Chapter 285 Gods and Buddhas
The bet between Tathagata and Wujitian may very well be related to Tathagata's enlightenment .
Li Anran and Taiyi Tianzun both expected that Tathagata would move as quickly as possible and would not delay for too long, but they did not expect the progress to be so fast!
After the agreed period of sixty years, only twenty years had passed, and Tathagata had already prepared everything.
"What is the content of the bet you have decided on?" Li Anran asked.
Wu Tian said: "It's similar to what you and Tian Zun said. Three years later, Tathagata will be reincarnated as a spiritual child in the mortal world..."
As Wutan told the story, Li Anran quickly figured out the details of the gambling fight between the two.
Overall, the content is similar to the sequel to Journey to the West.
Three years later, Wu Tian appeared in the world and ruled the three realms. Tathagata entered Nirvana and was reincarnated.
The rest of the gods and Buddhas would surrender without a fight, handing over the Three Realms to Wu Tian to rule for thirty-three years.
This was the prerequisite for the bet between the two. It could also be said that it was the stage set by Tathagata in order to get Wu Tian to agree to the bet, causing him, who originally had the advantage, to fall into an absolute passive position.
The core of the gambling fight changed from the Fighting Buddha Sun Wukong to the monk Dao Ji, the reincarnation of the Arhat Subduing the Dragon.
If Dao Ji can find all seventeen relics located in various places in the three realms and the reincarnated spirit boy of Tathagata within these thirty-three years, Tathagata will be considered the winner, and Wu Tian will have to disperse his spirit and will never be able to be reborn.
If Dao Ji fails to find all seventeen relics and the reincarnated spirit boy, it will be considered a draw, the fight will be postponed, and Wu Tian can rule the Three Realms for another thirty-three years.
And if during these thirty-three years, Wu Tian can convince the monk Dao Ji and make Dao Ji convert to Buddhism, then Wu Tian will win, and Tathagata will disperse his soul and truly pass away, with his body and soul destroyed.
"In addition, Tathagata also made three requests to me. First, during the thirty-three years that I rule the Three Realms, I cannot kill anyone with my own hands, otherwise I will lose."
"Secondly, I need to control my subordinates and not offend the gods and Buddhas. Otherwise, the bet will be terminated immediately. I will be responsible for whatever the gods and Buddhas of the Three Realms do."
"Third, we must keep the gambling fight a secret and not disclose it to Dao Ji and other people who participated in the catastrophe."
Li Anran suddenly understood everything after hearing this, and some of the doubts in his mind were answered.
The sequel to Journey to the West talks about the conditions for Tathagata's return - a spirit boy and seventeen relics.
It talks about the thirty-three conditions for Wu Tian to continue to rule the Three Realms - the spirit boy and the relics failed to gather .
The only thing missing is how Wu Tian will rule the three realms forever.
Now he understood that the key lies with the monkey!
It is no wonder that Wu Tian always wanted to recruit Monkey King in the sequel to Journey to the West. For this purpose, he even lowered his status and took a roundabout way to save the country by trying to recruit Tang Monk first.
Now, because of his actions, the monkey and the six-eared macaque have exchanged identities.
The monkey became Wujitian's Black Lotus Holy Envoy, while the six-eared macaque became Lingshan's Fighting Buddha.
The six-eared macaque was extreme, aggressive, and greedy in nature. Unlike the monkeys in the original time and space, he did not stand up for the little white dragon and the unjustly killed Jinghe Dragon King. Instead, he accepted bribes from Wude Xingjun and helped him cover up the truth about the beheading of the Jinghe Dragon King.
As a result, he was caught red-handed by Li Anran and was locked up in the Sky Prison, and has not been released yet.
Tathagata had always looked down on the Six-Eared Macaque, and after this incident, he was even more disappointed with the Six-Eared Macaque and gave up on him directly, letting Venerable Kashyapa, the monk Dao Ji who was the reincarnation of the Arhat Subduing the Dragon, take on the role of the monkey in the original time and space.
The bet was set to be made three years later, probably because Tathagata wanted to use this time to improve Dao Ji's strength.
It has only been more than thirty years since Venerable Kashyapa was reincarnated. Dao Ji would have a hard time dealing with the black-robed Ying Yao, let alone the monkey.
This kind of strength is simply not enough to bear such a heavy responsibility.
Dao Ji must at least be able to fight back and forth with a monkey at the Daluo Jinxian realm.
This may seem impossible to others, but it is not impossible for Lingshan!
Under the training of the monkey, Chenxiang was able to fight Yang Jian on equal terms in just a few years.
Even if this is under the premise that Yang Jian released the sea, we can still see how quickly Chenxiang's strength increased.
It is much easier for Tathagata to cultivate a Dao Ji by putting all his strength into Buddhism than for a monkey to cultivate Chen Xiang.
In addition, Dao Ji is the reincarnation of the Arhat Subduing the Dragon, and his own comprehension is outstanding, and his merits and fortune are also very strong.
It is unlikely to break through to the Golden Immortal in three years , but it is still possible to possess the strength comparable to that of the Golden Immortal!
Li Anran asked: "The Tathagata has made everything clear, how is the Buddha going to respond?"
Wu Tian said calmly: "I have sent people to look for the relics. If Tathagata wants to win, he needs to collect seventeen relics and reincarnated spirit children. As long as I find one of them, I will be invincible."
Li Anran asked, "The Buddha came here today to ask me to find the whereabouts of the relic ?"
Wu Tian said, "That's right. I want to transform the Buddhist world, so I need enough manpower. Wu Kong is now traveling around the Three Realms, recruiting and training subordinates for me, so he can't get away."
"The Black Robe Ying Yao and his men are not very smart and talented, and they are not capable of doing something like searching for the sarira. After much thought, I think only Fellow Daoist Li can accomplish this, so please lend me a helping hand."
Li Anran shook his head and said, "This is not appropriate."
Wutan's response method is exactly the same as he used in the original time and space.
In the original time and space, there was no variable like Li Anran. Yang Jian was not demoted to the mortal world because of the golden-winged Roc, and he did not know the mystery hidden in the Tongtian River. He would not have followed the old turtle in the Tongtian River all the way to the Abyss of Darkness and was captured by Wutan.
Without Yang Jian, it would be even less likely for Taiyi Tianzun to go to a place like the Dark Abyss, and Wu Tian would have no chance to get in touch with Xuanmen and gain the tacit support of Taiyi Tianzun.
However, in the original time and space, Wu Tian had established a relationship with Jiejiao.
Just like in this world, in order to show his goodwill to Taiyi Tianzun, Wutan, who had very few people under his command, asked Taiyi Tianzun for help.
In the original time and space, Wu Tian should have also asked for help from Jiejiao.
The ones sent by Jiejiao to help Wuji were Bull Demon King and the Yellow-toothed Elephant.
Everything after that was just like this world.
Tathagata persuaded the three realms to give him and Wu Tian a stage, and told Wu Tian the content of the gambling fight in advance.
Wu Tian’s response was the same as in this world, which was to send the Bull Demon King to look for the relics.
As a result, Tathagata was one step ahead and set a trap in advance.
The Bull Demon King found the relics hidden in the Longguang Temple in Yinwu Mountain, but was trapped in the cave where the relics were hidden and died of exhaustion.
Nowadays, the Bull Demon King has just been replaced by Li Anran.
Li Anran said: "The Buddha could think of looking for the relics in advance, so why couldn't Tathagata think of this? Today, Tathagata is still the Buddha of Lingshan, with many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas under him, and he is absolutely powerful. If we go to look for the relics now and fall into the trap, we will surely die."
"The best time for us to look for the relics should be after Tathagata reincarnates as a spirit boy and when the Buddha rules the three realms, not now."
"What Fellow Daoist Li said makes sense. It is me who was too impatient."
Wu Tian thought about it for a moment and realized that what Li Anran said made sense. He clasped his hands together and said ashamedly, "I was careless and almost put Fellow Daoist Li in danger. I hope Fellow Daoist Li will forgive me."
Li Anran said: "Buddha's words are too serious."
In the original time and space, Wutan should have realized this after the death of Bull Demon King and never sent anyone to look for the relics again.
It was not until Tathagata was reincarnated and ruled the three realms that he let the six-eared macaque pretend to be Zhu Bajie. He wanted to find the remaining relics through the monkey, who was the chess piece chosen by Tathagata, or the person who was destined to be calamity.
It’s a pity that the Six-Eared Macaque was too disappointing. Even though he had the magical power of Six Ears and had observed and imitated Zhu Bajie for decades, he was still discovered by the monkeys and beaten to death in the underground stone chamber in the Flower-Fruit Mountain .
The black robe became even less useful afterwards.
He was deceived by the yellow-fanged old elephant who was transformed from a monkey. He helped the monkey find the remaining relics, but he himself died in the Mengjie Ten Thousand Buddhas Formation.
In the end, the BOSS Wutan had to take action himself. He beat the monkey and captured him back to the cave in the Abyss of Darkness. He sealed the monkey's soul with the Black Lotus of Destruction and refined the sixteen relics.
Li Anran added: "Buddha, time is not with us now. What we can do is far less than what Tathagata can do. It is better to be still than to move. It is better not to rush to look for the relics. It is also better to stop looking for Sun Wukong first. After Tathagata reincarnates, everything we do will be more effective."
"What Fellow Daoist Li said is absolutely right."
Wu Tian followed the advice and immediately closed his eyes. He contacted Monkey and his men through the Black Lotus of Destruction, asking them to stop all actions and hide temporarily.
"I've sent them into hiding."
Soon, Wu Tian opened his eyes, and with his admiration for Li Anran on his face, he asked, "Brother Li, is there anything else you want to teach me?"
Li Anran asked, "How does the Buddha plan to place the gods and Buddhas of the Three Realms?"
Wu Tian said: "Although the gods and Buddhas of the Three Realms agreed to Tathagata's request and gave me the Three Realms for thirty-three years, they gave me and Tathagata a chance to gamble and fight."
"But they don't believe me. They are just pretending to surrender. They won't really let me seal their magic power. If I break my promise, they can take action at any time to stop the fight."
Li Anran nodded slightly, not surprised by this.
The gambling fight between Wu Tian and Tathagata was a disaster for all sentient beings in the three realms and those unaware gods and immortals, but to those gods and Buddhas who were high above and knew about this in advance, it was just another farce, just like the journey to the West and the Eight Immortals crossing the sea.
The only difference is that this time, Tathagata will personally take part and act as an actor.
They agreed to this matter out of respect for Tathagata and the benefits given up by Lingshan, but they would not really put themselves in danger.
This also happened in the original time and space. These gods and Buddhas who were imprisoned in the underworld by Wutan jokingly unsealed Wutan, and then jokingly were defeated by Wutan's army, allowing Wutan to capture the monkey alive.
The reason why it is called a "joke" is that the performances of the gods and Buddhas were too perfunctory!
With the same military force and the same troops, when they were on Mount Donghua, the gods and Buddhas had almost no power to resist, so they admitted defeat, letting the monkey and Wu Tian fight one-on-one, and allowing the monkey to be captured by Wu Tian.
When it came to attacking the Heavenly Palace which was heavily guarded by the Wuji Sect and rescuing the reincarnated spirit boy, they broke in easily. Moreover, the main force was not these great men, but younger ones like Tang Monk, Little White Dragon, Sha Monk, Zhu Bajie and Nezha.
This is pretty much the same as when the monkeys caused havoc in Heaven!
It seems like a lively and exciting battle, but in fact the real powerful people are just watching the show!
Wu Tian also knew this and continued, "After the gambling fight begins, I will send them to the underworld. It will be fine as long as they can avoid helping each other."
Li Anran asked, "What if Daoji rescues them?"
Wu Tian was startled: "Save him?"
Li Anran nodded and said, "The gambling fight between Buddha and Tathagata should be similar to the previous Journey to the West and the Gathering of the Eight Immortals. Only a few people know about it, and even more people don't know the truth."
"Daoji, as the one who was doomed, certainly didn't know about this. He would definitely try to find helpers and go to the netherworld to rescue the gods and Buddhas of the three realms. What will happen then? Will the gods and Buddhas of the three realms help him or not?"
Wu Tian was silent for a moment.
indeed!
If Dao Ji rescued all the gods and Buddhas of the Three Realms, in order to avoid exposing the gambling fight, the gods and Buddhas of the Three Realms would definitely not stand idly by and would definitely help Dao Ji!
Even if it is just superficial and perfunctory help, it will bring him a lot of trouble!
These gods and Buddhas were captured in fake form, their cultivation and strength are still there!
He didn't dare to actually hurt them, nor did he dare to provoke them!
If the relationship breaks out, he really won't be a match for them!
Wu Tian felt a headache the more he thought about it, and asked, "What does Fellow Daoist Li think?"
Li Anran said, "Instead of putting them in the underworld, it is better to put them directly in the Heavenly Prison and let me guard them. The Heavenly Prison is full of traps and numerous barriers. With me guarding it, I will definitely not ask Dao Ji to rescue them."
Wu Tian was stunned.
He didn't know about the plans of Li Anran and Yang Jian, and he didn't know about the Book of Punishment in Li Anran's hand. Naturally, he didn't expect that Li Anran imprisoned these gods in the Heavenly Prison in order to check their life stories through the Book of Punishment and gain benefits from it. It was also to further make everything true with Yang Jian and prepare to subvert the Heavenly Court.
But he didn't believe what Li Anran said.
There are so many traps and so many obstacles, these are all excuses!
The mechanisms of the Heavenly Prison are of no use to the Golden Immortal!
Li Anran himself is the key to the unbreakable heavenly prison!
Wutan thought about it secretly and felt that Li Anran did this because he was worried about him and was on guard against him, and also to show goodwill to the gods and Buddhas.
Li Anran is a disciple of Taiyi Tianzun, and all the gods and Buddhas know that this catastrophe is just a show, a gamble between him and Tathagata!
Even if Li Anran surrendered to him and was defeated in the end, the most that would happen to Li Anran would be expelled from the immortal list and imprisoned for a thousand or eight hundred years.
And if Li Anran was "forced to surrender to Wujitian in order to protect a group of captured gods", and then "woke up" and "turned from evil to good" at the last moment, he might be promoted again!
This Li Anran is really good at calculating!
Wutan sneered in his heart, but did not refuse.
What Li Anran said was right. With Dao Ji guarding the Heavenly Prison, it was indeed unlikely that he would let the person escape!
And as long as he can defeat Tathagata, Li Anran will be his most loyal supporter and there is no need to worry about betrayal!
Wu Tian nodded and said, "Okay, I'll lock him up in the Heavenly Prison."
