On Spirit Mountain, the debate had raged for ages. Arguments exhausted, Arhat Voxleader, still on the losing side, cried out sharply, "Tripitaka has clearly won a round!"
His opponent, Arhat Lamplight, who held the upper hand, replied with calm indifference, "Tripitaka has lost."
Gritting his teeth, Arhat Voxleader raised his voice by several octaves and shouted, "Tripitaka has clearly won a round!"
Arhat Lamplight lowered his head and smoothed his sleeve, sighing softly, "Tripitaka has lost."
"Tripitaka has clearly won a round—!" This last sentence, Arhat Voxleader nearly roared. His face was now flushed bright red.
Yet, his supporters were dwindling. Almost everyone had already sided with Arhat Lamplight.
Even the ten or so Arhats still behind him were those with deep personal ties. At this moment, it was unclear whether they stood with him for the sake of Dharma, friendship, or simply out of habitual trust.
"He hasn't lost, hasn't lost, hasn't lost..."
The entire hall fell silent, leaving only Arhat Voxleader's heavy breathing and muttered words.
All the Buddhas and Arhats watched quietly, waiting for a result that was now almost universally accepted.
Just then, a monk hurried into the hall, bowed deeply, and announced, "Honored ones, the King of Faithbreaker has ordered Tripitaka released to continue westward. Also... also, he has shaved his head but not taken full monastic vows, and has opened the granaries, distributed food, and handed out money..."
At once, every Arhat and Buddha in the hall turned to him with puzzled looks.
Arhat Lamplight sighed again, "No doubt the demon monkey simply relied on brute force and intimidation. What is there to worry about?"
"Not so," the monk lifted his head slightly and replied, "Honored Lamplight, the shaving of the head, the distribution of grain and money, and all the benevolent policies—none of these were forced by the demon monkey. Instead... instead..."
"Instead what?"
"Instead..." The monk stammered, "Instead, Tripitaka told the king that to attain the Great Way, one need only do a single thing—that is... do good."
"Do good?" At these words, Arhat Lamplight burst out laughing, "I've never heard of a Buddhist disciple attaining Buddhahood just by doing good. Has Tripitaka gone mad from overthinking, to utter such nonsense?"
For a moment, all the Arhats laughed.
Even Arhat Voxleader, who had always believed Tripitaka had won, was now utterly baffled. He could find no words to defend Tripitaka.
His last supporters had quietly crossed over to the other side.
Yet, the Buddhas did not laugh.
Gradually, the laughter faded. Every Arhat stared wide-eyed at the Buddhas.
The entire hall was silent, as if every sound had been cut off by an invisible hand.
After a long pause, Earth-Store King softly sighed, "He only spoke of attaining the Great Way, not of becoming a Buddha. What he is enacting... is his own 'Way.' The one he is saving is not just the king, but an entire nation. Heh... Tripitaka, such skillful borrowing of strength—not only Monkey's, but General Lee's, and even the king's own power, and every force available..."
Eyes closed, palms pressed together, Earth-Store King murmured, "Amitabha Buddha. In this round, Tripitaka wins."
His voice was barely audible, yet in the silent hall, it rang out like thunder.
Everyone was stunned.
Arhat Voxleader, who had always defended Tripitaka, twitched at the corner of his mouth. He wanted to smile, but in the end could not manage even a hint of it.
Tripitaka had won, but not in the way Voxleader had imagined, for Tripitaka had not employed the method of universal salvation he first envisioned.
Perhaps, it was only at this moment that the Arhats and Buddhas present realized—Tripitaka was no longer the Tripitaka they once knew...
Everyone stood in silence, like statues—no sound, not even the slightest change of expression.
After a long while, Lord Buddha slowly began to smile.
His laughter resonated like a bell, causing everything around to tremble ever so slightly.
Countless eyes watched him in silence.
"He has won this round. But this is only the beginning. The westward journey nears its end, but the road to true realization is still long." Lord Buddha paused, glanced at the monk who brought the news, and sighed, "Every success has its risks and karmic consequences. It is about time—General Lee at South Heaven Gate has likely discovered new 'clues,' hasn't he?"
"Clues?"
For a moment, all the Arhats in the hall were bewildered, and so was the reporting monk.
......
In the tower of South Heaven Gate, two Heavenly Generals hurried before General Lee, kneeling on one knee.
"How did it go?" General Lee rushed over, helped them up, and asked, "He didn't notice you, did he?"
One of the Heavenly Generals wiped his brow, unfastened the Spirit-Binding Cord from his waist, and respectfully handed it to General Lee. "Rest assured, Heavenly King. That demon monkey never knew we were there—not once. Without this artifact, our mission might have ended in disaster. At the closest, I was less than fifty zhang from him."
General Lee reached out and took the Spirit-Binding Cord.
"Heavenly King, there's something I don't understand," the other general said, bowing. "I was posted atop the tower, watching their residence without blinking. The demon monkey was on the roof the whole night. I just can't figure out how he suddenly appeared inside the royal bedchamber."
At this, General Lee narrowed his eyes, still gripping the Spirit-Binding Cord.
"It's nothing. Perhaps one of them transformed to look like him and fooled you."
"True. That demon monkey is always suspicious by nature; it's no surprise he'd pull something like that."
With that, the two Heavenly Generals chuckled, finally able to relax.
But General Lee did not laugh.
"You've worked hard these past days. Go and rest now."
"Thank you, Heavenly King!"
Turning away, the two Heavenly Generals left the tower together.
(This chapter is not yet finished~.~ Please click to the next page for more exciting content!)
Meanwhile, General Lee stood holding the Spirit-Binding Cord, lost in thought, his eyes flickering.
He set the Spirit-Binding Cord gently on the desk, frowned, and muttered to himself, "Perhaps it was one of them transforming to look like him. But... it could also be that he used some kind of duplication technique. Could a Great Luo Immortal, walking the Traveler's Path, really perform an avatar technique capable of fooling Heavenly Generals?"
If that's true... then once all three demon monkeys are cleared of suspicion, the greatest suspect is Simon Sun himself.
Turning sideways, General Lee picked up a Jade Tablet and pressed it to his lips.
......
"Father—! We're still chasing him! He's moving too fast!"
In the blizzard, Nathan Young shouted into the Jade Tablet. Seeing no immediate reply, he put the tablet away, mounted his Wind-Fire Wheels, and, gripping his Blazing Spear, charged forward with the other Heavenly Generals in battle formation.
A Heavenly General holding a compass pointed to the left front and shouted, "He's over there!"
Soon, the entire battle formation moved in that direction.
Pushing through the swirling blizzard, it wasn't long before King Macaque's figure appeared before them.
He stood on a cliff, leaning on his staff, gazing at Nathan Young. Blood dripped from his injured arm, staining the snow like blooming plum blossoms.
Pain had twisted his face beyond recognition.
Exhaling two heavy breaths of mist, King Macaque looked at Nathan and managed a strained smile. "I heard your cultivation can't progress. I almost believed it... Seems rumors can't be trusted."
Nathan Young stared coldly at King Macaque. "The rumors are true. My cultivation can't grow, but my artifacts can be improved. And in a battle formation, it's not just my weapons that can be upgraded."
"Improving artifacts? That's not Master Taiyi's style."
"Uncle Jade Cauldron helped me. Ever since he worked as a craftsman on Blossom Mountain, his skills have improved a lot—and more importantly, his artifact style has changed." Nathan glanced at his fully armed companions and snorted, "Honestly, you underestimated us this time. Otherwise, with your speed, we'd never have caught up."
King Macaque gripped his staff until it creaked, then grinned, "So what now? Planning to kill me?"
"Who would dare? If we killed you, your brothers would tear Heaven apart." Nathan pointed his Blazing Spear at King Macaque, tilting his head. "At this point, there's no need to hide it. We're not here to kill you—but you have to stay put. Don't ask why. When it's over, we'll let you go."
At this, King Macaque burst out laughing, veins bulging on his forehead.
Nathan Young narrowed his eyes to slits, his fingers twitching slightly.
The Heavenly Generals around them nodded silently, preparing for battle.
The next moment, King Macaque grinned and spat out two words: "Dream on!"
Before the words had faded, he roared, flipped, and shot southward.
"After him!" With the order, the formation broke apart, chasing in King Macaque's wake.
......
Meanwhile, on Jade Cloud Mountain, chaos reigned in Bull Demon King's domain.
Layers of demon troops formed defenses, digging and searching everywhere, but still found nothing.
Inside Banana Cave, a hundred corpses lay neatly before Bull Demon King, leaving him stunned.
"Who did this?" Bull Demon King slammed his fist on the desk and roared, "Why are you all still standing here? Get out and search!"
A dozen little demons, terrified, bowed and hurried out.
In the hall, a Demon General knelt before Bull Demon King and bowed. "Your Majesty, please calm yourself. According to the survivors, the attacker looked just like the Great Sage..."
"Nonsense!" Bull Demon King roared again, flipping the low table in front of him and pointing at the kneeling Demon General. "If it was the Great Sage, would any of you still be alive to talk about it?"
The Demon General shrank back in fright.
Just as Bull Demon King was panting with rage, Red Boy stepped forward and bowed. "Father, in my opinion, even if it really was the Great Sage, it's not impossible. Maybe it's because of what happened with me last time..."
"Enough! Never mention that again!" Bull Demon King snapped, pointing at the remaining Demon Generals. "Get out and search! Do I have to say it a third time?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The Demon Generals, frightened, bowed and hurried out.
In the blink of an eye, only Bull Demon King and Red Boy remained in the cave.
"Father..."
"You go too!"
After a brief hesitation, Red Boy could only bow helplessly. "As you command, Father."
With that, Red Boy turned and left the cave.
Once everyone had gone, Bull Demon King paced alone in the cave, reaching for a cup of wine—only to realize his hand was shaking uncontrollably.
After finally steadying himself, he blinked his bloodshot eyes and muttered, "Great Sage... Looks like it's time to sound out Lu Six-Twist's side..."
With that, he drained the cup in one gulp.
......
Meanwhile, on Southern Jambu Continent, Six-Eared Macaque stood on a hillside, gazing at the region controlled by Lu Six-Twist's faction.
"Is that Lu Qing's territory?"
"Yes," the Goat Demon beside him nodded, trembling slightly.
"Same as always—you wait here," Six-Eared Macaque glanced at the Goat Demon. "If you dare run, I'll make sure not even your soul remains. Understand?"
Terrified, the Goat Demon prostrated himself on the ground. "I—I understand."