Monk Tang was stunned for a moment; he hadn't expected Sha Chen to have such great expectations for him, actually wanting him to ascend to Buddha's position.
He felt anxious inside, and his expression grew impatient because he felt unworthy.
Sha Chen once again communicated telepathically, offering a few soothing words and further assuring him that with his and Guanyin's assistance, this matter wouldn't be problematic. Moreover, once Monk Tang became Buddha, their Buddhist Law would be defined by him.
Sha Chen then said, "I will additionally send people to help you with the Journey to the West. Besides the people I've arranged, you can also find Xianglong Arhat to take my place and assist you on the Journey to the West."
Upon hearing these words, Monk Tang knew Sha Chen had already made all the arrangements, and his heart no longer resisted.
And if he could truly spread his version of Buddhism, define the Buddhist Dao in his heart, would that not coincide with his initial aspiration?
Monk Tang pressed his palms together, "Amitabha, Wukong, stop fooling around and come back quickly. We must cross the Flowing Sand River and continue our Journey to the West."
Sun Wukong, ever the actor, continued to make a fuss, but after Monk Tang's repeated exhortations, he finally returned to his position. However, along the way, he cursed and swore as if he held a deep grudge against that individual at the Flowing Sand River.
The others naturally did not ask Sun Wukong what had happened and instead gathered around Guanyin Bodhisattva, seeking her guidance. Guanyin Bodhisattva then recited her prepared explanation once more, managing to gloss over the incident.
「Following that.」
Sun Wukong surprisingly assisted Monk Tang on the Journey to the West in earnest. This left many hunters somewhat confused, and thus also shocked and delighted. They had spent a long time trying to persuade them at Five Finger Mountain. Sun Wukong and Monk Tang had been adamant about not undertaking the Journey to the West, but after crossing the Flowing Sand River, the two were of one mind and earnestly pursued it.
After seeing off Sun Wukong and the others in his cave dwelling, Sha Chen employed his Great Divine Power, his Divine Sense spreading out to cover the sky and obscure the sun. Nearly the entire Three Realms, save for a few exceptionally powerful beings, could not evade his scrutiny. In an instant, Sha Chen knew the positions of his followers and immediately used the power of space to create portals for communication.
He informed them of some of his plans. He instructed some of them to play roles in the tribulations of the Journey to the West. However, since most of these followers had long ceased any dealings with Buddhism, joining the scripture-pilgrimage group outright would be too conspicuous. Therefore, he ordered them to act as obstacles along the pilgrimage, waylaying them as robbers and serving as trials for Sun Wukong and Monk Tang's party. In this way, it seemed reasonable and did not arouse the suspicion of those in Buddhism.
Sha Chen also transmitted orders to the Dragon Clan, using the Dragon God Sword to command their obedience. He instructed the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea to urgently delve into the abyss and summon Ao Lie and his sister to await further instructions. He needed Ao Lie to participate as Monk Tang's mount, jointly assisting him on the Journey to the West.
As for Ao Mengmeng and Ao Moang, these siblings were prodigious talents within Buddhism and had received some guidance in Dao Techniques from Sha Chen. Especially Ao Mengmeng, whose strength had already surpassed the Dragon Clan's number one talent, Ao Moang. Now, both their strengths had reached the Intermediate Stage of Semi-saint or even higher realms, truly formidable. Sha Chen required them to intercept the scripture-pilgrimage group halfway, with the excuse being to lead Ao Lie back to the right path, to make the act convincing.
He also ordered Marshal Tianpeng to return. Marshal Tianpeng would need to figure out how, but the ideal scenario was for him to be subdued and defeated by a powerful Buddhist figure, then feign surrender to join the Journey to the West.
As for other demons like the White Bone Demon, Jade Rabbit, Lady Di Yong, and the Black Bear Demon, they all appeared on the path of the Journey to the West's great tribulations, serving as part of the eighty-one trials.
Having orchestrated the entire Journey to the West's tribulations, Sha Chen commanded these individuals to promptly send back the resources they possessed and then take their designated positions.
In the following three years, Sha Chen's followers sent back a tremendous amount of resources, though the Dragon Clan sent the most. Since aligning themselves with Sha Chen, the entire Dragon Clan started seeking treasures everywhere, leveraging their mighty influence and vast numbers to continuously search for treasures. The numerous precious materials they gathered with the entire clan's efforts constituted an immeasurable haul. A portion was left for the cultivation needs of the clan's talents, while most were presented to Sha Chen as tribute.
Originally, the Dragon Clan had planned to keep all of their cultivation resources, only intending to offer a small part as a tribute to Sha Chen. But Sha Chen presented the Dragon God Sword, which was powerful enough to command the entire Dragon Clan, making them willingly submit and bow their heads in fealty. Consequently, they willingly handed over all of their cultivation resources and complied with Sha Chen's arrangements, awaiting his orders.
Sha Chen naturally accepted everything offered, embodying a "the more, the merrier" attitude. He integrated all the delivered cultivation resources, categorizing and processing them. He could easily refine those needed for cultivation into Elixirs. After setting aside the resources necessary for his own cultivation, a small portion of the remainder consisted of auxiliary Elixirs and resources for healing and overcoming obstacles. To Sha Chen, these things were like chicken ribs—tasteless to eat, but too wasteful to throw away. Sha Chen distributed these items among the Dragon Clan and his followers, instructing them to disperse these items and exchange them for cultivation resources.
Buddhism seemingly hadn't anticipated that the Journey to the West's tribulations would progress so smoothly. Despite Sha Chen's people causing disruptions, these interferences perfectly fulfilled the requirements for the eighty-one trials. Moreover, some individuals from Sha Chen's faction, such as Marshal Tianpeng and Ao Lie of the Dragon Clan, even came to pledge allegiance to Buddhism. With their addition, the strength of the scripture-pilgrimage team soared, and they subdued demons and ghosts with ease on their journey.
Though the Buddhist adherents had their suspicions about Marshal Tianpeng and Ao Lie's intentions, both had ample reasons that convinced the adherents that their intentions to join Buddhism were sincere. Marshal Tianpeng was suppressed by Buddhism and surrendered out of utter helplessness. Given Tianpeng Field Marshal's character, his surrender was quite possible, especially since Buddhism was overwhelmingly powerful, with three Saints and having suppressed Tianpeng himself. It wasn't just Marshal Tianpeng; anyone else in his position would have known how to choose.
As for Ao Lie, he claimed to be seeking to serve under a Saint. This was understandable, as it is natural to want to follow the strong. Tathagata Buddha had already entered the Saint Realm, and with Buddhism having three Saints, anyone would know what choice to make. For countless years, the Dragon Clan had always had a reputation for being opportunistic, so this defection also fell within what Buddhism would consider reasonable.
Along the way, many of Sha Chen's followers ambushed and created obstacles, making the scripture-pilgrimage team's journey arduous. They relentlessly pursued Tianpeng and Ao Lie, attempting to eliminate them. This only further cemented the belief of those within Buddhism.
The Journey to the West's tribulations proceeded in an orderly manner, while the attention of the entire Three Realms was focused on Tathagata Buddha, for he had stepped into the Saint Realm. Furthermore, Tathagata Buddha had announced he would preach the Buddhist Law at Lingjiu Mountain, timed for the moment the scripture-pilgrimage team arrived there. This was essentially Tathagata offering to preach to the scripture-pilgrimage team while simultaneously proclaiming his might as a Saint. Thus, what was initially a tribulation confined to Buddhism—the Journey to the West—also attracted widespread attention.
And as people's attention was diverted, Sha Chen, under these circumstances, was able to obtain a significant amount of cultivation resources, continuously cultivating and enhancing his strength.
「Finally.」
「After ten years.」
Sha Chen's physical body ascended another level, ultimately breaking through unparalleled shackles to elevate the Law of Strength to the Great Perfection Realm. With that, all of his Law powers had reached the Great Perfection Realm. He then used the Celestial Shen Sha Array to integrate all of his Law powers, eventually pushing his physical body to an unprecedented realm.
His Mana cultivation had reached its pinnacle, known as the Saint Tiandao realm. Sha Chen, however, termed the ultimate realm of the physical body as Divine Dao. Now, his physical body had attained this Divine Dao Realm.
