The Cloudy Palace of the Golden Arches was burning.
The glazed immortal tiles that shone with golden light were turning gray and shattering in the flames.
"Help … put out the fire!"
The immortal officials shouted in panic. They wanted to put out the fire, but they forgot that they had no way of putting it out.
Tathagata sighed, "I have sinned."
"Monkey King, you burned down the Cloudy Palace of the Golden Arches. Your sin is unforgivable."
Tathagata looked at Monkey King and said, "But seeing that you have a reason for doing this, how about we settle this once and for all?"
He opened his palm and was about to say something when he suddenly felt that something was wrong.
He didn't know where this feeling came from, but he immediately decided to use another method.
"Take this palm of mine."
Tathagata said, "If you can take it, I won't interfere with the matters here anymore. If you can't, then follow me back to recite sutras and turn over a new leaf. How about that?"
"No problem."
Monkey King nodded.
Tathagata put his palms together and gathered supreme magic power. Golden light shone brightly. Then, he opened his palm and slammed it down on Monkey King.
The palm grew rapidly. In just a breath's time, it was the size of a palace. In another breath's time, it was the size of a mountain.
Monkey King looked up. He didn't know when, but everything around him had disappeared. He was in a boundless sea of clouds.
Above his head was Tathagata's palm that was getting bigger and bigger.
Tathagata's palm turned into five connected mountains of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. They shone with five-colored light and carried a terrifying might as they pressed down on Monkey King.
Even the immortal officials outside the range of the palm could sense the immense power contained within it, and all of them wore expressions of shock.
"A Worthy Younger Brother!"
Zhen Yuan Daisen was about to fly over but was stopped by Donghua Emperor.
"No problem."
Donghua Emperor used his gaze to tell Zhen Yuan Daisen.
"Five Elements Mountain!"
Monkey King looked up at the palm. He knew that this was the Five Elements Mountain described in the heavenly book.
In the Tomes of Arcane, the Monkey King was pushed out of the Western Heavenly Gate and crushed under the Five Elements Mountain.
A whole five hundred years!
However, he was not the him in the Tomes of Arcane.
"Come back!"
The Monkey King shouted. The Jingu Bang transformed into a stream of light and flew back into his hand. He leaped up and swung the Jingu Bang at the Five Elements Mountain.
"The light of a grain of rice."
There was coldness in Tathagata's eyes.
With a loud bang, the palm collided with the Monkey King.
An ear-piercing sound of friction could be heard as the Jingu Bang collided with the palm. The golden light on the Monkey King's body grew brighter as he resisted the palm that was pushing forward.
His staff could sweep through a hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers, defeat Emperor Qing Hua, and sweep through the Heavenly Palace.
In front of the amazing power of the Five Elements Mountain, it seemed to be somewhat inadequate.
The Five Elements Mountain was connected to the earth veins of the Mountain World. Every once in a while, it would become heavier.
"There is no need to struggle."
Tathagata Buddha said, "This is the will of all living beings."
The Monkey King was very powerful. He possessed the will of all living beings, and there were very few beings in this world that could defeat him.
However, Tathagata was different. He also possessed the will of all living beings. Worshippers could be seen all over the four continents, and the number of the wills of his followers far exceeded that of the Monkey King.
"This palm of mine represents the pursuit of happiness by all living beings," Tathagata Buddha said. "You have the heart of Buddha, so you should understand this!"
The Flames of Karma imbued with this palm swept downward from the Five Elements Mountain and instantly engulfed the Monkey King.
Within the scorching flames, the Monkey King's figure could be faintly seen, but he appeared extremely miniscule.
Were there more people who pursued happiness, or were there more people who pursued change?
There was no doubt about the answer.
"You deserve to be defeated by me!"
Tathagata Buddha roared.
The rumbling Five Elements Mountain slammed the Monkey King heavily into the ground. Just as the Monkey King was about to be crushed into the ground, it suddenly stopped.
"You want all living beings to be like you, to have no desires, to stop killing, to stop evil, and to deliver all living beings from suffering …"
The Five Elements Mountain stopped.
The sound of the Monkey King gnashing his teeth could be heard from the foot of the mountain.
"What a pity …"
He sneered. "This is not true happiness!"
He let out an angry roar. Suddenly, golden light erupted from the foot of the mountain.
Tathagata felt a powerful pressure coming from it. He turned pale with fright and wanted to stop it, but he could no longer do so.
A golden light was about to pierce through the Five Elements Mountain.
"Buddha Demon!"
Tathagata shouted, "If you don't show yourself now, when will you show yourself!"
A Buddhist light surged out from the Monkey King's body.
"Amitabha."
The Buddhist light chanted.
Seeing this, all the immortals turned pale with fright.
"Why is there a monk on A Worthy Younger Brother's body!?"
Zhen Yuan Daisen asked.
The Donghua Emperor frowned. This was bad. The power of this Buddhist light was unfathomable. It was probably not inferior to the Monkey King's.
The Monkey King looked at the Buddhist light, and the Buddhist light looked back at him.
His eyes were filled with joy.
"You have never been arrogant."
After saying that, his gaze softened. "Let me help you."
The Buddhist light suddenly turned golden and enveloped the Monkey King's body. The golden light in the Monkey King's eyes shone even brighter than before.
Tathagata's heart shook. How could this be?
"Do you still not understand!?"
The Monkey King raised his head to the sky and stabbed the Jingu Bang. The golden light broke through Tathagata's palm and reached the sky.
The entire Heavenly Palace lit up.
"This world has never changed, and it has always been the same. This is the reason why you are here."
The Monkey King walked out from the flames. He shook off the flames on his body, but he was not injured in the slightest.
Tathagata retracted his hand and looked at the wound on his palm.
In the blink of an eye, the wound had already healed. He looked at the Monkey King with anger in his eyes.
"I won."
The Monkey King said.
Tathagata saw the Buddha in his body. He saw what the Buddha wanted him to see.
He thought that his schemes were unparalleled, but he had forgotten the most fundamental thing.
Not every Buddha would submit to him …
The Monkey King's Buddha belonged to him alone.
Tathagata's eyes flashed. "If that's the case, then …"
"Buddha, the victor has been decided."
The Golden Cicada suddenly said, "He blocked your palm."
Tathagata's expression changed.
He looked at the Golden Cicada. "Golden Cicada, why aren't you willing to enlighten the Monkey King?"
The Golden Cicada shook his head. "Buddha, he doesn't need to be enlightened."
Tathagata chuckled.
"You saw some things."
He shook his head. "But I forgot that he is not a Buddha."
He sighed softly. He had calculated everything, but he had still underestimated the Monkey King.
Since the inner demon was a Buddha, why would he help the Monkey King?
Tathagata didn't understand. But it didn't matter. How could things in the world be so simple?
The inner demon was a Buddha after all. As long as he was a Buddha, he would eventually come to his side.
"Maybe it's still too early."
The Buddha thought to himself. Then, he turned and left.
The Monkey King looked at the Buddha. He knew that he would have to fight him one day.
But now …
Once Tathagata left, the Cloudy Palace of the Golden Arches would no longer have anyone to protect it.
The Monkey King turned and walked towards the Cloudy Palace of the Golden Arches.
"Monkey King, do you really want the Three Realms to fall into chaos?"
The Queen Mother asked again.
"The Three Realms will not fall into chaos."
The Monkey King stopped. "You said that the Jade Emperor shaped the Three Realms. However, the growth of humans, the evolution of demons, and many other things are no longer under his control."
The Jade Emperor had only established the Heavenly Law and twisted the rules of nature.
And he wanted to change the twisted things back.