Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Jiang Liu's gaze intently fixed on Ksitigarbha, clearly dissatisfied with what he had said, thus he directly posed two questions of his own.

First, who brought him to this world through crossing dimensions?

Second, why did Ksitigarbha choose to side with him? These were the questions Jiang Liu wanted to clarify.

Ksitigarbha also seriously gazed at Jiang Liu, watched for a long time, and after a long silence, slightly shook his head, saying, "I know the answers to the two questions you posed, but now is not the time to tell you. Since Master Wuchao didn't tell you, I naturally cannot say either!"

This answer from Ksitigarbha made Jiang Liu slightly furrow his brows.

"Don't be annoyed now, it's not the time to tell you yet. If you know the truth of everything, it will not benefit you in any way!" Seeing Jiang Liu frown, Ksitigarbha followed with an explanation.

Well, alright, Ksitigarbha has made up his mind not to speak, what can he do about it? He surely can't actually attack Ksitigarbha, can he?

More importantly, throughout the journey, Ksitigarbha indeed took good care of him, so Jiang Liu still trusts his words.

"As expected, huh?" Although disappointed in his heart, from Ksitigarbha's words, Jiang Liu could also tell that Master Wuchao knew all the details of the beginning and end of everything.

But, Master Wuchao lied to him, saying he was unclear? This made Jiang Liu shake his head quietly, relatively speaking, Ksitigarbha's character was a bit more straightforward!

"Since that's the case, I naturally won't force Bodhisattva…" After taking a deep breath, Jiang Liu spoke to Ksitigarbha.

"Actually…"

Hearing this, Ksitigarbha opened his mouth to comfort him, saying, "Xuanzang, your journey to the west is nearing its end. As long as nothing unexpected happens, you should soon learn the truth of things! There's no need to rush at this moment!"

"Alright, Bodhisattva, I understand!" In response to Ksitigarbha's consolation, Jiang Liu nodded his affirmation.

They had discussed what needed to be discussed, and Jiang Liu had asked all he wanted to. For Jiang Liu, there wasn't much reason to stay.

After bidding farewell to Ksitigarbha, Jiang Liu left the Netherworld, flying towards Sun Wukong and their group.

"It seems, although the situation isn't clear, it's slowly surfacing!" After leaving the Netherworld, Jiang Liu murmured silently in his heart.

Firstly, the Hongmeng Purple Qi was taken from Master Wuchao by someone, then crafted into a game system sent to him, pulling him into the world of Journey to the West.

In Jiang Liu's view, the identity of the person behind this should be a Sage, right?

After all, considering the allure of Hongmeng Purple Qi to a quasi-saint, if the person who took it from Master Wuchao was a quasi-saint, no one would be able to resist the temptation of Hongmeng Purple Qi and then send it out.

And since the suspect is a Sage, then there are only a few possible identities for the puppet master.

Firstly, if he truly is wholeheartedly serving the Buddhist Sect, then it is most likely that the person behind the scenes is Jieyin or Zhunti.

But along his journey, his main purpose has been to overthrow the Immortals and Buddhas, which the person behind the scenes should know, yet they haven't meant to stop him…

In Jiang Liu's view, it shouldn't be Jieyin and Zhunti.

After all, for them, if they wanted the journey to go smoothly, they merely needed to let it proceed as per the original work, without needing to add such a variable as himself?

Excluding both Jieyin and Zhunti, the suspects are only the Three Pure Ones and Goddess Nvwa.

Let's talk about Laozi, the leader of the Six Sages, does he have such motives?

Thinking about it carefully, as a representative figure of the Taoist Sect, he would have motives to suppress the Buddhist Sect.

But Laozi always adhered to the doctrine of governing by non-action, so although he has the motive, the possibility is small.

Thus, considering all, Jiang Liu believes Laozi as the puppet master has about a thirty percent chance.

...

Additionally, of Yuanshi Heavenly Venerable, Jiang Liu thinks as a Sage of the Taoist Sect, just like Laozi, Yuanshi Heavenly Venerable also has motives.

Yet, he has even put the Heavenly Court on his list of targets, and has not seen the puppet master come to stop him, plus the Buddhist Sect had considerable gains in the great battle of deification, and the Interpretation Sect also had substantial harvests.

Therefore, Jiang Liu believes Yuanshi Heavenly Venerable also has a possibility, but all in all, the Interpretation Sect likely has only a little over twenty percent probability, even less than Laozi.

...

The last is Sect Master Tongtian, from the situation, the Sect of Intercepting and his goal should align.

Plus, in Gaoyang's possession is the Green Duckweed Sword, and he is on good terms with Demon King Ox, Mysterious Bird, Zhao Gongming, and Fairy Yunxiao. In terms of likelihood, Jiang Liu thinks Sect Master Tongtian has at least an eighty percent chance.

...

Then there's Goddess Nvwa, compared to the other Sages, under Goddess Nvwa, there isn't a Great Teaching, so relatively speaking, she seems less contentious.

But after all, humans were created by the Goddess Nüwa, and now that the position of the Human Emperor is lost, the luck of the Goddess Nüwa naturally declines as well.

Humans are almost controlled by the immortals and buddhas, so it makes sense that the Goddess Nüwa would want to change this situation.

Although during the war between the shamans and demons, the demon clan almost treated humans as food, there was no protective action from the Goddess Nüwa.

But now that the demon clan has declined, it makes sense that the Goddess Nüwa, for the sake of her own luck in the human race, is willing to interfere, right?

And the fact that I've overthrown the immortals and buddhas, and even intend to re-establish the Human Emperor, aligns with the interests of the Goddess Nüwa, doesn't it?

Therefore, considering everything, there's probably a seventy percent chance that it's the Goddess Nüwa.

...

Finally, there is Hongjun Ancestor, above the six saints.

But from Jiang Liu's point of view, Hongjun Ancestor has already become a part of the Heavenly Dao, similar to a part of a computer's operating system. As long as I don't do anything against the heavens or something that destroys the Heavenly Dao or the world, Hongjun is likely too lazy to bother with me.

Based on the fact that since I've transmigrated into Tang Monk, there hasn't been any punishment from Hongjun despite the series of events over the years, it can be seen.

If Hongjun Ancestor, as a part of the Heavenly Dao, is not clear about the details of such events, Jiang Liu would absolutely not believe it.

Therefore, considering everything, the likelihood of Hongjun Ancestor being the mastermind is not very high, about thirty to forty percent.

If Hongjun really no longer has personal feelings and desires, then it shouldn't be him.

Of course, if Hongjun still retains his feelings and desires, from a selfish perspective, Hongjun created the Taoist Sect and doesn't want to see the Taoist Sect in decline. It's understandable that he would want to suppress the Buddhist Sect a bit.

Therefore, considering everything, Jiang Liu believes that the possibility is greatest with Sect Master Tongtian and Goddess Nüwa.

Next, Laozi, Yuanshi Heavenly Venerable, and Hongjun also have a slight possibility.

The least likely are Jieyin and Zhunti.

"So, is it highly possible that this matter was caused by either Sect Master Tongtian or the Goddess Nüwa?" Jiang Liu muttered to himself after contemplating for a moment.

The primary suspicion, naturally, is placed on Sect Master Tongtian and the Goddess Nüwa.

Which one is it exactly? It's certainly difficult to determine by just thinking. After pondering for a long time, Jiang Liu quietly set these thoughts aside.

No matter which one it is, for Jiang Liu, this doesn't seem like a bad thing.

"So it seems, I have a saint standing behind me too, don't I?" Thinking about how it should be a saint manipulating behind the scenes, Jiang Liu didn't feel the anger of being used as a pawn, but rather felt happy.

With a saint standing behind me, relatively speaking, I guess I have some backing now?

While contemplating, Jiang Liu has analyzed this matter thoroughly and then found himself joining the Westward Journey team, having already met up with Sun Wukong and the others.

"Master, how did things go?" With Sun Wukong and the others being Daluo Golden Immortals, they were aware of the commotion over at Gale Gorge. Watching Jiang Liu return, Sun Wukong and the others approached to ask.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Moreover, this time it's all safe despite the danger, and the gains are quite significant!" Looking at the worried expressions of his disciples in response to Sun Wukong's inquiry, Jiang Liu smiled and said.

Indeed, as the saying goes, with high risk comes high reward. Although the crisis resulting from the evil corpse's vow was completely unforeseen by Jiang Liu, for him, the crisis also brought significant gains.

Not to mention the True Wind of Nansun, which was already in hand.

There's also the upgrade to version 3.0 of the Map of Mountains and Rivers, which Randeng Buddha must offer in a year, giving Jiang Liu more confidence in reaching the Quasi-Saint level.

Of course, there are also clues about the Hongmeng Purple Qi being on him and a saint likely backing him, which could be said to be the greatest gains for Jiang Liu.

This time, I can be sure the Hongmeng Purple Qi is on me. Isn't this something to be delighted about?

Finally, the rumor that the black-clothed mysterious man possessed the Hongmeng Purple Qi has also been curbed.

The original rumor that the black-clothed mysterious man held the Hongmeng Purple Qi had nearly every quasi-saint watching him, making Jiang Liu hesitant to appear as the black-clothed mysterious man.

Now it's cleared up, which makes it much easier for me to use the identity of the black-clothed mysterious man walking around in the future, doesn't it?

At this moment, reflecting back, Jiang Liu secretly chuckled, feeling the situation somewhat dramatic!

Originally I thought the Hongmeng Purple Qi wasn't on me, but the whole world rumored that it was.

But now, I've confirmed that the Hongmeng Purple Qi is indeed on me, yet the whole world thinks it's not.

This is indeed quite a dramatic situation...