On the Dragon-Slaying Platform, I was executed and became Yang Jian's brother-in-law.

In the Crystal Palace of Beihai, the flickering candlelight illuminated Su Bai's handsome yet calculating face in a half-light, half-shadow.

He casually toyed with the wine cup in his hand, but beneath that nonchalant movement lay a thunderous tone.

"Chan'er, all living beings in the Three Realms, and even all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens, have fallen into a huge misconception." Su Bai's lips curled into a mocking smile. "They only know that the trend of the Heavenly Dao shows that 'the West is flourishing,' so they naturally assume that this flourishing must be due to Buddhism, and those bald monks on Mount Ling."

Upon hearing this, Yang Chan frowned slightly, puzzled, and asked, "Isn't that right? Since the Great Calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, the Western Sect evolved into Buddhism, the two sages retired, and the Buddha took over the sect. Now, the fortune is indeed converging on Xiniu Hezhou. This 'great prosperity of the West,' besides referring to Buddhism, who else could it refer to?"

"Completely wrong!"

Su Bai slammed his wine cup down on the table with a sharp clang. He stood up, his gaze sharp as if piercing through layers of water to look directly at the supreme laws of heaven.

"The so-called grand trend is about cause and effect. Chan'er, do you still remember where this cause and effect of the West's great prosperity came from?"

Yang Chan pondered for a moment, then said softly, "I heard from my uncle... I heard from the Jade Emperor that it seems to originate from the ancient conflict between the Dao and the Demonic."

"Exactly!" Su Bai's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "In the past, after the initial calamity of the Dragon-Han era, Dao Ancestor Hongjun and Demon Ancestor Rahu fought a decisive battle on Mount Sumeru. That battle caused the heavens and the earth to collapse. In order to take Dao Ancestor down with him, Rahu detonated the entire ancestral vein of the West, causing the spiritual energy of the Western land to be completely lost, leaving it barren and devastated."

"Although the Dao Ancestor won, he did so on the western territory, destroying the foundation of the west. This enormous karmic debt is owed by the Heavenly Dao and also by the Dao Ancestor."

Su Bai lowered his voice, but every word was precious: "But Chan'er, you must remember, this karma is owed to 'this Western world' and 'the billions of living beings in the West'! It is absolutely not owed to Jieyin or Zhunti, much less to Tathagata!"

These words were like a thunderbolt splitting the chaos.

The celestial beings in Heaven who were watching the simulation all stared wide-eyed, as if they were seeing this world for the first time.

Above the Lingxiao Palace, the Jade Emperor's tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed, and an unprecedented clarity and awe flashed in his eyes.

"What is owed is the Western Paradise... not any particular power..." the Jade Emperor muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously tapping the dragon throne, the rhythm quickening. "So that's it! So that's it! How could I have been blinded by those four words, 'the flourishing of Buddhism,' before!"

Venus, standing nearby, was also startled, almost dropping his whisk. He exclaimed, "Your Majesty, if what this Flood Dragon King says is true, then the essence of this 'Great Prosperity of the West' is actually 'whoever occupies the West, whoever governs the West, will bear the consequences'?"

"Indeed!" The Jade Emperor's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and all the doubts in his mind suddenly became clear. "No wonder! No wonder that during the Investiture of the Gods, when the Tongtian Sect Leader set up the Immortal Slaughtering Formation and the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, Laozi, as the Taiqing Saint and the leader of the Human Sect, insisted on helping outsiders bully his own brothers! In the end, he even went out of Hangu Pass and staged the 'Conversion of Barbarians into Buddhism'!"

"I originally thought that Laozi was only trying to share in the fortune. Now it seems that Laozi saw through this essence long ago! He knew that this cause and effect was not the private property of Buddhism, so he sent Duobao to convert the barbarians, sent Xuandu to set up the scheme, and even... even adopted that Rakshasa woman, all to tear a piece of flesh from the chessboard of 'Western Prosperity'!"

"Whoever controls the West will prosper!" The Jade Emperor slapped his thigh. "What a brilliant Su Bai! What a wicked dragon! Even I am ashamed of my own insight!"

Compared to the sudden realization in the Heavenly Court, the atmosphere in the Western Paradise had now plummeted to freezing point.

Inside the Great Thunder Temple, the Buddha's light was no longer dazzling, as if shrouded in a layer of gloom.

The Buddha, seated high on his lotus throne, finally showed a hint of barely concealed panic on his eternally compassionate face. His wise eyes were fixed on Su Bai in the water mirror, wishing he could immediately sew the mouth of this wretched child shut.

This is the greatest secret of Western religion! It is the foundation upon which Buddhism finds its place and establishes its existence!

Why did the two Western Saints make forty-eight great vows back then? It was to forcibly bind this cause and effect, so that the Heavenly Dao would recognize that only they could revive the West.

But now, Su Bai has ruthlessly torn through this barrier!

"Buddha..." Guanyin Bodhisattva's jade bottle trembled slightly. "If these words were to spread throughout the Three Realms, those reclusive primordial beings, even the three from the Fire Cloud Cave... would probably be restless."

Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and other Bodhisattvas were deathly pale. If everyone understood that "the flourishing of the West" does not equate to "the flourishing of Buddhism," then the Journey to the West would no longer be a solo performance by Buddhism, but would become a piece of fat meat in the eyes of countless hungry wolves!

The Styx Ancestor, Zhenyuan Daxian, and even the remnants of the demon race... who wouldn't want a piece of the pie? Who wouldn't want to use the pretext of governing the West to demand repayment from the Heavenly Dao?

This is absolutely ruthless!

In the scene, Su Bai was unaware of the uproar his words had caused in the real world. He remained in the Crystal Palace, describing his crazy and grand plan to Yang Chan.

"Back then, the two saints, Jieyin and Zhunti, made a grand vow, but they only accomplished half of it—that is, establishing their sect. But did they manage to revive the Western lands?" Su Bai sneered. "No! The West remains barren! They only cared about converting people from the East to bolster their own image, but never truly gave back to the Western lands!"

"After the Investiture of the Gods, this karma was transferred to Buddhism. The Buddha went even further, raising demons and creating suffering under the guise of salvation, but in reality, he was reaping offerings. This isn't revival; it's blatant bloodsucking!"

Su Bai walked up to Yang Chan, placed his hands on her shoulders, and burned with ambition in his eyes: "So, Chan'er, our opportunity lies here. Since they cultivate 'false compassion,' then we will cultivate 'true revival'!"

"We not only want to steal the merits of Journey to the West, but we want to take their place!"

"I will unite the demon race, and even unite with the oppressed Asura race, to establish a new order in Xiniu Hezhou. We will govern the land and water, we will educate all living beings, and we will become the 'Lords of the West'!"

Yang Chan was thrilled to hear this, yet also felt a deep sense of fear. This plan was too insane; it was practically digging up the ancestral graves of Buddhism and challenging the arrangements of the sages.

"Husband..." Yang Chan's voice trembled slightly, "This...this really won't work? That's the lineage left behind by two sages, the karma and fortune within it are unimaginably vast, can we really swallow it all?"

Upon hearing this, Su Bai suddenly smiled.

That smile carried a hint of madness, a dash of confidence, and a chilling allure.

He lowered his head and whispered in Yang Chan's ear, but his voice, through Laozi's deduction, resounded clearly in the ears of every powerful being in the Three Realms:

"Can't swallow it? Chan'er, you underestimate this cause and effect."

"In the past, Nuwa created humans and became a saint, the Three Pure Ones established their religions and became saints, and Jieyin and Zhunti made great vows and became saints. These saintly positions were all obtained through their great merits to heaven and earth."

"Now, the West has been shattered for countless eons. If someone could truly restore it completely, allowing the West to regain its ancient glory and even surpass the East..."

Su Bai paused, then slowly uttered a shocking statement:

"This merit is so great that Heaven will bestow boundless rewards upon us."

"This time, the West... will probably produce another sage!"

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

Whether it was the Lingxiao Palace, the Great Thunder Temple, the Wuzhuang Temple, or the Netherworld Blood Sea... everyone watching this scene held their breath at this moment.

saint!

After the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, the Dao Ancestor Hongjun bestowed the Pill of the Fallen Saint, the Three Pure Ones were confined, and the Two Sages of the West went into seclusion. Since then, there have been no more saints walking in this world.

Everyone thought that the holy throne was full and this path was closed.

But now, Su Bai is actually saying that, thanks to the karma of the West's great prosperity, it's possible to create another saint?!

"boom!"

The next moment, the Three Realms were in complete uproar!

Countless terrifying divine thoughts awoke from their slumber, sweeping wildly towards the North Sea and the West. The primordial giants, who had previously scorned the Journey to the West, now had their eyes bloodshot!

If it were just about good fortune and luck, they might still be able to maintain their composure.

But if it involves the opportunity to "become a saint"...

Even if it means tearing a hole in the sky, they will fight for it!

With a "crack," a thin crack appeared on the lotus platform beneath the Buddha. He knew that the world was truly about to change.