Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

As the coordinator and executor of the Journey to the West, even though Guanyin Bodhisattva had braced herself for the challenge, knowing the task would be no easy feat, the recent events had still left her feeling incredibly drained.

It was proving much more difficult than she had anticipated!

They had only just left Chang'an and covered a mere few thousand miles—nothing compared to the entire journey of one hundred and eight thousand miles—yet the frustrations encountered one after another were already numerous.

Take, for example, the incident at the Guanyin Zen Temple. She had taken the initiative to destroy her own temple, merely to test whether man-made calamities counted.

In all fairness, having sacrificed so much, discovering a gifted Black Bear Demon and reclaiming Mount Luojia wouldn't be too much to ask, right?

But what happened? Xuanzang beat her to the punch!

Well, it would have been fine if the Black Bear Demon wasn't recruited, but in the end, she even had to cough up a Mystical Mirror as compensation.

And then? Just when things had settled down for a few days, out popped a monkey from within the Three Realms and Six Paths, with magical powers and abilities indistinguishable from Sun Wukong's, even snatching away the soul of the Dragon King of Jing River, giving her quite the scare.

It's true that in the end, she resolved the issue with the Six-Eared Macaque, who had never been heard of before, but she reluctantly had to give away one of her coveted armbands out of greed.

That aside, how long had she been at peace before another problem arose?

The western journey was preordained by the Heavenly Dao, a fate determined for the great flourish of Buddhism, and currently the foremost task within the entire Buddhist Realm, allowing no room for error.

The individuals on the western journey were likewise destined to be carried by the fate of the Heavenly Dao, unchangeable by any means.

Unexpectedly, the last of them was now rejected by Xuanzang!?

What to do now!?

Guanyin felt a headache coming on. Muzha, acting as her emissary, had spoken and yet it had no effect; so even if she were to personally intervene, Xuanzang probably wouldn't accept the favor.

Not wanting to do something that was bound to be embarrassing, Guanyin naturally hesitated to proceed.

But then, what solution existed that could persuade Xuanzang to take General Juanlian under his wing?

From Xuanzang's resolute attitude, it was clear that forceful measures could not be used. He would rather take a detour of thousands of miles than to accept General Juanlian, indicative of his aversion to the general.

However, it wasn't as though Xuanzang had made a mistake.

In this life, although Xuanzang had not yet awoken the true spirit of Golden Cicada, his intelligence was unmatched, evident from his ability to deduce the essence of the western journey for scriptures even before embarking on it.

Thus, having been eaten by General Juanlian in the previous nine lives, even without the awakening of his past-life memories, a natural abhorrence for General Juanlian was within reason.

"It seems that this matter requires a long-term strategy..."

After pondering for a moment, Guanyin couldn't come up with a good solution right away.

Putting aside Guanyin's troubles for the moment, Jiang Liu was spending his days comfortably, cultivating while riding on the back of the White Dragon Horse, decimating any demons they encountered along the way, and enjoying fine dining during his leisure time.

It goes without saying that after the enhancement of his Mixed Iron Rod, Jiang Liu's strength saw a significant increase.

If he encountered a demon, even one at the same Demon Soldier Realm, Jiang Liu could instantly move behind it and follow up with a Palm Thunder, leaving the opponent either dead or severely incapacitated.

The special effect of the Flashing Brilliance Shoes, combined with the terrifyingly high attack power of Palm Thunder, formed an impeccable strategy. Discover stories at empire

After traveling south along Liusha River for a good ten days and eliminating over a hundred demon creatures along the way, Jiang Liu had never once failed.

That day, Jiang Liu casually disposed of dozens of demons and demon soldiers emerging from the Liusha River, earning himself some Experience Points.

As these monsters had initiated the attack on him, their health bars depleted until they weren't just unconscious from severe injuries, but dead outright.

"Wukong, have any of you noticed that in the last couple of days, the number of demons seems to be increasing!?"

This was already the third wave of demons they'd encountered that day, and after Jiang Liu effortlessly dealt with these little demons, he raised the question to Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie.

"Indeed, Master. Now that you mention it, it does seem to be the case!" Sun Wukong nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

With Jiang Liu's reminder, Sun Wukong seemed to catch on and reflected on the past few days; it was indeed so.

"Master, eldest disciple brother, did you not notice? General Juanlian, who is under the river, hasn't shown himself in two days. He used to surface two or three times a day," Zhu Bajie, though naturally lazy, proved to be much more observant than Sun Wukong and interjected.

"Eh!? Now that you mention it, Bajie, it does seem to be the case. Could it be that something has happened in this Liusha River recently!?"

Agreeing with the observation, Sun Wukong stared at the water with its constant churn of sand and bubbles, contemplating the situation.

"Why bother? It's none of our business; we just need to keep heading south," although Zhu Bajie had long sensed that something was amiss, his attitude of indifference kept him from bothering with it.

"Indeed, Bajie does have a point!" Upon hearing Zhu Bajie's comment, Jiang Liu nodded in agreement.

No matter what was happening at the Liusha River, it had nothing to do with them. In fact, because some disturbances seemed to be occurring within the river, demons had become more active, sending many little demons trailing after them, facilitating their progression by slaying and leveling up; they could hardly be happier.

Meanwhile, two silhouettes soared across the sky...

Gliding through the clouds, they soon arrived above the Liusha River and quietly hovered there.

The eight-hundred-league-wide Liusha River stretched endlessly, resembling a vast sea.

"Sister Dragon Lady, why has that shrimp spirit escaped from the Bodhisattva's Lotus Pond? And moreover, why did the Bodhisattva become so angry?" A female figure standing on a cloud asked the dragon lady beside her.

"Gaoyang, you don't know, that shrimp spirit acted recklessly and, taking advantage of the Bodhisattva's absence, stole a lotus seed from the Lotus Platform. Naturally, the Bodhisattva was furious and commanded us to capture it," the dragon lady standing on the cloud said.

Having said this, Dragon Lady paused for a moment before adding, "Moreover, the Bodhisattva mentioned that you've been cultivating in the Purple Bamboo Forest for quite some time now, and have already achieved the Controlling-Law Realm. It's about time you left to gain some field experience!"

"Alright, Sister Dragon Lady, I understand!" Gaoyang nodded earnestly in response.

"However, finding the shrimp spirit in this vast eight-hundred-league-wide Liusha River is like looking for a needle in a haystack. How about this—we split up?" After glancing at the wide expanse of the river, the Dragon Lady proposed.

"Sure, Sister Dragon Lady!" Gaoyang nodded, her hand lifting to release a strip of red silk. With a leap, she landed on the red silk and flew to the south.

And the Dragon Lady? She revealed her true form as part of the Dragon Clan and flew north, beginning their search for the shrimp spirit in separate directions.

...

In recent days, the Liusha River had indeed become particularly bustling. Originally hosting countless kinds of demons due to its vastness, they all had their territories, maintaining a balance with one another.

General Juanlian, despite being a Heavenly Immortal among demons, had influence over the Liusha River. However, as his ambitions lay elsewhere, the various demon kings within the river gave him the respect he deserved.

But now, the situation was different.

A mere shrimp spirit with only the strength of a Demon General dared to steal a lotus seed from Guanyin's own Lotus Platform and flee the Lotus Pond.

Guanyin, the revered Bodhisattva, whose seeds could allow those of the Returning Void Realm to shed their mortal coils and ascend to immortality. Similarly, the seeds could also enable a demon king to avoid catastrophe and transform into a Demon Immortal.

This news naturally set the various demon kings within the Liusha River aflame with desire.

A lowly Demon General in possession of Guanyin's lotus seed? It was akin to a child clutching precious gold while wandering through a bustling market.

Lately, almost every demon in Liusha River had become active, with the demon kings ordering a search for the shrimp spirit from the Lotus Pond.

If they could find the lotus seed, they could partake of its powers, casting off their mortal forms.

As for General Juanlian, who was busy suppressing others? At this crucial moment, no face was given.

Once they attained the realm of Demon Immortal, they would belong to the Immortal Realm, and there would be no need to fear General Juanlian!

"It's all over; I'm really finished now!" a demon creature, transformed from a giant shrimp, fretted within the Liusha River.

Feeling the entire river's demons on the hunt for itself, and with people from the Purple Bamboo Forest chasing after it from the sky, it felt as if there was no escape, neither to heaven nor to earth.

For days and nights, Guanyin had been cultivating in the Lotus Pond, leaving the Lotus Platform unattended at the water's edge. On that fateful day, the shrimp spirit happened to see a lotus seed form within the platform.

Moved by an inexplicable impulse, it succumbed to greed and dared to steal the Bodhisattva's lotus seed.

At this moment, the shrimp spirit deeply regretted its actions, feeling as though it had been possessed by a devil.

The seed that could allow demon kings to shed their mortal bodies was within its grasp, yet it knew not how many years of cultivation would be needed to reach that level. Why did it give in to such temptation?

Buzz!

Let's set aside the shrimp spirit's remorse for a moment. Suddenly, a brilliant light shone down from the sky, piercing through the Liusha River directly onto the giant shrimp at the riverbed.

"Found it!"

Standing upon a strip of red silk, Gaoyang eyed the small Lotus Platform she had deployed, which had now reacted. Her gaze hardened.

The shrimp spirit at the bottom knew it had been discovered and, not daring to resist, fled rapidly towards the distance like a flash of lightning.

The Lotus Platform in mid-air locked onto its target, moving with the fleeting creature. The beam of light continued to steadfastly pursue it.