Many children, many blessings; the twelve ancestral witches forced marriages throughout the primordi

In the west, Mount Sumeru.

This place can no longer be called a sacred site; it's more like a post-disaster ruin that has been looted countless times.

Half of the roof of the main hall had collapsed, revealing a gray sky.

The Eight Treasures Merit Pool had long since dried up, and the silt at the bottom of the pool still emitted an extremely strange and spicy smell.

The Bodhi tree, which had been burned to charcoal by Zhu Rong, stubbornly sprouted a few tender buds, only to be brought back to its original state by the reversed fortune, completely losing its vitality.

Jieyin and Zhunti supported each other as they limped through the ruins, their hearts bleeding with every step they took.

"Senior brother, it's over, it's all over."

Zhunti covered his bare right shoulder, looking at the devastated scene. His voice was hoarse, and the flame of hope that had just ignited in his eyes was extinguished by the cruelty of reality.

"No matter how grand the promises made by the Daoist Ancestor are, we don't even have a single capable disciple now! How can we spread Buddhism eastward? How can we fight Lin Xuan?"

Jieyin also looked bitter. He touched his empty left eye socket and sighed, "Yes, our foundation is destroyed and our fortune is cut off. Even if the great calamity begins, we will only have the name in name and will be powerless to carry it out."

The two slumped onto the moldy prayer mats, speechless, and the atmosphere in the hall once again descended into despair.

Suddenly, a glint of extremely sinister light burst forth from Zhunti's originally dim eyes!

"No! Senior brother! We still have a chance!"

Zhunti slapped his thigh hard, his voice becoming shrill with excitement.

"Didn't the Dao Ancestor say that the key to the calamity of the Journey to the West lies in the pilgrim, and... the stone monkey born to face this calamity!"

Jieyin frowned: "Stone Monkey? The Primordial Spiritual Stone Monkey, isn't that Lin Xuan's bastard son, Lin Dasheng? You still want to provoke him? Have you forgotten how you lost your arm?"

"Of course I haven't forgotten!" Zhunti's eyes flashed with resentment and madness. "Taking it by force is definitely out of the question. Those lunatics in the Pangu Palace would devour us alive! But... the Dao Ancestor also said that the will of Heaven cannot be changed! Great Sage Lin is the one destined for this tribulation, so he must embark on the journey to the West!"

"We don't have to steal it, we can... teach him!"

"Teach him?" Jieyin was even more bewildered. "Do you think Lin Xuan would send his own son to our Western Sect as a disciple? He'd probably just take his sword and storm Mount Sumeru!"

"So, it can't be us going." Zhunti's face revealed an extremely cunning and sinister smile.

"Senior brother, have you forgotten? We also have the method of severing the three corpses to attain enlightenment!"

Jieyin was startled and instantly understood what Zhunti meant!

"You mean... you've severed the benevolent corpse?"

"That's right!" Zhunti laughed with extreme pride. "I've created a benevolent corpse that has completely severed its karmic ties with the Western Sect. He's no longer Zhunti, but a peerless master who lives in seclusion! He's going to Xiniu Hezhou to establish a Daoist temple, just waiting for that destined monkey to deliver himself to his doorstep!"

"Once the master-disciple relationship is established, the karmic bond is formed! At that time, even if Lin Xuan finds out, he can only watch helplessly! Can he really disregard the fundamental principles of master-disciple relations and go and kill his own son's mentor?"

"Once that monkey becomes our disciple and learns our methods, his path will forever bear the mark of the West! This is called... disintegration from within!"

Jieyin was deeply moved and his eyes shone brightly.

Brilliant! That's an absolutely brilliant move!

As expected of my junior brother who has mastered shamelessness to the extreme, he can even come up with such a despicable trick!

"Okay! Let's do it this way!" Jieyin nodded heavily.

A resolute glint flashed in Zhunti's eyes. Without further hesitation, he sat down cross-legged.

"Senior brother, protect me!"

He forcibly squeezed out the already limited sage essence within his body, even digging out the last root still carrying a faint trace of life from the base of that withered Bodhi tree and holding it in his hand.

"The Great Dao is above, and I, for the sake of the flourishing of the West, today sever all good intentions and establish a new lineage! Slay!"

With a furious shout, Zhunti slammed his palm down on the top of his head.

"puff!"

A large mouthful of dark golden holy blood gushed out, and his aura instantly weakened to the extreme.

But at the same time, an extremely pure white thought, full of compassion and wisdom, slowly rose from the top of his head.

This benevolent thought merged with the Bodhi root in his hand, gradually coalescing in mid-air into the image of an old Taoist with an air of otherworldly grace, white hair, and a youthful face.

The old Taoist priest held a whisk, his eyes slightly closed. He did not exude any trace of the karmic aura of Western religion; instead, he seemed more like a Taoist master who was detached from worldly affairs.

A moment later, the old Taoist slowly opened his eyes.

Those eyes were as deep as the sea, seemingly containing endless wisdom, but if you looked closely, you could find that in the deepest part of those eyes, there was a cunning and sinister glint just like that of Zhunti.

"This humble Taoist, Bodhi, greets fellow Daoist." The old Taoist bowed to Zhunti.

Zhunti wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, revealing an extremely weak yet incredibly triumphant smile.

"Fellow Daoist, I entrust the matter of the Journey to the West to you."

Bodhi Patriarch smiled slightly, nodded, turned to look east, and spoke in a distant and ethereal voice.

"The arising and ceasing of conditions are all ordained by fate. This humble Taoist should also seek a quiet place to await the destined one."