As the Demon race's millions of troops, save for the vanguard Luo Hou who had not yet appeared and whose position could not be calculated, attacked Jiayu Pass, Qilian Mountain, and Shendu Pass in three separate armies.
It was also at this time that Li Bai, Wu Zhiqi, Zhou Wuxian, and independent cultivators like Lu Dongbin and He Xiangu threw themselves into the fray.
However, Sun Kong's side showed no signs of tension. Instead, he made an unexpected decision that no one could have foreseen.
They all say, "It's best to fish in troubled waters."
At this very moment, he intended to make the waters even more turbid.
Only then could he overcome the disadvantage of insufficient manpower!
Firstly.
It was to cause a ruckus.
To stir up everyone in the Immortal Realm who might be involved in the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Demon race, making it difficult for them to distinguish between good and bad, friend and foe, right and wrong, black and white.
To act as much as possible according to Sun Kong's wishes.
Thus disrupting Luo Hou's plan.
Secondly.
To act out.
To court disaster was certainly part of the plan.
But in this new era of the Three Realms of the Primordial World, one could not resort to childish tactics.
Instead, it was either not to act at all.
Or, to reduce the pressure on the human race of the mortal realm, to seize opportunities for the Tang Dynasty, and to share the burden with his two brothers and nephew Li Bai.
And to achieve this goal, the only and most effective method was none other than for Sun Kong to set his sights on two armies.
One was the multitude of Buddhas from Spirit Mountain, who had yet to make a move, but still purported to be on the righteous path!
The other was the Jie Sect, led by Tongtian Jiaozhu and his disciples who were on the Seal Demon List, always eager to intervene but also wary of Sun Kong's potential retaliation!
"The situation with Tongtian Jiaozhu is hard to say. He once coaxed me into an alliance, but soon after partnered with Luo Hou. He cannot be trusted."
"Moreover, the Seal Demon List is controlled by the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor is indifferent to the affairs of the mortal realm and hopes to use the gods of the Jie Sect to deal with Jin Chanzi and me."
"Perhaps they are arguing amongst themselves. In any case, no celestial beings from the Heavenly Court have appeared in the mortal realm yet. I, Old Sun, will go find Little Deng Deng and the others first."
"Speaking of which, it's been many years since the first Tathagata passed away, and then resurrected as Sakyamuni, severing all karma of the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism. It's been a long time since I've dealt with them."
"It's time to discipline these disobedient Buddhas and Arhats. Their future betrayal is a matter for later. For now, they must acknowledge my status as the acting Deputy Buddha."
"If they behave, there will be no problems. After all, I, Old Sun, am not unreasonable."
"But if they don't listen, don't blame me, Old Sun, for making an example of them!"
With this thought, Sun Kong, without a word, directly rode his Chaotic Somesault Cloud, brandishing his Chaotic Golden Cudgel, and in mere moments, arrived at Spirit Mountain, tens of millions of miles away.
As soon as he landed.
Without even asking the gatekeeping disciples to announce his arrival, he already caused these disciples and grandchildren to shriek, scream, and beg for mercy.
In their words.
It seemed that even though Sun Kong hadn't visited in years, the fear of him within Spirit Mountain had only increased, causing these lowest-level disciples and grandchildren to reveal their true forms in their terror.
Some were demons.
Some were mortals.
And some were actually transformed from malevolent ghosts!
It was unbelievable!
"There's no need to be so terrified, is there?"
"I, Old Sun, am truly not a bad person. I'm just here to find Little Deng Deng, ahem, forget it, let's just call him Burning Lamp Buddha."
"I, Old Sun, am truly here to discuss matters with your Buddha. Besides, I am the acting Deputy Buddha. Why would I harm you?"
Sun Kong was amused by the overly terrified expressions of these disciples and grandchildren. Whether to believe it or not, he did believe it to some extent.
After all, these individuals had extremely low cultivation levels, most being between Earth Immortals and Celestial Immortals.
They could not escape his Fiery Golden Eyes!
But he still couldn't understand why the two saints of the Western Sect had explicitly declared neutrality, yet the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain were still so wary of him.
Were they acting weak?
Or...
"Could it be that ever since I mentioned the 'Courting Disaster Training Class' back then, Burning Lamp Buddha and the others started their own, analyzing my performance, and learning my skills?"
"If that's the case, then this trip might not be simple."
Sun Kong thought to himself.
Raising his guard!
"Are you by any chance the Deputy Buddha of our Spirit Mountain, Great Sage Sun?"
"Oh dear, it's been many years. These good-for-nothings are so negligent towards Deputy Buddha Sun. They deserve to die! Please, hurry inside. Burning Lamp Buddha and the other Buddhas are all waiting for you."
"Everyone knows that you, Great Sage, are the one who can resolve all major and minor issues in the Three Realms of the Primordial World. Without you, we, the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, would be utterly helpless."
Just as Sun Kong was pondering, a familiar voice echoed from atop Spirit Mountain.
The person who arrived was none other than Julu Sun, one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas of Theravada Buddhism, whom Sun Kong had toyed with and provoked countless times in the past, and whom he had always referred to as his younger brother.
The appearance of this person, though merely guiding the way and not revealing the truth, caused a slight flicker of surprise in Sun Kong's eyes, and he began to understand.
Flattery to the extreme.
It was definitely flattery.
Within the entire Spirit Mountain, aside from Tathagata who treated Sun Kong with genuine kindness, everyone else merely sought to use him.
Otherwise, why would there have been the series of events from hundreds of years ago where the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain were driven to tears by his antics, failed to relocate, suffered upon their return, and he ended up in the second position?
However.
In Sun Kong's view, this war between the mortal realm and the demon race, although it contained his personal desire to draw more people into the conflict, was also beneficial to the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain.
He simply couldn't see why, for such a good thing, these people would resort to such crude acting to deceive him, when at most they would just discuss profit sharing with him.
Now, Bodhisattva Julu Sun appeared to be respectful towards him, but his eyes still held a trace of disdain.
The reasons behind this were twofold.
Firstly.
They had long ago colluded with the Jade Emperor, much like when Guanyin Bodhisattva suddenly went to the Heavenly Court for a secret meeting ten years ago.
If this were the case, Sun Kong could easily fight his way out alone later.
He was not afraid of these Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, whose strength was far inferior to Tathagata's.
Secondly.
It was that they had truly learned his "courting disaster" skills and had foreseen his arrival and purpose, but in order to gain an advantage, they were deliberately giving him a show of force.
This would explain the rather clumsy acting of those disciples and grandchildren earlier.
But another question arose: who exactly had informed the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain in advance?
"Could it be the two saints of the Western Sect?"
"That's right. Ever since I, Old Sun, grew closer to Empress Nuwa and Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Daoist Zhunti must have feared my defection from the Western Sect, thus increasing his support for Burning Lamp Buddha and the others."
"In that case, there's no need to pretend to be a good person anymore. Let's directly negotiate the division of benefits. As long as they get involved, everything can be discussed."
Just as this thought arose in Sun Kong's mind.
The next second.
He was led by Bodhisattva Julu Sun to the Great Thunderclap Temple, where he witnessed a scene that even astonished him!