The Buddha's temper was said to be the best among all the saints, almost on par with Xi Sha.
However, Xi Sha's good temper was due to her timidity; she was afraid of everything she saw.
The Buddha's good temper, on the other hand, stemmed from his cultivation of Buddhist Dharma, his six senses being pure, devoid of desires and ambitions, thus naturally having no possibility of getting angry.
When Li Mengran was young, she followed her father to the Buddhist temples and enjoyed teasing this very good-tempered Buddha. She still did so now.
Since his temper was so good, he wouldn't get angry no matter what she said, so she was determined to see if he truly wouldn't get angry.
And now, the Buddha was finally showing signs of displeasure from her words.
"I'm talking to you about Buddhist Dharma, about saving people, why do you keep bringing up that monkey?"
"That monkey is so cute, what did the monkey ever do to you?"
"Even an earthen figurine has three parts anger."
"Alright, alright, I won't mention it, won't mention it. Let's save him quickly."
Li Mengran shrunk her neck and gave a playful smile.
Seeing this, the Buddha was about to examine Wan Lei when suddenly, Li Mengran tilted her small head again and asked with an innocent, guileless expression,
"Then... why did the monkey hit you?"
"This humble monk suddenly remembers there's a large goose stewing at home that needs watching. I must bid farewell."
The Buddha turned to leave. Was he supposed to say that he had tricked the Monkey King, used him as a pawn, and was then discovered by the Monkey King?
"Hey, hey, hey, I won't say it, won't say it. Old monk, come back quickly, I promise not to mention the monkey again. Saving him is the priority."
Li Mengran shamelessly pulled the Buddha back.
"You really won't mention the monkey?"
The Buddha looked at Li Mengran with suspicion.
"I won't, I won't."
Fang Xiaoyu, seeing this, had a peculiar expression.
If anyone knew about the entanglement between the Monkey King and the Buddha, besides the two involved parties, it would likely be Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu.
The Buddha had given the Monkey King a mustard seed universe, allowing the Monkey King to borrow the power of incense to achieve the status of the supreme immortal venerable. He himself was not confident and feared something might go wrong, so he used the Monkey King as a shield.
This was something Wan Lei had deduced, and he later told Fang Xiaoyu.
However, Fang Xiaoyu dared not speak of it. She feared that if the Buddha knew Wan Lei had exposed him, he might fly into a rage and not only refuse to save Wan Lei but even kill him with a single "Buddha's Palm."
After a glance, the Buddha took out the Purple-Gold Alms Bowl, and streaks of golden light emanated from it, entering Wan Lei's sea of consciousness.
"Huh? Old monk, aren't you going to check it yourself with your divine sense? You're starting the spell right away?"
Li Mengran asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
The Buddha was also curious.
"Didn't you just say that this spiritual power made the Illusion Heart Demon Emperor suffer immensely and injured you and the Sun God?"
"That's right."
"Then, since you know it will cause injury, why should this humble monk attempt it?"
"...Old monk, you are so insidious. Where is your courage to cut flesh to feed eagles? Where is your resolve to descend into hell if no one else will?"
Hearing this, the Buddha ignored her directly.
Was he an idiot? Don't forget, he was the cunning old schemer who could toy with the Monkey King.
Even if no one had suffered before, he would still find someone to try it; why would he try it himself?
Seeing this, Li Mengran also cast her Taoist spells, using her own spiritual power to help the Buddha dispel the violent spiritual forces from Wan Lei.
As the Buddha gradually performed his spell, the golden light from the Purple-Gold Alms Bowl grew stronger.
Wan Lei, lying on the bed, remained unconscious, but his expression gradually became pained.
The two saints were casting spells in his mind, and his sea of consciousness had become a battlefield for the spiritual forces of saints and the demon ring. The suffering he endured was immense.
It was fortunate that the demon ring had been removed, and the spiritual power in Wan Lei's sea of consciousness had become rootless duckweed. Otherwise, with the demon ring directly controlling the spiritual power and supplying it continuously, Li Mengran and the Buddha would be lucky to not be annihilated, let alone clear it.
Even so, the confrontation between the two saints and the demon ring's spiritual power was arduous and extremely taxing.
Fang Xiaoyu and the others watched nervously from the side, their eyes fixed on Wan Lei, their hearts filled with worry.
"Meng Meng, how long will it take to wake Wan Lei?"
Ghost Emperor Wang Xiaohang asked cautiously from the side.
Li Mengran shook her head and said,
"I don't know. It could be a few months at the shortest, or perhaps he can never be saved. Who can say for sure? We can only do our best.
Let's try first. If we can't wake him within half a year, we'll go to the Immortal Realm to find an Immortal Venerable to help. However, those guys aren't particularly skilled with spiritual power, so I don't know if they can wake him."
Hearing this, Fang Xiaoyu's heart tightened.
If even saints couldn't save him, and Immortal Venerables were not confident, then it was truly over. Wan Lei might never wake up.
"Hmph, just because you can't save him doesn't mean an Immortal Venerable can't. They possess supreme authority; they can simply disperse those spiritual forces.
If that doesn't work, and taking a step back, an Immortal Venerable could slap him to death and then revive him."
Wang Xiaohang smiled nonchalantly.
"What you're saying is like saying a cure-all medicine is also poison. If you can't cure the illness, you just kill the person? Isn't that absurd?
Hey, hurry up and leave. Go, go, go, don't be an eyesore here. While I'm treating Wan Lei, I also have to look after Xi Sha. Her illusions still need to be cleared."
Li Mengran impatiently pushed Wang Xiaohang outside.
Wang Xiaohang smiled and led the members of the Thunder Rain team out of the side hall.
They were of no use here; not only could they not help, but they were also constantly worried.
Wang Xiaohang settled them in another nearby side hall, telling them to visit Ghost Emperor Island if they had nothing else to do to relax, and not to be nervous.
Fang Xiaoyu did not leave but stayed by Wan Lei's side.
Wan Lei lay unconscious, and she stayed by his side to care for him. This had happened many times before.
Among the others, Liu Yuxin and Wan Liuchuan preferred quiet and disliked moving, so they stayed in the room to cultivate. These two were also the most diligent and hardworking.
Ao Lie invited Huofeng to accompany him to visit the Dragon Clan. After all, the Dragon Clan's ancestral home was in the Abyss of the Ghost Realm, and Huofeng readily agreed.
The four little ones also wanted to visit the Dragon Clan, but Wan Qianxin said it would be inappropriate to be third wheels, so they didn't go.
They left Ghost Emperor Island and flew towards the third realm of the Ghost Realm, Song Emperor Realm.
They said they wanted to visit all the places their parents had been to, to walk in their ancestors' footsteps.
The five great Immortal Venerables had come to the Ghost Realm twice in the past, their activities concentrated in the third realm, Song Emperor Realm, the eighth realm, Urban Realm, and finally the Abyssal Dragon Clan.
The remaining people were Yuan Jun, Tian Suanzi, and Qi Manyao. They had nowhere else to go, so they wandered around Ghost Emperor Island.
Ghost Emperor Island was the core area of power in the Ghost Realm, comparable in size to the Five Elements Hall. Many high-ranking officials, ministers of the Ghost Realm, and the Ghost Realm's army also resided here.
With a population of hundreds of millions, Ghost Emperor Island naturally had many cities and villages, appearing like a nation.