"Sun Dasheng, you must hold on! You've survived the eighth tribulation and the great battle between humans and demons in the mortal realm. A mere scratch is nothing."
"We will escort you to the Two Sages of the Western Teachings for treatment immediately. I believe they will not refuse."
As they spoke, the new Mount Hua Faction, led by Jin Chanzi, included not only him but also Wuzhiqi, the guardian of Qilian Mountain, and Zhou Wuxian, the guardian of Shindu Pass.
Along with Chan Master Wu Chao, the Eight Immortals of Chan, Southern Pole Old Man, Li Bai, and others.
All came to escort Sun Kong to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss of the Western Teachings.
Although everyone could see that Sun Kong's injuries were not severe at this moment, he was merely exhausted from overexertion.
Anyone could have helped him recover.
However, in order to magnify the matter of rescuing Sun Kong to the Two Sages of the Western Teachings, and subsequently gain more gratitude from Sun Kong,
They spared no effort.
After all, as those who had gained countless merits and benefits from accompanying Sun Kong on the Journey to the West, they were the most concerned about Sun Kong's safety.
And most eager for the rewards after Sun Kong awoke.
For this reason,
Even if others called them making a fuss, they didn't care. They formed a human wall and set off to protect Sun Kong on his way to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Meanwhile,
On the other side, led by Maitreya Buddha and Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha, along with over a hundred Buddhas who had not fled or died, they dared not be careless upon seeing Sun Kong fall.
Especially,
When they saw that such a good opportunity to earn merit was almost snatched away by Jin Chanzi and others, they were filled with discontent.
They reversed their indifferent relationship with Sun Kong and his group for over five hundred years, and instead offered enthusiastic escort and fervent protection.
It was truly astonishing!
Not to mention that the combined forces of both sides were enough to deter any sneak attack from the demon race.
Whether it was the thirteen saint-level experts of the demon race, the Demon Saint, Rahu who returned heavily injured, the Three Old Ancestors, or Tongtian Sect Master, the Jade Emperor, and others outside.
All of them gritted their teeth but were helpless!
Because they knew that with Rahu's injury and retreat, and with the Three Demon Old Ancestors being scared away by Sun Kong, the battles in these two areas were considered settled for now.
There was no need to be overly persistent at this moment.
At worst, they could plan and strategize again during the ninth tribulation to the eighty-first tribulation, and it would not be too late!
As it happened,
Sun Kong, who was being protected like a precious gem by everyone, before he fainted, had the rare experience of receiving protection from various forces such as Mahayana Buddhism, Hinayana Buddhism, Chan teachings, and the Five Villages View...
A faint smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.
His peripheral vision swept over the crowd and saw two groups of "comrades" behind him, already heavily injured and crying out for help with no one attending to them.
Instinctively, he spoke up for them.
Little did he know,
It was better if he hadn't spoken. The moment he did, everyone looked back and saw those two groups. Among them were Guanyin and the other Four Great Bodhisattvas, along with Lu Dongbin and He Xiangu from the Eight Immortals of the Cave.
Everyone was stunned at first.
Then, they spoke in unison!
"Sun Dasheng."
"Junior Brother Sun."
"Daoist Brother Sun."
"Your injuries are the most important. These people haven't gotten along with you much for over five hundred years; why bother speaking for them?"
"Exactly, they didn't contribute much earlier. At most, they lost an arm or a leg, or their cultivation was halved. What's so remarkable about that?"
"Far less than your losses."
"They are merely severely injured and disabled, but you? For the great battles in these two places, you almost shattered the Heavenly Dao and made immense sacrifices. We would never let a great Vice Buddha like you be harmed."
"Please stop worrying about others and hurry on your way. We will all protect you, and even if a Saint comes, they won't be able to harm you in the slightest!"
As they spoke, including Jin Chanzi, Chan Master Wu Chao, Maitreya Buddha, and Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha – four top-tier influential figures – they unanimously agreed that Sun Kong's minor injuries were more critical than others.
Subsequently,
They accelerated their escort for him to the Western Teachings, the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, which was hundreds of billions of miles away.
Upon hearing this,
Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, who were deliberately ignored by everyone, and the already injured and unconscious Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
All wore expressions of mutual bewilderment, regret, and pain!
Even though the four had considered that after this battle, Sun Kong's status in the hearts of various factions would definitely rise, widening the gap with their own prestige.
They had never imagined that,
The retribution would come so quickly.
This retribution was so satisfying...
Oh, wait.
It seemed this satisfaction should belong to Sun Kong and his group.
For them, who had used Sun Kong as cannon fodder years ago and never truly cooperated with him, the four Bodhisattvas.
There was no satisfaction.
Only endless shame and speechlessness!
"Sister Guanyin, did we four truly make a mistake back then?"
"Yes, Senior Sister Guanyin. Although the four of us have followed Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha for many years and believed we were upholding the Hinayana Buddhism of Spirit Mountain, we never expected to be repeatedly slapped in the face like this."
"Now that we are being actively abandoned by Maitreya Buddha and Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha, does it mean we were truly wrong?"
Hearing the weeping voices of Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva beside her, Guanyin Bodhisattva could not answer them.
Not for any other reason.
Because the answer to this question did not need to be asked of anyone. In reality, they should have known it back then – they were always the ones who were wrong, not Sun Kong.
Moreover,
Currently, although they were nominally the Four Great Bodhisattvas, with the deaths, injuries, and desertions of the Hinayana Buddhism faction of Spirit Mountain in this battle.
They could no longer be compared to Sun Kong.
Under such circumstances, why were they waiting instead of quickly catching up to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, kneeling, kowtowing, admitting their mistakes, and apologizing?
Did they want to wait until later, when Sun Kong elevated Chan Master Wu Chao, Maitreya Buddha, Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha, the Eight Immortals of Chan, or even Li Bai.
And then utterly ignore the four of them?
That would truly be the end of them!
"We four absolutely cannot let Sun... Vice Buddha Sun continue to look down on us. Get up, let's go. We must apologize, and we must admit our mistakes."
As she finished speaking, Guanyin Bodhisattva was the first to rise, taking the unconscious Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva with her, along with Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva standing nearby.
The four truly followed behind the main group!
These four, at least, had some self-awareness.
After they left, and with the Tang Dynasty soldiers cleaning up the mess, seeing that Jiayuguan could no longer be defended and had to retreat.
Lu Dongbin and He Xiangu, who were left behind, were the most miserable.
At this moment, the two were heavily injured from the battle and could neither notify Laozi for rescue nor request help from other channels.
Moreover, seeing that Sun Kong and the others didn't even care about the lives of the Four Great Bodhisattvas, how could they possibly care about them?
For a time,
The two, who had originally come just to gain some merits in the mortal realm, were now utterly despairing.
They almost wanted to cry!