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

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Three hundred miles southeast of Guanyin Temple, there is a hidden cave entrance concealed by vines, but inside lies a different world – this is Luojia Cave.

The black bear spirit placed the sandalwood box on the stone platform, then huddled in a corner, scratching his head and looking at the brocade robe that shimmered with rosy light.

At this moment, he regretted believing Manjushri Bodhisattva's words and getting involved in this mess.

But now, even if I wanted to regret it, it was too late. I could only pray for divine protection so that I could get through this ordeal smoothly.

Even if he couldn't become the Black Bear Venerable in the Western Paradise after this matter was over, at least he could continue to be a demon.

Just as the black bear was filled with immense anxiety, a deafening roar, as if tearing apart the heavens and earth, suddenly exploded outside the cave.

The entire Luojia Cave shook violently, with rubble and dust falling in a flurry. It seemed as if it might collapse at any moment.

The black bear spirit leaped to its feet in fright, its black fur standing on end. It knew that what it had feared had come to pass.

Immediately afterwards, a shrill shriek, like the Grim Reaper demanding death, pierced through the formation and crashed into the cave.

"You black bear demon who stole the cassock, get out here for me, Old Sun. Otherwise, your grandpa Sun will overturn this lousy mountain and smash you into mincemeat."

The black bear spirit was terrified. He recognized Sun Wukong's voice but couldn't understand how he could have found him so accurately.

In its panic, it grabbed the wooden box containing the cassock and tried to escape through the back of the cave.

At the cave entrance, Sun Wukong stood in mid-air, his golden cudgel transforming into a colossal pillar supporting the sky, and with another powerful strike, he slammed it against the invisible array of light.

The light barrier rippled violently, cracks spreading. With just this one strike, the mountain-guarding formation was already teetering on the brink of collapse, as if it would crumble at any moment.

Manjushri Bodhisattva and the monks followed far behind and happened to witness this scene.

Manjushri was overjoyed beyond words, but on his face he feigned shock, anger and panic, pointing at the cave in front of him and speaking in a trembling voice.

"This is Luojia Cave? This is the place where Bodhisattvas cultivated themselves before attaining enlightenment. How could that black bear spirit be here?!"

“You monkey, why don’t you stop right now? You’re ruining the place where the Bodhisattva cultivated before attaining enlightenment. You’ll regret it.”

Sun Wukong put away his golden cudgel and looked at Elder Jinchi with a playful expression, saying, "I knew this demon was related to your Guanyin Temple."

"Guanyin Temple is the temple of Guanyin Bodhisattva, yet it houses a greedy abbot like you. This Luojia Cave is not the place where Guanyin Bodhisattva practiced before attaining enlightenment, yet it harbors a demon who steals a cassock."

"I wonder if Guanyin Bodhisattva knows that her temple and place of quiet cultivation have become a breeding ground for filth."

"Today, I, Old Sun, will capture the demon who stole the cassock, and then I'll take you, old monk, with me to find him and get to the bottom of this."

Before he finished speaking, the golden cudgel in his hand was swung out again, carrying the power to destroy mountains and rivers, and crashed down.

The mountain-guarding formation shattered completely, and the violent shockwave blew away the giant rock at the cave entrance, revealing the panicked black bear spirit inside, clutching a wooden box and trying to escape.

"Found you, clothes thief."

Sun Wukong's laughter was like thunder, and his figure transformed into a golden light, shooting straight into the cave.

Manjushri saw this clearly from afar and couldn't help but feel secretly pleased. At the same time, he secretly made a hand seal, and a barely perceptible aura was already heading towards the cave. The black bear demon, who was originally planning to escape, suddenly froze, and his eyes dimmed slightly.

However, this was only for a moment. Soon, a fighting spirit erupted in the black bear demon's eyes. An explosive aura completely enveloped it.

Meanwhile, Manjushri Bodhisattva, disguised as Elder Jinchi, was also prepared to die at the crucial moment. He would then feign death to escape and completely complete his plan.

However, the fierce battle he expected to erupt inside the cave did not occur. Instead, Sun Wukong simply dragged the Black Bear Demon out.

Manjushri's heart skipped a beat, and an extremely ominous premonition gripped his soul without warning.

"Wait a minute, this black bear spirit's cultivation level is at least that of a Taiyi Golden Immortal. With my Buddhist power added to it, he should be able to fight against this Sun Wukong, right?"

"Even if he was ultimately defeated, he should have followed my instructions and self-destructed his soul and body to bury the truth, right? How did Sun Wukong manage to find out?"

No matter how much Manjushri Bodhisattva didn't believe it, Sun Wukong had already slowly strolled out of the dust-filled cave entrance.

With one hand, he casually dragged the black bear spirit's limp, lifeless, massive body. With the other hand, he deftly carried the sandalwood box.

Sun Wukong's face showed no sign of the exhilaration of the fierce battle; instead, it wore a chilling smile, his gaze like two sharp, tempered knives, fixed directly on Manjushri Bodhisattva's face.

He tossed the black bear spirit's corpse at his feet like trash, raising a cloud of dust. Then, he raised the wooden box in his hand.

Seeing that the Black Bear Spirit was lifeless, Manjushri Bodhisattva couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. After all, what he wanted was for the Black Bear Spirit to die without any evidence.

As for failing to fake his death and escape, that's not a big deal. He can provoke Sun Wukong and then let Sun Wukong kill him.

So he said directly, "Now that the robe has been found, please hand it over to this humble monk."

As he spoke, Manjushri Bodhisattva reached out to snatch the cassock. His aim was to provoke Sun Wukong and get him to strike him with his staff.

To Manjushri Bodhisattva's surprise, Sun Wukong allowed him to snatch the cassock without even showing the slightest anger.

He simply said with a calm expression, "It's a pity that the Black Bear Demon died too young. I haven't had a chance to find out who was behind it."

"So I'll have to trouble you, old monk, to come with me to the Western Paradise and be my witness. Let the Buddha give me an explanation."

Upon hearing that Sun Wukong intended to take him to the Great Thunderclap Temple on Mount Ling, Manjushri Bodhisattva felt a sense of foreboding.

"No, if I follow this monkey to Mount Ling and meet the Buddha, then everything I've done will be exposed."

"The only option now is to reveal our cultivation level, take the brocade cassock to Black Wind Cave, kill Elder Jinchi, and then leave the brocade cassock with him."

In just a moment, Manjushri Bodhisattva had already come up with a new solution. He simply took a step back and said...

"I have cultivated diligently for a thousand years, yet I have not been able to obtain the brocade robe bestowed by the Buddha. How could Tang Sanzang possibly obtain such a Buddhist treasure? I am not convinced."

"Even if we destroy this brocade cassock today, we will never let Tang Sanzang get it. At worst, we'll just go our separate ways."

After saying this, Manjushri Bodhisattva actually used his escape technique, transforming into a stream of light and heading towards Black Wind Mountain.

This terrified the monks who had followed. They wondered when their abbot had become capable of flying and teleporting. (End of Chapter)