Tongtian is, after all, one of the Three Pure Ones, a direct descendant of Pangu, and has existed since the beginning of the primordial era.

In the context of Journey to the West, Tongtian is already a powerful figure from ancient times. He is imprisoned in Zixiao Palace, and his strength has reached its limit. His past possessions are rare and precious treasures that are now extinct in this era.

If one were a cultivator within the Hongjun Realm system, there might still be some concerns, but the Great Sage has already reached the Chaos Realm.

Even Hongjun couldn't calculate it, so there's no need to worry about improving it.

Tongtian's request was simple and straightforward: he couldn't let himself be tricked for nothing back then, and he still had a grudge against his disciple.

That's not just about Mount Ling, but also the Chan Sect, Laozi... they'll all be beaten up.

Anyway, the worst that could happen is that he'll be taken back to Zixiao Palace. He's a true descendant of Pangu, and Hongjun is scheming, so there's really no way to kill him.

Over the years, he has long since changed from the loyal and righteous Tongtian he once was; he has come to understand many things.

If they can't kill, they naturally feel fearless.

Moreover, if the monkey hadn't caused such a big incident, completely ruining the Journey to the West plan, and if that traitor from Mount Ling and the Jade Emperor hadn't been able to handle it and had complained to Hongjun, he wouldn't have had the chance to come out on this trip!

The Buddha and Guanyin of Mount Ling were originally disciples of the Jie Sect.

Tongtian and Dasheng had already discussed it, and they even came up with the audacious plan of substituting one thing for another.

Yes, they used the Six-Eared Macaque's true spirit, his innate talent, and Tongtian's aura and methods, along with the Great Sage's own transformation skills. All the buffs were stacked up, and they wanted to deceive everyone and make the Great Sage transform into Tongtian to absorb spiritual energy in the Purple Cloud Palace.

Even the restrictions on Tongtian's body, which he has studied for many years, can be simulated.

Under normal circumstances, Hongjun would not use the restrictions, and therefore would not discover the problem.

Nowadays, no place can match the concentration of spiritual energy in Zixiao Palace.

Even if they are eventually discovered, at most they will just be kicked out.

Even Hongjun couldn't kill the Great Sage.

The fact that the Great Sage can live peacefully in this world is because he is recognized by the Heavenly Dao. If Hongjun were to kill him at will, it would greatly affect his plan to merge with the Dao.

Even if severely injured, they will not be killed.

If he could just take action directly, Hongjun wouldn't need to scheme so much.

The Monkey King said he could handle it; as long as he didn't die, he could recover. As for the spiritual energy, he didn't know how long it would take to absorb it in a day.

This is something worth the risk.

This is how the story ends: the Great Sage Equaling Heaven caused a lot of trouble for Tongtian, Laozi, and the Yuanshi sect, leaving them all as overwhelmed as the Heavenly Court of Mount Ling.

Then he secretly went to Zixiao Palace. Although he had used many transformation techniques, he was still worried that something might go wrong.

Ultimately, fearing that Hongjun would sense Tongtian's presence outside, he returned on his own.

However, they secretly brought the Great Sage along.

Thus, Hongjun was blind to his own shortcomings. He couldn't sense the monkey's presence anywhere in the world, so he assumed that Tongtian had truly dealt with him.

He hadn't taken this matter seriously at first; Tongtian's ability to do it was simply a small, ordinary problem.

However, the mess the monkey made was giving him a huge headache.

The Great Tribulation of Journey to the West, which had been in preparation for so long, was actually laid out during the Investiture of the Gods period.

Now, starting over seems like a hassle.

The Heavenly Court has suffered so much this time, how can we compensate them to get them to cooperate a second time?

Besides, not everyone knew the inside story of what happened before, but many people saw it. If it happened again, even a fool would know there was something wrong.

Having different ideas may prevent things from going smoothly.

There are just too many variables!

If we can't have another chance, how can Western religion flourish? And how can we settle this burden?

Hongjun fell into deep thought. He still had to clean up the mess outside himself. As for what would happen next, he was waiting for an imperial edict from above.

After dealing with Hongjun, Tongtian returned to the place where he had stayed for who knows how many years.

He left a backdoor using his own magical artifact, only to discover that Hongjun had forgotten to activate the restriction.

Tongtian released the monkey and told him to start cultivating immediately.

Once Hongjun reacts, remember to run first.

Remember to check back after a while. If there's a back door, come back; otherwise, leave.

During this process, Tongtian taught the Great Sage a lot of things and provided him with cultivation experience. At the same time, he also obtained the Chaos Cultivation Path from the monkey, which gave him a lot of hope.

Perhaps one day he will be able to break through to the Chaos Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm, embark on the path of Chaos cultivation, and then have the opportunity to completely break free from Hongjun's shackles and regain his freedom.

"I, Old Sun... was also born at the wrong time," the Great Sage said with some emotion.

If he had met a master like Tongtian back then, perhaps... but there are no ifs. His entire life was arranged, and he was already plotted against when he was still an "embryo".

Tongtian sneered: "If you had been born in our era, your fate might not have been much better than it is now. You've seen it yourself, my disciples..."

"Now, there is still a glimmer of hope."

The Great Sage said, "If I get the chance, I, Old Sun, will kill your brother for you. Don't go back on your word and refuse to do it then."

Tongtian smiled and shook his head: "Sages don't die, unless..."

Unless this world collapses and the laws of nature are disrupted, the entire world will also completely crumble.

This is the world created by the father god Pangu; he probably wouldn't want to see that day.

The Great Sage said, "It's because you're so worried about this and that, knowing that no matter how bad things get, you won't destroy the world, that they can scheme against you without any restraint."

"Forget it, let's focus on cultivation first. Once our cultivation level is higher, we might gain different insights and perhaps find other solutions."

In the end, of course, the Great Sage was discovered, because Buddha came to inquire about the situation again and discovered the clues, which led to his exposure to Hongjun.

Finally, there was the epic battle between the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and Hongjun.

The world can no longer afford this war.

He was even pulled into the chaos by Hongjun, with Tathagata and Tongtian as spectators. Later, Laozi, Yuanshi, and other sages also silently came to watch.

It can only be said that the Great Sage Equaling Heaven has not yet grown to the point where he can contend with Hongjun. However, since Hongjun merged with the Dao, there are many constraints that prevent him from going all out or using his full strength. The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, on the other hand, is willing to risk his life, so they ended up fighting to a standstill.

Buddha: ...Suddenly he realized that he could no longer deal with the monkeys of today.

Jade Emperor: ...How could he bear to give up such a terrifying fighting force and send it to Mount Ling?

Oh, it's because Lingshan promised to suppress it. The fighting bloodline was suppressed into a Fighting God Buddha, so naturally it's not something to be afraid of.

But now they can no longer suppress it, and it has suddenly slipped out of their control.

In the end, the battle had no clear outcome. The Monkey King remained as unruly as ever, stubbornly holding on against Hongjun, and that was the end of it.