Bajie dispelled the illusion and immediately faced off with Wukong.

Without a word, Wukong leaped on him.

Bajie stepped forward to block, then held Wukong tightly, shouting, "Quick, Master, take action."

I immediately understood and threw the talisman with my rake.

After a brief struggle, Wukong

became clear-headed.

"Master, what's going on?"

Bajie and I explained the situation to Wukong.

Wukong didn't say much and agreed straight away.

Then we used the same method to rescue Wujing and the White Dragon Horse in succession.

Finally, with Wukong's seventy-two transformations, we made it to the entrance of the main hall.

But as soon as we arrived, the surroundings suddenly lit up.

Buddha Tathagata was still seated on the lotus platform: "Tang Xuanzang, your group has raided Lingshan at night, disturbing the peace of all Buddhas. Do you know your crime?"

Wukong charged forward: "Stop with the crime talk, old Tathagata, we already know your tricks."

With that, Wukong was the first to pull out his golden cudgel and hit.

Bajie and Wujing didn't say much, directly wielding their weapons and attacking Tathagata.

The White Dragon Horse protected me from all sides.

Tathagata, being the Buddha, threw out two palms, immediately knocking Wujing next to me, spitting blood.

Bajie and Wukong were stronger and hadn't been knocked down yet.

Seeing things weren't right, Bajie used a never-before-seen ability, transforming into a giant pig, pressing down on Tathagata.

Tathagata held out both hands to catch Bajie's move.

"Quick! Big Brother, attack now."

Seeing this, Wukong merged himself with his golden cudgel, aiming at the golden body of the Buddha.

To everyone's surprise, he actually managed to create a crack in the golden body.

Buddha Tathagata immediately slapped Wukong away, his fate uncertain.

"Wukong!"

But now was not the time for sorrow.

I rushed forward, using Bajie's mantra to absorb the Buddha's power.

Buddha Tathagata, seeing his golden body shattered, tried desperately to repair it.

Bajie seized the chance and dealt the final blow.

Buddha let out an unwilling roar, his golden body shattered, and he disappeared in the great hall.

After the great battle, I was still in shock, looking at the severely injured Wukong and Wujing: "Is it over? Did we succeed?"

"Yes, Master, we did succeed! But I succeeded!"

Hearing the voice, I was startled; it was the voice I heard on the ferry before.

We looked at Bajie.

Bajie showed a sinister smile and then fell straight down.

The walls of the great hall collapsed at once, and the flesh and bones gathered together, forming a pile of bloody mud.

The mud condensed together, transforming into the shape of the Buddha.

"Golden Cicada, oh Golden Cicada, you were tricked in the end."

My

face was heavy: "Bajie?"

The fake Buddha laughed heartily: "He is already dead. Haha, he was possessed by me right from the start. Otherwise, how do you think Zhu Bajie knew so many secrets of Lingshan? How did he even know the mantra to absorb the Buddha's power?"

"Are you the demonic nature cast out by all Buddhas?" I roughly guessed. "Were you scheming from the moment we entered Lingshan?"

"You are not too foolish in this regard. The two corpses earlier, the six-eared macaque, all were my smokescreens to make you suspicious of others and fully trust Zhu Bajie."

"But you miscalculated something. From the moment you set foot on the path to obtain scriptures, I started scheming against you. Deceiving the Eastern Heavenly Court was tough, so I had to make you go through true hardships to obtain the scriptures. Only when you reached Lingshan did I truly intervene.

"As I said before, cultivating involves both Buddha and demonic natures. However, the Buddhas forcibly cut me out for the purity and speed of Buddha nature.

"They originally intended to scatter me, letting surrounding demons absorb me, permanently suppressing me. But they ultimately erred and I retaliated."

I asked puzzled: "If you had completely taken over Lingshan centuries ago, why stage this whole drama for me?"

The fake Buddha chuckled: "Golden Cicada, don't you get it? Buddha and demonic natures are one. They ebb and flow together. The stronger the Buddha nature, the stronger the demonic nature, and vice versa. I, as the demonic side of the Buddhas' nature, grow stronger when they do."

"The Buddhas initially transferred their demonic nature to demons to suppress me. I followed suit, finding a scripture seeker to share the Buddha nature with, having him bring it to the East. By severing East-West ties, I could ensure my safety in the West."

I finally understood his goal: "You had me absorb the Buddha's power, but can you deal with me?"

The fake Buddha sneered: "If you had all your power, maybe we'd be equally matched. But now you only have the Buddha's power, what can you do to me?"