At Lingshan, the Buddha sat serenely on a lotus, his gaze distant as he looked up at the sky.

He had maintained this posture for half a day, without preaching, leaving many curious eyes turning to the heavens.

"There's nothing in the sky."

The young monk withdrew his gaze, feeling his neck ache: "Master, is the Buddha daydreaming?"

"Don't speak nonsense."

The Eastern Buddha scolded with a smile, "How could the Buddha be daydreaming?"

"Master, you're also a Buddha, and you often…" he couldn't finish his words before the Eastern Buddha blocked his mouth with a wooden fish.

Among thousands of Buddhas, the Tathāgata retracted his gaze.

"The sky has darkened."

His words held deep meaning.

Despite the subtle phenomenon in the sky, discernible to only a few, the Buddha took it very seriously.

In the Great Heroic Treasure Hall, none knew that his heart was in tumult.

Yet, from not preaching for half a day, others could sense a little something.

"Buddha,"

Guanyin asked, "What are you looking at?"

"The decrees of heaven and earth."

The Buddha replied.

He had believed that there were still more than a hundred years before this decree would manifest, but now it seemed he had been too optimistic.

"What decree?"

Guanyin continued to ask.

"It cannot be spoken."

The Buddha shook his head.

Guanyin frowned slightly, "Why can't it be spoken?"

"Speaking this decree, a heart demon will possess you."

The Buddha replied.

The terror of that decree exceeded normal imagination, even for him, making it difficult to remain clear-minded, and impossible for others.

"It is better for you all to remain unaware than to know."

The Buddha extended his hand and watched a black lotus fall from his fingertips.

The first time he discovered the black lotus was after the war in Wanling Country.

That defeat left him only able to watch the confrontation between the Jade Emperor and Ao Luan.

Yet, as he was forgotten, he discovered something new—those black lotuses.

After decades of investigation, the Buddha learned it was a decree, unavoidable.

He hastily established the Pure Land, but now it seemed it was still too late.

"This decree is a tribulation."

The Buddha watched the black lotus dissolve in the Buddha Light and said, "The Three Realms are about to face a great catastrophe with only a sliver of hope."

He looked at all the disciples in the Great Heroic Treasure Hall.

"To seek this hope, you all must not ask much, only listen and act as instructed."

The Buddha understood he would have to break that precept of greed.

The Buddhist path emphasized the purity of the six senses, but in the face of this decree, he too could not evade it.

"All subsequent cause and effect, I alone will bear."

After the Buddha spoke, the Great Heroic Treasure Hall was in an uproar.

In the Demon Kingdom, a magnificent palace was embedded in the earth, with red walls and yellow tiles, resplendent in gold and jade.

Within the imperial hall, crystal bead curtains cascaded down, and a female demon played the zither behind the curtain, the music lingering, pleasant to the ear.

"Your Majesty,"

Bai Lin bowed to the Six-Eared Macaque sitting above after returning to the palace.

"I already know, you may go."

The Six-Eared Macaque stood up, making him withdraw.

Bai Lin hesitated but still turned to leave.

"You all leave as well."

The Six-Eared Macaque waved his hand, and the surrounding guards, as well as the demon behind the bead curtain, bowed and retreated.

"Why are you standing there?"

The Six-Eared Macaque turned his gaze to the two large pillars to his left and right.

The patterns on the pillars swirled around twice, transforming into two black dragons that flew out.

In the palace, only the monk remained.

"The Buddha has come in this form."

The Six-Eared Macaque looked at the monk and asked, "For what matter?"

His insight was not as sharp as Sun Wukong's, yet he could perceive all things in the world.

"Amitabha."

The monk chanted, and then light radiated outward, forming a holy halo behind his head.

The Tathāgata spoke, asking, "Six-Eared Macaque, have you ever seen a black lotus?"

The Six-Eared Macaque guardedly recalled the words he had stolen from Sun Wukong.

"Did you come for the Tribulation of the Age?"

"It is not the Tribulation of the Age."

The Buddha shook his head, then nodded, "I came to seek you, indeed, to face the great tribulation of the Three Realms."

"Isn't that a great tribulation?"

The Six-Eared Macaque mused, then chuckled to himself.

"You're looking for me to resist the great tribulation together?"

The Six-Eared Macaque couldn't help but laugh heartily, "Buddha, did you find the wrong person? You don't seek the Jade Emperor, you don't seek the Great Saint, why seek me instead?"

The Buddha watched him laugh.

"If I told you that the Great Saint is the great tribulation, what then?"

He suddenly asked.

The Six-Eared Macaque's laughter abruptly stopped: "What did you say?"

He stared at the Buddha in disbelief, "The Great Saint is the great tribulation?"

"This tribulation occurs more than once…"

The Buddha replied, "The Great Saint and the great tribulation are one, both could destroy the Three Realms as a demon or save them as a Buddha. To become a demon or a Buddha lies in a single thought."

The Six-Eared Macaque snorted coldly, "I don't have time to play riddles with you, Buddha. What are you really trying to say?"

"The only chance of survival for the great tribulation is to destroy the Great Saint's Dao heart."

The Buddha said.

"Destroy the Dao heart?"

The Six-Eared Macaque became somewhat interested, "Go on, what exactly does that mean?"

Then the Buddha told a story that no one would laugh at.

But after hearing it, the Six-Eared Macaque laughed out loud again.

"You're talking nonsense!!"

Mid-laughter, he suddenly seemed to go mad, pulling out his long stick to strike at the Buddha.

The Buddha did not dodge, receiving the blow, and shattered into specks of light.

"Ridiculous, ridiculous—"

The Six-Eared Macaque laughed while smashing the palace.

A perfectly intact palace was easily destroyed by him.

After wrecking the palace, the Six-Eared Macaque sat on the ruins alone, laughing for a long time before gradually calming down.

He didn't wait for other demons to inquire, got up, and flew out of the Demon Kingdom, arriving at Kunlun Mountain.

At Kunlun Mountain, Sun Wukong had already returned to the Scripture Pavilion.

"Haven't you read enough books?"

A voice suddenly asked.

Sun Wukong turned around to see a golden, shimmering monkey demon standing by the bookshelf.

This monkey demon had a similar appearance to him, yet different, exuding a menacing aura.

"Not enough."

Sun Wukong replied, "There are still many things I don't know."

He wished to find that missing piece, and if he did, he could fully harness the Wanling Chart and elevate it to the Heavenly Dao.

"Some things are better left unknown."

The Six-Eared Macaque jumped onto the bookshelf, looking down at Sun Wukong from above, "You are a pitiable soul."

Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Everything."

The Six-Eared Macaque said, seemingly mocking, "I dislike you greatly."

He despised Sun Wukong's wisdom, his tolerance, and how he overshadowed all other demons.

But now…

"You are just like me."

The Six-Eared Macaque stated, "No matter what you do, you will ultimately fail."

Sun Wukong looked at him, "I won't."

"Perhaps the past you on Huaguo Mountain wouldn't have, but now…"

The Six-Eared Macaque sneered, "You will fail."

If what the Buddha said was true, then regardless of the outcome of the great tribulation, Sun Wukong would be a failure.

His wisdom, tolerance, and all his glory would transform into spiritual obstacles entangling him.

Unless… he returned to his original self.

Returned to the initial self that the Six-Eared Macaque first heard.

"You were once the one and only, all-powerful Sun Wukong in this world."

Only that Sun Wukong could truly change the world.

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