Journey to the West: Man in heaven, working nine to five

#1794 - Tathagata refuses, endless purgatory

"What? Three million merits of divine water?" Tathagata's voice sank, thinking he had misheard.

Are you kidding me? Three million merits of divine water? Why don't you just rob me?

No, who has so much merit of divine water? You couldn't rob that much even if you tried.

Even Guanyin and the Jade Emperor were astonished by this number.

Guanyin was surprised that Chu Hao was being so outrageous and showing no respect to the Western Paradise.

The Jade Emperor was surprised that it seemed a bit low; according to his nature, he should have asked for more.

If Chu Hao heard the Jade Emperor's words, he would probably immediately shout for five million merits of divine water.

The main reason was that he was still short of three million merits of divine water to advance to the seventh-rank quasi-sage, so he said the number.

However, Tathagata could not possibly accept this number. He asked, "Three million merits of divine water is not a small number. Can the Prison God digest it?"

His meaning was clear: you are not qualified to take it.

Chu Hao earnestly explained, "This three million merits of divine water is not for one person to use. When the time comes, we can bribe the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge, and then we can cooperate from the inside out, right?"

He said it as if it were true, but both Tathagata and Guanyin knew very well that if this three million merits of divine water fell into Chu Hao's hands, it would be like a meat bun thrown to a dog—gone forever.

Therefore, Tathagata would never agree. He said in a low voice, "The Western Paradise doesn't have that much merit of divine water, and this seat only needs you to take action."

Tathagata recognized Chu Hao's strength. If he was willing to take action, it would be a sure victory.

After speaking, Tathagata did not forget to pull the Jade Emperor in again: "I believe Your Majesty also thinks so, right?"

The Jade Emperor smiled and did not respond.

Chu Hao didn't care about these things. Since the Western Paradise couldn't afford it, then forget it.

He said to the Jade Emperor, "Your Majesty, then I will continue to lie low and try to find out all the traitors in the Heavenly Court as soon as possible."

After speaking, he ignored what Tathagata thought and left straight for the door.

"Wait a moment," Tathagata quickly called out to him.

"Buddha, is there anything else? I'm swamped with official duties and have no time," Chu Hao turned around and asked.

"One million merits of divine water is enough to make those three demons defect; they are, after all, demons of the Western Paradise," Tathagata compromised.

"Three million, not a penny less," Chu Hao shook his head.

"Prison God, three million merits of divine water is too much. You have to think about the righteous path. Besides, once Little Thunderclap Temple is destroyed, the traitors of the Heavenly Court won't be able to make any waves," Guanyin said, trying to give both sides a way out.

But Chu Hao didn't appreciate it at all. He refused, "There's no negotiation on this matter. I have something to do, so I'll leave first."

After speaking, he left without looking back.

Seeing this scene, a trace of anger appeared on Tathagata's face. He asked the Jade Emperor, "Your Majesty, are all the immortals in the Heavenly Court like him?"

"What do you mean?" The Jade Emperor was also not used to being polite and his voice turned cold.

After all, he was the co-lord of the Heavenly Court. If the tiger doesn't show its might, you really think I'm a sick cat.

Seeing that the Jade Emperor was a little angry, Tathagata realized that his words were wrong and immediately said, "I was reckless, but this matter must be resolved. Please, Your Majesty, persuade the Prison God."

"Understood," the Jade Emperor said with an displeased expression, then got up and left directly.

After the Jade Emperor left, Tathagata clenched his right hand tightly, his heart filled with anger.

"Buddha, what should we do next? Should we agree to that Chu Hao?" Guanyin asked.

Tathagata's eyes were deep, flashing with anger. His voice was cold as he said, "Repeatedly indulging that guy has only made him more and more impudent. This time, it's absolutely impossible to agree to him."

After speaking, he looked at Guanyin and said, "Tell all the Buddhas that the Buddha assembly will be temporarily suspended. Since the demons dare to run out of Avici Hell, this seat will let them see the power of the Western Paradise."

"As you command," Guanyin accepted the order and left.

Outside the side hall, after the Jade Emperor left, he found Chu Hao waiting for him.

"You kid played a bit too big this time," the Jade Emperor said with a smile, looking at Chu Hao.

"Your Majesty, this was not my design. I was just going with the flow," Chu Hao replied with a smile.

"Well, it's good to dampen the prestige of the Western Paradise," the Jade Emperor nodded, then transmitted his voice, "But you asked for too little. Ask for more next time."

A strange light flashed in Chu Hao's eyes, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Yes, Your Majesty."

"By the way, are you investigating the matter of the Heavenly Court's traitors?" the Jade Emperor asked.

Although the Jade Emperor was on Chu Hao's side, the matter of the Heavenly Court's traitors was still extremely important. Naturally, he hoped that Chu Hao could investigate it clearly and purge the Heavenly Court.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I won't let this kind of thing happen again," Chu Hao said.

"That's good," the Jade Emperor nodded.

At this moment, Tathagata suddenly sent a decree, saying that he wanted to summon all the Buddhas to go to Lion Camel Ridge to exterminate the remnants of the demons.

… …

Avici Purgatory, the gathering place of the demons, is an area shrouded in demonic mist, with gloomy winds and monstrous demonic energy.

In this vast purgatory, demons danced wildly, and countless demons lived here, completely treating it as a paradise.

This was a place that even Tathagata found棘手, so it survived. Today, it has become the demons' base camp.

In the past, when Maitreya Buddha moved the Little Thunderclap Temple next to Avici Purgatory, the Western Paradise was unable to take action.

Not to mention inside Avici Purgatory.

In the dim world, in the dense demonic energy, the two Arhats, Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming, who had fallen into the demonic path, walked through it.

"Bald donkey?" A demon powerhouse was slightly surprised when he saw the two Arhats, thinking that the Western Paradise had attacked. After seeing the demonic energy on their bodies, he lowered his guard.

The two, Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming, flew all the way towards the depths of Avici Purgatory. During this period, other demon powerhouses also looked over, but when they saw the demonic energy on their bodies, they did not stop them.

"The monks of the Western Paradise, haha, it seems that Mount Ling is going to fall," a demon powerhouse laughed loudly.

After a while, Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming arrived at a black palace.

This dark palace was not big, but the demonic energy was majestic. The vast demonic light shrouded it, giving it a captivating brilliance. Under the brilliance, one could see demonic shadows floating, and terrifying creatures walking in it, showing a terrifying aura.

Even the two Arhats, Dragon Subduing, felt a sense of palpitation.

"Is it really okay for us to go in like this?" Tiger Taming asked Dragon Subduing.

Along the way, they felt the scanning of various divine senses. Those divine senses were extremely powerful, and even they could not resist them.

Once the owners of these divine thoughts launched an attack, they might not even be alive now.

This is the Heavenly Court of demons, a paradise for countless bloodthirsty creatures.