My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1171 Promising Great Benefits
The song "Today is a Good Day" played on repeat, resounding through the sky. Its cheerful melody was like countless fine needles piercing the heart of the Primordial Celestial Venerable.

He was already irritated by the betrayal of the two Western Saints, and now, stimulated repeatedly by this untimely song, his patience was completely exhausted. The saintly aura around him suddenly erupted—his apricot-yellow Daoist robe fluttered without wind, the light on the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi was dazzling, the ground of the camp began to tremble slightly, the Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect subconsciously bowed, and even the Western Sect cultivators felt a tightness in their chests and difficulty breathing.

"Buddha, how long do you intend to keep this up?"

The voice of the Primordial Celestial Venerable was filled with icy anger, and his gaze was as sharp as a sword as he stared at the Buddha: "The peace talks between the two saints of the Western Sect and the Jie Sect are a done deal. That little devil of the Jie Sect even released such decadent demonic sounds to mock us. If you cannot give me a convincing reason today, don't blame my Chan Sect for not remembering our past friendship!"

The Buddha's face paled, and he hurriedly activated the Buddha's light around his body, attempting to resist the pressure from the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

Golden Buddhist light formed a barrier around him, but this barrier trembled like thin paper in the face of the saint's pressure.

Although he was already at the pinnacle of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm, a half-step saint, and could rival a saint of merit like Nuwa with the power of his believers' vows and boundless merit accumulated over many years, the difference in strength between him and the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, who had severed his three corpses to become a saint and merged with the Heavenly Dao, was still enormous.

"Fellow Daoist Yuanshi, please calm down!"

Cold sweat beaded on the Buddha's forehead, and his voice trembled slightly: "The two saints must have some unspeakable difficulties. When they return, they will give you an explanation! If you become angry now and harm my Western Sect disciples, it will only benefit the Jie Sect!"

"You Western religions are always good at reaping the benefits. Do you really think I don't know your schemes during this great calamity? I just don't bother with you!"

Yuanshi Tianzun snorted coldly, his oppressive aura increasing by three points.

With a "crack," the Buddha's protective aura around him began to crack, and the Western Sect cultivators behind him collapsed to the ground, blood trickling from their mouths.

Just then, two golden streaks of light suddenly appeared from the void and landed beside the Buddha.

As the light faded, it was none other than the Guide Daoist and the Sage Zhunti!

As soon as they appeared, they simultaneously released their own saintly aura, which collided with the aura of the Primordial Celestial Venerable.

"Fellow Daoist Yuanshi, why take your anger out on my disciples?"

The guide spoke calmly, yet with an undeniable authority.

The Western Saint also achieved sainthood through a clever trick, relying half on merit and half on accumulating the Dao. He was neither the best nor the worst, but he was still a saint. The two of them joined forces and barely managed to withstand the pressure from the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

Sage Zhunti also said coldly, "Fellow Daoist Yuanshi, you need to change your temper. Last time, you were also ruthless towards the disciples of the Jie Sect. Your killing intent was too strong and not commensurate with your status as a sage. We have returned. If you have anything to say, you might as well say it to us directly. There is no need to always make things difficult for the younger generation." These few words further fueled Yuanshi Tianzun's anger.

Back when they attacked the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, Yuanshi Tianzun really did say something ruthless: he would kill all the disciples of the Jie Sect. A dignified saint who always talks about keeping his word in the world, saying that he would kill someone's whole family and then actually doing so, is not quite befitting of a saint.

It seems that the Chan Sect's upper beam is crooked and the lower beam is crooked; what the superiors like, the inferiors will do even more. No wonder the Twelve Golden Immortals committed such atrocities that even the Heavenly Dao could not stand it and sent down a calamity as punishment.

Upon seeing the main figures, Yuanshi Tianzun pointed his three-treasure jade scepter at the two saints: "Good! Very good! You dare to come back! I ask you, why did you negotiate peace with the Jie Sect? Why did you betray our alliance? If you don't explain yourselves clearly today, I will not let your Western Sect rest!"

The Guide Daoist sighed softly and slowly spoke: "Fellow Daoist Yuanshi, times have changed. The current situation is very different from the Investiture of the Gods. Back then, the Chan Sect had all the advantages of timing, location, and popular support, but now, thanks to Wen Rui's centuries-long planning, the Jie Sect has quietly gained the advantage of 'popular support.' All living beings in the mortal world yearn for peace and praise technology. The Jie Sect has become the people's hope."

"So what if they are the people's choice?" Yuanshi Tianzun laughed angrily. "Does the support of the people mean they can do whatever they want? How can they be allowed to break the rules of my Chan Sect and the order of the Three Realms at will?"

Sage Zhunti raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with sarcasm: "Hey, Fellow Daoist Yuanshi, you're absolutely right. With the power of the vows of countless beings, one can indeed do whatever one pleases. If I were to gather the power of the vows of countless beings, and if every being in the Three Realms believed in Buddhism, I could forcefully suppress even a Dao-harmonizing sage like yourself with my boundless power of vows."

He paused, raised his hand to form a Buddhist mudra, and suddenly countless phantoms of mortals appeared in the air above the camp—farmers working the land, students reading, and doctors healing the sick, all with a hope for peace on their faces.

"Fellow Daoist, do you know that Buddhism emphasizes 'following the will of all beings'? The desire of all beings for peace is the great vow of Heaven; the longing of all beings for happiness is what Buddhism seeks. Back then, when your Chan Sect promoted the Investiture of the Gods, it was in accordance with the will of Heaven at that time; now, our peace talks with the Creator Heavenly Venerable are also in accordance with the wishes of all beings at this moment. This is called: impermanence."

The Guide Daoist added, “Given the current situation, unless a ruler with the extraordinary destiny of King Wen or King Wu of Zhou is born, the fate of the mortal realm will be difficult to change, and the hearts of all beings have already leaned towards peace. If we were to become enemies with the Creator Heavenly Venerable at this time, we would be going against the will of the people and the trend of Heaven. Even if we were to win, the Western Sect and the Chan Sect would lose the hearts of the people due to the karma of killing, and would eventually decline. Our actions are for the sake of the continuation of the Western Sect and for the peace of the Three Realms!”

"Only seven hundred years have passed, and now our Chan Sect has become a heretical sect defying the heavens? The world has changed too quickly! I think you've been bought off by the Jie Sect with promises of benefits!"

The Primordial Celestial Venerable said resentfully, "What benefits did they promise you? I can promise you the same! I'll grant you the right to lead the pacification of the next great calamity and collect all the merits. How about it?"

These words stunned not only the Buddha, but also the Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect. Dominating a great calamity meant monopolizing most of the merit within it—a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for any sect!

The Buddha and other Western Buddhas and Bodhisattvas had long been planning to use the merits of the next great kalpa to greatly promote Buddhism. The chosen one for this kalpa had already been selected: a stone monkey embryo conceived from a stone used to mend the heavens. The divine stone was being kept by Guanyin Bodhisattva, who was preparing to release it at the appropriate time and hand it over to the Western Sages for cultivation.

Seeing this, Yuanshi Tianzun continued to escalate the offer, his tone carrying an irresistible temptation: "At that time, the Heavenly Court and the Chan Sect will fully cooperate with you, providing all the magical treasures and manpower you need. All the merits will belong to the Western Sect, and you can also spread your teachings extensively in the Southern Continent, becoming the largest sect in the East!"

(End of this chapter)