Spirit Platform Square Inch Mountain - as the Beggar gazed upon this familiar place from his memories, his eyes revealed deep emotion. After enduring countless hardships, he had finally returned to the place where he first learned his craft.
"Master, your disciple has returned."
The Beggar struggled forward, stumbling with each step towards the Crescent Moon Three Star Cave. It was winter, and the weather was bitterly cold. The Beggar's bare feet were bright red from treading in the snow, but he seemed completely oblivious to the cold. Perhaps this level of chill was nothing to him.
Crescent Moon Three Star Cave - as he looked at the cave dwelling before him, the Beggar's eyes reddened, and he knelt at the entrance.
Master Subhuti was in deep meditation. He had attained profound enlightenment and was one of the most powerful beings in the three realms. However, the more powerful one becomes, the harder it is to advance further. Often, a single period of secluded cultivation could last thousands or tens of thousands of years.
Subhuti opened his eyes and used divination. A strange expression crossed his face.
"How odd. Sun Wukong isn't in seclusion on Mount Emei. Why has he come to the Three Star Cave?"
Subhuti was puzzled. In the next moment, he vanished from his spot, leaving only a meditation cushion behind.
"Wukong? No, this is an avatar?"
Subhuti appeared before the Beggar. Seeing the Beggar's condition, Subhuti's expression changed.
"Master, your disciple..."
Upon seeing Subhuti, the Beggar's eyes reddened, and his entire body began to flicker, becoming somewhat ethereal.
"Come inside and speak."
Subhuti waved his sleeve, bringing the Beggar into the cave dwelling.
Inside, Subhuti examined the Beggar's body, his expression very serious.
"Wukong, who forced you to this point, actually splitting your true spirit in half?"
Subhuti asked in confusion. The Beggar before him was actually Sun Wukong, the Victorious Fighting Buddha who should have already attained Buddhahood and been in seclusion on Mount Emei.
Sun Wukong weakly replied, "Master, your disciple was schemed against by the Tathagata."
Then, Sun Wukong began to explain what had happened.
The story began five hundred years ago. Sun Wukong had been tasked with protecting Tang Sanzang on his journey to the Western Heaven to retrieve the scriptures. Later, because of the White Bone Demon incident, it caused a rift between master and disciple, and Sun Wukong was driven away from the pilgrimage group by Tang Sanzang.
This departure led to the appearance of a false Wukong - the Six-Ear Macaque.
The Six-Ear Macaque impersonated Wukong and stole the pilgrimage documents. Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie could only find the real Sun Wukong again. The true and false Wukongs engaged in a great battle, eventually fighting their way to Spirit Mountain to seek the Buddha's judgment to distinguish between the real and the fake.
At this point, Sun Wukong's eyes revealed deep resentment as he continued, "Unexpectedly, it was all a trap. That false monkey king was actually used by the Tathagata to scheme against me. After entering Spirit Mountain, the Tathagata identified me as the Six-Ear Macaque, then publicly used an illusion to transform me into the Six-Ear Macaque."
"The Tathagata! How dare he deceive me so!"
Subhuti's eyebrows stood on end in anger. He naturally knew about the Tathagata choosing Sun Wukong as the pilgrim. At the time, Subhuti thought Sun Wukong's nature was too unruly and that some tempering would do him good, so he agreed to the Tathagata's suggestion and allowed him to create trials for Sun Wukong.
The havoc in Heaven, the imprisonment under the Five Elements Mountain - although Subhuti didn't intervene in these events, he had been secretly observing Wukong the whole time.
After realizing that the Tathagata and others were indeed wholeheartedly cultivating and tempering Wukong, Subhuti had finally set his mind at ease and gone into seclusion. He never expected the Tathagata would take advantage of Subhuti's lowered guard to pull a switch, replacing Sun Wukong with the Six-Ear Macaque.
Subhuti looked at the weakened Sun Wukong, his eyes flashing with concern as he asked, "Wukong, where is your true body now?"
Sun Wukong replied, "On Spirit Mountain. They use lapis lazuli flames day and night, trying to refine your disciple. If I hadn't secretly split off this bit of my true spirit, I'm afraid that in another hundred years, your disciple would have been completely refined away."
"My good disciple, you rest here first. Your master will go and seek justice for you."
After speaking, Subhuti set up a formation around Sun Wukong, drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish Sun Wukong's weakened true spirit avatar.
Having done all this, Subhuti's eyes revealed a thick killing intent. Then, he vanished from the Three Star Cave.
Subhuti rode a cloud towards Spirit Mountain. He hadn't gone far when he suddenly sensed a disturbance in the natural order - apparently, a powerful being was interfering with fate.
"Which old friend is this? Why not show yourself?"
Subhuti stopped advancing and looked towards the void, speaking in a calm tone.
"Friend Subhuti, it's been a while."
A fat monk stepped out from the void. This person had a kind face with a smile at the corners of his mouth. It was the future Buddha of Buddhism, Maitreya Buddha.
"So it's Maitreya Buddha. Do you intend to stop me?" Subhuti said with a cold smile. Maitreya Buddha was a high-ranking figure in Buddhism, but compared to Subhuti, his cultivation was still far inferior.
Maitreya Buddha smiled and said, "Friend, regarding Wukong's situation, the Tathagata was indeed wrong. However, do you know why the Tathagata did this?"
Subhuti replied, "Regardless of the reason, I must seek an explanation for my disciple."
Maitreya Buddha shook his head and said, "Friend, you cannot go to Spirit Mountain. If you go, even with your thousand kinds of divine powers, I fear you would face the risk of perishing."
Subhuti's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold smile tugging at his lips as he said, "Maitreya, this poor Taoist once listened to the Dao alongside your master in the Purple Void Palace. In terms of seniority, you and the Tathagata can only be considered my juniors. Have I been absent from the three realms for so long that you've all forgotten the abilities of Subhuti?"
"Amitabha. This humble monk naturally knows of your background, friend. However, please hear me out. After I finish speaking, if you still insist on going to Spirit Mountain, this humble monk will not stop you."
Maitreya Buddha maintained his smile. Subhuti gradually calmed down and said, "If that's the case, friend Maitreya, please speak."
Maitreya Buddha said, "Friend, currently on Spirit Mountain, there are seven beings at the level just below True Immortal: the Tathagata Buddha, Dipamkara Buddha, Medicine Buddha, Mahamayuri Bodhisattva, Great Burning Heaven King Buddha, Indra Heaven King Buddha, and this humble monk. Do you believe you can handle all seven of us simultaneously? Even if the Medicine Buddha and I don't act, with five near-True Immortals plus Spirit Mountain's formations, if you go there, I'm afraid entering might be easy, but leaving would be difficult."
Subhuti remained silent, continuing to watch Maitreya Buddha.
Maitreya Buddha sighed and said, "Friend, do you really believe that Wukong could split his true spirit under the noses of all the Buddhas on Spirit Mountain without being detected?"
Subhuti's expression finally changed. He looked at Maitreya Buddha and asked, "You secretly intervened? Why?"
Maitreya Buddha didn't speak further, but instead took out a stone and said, "This is a Chaos Stone. Friend, as they say, there can be no creation without destruction. This tribulation for Wukong may not necessarily be a bad thing."
Maitreya Buddha left the Chaos Stone and then floated away.
Subhuti looked at the Chaos Stone in his hand, his expression changing rapidly. After all, the Buddhist sect was a behemoth in the three realms. Subhuti was alone, having never established his own sect. Although his personal strength was formidable, he wasn't confident enough to believe he could overthrow Buddhism with his power alone.
"So be it. The karmic ties have been formed; there will come a day of reckoning sooner or later."
Subhuti sighed, then turned and returned to the Crescent Moon Three Star Cave.