"Master, I feel so good!"
"Master, I am incredibly exhilarated!"
"Master, look quickly! Your eldest disciple has finally recovered his peak cultivation, broken through years of limitations, and achieved the cultivation of Taiyi Golden Immortal Lower Grade. Aren't you happy?"
In just the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Sun Kong activated the "Wuhou Seven-Star Formation," unleashing strange effects that were difficult for anyone below the Quasi-Sage realm to comprehend.
Indeed.
One moment, Guangchengzi was spewing insults at Sun Kong, filled with disdain. Now, he wore a look of contentment and extreme enjoyment.
He was practically ready to swear brotherhood and call Sun Kong his big brother.
However.
His such tender cries and moans, to the point of being nauseating, did not affect the judgment of the onlookers in the slightest.
For no other reason.
It was because, compared to Guangchengzi, who was merely trapped in an illusion, Sun Kong, holding the "Wuhou Seven-Star Formation" and employing this so-called "dòumí" technique, was even more worthy of attention!
"When did this Monkey King learn such a spell?"
"This thing doesn't resemble any遗物 (yíwù - relic) from the past. It's more like some unpredictable, difficult-to-calculate mysterious divine ability. Even I, this Buddha, cannot deduce its origin and end?"
The Buddhas of Spirit Mountain, temporarily controlled by the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi.
Buddha Tathagata, indeed the leader of the Lesser Vehicle Buddhism, saw at a glance that Sun Kong's "Wuhou Seven-Star Formation" was extraordinary.
It was not just a divine book for calculating one's own and others' heavenly destinies.
Nor was it merely a heavenly book that, once activated, allowed the recipient to enjoy future illusions and gain related insights from them.
It was even more so a book that made him rack his brains for half a day, yet he couldn't discern any clues about its origin—a peculiar book!
This book was definitely not passed down by the two Sages of the Western Teachings, nor by the good corpse of Sun Kong's former master, Daoist Zhunti, Patriarch Bodhi.
This book would certainly not be something Sun Kong comprehended on his own. Although his physical body came from the Five-Colored Stone and his primordial spirit from the Mani Pearl, he would never be so heaven-defying.
Where did this book come from? Who wrote it?
"It's impossible that even my two Masters don't know that this Monkey King actually has other masters in secret, right? This is truly bizarre!"
"Next time, I must ask the Great Cult Leader. I cannot let this impudent monkey ruin the Journey to the West matter."
With this thought, Buddha Tathagata's mind calmed slightly, and his previous anxieties lessened. He finally had time.
To discuss matters with his second-in-command, Patriarch Landeng.
"Junior Brother Landeng, did you see this 'Wuhou Seven-Star Formation'… Oh, damn it. You are also close to Quasi-Sage cultivation, yet you are also mesmerized, just like Guangchengzi?"
Patriarch Landeng was also immersed.
He did not respond at all.
This scene infuriated Buddha Tathagata. Unfortunately, the one controlling him was not Sun Kong, but the overwhelmingly powerful Yuanshi Tianzun.
Helplessly, he turned his gaze to Guanyin and the other Four Great Bodhisattvas, as well as other colleagues who were slightly weaker than them.
To his surprise.
The more he looked, the more he wanted to explode with anger.
Everyone on Spirit Mountain, except for him, was immersed in the illusion, unable to extricate themselves!
Moreover.
Compared to Guangchengzi's solitary delusion and groans, these Buddhist disciples were even more disgraceful.
The sounds of their illusory voices were so embarrassing that Buddha Tathagata blushed!
"Little Lai Lai, you should come and see too. It's so much fun here. Amitabha!"
"Little Lai Lai, why do you dislike this nickname? Although that impudent monkey gave it to you, he wasn't wrong. You kept switching allegiances back then, how embarrassing. This nickname is quite fitting."
"Amitabha!"
"Forget it, I won't bother with you. We'll play by ourselves. This is truly a paradise on earth, a living Buddhist realm! It's even more comfortable than the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss conjured by the Great Cult Leader and Second Cult Leader."
"Amitabha!"
Some individuals with stronger foundations uttered mild slander towards Tathagata.
It was not too excessive.
However, for those with shallow cultivation, like the Three Thousand Jiedi, the Five Hundred Arhats, the Eight Hundred Vajras, etc., their words were even more unbearable.
"Little Lai Lai, are you coming or not? We're going to enjoy ourselves. I must say, that Monkey King treats us well. Why must we use him as a pawn?"
"Why don't we just let him be the Buddha of Spirit Mountain?"
The Three Thousand Jiedi spoke in unison, a single sentence that made Buddha Tathagata spit blood from anger.
"Isn't that right? Tathagata has led us for many years. Except for some initial achievements, he has had little ability since then and cannot even defeat Monkey King. It's better to let him be the boss."
"If nothing else, at least we can save three hours of lectures every day, which causes me to lack sleep and lose the chance to go down the mountain for entertainment."
The Five Hundred Arhats spoke thus.
Buddha Tathagata closed his eyes, tears flowing silently!
Weren't we promised that by following him, we would soon achieve sainthood and then join the Western Teachings and seek refuge with the two Cult Leaders?
Damn it!
It was all lies.
They were all great deceivers!
What kind of Buddhist disciples have I led all these years? This batch of Arhats is the worst I've ever guided!
…
Inside the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, the Buddhas of Spirit Mountain were still performing a comical play of exposing their own past embarrassments.
Outside the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, unlike before, the other seven Great Golden Immortals and Sun Kong, who was responsible for activating the "Wuhou Seven-Star Formation," had no time to laugh at them.
Because, just as the illusion was gradually ending, the scenes above Guangchengzi's head had drastically changed, presenting images akin to heavenly destiny deduction.
At first, it was merely scenes of Yu Xu Palace in the past, with the Twelve Golden Immortals united.
This made Yuanshi Tianzun and the other seven Great Golden Immortals sigh with emotion.
Then.
The perspective shifted higher, away from Yu Xu Palace, towards the Immortal Realm. During the Great Investiture of Gods war millions of years ago, scenes of the Twelve Golden Immortals fighting bitterly but failing were projected onto the battlefield, depicting a desolate situation.
This instantly moved everyone in the Chan Jiao sect!
Finally.
Before Yuanshi Tianzun, the second of the Three Pure Ones, could not bear such emotional scenes and asked Sun Kong to stop, the image shifted again.
It moved away from the Immortal Realm, and away from the Thirty-Three Heavens where Yu Xu Palace was located, to a place that almost no immortal or sage looked upon with favor.
The Mortal Realm!
A golden light, rising from Guangchengzi's dantian, merged into this scene, falling into one of the Nine Provinces of the Mortal Realm, Sizhou.
And that place was no ordinary place.
It was the very city of Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, the source of the Journey to the West, which would begin in five hundred years!
"Saint Yu Qing, fellow Daoists, do you see? The Eight Great Golden Immortals of Chan Jiao also have a deep connection with the Journey to the West, it's not me making things up."
The images faded.
He retracted his technique and put away the book.
Seeing everyone deep in thought, Sun Kong was quite satisfied with the outcome. He smiled and, for a final flourish, displayed the reward that had once shocked his third sworn brother, Zhou Wuxian.
The Sun Moon Qiankun Furnace!
Opening the furnace.
Cooking.
Nourishing Yin and Tonifying the Kidneys!