Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

The Medicine Buddha stood on a lotus throne, his body radiating a dazzling light, his compassionate face concealing a hidden majesty. He not only ignored the Jade Emperor's warning but also spoke to Sun Wukong.

"Amitabha. Great Sage, you have recklessly violated the Heavenly Court's restrictions and released a demonic soul, committing an unforgivable sin. Why don't you quickly convert to Buddhism and seek forgiveness?"

Sun Wukong stood atop the ruins of the Peach Garden, his golden cudgel pointing diagonally to the sky, and spoke to it with a cold smile.

"Old bald monk, stop with your fake compassion! This Peach Garden is suppressing billions of souls of my demon race. Today, I, Old Sun, will seek justice for them."

The Medicine Buddha sighed and shook his head, saying helplessly, "Since you are so stubborn, then don't blame this humble monk for suppressing you."

After saying that, a crystal pearl appeared in his palm, containing boundless Buddhist light, and pressed down on Sun Wukong.

Wherever the pearl passed, the void shattered, forcefully suppressing the crimson pillar of light. Sun Wukong felt as if he were carrying an immense weight, his bones creaking and cracking.

Sun Wukong gritted his teeth and roared angrily. His body began to expand instantly, reaching a height of ten thousand feet in just a moment. He had actually used the Divine Power of Heaven and Earth.

When the Jade Emperor saw that the Medicine Buddha not only ignored him but also dared to make a move in the Heavenly Court, his eyes flashed with cold light.

"Medicine Master, this Heavenly Court is not a place where you can run wild. If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll really think that the Heavenly Court has no one to rely on."

The Jade Emperor raised his hand and waved, and the Haotian Mirror suddenly magnified, revealing the stars in the sky on its surface. A dazzling starlight shone directly on the Medicine Buddha!

Caught off guard, the Medicine Buddha was struck by the starlight, causing the crystal pearl to crack instantly. His expression changed slightly, and he quickly withdrew his hand and retreated.

"What does Your Majesty mean by this? This humble monk suppressed this monkey for the sake of the Heavenly Court. It is one thing if Your Majesty does not thank this humble monk, but why does Your Majesty also attack this humble monk?" Medicine Buddha asked in a deep voice.

The Jade Emperor sneered and said, "What a fine excuse, 'for the Heavenly Court.' It seems that your Buddhist sect is indeed corrupt from top to bottom, having learned Zhunti Daoist's ways to the fullest extent."

Just as tensions were running high, a crimson pillar of light surged once more in the center of the Peach Garden. From the cracks in the ground, countless demonic souls roared and burst forth.

The Medicine Buddha was greatly alarmed and hurriedly summoned his precious pearl, intending to suppress the billions of demon souls. Unexpectedly, Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Cudgel) had already struck him in the chest.

Caught off guard, the Medicine Buddha was struck squarely by Sun Wukong. He immediately spat out a mouthful of golden blood, and his divine form dimmed considerably.

Upon seeing this, Sun Wukong laughed loudly: "The Buddha of the West is nothing more than this. With your meager abilities, you dare to offend my Heavenly Court? Today, I, the Great Sage, will teach you a lesson on behalf of His Majesty, you bald monk."

By this time, Sun Wukong's anger had subsided. He knew that this was all a conspiracy unfolding around him, and naturally, he would not fall for the Buddhist sect's tricks again.

The phrase "on behalf of His Majesty" definitively stated his stance, placing Buddhism in opposition to the Heavenly Court.

Seeing the situation was dire, the Medicine Buddha realized that if Sun Wukong and the Jade Emperor were to join forces, his own chances of survival would be slim.

After all, the Jade Emperor alone was already beyond his ability to contend with. If Sun Wukong were added to the mix, he would have no chance of winning.

The Jade Emperor might spare Sun Wukong's life out of respect for the two Buddhas of the West, but Sun Wukong would have no such scruples.

At that point, the Jade Emperor only needs to restrain himself, and Sun Wukong will definitely take the opportunity to kill him. It's even possible that he won't even be able to keep the relic.

Without hesitation, he crushed the prayer beads in his hand. At the same time, he didn't forget to retreat to avoid being ambushed by Sun Wukong again. As the Medicine Buddha crushed the prayer beads in his hand, the Bodhi Patriarch in the Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave of Lingtai Fangcun Mountain couldn't help but sigh softly.

In a single step, he arrived in the Heavenly Court. Accompanying him was the benevolent avatar of the Guide Buddha, left behind by the Guide Daoist at the foot of Mount Ling.

Upon seeing this, the Jade Emperor was so angry that he laughed instead, glaring at Bodhi Patriarch and Amitabha Buddha and saying, "Even if you yourselves were here in person, you could not interfere with the affairs of my Heavenly Court."

The Buddha of Guidance clasped his hands together and said with a compassionate expression, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This matter concerns the safety of the Three Realms, and our Buddhist sect has no choice but to intervene. If these billions of demon souls were to appear in the world, it would surely bring untold suffering to all living beings."

The Bodhi Patriarch lightly waved his whisk, looking at Sun Wukong with a complex expression, and said, "Sun Wukong, do you know the truth beneath the Peach Garden?"

Sun Wukong's golden eyes flashed, and he sneered, "Whatever the truth is, it is a matter for my Heavenly Court, and it is not your place to interfere, Western Buddhism."

Patriarch Bodhi sighed and shook his head at Sun Wukong, saying, "You only know one side of the story. If these demon souls are released, the demon race will be the first to suffer."

Just then, countless skeletal arms suddenly emerged from the cracks in the ground, accompanied by the earth-shattering roars of the demonic souls.

The Jade Emperor never expected that Sun Wukong, facing the corpses and vengeful spirits of billions of his people, would still stand by his side, even at the cost of offending the benevolent incarnations of two saints.

He couldn't help but think to himself, "If Sun Wukong weren't the one destined for the Journey to the West, I could try to win him over and make him a great asset to me."

Unfortunately, Sun Wukong's identity is beyond question. Therefore, this idea remains just that—an idea—and cannot be realized at all.

Therefore, forcing Sun Wukong to wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace was inevitable. After all, the Jade Emperor planned to use Sun Wukong to help him rectify the Heavenly Court.

So he simply said, "Back then, the demon race slaughtered billions of humans and used their souls to forge the Witch-Slaying Sword. Did they ever consider that humans were innocent?"

"When I rebuilt the Heavenly Court, I collected the corpses of the demon race and buried them under the Peach Garden. It can be said that I made the best use of them. Compared with what the demon race did, I was much more merciful."

The Jade Emperor believed that once he uttered these words, Sun Wukong would surely be enraged. He only needed to drive away these useless Buddhist monks to get Sun Wukong to follow his predetermined plan.

To the Jade Emperor's surprise, Sun Wukong nodded at him and spoke.

"What Your Majesty says makes sense, but if the creatures of the primordial world knew the secret beneath the Peach Garden, how many would still dare to eat the peaches?"

"In order to keep this secret, His Majesty has no choice but to kill them to silence them. We absolutely cannot allow these few bald monks from the Western Buddhist sect to have the opportunity to leave the Heavenly Court."

"As for the rest, I, Old Sun, can handle it for Your Majesty. I guarantee that this matter will not be known to any living beings in the Three Realms."

"Your Majesty need not thank me. After all, I am new to the Heavenly Court and have been appointed as the First-Rank Great Sage Equal to Heaven without having made any contributions. I should give you a token of my loyalty."

As he spoke, a pouch suddenly flew out from Sun Wukong's body and began to collect the demon souls beneath the Peach Garden.

This caused the Jade Emperor to frown. "It's actually a soul pouch from the Nine Netherworlds! Could this monkey really want to help me? Does he really want to become the Great Sage Equal to Heaven of my Heavenly Court?" (End of Chapter)