448: There is really a way

In the back mountain of the Great Thunderclap Temple in the Western Paradise, there is a quiet place, which is the resting place for the sarira of high monks from past generations of the Buddhist sect.

Do not think that just because they attained Buddhahood or became ancestors, these high monks would not die.

The Buddhist sect has gone through thousands of years of tribulations to finally achieve today's accomplishments. During this time, wars were inevitable, and there were many fallen monk soldiers, Arhats, Bodhisattvas, Vajras, and even Western Paradise Buddhas.

When these people perished and their Dao dissipated, the essence of their Buddha Power would turn into sarira, stored and venerated in the Pagoda Forest behind Mount Ling.

What Gouchen the Great Emperor was talking about was this very place!

As the Golden Cicada in his previous life, Tang Ku naturally knew the location of this Pagoda Forest, and even more so, he knew the true reason for building it!

About a thousand years ago, the Ashura Clan broke into the Human Realm, causing chaos at will, killing countless living beings, and committing boundless evil karma.

It was Sakyamuni, together with the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, as well as all the deities of the Western World at that time, who finally wiped out the army of the Ashura Clan.

Later, the Ashura Clan Chief offered his only son to the Buddha, letting him practice in the Buddhist sect to atone for his sins; he became the Ashura in the later Eight Legions.

At that time, to prevent the Ashura Clan from rebelling again, the Buddha used the sarira of high monks from past generations as the core to create the Ashura Boundary Stele, completely isolating the Ashura Realm from this world!

And in this world, the only one with the ability to open the Boundary Stele and enter the Ashura Realm was the World-Honored Tathagata.

And since the Western Paradise Buddhas perished in the kalpa, no one has been able to open it again.

Moreover, Gouchen the Great Emperor was right; even if Tang Ku could really enter the Ashura Realm and retrieve Sun Wukong's soul, what would he use to hold this soul, and what method would he use to resurrect him?

Gouchen the Great Emperor looked at the worried expression on Tang Ku's face and suddenly felt a trace of satisfaction.

"Heh, who would have thought that the all-wise and powerful Tang Sanzang would actually have something he couldn't accomplish!"

Gouchen the Great Emperor said mockingly, "Just like me, I couldn't deal with the Extraterrestrial Demons, so I could only silently think of ways to fight them, but in the end, I still took the wrong path... Human power sometimes has its limits. Even the Jade Emperor, even I, even the Saints are the same. There are too many things that cannot be done. No one can be perfect. You... uh, what is that expression on your face..."

Tang Ku's worried expression went through multiple changes; one moment he was frowning, and the next, his brow smoothed out, and he became spirited, with his spirit becoming increasingly vigorous.

With a face full of joy, Tang Ku also returned a mocking look and said indifferently, "How do you know that I have no way to save Sun Wukong? The things you can't think of, the things you can't do, seem to be no problem for me!"

Gouchen the Great Emperor tilted his head, full of questions. Tang Ku, however, laughed and said, "When I went to retrieve the scriptures, I went through all kinds of hardships and saw all kinds of demons and monsters. Among these demons and monsters, the one that frightened me the most was a monkey exactly like Sun Wukong!"

Gouchen the Great Emperor's expression changed instantly, and the corners of his mouth twitched, leaving him speechless.

After a long while, he finally smiled bitterly and said, "You really are a madman. Tell me, are you really that Tang Sanzang? Why do I feel that you are such a stranger?"

Tang Ku said in a deep voice, "I am definitely Tang Sanzang, but you... are no longer Gouchen the Great Emperor!"

With a wave of his hand, all the suppression forces on Gouchen the Great Emperor were torn apart, and various runes and energy instantly vanished without a trace. After losing the suppression force, the energy on his body began to rise and recover rapidly. Within a few minutes, his power had fully recovered.

Although he could not yet communicate with the power of Law, it was basically impossible to escape from prison when no one was guarding him!

"What, you want to let me go?"

Gouchen the Great Emperor suddenly thought of something, and then couldn't help but smile bitterly, "No, you won't let me go... Hmm, that's right... Heh, thank you so much for still thinking of these things at a time like this!"

Tang Ku shook his head and said, "It's not that I thought of these things, but rather that these are what you deserve!"

As he spoke, the Aura on Tang Ku's body rose sharply, and Gouchen the Great Emperor also began to concentrate all his power. The energy on both of them reached its peak in an instant.

That's right, Tang Ku wanted to kill Gouchen the Great Emperor, but he would not just kill him simply like that.

He hoped that Gouchen the Great Emperor would die with some dignity; after all, he was a Great Emperor in his own right, a ruler of a certain region of the Heavenly Court, and also one of the top three War Gods in the Three Realms.

He could not just die simply like this; he needed dignity. Even if he was killed by someone, he needed to die with dignity.

Recovering his strength and using his strongest power to confront death was the greatest respect for him.

The merits and demerits of Gouchen the Great Emperor are actually hard to judge.

However, even though he had killed countless people, even though he had destroyed the entire Daughter's Country, and even though he was ambitious enough to want to be the Jade Emperor.

Tang Ku knew that basically none of what he did was his original intention. He had resisted, had hoped, and had devoted his everything to the process of fighting against the Extraterrestrial Demons.

It was just that in this process, he took one wrong step and became a tyrant, a villain who had killed countless people.

His original intention was good, but he took the wrong path; this was Tang Ku's most basic assessment of him.

However, after all, he was the one who killed so many people, the arch-criminal who destroyed the Daughter's Country, so Tang Ku definitely could not let him go.

But, even if he had to be killed, he had to be killed with dignity; this was also the treatment he deserved.

The final blow appeared. Gouchen the Great Emperor no longer had his bio-armor, but he still possessed powerful physical strength. He concentrated all his essence, Qi, spirit, and energy onto his right fist, hoping to make a final struggle.

On Tang Ku's right fist, the War God Gauntlets vibrated slightly. The first stance of the Great Wilderness Divine Fist, "Heaven Burial," with fifty times amplitude, made the dungeon buzz and dust fall.

With a wave of his hand, the power on Tang Ku's fist surged towards Gouchen the Great Emperor, as if sweeping away withered leaves. Gouchen the Great Emperor gathered his energy and similarly threw out a punch. It was a simple punch, without frills, without explosions, without light, yet it stubbornly blocked Tang Ku's fist force for a moment.

Tang Ku had thought that he would do something to humiliate the other party because of extreme anger, but he did not.

He was not distorted by anger, nor did he hold back his power. He gave the other party the greatest dignity, allowing him to die without worries.

"I am truly, truly grateful!"

His body shattered, and his soul was also gradually disappearing. He was making his final struggle. In the end, when his soul turned into specks of light and dissipated into the air, everything returned to calm.

In the world, there was no longer such a person as Gouchen the Great Emperor. This was a true annihilation, including his soul; he came from nothing and returned to nothing!

"Will there be a day when I take a wrong step?"

Tang Ku looked at the place where the other party had disappeared. Doubt, anger, joy... all kinds of complex emotions filled his mind, making him feel a bit lost for a moment!