Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

The night was deep.

All was quiet. The people in the Guanyin Zen Temple were almost all deep in slumber, yet today, Jinchi found himself without the slightest inkling of sleep.

The events of the day—the jealousy he felt towards Master Xuanzang, which almost drove him to madness—tormented him, and he rose, donning a kasaya and knelt before the statue of Guanyin, repenting for his own actions.

"Bodhisattva, I have not cultivated enough. Today, jealousy arose within me, leading to anger. If not for Master Xuanzang's stern warning, the consequences would have been unimaginable…" He murmured softly, his head bowed in repentance before the statue of Guanyin.

Although he had received Master Xuanzang's forgiveness, he could not forgive himself.

As he knelt in repentance, Jinchi suddenly felt the temple light up with a radiant glow. He looked up and saw that the statue of Guanyin was emitting a brilliant golden Buddhist light.

At the same time, the eyes of the statue seemed extraordinarily lifelike, staring directly at him.

The Bodhisattva has manifested!

Seeing the manifestation of the Bodhisattva Guanyin, Jinchi felt a mix of shock, joy, and trepidation.

"Amitabha, Jinchi, Xuanzang's journey to the West to seek the True Scriptures is a great meritorious deed for our Buddhist Sect. He is a pivotal figure in our Buddhist Sect. Although you have gained his forgiveness, your offense must still be punished.

Initially, you were destined to enter Spirit Mountain after a lifetime of arduous cultivation; however, due to your offense against Xuanzang, after death, you will be reincarnated on the Path of Beasts to atone for your sins," the statue of Guanyin stated, the words echoing through the air.

"Mercy, Bodhisattva, please show mercy!" Upon hearing these words, Jinchi's face turned pale as he cried out loudly for leniency.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Just because of some mocking words driven by jealousy, he was to be cast into the Path of Beasts in his next life? Wasn't this punishment a bit too severe?

Especially since he had already received Master Xuanzang's forgiveness.

"Amitabha, well said, well said…" However, to Jinchi's pleas, Guanyin showed no trace of softening, only leaving behind a holy name before the light around the statue gradually faded, and the lifelike look in its eyes disappeared.

"Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva, please lighten the punishment for your disciple…" Jinchi was both anxious and earnest as he shouted out loud.

As a cultivator of Buddhism, one aims for a better next life. Now over 200 years old with not many years left to live, suddenly learning he would be reincarnated on the Path of Beasts after death was a severe punishment indeed.

Changed by some derisive comments, was this how a disciple marked by the Scar of Precepts was valued in the heart of the Bodhisattva?

Could it be? After over 200 years of cultivating Buddhism, was this the end he was to meet?

Tears streamed down his face as he continued begging for mercy, but the statue of Guanyin in front of him showed no reaction, evidently unmoved by his pleas.

After a long time of pleading without seeing any softening from the Bodhisattva, Jinchi reflected on his 200 years of bitter cultivation, only to receive such a fate.

He had managed the Guanyin Zen Temple until it was flourishing, yet such a small mistake was unforgivable...

Slowly, the words of Jinchi's pleas ceased. He looked up at the statue of Guanyin, his eyes filled with hatred and madness.

If so, what was the point of continuing his cultivation of Buddhism?

As the saying goes, a cornered dog will leap over a wall, and even a cornered rabbit will bite. At this moment, with hatred arising within him, it was like a landslide and a tsunami crashing down.

His eyes bloodshot, Jinchi felt hatred not only towards Guanyin, not only towards the Buddhist Sect, but even towards Xuanzang.

If not for him, how could he have ended up in such a state?

"Humph, hmph, hmph. Is Master Xuanzang so important to you? If so, even if I die, I'll make sure he goes down with me. That way, I won't consider it a loss," his eyes bloodshot as ominous black Qi even started to surface around him.

The once compassionate and wise monk now seemed evil, ominous, and mad.

Jinchi had succumbed to demon possession.

...

In the Zen Room, Jiang Liu sat cross-legged, rotating the Heavenly Dragon Zen Sound cultivation technique, continuously gaining experience points. However, his mind was not immersed, filled with myriad thoughts.

Today's transformation of Jinchi could be called a complete reversal. Although Sun Wukong knew all of this was a manipulation by the Buddhist Sect, he could not understand why the Buddhist Sect wanted Jinchi to create obstacles for the journey to the West. Didn't they want him to obtain the True Scriptures as soon as possible?

But after some thought, Jiang Liu naturally understood what was happening. This was the Buddhist Sect wanting Jinchi to meet his fate, wasn't it?

That is to say, on his journey to the West, he must face precisely ninety-nine difficulties?

With this thought, anger surged in Jiang Liu's heart. For the journey to the West, for the ninety-nine difficulties, the Buddhist Sect was willing to sacrifice Jinchi, a disciple of over 200 years, unfeelingly.

No wonder that day at the Five Elements Mountain, when he shared his life experiences with Sun Wukong, Sun loudly mocked him, saying the heavens full of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were not only extremely manipulative of others, but even of their own.

The heavens and the earth are a chessboard, and the deities and Buddhas are the players. Are all the beings under heaven mere chess pieces on this board, merely to be played with by deities and Buddhas?

Perhaps because he was also just a piece on this chessboard, having understood what happened to Jinchi, Jiang Liu felt even more empathy, and his heart was filled with revolt against the deities and Buddhas who toyed with the lives of beings under heaven.

If this manipulation was truly the deed of deities and Buddhas, then this time, I, for one, will not meet your expectations!

Jiang Liu's heart cried out firmly, more determined than ever, he rose in resistance.

Although calamities were opportunities for him, if everything was prearranged, turning other people's hearts to his advantage through manipulation, he might as well pass on that!

Alert: Triggered the mission "Resistance". Mission requirements: Successfully resist the machinations of the Buddhist Sect. Rewards: +300,000 Experience Points, random Epic Level Treasure Chest *1.

As Jiang Liu's spirit firmed, suddenly, the system's prompt echoed in his mind, the triggering of this mission astounded Jiang Liu.

From the mission's description, it really was true that the Jinchi incident was a scheme by the Buddhist Sect, but the rewards for this mission seemed excessively generous, didn't they?

The 300,000 experience points were one thing, but to actually receive an Epic Level treasure chest as a reward?! Was this the kind of chest that guaranteed Epic Level equipment?

So far, he possessed only three Legendary Level equipment pieces, the Vidyaraja Crown, the Flashing Brilliance Shoes, and the Huali Law Ring, but until now, he hadn't come across a single piece of Epic Level equipment. Now, by completing this mission, would he actually be rewarded with an Epic Level piece of equipment?

Let's do this!

Since he had already decided to resist the calculations of the Buddhist Sect in his heart, the emergence of this mission only strengthened Jiang Liu's resolve.

At the same time, with the appearance of this mission, Jiang Liu also gained a rough idea of the task system.

When his heart was set on doing certain important things, it would actively trigger missions. These triggered missions are the icing on the cake, aligning with his goals, and he could collect rewards after their completion.

When someone needed help and asked for his aid, it would passively trigger a mission. The biggest difference with passive missions is the penalty for failure, as promises made verbally must be fulfilled.

But it's also precisely because of this that the rewards from passive missions are generally more generous; fortune favors the bold.

Cough cough.

Jiang Liu sat cross-legged, meditating on the Heavenly Dragon Zen Sound, secretly pondering how to contend with the Buddhist Sect. Suddenly, he felt a surge of smoke assail him, causing him to cough a few times.

Opening his eyes, he could see firelight outside, almost simultaneously accompanied by relentless cries.

"Master, the water's gone...," Sun Wukong leapt to his feet, coming to Jiang Liu's side to say.

"Let's go, let's go outside and see," without any reason, why would the Guanyin Zen Temple catch fire? As soon as Jiang Liu felt something unusual, he got up and spoke.

The two, a man and a monkey, stepped outside the Zen Room only to see a fiercely burning purplish-red flame, with a large number of monks attempting to put out the fire.

However, even though water was poured on the purplish-red flames, they were hardly affected.

"Wukong, what kind of fire is this?" Seeing the water-resistant flames which radiated a strange purplish-red hue, Jiang Liu spoke up and asked.

"This is the Fire of Wood, a strange flame among heaven and earth rumored to be inextinguishable by water, eternally burning. It is one aspect of the Samadhi True Fire. However, looking at it, it seems to have been tainted with demonic qi. To be more precise, it should be considered one aspect of the Samadhi Demonic Fire.

But which demon has the Guanyin Zen Temple offended to have someone use the Fire of Wood to burn down the temple?" Sun Wukong, with his capable vision, determined the origins of the purplish-red flames with just one look.

"Wukong, start extinguishing the fire first," seeing the raging flames, as the monks of the Guanyin Zen Temple struggled to quench the fire, Jiang Liu spoke up and said.

"Master, my water control spell isn't particularly spectacular. It won't be easy to extinguish this demonic fire of wood," Sun Wukong responded, scratching his head in embarrassment.

"Let me help," as Sun Wukong finished speaking, a familiar voice called out. It was the White Dragon Horse, who had apparently heard Jiang Liu and came running to volunteer.

"You...," looking at the approaching White Dragon Horse, Jiang Liu hesitated a little.

Until now, the White Dragon Horse had been following him without any official status, so nominally, Jiang Liu felt he didn't have the right to command him.

However, the matter being urgent, he couldn't care less about formalities as saving the temple from fire was more crucial. He nodded his head and said, "Then please, I'll leave it to you."

As Jiang Liu nodded, the White Dragon Horse leapt up, directly onto the roof. Then, opening his mouth, he spat out a brilliantly glowing Dragon Ball.

A light misty rain began to fall, soon turning into a torrential downpour. Oddly enough, as the heavy rain fell, the fire at the Guanyin Zen Temple was really brought under control, gradually diminishing.

After a long while, as the Fire of Wood finally extinguished, the White Dragon Horse closed his mouth to swallow back the Dragon Ball.

However, the luster of the Dragon Ball dimmed significantly after dousing the fire, and the White Dragon Horse appeared much more listless.

...

Leaving aside the situation at the Guanyin Zen Temple, elsewhere, about twenty to thirty miles away in a large mountain from the Guanyin Zen Temple, Jinchi, wearing a dark red Kasaya and emanating demonic qi, glanced back at the flames soaring into the sky from the Guanyin Zen Temple, a cold sneer on his lips. He turned and continued forward.

Since the Bodhisattva was heartless, he wasn't going to be blamed for being unrighteous. The Guanyin Zen Temple no longer needed to exist.

"Stop there, who goes there?" A patrol Little Demon jumped out in front of Jinchi and shouted.

However, as soon as the Little Demon spoke, he recognized Jinchi and said, "Oh, it's the Holy Monk Jinchi, a rare visitor! The Great King has been mentioning you these days."

(PS: Asking for monthly tickets, I need a lot...)