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

With the addition of the Heavenly Court's deities and the forces from the Ten Directions Pure Lands into the battle, the situation finally allowed the already red-eyed Tathagata Buddha to calm down.

Because with the joining of the Heavenly Court and the Ten Directions Pure Lands, the nature of the conflict had already changed, now becoming a major war between the Heavenly Court and the Western Paradise, and between Taoism and Buddhism.

If it continued, it would likely spiral out of control, potentially leading to a deadly struggle between the Heavenly Court and the Western Paradise, or a mutually destructive clash between Taoism and Buddhism.

Neither outcome was something that Tathagata Buddha wished to see, and the same went for the Jade Emperor and Chu Hao.

Because in that case, it would only benefit the demon and monster races, as well as other forces within the Three Realms.

"Alright, stop," Tathagata Buddha said to Chu Hao, suppressing the anger in his heart.

"Tathagata Buddha, do you think you can just start and stop the fighting as you please?"

"Why should I listen to you?"

"This Underworld God is not your subordinate."

Although Chu Hao also didn't want the battle to continue, he faced relatively less pressure.

After all, Chu Hao wasn't the Jade Emperor; the Jade Emperor was the master of the Heavenly Court. No matter what kind of situation Chu Hao created, the Jade Emperor could clean it up.

But Tathagata Buddha couldn't do that. He was the leader of the Buddhist realm, and no one would clean up the mess for him; he could only face it himself.

"Chu Hao, then what do you want?" Tathagata Buddha asked Chu Hao, displaying more impatience than Chu Hao.

"You imprisoned this Underworld God, so you should offer some compensation," Chu Hao said to Tathagata Buddha.

In fact, Chu Hao wasn't greedy for money or treasures this time; he was deliberately trying to provoke Tathagata Buddha.

Even if Tathagata Buddha had suffered a great loss, he probably couldn't come up with any compensation now.

The treasure vault of Thunderclap Monastery had already fallen into the hands of the Underworld Divine Hall's members, and Thunderclap Monastery had been razed to the ground, with the entire Mount Ling becoming ruins.

What could Tathagata Buddha use to compensate Chu Hao? He was now worried about how to feed the people of the Western Paradise.

"Chu Hao, don't push your luck too far."

"Although I did imprison you for a period of time, you also destroyed my Mount Ling."

"In this case, we should be even, so why should I give you compensation?" Tathagata Buddha said, enraged and wishing he could swallow Chu Hao whole.

"Tathagata Buddha, you're supposed to be the leader of the Buddhist realm."

"Doesn't your Buddhism talk about karma? You imprisoning me is the cause, and me destroying Mount Ling is the effect."

"If there wasn't the cause of you imprisoning me, how could there be the effect of destroying Mount Ling? So the responsibility lies with you, and it's none of Chu's business!" Chu Hao said to Tathagata Buddha.

This explanation immediately left Tathagata Buddha speechless, because Chu Hao was using Buddhist principles against him.

In fact, Tathagata Buddha himself knew that the so-called Buddhist karma was just a circular argument that could be justified with any kind of logic.

But he couldn't tell the truth, because that would mean Tathagata Buddha was turning against his own Buddhism.

"Chu Hao, what exactly do you want?"

"My Mount Ling has already been destroyed by your hand and turned into ruins. What else do I have?"

"You can't possibly want me to offer the people of Mount Ling as compensation, can you?" Tathagata Buddha said to Chu Hao, feeling aggrieved.

"Tathagata Buddha, I won't make things difficult for you."

"Today's matter can be considered partly Chu's responsibility, so if you apologize to me and admit that your Western Paradise is in the wrong,"

"Chu will consider it settled."

"There's still room to stop now, but once both sides become bloodthirsty, even Chu won't be able to call off the war."

Chu Hao now completely held the initiative, threatening Tathagata Buddha.

"And look over there!" Then, Chu Hao pointed towards the rear of Mount Ling, signaling Tathagata Buddha to look.

Although the forces of the demon and monster races had retreated earlier, they hadn't gone far and were observing the situation not far behind Mount Ling.

Given the hatred between the demon and monster races and the Western Paradise, if they seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack, cooperating with the Underworld Divine Hall and the Heavenly Court to deal with the Western Paradise,

the Western Paradise might be completely finished this time.

"Alright, I agree!" Even if Tathagata Buddha had ten thousand reasons to be unwilling, he had no choice but to agree at this time.

"Good!" Seeing Tathagata Buddha agree, Chu Hao turned to shout at the people from the Underworld Divine Hall and the Heavenly Court.

"Everyone, stop!" The Underworld Divine Hall's forces naturally obeyed Chu Hao's orders, and Chu Hao's prestige in the Heavenly Court was no less than the Jade Emperor's, so the Heavenly Court's deities also stopped immediately.

"People of the Western Paradise and the Ten Directions Pure Lands, stop immediately," Tathagata Buddha also called for the forces of the Western Paradise and the Ten Directions Pure Lands to stop.

"This matter is a misunderstanding."

"This venerable one's inspection led to Underworld God Chu Hao being imprisoned, which was this venerable one's fault."

"Our Western Paradise must not compound the error and must not be enemies with the Underworld Divine Hall and the Heavenly Court."

Tathagata Buddha was sacrificing his reputation to say this to Chu Hao. Although he spoke euphemistically, anyone with intelligence could understand the meaning.

"The Tathagata Buddha is admitting his mistake to Chu Hao."

"How can this be? Where is the dignity of our Western Paradise and Buddhism?"

"It's a disgrace."

The people of the Western Paradise also felt ashamed and discussed among themselves.

"Alright, since Tathagata Buddha and the Western Paradise have admitted their mistake,"

"we should also be magnanimous. People of the Underworld Divine Hall and the Heavenly Court, withdraw with this Underworld God,"

"We won't make things difficult for the Western Paradise." Chu Hao said with a smile, leading the people of the Underworld Divine Hall and the Heavenly Court away.

The people of the Underworld Divine Hall and the Heavenly Court were satisfied with the outcome of Tathagata Buddha's public apology.

But Tathagata Buddha felt extremely aggrieved, his heart about to explode.

"Buddha, what happened?" At this time, Guanyin returned, pretending to be solicitous as she came to Tathagata Buddha's side and asked him.

"Get out!"

"Where did you disappear to during such a major event?"

"What's the use of coming now!" Tathagata Buddha vented all his frustration on Guanyin, slapping her.

Tathagata Buddha used all his strength in this slap, sending Guanyin flying dozens of meters away.

"What's going on?"

"Why is the Buddha like this? What exactly happened?" Guanyin was completely stunned, not knowing what had happened.