Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

He rubbed his head and slowly opened his eyes, his gaze somewhat vacant.

However, his vision quickly became clear, and he remembered the encounter with the three Great Demons, and then Daoji transforming into the Dragon Subduing Arhat.

"Amitabha, Xuanzang, you have awakened," just then, a familiar yet strange voice sounded beside him.

The voice was familiar because it was well-known, but the tone gave a feeling of strangeness.

Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw Daoji, no, he should be addressed as the Dragon Subduing Arhat, sitting beside him, quietly watching him.

"Arhat, how is Gaoyang?" he asked, sitting up and addressing the Dragon Subduing Arhat. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

Although the Dragon Subduing Arhat was present, Jiang Liu felt that the White Venom King wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble, but since he had passed out, he hadn't personally seen Gaoyang out of danger, so his heart was naturally unsettled.

"Amitabha, Xuanzang, you should know that as a disciple of the Buddhist Sect, one must not indulge in personal love affairs," instead of answering Jiang Liu's question, the Dragon Subduing Arhat stared at him with a stern look and spoke in a heavy tone of rebuke.

After being scolded by the Dragon Subduing Arhat, Jiang Liu was slightly stunned. Then, after a moment of silence, he felt that the Arhat before him and the Daoji he remembered were worlds apart and asked, "Are you not Daoji?"

"Daoji is merely the identity of my True Spirit in reincarnation. Daoji's experiences and memories are but a trivial decade or so within my several millennia of life," the Arhat answered calmly in response to Jiang Liu's question, "Daoji is part of the Dragon Subduing, but the Dragon Subduing is not Daoji."

"This is the relationship between inclusion and being included..." Jiang Liu understood the explanation from the Dragon Subduing Arhat.

To put it simply, if Daoji's experiences and memories gathered bit by bit over a decade were like a cup of water, then the Dragon Subduing's thousands of years of experiences and memories were like a pond.

Pouring that cup of water into the pond, the outcome was self-evident.

"The Golden Cicada that I knew, was devoted to Buddha as the second disciple of the Tathagata. His Buddha-like heart and nature won the admiration of everyone on Spirit Mountain. He reincarnated ten times, with the previous nine times firmly holding on to his beliefs and not forgetting his destined Scripture Seeking task.

Yet to my surprise, in this most crucial life, you have become so intoxicated with love," the Dragon Subduing Arhat pondered for a moment and felt that it was time to tell him of his destiny to seek scriptures in the West.

The Dragon Subduing Arhat was both angry and helpless at this moment.

Having descended to Lower Realm for a mission, Buddha gave me a chance to redeem my mistakes, which was to guide the reincarnation of Master Golden Cicada onto the path of his destined journey to the West after my reincarnation.

In the eyes of the Dragon Subduing Arhat, Golden Cicada always remembered his mission in the previous nine reincarnations, so this task shouldn't have been difficult. Yet unexpectedly, in this last life, Golden Cicada became drunk on romance?

This was something the Dragon Subduing Arhat would naturally stop at no cost.

Fortunately, Gaoyang had been poisoned with the Corrupting Spirit Poison, a poison that could kill immortals. It's not that I lacked the ability to cure it, even if I could, I would absolutely not do it.

However, Jiang Liu had long been aware of his destined Scripture Seeking mission. Upon hearing this news, he did not react with shock or rush to ask questions, but instead stared seriously at the Dragon Subduing Arhat and asked again, "Just now, Arhat, you did not answer my question. How is Gaoyang? Has she escaped danger safely?"

After speaking out about his destined journey to the West for scriptures, he still doesn't care and is still concerned about that woman?

The Dragon Subduing Arhat was both shocked and angry, and after a brief moment of silence, he felt that it was time to tell him the truth, to completely cut off his thoughts of this love affair.

"That mere Snake Demon, I have already slain her. However, I was a step too late when I acted. That Snake Demon injected the Corrupting Spirit Poison into Princess Gaoyang's body. I don't have the ability to cure it. In forty-nine days, that girl will perish from rotting inside and out," said the Dragon Subduing Arhat.

"You did it on purpose!"

The words of the Dragon Subduing Arhat startled Jiang Liu, who abruptly rose from the bed and shouted at the Dragon Subduing Arhat, "With your cultivation level that transcends worldly affairs, even dragons can be subdued by you. How could you let a White Snake poison under your watch? You did it on purpose!"

"Amitabha, please understand the situation. I am under no obligation to save people for you!" Despite Jiang Liu's angry shouting, the Dragon Subduing Arhat remained calm and spoke indifferently.

This speech left Jiang Liu speechless.

Indeed, from a rational perspective, the Dragon Subduing Arhat truly was under no obligation to save anyone. Even separating him from Gaoyang was a reasonable act, and all this had been anticipated by him long before.

Yet, when everything actually unfolded, Jiang Liu still found his mind in disarray.

Though from the standpoint of the Buddhist Sect, the Dragon Subduing Arhat would not be wrong even if he deliberately caused Gaoyang's death, from Jiang Liu's point of view, there was naturally anger in his heart.

"Fine, fine, such is the 'compassionate' Buddhist Sect," Jiang Liu said angrily and with a mocking laugh, gazing intently at the Dragon Subduing Arhat before him. Without another word, he turned and ran outside.

The Dragon Subduing Arhat did not attempt to stop Jiang Liu as he ran into the distance.

The Corrupting Spirit Poison was not something that could be cured by means from the Mortal World. Regardless of how much he struggled, he had only these forty-nine days left...

"Amitabha, Arhat, aren't you afraid this action will provoke a strong backlash from Xuanzang? Furthermore, considering his identity..." With Jiang Liu gone, the Saint Monk Longhai came in from outside, hands pressed together, his expression tinged with worry.

Although both the Dragon Subduing Arhat and the Saint Monk Longhai opposed the romantic attachment between Jiang Liu and Gaoyang, the actions of the Dragon Subduing Arhat were indeed too direct and brusque, far from the gentleness of Longhai.

After all, one should not underestimate Xuanzang's identity.

"It's fine. Xuanzang is just that, not the Golden Cicada. Why fear his grudge?" said the Arhat unconcerned, waving his hand dismissively.

"Daoji is the Dragon Subduing Arhat, but the Dragon Subduing Arhat is not Daoji; similarly, Xuanzang is the Golden Cicada, but how could the Golden Cicada be Xuanzang?" he continued.

"Should the day come that he reaches the Great Thunder Monastery of the Western Heaven, obtains the True Scriptures, and achieves enlightenment to become a Buddha, surely the Golden Cicada would thank me for today's actions, helping him cut off his mortal ties?" he added.

"Sigh..." Longhai let out a silent sigh.

Longhai did not agree with the actions of the Dragon Subduing Arhat. Having spent some time with him, Longhai believed he understood Xuanzang's temperament somewhat: clear about gratitude and grudges, yet still full of youthful vigor.

The same Xuanzang who had dared to loudly proclaim his wish to return to secular life during the Incense Offering Ceremony could react unpredictably if pushed to the edge, and no one knew what astonishing things he might do.

...

In the Great Tang Imperial Palace, upon sickbed, Princess Gaoyang lay quietly, her face covered with a veil, and Emperor Li Shimin of Tang sat by her side, holding a teacup, his expression serene.

Yet, the tea in his cup had gone cold without him taking a single sip.

Within the palace, more than a dozen grey-haired Imperial Physicians all wore expressions of distress. They were all powerless against the poison afflicting the Princess.

By Gaoyang's bedside stood a Taoist in his fifties, with the air of an immortal, holding a horsetail whisk in one hand, while the other hand rested on Gaoyang's fair wrist, silently taking her pulse.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Visible to the naked eye, on the snow-white and jade-like wrist, a patch of decayed flesh spread slowly in a horrific manner.

After a long while, the Taoist withdrew his hand and sighed softly.

"Taoist Yuan, how is Gaoyang's condition?" asked Li Shimin, setting down his now-cold tea, after seeing the younger Taoist complete his pulse diagnosis.

"Report!" Before the Taoist could speak, suddenly, a eunuch hurriedly rushed in.

"Your Majesty, Master Xuanzang requests to see Her Highness the Princess."