Journey to the West: Starting from Changing Sun Wukong’s fate
Chapter 188 - 189: Surprisingly Negligent

Chapter 188: Chapter 189: Surprisingly Negligent

For the Western Buddhist Sect,

the significance of the Journey to the West Calamity is self-evident.

And Golden Cicada is the leader of this calamity. If any issue arises, how would they proceed with the Journey to the West Calamity!

The key point is that this time, they were unable to monitor the situation before their eyes, which likely means there were many unforeseen complications.

"No matter what, there must be no further mishaps with this Golden Cicada!"

Amitabha Buddha slowly spoke at this time.

Beside him, Saint Zhunti nodded and said, "Brother, it seems we should ask Sakyamuni Tathagata to pay more attention to this matter."

Amitabha Buddha also nodded in agreement.

Then Zhunti, no longer speaking, directly communicated through telepathy, relaying the message to Sakyamuni Tathagata’s ears.

At this moment, Sakyamuni Tathagata was imparting three thousand Buddhist teachings within the Great Thunderclap Monastery.

Suddenly, his heart stirred; he had heard Saint Zhunti’s words.

The usually preaching face of Sakyamuni Tathagata changed at once.

The many Buddhists who were listening to Sakyamuni Tathagata’s teachings, seeing him pause, were somewhat puzzled.

However, they did not speak up, and instead were silent for a moment.

Finally, he said, "Where are the Five Gates?"

"At your service, our Lord Buddha," replied the disciples.

At this time, five monks stepped forward.

They were the Golden Light Gate, Silver Headed Gate, Paragate, Mahagate, and Parasamgate.

They were the great divine protectors of the Buddhist Sect from the five directions.

The Tathagata nodded slightly, then said, "As of now, there’s an anomaly with the reincarnated body of Xuanzang, who is Golden Cicada. I command you to covertly protect him and report every single one of his actions. Should there be the slightest anomaly, you must inform me immediately!"

"Your disciples obey wholeheartedly, my lord Buddha!"

After the Five Gates accepted the command, they left for the Earth Immortal Realm.

Sakyamuni Tathagata breathed a sigh of relief. For the sake of a mortal, the Buddhist houses had indeed exerted considerable effort.

Not long ago, an Arhat was sent, and now, five Buddhists had been dispatched to watch over a mortal; this should suffice, right?

Soon they arrived at the temple, and after they concealed their qi, they transformed into mortals.

They observed Xuanzang’s every move nearby.

However, while the Five Gates were observing Xuanzang, they did not hide much, for in their view, the other party was merely a mortal.

Did guarding and monitoring a mortal need much effort?

What they did not know was that Golden Cicada had already noticed them. By now, Golden Cicada had reached celestial immortal cultivation and had practiced the Qi-Concealing Technique.

He had hidden the spiritual energy of his body so well that the Five Gates were unable to detect his cultivation level. However, as the Five Gates approached him, he could clearly sense a terrifying Buddhist aura emanating from them.

Though it was faint, his current cultivation allowed him to sense it.

The sensation was like being spied upon by a superior being; he could clearly feel it.

Nevertheless, he did not pay it much heed but continued as usual to impart Buddhist teachings to the common people around him.

Everything seemed, as usual, with no abnormalities.

Seeing this, the Five Gates also grew curious.

Isn’t this all very normal, just like before? Why did they need to protect and monitor him?

Keeping close watch over a mortal, they all felt somewhat weary and resigned.

The Five Gates were getting tired.

After all, Golden Cicada’s actions were as normal as ever, so they were not as fully concentrated as they were in the beginning.

Seeing this, Xuanzang also sighed in relief, thinking these five would be somewhat special, but it turned out they were quite ordinary.

While imparting Buddhist teachings, he started to interweave his own realizations.

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong, who had been in Mount Huaguo, had closed himself off for so long that his cultivation level had greatly increased.

He had been comprehending the Bodhi seed, and his realm had finally made a significant breakthrough.

One day, Sun Wukong sat in meditation with his eyes closed and circulated the mana within his body.

As Sun Wukong circulated his mana, suddenly an unusual phenomenon appeared in the void. Countless nature’s spiritual energies converged above him.

Above the Sky of Departed Love, within the Helmet Armor Palace, the Grand Elder of the Supreme Way, who had been resting with eyes closed, opened his eyes and looked down.

As if piercing through countless distances, he seemed to see Sun Wukong within Mount Huaguo.

He had been paying close attention to Sun Wukong, and as soon as there was any change in him, he immediately noticed it.

"This macaque really is trouble," the Grand Elder of the Supreme Way sighed to himself.

Although their Daoist Sect was involved in this Journey to the West Calamity too, it was more out of necessity than desire.

After all, the rise of Buddhism following the Journey to the West was inevitable, and naturally, the Daoist Sect hoped to gain some benefits from it.

However, the rise of Buddhism, though inevitable, was not what the Daoist Sect wished to see.

Not wishing to let Buddhism develop unhindered, they had to slightly sabotage the Journey to the West Calamity, even if just to delay it.

And Sun Wukong was a key figure in this regard.

At this thought, the Grand Elder of the Supreme Way raised his hand and waved it.

Instantly, the phenomenon signifying Sun Wukong’s breakthrough in the void disappeared without a trace.

To avoid Amitabha Buddha and Saint Zhunti from detecting anything unusual about Sun Wukong at this time.

The stronger Sun Wukong became, the more beneficial it was for the Daoist Sects, so he did not mind lending a hand.

"Quasi-Saint Middle Stage!"

With the Grand Elder of the Supreme Way’s assistance, Sun Wukong made his breakthrough to the Quasi-Saint Middle Stage without causing much of a stir.

Sun Wukong felt the colossal power within his body.

"Such tremendous power, I wonder how much of a gap there still is between me and my elder brother!"

Sun Wukong was exceptionally pleased with his newfound strength.

He even considered comparing his strength with that of his elder brother, but he shook his head immediately after. With his elder brother’s powers, how could he possibly compare?

Besides, now that he had sealed his clone, if he were to be discovered now, everything would have been in vain; he had to abandon this idea.

After all, even though his clone was sealed, as the person who initiated the Calamity of Measurement of the Journey to the West, he was destined to be the focus of countless individuals’ attention.

Not to mention seeking out Wang Yang, just stepping out of this place could potentially lead to being discovered.

If his plans were to fail and he ended up involving his elder brother as well, that would be even worse.

He then thought that although his original self could not venture forth, his clone could.

Utilizing the Art of Transformation, it was virtually impossible for anyone to discover him.

Moreover, now that his power had increased, he should inform his elder brother about his current situation.

With this thought in mind, Sun Wukong plucked a piece of monkey fur, blew on it, and the fur transformed and fell to the ground.

The fur then turned into a bird that flew out of Mount Huaguo, heading straight to Southern Continent Jambudvipa.

The bird’s departure did not attract anyone’s attention.

However, the recent changes caused by Sun Wukong had been detected by the two Saints of the Western Direction.

After sensing it, they wanted to investigate, but upon closer inspection, they found that the aura they had perceived had vanished without a trace.

More accurately, it had become blurry, as if someone had deliberately obscured it, preventing them from seeing clearly.

"What’s going on, what exactly happened?"

"Why have the Saints of the Daoist Sect concealed the celestial Secret again?"

Saint Zhunti became a bit impatient. His cultivation in Buddhist Law wasn’t as profound as that of his elder brother, so he became anxious in the face of this situation.

"Be patient!"

Amitabha Buddha beside him shook his head.

Although Amitabha Buddha had profound knowledge of Buddhist Law, beyond compare to Zhunti, they needed to remain calm more than ever as the Calamity of Measurement in Journey to the West was about to begin, in order to deal with upcoming changes.

"Elder brother, why does it seem like the Calamity of Measurement has already begun, yet everything seems beyond our control?"

Zhunti, frowning slightly, said to Amitabha Buddha upon hearing his words.

"Isn’t Golden Cicada still under our control, and since he is originally one of our Buddhist houses, there shouldn’t be any changes, right!"

Amitabha Buddha spoke ambiguously.

He was very confident about this.

Because Golden Cicada was the initiator, he was not worried about any changes occurring.

"I naturally am not worried about that, but the recent disappearance of Golden Cicada still leaves me unaware of what exactly happened; I hope nothing unpredictable comes of it!"

Zhunti sighed. Now that the Calamity of Measurement had officially begun, he was becoming increasingly anxious.

Within the Great Thunderclap Monastery of the West, Sakyamuni Tathagata sat quietly on the Lotus Platform, feeling some intimations in his heart.

The prosperity of the Western Buddhist Sect was extremely important for the Buddhist houses and particularly significant for him.

If the prosperity of Buddhism was for the merit promised to Amitabha Buddha and Zhunti, then for Sakyamuni Tathagata, it was an opportunity to Achieve Saintliness.

Therefore, Sakyamuni Tathagata took it very seriously.

"Kasyapa!"

Within the Great Hero Treasure Hall, Sakyamuni Tathagata’s eyes moved slightly, and a look of concern appeared on his benevolent face.

"Your disciple is present!"

Upon Sakyamuni Tathagata’s call, Kasyapa Venerable, who was always by his side, stepped forward.

"What’s the current situation with Golden Cicada? Is there any abnormality?"

Sakyamuni Tathagata asked.

"Your disciple will check on that right away!"

Kasyapa Venerable, unaware that Sakyamuni Tathagata would ask so soon and therefore unprepared, hastily brought out a Buddhist Bronze Mirror.

With Buddha’s light shining from Kasyapa Venerable’s hands, marks of Buddhism appeared on the Bronze Mirror, followed by a series of changing lights.

Shadows flickered upon the surface of the Bronze Mirror.

On the Ancient Mirror, the Five Gates appeared listless and bored, either sitting or standing, in no way seeming attentive to their monitoring duties.

"Hmm?"

Seeing the laxness of the Five Gates, Kasyapa Venerable was also taken aback.

Sakyamuni Tathagata’s brow furrowed slightly.

Before he could say anything, he saw one of them, Silver Headed Gate, yawn widely, looking utterly disinterested.

Even though Sakyamuni Tathagata was always compassionate and never blamed his disciples, he couldn’t help but frown and say, "Fooling around – how can you be so negligent? If something happens, it would affect our Western Buddhist Sect’s great event!"