Chapter 132 - 132 131 The Great Dao is Utter Simplicity

132: Chapter 131 The Great Dao is Utter Simplicity 132: Chapter 131 The Great Dao is Utter Simplicity Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha and the others exchanged glances; what could they do? They were incapable of capturing Sun Wukong. Even when Sun Wukong was a Celestial Immortal, they had trouble capturing him. Let alone now that he has become a Heavenly Venerate; only if the Tathagata himself took action. But presently, the Tathagata Buddha was in hiding, not willing to show himself. As long as he stayed hidden, the immortals of the Daoist Sect wouldn’t be too vigilant. As Maitreya Buddha hurried from the Netherworld and saw Mount Ling being smashed, he blocked Sun Wukong who was just about to leave. “Rascal Monkey, you have no idea how to live.” He roared angrily and struck outright. “Bring it on.” Sun Wukong laughed heartily and met him head-on. At that moment, Maitreya Buddha wielded a weapon, which was a horsetail whisk. In his hands, the whisk seemed to possess boundless strength, surprisingly blocking the Jingu Bang and exchanging blows with Sun Wukong evenly. But Maitreya Buddha was shocked to find that he couldn’t suppress Sun Wukong at all. In fact, he found it somewhat difficult to catch every strike from Sun Wukong. Only then did Maitreya Buddha calm down and observe Sun Wukong’s realm. At one glance, he was startled. The realm of Heavenly Venerate. Sun Wukong had actually reached the realm of Heavenly Venerate, no wonder he couldn’t suppress him. “Lamp-Burning, help me,” Maitreya Buddha called out. Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha’s heart stirred, and he wanted to give it a try; perhaps the two of them together could capture Sun Wukong. So he too joined the battle. A point of light emerged, that was a flame, condensing into a single point and falling towards Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong sneered, opened his mouth, and directly swallowed that point of flame. Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha’s heart leaped with joy, preparing to activate his divine skills and let the flames burn Sun Wukong to death. But soon, his smile faded. Sun Wukong activated his divine skills and directly refined that flame. No matter how Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha tried to activate it, there was no response. Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha’s heart trembled; this monkey was getting stronger and stronger. He released a surge of mana, separating the two battling individuals. Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha said, “Maitreya, let him go, we can’t keep him.” Maitreya Buddha was somewhat unwilling as his eyes, filled with anger, coldly stared at Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong laughed and retreated with composure. As Maitreya Buddha looked at the collapsed Great Hall of Mount Ling, he said coldly, “Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha, I will go and request the Tathagata Buddha to subdue this monkey.” After glancing at Maitreya Buddha, Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha’s face remained emotionless as he calmly said, “And then? Our Buddha Tathagata suffers damage from forcefully killing or suppressing Sun Wukong, requiring Nirvana rebirth, and another few hundred years to return to his former realm, by that time, the chopped vegetables would have all gone cold.” Maitreya Buddha: “...” He had overlooked this point, mainly because Sun Wukong was just too infuriating. After glancing at Maitreya Buddha, Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha continued, “Moreover, now that Sun Wukong has become a Heavenly Venerate, it’s really not clear whether our Buddha Tathagata can suppress him. Before my great affairs at Mount Ling are accomplished, we should not provoke Sun Wukong any further.” Although Maitreya Buddha was unwilling, he also knew that Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha spoke the truth. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Let him live a few more days.” Once the Mount Ling plan succeeded, by then, killing Sun Wukong would no longer be difficult. Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha brought his hands together; his body surged with mana, and the Great Hall of Mount Ling was repaired. But the slain powerhouses of the Buddhist Realm could not be brought back to life. “Ananda is dead,” Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha said. That one strike from Sun Wukong had killed Ananda completely; even if he wanted to use divine skills to resurrect Ananda, it was impossible. Maitreya Buddha’s scalp tingled; he knew a major problem had occurred. Because Ananda was not only one of the Buddha’s ten great disciples but also the Buddha’s cousin. His death was absolutely unacceptable to the Buddha. The Buddha would be enraged. “How should we report this to the Buddha?” Maitreya Buddha asked, his scalp numb. After thinking for a while, Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha sighed and said, “I’ll go tell him.” Maitreya Buddha let out a sigh of relief; as long as he didn’t have to go himself, it was fine. Even Maitreya Buddha felt that Ananda’s death was, after all, Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha’s responsibility. Now Maitreya Buddha was in charge of ruling the Netherworld, while Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha was in charge of Mount Ling. Whatever happened at Mount Ling, naturally Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha was responsible, and there was nothing hard to understand about that. Maitreya Buddha immediately bid farewell and returned to the Netherworld. And Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha hid himself and rushed to the Eastern Continent. Upon arriving at the Li Mansion, Li Ling wasn’t at home, having gone out shopping with Bi Lian. The Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha transformed into an old monk and “chanced upon” the two people on the street. Li Ling immediately recognized the old monk’s identity, his face became somewhat somber. With the Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha personally showing up, it was clear that something significant had occurred. Li Ling glanced at Bi Lian and said softly, “Bi Lian, you go back first. I’ve encountered an old friend and need to talk with him for a while.” Bi Lian looked at the old monk guardedly, her brows furrowed and said discontentedly, “This person’s attire is bizarre, with crafty eyes and a sneaky look, he must be a monk from the Western Heaven. How would you know such a creature? There are rumors that the monks from Western Heaven are cunning and sly, deceiving all under heaven to worship them, and even tempt people into renouncing the world, causing them to cut off their descendants, which is the epitome of evil. Ling’er, you must not be deceived.” Li Ling: “...” Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha: “...” The Eastern Continent does not hold the Buddhist Realm in high regard, viewing the Buddhist Sect as heretical and even describing it as evil. This is also one of the reasons why Buddhism has been unable to spread to the Eastern Continent. Now, Bi Lian was practically scolding the monk to his bald face. Li Ling smiled awkwardly and said, “Don’t worry, Ling’er. You have some misunderstandings about Western Buddhism. What they desire is universal salvation, to create a perfect world free from any disaster, where everyone can live happily and everyone can become a Buddha, achieving transcendence. It’s not as dreadful as you imagine, and certainly not evil.” Bi Lian’s expression darkened even more. Suddenly, she unsheathed her longsword and pointed it at the Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha. “Ling’er, it seems you’ve been brainwashed by these demon monks. I absolutely can’t let you go with him. I must eliminate this demon monk to prevent you from being beguiled by him.” After speaking, Bi Lian shook her longsword and charged forward to attack. The Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha was irritated in his heart. He very much wanted to slap Bi Lian to death. But seeing the Tathagata shaking his head at him, he took a deep breath, grabbed Bi Lian’s longsword with one hand, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not pull the longsword from the grip of the Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha. The Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha’s face revealed a trace of a compassionate smile as he seriously said, “Miss, you have some misunderstandings about our Buddhist Sect. I’m afraid the Buddhist Realm is not as you describe. If you are willing, this old monk can explain the true principles of Buddhism to you.” Bi Lian was even more startled, thinking to herself that this demon monk was trying to bewitch her. Her eyes darting, she suddenly screamed, “Everyone look, this demon monk from the West is trying to harm someone! He’s already deceived Young Master Li Ling and now he wants to take him away. Everyone, come help fight the demon monk!” Seeing that the situation here was amiss, the local residents had already prepared to gather around. Upon hearing Bi Lian’s shout, they immediately charged forward, surrounding the Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha. A crowd of people, armed with various objects, rushed over. “Beat the demon monk!” Bi Lian shouted. All kinds of rotten eggs and spoiled vegetable leaves were hurled at the Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha. Even Li Ling’s explanations were futile. Now, everyone thought that Li Ling had been bewitched by the demon monk. The neighbors were furious beyond containment. The Li Family was the foremost household in the city, but unlike other rich but unkind families, they often did good deeds. Half the citizens of the entire city had received the Li Family’s charity. Now, a demon monk was scheming to beguile the only son of the Li Family. If he were to renounce the world, the entire Li Family would be left without an heir. Thinking of this, the neighbors grew even more incensed, their loathing for the monk intensified. The Li Family, such good people, and yet these monks intended to leave them without an heir. If this isn’t a demon monk, then what is? No decent person could do such a despicable act. The Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha, pelted with rotten eggs and vegetable leaves by the mob, wanted to use his mana to shield himself, but he found himself restricted by a powerful force. A mighty Qi had locked onto him, and if he dared to do so, he would inevitably be struck by thunder. This realization shocked the Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha, leaving him no choice but to watch as the eggs and leaves hit him. On the side, Li Ling was also puzzled. He wondered if the Lamp-Burning had gone mad. Otherwise, why wasn’t he using his divine skills to ward off these filthy objects? The Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha also noticed Li Ling’s confusion and couldn’t help feeling a chill run down his spine. The fact that even Li Ling did not notice anything wrong suggested that the person acting against him might be even stronger than Li Ling. This made the Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha inwardly startled. “Teacher, Lamp-Burning won’t suspect you, will he?” Within the Doushuai Temple, Zhu Bajie looked worriedly at Lord Taishang. Lord Taishang smiled faintly and uttered, “He can’t beat me.” Zhu Bajie: “...” It was only after truly interacting with the Elder Lord that Zhu Bajie began to understand him. This Daoist Ancestor was far from the serenity he appeared to possess. When dealing with enemies, he preferred to speak in the simplest logic. He was unconcerned with Lamp-Burning suspecting him because he was meddling with him. The reason was simple: Lamp-Burning couldn’t defeat him. This was the simplicity of The Great Dao, Zhu Bajie reflected, and he felt he had much to learn. In the end, the Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha could no longer tolerate it. He circulated his mana and instantaneously left the place. A smile appeared on Bi Lian’s lips as she bowed to the local residents, saying, “Thank you, everyone, for helping us to drive away the demon monk and protect Ling’er.” “Miss Bi Lian, you’re welcome. It’s our duty. The Li Family has been kind to us, so naturally, we can’t stand by and watch the Li Family lose its lineage. If that demon monk comes back next time, we will still take action,” they replied. “Many thanks to all of you.” Bi Lian expressed her gratitude. Holding the dumbfounded Li Ling’er by the hand, she walked toward the Li Mansion. “Ling’er, you shouldn’t associate with these demon monks anymore. They are too frightening. This time we were lucky to protect you, but we may not be so fortunate next time,” Bi Lian went on. Li Ling was rendered speechless and really wanted to tell Bi Lian that he was actually the leader of the demon monks she mentioned. He wondered what expression she would have then.