Upon hearing Sun Wukong say that apart from Buddha, no one else could distinguish between the real and the fake, the Six-Eared Macaque sneered inwardly.
That's all the knowledge the stable boy has.
Although the Tathagata was not bad, he ultimately did not achieve the state of Hunyuan.
Putting aside other things, the Buddha Dipankara, Maitreya, and even Bhaisajyaguru in Buddhism are no less than him, and even the Four Great Bodhisattvas may not be much inferior to him.
At this moment, Sun Wukong said, "Who are these other people you're talking about? Apart from the Buddha, I don't think anyone else has this ability."
"You counterfeiter, that's all you've got," the Six-Eared Macaque said disdainfully. "You don't know that there is a great venerable one on Mount Ling, whom even the Buddha would treat with the respect due to a teacher."
He was referring to none other than his teacher, Amitabha Buddha, one of the three founders of Buddhism.
"You fake dare to deceive me? Do you really think I, Old Sun, am easy to fool? Even the Buddha Dipankara, who is known as the Buddha of the past, is not treated like this by Tathagata on the vast Mount Ling."
"Bah! You don't believe me when I say you're ignorant. What is that Dipankara Buddha? He's just a junior in front of him and still has to bow and greet him respectfully." The Six-Eared Macaque shouted disdainfully again.
"What? There's such a master on Mount Ling? I've never heard of him before! Are you talking nonsense?!" Sun Wukong was very skeptical.
The Six-Eared Macaque said coldly, "How could this be fake! He is the true leader of Buddhism."
"What is his name?"
"He is Amitabha Buddha!"
Sun Wukong was startled upon hearing this. He had heard of monks who often chanted Amitabha Buddha, but he never expected that such a person actually existed in the world.
"You counterfeiter, if you have the guts, we'll go find Amitabha Buddha and ask him to uphold justice!" the Six-Eared Macaque shouted again.
“This…” Sun Wukong hesitated, and the golden cudgel in his hand swayed a little slower.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Six-Eared Macaque stepped back, stopped attacking, and mocked, "You imposter, are you afraid that you'll be exposed before Amitabha Buddha and feel scared?"
Sun Wukong was furious upon hearing this. "You fake, you're talking nonsense! I am the real deal. You're the one who should be afraid. Even if I, Old Sun, am afraid, it's because Amitabha Buddha doesn't have the ability and made me, Old Sun, make a wasted trip."
"You don't need to worry about that. If even Amitabha Buddha can't distinguish between the real and the fake, then even if you and I went to the Buddha, it would be the same," the Six-Eared Macaque replied.
"Alright! Let's go see Amitabha Buddha. I, Old Sun, want to see if he really has the ability."
In Sun Wukong's view, anyone who could reside on Mount Ling and be chanted by all the Buddhist disciples must be a highly virtuous monk. He wasn't afraid of his own safety after just meeting him once...
"Good!" The Six-Eared Macaque was extremely pleased with himself.
So the two monkeys, still pulling and tugging at each other, made their way to Mount Ling.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, in addition to the path leading to the summit, another mountain path inexplicably appeared, leading to the back of the mountain.
The mountain path leading to the summit leads directly to the Mahavira Hall, where you can see Shakyamuni Buddha.
The extra road leading to the back mountain leads to the Buddha Amitabha at its end.
Two paths, two choices.
Upon seeing the road leading to the back mountain, a glint of cunning flashed in the Six-Eared Macaque's eyes...
The two arrived at the foot of the mountain. Sun Wukong did not choose any path, but instead wandered around for a while, found a Buddhist disciple, grabbed him, and asked, "Is there a Buddha named Amitabha on this Mount Ling?"
The Buddhist disciple was initially frightened when he saw the monkey with a hairy face and a thunder god's mouth grabbing him with a fierce look, but he quickly recognized his identity.
"Ah! You are Nabi... the Great Sage Equaling Heaven!"
He almost blurted out "弼马温" (a lowly title for a stable boy), but luckily he was quick-witted and changed it to "齐天大圣" (the Great Sage Equal to Heaven).
Sun Wukong, not caring about such things at this moment, asked the same question again with a look of impatience.
The Buddhist disciple nodded repeatedly, “That’s right, there is indeed a Patriarch Amitabha Buddha in my Vulture Peak.”
"Where is he now?" Sun Wukong pressed.
The Buddhist disciple turned his head and immediately looked at the suddenly appearing path leading to the back mountain. A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, and he muttered to himself, "When did this mountain path appear?"
But he still pointed to the mountain path and said, "Amitabha Buddha, the Patriarch, lives in the back mountain."
Having received confirmation, Sun Wukong immediately released the Buddhist disciple, turned to the Six-Eared Macaque, and shouted, "You imposter! Do you dare come with me to see Amitabha Buddha?"
The Six-Eared Macaque was secretly delighted, but he didn't show his excitement on his face. Instead, he hopped and skipped into the mountain path, turning back to say, "I'm afraid you won't dare to follow!"
Sun Wukong wasn't going to tolerate that. He bared his teeth, grabbed his golden cudgel, and chased after him.
The two immediately started fighting again on the mountain path...
At the summit of Ling Mountain.
Inside the Mahavira Hall.
When Shakyamuni Buddha sensed that the two monkeys had entered the path leading to the back mountain, a look of regret appeared on his face. He sighed, knowing that Sun Wukong's journey there was likely to end badly.
However, due to the bet, he couldn't take action himself.
If Sun Wukong were to bring the Six-Eared Macaque to him, Amitabha Buddha would still not intervene.
If he were to step forward now and have someone summon Sun Wukong back, it would undoubtedly break the rules, and he would be defeated even if he wasn't already...
Life and death.
Two roads.
Two options.
...
Sun Wukong and the Six-Eared Macaque dragged each other along until they reached the back mountain. After turning through several mountain passes, a forest of seven treasures suddenly appeared in front of them.
The two men clashed with their sticks as they stormed into the forest.
Soon, they arrived at the center of the woods, where a lotus pond was located.
This pool is a supreme treasure created by Amitabha Buddha in imitation of the Eight Treasures Merit Pool.
Meanwhile, Amitabha Buddha was sitting on a lotus platform beside the lotus pond, preaching to a group of Arhats. When he saw the two monkeys fighting their way up to him, he raised his hand and pointed, and the golden cudgels in their hands fell to the ground almost simultaneously.
Sun Wukong was immediately startled and looked at Amitabha Buddha.
The first and only impression this venerable one gave him was compassion.
"Greetings, Venerable One!"
The two monkeys each picked up their golden cudgels and stopped fighting. Instead, they went to the lotus throne and sang a "fat nod" in unison.
"Sun Wukong, why aren't you protecting Tang Sanzang? What are you doing here?" Amitabha Buddha asked the Six-Eared Macaque with a smile.
The Six-Eared Macaque bowed again, "Reporting to the Venerable One, this demon took advantage of my absence from the old monk's presence, transformed into my likeness, not only injured the old monk but also stole our belongings..."
At this moment, Sun Wukong could no longer contain himself and said angrily, "You old man, are you blind? I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, and that one is fake!"
He felt a pang of regret; he really shouldn't have come here, only to encounter an old man with failing eyesight...
Upon hearing this, the Six-Eared Macaque sneered inwardly, glancing disdainfully at Sun Wukong. "Things have come to this," he thought, "does this monkey still think he can turn the world upside down?"
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