The Battle in Journey to the West

And so, after Randeng and Xuandu Grand Master intervened to halt the increasingly intense chaos that had erupted between the Buddhist and Daoist sects, Daoist Equal to Heaven and his companions turned back to Yang Jian’s Taoist temple at Guan Jiangkou.

Yang Jian sighed, "I never expected that this incident would draw out so many eminent figures. It was truly unforeseen."

Chen Tuan said, "Just now, Shan Wuwei ambushed me. Had the Xuandu Grand Master not arrived in time, I would have surely killed him."

Chen Tuan’s mana was no less than Shan Wuwei’s, and their battle was evenly matched. After being knocked down by Shan Wuwei, Chen Tuan was seething with anger. Lu Dongbin too had been sneak attacked and hit with a blunt force by Bodhidharma, feeling equally suffocated.

Daoist Equal to Heaven pondered, "With the Netherworld Blood Sea now involved, I’m afraid that both the Buddhist and Daoist sects were eager to see this, hoping to take advantage of the situation for a fierce confrontation, to make the other side suffer a heavy loss, and then shift the blame to the Netherworld Blood Sea, declaring all’s well that ends well. Yet at the end of the day, it is the Buddhist sect that has lost. The Daoist sect has not sustained any damage. We killed one of those Arhats and sent another into the cycles of Reincarnation, who knows in what year he will be reborn. Even Tathagata, with his abilities, would not dare to interfere with reincarnation, otherwise, he too cannot bear the burden of karma."

The Six Paths of Reincarnation is where karmic forces are most concentrated. Even Saints cannot interfere with reincarnation, for it is the very foundation of this universe. To meddle with reincarnation is forbidden by the Heavenly Dao, and one would be overwhelmed by the immense karmic force, with regret being the least of worries.

After this incident, it is likely that both the Buddhist and Daoist factions will quiet down for a while, no longer engaging in the overt and covert struggles, as fiercely as before.

Yang Jian asked Daoist Equal to Heaven, "What should we do now?"

Daoist Equal to Heaven could not help but muse again; the current situation was too delicate. The Buddhist and Daoist sects had just clashed fiercely. Although they might quiet down, the Buddhist sect had suffered losses, having had two Arhats killed by him and Yang Jian, which might lead them to seek retribution.

Currently, Daoist Equal to Heaven had no solution. He felt he might truly be superfluous, for the Three Pure Ones probably had already calculated their chosen ones. The inertia of Heavenly Dao was immensely strong, nearly impossible to reverse. History was still developing forward, slightly deviating from its course but quickly returning to the right track. How could Daoist Equal to Heaven, this mantis, stop the chariot of Heavenly Dao?

Although time had been reversed, the inertia of Heavenly Dao remained very powerful, still developing in the previous direction. If this continued, the future would still lead to Jin’s rise to power, followed by the expansion of Buddhism during Jin Dynasty, then the chaos of the Five Barbarians, turmoil in the Central Plains, and later Emperor Wen of Sui uniting the Eastern Land. But the fortune of Sui Dynasty was short, significantly shortened by the hands of Emperor Yang of Sui. The fall of Sui and the rise of Tang, Emperor Taizong of Tang saved by the eighteen monks, his immense favor towards the Buddhist sect, followed by the Journey to the West... Daoist Equal to Heaven could vaguely remember some parts, only the general direction, but the details were completely elusive.