Chapter 765: 776th Chapter: Return of the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas (Second Update!)

“Go to Flower-Fruit Mountain? You mean the Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court?”

The Dragon-Subduing Arhat’s brow twitched, “But I am a member of the Buddhist Sect, perhaps it’s not quite appropriate?”

“So what if you’re a member of the Buddhist Sect? Just because you are now doesn’t mean you always will be!”

Sun Wukong smiled meaningfully, “Guanyin and Ksitigarbha King also used to be members of the Buddhist Sect, and aren’t they now Venerables of our Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court? What’s more, I, Old Sun, have long seen that you are not truly obedient to Ran Deng Buddha; you’re probably just repaying a debt of gratitude, right?”

The face of the Dragon-Subduing Arhat changed, Sun Wukong had guessed too accurately; indeed, he served Ran Deng Buddha to repay the great debt of gratitude he owed him.

“Looks like Old Sun’s guess was correct! Since that is the case, there’s no problem!”

Sun Wukong laughed heartily, “Ran Deng Buddha has been cleared out by the Buddhist Sect, and it wasn’t by Old Sun’s hand. Given the situation, it seems you won’t be able to return to the Buddhist Sect. Why not visit the Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court? If you like it, you can stay; if not, you’re free to leave anytime. I, Old Sun, will not stop you. How about it?”

The pupils of the Dragon-Subduing Arhat suddenly shrank; Ran Deng Buddha had actually been killed by the Buddhist Sect!

It must be a factional struggle within the Buddhist Sect!

The Dragon-Subduing Arhat was on the side of Ran Deng Buddha, and this was no secret within the Western Heavenly Buddhist Sect. Now that Ran Deng Buddha was dead, if he returned to the Buddhist Sect, it was uncertain whether he would be purged!

With this thought, the Dragon-Subduing Arhat clenched his teeth and made a decision, “Honored by the Great Sage’s regard, it would be rather ungrateful of me to refuse further! Very well, I’ll go with you to the Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court!”

“Excellent! You indeed are a wise man, Old Sun has not misjudged you!”

Sun Wukong burst into a great laugh and patted the shoulder of the Dragon-Subduing Arhat, “Alright, follow Old Sun to the Western Sea Dragon Palace first, then we’ll return to the Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court!”

Inside the Western Sea Dragon Palace, feeling the vast strength fluctuations from the sea surface finally decrease and gradually stop, the White Dragon, Ao Lie, breathed a long sigh of relief. Once ensured of no further danger, he finally relaxed his full activation of the Palace Protection Formation.

According to the reports from a sea demon scout, the Wing Emperor and other assaulting foes had been annihilated, Ran Deng Buddha had fled in defeat, and Sun Wukong had already chased after him. The nerves of the White Dragon Ao Lie finally relaxed; he knew the crisis for the Western Sea Dragon Clan was temporarily averted!

“Report! The Great Sage Equalling Heaven has come for a visit!”

“Let him in quickly!”

Before the White Dragon Ao Lie could speak, the Dragon King of the Western Sea, Ao Run, already couldn’t wait to speak.

Todays’ Western Sea Dragon Clan had escaped a great catastrophe thanks to Sun Wukong’s timely rescue; otherwise, the entire Western Sea Dragon Clan might have been utterly annihilated by Ran Deng Buddha and the likes of the Wing Emperor!

Soon after, Sun Wukong and the Dragon-Subduing Arhat walked into the Dragon Palace. The Dragon King of the Western Sea, Ao Run, rose to greet them, but his gaze shifted onto the Dragon-Subduing Arhat and abruptly changed, “Dragon-Subduing Arhat! How dare you enter my Dragon Palace?”

A surge of anger rose from his heart to his crown, and the Dragon King of the Western Sea, Ao Run, bellowed and charged at the Dragon-Subduing Arhat, his dragon claws fiercely striking toward him.

“Bang!”

The furious strike of Ao Run, the Dragon King of the Western Sea, was effortlessly blocked by Sun Wukong with one hand, “Old Dragon King, why such fury? The Dragon-Subduing Arhat has already surrendered to your humble Monkey. From now on, we are all on the same side. Let’s put those little misunderstandings behind us!”

“Surrendered? One of us? Great Sage, do you realize that it was he who attacked me before?”

Ao Run was taken aback and urgently said.

“Your humble Monkey is well aware!”

Sun Wukong pressed down on Ao Run’s dragon claw and reassuringly said with a light laugh, “Ao Run, don’t be anxious! Your humble Monkey knows all about what happened. The Dragon-Subduing Arhat indeed attacked you, but he had no choice. Moreover, had he not restrained himself during the fight, you likely couldn’t have lasted until your humble Monkey intervened, right?”

“This…”

Ao Run was somewhat at a loss for words. He, of course, knew that it was only because the Dragon-Subduing Arhat had held back that he had escaped unscathed, but having been beaten so badly by the Arhat before, he found it somewhat hard to accept.

“Father, the Great Sage makes sense. We should actually be thankful that the Dragon-Subduing Arhat showed restraint!”

Seeing the situation turning south, Ao Lie, the Little White Dragon, hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. Ao Run then begrudgingly nodded, no longer glared at the Dragon-Subduing Arhat with anger, and turned to invite Sun Wukong to take the seat of honor and offered him tea.

“Ao Run, you’ve seen the situation today. Now is the time when the Myriad Races are returning to vie for power. Although the overall strength of your Dragon Clan of the Four Seas has improved a lot, it still pales in comparison with the returning Myriad Races. Continuing to remain in isolation might one day lead to your actual demise!”

After drinking some tea, Sun Wukong looked at Ao Run and said gravely.

“Great Sage, I understand what you mean!”

A flicker of melancholy crossed Ao Run’s face, but it quickly disappeared. Clenching his teeth, he looked up at Sun Wukong and said earnestly, “Great Sage, our Dragon Clan of the Four Seas has always been part of the Demon Clan. Now that the Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court has been re-established, it is only natural that we should return. Rest assured, Great Sage, I will go and persuade my elder brothers. This time, there will be no more vacillation!”

“Excellent!”

Sun Wukong nodded with satisfaction. “That’s the way! Ao Tian and Ying Tian have long hoped that your Dragon Clan of the Four Seas would join the Flower-Fruit Mountain Demon Race. Under their guidance, your clan will surely develop better than it does now!”

The decision for the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas to join the Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court was thus settled. Ao Run sent a message to the other three Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, inviting them to the Western Sea Dragon Palace to discuss the matter. After half a day of deliberation, they finally decided to lead the entire Aquatic Race of the Four Seas to return to the Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court and publicly announce their allegiance.

Having achieved his goal, Sun Wukong did not linger at the Western Sea Dragon Palace and quickly returned to the Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court with the Dragon-Subduing Arhat.

The great battle above the Western Sea once again stirred major upheaval in the Three Realms. After the Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court and the Western Heavenly Buddhist Sect separately exposed the disgraceful conduct of Ran Deng Buddha and the Wing Emperor, all parties finally understood that the previous mass killings of the races were not done by the Demon Clan’s Heavenly Court, but rather it was a coalition led by Ran Deng Buddha, a renegade of the Buddhist Sect, and the Wing Tribe.

The mass killings and the pinning of the blame on others were undoubtedly carried out by Ran Deng Buddha and the Wing Emperor, but whether they were truly Buddhist renegades, only the Buddhist Sect itself knew. However, to many observant individuals, this likely was the result of an internal power struggle within the Buddhist Sect.

After the fall of Ran Deng Buddha, the Western Heavenly Buddhist Sect seemed to have suddenly become more low-key, showing no further action, and tranquility was temporarily restored within the Three Realms.