Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

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In the Lower Realm, Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing were resting, as the events of tonight had indeed given them some headaches.

As for Jiang Liu, naturally, he seized the time to diligently cultivate his Heavenly Dragon Zen Sound, accumulating Experience Points bit by bit!

How strong was Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Bajie!? It was undoubtedly so; in his Law of Heaven and Earth form gone berserk, Zhu Bajie's desperate state unleashed a power that took Jiang Liu aback.

Up to now, Jiang Liu had seen quite a number of powerhouses, such as the mysterious and immensely powerful Master Wuchao at first, and then Mother of Lishan, who was able to have three Bodhisattvas serve as her daughters in the Four Sages' Test of Hearts.

However, on this Journey to the West, the truly awe-inspiring powers that Jiang Liu had personally witnessed were few.

First, there was Sun Wukong, who, under Mount Five Elements in his Law of Heaven and Earth form, shattered the entire mountain as if it were a sandbag.

That scene is still fresh in Jiang Liu's memory to this day.

Second, there was the recent Zhu Bajie, whose Divine Skills in his Law of Heaven and Earth form, with his blood-red enraged eyes, were so fearsome that even Bodhisattva Guanyin didn't intend to confront him directly, which shows the terrifying fighting power of an enraged Zhu Bajie.

Of course, apart from being shocked, Jiang Liu was also secretly pondering over Zhu Bajie's trip to the Heavenly Court. He was destined to be one of the Scripture Seekers, so even though he went to cause trouble, presumably, he wouldn't be in any mortal danger, even if caught.

But Jiang Liu wondered what Zhu Bajie had found out during his secret investigation in the Heavenly Court and what he had achieved in the end?

Days went by, four or five days, during which Zhu Bajie didn't return. This caused Jiang Liu some worry. He hadn't encountered real danger, had he?

"Master, where is Second Brother? Why has he disappeared?"

After waiting several days without a sign of Zhu Bajie, although Sha Wujing had become somewhat marginalized, he couldn't help but ask Jiang Liu.

"He? Stricken by love, hence his mood has been bad. He went off alone to clear his mind. Don't worry, he should be back before long!"

Suspecting all along that Sha Wujing was a spy planted by the Immortals and Buddhas among the Journey to the West Team, Jiang Liu naturally didn't share too much with him. Hearing this, he blurted out a fabricated response.

"Okay then!" Grateful for his master's response, Sha Wujing didn't dare to inquire further. He nodded and said nothing more.

After all, his only job was to follow the team all the way to the Great Thunder Monastery of the Western Heaven. He had no interest in dealing with anything else.

As for waiting a few more days? Then wait a bit longer—it wouldn't make a difference in the grand scheme of the Scripture Seeking journey.

Finally, late at night, Zhu Bajie returned and found Jiang Liu, his expression grave: "Master, come here, Old Pig has something to discuss with you!"

"Alright!" Seeing Zhu Bajie's solemn expression, Jiang Liu realized he must have discovered something. He nodded, and together they went to Zhuzhu's grave.

Now that Zhu Bajie was back, Sun Wukong and the others were no longer worried. As for Zhu Bajie's desire to talk privately with their master, they didn't bother snooping.

However, the corners of Sun Wukong's mouth lifted slightly. He closed his eyes, his Primordial Spirit left his body, and then, transforming into a tiny mosquito, he flew towards Zhu Bajie.

Sha Wujing and the White Dragon Horse, being steadier characters, knew eavesdropping was not proper; but Sun Wukong, with his unrestrained personality, followed his curiosity straight to eavesdropping.

"Bajie, why did it take you so long?" Once they arrived at Zhuzhu's grave, Jiang Liu asked.

"Master, Old Pig moved as fast as he could. You must know that one day in heaven is equivalent to a year on earth!" Zhu Bajie explained.

"I see!" Upon hearing Zhu Bajie's explanation, realization dawned on Jiang Liu.

It appeared Zhu Bajie's trip to the Heavenly Court was indeed very swift.

"Right, so what did you find out this time?" After nodding in understanding, Jiang Liu asked. Read new chapters at empire

"Yes, I've uncovered some things I wanted to know. Just like you said, master—everything was indeed orchestrated by Guanyin in advance!" Zhu Bajie nodded, anger in his eyes as he spoke resentfully.

Without interruption, Jiang Liu simply looked at Zhu Bajie with an inquiring gaze, waiting for his detailed explanation.

"I found the Matchmaker God and pressed him for information. He confessed that indeed, there was an extra Red Thread tied to me, but it wasn't him who tied it. Moreover, Guanyin had previously taken a few Red Threads from him, saying they would be needed for the grand cause of our Journey to the West!"

Zhu Bajie began, sharing the information he had extracted from the Matchmaker God with Jiang Liu in a straightforward manner.

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"Wait a minute..."

However, upon hearing Zhu Bajie's words, Jiang Liu's expression slightly changed, becoming much more grave, he said, "What do you mean? Guanyin has asked for several strands of red threads from the Matchmaker God!?"

The word "several" was emphasized heavily by Jiang Liu.

"Indeed, that is the case," Zhu Bajie nodded, looking at Jiang Liu with some bewilderment, not understanding if his master's words held some other significance.

"Not just one strand, but several strands? And she had asked for them a while ago?" Once he had confirmation from Zhu Bajie, Jiang Liu's expression turned grim.

If Guanyin had thought of using the red threads suddenly to make things difficult for Zhu Bajie, then according to the saying 'a day in heaven is like a year on earth,' the Matchmaker God should have said that they were just taken by Guanyin, not that they had been taken a long time ago!

Does this mean that Guanyin's primary purpose in asking for the red threads was not to deal with Zhu Bajie?

Then, if it was not for Zhu Bajie, who was it intended to entrap?

Before Zhu Bajie, who else was beset by a trial of love?

The situation between me and Gaoyang, as well as between Zhu Bajie and Zhuzhu, is it just the same recipe, the same flavor?

"Could it be!? Was the emotional issue between me and Gaoyang also something that Guanyin had designed a long time ago!?"

The truth uncovered by Zhu Bajie weighed heavily on Jiang Liu's heart, and he could not help but harbor such thoughts.

Would the romance between Gaoyang and myself inevitably be obstructed by the Buddhist Sect, something Jiang Liu had long suspected, but did it also mean that the very birth of our feelings was orchestrated by Guanyin with the red thread, in secret?

This was something Jiang Liu had never considered before, but now it seemed highly likely!?

"Although I knew from the start that the Journey to the West was part of a grand scheme, could it be that I've been in Guanyin's calculations since the beginning?"

Realizing that even his love affair with Gaoyang, perhaps even their meeting, might have been arranged by Guanyin, Jiang Liu murmured to himself with a heavy heart.

However, thinking of this, Jiang Liu felt puzzled. From the time Master Golden Cicada was demoted and reincarnated ten times to become the Tang Monk, it appeared that the Buddhist Sect had been laying out plans for the Journey to the West a long, long time ago.

But why did my soul transmigrate to become the Tang Monk? It seemed that none of the high-ranking figures in the Buddhist Sect were aware of this, were they?

Under the close surveillance of the Buddhist Sect, how could they not notice that I, a core figure in the Journey to the West, had been swapped out? Was this the doing of the system?

Shaking his head, Jiang Liu knew that he was still very weak and that these matters were not something he could clearly think through at present. His first priority was to strive to grow and become stronger.

Even for beings like Marshal Tianpeng and Sun Wukong, who are at the level of Taiyi True Immortals, the Buddhist Sect could plot and suppress them almost at will. To take control of my own fate, I must continuously become stronger and even more powerful!

"Master, what are you thinking about? Did you deduce something new?" Zhu Bajie, seeing Jiang Liu deep in thought, asked.

With the master's wisdom, Zhu Bajie would not be the least surprised if his master could deduce many things.

"Yes, I have indeed deduced some things, but they are not about you!" Zhu Bajie's words interrupted Jiang Liu's train of thought. Jiang Liu temporarily organized the cluttered thoughts in his mind before responding.

"Oh, alright then..." Zhu Bajie nodded, hearing that it didn't involve him. Given his lazy nature, he naturally had no interest in paying attention.

However, gazing upon the grave of Zhuzhu before him and thinking of the child she was carrying—his first child—lost to such schemes, anger and hate surged in Zhu Bajie's heart.

"Master, I... I'm thinking of leaving you all..." After a moment of silence, Zhu Bajie suddenly spoke up to Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu turned his head to look at Zhu Bajie, not in a rush to ask, but with an inquisitive gaze.

"I am a man who values loyalty and friendship. The merit of the Journey to the West, I've never cared for it. Today, the Buddhist Sect's schemes against me have lit a fire within me; I'm now sworn enemies with the Sect. Given that, it would not be appropriate for me to continue the journey with you all!"

With a thump, Zhu Bajie knelt down and gave Jiang Liu a heartfelt kowtow.

He paused slightly, then spoke, "Though we haven't known each other long, you have cared for me greatly along the way. I'll keep that in my heart. With your merits, Master, you are sure to be ordained a Buddha after obtaining the scriptures. So, if one day I stand in opposition to you, I hope you will no longer show me mercy!"

"Ahem, Bajie, are you so certain that your teacher would stand with the Buddhist Sect?"