Sun Kong, the stubborn holdout, gave the Buddhas quite a headache.
The Tathagata even hoped Sun Kong would fly into a rage due to the unfair treatment.
If wreaking havoc in the Heavenly Palace was out of the question, wreaking havoc in the Great Thunderclap Temple would suffice.
Alas, the Tathagata's hope was dashed.
The once volatile monkey had become calm and easygoing.
Wasn't this also abnormal?
However, time was running out for the Buddhas.
According to the original plan, Sun Kong should have defected from the Heavenly Court by now, marking his first conflict with them.
This would have paved the way for his future rebellion in the Heavenly Palace.
But in the end, the monkey refused to leave Spirit Mountain.
"In my humble opinion, Sun Houzi seems to be sincerely converting. This is not entirely bad for Buddhism,"
"Perhaps we can reveal the truth to him. If Sun Houzi can cooperate, it's not impossible."
Manjushri proposed.
Ever since his last encounter with Sun Kong, Manjushri and Sun Kong had formed a karmic link.
As the saying goes, one who eats from another's hand must respect their benefactor.
His deliberate favoritism towards Sun Kong was understandable.
"Absolutely not!"
"The Journey to the West concerns the grand scheme of the West."
"Any slight deviation will prevent Buddhist dharma from being transmitted to the East."
"Such a loss cannot be borne by one person alone."
Guanyin decisively rejected the idea.
Sun Kong was merely a pawn. What right did he have to be among the players?
However, the Buddhas were unaware that Sun Kong already knew everything.
If he were a pawn, then all the immortals in the Three Realms wouldn't even qualify as pawns.
"However, the current problem is how to get Sun Houzi onto the right track."
"If he insists on staying at Spirit Mountain, how will the Journey to the West proceed?"
The Tathagata sighed, posing the most troublesome question for the Buddhas.
"Heh heh!"
"Your disciple has a method that might work."
Guanyin suddenly let out a cold laugh, her beautiful eyes then fixing on the Bull Demon King below.
Sun Kong had presented the Bull Demon King to Spirit Mountain, intending to join Buddhism under the guise of currying favor.
Unfortunately, the Tathagata had rejected him.
However, Sun Kong and the Bull Demon King had indeed fallen out.
Now, the Bull Demon King, forcibly brought here by Sun Kong, had become the Divine Ox Arhat.
Meanwhile, Sun Kong was still locked out.
The contrast in their fates was almost comically dramatic.
Furthermore, the Bull Demon King was already full of grievances with nowhere to vent.
Sending him to taunt Sun Kong at this moment might not only drive Sun Kong away but also incite his anger.
If they were lucky, the monkey might even cause a commotion at Spirit Mountain, saving the Buddhas a lot of trouble.
"An excellent idea!"
The Tathagata's eyes lit up, and he immediately instructed the Bull Demon King:
"Divine Ox Arhat."
"I am aware of your predicament and sympathize with you deeply."
"Although you have become an Arhat, you should not retain the worldly desires and anger."
"However, worldly matters must be resolved for you to cultivate diligently."
"Go now."
"When you return, I myself will personally explain Buddhist teachings to you, helping you to quickly achieve the Arhat's golden body!"
The Tathagata spoke with feigned solemnity, sowing discord.
Coming from his lips, even deceit sounded sacred.
What a great deceiver!
"My Buddha is merciful!"
The Bull Demon King was overjoyed.
This was the first time he had experienced the joy of being a civil servant.
To think that seeking personal revenge could be presented so gloriously and righteously, it was truly remarkable.
The most impressive part was that after taking revenge, there were rewards to be had. Where could one find such a good deal?
Without delay, the Bull Demon King rushed out of the Great Hall, heading straight for Sun Kong.
At the foot of Spirit Mountain, a monkey was leisurely munching on a peach.
He wasn't like Zhu Bajie, who only cared about eating.
The peach was a Flat Peach, each worth nine thousand years of cultivation.
Accumulating enough cultivation could break through the Great Perfection of Taiyi Golden Immortal, achieving Hunyuan Da Luo Golden Immortal.
In the power system of the Journey to the West world, Hunyuan Da Luo Golden Immortal was the peak combat power among immortals.
Above that were the Sages.
As for the concept of Quasi-Sage, that belonged to the Primordial World and had nothing to do with Journey to the West.
Of course, even among Sages, there were vast differences.
In the Journey to the West world, Pangu was the first Sage of Heaven and Earth.
Alas, he had long since passed away, so he was not counted.
Secondly, only the top combat powers of each faction could become Sages.
For example, the Jade Emperor, the Tathagata, Taishang Laojun, and Ancestor Burning Lamp.
Besides them, there were many incredibly powerful existences among the Kunlun loose immortals.
Yuqing Yuan Shi Tianzun and Shangqing Ling Bao Tianzun, these two great deities were on par with Taishang Laojun among the Three Pure Ones.
They were naturally of Sage level.
Even Nuwa, who mended the heavens, was merely one of the Three Sovereigns. Her status and power were far inferior to the Jade Emperor and others.
One could imagine how a monkey a few hundred years old would be feared by transcendent beings like the Jade Emperor and Taishang Laojun.
It was simply a joke!
"By merely eating Flat Peaches and Ginseng Fruits, I, your old Sun, have accumulated at least a million years of cultivation."
"Yet I still haven't qualified to even touch upon the threshold of Hunyuan Da Luo Golden Immortal."
"It's hard to imagine how arduous the path to becoming a Sage is."
"Looking at it this way, even becoming the Victorious Fighting Buddha through a shortcut, possessing the golden body merit, would at most make me a Da Luo Golden Immortal."
"There is still a significant gap compared to the Jade Emperor and the Tathagata!"
Sun Kong couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Although he considered himself to have sufficient understanding of Journey to the West.
There was a significant difference between understanding from a book and experiencing it personally.
If he hadn't been in this situation, how could he have truly grasped the tediousness and hardships of cultivation!
"Since cultivation is so monotonous, I might as well practice some divine abilities to pass the time."
"I recall the system previously gifted me the Tathagata's Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage, which seemed quite cool."
Sun Kong knew how to entertain himself.
In fact, there were many rewards gifted by the system during this period.
But few of them piqued Sun Kong's interest.
And Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage was one of the few divine abilities that sounded interesting just by its name.
Of course, the Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage in wuxia was entirely different from that in the divine mythology system.
Was the cultivation of thousands or tens of thousands of years in the mythological system something wuxia could compare to?
The moment Sun Kong made his move, thousands of golden light projections instantly appeared behind him.
From afar, it looked like ten thousand Buddhas in meditation.
Golden light blazed, illuminating the land.
In an instant, more than half of the Western regions seemed to be covered in gold, a truly astonishing sight.
Concurrently, melodious Buddhist chants echoed through the western skies.
The scene of ten thousand Buddhas reciting scriptures together was truly magnificent!
It was a pity that Sun Kong was not impressed.
He didn't practice divine abilities to listen to Buddhist scriptures.
He only cared about two things: whether the power was great enough, and whether it was cool enough to perform!
"Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage!"
As Sun Kong softly exclaimed, the spectral Buddhas behind him also attacked.
Tens of thousands of Buddha hands struck at a single point. Just looking at it would send shivers down one's spine.
Let alone being caught in the middle, like the Bull Demon King, who had arrived at an unfortunate time.
"Holy cow! You don't have to go for the kill the moment we meet, do you!"
"Help… me!"