254: Chapter 254 The Real and Fake Wukong - A Buddhist Conspiracy

Wisps of thought power drifted from the pool, rising like a thin mist, drifting with the wind, and seeping into his body with his breath.

In just a moment, his headache quietly dissipated.

Incredible!

"I understand... My cultivation also requires this kind of thought power."

"No, to be precise, the perfection of the Heavenly Dao must rely on this kind of obsession."

"Especially—the thought power condensed after a Buddha is formed!"

Jiang Chen's eyes lit up, and his state of mind shifted abruptly.

He absolutely could not destroy this pool right now.

How exactly were these Buddhas utilizing thought power?

He immediately concealed his aura, hid within the mountain forest, and quietly observed.

He waited for over a decade.

At this time, Wukong and his group had long since started their return journey and were about to arrive at the Western Heaven.

The true scriptures were about to cross to the Eastern Lands and shine upon the Great Tang.

The Journey to the West was about to reach its fruition.

Jiang Chen also began to feel restless.

"Hahaha! You have endured eighty-one tribulations and finally stepped into my Western Heaven Holy Land!"

"The spread of Buddhist scriptures to the East to save all living beings is truly immeasurable merit!"

"I shall certainly treat you with the utmost hospitality!"

Before he could think of a countermeasure, the four of them, Wukong and his master, had appeared at Leiyin Temple.

Tathagata sat high upon the lotus throne, receiving them in person.

This Lord of the Western Heaven, at this moment, appeared solemn, with kind eyebrows and pleasant eyes, looking exactly like a Buddha who had come to save the world.

Who could have imagined that beneath this skin, there lay a heart full of schemes?

Jiang Chen watched from afar, his teeth grinding audibly.

Even though he had mastered Chaos and created the Three Realms, for the sake of the perfection of the Heavenly Dao, he could only suppress his anger at this moment.

"Since you have entered my Buddhist Pure Land, you may rest here in peace. In these next few days, you may go to the Scripture Depository to select scriptures yourselves."

Tathagata spoke generously, his tone kind.

Yet in his heart, he was already secretly rejoicing: The plan was finally going to succeed.

More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Wukong and Xuanzang had toured the Western Heaven, and it was time to obtain the scriptures.

On this day, the bells and drums in the main hall of Leiyin Temple rang in unison, Sanskrit sounds lingered, and it was exceptionally lively.

All the Buddhas gathered and appeared in full.

The scripture transmission ceremony officially began.

Such a sacred moment was destined to be recorded by Tang Monk himself and written into history.

That preaching was, for them, an excellent opportunity to build momentum.

That was why they were so diligent, unable to wait to take the stage and perform.

"Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life; from now on, the living beings of the Eastern Great Tang can avoid falling into hell and directly cultivate the true fruition!"

"To be freed from suffering is truly the vast compassion of my Buddha!"

Tathagata sat on the lotus throne, solemn and dignified, his voice like a great bell, about to let his supreme Dharma sound resound through the hall and spread across the Three Realms.

Jiang Chen's gaze turned cold, and he sneered in his heart. He secretly pinched a magic seal in his sleeve, instantly triggering a restriction—

An invisible seal suddenly descended, locking Tathagata's throat and tongue!

The Buddhist sound stopped abruptly. The dignified Buddha lost his voice on the spot; his lips and teeth opened and closed, yet he could not make a sound!

No matter how he operated his divine powers or mobilized his spiritual energy, the seal remained unmoved, like an iron law set by heaven, completely sealing his power of speech.

Absurd! Ridiculous to the extreme!

This was a major event watched by the masses and the entire Three Realms; even the immortals of the Heavenly Court were watching with focused attention.

And the result? A solemn scripture transmission turned into a farce that ended in silence.

The world was in an uproar, and the Three Realms roared with laughter.

The first transmission of the Dharma ended in silence, finishing hastily and becoming a laughingstock.

Tathagata was speechless throughout the whole process, unable to recite a single true scripture.

A year passed in the blink of an eye, and no one mentioned the true scriptures again.

In desperation, Bodhisattva Guanyin had to come forward personally to preside over the great plan of the Journey to the West.

Who would have thought that as soon as she opened the Dharma altar, she would also suddenly encounter something strange—

When she opened her mouth, there was no sound; her tongue felt bound, and she also lost her ability to speak!

This grand event of the Journey to the West had completely become a ridiculous farce.

Tang Xuanzang and his group were still anxious to return to the Eastern Lands to propagate Buddhism.

But now that the persons in charge had all become mutes, they could only leave in disgrace, ending it in a panic.

Wukong was conferred the title of Fighting Victorious Buddha.

"Bah! Who cares about this lousy title? Hurry up and take off this golden headband for me; Old Sun wants to roam the world and be free and unfettered!"

An angry shout shattered the clouds; Wukong turned and left without a hint of reluctance.

However, Jiang Chen had long since noticed something strange—

The "Wukong" before him had a chaotic aura and listless eyes; he was simply not the Great Sage Equal to Heaven to whom he had personally taught the Dao back then.

It was the Six-Eared Macaque, an impostor!

The Journey to the West, with its true and false figures, hid a shocking conspiracy behind it!

"So the real Wukong was suppressed long ago... Tathagata, your heart is so vicious!"

Jiang Chen realized the truth, and without another word, he soared into the air, tore through the void, and dashed straight into the depths of the desert.

A moment later, under the ruins buried by yellow sand, he rescued the dying real Wukong.

"Damn it! My goodness! Old man Tathagata, you are too cruel! I'll definitely beat you until you're looking for your teeth all over the floor!"

Wukong was furious, his hair standing on end. He mounted the clouds and rode the waves, his killing intent soaring to the heavens, ready to charge straight into the Western Heaven and overturn Leiyin Temple!

"Wait." Jiang Chen reached out and stopped him. "The time is not yet right. First, refine that fake body and clean up the house. As for Tathagata... I will return to the Eastern Lands to lay out my plans."

Upon hearing this, Wukong paused, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. He said no more, turned, and chased after the Six-Eared Macaque.

Jiang Chen stepped through the air and quietly left the Western Heaven.

Just as he was far away from the Great Leiyin Temple, he suddenly saw Bodhisattva Guanyin gracefully sweeping across the sky above the city walls ahead.

She tapped her fingertip lightly and softly chanted a mantra.

In an instant, the battlefield below changed drastically!

The Great Tang and Turkic armies, which had been fighting fiercely, suddenly froze, their eyes unfocused, like puppets with severed strings, scattering and fleeing in all directions.

Swords fell to the ground, war drums stopped, and the flames of war were extinguished in an instant.

It was only because, in a single thought, she had used the supreme secret technique of the Buddhist sect—Thought Power Mind Control!

Jiang Chen was hidden in the sea of clouds, his pupils contracting, his heart shaken.

He saw it clearly: Bodhisattva Guanyin used vast thought power to first break the obsessions of the living beings, then implanted her own wishes, causing the consciousness of millions to fall and obey her commands.

"This method... is too terrifying."

He held his breath and focused, concentrating on deduction, and finally caught a glimpse of the mystery within.

Obsession is a cage, and she uses thought to break thought, seizing hearts and controlling souls, settling thousands of troops without harming a single soldier.

"What a move, 'Thought Dominance'!"

Jiang Chen suddenly understood, and he thoroughly saw through the essence of the Buddhist sect.

In the Age of Dharma Decline, spiritual energy was exhausted, and divine powers were difficult to manifest.

The Buddhist sect found another way, turning to cultivate the power of faith, gathering the wishes of all living beings for their own use.

Not only could they save people, but they could also control people, and even enslave the human heart.

"Perhaps... this is the true evolution of the Heavenly Dao."

Jiang Chen understood in an instant.

Seeing that Bodhisattva Guanyin had entered the city, he sat cross-legged on the mountain peak and began to deduce the divine power—Thought Control.

A method that could be performed even in places with thin spiritual energy could be called heaven-defying.

He had to master it!

Once the thought arose, Jiang Chen acted immediately.

Bodhisattva Guanyin could control human hearts by condensing thought, but he had long since condensed his Primordial Spirit, with a foundation far superior to hers; when he performed it, it would only be more fierce and ruthless!

Moreover—

She used the power of faith to break others' obsessions and plant her own thoughts; although he lacked incense wish power, he had the aura of Chaos as a guide, and by fusing the laws of the Heavenly Dao into it, the power would be more than doubled.

One night of seclusion, one day of success.

This divine power had been thoroughly refined to perfection by him.

Powerful! Too powerful!

He was even certain that if this technique were unleashed, even Bodhisattva Guanyin would have to bow her head.

"Very well, since you haven't left yet..."

"Then don't blame me for coming to kick down your door!"

With a slight sway of his figure, Jiang Chen performed the transformation technique.

This divine power could be considered extremely profound within the Three Realms.

It was not difficult to say, provided that one's physical body had reached the Golden Immortal stage or above, and with the ultimate control over form and intention, one could transform at will.

In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into an old man and quietly stepped into the border city.