Sun Wukong had not long met with the Grandmaster when a heavy rain fell on Kunlun Mountain.

The sudden downpour left the Immortals each showing a look of surprise.

Kunlun Mountain was not without rain, but this particular rain was very special—it was not summoned by the Dragon King using the spell to summon wind and rain.

To date, rainfall in the Eastern Divine Continent had been the responsibility of the Heavenly Palace; this rain was not included in their plans. Emperor Ziwei ordered an investigation to find the person defying the command, but in the end, it was discovered that this heavy rain was not driven by anyone.

It was entirely natural, rain that came out of nowhere.

"Why would such a strange event occur?"

The Immortals discussed for days on end, but in the end nothing came of it.

Not until across the lands of the Eastern Divine Continent did these odd phenomena begin to emerge, did they truly realize something was amiss.

Not just in the Eastern Divine Continent, but in the Southern Continent and Western Continent, these phenomena also began to appear one after another.

Within this sudden change, the Western Continent was the most widely affected.

After a hundred years of development, the citizens of the Western Continent had grown accustomed to sowing, plowing, and harvesting based on weather predictions, and they suffered the biggest impact.

Naturally, the demons of the Demon Kingdom would not miss such an opportunity, and they began to create and spread rumors prolifically, attempting to shake and change the Wanling Country's citizens' trust in the Immortals.

Of course, under the control of Ao Luan and others, these rumors did not cause much of an echo.

That was until the summer of the following year.

In this summer, several storms swept across several major grain-producing areas of the Western Continent; although protected by spells, the harvest was inevitably affected.

This was the first time in a hundred years that the grain yield of the Western Continent was less than expected.

Such widespread weather anomalies caused a huge reaction among the folk of the Wanling Country.

Adding to that, the other two Divine Continents were also experiencing the same bizarre weather, spreading unease among everyone, and this provided the Demon Kingdom with the best opportunity to delude people's hearts.

Ao Luan discovered the danger and took two full months to quell the turmoil stirred up by the Demon Kingdom this time.

However, after the disturbance was calmed, she was shocked to find that a new faction had appeared within the territory of the Wanling Country: the Pure Land Sect.

The Pure Land Sect, as its name suggests, was a religious group formed by those admiring the Pure Land; the sect had been born many years ago but had always been scant in membership, and only after this anomalous weather did their numbers suddenly surge dramatically.

Upon further investigation, Ao Luan discovered that there were rumors circulating within the sect. These rumors generally claimed that a great calamity was imminent in the Three Realms and that only the Pure Land could offer refuge.

This natural phenomenon was one such rumor.

Because the rumors were so specific, people unconsciously believed in the sect.

After Ao Luan discovered this, she was furious and wanted to take action but found it extremely difficult to deal with—because the sect was not committing evil acts. On the contrary, apart from promoting the Pure Land, their other main emphasis was on doing more good deeds.

Many enlightened monks and Independent Immortals from the Western Continent joined this organization and it grew rapidly without notice.

"Those bald donkeys are so crafty!"

Ao Luan was naturally no fool and immediately understood that this was a strategy of Lingshan.

But the places where the Pure Land Sect appeared were not only in the Western Continent; it had appeared in the Three Great Continents and thrived amid the changing weather.

Everywhere, the Immortals locked the suspect of changing the weather onto Buddha.

On Kunlun Mountain, Gold Star Taibai hurriedly found Sun Wukong.

"Great Saint."

He bowed and said, "The Jade Emperor hopes you can go and inquire about the truth from Buddha."

"There's no need to ask."

Sun Wukong looked at the Black Lotus in his hand.

He had been investigating everywhere for the past two years and had already found out that the change in the weather was not because of Buddha.

This world was naturally undergoing profound and significant changes.

A sense of anxiety spread through Sun Wukong's heart.

"The root cause is not with Buddha."

Sun Wukong spoke.

The Buddha indeed used the anomalies of heaven and earth to spread the influence of the Pure Land, but this was not a conspiracy; it was out in the open.

He did not force the beings, only relying on advanced knowledge to entice and bewitch them.

Since no evil was committed, Sun Wukong also found it challenging to justify destroying his schemes.

Moreover, Sun Wukong instinctively felt this was a trap—if his energy was drawn away by the Pure Land Sect, it would be even harder to find the root cause of the anomalies of heaven and earth.

And that root cause is everything.

"What are you, exactly?"

Sun Wukong looked at the Black Lotus in his hand, which he had found in a heavy rain.

This anomaly of heaven and earth was definitely related to the Black Lotus.

While Sun Wukong was contemplating, some changes were happening in the Underworld.

"Zhang Qing, Zhang Qing... why can't I find it..."

In Yama Palace, the Judge in charge of the Book of Life and Death searched for a long time but still could not find the deceased's name.

A monk standing beside Yama Palace said, "This person converted to our faith during his life and made a pact with the Buddha. After death, he will be led by our Buddhist order to the Pure Land for rebirth, so there is no need for the Judge to search any further."

The words spoken made the Judge glance nervously at King Qinguang.

"Keep looking!"

King Qinguang commanded coldly.

With no choice, the Judge flipped through the Book of Life and Death for a long time and, upon confirming the name was indeed unfindable, allowed the monk to take the deceased to the City of the Wrongfully Dead for transcendence.

"Black and White Impermanence."

King Qinguang's face turned ashen as he watched the scene unfold and then said, "Report to the Great Saint that Womb of the Earth Bodhisattva has broken his promise and is interfering with the operations of the Underworld!"

"At your command."

Black and White Impermanence immediately took the order and departed.

Their movements naturally did not escape the notice of Ksitigarbha.

"What exactly is the great calamity that the Buddha spoke of?"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva began, "Is everything I am doing right or wrong?"

"The Buddha said that before the great calamity, all Buddhas should simply obey and act."

Diting opened his eyes and spoke, "After the great calamity, all sins will be borne by the Buddha alone."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva sighed, "Even so, why start from the Western Continent?"

He really didn't understand why the first adherent of Pure Land Buddhism that the Buddha asked him to convert was from the Western Continent.

And the methods were so forceful, it was almost as if they were meant to be seen by Sun Wukong.

"The Buddha must have his profound reasons for doing this."

Compared to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Diting knew more, "Perhaps the Buddha's intent is precisely to blind the Great Saint's eyes."

"Oh?"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's curiosity was piqued, "What does the Buddha not want the Great Saint to know?"

"I do not know."

Diting shook his head; he was also completely unaware of what the Buddha had seen.

But he understood one thing, if the Buddha did not want Sun Wukong to know, it seemed that something even more dangerous would happen once Sun Wukong found out.

"We only need to follow the orders; the Buddha has said that after the great calamity, it will be entangled with karma, and a new Buddha will replace it."

Diting sighed, "That new Buddha, I fear, is..."

Although it did not say a name, Ksitigarbha understood.

It was definitely not the Eastern Buddha.

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