"Tianpeng, come and save me!"

Just as Guanyin fell, there was a sudden cry of agony from within the Leiyin Temple.

"It's the old man himself, crying out so miserably!" The monkey felt increasingly itchy all over, scratching himself and suddenly tearing off a layer of flesh!

"I'll go find the old man!"

In the midst of the chaos on Mount Ling, I felt that something was suspicious about Master and Senior Brother's illnesses.

I want the truth.

"Second Senior Brother, be careful." Sha, the Junior Brother, reminded me.

"Bajie, I'll go!"

The monkey's weak body emitted a deep voice, "One hundred thousand, eight thousand miles we've traveled, enduring fourteen seasons. For this final step, old Sun will lead you all through!"

"Then we'll go together!"

With our unconscious Master, we rushed towards the gates of Leiyin Temple.

As we passed by Guanyin's body, the monkey paused, touched the tight headband on his head, and let out a sigh.

Sha, the Junior Brother, followed closely behind.

Inside the main hall of Leiyin Temple, there were no sounds of Buddhist chants, the Buddha's light was dim, and black mist filled the air.

The remaining Buddhas, led by Manjusri Bodhisattva, as well as arhats and monks, gathered their light in a corner of the hall, desperately holding on.

The black mist, like a living creature, gnawed at the light.

The light continued to shrink, and from time to time, a bhiksu would scream in agony as they were dragged into the black mist.

And on the vacant Buddha throne where the Tathagata once sat, there was no one.

I brandished my Sika Deer Hook and coldly challenged the black mist, "Where are you demons from? Where have you hidden my Buddha Tathagata? Hand him over quickly, or I, the old pig, will devour all of you!"

For some reason, I thought of the days when I licked the Heavenly Court's floors.

The black mist churned and surged towards us.

"Tianpeng, hurry and go. Remember, in Leiyin Temple... don't trust anyone's words," I heard Manjusri Bodhisattva's faint words in my ears.

I was stunned and tried to push several infected bhiksus into the black mist.

Only a few screams were heard before all signs of life disappeared.

The monkey unleashed the Heavenly Fire and Samadhi True Fire to burn the black mist, but found that it had no effect.

What was even more unfortunate was that when we tried to retreat, we found that the gates of Leiyin Temple were also shrouded in the black mist.

We had no choice but to retreat to the rear hall.

As for Manjusri Bodhisattva and the others, they would have to rely on their fate.

The monkey's strength faded, so I took his place and swung the nine-toothed iron rake, creating a fierce wind!

Rolling the black mist away from us.

"Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, there's a pit!"

As we passed by the Buddha throne, Wujing noticed a deep hole.

The pit was thirty zhang in width, thirty zhang in length, and also thirty zhang deep.

I walked over and took a look, only to see layers of skin at the bottom.

Some were Master's, some were Senior Brother's.

There were also Wujing's and the Dragon Horse's.

Of course, there were mine as well.

We all felt a chill down our spines.

"We're all dead."

Sandalwood muttered, "No, we're still alive."

The monkey's expression also grew grave, saying, "If we are real, then who are they?"

The scariest guess that none of us voiced:

Perhaps, just like the dead Journey to the West team, we might all be fakes...

In an instant, I was overwhelmed by a terrifying and profound feeling.

"We need to leave here immediately."

Since we went up Mount Ling, this was the first time Master had shown the intention to retreat.

I knew that the waters of Mount Ling were more terrifying and profound than I had imagined.

Just as we were about to forcefully leave the main hall of Leiyin Temple.

Another unexpected event occurred, a fat figure blocked our path.

"Bajie, you've finally come!"

The figure, bare-chested and bare-back, turned out to be none other than Maitreya Bodhisattva.

I concentrated, on guard, unsure if he was a person or an insect.

"So it's Maitreya Bodhisattva, what has happened to Mount Ling?"

Maitreya Bodhisattva, who had always had a smile on his face, had lost it now. "Bajie, all the Buddhas are sick. This is Mount Ling's great calamity, and the source of it all is the Tathagata!"