The ones who truly suffer are the common folk.
As for "severing the heavens"—
Without power on the level of the Eternal God, it's impossible.
Yang Jian felt a surge of excitement, yes.
But he was also a cautious man; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived to the present day.
He had clearly acknowledged the Eternal God.
Yet he would not be swayed merely by another's strength.
Because his mother was still in the Jade Emperor's grasp. That thread of danger remained.
He would not take a reckless gamble.
…
Elsewhere, Saruman had spent the last three days in another round of quarrels with others.
For he was a proud man.
Even if he had betrayed his former god—so what?
He wouldn't bother to watch those videos.
He ignored the so-called apotheosis rites and the various spells, too.
Unreasonable? Perhaps.
But that temperament made him unique in the group.
Even Fahai—the most rigid among them—felt ashamed in comparison.
Inside the sorcerous tower, the white-robed Saruman was breeding his own Uruk-hai. The chamber was a mess, lacking even a hint of the refined environment one would expect of an elegant wizard.
After all, it was his lair.
Day after day, he obsessed over warg riders and orcs.
He had no time to tidy anything.
Lately, though, the realm of Rohan was growing restive. Perhaps he should begin there, consolidating his power.
He had deceived Gandalf and fooled many others.
Only Galadriel refused to trust him.
That, truly, was sorrowful.
The fairest elf upon the continent, and he could never possess her—that, too, was a tragedy in his eyes.
...
In the Multiverse Chat Group:
Pudu Sentient Beings: "I don't feel like playing around anymore. I'm ready to harvest the bald Tathagata and then link up with you all."
Spirit of the Demon Sword: "Do you have enough faith stockpiled?"
Pudu Sentient Beings: "Yes. Through divine manifestations and preaching, every convert naturally senses the gifts of God. At this point, the faith has spread across the entire world, and the underworld is under my control."
If not for tormenting the Tathagata—
To make him taste what it felt like to be toyed with—
Fahai's pace would actually have surpassed Nightshade's.
Don't mistake him for a mere ranter.
His compassion for all living beings was, in fact, admirable.
Add in the backing of the Four Seas Dragon Clan—
Everything became much easier.
Tanjiro: "Then hurry and come over. We've just built a bigger altar here. Two gods are descending today. I heard there's going to be a god-slaying!"
The Fox Who Only Loves Money: "Please go easy!!!! I'm begging…"
For Peace: "I'm begging too. A theophany—two gods descending—is something no one's ever seen. It'll be spectacular."
Young Master Murong: "Spectacular? It's going to be a bloodbath. Both gods are wearing very grim expressions."
Judicial God: "Excuse me—these 'gods' are the Upper Realm beings in the Saints' Cemetery, yes? Are they all to be killed? Didn't the gods say they'd promote peace?"
Junior Brother Dazhufeng: "Yang Jian, you don't understand. Those gods look down on sentient beings and make sport of them. If they harbored true goodwill, when the gods came to save the common people, why didn't they take the initiative to show kindness?"
Chu Dashan: "Those eldritch unknowns are in league with them—what more proof do you need! They clearly disdain our world. God is linked to many planets; they see themselves as superior, so they prevent everyone's ascension and feel threatened by it. Shouldn't such existences be beheaded?"
Pudu Sentient Beings: "Another thing—you're a heavenly deity yourself, aren't you? Let me advise you: if you have even a shred of conscience left, go look upon Lingshan with your own eyes. You've probably never witnessed that scene before!"
Judicial God: "What are you implying?"
Tanjiro: "Hey… the answer's simple. That bald fellow used to be a monk. Humans and demons are irreconcilable, right? Then why did the Buddhas raise demons to eat people?"
Spirit of the Demon Sword: "Hearsay is false; seeing is believing! Judging from your name, you're a righteous immortal. Yang Jian, I've been reading your story these past few days~"
Chu Dashan: "Hey… It's not all my doing, but better not to tell him too much. Let him witness the truth of this world first."
The truth?
What truth!
Yang Jian frowned.
Could it be that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Lingshan were as unworthy as Fahai claimed?
Surely they wouldn't raise monsters to devour people.
However, Tang Seng and his disciples were already on the road to the West. He might as well go take a look. He could share a cup of wine with the Monkey while he was at it.
No harm in going to see for himself.
With doubts still churning, Yang Jian turned into a streak of rainbow light, left the Howling Celestial Dog behind, and shot straight into the sky.
He knew the route of the pilgrimage.
And some powerful deities already understood that this journey to the West was Lingshan's method of purging the demon races.
If so, why did everyone keep insisting there would be mishaps?
He couldn't make sense of it.
After flying nearly a thousand miles, a strong stench of blood wafted up from below.
Yang Jian's brows tightened.
His Heavenly Eye snapped open.
In a village not far away, flames raged, and a huge wolf demon was devouring the people.
What truly left him speechless was this:
There was a temple enshrined here.
Within, a Vajra statue was worshiped.
Why hadn't it manifested, given the offerings?
Yang Jian forced down his fury and, in a flash, appeared before the wolf demon.
"Woo!"
The creature's hackles rose; it lashed out with a paw, straight for his heart.
Steel rang.
The three-pointed, two-edged spear-blade flashed out.
With a single stroke, he cut down the monster—Golden Core Realm or not, it died on the spot.
Yang Jian's face was cold as frost. "Earth God, show yourself!"
"Your servant greets Erlang Zhenjun!"
The trembling land deity flew over from a distance and dropped to his knees.
Facing the god of war and judgment, he nearly fainted in terror.
Erlang was no gentle host; he might cut him down without a second thought.
Yang Jian pointed his weapon toward the distant temple. "Since a Vajra is enshrined there, why did no one from the Buddhist side come to subdue the demon? Hundreds have died here!"
"Reporting to Zhenjun—this Vajra statue did indeed respond in the past, but later… later…"
"What happened later? Speak!"
"Later, some villagers said life was hard, and offerings were difficult to maintain. They changed from daily incense to monthly incense…"
Yang Jian let out a low, furious laugh.
Just because incense offerings had waned—
This Vajra withdrew its divine attention?
How absurd.
When you ate their incense, did you not remember their devotion?
At the first sign of neglect, you simply abandoned them.
Truly, the Buddhist way.
Truly "compassion."
With a crack, his three-pointed, two-edged weapon leveled at the intact temple—
And smashed it to rubble.
"Since the people are gone, why leave behind your clay idol—damnable thing!"
Yang Jian was truly incensed.
And at the same time, something in his heart shifted.
This was only a snapshot, a sliver.
What chilled him to the core had not yet appeared.
At that moment, Tang Seng and his disciples had just passed through the Chechi Kingdom.
············(asking for flowers)·····
They arrived at Chen Family Village.
There, they met the King of Inspiration.
"Master, that demon is wicked—it eats virgins. Where are we supposed to find that? Let Senior Brother and me catch it!"
"Yes, Master. Eating a pair of virgin boy and girl every year—how is that acceptable?"
Sha Wujing chimed in at the side.
Though he was a former heavenly general—
He loathed demons that ate children.
Most of all—
When it came to fighting, only Senior Brother and Second Brother could shoulder the burden. He—well, he was the soy sauce in the pot.
Fanning the flames from the sidelines was just right.
As for Second Brother's fierce glare, he ignored it.
The nearby villagers, hearing the Monkey's words, immediately fell to their knees.
"Holy Master, please let the two venerable ones act. Our village will be eaten clean otherwise!"
"Yes, please!"
The people knelt en masse.
They looked to Tang Seng with pleading eyes.
You couldn't blame them.
How many people live in a single village?
If a pair of children had to be offered every year—
The children would be eaten up sooner or later.
And who would be willing to feed their kids to a demon? If anyone had to go, they would rather it be themselves.
...
They would rather sacrifice their own lives—
Than harm the children!
Tang Seng sighed when he heard this. "Bajie, Wukong, I'll leave this matter to you. Since we've crossed paths with it, we must intervene."
"Yes, Master!"
"Yes."
The two took their orders.
That very night, they disguised themselves as virgins and happily set a trap for the demon.
The King of Inspiration, however, had his methods.
Relying on his escapology, he slipped away.
He was clever as well; snow began to fall heavily. When Tang Seng thought the crisis had passed—
Suddenly, the King of Inspiration seized him by controlling the river waters.
This time, Wukong was enraged. He pursued with all his might, but he was not as swift as the King of Inspiration.
The demon seized Tang Seng.
The cave dwelling was barred.
The battle began.
No matter how Wukong cursed and bellowed outside, the King of Inspiration simply refused to come out.
In the end, with no other choice, Wukong—
Invited the Bodhisattva Guanyin.
What followed was simple. The Bodhisattva, dressed in plain robes, lifted a hand, and the Great King of Inspiration below could not help but revert to a carp and fall into her flower basket.
"Go, then. Rescue Tang Seng and continue west to fetch the scriptures."
"Thank you, Bodhisattva!"
Wukong looked at the golden carp; a flash of killing intent crossed his eyes, but he suppressed it.
At that moment—
A voice came from the sky.
"Bodhisattva, is this truly all right?"
Everyone looked up and saw a man with thick brows and large eyes descending from the heavens.
He radiated a terrifying presence.
Erlang Shen was angry.
This was the first time he had been this furious.
"What instruction does Zhenjun Erlang have?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva frowned.
For now, Lingshan and the Celestial Court were partners. She had not provoked the Jade Emperor's nephew—of that she was certain.
Yang Jian glanced at the innocent-looking carp in the flower basket and sneered. "Is it really proper to take that fish away like this?"
The scene fell silent.
What did he mean?
Was he questioning Guanyin?
A flash of joy crossed the Monkey King's face. Could it be that he had come for the King of Inspiration?
Guanyin did not reply at once.
Yang Jian's gaze turned icy. He said coolly, "That fish you keep at home—if it wants to come out, it eats a pair of virgin children every year. Do you know those children were carried and raised by their parents?"
The last word struck like a hammer.
"Bu."
(The single, clipped syllable—like a choked breath—hung in the air, as if even speech could not carry the weight of his anger.)