Primordial Era: Starting by overwhelming the Sages, Hongjun was stunned!

Great Thunder Temple.

Three thousand Buddhas, five hundred Arhats, eight Vajras, and four Bodhisattvas remained seated on their lotus thrones.

Yet, within that Buddha's light, there was a hint of barely concealed panic.

Guanyin Bodhisattva sat serenely on a lotus throne, her brows furrowed.

She looked toward the secret room, her eyes filled with worry.

The World-Honored One has been gone for so long and has not yet returned.

So how should we resolve the issue of Sun Wukong being rescued?

She was pondering.

The door to the secret room slowly opened.

Dipankara Buddha and Maitreya Buddha appeared together.

All the Buddhas looked in that direction.

Dipankara Buddha walked to the lotus platform and slowly spoke:

"Gentlemen."

"The World Honored One has already made a decision regarding Sun Wukong."

"You should all focus on your cultivation and not lose your composure."

Guanyin stood up:

"Ancient Buddha! How does the World Honored One decide?"

The lamp was lit as it looked at her:

"This matter will be decided by the sage."

The moment the word "sage" was uttered, all the Buddhas changed color.

Guanyin's pupils constrict slightly:

"saint?"

"This matter has actually alarmed the Sage?"

The lamp lit nods:

"good."

"The person behind this is of unfathomable cultivation."

"The World Honored One could not detect the slightest trace of his presence."

"This matter has gone beyond the scope of our Buddhist teachings."

"It must be decided by a sage."

Guanyin remained silent.

The Buddhas remained silent.

The Great Thunder Temple was deathly silent.

a long time.

The lamp slowly opened its mouth:

"Everyone, you can leave now."

"Practice in peace."

"Waiting patiently for the return of the World Honored One."

The Buddhas exchanged glances, rose, and returned to their respective positions.

The Buddha's light shone brightly, and the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

The Great Thunder Temple has returned to silence.

But beneath that silence lies an endless turmoil.

The Western Paradise.

Golden lotuses carpet the ground, seven treasures form a forest, the water of eight virtues flows gently, and the hazy Buddha light envelops all directions.

Beside the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, two figures sat facing each other.

The guide sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, surrounded by flowing Buddha light. Behind him, twelve layers of Buddha light rotated endlessly, illuminating the entire Pure Land with a sense of great tranquility and peace.

But in that silence, his brows suddenly furrowed slightly.

It's very light.

So light it's almost imperceptible.

But the figure opposite opened its eyes.

Zhunti.

He looked at his senior brother, at that compassionate and solemn face, and noticed the fleeting strangeness that crossed his mind.

"Senior brother?"

Zhunti spoke, his voice gentle, yet tinged with a hint of doubt.

The guide did not reply.

He kept his eyes closed, but his brows furrowed even more deeply.

It felt as if something was slowly rising from the depths of my heart.

It's hard to explain, hard to define.

But it lingers.

a long time.

The guide opened his eyes.

His eyes shone with a Buddhist light, yet within that light lay a solemnity that even he himself was unaware of.

"Junior brother."

He spoke, his voice still calm, but beneath that calmness lay a very faint hint of something unusual:

"I feel...uneasy."

Zhunti was taken aback.

disturbed?

After they were conferred the title of gods, the two of them followed the decree of the Dao Ancestor Hongjun and secluded themselves in this place to meditate and comprehend.

In the Western Paradise, the Buddha's light shines everywhere, and all evil cannot invade.

What could be uneasy about?

But just as he was about to ask a question...

suddenly.

He was stunned.

Because he sensed it too.

That slight unease.

It's very light.

So faint as to be almost negligible.

But it does exist.

Like an undercurrent quietly surging beneath a calm lake surface.

Zhunti frowned slightly:

"Senior brother... I think I sensed it too."

Jieyin's gaze sharpened slightly.

The two brothers remained silent.

a long time.

Zhunti slowly opened his mouth:

"Senior brother, do you think... something might have gone wrong on the journey to the West?"

The guide did not reply.

Yet, a faint Buddhist light flickered in those slightly lowered eyes.

To seek knowledge.

The Great Tribulation of Journey to the West.

Buddhism spread to the East.

This is their Buddhist sect's three-thousand-year-old plan.

This was a major event that the two of them had worked tirelessly to accomplish.

The Buddha was presiding over the Great Thunder Temple, Guanyin was traveling in the East, and the pilgrim was already on his way.

Everything should have gone smoothly.

But now...

The guide closed his eyes.

My mind sank into the mysterious intuition of the heavens.

All that could be sensed was chaos.

Everything was blurry.

A fog that made him increasingly uneasy.

He opened his eyes and looked at Zhunti:

"Junior brother, could you sense that path to the Journey to the West?"

Zhunti nodded.

Close your eyes.

My mind sank into that endless void.

a long time.

He opened his eyes.

His expression changed slightly.

"Senior brother, the secrets of heaven... are obscured."

"I can't sense any information about Sun Wukong."

"It was as if someone had used great magical power to forcibly cover everything up."

Receiving silence.

He couldn't sense it either.

After the Investiture of the Gods, the Dao Ancestor Hongjun said that sages should not intervene.

The two of them obeyed the decree and hid in this place, never to concern themselves with worldly affairs again.

But now, the journey to obtain the scriptures is the key to the great prosperity of Buddhism.

It is the core of their endless years of planning.

If something truly goes wrong...

The two remained silent.

suddenly.

Beyond the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.

A voice drifted from afar.

"Disciple Tathagata requests an audience with the two sages!"

His voice was respectful, yet it carried a hint of barely concealed urgency.

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a glance.

Tathagata?

What is he doing here?

Zhun stood up and looked towards the entrance to the Pure Land:

"The Buddha requests an audience? Could it be... that something has truly happened?"

Jieyin slowly rose to his feet.

The purple and gold kasaya fluttered lightly, and the Buddha's light flowed around it.

He looked in the direction from which the voice came, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

"Let him in."

Zhunti nodded.

Raise your hand and wave.

The gates to paradise slowly opened.

Amidst a myriad of golden rays, a figure strode in.

Tathagata.

He wore a purple-gold kasaya, held a nine-ringed staff, and was surrounded by Buddhist light, but his face was full of solemnity.

Upon reaching the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, the Buddha bowed deeply.

"Disciple Tathagata pays respects to the two sages!"

The guide looked at him:

Get up.

"What's the matter that's so urgent?"

The Buddha rose.

He looked at Jieyin, he looked at Zhunti, he looked at these two founders of Buddhism.

Take a deep breath.

He slowly opened his mouth:

"My two sages, Sun Wukong... has been rescued."

The words fell.

In the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, the water rippled slightly.

Jieyin's gaze suddenly sharpened.

Zhunti's complexion changed slightly.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of horror in each other's eyes.

Sun Wukong.

The monkey that was trapped under the Five Elements Mountain.

That pilgrim carried the weight of Buddhism's three-thousand-year-old plan.

They were rescued?

The guide spoke, his voice still calm, but beneath that calm lay an immense weight:

"Who saved them?"

Buddha shook his head:

"This disciple does not know."

"That person... I can't detect the slightest trace of his presence."

"Even with my divine eye, I cannot see through his appearance."

"Only a blurry figure in a black robe could be seen."

"With a wave of his hand, the Five Elements Mountain shattered."

"My disciple's seal, the six-syllable mantra, is blessed by the Heavenly Dao..."

"They are like paper in his presence."

Receiving silence.

Zhunti remained silent.

In the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, all was deathly silent.

a long time.

The guide slowly spoke:

"A figure in black robes?"

The Buddha nodded:

"Yes."

"In black robes, with black hair, standing with his hands behind his back."

"I can't see his face clearly."

"But I know he is very strong."

"Stronger than my disciple."

"Much stronger."

Zhunti frowned deeply:

"Senior brother, do you recognize such a person?"

After a long period of contemplation, Jieyin slowly shook his head:

"I don't recognize him."

"In the vast primordial world, below the level of a sage, who could shatter the seal of the Five Elements Mountain with a single blow..."

"Very few."

"It's possible to do it so effortlessly, without leaving a trace..."

"It's unheard of."

The Tathagata said urgently:

"Who exactly are these two sages?"

The guide did not reply.

He simply gazed into the depths of chaos.

His eyes flickered, as if he were making a deduction.