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

Tongtian raised an eyebrow slightly:

"Sun Wukong?"

"That monkey that was imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain?"

The guide nodded:

"Exactly."

"He was rescued."

Tongtian picked up his wine glass and took a small sip:

"Know."

Upon uttering those two words, both Jieyin and Zhunti paled.

knowledge?

Did he know?

Tongtian looked at them and said calmly:

"Not only do they know, they also know who saved them."

Jieyin suddenly stood up:

"Who is it?!"

Tongtian looked at him, at that anxious face.

A slight upturn of the corners of his mouth:

Why should I tell you?

Jieyin was stunned.

Yes.

Why did he tell himself that?

They joined forces to break his Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation back then.

His four personal disciples were all listed on the Investiture of the Gods.

His countless disciples of the Jie Sect all died at their hands.

Why would he help himself?

Doesn't he hate it?

Seeing that he remained silent, Tongtian said calmly:

"Please sit down."

"Standing is tiring."

The guide slowly sat down.

Zhunti's face was deathly pale, and his voice was hoarse.

"My sage, what happened back then..."

Tongtian raised his hand to stop him:

"There's no need to bring up what happened back then."

Zhunti was taken aback:

"A saint...does not hate?"

Tongtian looked at him.

Looking at that face full of guilt.

Suddenly he laughed.

That smile was bittersweet, yet tinged with relief:

"hatred?"

"I've hated the endless years, I'm tired."

"Duobao's decision to become a Buddhist monk was his own choice."

"Jinling, Wudang, and Guiling each have their own destiny."

"Zhao Gongming, the Three Immortals of Sanxiao, the Ten Heavenly Lords..."

He paused:

"That was the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, a destiny ordained by Heaven."

"Even without you, there would be others."

"What is there to resent?"

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a glance, both seeing an indescribable complexity in each other's eyes.

I feel guilty.

I am grateful.

I feel relieved.

There was a hint of... relief at surviving a disaster.

Tongtian raised his wine cup:

"drink wine."

The two raised their glasses.

He drank it all in one gulp.

As the liquor entered my throat, the bitterness lessened somewhat.

Instead, there is an indescribable warmth.

Tongtian put down his cup and looked at the two of them:

"You want to know who saved the monkey?"

The guide nodded frantically:

"I beg for guidance from a sage!"

Tongtian gazed at him, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as an abyss:

"That person..."

"Not within the Heavenly Way."

It is not within the Heavenly Way.

As soon as the three words were uttered, both Jieyin and Zhunti changed color.

Not within the Heavenly Dao?!

How is this possible?!

All living beings in the primordial world are under the rule of Heaven.

Even a sage cannot escape the constraints of the Way of Heaven.

How could anyone be outside the Heavenly Way?

Seeing the two men's expressions change, Tongtian said calmly:

"Before the Investiture of the Gods, when I was listening to the Dao in Zixiao Palace..."

"The Daoist Ancestor once said something."

"There are some beings in this world that are not governed by the Heavenly Dao."

"They came from chaos, and they will return to chaos."

Even the Dao Ancestor could not see through their origins.

If you encounter it, just go around it.

"Don't provoke them."

Jieyin was startled:

"The saint means...that person is..."

Tongtian nodded:

"If I'm not mistaken, that person is the being from the Chaos that the Dao Ancestor spoke of."

Zhunti's face was deathly pale:

"From chaos?!"

"Then... what should we do?"

"Sun Wukong was rescued by him, and the journey to the West began..."

Tongtian looked at him:

"The journey to the West cannot be stopped."

Zhunti was taken aback:

"What is the sage's intention?"

Tongtian picked up his wine glass and took a small sip:

"If that person truly wanted to abandon the pilgrimage, he wouldn't have only saved one monkey."

"He will directly destroy the pilgrim, destroy the Golden Cicada, and destroy the journey to the West."

"But he didn't."

"He just saved the monkey and then left."

What does this mean?

The guide pondered for a moment:

"Does this mean... he has ulterior motives?"

Tongtian nodded:

"good."

"He has ulterior motives."

"What they're after, I don't know."

"But I know one thing..."

He paused, his gaze hardening.

"That monkey went with him."

"It may not be a bad thing."

Zhunti was taken aback:

"It might not be a bad thing?"

"That monkey is the protagonist of destiny, the key to the great revival of Buddhism!"

"What if you follow someone else on your journey to the West?"

Tongtian looked at him:

"Is it absolutely necessary to have that monkey on the journey to the West?"

Zhunti was speechless.

Tongtian continued:

"The protagonist of destiny can be changed."

"It's just that the cost is higher."

"Your Buddhist sect's three-thousand-year plan, though centered around that monkey, is in fact quite elaborate."

"But what if it really comes down to a last resort..."

"What's wrong with changing to another one?"

The guide frowned deeply.

"Want to change it?"

"Who should we replace them with?"

"Who could possibly have the background of that monkey?"

"Who could possibly have that monkey's skills?"

"Who has that monkey's...?"

He paused:

"Destiny?"

Tongtian smiled slightly.

The smile was so faint that it was almost imperceptible, but in the eyes of Jieyin and Zhunti, it was like a spring breeze brushing across a frozen lake.

Both of them were overjoyed.

They thought that Tongtian had some way to help.

They thought that this sage of Shangqing was finally willing to offer guidance.

They thought that there was finally room for maneuver in the matter of Sun Wukong.

But what Tongtian said next stunned them.

"What does this have to do with me?"

The four words were uttered lightly, as if to say that the weather was nice today.

The joy on Jieyin's face froze.

The expectation in Zhunti's eyes froze.

The two gazed at Tongtian, at that calm face, and for a moment they were at a loss for words.

What does this have to do with me?

They traveled thousands of miles, from the Pure Land to Shouyang Mountain, from Shouyang Mountain to Kunlun Mountain, and from Kunlun Mountain to this Jin'ao Island.

They traveled tirelessly, pleading and appealing all the way.

Laozi attributed it to Yuanshi, and Yuanshi attributed it to Tongtian.

Finally, we found the person in charge, finally sat down and had a drink, and finally heard the guidance that "it is not within the Heavenly Way".

I thought I finally had an answer.

But Tongtian said, "What does this have to do with me?"

Jieyin took a deep breath, his voice hoarse:

"Sage, the rescue of Sun Wukong is related to the great calamity of the Journey to the West, the eastward transmission of Buddhism, and the predetermined fate of Heaven."

"How...how can you say it has nothing to do with you?"

Tongtian picked up his wine glass and took a small sip.

As the wine entered his throat, he squinted slightly, as if savoring its flavor.

a long time.

He put down his cup and looked at the guide:

"Heaven's destiny?"

"The eastward transmission of Buddhism?"

"The Great Tribulation of Journey to the West?"

"What does it have to do with me?"

The opening statement is interrupted.

Tongtian continued:

"After the Investiture of the Gods, I went into seclusion here and stopped caring about worldly affairs."

"The rise and fall of the Chan sect is none of my concern."

"The survival of the People's Education Press is none of my business."

"The flourishing of Buddhism has nothing to do with me."

"What does Sun Wukong's rescue have to do with me?"

"What does fate, or destiny, have to do with me?"

"What does that great calamity of the Journey to the West have to do with me?"

The three phrases, "What does it have to do with me?", are each heavier and colder than the last.

The guide's face turned deathly pale.

Zhunti trembled all over.

As they gazed at Tongtian and at that aged yet serene face, they suddenly recalled the time of the Investiture of the Gods.

At that time, Tongtian was full of vigor and ambition.

The Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation cannot be broken by anyone other than the Four Sages.

Ten thousand immortals came to pay homage, and the Jie Sect displayed its magnificent splendor.

Even when the two of them joined forces with Laozi and Yuanshi, they could only barely break the sword formation, but they could not kill all the disciples of the Jie Sect.

But now...

The Taoist priest in the green robe looked utterly exhausted.

That sharpness, that arrogance, that domineering presence that looked down upon the world, have long been worn down by the endless years.

All that remained was the phrase, "What does it have to do with me?"

All that's left is a pot of wine, two cups, and a lonely island.