Amitabha Buddha listened to Sun Wukong's angry words and smiled without saying a word.
The Six-Eared Macaque then asked with a smile, "May I ask, Venerable One, how is this fellow so powerful? Even Guanyin Bodhisattva and the Heavenly Court and the Underworld cannot distinguish between the real and the fake."
"Although they are incredibly powerful, they can only recognize the numbers in the celestial sphere, and they cannot recognize anything beyond that."
What is within the Zhou Tian (a concept in Chinese astrology)? And what is outside the Zhou Tian?
Amitabha Buddha laughed and said, "Within the universe there are five immortals, namely heaven, earth, gods, humans, and ghosts; there are five insects, namely snails, scales, hair, and none other than insects. This fellow is neither heaven nor earth, neither god nor human nor ghost, nor snail, neither scales nor hair, neither feathers nor insects."
Then there were four monkeys who roamed the world, not belonging to any of the ten categories of animals.
The Six-Eared Macaque then asked, "May I ask which four monkeys are you?"
Amitabha Buddha said, "The first is the Spiritual Stone Monkey, who understands transformation, knows the timing of the day, knows the advantages of the land, and can move stars and change constellations."
The second is the Red-Bottomed Macaque, which understands Yin and Yang, knows human affairs, is good at entering and exiting, and can avoid death and prolong life.
Third is the Long-Armed Ape, which can grasp the sun and moon, shrink mountains, discern good and bad fortune, and manipulate the universe.
Fourth is the Six-Eared Macaque, who is good at listening, discerning reason, knowing the past and the future, and understanding all things.
These four monkeys are neither classified into the ten categories nor recognized by the two realms.
I believe the fake Wukong is actually the Six-Eared Macaque.
If this monkey stands in one place, it can know what is happening a thousand miles away. It can also understand what ordinary people are saying. Therefore, it is good at listening, can discern reason, know the past and the future, and understands all things.
The one who resembles the true Sun Wukong and shares the same pronunciation is the Six-Eared Macaque.
Upon hearing this, the Six-Eared Macaque feigned sudden realization, pointed at Sun Wukong, and shouted, "So you are the Six-Eared Macaque! If it weren't for the Venerable One's keen eyesight, the world would have been almost deceived by you!"
When Sun Wukong heard the Six-Eared Macaque shouting "Stop thief!", he was furious. He immediately took out his golden cudgel, and with a surge of rage, leaped up and raised the cudgel to strike Amitabha Buddha on the head.
"You old Buddha, you actually defended that demon and ruined your Grandpa Sun's plans! You truly deserve a beating!"
The golden cudgel fell from the sky and instantly struck Amitabha Buddha's head.
Amitabha Buddha sat serenely on his lotus throne, unmoved by the eight winds. He slightly raised his eyelids, glanced at the trajectory of the golden cudgel as it fell, raised a finger, and accurately touched the golden cudgel.
The falling golden cudgel was instantly stopped by this finger, and it couldn't fall down no matter what.
Sun Wukong's expression changed drastically, and he immediately realized just how powerful the old Buddha was.
As the saying goes, a wise man doesn't suffer a loss he can avoid.
He was about to pull back his golden cudgel and escape.
Suddenly, there was a cracking sound.
The golden cudgel in his hand suddenly broke in half.
Sun Wukong felt a sudden lightness in his hand, and his heart sank rapidly.
He dropped the broken half of the golden cudgel in his hand and turned to run outside.
"You monster! How dare you be disrespectful to the sect leader."
The Arhats who were listening to the sermon all stood up and surrounded Sun Wukong.
Suddenly, in a flash, Sun Wukong vanished before their eyes.
They thought he had already escaped and were about to disperse.
Amitabha Buddha laughed and said, "You little devil, you still want to escape?"
He took out a bowl from his sleeve and casually tossed it out. The bowl circled in mid-air before landing on the ground.
The Arhats looked up and saw a bee under the alms bowl; it was naturally Sun Wukong in disguise.
"You little devil, you almost escaped!"
The Six-Eared Macaque had now replaced Sun Wukong, and pointed at the bees under the alms bowl, laughing.
Sun Wukong was currently trapped under the alms bowl, unable to return to his original form, and unable to speak.
The Six-Eared Macaque gestured to one of the Arhats to take down the alms bowl, and the man immediately reached out and lifted the bowl.
The Six-Eared Macaque suddenly took out his golden cudgel, stepped forward, and swung it down hard, killing the creature instantly. Thus, the species became extinct.
To deceive others, the fake Sun Wukong, the Six-Eared Macaque, even used a magic trick on the corpse to transform it into the appearance of the Six-Eared Macaque.
Upon seeing this, all the Arhats assumed that the demon had revealed its true form after death, and they all crowded around to check. Sure enough, they saw three pairs of ears on its head.
"Wow! It really is the Six-Eared Macaque."
They all confirmed the identity of the Six-Eared Macaque.
The Six-Eared Macaque laughed inwardly, knowing that his blow had taken more than just Sun Wukong's life...
However, in order to destroy the evidence, he still stepped forward and picked up the body.
"Although he is a monster, he is still a rare species from outside the Zhou Tian realm. I will bury him when I have time, so that he can rest in peace."
"Great Sage, have mercy!"
When one of the Arhats saw the Six-Eared Macaque collect the corpse, he couldn't help but put his palms together in praise.
The Six-Eared Macaque—no, in the future we should call him Sun Wukong.
He smiled smugly and immediately bowed to Amitabha Buddha, saying, "Thank you, Venerable One, for your keen insight and for clearing my name."
Amitabha Buddha's compassionate expression deepened. "It would have been fine if you had let him reveal his true form, but why did you kill him! Good! Good!"
Sun Wukong laughed and said, "Your Excellency should not pity him. This demon committed atrocities in broad daylight, injured my master Tang Sanzang, and stole our luggage. He should be executed according to the law wherever he is."
“You monkey always have a point. In that case, you should go back and protect Tang Sanzang as he continues his journey to the West,” Amitabha Buddha instructed.
Sun Wukong said, "That Tang Dynasty monk originally drove me away, but then this demon transformed into my appearance and injured him. I'm afraid he won't take me back. I think you should use a method to remove the golden headband from my head and give me my freedom."
Amitabha Buddha scolded, "You monkey, stop your noise! Go find Guanyin Bodhisattva, she will mediate for you, don't worry about Tang Sanzang not accepting you."
Sun Wukong had nothing more to say. He immediately kowtowed, then rode his somersault cloud away from Mount Ling...
After Sun Wukong rode away on a cloud, Buddha, sitting in the Leiyin Temple on Mount Ling, sighed softly, knowing that he had lost this bet.
Not only did he distance himself from the titles of the three religious leaders, but he also ordered all Buddhist disciples in the sect to recite Amitabha Buddha's name.
As the saying goes, you have to accept the consequences of your bet.
He didn't need Amitabha Buddha to urge him; he directly transmitted the Dharma decree to the Buddhist disciples.
Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, there is a realm called Lingtai Fangcun Mountain.
This was created by the Daoist Zhunti himself in the past, who created chaos and refined earth, fire, water, and wind.
He sat upright in the cave, sensing the passing of Sun Wukong, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Sun Wukong was, after all, his disciple by choice. Now that he had been killed and his body replaced with a peach, there was nothing else he could do.
After all, he had tacitly agreed to the bet.
In addition, although the three leaders, Amitabha Buddha, were not Hunyuan, they still possessed immeasurable supernatural powers and occupied a considerable amount of fortune in Buddhism.
The key point is that he is one of the incarnations of that Mysterious Sage, so he cannot be easily harmed.
Fortunately, the Six-Eared Macaque was merely replacing Sun Wukong and did not hinder the overall progress of the Journey to the West. As long as the pilgrimage could continue, he could not intervene, lest he cause unnecessary complications...
At this time, Sun Wukong had already met Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Even the Bodhisattva didn't know if this Sun Wukong was real or not, but since he was the only one to emerge from Mount Ling, Guanyin Bodhisattva decided to treat him as the real one...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com