In the River of Time, the Supreme True Buddha flashed a vengeful smile at Meng Qi before swiftly retreating while he was entangled by the Demonic Buddha A-nan and the Heavenly Dao monster. Left behind was only the imprint of the Buddha’s figure, seated atop the summit of Ling Mountain in the Great Thunderclap Monastery, exuding compassion and pity.
The Supreme True Buddha was a monster of the Other Shore level. To be devoured and assimilated by it meant becoming a part of it—not only would one’s future be severed, but even the past would be reduced to mere imprints, rendering resurrection through historical changes impossible. Thus, Zhu Bajie was utterly annihilated!
More importantly, Zhu Bajie perished before his return to the Heavenly Court. Consequently, the roles he would have played and the actions he would have taken collapsed abruptly, and history began to converge and alter.
“Bajie!” Within Ling Mountain, the Fighting Victory Buddha, whose dharma body gleamed like translucent azure gold, suddenly opened the vertical eye on his forehead, sensing the eerie disappearance of Zhu Bajie’s aura.
The Bodhi Wisdom Eye surveyed all realms and worlds, reflecting the mysteries of heaven and earth and the myriad phenomena of existence. Yet, it could no longer find any trace of Zhu Bajie’s existence. Even the manner of his disappearance had become a blank, as if nothing had ever happened—as though the Altar-Cleansing Envoy had simply vanished into thin air.
Rage burned in the Fighting Victory Buddha’s eyes. Above his head, radiant light surged like glazed fire, manifesting into a golden-furred ape clad in golden chainmail, wearing a phoenix-winged purple-gold crown, and wielding a massive golden-hooped staff.
Who dared to ambush and kill Bajie!
Hands shading his brows, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and the Fighting Victory Buddha scanned the surroundings with extraordinary vision, searching for clues. Yet, despite their supreme cultivation and power, they found nothing.
Suppressing his fury, the Fighting Victory Buddha realized this matter exceeded his capabilities. Stepping onto a lotus, he ascended to the summit and arrived before the Great Thunderclap Monastery, where he saw Kasyapa and A-nan guarding the entrance.
“Bajie has perished under mysterious circumstances! I demand the Buddha reveal the true culprit!” the Fighting Victory Buddha roared.
Kasyapa and A-nan exchanged glances, then pressed their palms together and replied, “The Buddha is already aware of the Altar-Cleansing Envoy’s demise. However, He states this matter pertains to the Great Calamity. When the time is right for you to know, the truth shall be revealed. There is no need to inquire today.”
The gates of the Great Thunderclap Monastery remained tightly shut, its plaque radiating serene light, untouched by worldly concerns.
The Fighting Victory Buddha’s eyes blazed with anger. “Am I to stand by and do nothing?”
He yearned to join forces with his true form and storm the Great Thunderclap Monastery, but he knew it would be futile.
“Venerable One, please restrain your wrath,” A-nan replied with a pained expression, bowing deeply.
“If the Buddha won’t speak, this old Sun will seek answers elsewhere!” The golden ape let out a furious cry, then ceased his struggle. Mounting his somersault cloud, he soared beyond the Saha World, heading straight for the Tushita Palace in the Great Scarlet Heaven.
The Fighting Victory Buddha, now somewhat calmer, transformed into a beam of Buddha-light and sped toward the Bodhi Pure Land—the Inch Mountain of the Spiritual Terrace!
Watching them vanish from the Saha World, A-nan curled the corner of his lips into a mocking smile.
Ask away, go ahead and ask. The murderer sits right behind these very gates of the Great Thunderclap Monastery, receiving worship and reverence, embodying compassion and enlightenment.
If you truly uncover the truth, given your temperament, history might undergo drastic changes…
With a single somersault, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, landed before the gates of the Tushita Palace, only to find them tightly shut, the surroundings silent and still.
“Is the Lord Laozi absent?” The golden ape grew restless with impatience. He pounded on the palace doors, the echoes reverberating endlessly, yet no response came from within.
Laozi doesn’t wish to see me… The clever monkey quickly grasped the situation.
Bodhi Pure Land, Inch Mountain of the Spiritual Terrace.
The Fighting Victory Buddha descended outside the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave and urgently addressed the gatekeeping disciple: “Has the Master entered seclusion? I have urgent matters to discuss.”
The disciple bowed in return and answered honestly, “Senior Brother, the Master forbids your entry.”
The Fighting Victory Buddha stood frozen outside the cave for a long moment before shaking his head and departing the Bodhi Pure Land. There, he encountered the unruly golden ape, dragging his massive golden-hooped staff, its glow dimmed.
Their eyes met, and in each other’s gaze, they saw frustration, confusion, despair, and bitter resentment.
They had sought answers from every Other Shore existence, yet none were willing to reveal the truth!
Suddenly, the golden ape roared at the heavens, his eyes glistening with moisture.
“What’s the use of cultivating the Great Dao and seeking immortality all these years?”
To think they couldn’t even find the murderer who killed old Zhu!
What good are my Seventy-Two Transformations, the Eight-Nine Mysteries, or this golden-hooped staff?
His anguished cries shook the heavens, filled with sorrow and helplessness—yet there was nothing he could do.
Failing to stir this change, the ripples caused by the minor Marshal of Heavenly Canopy in history quickly subsided, as a new leader of the Heavenly River Navy naturally emerged to maintain the course of events.
At this very moment, deep within the Tushita Palace, the golden ape in secluded cultivation abruptly opened his eyes, golden light bursting forth. Sensing the simultaneous existence of two historical memories and combining it with his recent understanding of the Supreme True Buddha, he instantly grasped the truth.
The ape lowered his head and muttered in pain:
“Fool…”
But what use was knowing the truth? It was already too late to save him…
Within the Heavenly River, the Demonic Buddha and the Heavenly Dao monster withdrew and vanished. Meng Qi, observing the struggling Great Sage Equaling Heaven in history and the tormented Sun Wukong in the present, sighed softly:
“The Sea of Bitterness…”
Even beings of the Great Sage’s caliber were not spared its torment.
Yet, for him, this was not without gains. The Demonic Buddha’s attitude revealed a crucial secret—it was still concealing something of great importance. Killing Zhu Bajie to silence him was not merely about preventing leaks regarding the impending attack on the Heavenly Court by the Ancients. Rather, it was because Zhu Bajie might have stumbled upon certain clues. Otherwise, when Meng Qi reversed time to alter history and save Zhu Bajie, the Demonic Buddha would have had no reason to intervene. The fall of the Heavenly Court was already inevitable, involving Other Shore existences—far beyond the influence of minor leaks. If that were all, what difference would Zhu Bajie’s survival make?
The Demonic Buddha must have obscured certain possibilities, leading other Other Shore existences to believe that the Thunder God, using Gao Cuilan as a vessel to kill the Marshal of Heavenly Canopy, was merely preventing the Heavenly Court’s plans from being exposed. Thus, no one paid attention to the matter. In the past, Meng Qi lacked the insight to consider the method of acting through a proxy, puzzled as to why a mighty Creation-level figure couldn’t destroy the corpse of a mere Celestial Immortal. Only now, by chance, had he come to investigate and stumbled upon the truth.
With profound contemplation, Meng Qi returned to the Jade Void Palace in the Kunlun Realm, appearing beside Gu Xiaosang, who was cultivating the White Lotus Divine Body.
“Come, let me take you somewhere,” Meng Qi said.
Gu Xiaosang, having also sensed the subtle shifts in history, tilted her head with a smile. “Somewhere related to the Demonic Buddha?”
“Yes. It’s also the place where I was truly born—a ‘Ferry of Salvation.’ I wish to reverse time there to see which fellow Daoist left behind this ‘Ferry of Salvation’ and why the Demonic Buddha would hide my ‘other self’ there so confidently. You, too, can use this opportunity to comprehend the mysteries of returning to the past,” Meng Qi explained slowly.
Hearing this, Gu Xiaosang leisurely turned, resting her cheek on her palm, her eyes shimmering with amusement. “So, does this count as going from an illicit affair to meeting the parents?”
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