Both sides invited allies to aid in the fight. What began as a personal grudge turned into a conflict between two sects.

From the heavens above to the netherworld below.

Heaven, gods, humans, immortals, ghosts, demons.

The East against the West, monks versus Taoists.

Orders came from the ancestral masters of both factions: strike at all costs.

Smoke and chaos filled the air, but Song Lin, who had been confined for a thousand years, enjoyed the rare peace.

The battle between the Buddhist and Taoist factions raged on for three years, leaving countless dead and wounded on both sides.

The clashes between the Four Heavenly Spirits and the Four Sea Dragon Kings caused earthquakes across the Three Realms and unleashed devastating floods.

Numerous cultivators and mortals suffered and perished.

No one truly knew why this war began.

The motive could have been a stolen mount, or perhaps it arose from years of unresolved tensions.

After three years, the Jade Emperor and Tathagata held talks, each side making concessions and agreeing to let bygones be bygones.

But Huaguang was captured by Zhenwu and was about to be sent to the Heavenly Court for trial, where his soul would be obliterated. At the last moment, Huaguang performed Corpse Dissolution and reincarnated, his divine soul vanishing without a trace.

Some say it was Zhenwu's negligence, while others suspect someone secretly aided Huaguang. The matter was left unresolved and faded into obscurity.

During the conflict, Zhenwu clashed multiple times with Jin Naluo Bodhisattva, the prodigy of the Buddhist Sect. Their matches were evenly split, and both earned the title of peerless prodigies of the era.

Pure Land.

At this moment, Jin Naluo Bodhisattva had become a target of contention.

"Hmph, certain people contribute nothing but escape unscathed. Are you perhaps a spy sent by the Heavenly Court?"

Medicine Tathagata, one of the Three Buddha, spoke.

"Why is it that every time the Heavenly Court attacks, you're always the last to react? If not protecting your own faction, what else can it be?" Maitreya pressed further.

If anyone in the Buddhist Sect besides Tathagata held the most wariness toward Song Lin, Randeng Buddha's successor, it would undoubtedly be Medicine Buddha and Maitreya Buddha.

From a position of rank, Randeng Buddha, as the leader of the Three Buddha of the Past, held a higher status than Medicine Buddha. From a succession standpoint, the past precedes the future in priority.

"The innocent need no explanation," Song Lin simply replied.

As soon as these words fell, more and more monks pointed their fingers at him.

"Claiming to be the foremost in the Buddhist Sect, yet every day you shirk your responsibilities. How are you fit to inherit Randeng Buddha's legacy?"

"Exactly, exactly! Better to hand over the Shariputra relics to someone more capable."

Many aimed their criticisms at Randeng Buddha's lineage—this was their true underlying agenda.

It was unclear who had orchestrated the situation, but Song Lin was suddenly painted as a villain guilty of unspeakable crimes.

He didn't rush to defend himself, instead observing coldly from the sidelines.

The Eight Great Bodhisattvas remained silent, while Tathagata, Medicine Buddha, and Maitreya Buddha maintained calm expressions, lost in thought.

Among the other Buddhas, some glared angrily, some displayed sinister smiles, and some wore mocking looks.

Even Tang Seng, who had attained Buddhahood, refrained from adding fuel to the fire. Perhaps he felt unworthy of his own status and agreed with the criticism around him.

Sha Monk went along with the crowd, echoing the denouncements.

Zhu Bajie drowsily nodded off.

Sun Wukong, however, gazed at the gathering with a trace of scorn, as if seeing through their hypocrisy.

Yet, he no longer possessed the fearless spirit of the past. It was as if his backbone had been removed, his knees forced to bend.

He quickly returned to his state of detached indifference.

Song Lin caught this fleeting change in emotion.

When the clamor finally subsided, Song Lin stood up, glanced around, and said, "Randeng Buddha personally entrusted the Shariputra relics to me. If anyone doubts it, feel free to step forward—I'll send you to confirm it with Randeng Buddha himself. You? Or perhaps you?"

Pointing to the loudest voices in the crowd, Song Lin's gaze swept across them.

Those he pointed at instantly fell silent, their voices extinguished like a snuffed-out flame.

The usually mild Guanyin Bodhisattva couldn't help but speak up. "As disciples of Buddha, we should strive for harmony, not resort to violence. Be careful not to fall into the Demon Path."

"Oh? Would the Bodhisattva care to test me?"

Boom!

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a great sun manifested behind Song Lin.

The brilliance of the sun outshone Tathagata's Dharma Body.

The heavens were illuminated, and light radiated in all directions.

For a moment, the crowd believed Randeng Buddha himself had descended.

Guanyin, despite being at the True Immortal level, could not tolerate such humiliation. The willow branch in her hand lashed across the distance.

Song Lin stood his ground, unleashing the Bright Treasure Wheel to emit a dazzling white light.

Bang!

The willow branch was sent flying back, leaves scattering across the ground.

The Bright Treasure Wheel, a True Immortal Immortal Artifact, coupled with Song Lin's absorption of light-based relics from Randeng Buddha and other Buddhas, elevated his combat prowess to the True Immortal level.

His actions triggered a massive uproar.

Numerous monks summoned their Magic Artifacts to strike at Song Lin.

But their cultivation was clearly inferior to Guanyin's. With a single rotation of the Bright Treasure Wheel, their spells were nullified, their Magic Artifacts shattered, and the seriously injured spat blood on the spot.

One man fought against a host of Buddhas.

A sudden flash of brilliance ignited within Sun Wukong's otherwise tranquil gaze.

"Enough!" Tathagata's furious roar echoed.

His boundless energy suppressed the field, snuffing out all spells and rendering them inert.

Looking at Song Lin, Tathagata commanded, "Under no circumstances should you strike your fellow disciples. Return to meditate in seclusion for five hundred years. The Shariputra relics will be handed to Anan."

Song Lin let out a disdainful laugh and tossed the relics onto the ground as if discarding a worthless trinket. Anan eagerly picked them up and secured them.

At that moment, Song Lin understood. Today's events had likely been orchestrated by Tathagata himself, the true objective being possession of the relics.

What a shame, Song Lin thought, Tathagata did not realize that the majority of the Shariputra relics' mana had already been absorbed by him, and that he had planted a seed of Wutian demon intent within them.

To recklessly absorb these relics now would undoubtedly lead to one's destruction.

Thereafter, Song Lin returned to Jin Naluo Dao Chang for five hundred years of meditation.

Both of his identities were rendered useless for the time being.

In the secluded chamber, seven relics floated around Song Lin. He gazed upward with a wicked smile and said, "Perfect. The remaining relics are either heavily guarded or hidden within secret mountain sanctuaries. Should they be stolen, that's none of my concern."

As for an escape, the Time-Space Dao would suffice.

For now, Jin Naluo Bodhisattva's avatar would have to keep a low profile. With seclusion freshly imposed, many Buddhas were likely keeping a close watch on him.

Using Lingjiu Mountain's Xuandu would be more prudent.

Thus, Song Lin began absorbing the relics' energy while waiting for the right moment to act.

Eight years later.

In the mortal world, the forbidden grounds of Dragon Tiger Mountain showed signs of intrusion. Song Lin acquired the Pure Land Buddha's Shariputra relic.

At Tathagata's place of enlightenment, Jeta's Grove, the Bodhi Tree was felled. Numerous Dharma Guardian Protectors were killed or injured, yet the culprit vanished without a trace.

One relic of Amitabha Buddha was obtained.

At the Medicine Buddha Pure Land Dao Chang, the White Elephant Garden was robbed by several monks who had fallen into the Demon Path. The stolen treasures and their whereabouts remained unknown, though investigations later uncovered over three thousand demonic infiltrators—a scandal that shook the Pure Land. The Faceless Sky Demon had managed to penetrate even there.

One Ancient Glazed Buddha relic was acquired.

In his third reincarnation, Huaguang reemerged in Jianghu, apprenticed to the Fire Flame Light King Buddha. Born of the Ghost Mother, Huaguang embarked on a mission to save her, eliminating demons along the way and recruiting allies such as the Wind and Fire Judge duo, Fire Floating General, Wulong King, and Falling Stone Immortal.

He infiltrated the Heavenly Court to steal immortal peaches and caused chaos in the Netherworld, even reaching the gates of the Fengdu Emperor Palace.

From the Netherworld to the Heavenly Court's Immortal Peach Orchard, Song Lin managed to acquire another two relics amidst the turmoil.

Huaguang was gravely injured by Emperor Fengdu, but Fire Flame Light King Buddha came to his aid, only to be intercepted by Emperor Zhenwu, who captured Huaguang and absorbed his forces.

This incident nearly reignited hostilities between the Buddhist Sect and the Taoist School.

Yet both factions' attentions seemed elsewhere.

Over the past century, numerous locations had been raided, all linked to the demons. Strangely, no one could determine what exactly had been stolen, only that odd places had been disturbed and some inexplicable losses occurred.

(The plot from South Travel Records is briefly skipped here. Honestly, this story feels like a blatant rip-off of Journey to the West, a derivative imitation common in ancient literature.)

By this point, Song Lin possessed twelve relics.

Two others remained: one in Lord Lao Zi's Pill Room, the other belonging to Amitabha Buddha. There was also Sun Wukong's Boneless Relic.

Song Lin no longer planned to take risks. The energy of these acquired treasures alone would take a thousand years to fully refine.

He decided to increase his cultivation first before considering the remaining treasures.

The final chapter of this world was drawing near. The last showdown seemed imminent.

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