Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong's fate-Chapter 36 - Hand Over the Demon-Subduing Pestle to Me
36: Chapter 36: Hand Over the Demon-Subduing Pestle to Me
36 -36: Hand Over the Demon-Subduing Pestle to Me
To be outwitted by a monkey?
As he looked at the monkey fur in his own hand, Zhunti’s brow inevitably furrowed deeply.
If word of this got out, he would surely be the laughingstock of all.
A saint of his stature unable to deal with a mere monkey.
Yet, when this monkey emerged from the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave, he had been under his careful watch, supposedly unable to slip by even for a moment.
And yet, he never noticed when the monkey was switched out.
“This monkey is truly cunning; no wonder even the Bodhi Companion tasted defeat at its hands!”
This scene, of course, also fell into the eyes of Amitabha Buddha, who couldn’t help but curl his lips into an amused smile, and the next moment, a vast divine sense spread out, enveloping the Western Direction.
At this moment, even the likes of Tathagata and other powerful Western Buddha felt this distinct aura fluctuation.
Since the Divine Enthronement Calamity of Ancient Times, countless years had passed without a saint manifesting in the Three Realms, and now, suddenly, the divine sense of the Western Buddhist Sect’s saint had appeared in the world once again.
What on earth had happened?
But Tathagata, after all, is the current Buddha, who orchestrated the Journey to the West.
Understanding that such actions by the two saints must be for the prosperity of Buddhism, he immediately said, “Amitabha Buddha, my fellows need not panic.
The saints’ actions are indeed for the flourishing of Buddhism!”
Hearing the words of Tathagata, the multitude of Buddhist powers nodded.
The two saints would naturally do nothing that would harm Buddhism.
Just as the Buddhist Buddhas thought so, Amitabha Buddha and Zhunti were searching for the figure of Sun Wukong in the Western Cow Hezhou.
Then they could not help but be stunned, not because they did not discover anything, but because they discovered much.
And it was not just one; there were at least twenty-thousand if not thirty-thousand.
Each of these Sun Wukongs was heading towards the Great Thunderclap Monastery of the West.
Key to note was that they all bore the aura of the Demon-Subduing Pestle.
One could say that the aura of these Sun Wukongs was not only identical to that of Sun Wukong himself but even the aura of their Magical Treasures matched perfectly.
Even as they were saints, for the moment, they found it difficult to discern which among these many avatars was Sun Wukong’s true self.
Not only Amitabha Buddha and Zhunti, but even Patriarch Bodhi, who had been waiting in the Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave for the dust to settle, was now visibly startled.
Where did Sun Wukong get so many avatars?
Key is that the aura of each one was indistinguishable from the original.
How could this be stopped at all; it simply could not be blocked.
While Amitabha Buddha, Zhunti, and Patriarch Bodhi were dumbfounded, these countless figures of Sun Wukong had already gradually neared the area of Mount Meru.
It seemed they were about to step into the Ultimate Bliss World, into the Great Thunderclap Monastery.
Were they destined to lose this time too?
What could they possibly do?
For a moment, Amitabha Buddha, Zhunti, and Patriarch Bodhi all felt utterly at a loss.
After all, ever since the Divine Enthronement, the Ancestral Master Hongjun had issued an Order of Law himself: saints shall not manifest in the Three Realms.
Currently, their intervention already counted as a violation of this divine ordinance.
Let alone personally taking action to stop all these avatars of Sun Wukong in their tracks.
Even if they truly took action, they would likely become a joke amongst the other saints, losing all their dignity.
To need to go to such lengths against a single monkey?
Upon realizing he could not stop the event, Jieyin had already returned to the Mount Sumeru Pure Land.
“Elder brother, what should we do?”
Zhunti, having retreated deep into Mount Sumeru Pure Land, asked with furrowed brows.
This was the first time he felt somewhat at a loss; before, it was always they who laid schemes against others, but unexpectedly, this time they were being outwitted by a monkey.
Could they really let the monkey continue to drag things out?
How could the Journey to the West possibly begin then?
“It seems we have underestimated this monkey.
We can only…”
Zhunti seemed to have also understood something and, frowning, he said, “Would elder brother truly wish to do this?”
Although doing this was rather shameless, they had not been strangers to such shameless acts in the past, but now they had become Saints.
“Letting the monkey initiate the Calamity of Measurement for the Journey to the West is of utmost importance; we have no choice but to proceed thusly!”
“Very well!”
Zhunti nodded.
He naturally knew that the Journey to the West and the Calamity of Measurement were matters of great consequence that could not be delayed, for they would impact the prosperity of Buddhism and also the future Calamities of Buddhism.
Afterward, Zhunti opened his mouth, yet no sound came out.
It was clear that he was using telepathy.
The Golden-Winged Roc King, who had been cultivating in his meditation room all this time, suddenly opened his eyes.
Then with his hands pressed together, the Golden-Winged Roc King bowed respectfully and declared, “Your disciple, the Golden-Winged Roc King, obeys the Saint’s commands!”
Yet, upon hearing Saint Zhunti’s words, the Golden-Winged Roc King’s face took on an uneasy expression.
“This matter…”
The Golden-Winged Roc King hadn’t anticipated that Saint Zhunti would ask him to do such a thing, but considering the gravity of the situation, he dared not refuse.
He bowed reverently and said, “Since that is what the Buddha has decreed, your disciple shall naturally comply!”
Having said this, the Golden-Winged Roc King stood up, and a storm enveloped him as he vanished from the spot in an instant.
At the same time, a Sun Wukong had already neared the Great Thunderclap Monastery and was merely a hundred miles away.
Around him, there were countless doppelgängers indistinguishable from his own aura, each of them bearing the same aura and even the scent of the Demon-Subduing Pestle.
At this moment, Sun Wukong recalled the towering mountain that had materialized above his head and smiled.
Indeed, listening to my elder brother was right; it is dangerous out there.
If he hadn’t been exceedingly careful and cautious, he probably would have been suppressed just now.
Now having arrived in the Western Pure Land, and seeing the endless Buddha’s light shining, Sun Wukong felt extremely pleased in his heart.
However, even so, he had no intention of dispersing his doppelgängers; until the item was delivered, he would not let down his guard.
After all, that fearsome being had already taken action once.
There might be a second time.
His elder brother had once cautioned him not to abandon vigilance, thinking all was safe.
One’s life and Tao could be extinguished in an instant.
After what had just occurred, he utterly trusted his elder brother’s words.
So even now, as he was close to arriving, he dared not be the slightest bit careless.
“Fellow Daoist, from where do you come?
Where are you headed?”
Just as Sun Wukong was about to step into the Ultimate Bliss World, a monk garbed in a kasaya with a handsome visage appeared before him.
“Who are you?”
Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes, watching the monk with a wary gaze.
“Amitabha Buddha!”
The young monk pressed his palms together, chanted the Buddha’s name, and then said, “This disciple has come specifically to welcome you, knowing that the benefactor has brought the Demon-Subduing Pestle; just hand over the Demon-Subduing Pestle to this poor monk!”
The young monk looked at Sun Wukong and spoke calmly.
