Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

"As you say, it has been nearly two thousand years since I've exercised my muscles and bones. Do you wish to have a go at me today?" Master Wuchao's gaze rested calmly on the Tathagata as he spoke in return.

"Amitabha, since that is the case, I shall not disturb your meditation and contemplation any further..." The Tathagata's expression remained tranquil, and after a brief moment of silence, showing no intention of engaging in battle, he softly chanted a Buddhist mantra and soon turned to leave Foutu Mountain.

Ever since the Deification catastrophe, he had secluded himself within Foutu Mountain, living a reclusive life. Today, however, he had actually struck a junior, even bringing out the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife. This made the Tathagata very puzzled, which is why he came in person to see if he could subtly uncover something.

Unfortunately, he merely claimed that it was due to the fortuity of his spirit. Although the Tathagata didn't quite believe this statement, upon reflection, he couldn't think of any other possibility.

After all, he had indeed been there for nearly two thousand years, and it was the Scripture Seeker's team that had actively set foot on Foutu Mountain.

Of course, the main reason was that in the face of Master Wuchao, the Tathagata had no assurance of victory. Otherwise, he might as well have defeated him and then asked his questions.

Master Wuchao, although he called himself a Zen Master, meditated and sought the Dao in a way that was neither of Taoism nor Buddhism...

Towards the departure of the Tathagata, Master Wuchao's demeanor remained serene, showing no surprise. The vast influence of Buddhism did indeed make him wary, but it was the strength of the entire Buddhist sect he feared, not the Tathagata alone.

"However, as the Tathagata mentioned, why should I, over just a junior of the Demon Clan, need to resort to the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife!?"

Yet, as he watched the Tathagata leave, Master Wuchao recalled the expression that Jiang Liu had when he produced the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Cough cough cough...

Just at that moment, Master Wuchao's complexion turned abruptly pale as he covered his mouth with a quick cough. Lowering his hand, one could see a pool of blood in his palm, red as blazing fire.

"It's been over half a year, and my injury is still so severe? I really don't know when it will get better, sigh!"

...

"Hehehe, Bajie, come and eat, Master's braised pork is delicious!" On the other side, Jiang Liu set up the stove among other things and had already cooked a large pot of food. Sun Wukong, with a greasy mouth, chuckled and said to Zhu Bajie beside him.

However, now it was Zhu Bajie's turn to remain silent, hungrily eating from a large bowl of white rice.

While Zhu Bajie was lazy, it didn't mean he was stupid. Through today's meal, he naturally realized that his master was displeased with him, and the reason? He understood it all too well.

Beside them, the White Dragon Horse also had a bowl of food before him, eating methodically. He wisely refrained from commenting on the situation within the team.

He was merely a mount, but indeed, someone who dared not offend anyone.

After dinner, Jiang Liu asked Zhu Bajie to tidy up the pots and pans and then prepared to sit down and cultivate.

Normally, if asked to clean up the cookware, Zhu Bajie would dawdle, but today he dared not say much and just nodded in agreement to tidy up.

"Right, Master, when I went hunting earlier, I found that about twenty or thirty miles north from here, there's a little town. The weather has gotten much colder since we left Foutu Mountain, especially at night!" Seeing that Jiang Liu was preparing to sit down and cultivate, Sun Wukong started to suggest.

"Hmm, northward? All right, as soon as Bajie finishes tidying up, we'll go!" After pondering briefly, Jiang Liu nodded in agreement.

But in just a short while, under the setting sun, Jiang Liu and his companions set off toward the north.

Since they were not traveling westward, it did not take long to cross the mere twenty or thirty miles. From the distance, they could indeed see a small town which looked rather bustling under the sunset.

Outside the town, many crops could be seen, and numerous farmers were also seen washing the mud off their hands and feet in the nearby water ditches, returning home barefoot.

A life of rising at sunrise and resting at sunset, though plain, was indeed heartwarming.

Riding on a white horse, Jiang Liu truly had an extraordinary presence, accompanied by a little monkey, which was also unproblematic. However, the presence of a large black pig, who walked upright with a stature like a black bear, startled many townspeople. They shouted 'Demon!' and turned to flee.

"Bajie, you should change your appearance. Your current look is frightening and really not good," said Jiang Liu, upon seeing the reactions of the people.

"All right, Master. Did you grow tired of old Pig's appearance too?"

Upon Jiang Liu's remark, Zhu Bajie used the Art of Transformation from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gales, turning into a handsome man, although he muttered under his breath.

"Amitabha, Bajie, the skin is but an appearance; you only need to change enough not to frighten people. Turning into a handsome man... you must understand this principle early on. Although your master's appearance is refined, it is natural and I cannot help it!"

Watching Zhu Bajie's transformed figure, debonair and exuding a sun-like vigor, Jiang Liu's lips twitched slightly as he spoke.

Before Zhu Bajie could reply, Sun Wukong interjected, "Master, you don't realize, when this old Pig was Marshal Tianpeng, he already looked like this..."

"Ah!?" Jiang Liu was startled and looked at Zhu Bajie in amazement.

When he was the Marshal Tianpeng, was Zhu Bajie this handsome? Not only was he good-looking, but he also had the robust aura of a marshal, which was completely different from the delicate beauty of the young idols of his past life.

"This guy is so handsome, almost catching up with me, and in the Immortal Realm, he was the Great Marshal Tianpeng, commanding eighty thousand naval forces. Yet he couldn't win Chang'e's favor and even got demoted to the Lower Realm? It's like being smashed from heaven straight to hell, isn't it?"

Seeing Zhu Bajie revert to his original handsome form, Jiang Liu inwardly sneered.

His power had vanished, turning into a demon; his handsome and dashing appearance gone, reincarnated into an ugly, dark pig. Could anyone withstand such a blow? No wonder Zhu Bajie seemed resigned to his fate with no motivation for anything.

"Sigh..." After reverting to his former self, Zhu Bajie let out a faint sigh.

To regain his original appearance, he actually had to rely on the Art of Transformation. The bitterness of this was indescribable to outsiders.

It was as if an ordinary person had to wear their own mask to show their real face to the world.

"Huh, wait a moment!"

However, after walking north for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, nearing a town, Jiang Liu's expression suddenly changed. He hopped off the White Dragon Horse's back.

He approached a field where crops less than half a meter tall were growing. As Jiang Liu came closer, a strange fragrance caught his attention, causing his eyes to brighten significantly.

"Could these be…" Bending down, he inspected the growing crops, murmuring to himself.

"Master, what are these things!?" Seeing Jiang Liu's pleasantly surprised look at these small plants, Sun Wukong approached curiously and asked.

"Wukong, this is called cumin. If it's ground into cumin powder, I guarantee you'll like it!" Jiang Liu said delightfully, looking at the small plants less than half a meter tall before him.

Indeed, the Journey to the West was full of wonderful discoveries. Having found cumin, how far away could chili be?

Just imagine holding a skewer of meat, sprinkled with cumin powder, chili powder, and even black pepper, along with a drink in one hand. That's the real life. Your next read is at empire

Sadly, he didn't know how to brew beer. Otherwise, it would be perfect paired with an ice-cold beer.

"Cumin? What's that for?" The look on Jiang Liu's face made Sun Wukong even more curious.

"Hey, who are you people!? What are you doing here?" Before Jiang Liu could reply, a dark-skinned man approached, obviously concerned that they were meddling with his property, hence, he came over to inquire.

"Excuse me, brother, what do you call these things?" Seeing the dark-skinned man coming over, Jiang Liu straightened his clothes and asked humbly and politely.

"You mean these anise hyssops? They're from the west, introduced here in recent years; they smell quite nice so I tried planting some this year to see if my wife can make them into sachets for selling!" The dusky man replied, upon hearing Jiang Liu's interest in the crops.

"Sachets...?" The man's response made Jiang Liu's lips twitch slightly.

"Yes, as farmers, the most important thing is to grow crops. I had quite the quarrel with my wife over planting these anise hyssops. It's also thanks to being near Foutu Mountain, where it's like spring all year round. Otherwise, during the dead of winter, who would waste fertile land for these things?" The man shook his head ruefully as he spoke.

Hearing the man's words, Jiang Liu surveyed the surroundings.

Indeed, looking around, the field of cumin was only about three acres while all other fields were sown with grains.

"Don't worry, your choice to plant these is absolutely correct. How much have you harvested? I'll take it all!" Jiang Liu said, considering the scarcity of cumin.

"Really!? That would be wonderful!" The man was overjoyed at Jiang Liu's offer to buy it all.

Yet, the joy soon gave way to a look of difficulty, "But, master, I've never sold these before. I don't know how much to charge. What do you think…"

"Let's do this – I don't want to underpay you. Since the yield of this anise hyssop is much lower than that of grain, the price must be higher. I'll pay ten times the price of grain!" Jiang Liu said, pondering for a moment before making his offer.

"That's too much, too much. The same land would produce about only three times as much grain compared to this anise hyssop!" The man was startled by Jiang Liu's price.

"Come on, let's go to your house and see how much you've harvested!"

Jiang Liu waved his hands, appearing very generous. Ten times the price of grain was nothing for someone like Jiang Liu, who could earn gold by defeating monsters.

Moreover, upon setting off from the Great Tang, Jiang Liu did not shy away from carrying a considerable amount of gold.

Seeing Jiang Liu's lavish attitude, and that someone finally appreciated the crops he had risked planting, the man eagerly washed his hands in a nearby ditch and warmly invited Jiang Liu and others to his home.