Chapter Nine: The Original Cause

  Originally, at the Buddhist Dharma Assembly of the past, when Tathagata was lecturing on the sutras, he said "I am Buddha, and Buddha is me". None of the monks in the hall opposed this statement, except for only one of Tathagata's two disciples, Jin Chanzhi. Jin Chanzhi questioned: "Buddha is all living beings under heaven, all living beings are Buddhas. We are just manifestations of their thoughts. Without living beings, there would be no us." As soon as he spoke these words, the whole hall was shocked. Tathagata's face turned red with anger. However, since Tathagata was after all the Buddha Patriarch, although his heart was filled with extreme anger, he did not show it. He only said that Jin Chanzhi had his own Buddhist intention, and that this was truly rare!

  One day after the hundredth anniversary of the Ullambana Festival, the Tathagata suddenly summoned Golden Cicada to an audience. In the Mahavira Hall, the Tathagata asked: "Golden Cicada, how long have you been coming to my place?

  "The disciples studied Buddhism every day, understood the Buddha's intention, and didn't notice the time, so they didn't know the date."

  "What have you figured out? What have you come to realize?"

  "My disciple is dull and has not..."

  Before Tang Sanzang could finish speaking, the Tathagata interrupted him, saying: "My Buddha is vast and boundless. How can one comprehend the true meaning of Buddhism in a small mountain? Since you once said that all beings are Buddhas, then go to the mortal world for a stroll. Go and understand the Buddha in all things and living beings."

  After finishing speaking, the Tathagata stretched out his hand and pointed at Golden Cicada, saying: "Golden Cicada, I order you to re-enter the cycle of rebirth, transform into an ordinary person, and experience ten lifetimes. In these ten lifetimes, you must set out from the East and step by step come to my Western Heaven to seek the true scriptures. If in these ten lifetimes you can obtain the true scriptures, I will appoint you as the Golden Cicada Buddha of all living beings. If you cannot obtain them, then go to that ninth underworld and enlighten countless Asuras!"

  "Yes, young master!"

  Stand up straight, with an upright posture, eyes fixed on the Tathagata on the throne, neither humble nor arrogant.

  "Disciple requests Buddha to take back disciple's Buddhist power, so that disciple can fetch scriptures with a peaceful mind."

  "It's all right, it's all right. Where is Guanyin?"

  "The disciple is here."

  "Take the cicada shell to the underworld and be reborn."

  "Yes, young one obeys."

  At this time, Jin Chan's eyes revealed a high-spirited will to fight, but he lowered his head and no one saw it.

  The road to the underworld

  "Big brother, what's wrong with you again?"

  "Hehe, someone has to stand up after all. My Buddha is in my heart, not on the Great Hero Treasure Temple."

  "Alright. Take care of yourself, Brother. Don't worry, I'll take good care of you and won't let you suffer too much."

  Then, Jin Chanzi incarnated as an ordinary person, and in each life, he had to set out from the easternmost land, go through 99 difficulties, climb mountains and cross rivers to go to the Western Heaven. However, in the first nine lives, he died on the road.

  "Haha, Tang Sanzang, I have to say you really are lucky, or else you would be dead by now." The gaze returned to the present, on the 22nd Heaven. The person laughing loudly was none other than the Tianxian Sect Master.

  Everyone's eyes turned to Tongtian and Taishang, but after a glance, the expressions of the crowd were strange. It turned out that Taishang Laojun was idle and had nothing to do, so he sat on the cloud and started refining elixirs. Indeed, as one of the Three Pure Ones, his willpower is extraordinary.

  "And I'm not afraid of being possessed by evil spirits." This was Niu Mo Wang whispering secretly.

  "By the way, Sheng Seng, what's this 'karmic force' that Tong Tian was talking about? Why did he say that even you wouldn't die?"

  Tang Sanzang turned his head and glanced at the Western Xiliang Queen beside him, then looked towards the distant horizon.

  "This life is to take scriptures, where is the scripture? This is actually a trap set by the Tathagata. In the past, I once asked the Buddha to take back my Buddhist power and re-enter the cycle of rebirth, but the Buddha did not. The Town God should know that immortals are not allowed to easily descend into the mortal world to see ordinary people. It is because immortals no longer belong to the cycle of rebirth, if they rashly enter the mortal world, they will be forced to load karma onto their bodies by the power of the cycle of rebirth."

  And our Buddhist door is the same. I also understood this in this life. The Tathagata let me take the scriptures for ten lives, it was clearly to use the power of ten lives of karma to add to my body, and make me fall forever into the nine serfdoms of Asura. In each life, I set out from the eastern land, unknowingly coming into contact with countless ordinary people, unknowingly entangling myself in countless karma, and every time I reincarnated, my karma would double. After ten lives, I became an ordinary person. Once dead, my soul would remain in the nine serfdoms, unable to transmigrate or reincarnate.

  That is to say, whether or not I can obtain the true scriptures, my final outcome will be that my soul will scatter. Although in this last life I luckily made it to Western Heaven and the Buddha had no choice but to make me a Buddha, it was only suppressing the explosion of my karma for a while. Finally, when Wukong decided to lead an army to conquer Heaven, the karma on my body exploded. I didn't want Wukong to worry, so that's why I said I would go to the underworld to find the soul of the Western Xia queen. Alas, Amitabha Buddha.

  Quietly finished, Zhenyuanzi Niutouwang and others were shocked to the point of speechlessness. Even Erlang Shen was shocked. The Tathagata Buddha, is actually so ruthless?

  "How did you manage to achieve enlightenment and become a Buddha?" He was so shocked that Erlang forgot that the other person was his enemy.

  Tang Sanzang merely glanced at Erlang Shen and continued, "When I was being pulled down by karma and fell into the underworld, I inadvertently saw a small flower floating in mid-air. I joined my palms together, chanted a Buddhist mantra, and then let out a sigh. At that moment, a voice suddenly appeared in my heart and asked, 'Why do you sigh?' Without thinking much, I replied, 'It's just that I'm reluctant to part with my disciples. I fear forgetting them and all the sentient beings in this world.'"

  "So, the flower flew in front of me, emitting a white light, and then my karma was expelled. Moreover, this flower let me take control and helped me dominate the entire Nine Nether Hell."

  After finishing, Tang Sanzang looked at the Queen of Western Liang again. The queen understood and continued: "After that, my brother found me and asked me to leave the Book of Life and Death, and used the Degree Flower Petals to recreate my body and revive me."

  The queen finished speaking, and the surroundings were quiet without a sound. Even Lao Jun's elixir was burnt to nothing, but no one noticed. At this moment, everyone had only one thought in their minds: I'll also go for a stroll in Jiuyou when I have time.

  This is how things are in this world, with good and bad fortune intertwined. No one can break free from it, nor can anyone grasp it.

  Tang Sanzang coughed lightly, and only then did everyone come back to their senses. However, the gazes that turned towards Tang Sanzang all contained a few hints of strangeness.

  "Alas, why didn't I, the old bull king, have such good luck?" The straightforward and outspoken Bull Demon King spoke out everyone's mind. Thinking back to Tang Sanzang's pilgrimage days when he was weak and could be bullied by even a small demon, what about now? Even the Heavenly Master has to show some restraint in front of him. Is this gap between heaven and mud enough to describe it?

  Just as everyone had their own thoughts, a team of driving clouds came over from the horizon with a murderous aura, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived.

  As the cloud and mist dispersed, a large group of people appeared in the field, one by one, clearly the black bear spirit under Guanyin, Hong Haier. The original three demons of Shilong Ridge, Huang Fengguai, Bai Gujing, Jiuweihuxian, Si Guai, Jiutouguai, Huangmei Dawai, Baizhuang Mojun (Wugong Jing) and other demon kings, each leading a hundred sharp spirits of the demon tribe, stood between Taishang Laojun and Tang Sanzang. For a time, the originally spacious battlefield suddenly became slightly crowded.

  The arrival of these people directly broke the stalemate between the two sides. Niu Mo Wang and others breathed a sigh of relief, after all, facing Tongtian Teach's Taishang Laojun was not a pleasant feeling. The momentum alone was suffocating.

  "Hmph, another bunch of rabble has arrived. You insignificant little demons, how dare you be so presumptuous in front of me?"

  The last few words, Tongtian had already used the Supreme Authority, and every word shook the sky and intimidated the earth, trying to use his momentum to suppress the leader of the demon clan who came. However, as soon as he finished speaking, a white steel ring flew out, and with a sudden shock, Tongtian's pressure dissipated instantly. On the other hand, the demon clan's momentum surged greatly.

  "You wretched beast, you stole my golden armlet and my banana fan. How dare you show up in front of me now? I've wasted a thousand years raising you. You wretch, today I'll clean house." With that, he waved the Eight Trigrams furnace in his hand, and a flame shot out, transforming into a green rhinoceros-like creature that charged at the leader of the demon tribe with great momentum.

  "Haha, old official, I think you're getting senile. You still dare to play this trick in front of my Golden Armor? Watch me take it back."

  With a single finger, the golden steel hoop's light flashed, and a massive suction force burst out. The flame rhinoceros that was charging towards the crowd suddenly turned around and rushed into the golden steel hoop without any hesitation. It disappeared instantly. Except for the golden steel hoop being slightly reddened due to the flames, it seemed as if nothing had happened at all.

  "This, this, this is all? I thought I was done for! This old official's fire is really terrifying." Peng Demon King said with a heart-pounding face. After all, he had just been burned by that fire and lost an arm.

  Looking at Taishang Laojun again, his old face was so angry that his hair stood on end, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably. Especially the hand holding the Eight Trigrams Furnace shook even more violently, making people feel that if he wasn't careful, the furnace might fall, and Huoyan Mountain would not be just eight hundred miles away.

  "Elder brother, don't be impatient. It seems that this strange creature has completely grasped the Golden Steel Ring. Moreover, these demons are not to be underestimated, we need to plan carefully and not act impulsively." Tongtian whispered in a low voice.

  ”

  "Aiya, aiya! The official's fire is so big that it has burned off one of my hairs, haha. Official, come on again, let me see how much fire your eight trigrams furnace can withstand."

  "You, you, you, you're too arrogant. A mere mount dares to steal a few of my magical treasures and becomes so presumptuous. If you want to capture me, I'll let you have your fill."

  "Big brother, big brother slow down!!"

  Although Tongtian immediately realized something was wrong, it was already too late. He could only watch as Taishang Laojun let out a furious roar, followed by a deafening explosion, and then saw flames erupting behind Laojun's back. At the same time, Laojun also spat out a mouthful of blood.

  "Alas, brother, how could you be like this!"

  It turns out that Taishang Laojun actually self-destructed the Bajiquan furnace where he had cultivated his life!