"Heading to the Western Heaven to obtain scriptures is crucial to the foundation of our Buddhist sect. If I make a move, even your Heavenly Court cannot stop me!"

In the Thunder Monastery, a golden light shone, and the elusive Buddha finally appeared.

With a sweep of his hands, he enveloped me and the dragon-horse in a golden light, dispersing the celestial soldiers.

Glancing at the Monkey King's body and the remains of Sand Monk, he sighed, "Wukong, you still have compassion and loyalty, but the method is too brutal!"

"Buddha, so you finally decided to show up? Where the hell did you disappear to just now?" I shouted.

"Sanzang, I believed that by heading to the Western Heaven to obtain scriptures, we could use the merit to seize the heavenly path. But I was wrong! The infection from the Western Heaven, the assault on Mount Ling by the Heavenly Court, the great calamity of my Buddhist sect is imminent. Now, I only ask for one thing from you."

"Ask from me? Now you want to ask from me? All of you want to use obtaining scriptures to fulfill your own desires, but have never considered us, your disciples!" I yelled.

Buddha bitterly smiled, "So, you all have awakened too."

"Not everyone is accustomed to being treated as slaves and dogs!"

"Sanzang, help me with Mount Ling this once!"

It was the first time I had seen Buddha speak so humbly.

Is this still the Buddha I knew?

"Get lost, this old pig doesn't have the habit of being a slave to others." I said as I directly attacked Buddha with my rake.

With that strike, Buddha's Buddha light was instantly shattered.

I gasped in shock.

Buddha's true appearance was even more despicable than Guanyin's.

He was decaying all over, with numerous black-blooded pores covering his body.

From those pores, numerous tentacles danced in the air.

Other than the voice, I could no longer connect the monster in front of me with the once revered Western Buddha.

Buddha was ultimately unable to escape the fate of being infected.

Seeing Buddha's appearance, Li Jing roared, "Buddha, today will be the day of your and Mount Ling's demise. Stop struggling and just accept your death!"

For years, the Buddhist sect has been independent from the Heavenly Court, enjoying special privileges.

It can be said that the Buddhist sect has always been a thorn in the side of the Heavenly Court.

Now, with the great calamity of the Buddhist sect, how could the Heavenly Court let go of such a good opportunity?

A massacre targeting Mount Ling began.

"Listen to me, Sanzang, behind the great calamity of Mount Ling is the work of Maitreya. He secretly opened the gap left during Nüwa's mending of the heavens, intending to use the heavenly path to destroy me. Little did he know, he released the infection source."

"What is this infection source exactly?" I had no interest in the internal gossip of Mount Ling and went straight to the most crucial question.

Buddha shook his head in pain, "I don't know. All I know is that in the sky's hole, there are countless black mist Dao insects. Infected by the black mist, one becomes a painless and senseless undead monster. The Dao insects grow by infesting living beings, ultimately devouring them and controlling the husk, extremely powerful."

As Buddha spoke, he coughed up black blood.

As the black blood fell, it transformed into black mist.

With the appearance of the black mist, Buddha's aura became weak.

"Are you saying that all of this, is Maitreya's doing?"

"Yes!"

Buddha could no longer hold on and withdrew the golden light.

"Sanzang, I deduced from fate that the only variable in this calamity is you."

After revealing this crucial sentence, Buddha could no longer hold on.

He retreated back into the Thunder Monastery.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Heavenly Court's army, which had been besieging Mount Ling due to pollution, went into chaos.

The celestial soldiers and generals, as if possessed, began to kill each other.

The contamination spread like a plague, infecting even the Heavenly Court's army.

In the sky, Maitreya appeared, emitting a chilling laugh.

"Excellent, Mount Ling is in chaos, the heavenly army is infected. Now, it's time for me to annihilate the Heavenly Court, replace the current Buddha, and become the master of the three realms!"

Maitreya finally revealed his true colors.

Unbeknownst to many, in order to replace Buddha and even become the master of the three realms, he had long been insane and ruthless.

He did not hesitate to dig up the colorful divine stones used by Nüwa to mend the heavens, attracting the contamination of the Dao insects.

Turning the entire three realms' beings into wild graveyards.

"Maitreya, damn you."