My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1129: Capture the thief first and capture the king first

"How could this be?"

Saint Zhunti gripped the Seven Treasures Tree tightly, his tone filled with disbelief: "How could that demon have gathered such a large force in just a few years? And how could mortals and mixed-race people control such complex 'machinery'?"

The Sage who guided the way closed his eyes to deduce, and after a moment he opened his eyes, his face pale: "This villain used 'people's livelihood' to win over mortals and 'knowledge' to cultivate talents, and actually united the mortals and mixed races in the cities of the mortal world into a force."

"Although their military equipment is made with mortal technology, it incorporates the runes of the Jie Sect, making its defense extremely strong. According to my deduction, apart from the three of us saints, even Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect would have to pay a huge price to break through the air defense circle. It is by no means easy to break through."

The two Western saints had only recently descended from the Pure Land to the Three Realms and did not yet have a direct understanding of the "changed times" in the mortal world. However, given their saintly deductive abilities, they quickly calculated a relatively accurate comparison of the two sides' combat strength.

The words of the guide immediately resonated with the three Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect: Guang Chengzi, Huanglong Zhenren, and Yuding Zhenren. They had fought against these technological troops before and had almost exhausted their immortal power under the siege, suffering a miserable defeat.

At that time, the number of troops besieging them was less than one percent of the water-realm supernatural powers displayed by the Primordial Celestial Venerable.

The Buddha stared intently at the runes on the Intercepting Sect's warship reflected in the water mirror, his brow furrowed: "We underestimated this fiend's strength. He didn't rely on his own power, but rather grew stronger by borrowing the power of mortals. This method of 'using all living beings as soldiers' is more difficult to deal with than simple immortal supernatural powers. Although we have a sage in charge, our forces are insufficient. If we launch a forceful attack, we fear we will suffer heavy losses."

In the Investiture of the Gods seven hundred years ago, mortal armies were practically just background figures. Even when the Zhou and Shang armies clashed, the outcome was basically decided during the generals' duel.

However, Wen Rui's army was an exception. It was the only mortal army that had ever harmed immortals in the Investiture of the Gods war, although the methods they used were underhanded, such as spreading biological viruses and radioactive materials.

Unexpectedly, hundreds of years later, when Wen Rui made a comeback, his mortal army had been upgraded with new weapons and could now truly unite their strength to challenge the high and mighty, omnipotent immortals.

Although the Western reinforcements brought by Tathagata and the two saints had not yet clashed with drone swarms, anti-aircraft gun emplacements, mech clusters, and giant warships, they were well aware of the power of martial arts puppets. In the water-projected image, there were tens of thousands of martial arts puppets, each capable of beating Venerable Kasyapa to a pulp.

The hall fell into a deathly silence instantly; all previous confidence and fighting spirit vanished.

Guang Chengzi recalled his previous predicament outside Xinbinhai City, and looking at the vast disparity in military strength reflected in the water mirror before him, his face turned pale and then red: "Then... what should we do? If we don't attack, the enemy's forces will only increase, making them even more difficult to deal with; but if we attack, our forces are insufficient. Even a sage, though strong, can annihilate an army of a million, let alone a sage who cannot directly attack mortals and get involved in worldly karma!"

Needless to say, the two Western saints are the most averse to killing. The foundation of their sainthood is that they made a great vow to receive the merits of the Heavenly Dao. Once they raise their swords against sentient beings, they will immediately be punished by the Heavenly Dao and their perfect sainthood will be in jeopardy.

If Yuanshi Tianzun were to indiscriminately slaughter mortals, he would be tainted with profound karmic consequences, which would also violate the original intention of establishing the Chan Sect to "follow the will of Heaven and respond to the needs of the people."

While the sages were unable to intervene, the balance of power among the immortals and Buddhas below the sages had shifted. Even united, they were no match for the combined forces of mortals—a situation unprecedented since the beginning of time. Suddenly, the once lively atmosphere in the hall fell silent. The immortals and Buddhas exchanged bewildered glances, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Jiang Ziya stood in the corner, his heart filled with mixed feelings. He finally understood that the true source of the Creator's confidence was not his personal supernatural powers, but the power of thousands of mortals gathered together.

He spoke softly, “Master, Buddha, the two sages, although the Jie Sect has a large army, most of them are ordinary people. They are not bloodthirsty people; they are just fighting to protect their homes. If we can put aside our obsession with ‘orthodoxy’ and negotiate with the Creator, perhaps we can avoid a bloodbath…”

"shut up!"

The Primordial Celestial Venerable slammed his fist on the table, and auspicious clouds surged around the Nine-Dragon Throne: "Even now, you still speak for the demons! Even with overwhelming odds, we must fight! If this fiend continues to grow stronger, where is the majesty of the immortals and Buddhas? Where is the order of Heaven?"

The Buddha took a deep breath and slowly said, "What the Heavenly Venerable said makes sense. Things have come to this point, and there is no way to retreat. However, we need to adjust our strategy and not launch another rash attack."

He paused, then added, "Although the Jie Sect's million-strong army is powerful, it was all united by Wen Rui. He used 'people's livelihood' as bait and 'knowledge' as a lure to make mortals and mixed-race people work for him. If we can get rid of this villain and cut off their spiritual pillar, the million-strong army will collapse on its own."

Upon hearing this, all the immortals and Buddhas in the hall had their eyes light up. Yuanshi Tianzun immediately asked, "Does the Buddha mean to implement the strategy of 'capture the king first'?"

"Exactly."

The Buddha nodded, his gaze sweeping over the crowd in the hall: "Although Wen Rui knows some heretical arts called 'technology,' he is ultimately an extraterrestrial demon, and his righteous cultivation is far from being able to contend with us saints. We can devise a plan: this humble monk, along with the two saints Jieyin and Zhunti, will personally take action and head straight for the Free City, the center of the Jie Sect in the mortal realm, to surround and kill this fiend."

“Once Wenrui is eliminated, the mortal beings will be freed from the guidance of ‘heretical thoughts’ and will naturally awaken their good roots and understand the true meaning of ‘finding joy in poverty’. At that time, we can use Buddhist and Taoist teachings to rebuild the order of the three realms, which will be much easier than forcibly annihilating a million-strong army and will also reduce the losses of immortal and Buddhist disciples.”

Upon hearing this, the Sage Zhunti's eyes flashed with approval: "Buddha's plan is brilliant! That demon is the core of the Jie Sect. Without him, mortals and mixed-races are just a pile of loose sand and can no longer pose a threat. My Seven Treasures Tree can conceal the aura of a sage, ensuring that the surprise attack will not be detected; Senior Brother Jieyin's Twelve-Petaled Lotus Platform can set up a trapping formation to imprison that demon and prevent him from escaping."

The Sage of Guidance slowly spoke: "This humble monk's 'Six-Syllable Mantra of Great Compassion' can interfere with the communications of the intelligence center, preventing them from mobilizing the outer legions to provide timely support; combined with the suppression of the Buddha's 'Great Sun Tathagata Light,' the three sages working together will surely be able to kill this fiend in one fell swoop."

As Yuanshi Tianzun listened to everyone's plans, his originally solemn expression gradually softened.

He raised his hand to manipulate the water mirror, switching the image to the location of Freedom City: "This city is the core stronghold of that evil demon spreading the heretical teachings of the Intercepting Sect, so its defenses must be very tight. However, if the Buddha and the two saints personally launch a surprise attack, and we are there to hold them off from the outside, the success rate will be extremely high."

(End of this chapter)