demon Gods?"
"Indeed, indeed. For such a great battle, we offer our spiritual support. We hope you and Great Sage Sun can endure, but we dare not offend. It's best we withdraw."
"Let's go. We've been bald donkeys and monks on Spirit Mountain for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. It's time to return to our true master, Lord Tongtian of the Jie Sect."
"From now on, if we meet, we won't seek revenge on these old friends from Spirit Mountain. But if you insist on being foolish and antagonizing our master, we can't help you."
"Precisely. Sun Monkey is held back by Luohu, the Jade Emperor has acted, Tathagata has entered nirvana, Zhenyuanzi is hiding, Kunpeng is secluded, and all the celestial saints have shut their doors."
"Such an apocalyptic scene clearly foretells the decline of the righteous path and the rampant rise of demonic forces. If we haven't directly killed you few, consider it a favor. Don't block our way."
Because of Po Xun's slightly superior strength to Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha, he repelled Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha with a single move. Of the three thousand Buddhas who were supposed to provide support, more than half uttered such words.
Hearing this,
Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha felt a chill first. It was then that he finally remembered Sun Kong's assessment of these individuals five hundred years ago.
He said they were numerous but all useless.
He said their slogans were loud but they lacked actual action.
He even dared to slander the two sages of the Western Teachings, saying that they, in their greed for quantity over quality, would eventually be betrayed by their own kind.
At that time, Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha and the others were still secretly pleased with themselves for using Sun Kong to oust Tathagata Buddha, and they paid no heed to the words of this monkey demon.
Who would have thought,
That in just over five hundred years, at this battle today, before any large-scale casualties had occurred, the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain were already acting like petty, useless individuals, abandoning their posts and decisively turning against them.
It was unbelievable!
"We have wronged our senior brother Tathagata."
"We have underestimated our junior brother Sun."
"We..."
As he spoke, Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha looked at the Four Great Demon Gods who were encircling and attacking. Only four individuals, yet they were more formidable than ten thousand Buddhas.
His heart was filled with grief and shame, guilt and speechless.
But finally,
When he saw the more than two hundred Buddhas who had not fled, along with Bodhisattva Guanyin and the other three, and even the weakest Li Bai, all supporting them with their Taibai Swords,
The Dao heart, the Buddha heart, which had been buried for years due to greed, was instantly ignited.
It once again filled his brow with the imposing aura of the former Vice-Sect Master of the Chan Sect!
The next second,
Before everyone was defeated one by one by the Four Great Demon Gods, and before the eight million vanguard troops of the Asura Cult crossed Jiayuguan without a single casualty,
The Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha, who was once driven by fame and profit, was gone.
The Burning Lamp Daoist who once devoted himself to the Dao, fought bravely, and did not wish to be looked down upon by Sun Kong later, reappeared!
"Ah!"
"Mi!"
"Tu!"
"Fo!"
Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha unleashed the Buddhist great divine ability, the Lion's Roar, for the second time. This time, its power was ten times that of the previous instance, instantly repelling the first wave of attacks from the Four Great Demon Gods.
This showed that he had truly awakened.
But it was not over yet.
Seeing that, apart from himself, everyone else on his side was sending themselves to their deaths in one-on-one combat, Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha did not dare to delay and decisively unleashed another Buddhist great divine ability.
The Six-Syllable Mantra!
"Om!"
"Ma!"
"Ni!"
"Ba!"
"Mi!"
"Hong!"
Through his sincere prayers, Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha's Six-Syllable Mantra unleashed unimaginable and boundless Buddhist power!
In just one second,
The Four Great Demon Gods and the eight million vanguard troops of the Asura Cult, who had already penetrated Jiayuguan, the latter suffering nearly half their casualties, and the former sustaining no small injuries,
All revealed expressions of horror.
Seeing this, Li Bai, wielding the Taibai Sword, Bodhisattva Guanyin holding the Pure Glazed Bottle, Bodhisattva Manjushri with the Seven Treasures Golden Lotus, Bodhisattva Samantabhadra with his Wu Gou twin swords, and Bodhisattva Julusun with the Immortal Binding Rope,
These five, along with the two hundred-plus Buddhas who followed closely behind, formed a formation.
They swiftly went to support Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha!
For a time,
Even the Four Great Demon Gods, including Po Xun, were filled with apprehension.
However,
Before the people at Jiayuguan could catch their breath for even half a minute,
They saw,
A twelve-petal Karmic Fire Red Lotus, which should not have appeared, slowly and stylishly rose into the air from the center of the Four Great Demon Gods.
Astonishing both friend and foe, in the next second,
An old man with white hair, with Yuan Tu hanging from his left ear and Abi from his right, smiled faintly, yet with an unfathomable eeriness that caused the surviving Buddhas to break out in a cold sweat!
Not for any other reason,
But because this person was the second junior brother of Luohu, one of the three descendants of the Demon Ancestor Luohu, the Lord of the Asura Cult, Old Ancestor Styx!
"Clang!"
Old Ancestor Styx, worthy of being the third among the nine quasi-sages, still possessed a certain demeanor at this critical moment.
After flicking his two demonic swords a few times,
He then revealed a smile that appeared harmless but was in fact utterly chilling to Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha!
"Brother Burning Lamp, it's been a few years. You've become bolder. You and the Buddhas guarding Jiayuguan are performing your duties, and I, this old ancestor, will not blame you."
"However, why did you even try to kill the eldest princess of my Asura Cult, Hong Yan, a delicate woman? Is that not too contrary to the principles of Buddhism?"
"Since that is the case, I have no choice but to seek justice for her. Everyone else retreat one million li, and do not interfere in this battle."
As he spoke, Old Ancestor Styx lightly raised his hand and brought out the eldest princess, Hong Yan, who was the leader of the seventy-two princesses and had inexplicably "sacrificed" just now.
Indeed,
Upon seeing this, the eldest princess Hong Yan was presented as an Asura Cult "mortal" without any cultivation. Even so, she was struck down by Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha's Six-Syllable Mantra.
It seemed that, in terms of public opinion, Old Ancestor Styx held the advantage!
For a moment,
Not only did the Asura Cult members cry out in righteous indignation, but even Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha was stunned on the spot. The Four Great Bodhisattvas and the two hundred-odd remaining Buddhas were also ensnared by this verbal trap.
They were almost ready to cease their resistance.
Who would have thought,
It was at this very moment.
Sun Kong, who was still locked in combat with Luohu on the Heavenly River in the Heavenly Realm, engaged in their 10010th round, suddenly turned his head, activated his Fiery Golden Eyes, and saw through Old Ancestor Styx's scheme.
Immediately,
He unleashed a torrent of curses!
"You son of a bitch, Old Ancestor Styx, what a calculation!"
"Your eldest princess clearly had the mission to reincarnate and continue to wreak havoc on the Tang Dynasty. You killed her prematurely, and you're using these words to deceive me, brother Burning Lamp?"
Sun Kong's first sentence foiled Old Ancestor Styx's treacherous plan, enraging him and restoring confidence to Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha and the others.
They resolutely resumed fighting!
But Sun Kong's scolding was not over. He then directed his second sentence towards the Heavenly Dao!
"You dog-day Heavenly Dao, get out here and take your scolding!"
"The eighth trial is extremely difficult, and I, this old Sun, am not afraid. But why haven't you issued any karmic rewards for so long? Is it because the merit doesn't outweigh the casualties this time, and even you feel embarrassed?"
"If you don't issue them on time, this old Sun will go berserk now and spank your behind first!"