Imprisonment?
You damn Golden Cicada, cursing Old Sun before you leave.
Sun Kong bared his teeth, speechless.
However, he really didn't have time to bother with the Golden Cicada over such trivial matters.
His public release of the Golden Cicada would surely incur the wrath of all the Buddhas.
What's more, he had also injured Venerable Kashyapa.
And nominally, Venerable Kashyapa was sent by Tathagata to apprehend the Golden Cicada.
Sun Kong dared to severely injure him?
This was clearly a challenge to Tathagata's authority.
It could be said that Sun Kong had blown a small matter completely out of proportion!
"What happened?"
A voice inquired.
A figure in white, stepping on a lotus platform, appeared before Sun Kong and the others.
Guanyin herself had arrived.
Simultaneously, she was accompanied by many heavyweights from the Spirit Mountain.
Maitreya Buddha, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and the Four Directions of Jiedi were all present.
The Buddhas of the Four Directions also flocked to the scene, instantly surrounding the area.
Was such a grand assembly merely to retrieve a small elder? It seemed overly elaborate.
But considering the Golden Cicada's importance to the Journey to the West, this scene was nothing.
"Sun Monkey?"
"Why are you here?"
"And, was that Buddhist radiance that just illuminated the land of a million miles from you?"
Guanyin's questions came in a rapid-fire three-part query.
Even someone as powerful as Guanyin, a being at the Hunyuan Da Luo Golden Immortal level, could easily perceive matters of the Three Realms through her senses.
And the Buddhist radiance that Sun Kong had just unleashed had affected the land for a million miles. Guanyin could naturally sense it.
However, even though she perceived Sun Kong's aura, she still found it hard to believe.
After all, for a Taiyi Golden Immortal to unleash such a powerful divine ability, and moreover, to use a signature skill of Tathagata, was truly unfathomable!
"Reporting to Bodhisattva."
"It was this demon monkey; he let the Golden Cicada go."
"We had already surrounded the Golden Cicada and were about to capture him, but this demon monkey intervened."
"And he severely injured Venerable Kashyapa!"
Ananda Venerable, as if seeing a savior, poured out all his grievances against Sun Kong in one breath.
As soon as he finished speaking, Venerable Kashyapa feigned spitting out a mouthful of blood.
He then put on an act as if he were dying.
It was as if Sun Kong had truly dealt him a fatal blow.
"Is this true?"
Before Guanyin could express her anger, Samantabhadra spoke first.
Previously, he had accepted a favor from Sun Kong, and thus, they had a decent acquaintance.
As the old saying goes, "One who takes favors should be soft-handed."
Today, Sun Kong had stirred up such a huge mess, and even Samantabhadra couldn't save him.
But he couldn't just watch Sun Kong be punished!
However, with Ananda Venerable's embellishment and Kashyapa's Oscar-worthy performance, the Buddhas truly believed Sun Kong's actions.
At this moment, the gazes and expressions of the Buddhas in the sky turned exceedingly fierce.
If looks could kill, Sun Kong would have been flayed to pieces by the gazes of the Buddhas long ago.
Imagine, ten thousand people glaring at one person with fierce eyes, what kind of scene and atmosphere would that create?
Anyone with a weak mental fortitude would probably panic at that moment.
However, Sun Kong was different.
Facing the unprecedentedly oppressive atmosphere, Sun Kong remained composed and even wore a smile.
Perhaps even Sun Wukong, when facing Li Jing and the hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and generals, didn't possess such formidable psychological resilience!
"Yes, one monkey acts, one monkey takes responsibility."
"It was Old Sun who injured Venerable Kashyapa, and it was Old Sun who let the Golden Cicada go."
Sun Kong directly admitted it in public.
He was too lazy to even explain the reason for injuring Venerable Kashyapa.
Uh... there seemed to be nothing worth explaining anyway.
Should he tell the Buddhas that he injured Venerable Kashyapa simply because the latter opened his mouth?
"You wicked monkey!"
"You wantonly severely injured our Spirit Mountain's Venerable, and you dared to privately release the Golden Cicada."
"Such a grave offense requires you to be thrown into the eighteen layers of hell to suffer for ten thousand eons!"
Guanyin immediately roared in anger.
As soon as these words were spoken, before Sun Kong could react, the Buddhas could no longer bear it.
Pairs of bewildered eyes all turned towards Guanyin.
For no other reason than this:
Sun Kong was one of the protagonists of the Journey to the West.
If he were to go to hell and endure ten thousand eons of reincarnation, would the Journey to the West still be possible?
Therefore, the Buddhas' questioning of Guanyin was simple.
Show off if you must, but at least consider reality.
Perhaps sensing the gazes of doubt from many, Guanyin felt she had overdone it.
She immediately coughed and said again:
"However, considering you were unaware of the inner workings,"
"Ignorance is not a crime. I can impose a lighter punishment on you."
This stiff turn almost made Sun Kong burst into laughter.
He anticipated that Guanyin would next announce his confinement for five hundred years or something similar.
In that case, even if Sun Kong didn't cause havoc in heaven, he would still experience something akin to the Five Finger Mountain.
Then, when the Golden Cicada was found and reincarnated as Tang Monk, and when an opportunity arose for Tang Monk to rescue Sun Kong, the Journey to the West could seamlessly begin.
What a beautiful plan!
Unfortunately, Guanyin and the Buddhas could never have imagined that Sun Kong was no longer the ignorant monkey who could be manipulated at will.
He was a transmigrator with a system!
"No, no, no, Old Sun knew the inner workings."
"Moreover, I did it knowingly."
"Not only that, but it was also Old Sun's help that allowed the Golden Cicada to break through to Taiyi Golden Immortal."
"Letting him escape Spirit Mountain and hide was also Old Sun's idea."
"With so many grave offenses piled up, if Bodhisattva punishes Old Sun too lightly, it would be truly unreasonable, wouldn't it?" m..oΓg
Sun Kong chuckled and spilled everything out like beans from a bamboo tube.
Buddhas: !!! (ﾟДﾟノ)ノ
They had seen people who were itching for a beating, but never someone like Sun Kong who eagerly sought severe punishment.
Was the eighteen layers of hell your home? Was it fun to go there?
Speaking of which, it really was.
Three hundred years ago, when the King of Hell found Sun Wukong's lifespan had ended, he sent minor demons to collect Sun Wukong's soul.
But what was the result? Sun Wukong caused havoc in the underworld and casually tore up the Book of Life and Death.
At that time, Sun Wukong was merely a Golden Immortal, and the underworld was helpless against him.
Now that he had achieved the Great Perfection of Taiyi Golden Immortal, wouldn't he turn the entire underworld upside down?
Of course, the vast underworld was not without powerful beings who could subdue Sun Monkey.
This person was Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
As long as that venerable one was willing to take action, suppressing Sun Monkey for five hundred years would be nothing.
However, for Ksitigarbha to act, Tathagata himself would have to command it.
After all, that venerable one was the only monk who did not stay in Spirit Mountain but insisted on residing in the underworld!
"Hmph!"
"This arrogant monkey's insolence provides us with the perfect excuse to suppress him."
"Although not experiencing the havoc in heaven might cause some grumbling from the Heavenly Court, we can't worry about that much for now."
"I will immediately report to our Buddha, cancel the plan for havoc in heaven, and have Sun Monkey suppressed in the underworld."
"The Journey to the West can then commence smoothly after five hundred years!"