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

It can be said that Buddhism did not gain any benefit from this matter; on the contrary, it lost Vairocana Buddha.

The Buddha finally seized an opportunity to launch a series of crackdowns on the influence of the Chan and Jie sects within Buddhism.

The original Western religious forces were naturally happy to see this happen. They were directly helping the Buddha to begin reforming Buddhism.

Buddhism has always been divided into three forces: the original Western religion, and the forces of the Chan and Jie sects within Buddhism after the Investiture of the Gods.

Moreover, the forces of the Chan Sect and the Jie Sect are showing a tendency to unite, making it difficult for the original Western Sect forces to rise again.

At this moment, the Buddha emerged as the most prominent figure. Because he did not belong to any of the three factions, he was placed in the position of Buddha.

For a long time, the Buddha has been outwardly the head of Buddhism. However, the powerful figures within Buddhism have always outwardly obeyed him but inwardly defied him.

Only Guanyin Bodhisattva, like the Buddha, truly supports the Buddha.

Later, some monks who joined the Buddhist order chose to support the Buddha. This allowed the Buddha to temporarily gain a foothold in Buddhism.

Of course, whether it's Guanyin Bodhisattva or the monks who later joined Buddhism, they all originated from Taoism and the Humanist religion.

However, their past lives have been altered through the veil of the six realms of reincarnation. Therefore, even saints are unaware of their true origins.

Now, the Buddha has finally seized a golden opportunity. The result, naturally, was the direct marginalization of the Chan and Jie sects.

Moreover, this was only the first thing the Buddha Tathagata needed to do; the next step was to completely control the entire Buddhist community. After all, his mission was to become the representative of Buddhism and Taoism, and how could he succeed if he couldn't completely control Buddhism?

Therefore, the Buddha will use the Journey to the West to cleanse Buddhism, thereby achieving his goal of completely controlling it.

On this day, the Buddha sat in the Great Thunderclap Temple and said to Guanyin Bodhisattva beside him, "Venerable Guanyin, according to the time calculation, Jin Chanzi should have already completed his ninth reincarnation, right?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva stepped forward and nodded, saying, "What Buddha said is true. Jin Chanzi has indeed begun his ninth reincarnation, and like the previous eight, he is a high-ranking Buddhist monk."

"Once this accumulation is completed, the journey to the West can begin. Successfully spreading Buddhism to the East will bring true prosperity to our Buddhist community."

After hearing this, the Buddha nodded in satisfaction. "So, have the disciples who followed Jin Chanzi on his journey to the West to obtain the scriptures already embarked on their predetermined destinies as planned?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva spoke, saying, "Marshal Tianpeng entered the cycle of reincarnation and was reborn into the demon race. Now he is the king of Yunzhan Cave on Fuling Mountain, with thousands of demon soldiers and generals under his command."

"General Curtain-Roller also entered the cycle of reincarnation and was reborn as a Yaksha God. Now he occupies the Flowing Sand River and has gathered thousands of demon soldiers and generals."

"Jin Chanzi's destined mount is the Third Prince of the Jade Dragon of the West Sea. He is about to get married, but Ao Bing and Nezha are always by his side, so the Nine-Headed Insect does not dare to be too blatant."

"As for Sun Wukong, he spends his days drinking and socializing with his sworn brothers. He has already made a name for himself among the demons as a benevolent and righteous man, and countless demon kings have come to join him."

"It can be said that the fates of the four people who were originally supposed to follow Jin Chanzi on his journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures have all changed to some extent, especially Sun Wukong, who has completely deviated from his original path."

Upon hearing Guanyin Bodhisattva's words, all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas present bowed their heads, fearing that the Buddha Tathagata would call upon them to steer the four people's destinies back onto the right path. At this moment, the Buddha Tathagata also spoke, "Everyone, the Journey to the West is crucial to the success of the eastward transmission of Buddhism and to the flourishing of our Western Sect."

"Among them, Jin Chanzi and Sun Wukong are the most important. Everything is going smoothly with Jin Chanzi now, but Sun Wukong needs someone to guide him back to the right path. I wonder who is willing to go to Flower Fruit Mountain?"

Just as the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas had predicted, the Tathagata Buddha was indeed going to send someone to Flower Fruit Mountain to guide Sun Wukong back to his original destiny.

For a moment, the entire Great Thunderclap Temple was completely silent. Not a single person stepped forward to take on the task.

After all, even the Heavenly Court couldn't defeat Sun Wukong. With his limited abilities, going there would only be asking for trouble.

However, the silence of the crowd did not mean that the Buddha would not call on anyone. Instead, he looked directly at Manjushri Bodhisattva and spoke.

"Manjushri Bodhisattva, why don't you take a trip to Flower Fruit Mountain?"

Manjushri Bodhisattva shook his head and said, "Buddha, it's not that this humble monk doesn't want to go. It's just that this humble monk doesn't think he has the ability. If he goes to Flower Fruit Mountain without considering his own strength, it might delay the important matter of spreading Buddhism to the east."

At this point, Manjushri Bodhisattva no longer cared about saving face. As long as he didn't go to Flower Fruit Mountain, it wouldn't be a big deal if he admitted defeat.

After all, the death of Vairocana Buddha had already affected the influence of the Chan Sect within Buddhism. If he were to botch things at this time, the Chan Sect's influence within Buddhism would suffer a severe blow.

Of course, Manjushri Bodhisattva didn't forget to shift the blame. He directly said, "Visabhu Buddha once followed Cundi Buddha Mother in her practice, so he was naturally very proficient in this path."

"If Vimalakirti Buddha is willing to do this, even if he cannot prevent Sun Wukong from being imprisoned under the mountain, he can make him willingly protect the pilgrims."

Upon hearing this, Vipassana Buddha inwardly cursed Manjushri Bodhisattva for being despicable. Since he couldn't afford to offend Sun Wukong, he resorted to diverting the trouble elsewhere.

He spoke directly to the Buddha, saying, "Buddha, Sun Wukong is not alone. He not only has the Five Great Sages of the Demon Clan by his side, but also the Green Lotus Island backing him up."

"The last time the Jade Emperor schemed against Sun Wukong, the result was that the Peach Garden was taken away by someone else. He was even attacked by a joint force of humans and demons, and the Heavenly Court almost changed hands."

“If our Buddhist sect provokes that monkey again, we might become the next Jade Emperor. Therefore, our Buddhist sect must think this matter carefully, and if necessary, we should replace him with someone else.”

"After all, we are not..."

Before Vipassana Buddha could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the Tathagata Buddha. The Tathagata Buddha spoke in a voice almost devoid of emotion.

"Since you all feel powerless to change this matter, then you need not offer any further opinions on the matter of the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West."

"As for what you should do, then you shall follow the arrangements of the Venerable Guanyin. If anyone dares to disobey, then don't blame this humble monk for being ruthless."

The Buddha's words were tantamount to an ultimatum to all forces: either contribute to the Journey to the West calamity now, or obediently follow orders. (End of Chapter)