Ling Shan.
Da Lei Yin Temple.
On this day, all the Buddhas gathered on Bao Shan.
Myriad zhang of Buddha light enveloped the West, majestic as divine beings descending.
The myriad spirits of the West felt the blessings of these Buddhas, kneeling in devout worship, basking in the rare purification of Buddhist dharma.
Within Da Lei Yin Temple, the Tathagata sat upon a lotus pedestal, expounding Buddhist dharma to the Buddhas.
However, amongst the Buddhas, a young monk actually dozed off at such a sacred moment.
He was the second disciple under the Tathagata, Elder Jin Chan.
"Jin Chanzi!"
"I am imparting the Mahayana Buddhist dharma, and you, as my disciple, are slacking off and sleeping."
"Such disregard for Buddhist dharma chills my heart."
"To punish your irreverence, I decree you shall fall into reincarnation and endure ten lifetimes of suffering!"
"Begone!"
The Tathagata waved his mighty hand, filled with disappointment, and ordered Jin Chanzi to be expelled from Ling Shan.
There was no Six Paths of Reincarnation in the West; thus, even to banish Jin Chanzi to the mortal realm, he had to enter hell first.
Yet, who could have imagined that Jin Chanzi, merely for a moment of sleep, would have to suffer ten lifetimes of reincarnation.
This punishment was indeed excessive.
"Alas!"
"Jin Chanzi will soon descend to the mortal realm; five hundred years is precisely ten lifetimes."
"But that Monkey King is still lingering in Ling Shan, refusing to leave. What is to be done!"
The Tathagata sighed with a troubled expression.
In truth, punishing Jin Chanzi was a pretense; the real intention was for him to descend to the mortal realm for trials.
Actually, there were a few vacant positions among the golden positions of Ling Shan that remained unfilled.
One was the Buddha of Fragrant Merit, and the other was the Victorious Fighting Buddha.
While there was no inherent hierarchy among Buddhas, there was a distinction between Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Since these two positions had remained vacant, it was only natural to keep such opportunities within the fold.
Jin Chanzi, being the second disciple of the Tathagata, was naturally one of their own.
As for the Monkey King, he was originally transformed from the Mani Pearl, a supreme treasure of Buddhism.
To nurture the Monkey King, the Tathagata had gone to great lengths, specifically selecting a blessed spot for the Mani Pearl.
It absorbed the essence of the sun and moon for hundreds of thousands of years in Flower Fruit Mountain.
Even after the Monkey King's birth, the Tathagata allowed him three hundred years of leisure to comprehend life and death.
Only after the Monkey King understood life and death did he arrange for Patriarch Bodhi to impart his skills.
It could be said that although the Tathagata was not the Monkey King's biological parent, he cared for him more than any parent would.
Having invested hundreds of thousands of years of effort into the Monkey King, the Tathagata naturally considered him as one of his own.
Therefore, bestowing the golden position of the Victorious Fighting Buddha upon him was entirely appropriate.
However, he never anticipated that the Monkey King's desire for Buddhism would be so immense.
To the extent that he could not be driven away no matter what.
"Could it be that I tried too hard?"
The Tathagata couldn't help but regret his excessive care for the Monkey King, which had led to this irreversible situation.
But, after all, the Monkey King was the culmination of his efforts; he couldn't simply eliminate him.
Then, who should occupy the position of the Victorious Fighting Buddha?
Tian Peng?
Or Juan Lian?
What a joke.
Those two were from the Heavenly Court. If they were to occupy the positions of Buddhas, wouldn't that be akin to the Jade Emperor planting two time bombs in Ling Shan?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
No matter what, he had to persuade the Monkey King to return to the right path as soon as possible.
So, who should be sent to drive away the Monkey King now?
The Tathagata scanned Ling Shan, only to see all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas lowering their heads.
Clearly, all these divine beings were deliberately avoiding this difficult task.
Understandable.
If even Manjushri and Guanyin couldn't handle the monkey, how could anyone else?
"My Buddha."
"Someone just left the grand hall and is still unaware of the Monkey King's true depth."
"Why not send him to persuade him? After all, his eloquence is something even I admit to being inferior to!"
A hint of cunning flashed in Guanyin's eyes.
The person who just left the grand hall?
Jin Chanzi!
Upon hearing this, the Tathagata's eyes brightened, and a smile curved his lips.
"You are correct."
"When it comes to eloquence, Jin Chanzi indeed possesses some ability."
"Moreover, he and the Monkey King are destined to be master and disciple in the future."
"It would be beneficial for them to get acquainted now."
The Tathagata approved Guanyin's suggestion and immediately sent the task to Jin Chanzi via a thousand-mile sound transmission.
"I respectfully obey my Buddha's decree!"
Outside the grand hall, Jin Chanzi clasped his hands together, his face full of piety.
He had just left Da Lei Yin Temple, preparing to personally enter hell and fall into reincarnation.
Suddenly, the Tathagata's voice echoed in his ears.
The Tathagata instructed him to persuade the Monkey King to leave Ling Shan.
"He's just a monkey, what kind of storm can he stir up by staying in Ling Shan?"
"I heard before that both Manjushri and Guanyin made a move, but both returned without success."
"It seems this monkey's sincerity in converting to Buddhism is quite profound!"
"With such sincerity, why is my Buddha unwilling to accept him?"
Jin Chanzi was filled with questions.
Although he was the second disciple of the Tathagata, his status in Ling Shan was extremely awkward.
Within Da Lei Yin Temple were Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and Venerables.
These were considered the official staff of Ling Shan, holding esteemed and noble positions.
Jin Chanzi, however, was at most an elder, which sounded much like an old monk in a mortal temple.
To put it bluntly, he was only slightly better than a temporary worker.
Such a major event as the Journey to the West was not something he, an unofficial member, was privy to.
Therefore, he had no idea that five hundred years later, he and the Monkey King would become the most classic of teammates, fighting their way back to Ling Shan.
Of course, the one who would be fighting their way was solely the Monkey King; Jin Chanzi would have nothing to do with it.
His role was to drag the Monkey King down!
"Huh?"
"Speak of the devil, and he appears!"
Amidst the sea of clouds, Sun Kong suddenly opened his eyes.
He saw a bald monk flying towards him.
His skin was fair, and his features were delicate.
His face looked like a woman's.
This wasn't the universally adored Tang Sanzang, whom women would want to marry!
"No, he should still be Jin Chanzi at this moment."
Sun Kong murmured to himself.
Previously, Sun Kong had been agonizing over how to approach Jin Chanzi and persuade him to abandon reincarnation.
He hadn't expected this fellow to come all on his own.
A thousand-mile delivery of heads, the gift is light but the sentiment is deep!
Well then, this Old Sun shall not be polite!
"Ahem!"
"Amitabha."
"I presume you are the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"
Jin Chanzi approached with a beaming smile, starting with a string of flattery.
This way of speaking was entirely different from Tang Sanzang!
That's right.
Even the current Jin Chanzi, no matter how mediocre, was still the second disciple of the Tathagata.
Among the myriad monks in the Three Realms, his status was already quite distinguished.
In fact, even Tang Sanzang, after ascending to the position of Buddha of Fragrant Merit, was a completely different person.
His demeanor and conduct became much more elevated.
If he were to learn that the consequence of his descent into reincarnation was the attainment of a golden position and becoming the Buddha of Fragrant Merit,
He would likely be beyond convincing, even by Sun Kong!
"Oh ho, isn't this Elder Jin Chan?"
"I heard the Elder was banished to reincarnation by the Tathagata for dozing off."
"After so many years of cultivation, Elder, you're not even as successful as the Bull Demon King achieving power overnight."
"Have you been this lazy all these years of cultivation?"