Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

"Imperial Brother, ahead lies thousands of mountains and rivers, favor not the soil of your homeland over the gold of foreign lands."

Outside the walls of Chang'an, a sea of people, countless in number, gathered to bid farewell to the Holy Monk Xuanzang on his Journey to the West for Scriptures. Li Shimin held a cup of clear wine, scooped up a little gravel from the ground, and sprinkled it into the cup before speaking to Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu took the cup from Li Shimin's hands, with great solemnity, drank it in one gulp, and handed it back to him, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured, this monk understands and will surely not forget his original intention today."

As he took back the cup, Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction at Jiang Liu's response.

To this day, Li Shimin had come to fully understand the arrangements of Buddhism. With treasures by his side for his journey to the West, he believed that the Buddhist Sect would surely look after him no matter the demons and ghosts he faced, and they could not harm his life.

What Li Shimin worried about was whether this western journey would change his mindset, but now, it seemed he understood his own mind.

After saying goodbye to Li Shimin, Jiang Liu turned back to see countless commoners and monks bidding him farewell. It was clear that the arrival of the Bodhisattva in the human realm during the water and land ceremony days ago, assigning him the heavy responsibility of seeking scriptures in the West, had spread throughout the land, prompting people to come and send him off voluntarily.

After Emperor Tang, Li Shimin, stepped back, the Saint Monk Longhai walked forward.

"Amitabha, though there are many hardships ahead, if one succeeds, one can achieve Bodhi, which is truly enviable," he said with palms pressed together and bowed. Saint Monk Longhai did not treat Jiang Liu like a junior. Instead, he treated him as an equal.

"These days, thank you for your care, Holy Monk," Jiang Liu replied, bowing to Saint Monk Longhai in return.

However, he did not respond to his words of envy.

Indeed, from the perspective of all monks in the world, though the Journey to the West stretched over one hundred and eighty thousand miles through distant mountains and long roads, the opportunity to witness the true Buddha and the promise by the Bodhisattva of a golden body upon success was something all monks envied.

Yet, if he had a choice, he would be absolutely unwilling to go, but at this point, it was not apt to voice such sentiments.

After bidding farewell to Emperor Tang and Saint Monk Longhai, Jiang Liu's gaze swept over the monks and people in the distance, and he waved to them.

After all, how could he ignore these people who had willingly come to send him off?

"We bid farewell to the Holy Monk and wish him a successful journey to obtain the True Scriptures and return!" Watching Jiang Liu wave back, the commoners and monks who had come to bid farewell were somewhat excited and shouted in unison loudly.

With a slight nod, Jiang Liu did not respond but led his white horse to the side. He packed all the necessary gear into his storage space, presenting a light and agile appearance. He then swiftly mounted the horse in a very handsome manner.

"Drive!" With a spirited demeanor, Jiang Liu slapped the horse's rump and shouted loudly. Experience more content on empire

The white horse raised its hooves and dashed forward like an arrow, very fast, as Emperor Tang Li Shimin naturally provided him with the best steed for his scripture-seeking journey.

Wow-ah!

His mounting pose was stylish, and his riding posture was commendable. But as the horse leaped forward, Jiang Liu unexpectedly screamed and then quickly clung to the horse's neck, his shouts trailing off into the distance.

At the gate of Chang'an City, Li Shimin and Longhai looked at each other in astonishment.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

After a slight hesitation, Li Shimin asked, "It seems that our Imperial Brother is not very skilled in horsemanship."

"Cough cough, as far as I know, Jinshan Temple has always been rather financially strained, and Xuanzang grew up there. He probably never rode a horse before," replied Saint Monk Longhai somewhat awkwardly, in a low voice.

...

Experience Points +2.

Experience Points +2.

Experience Points +2.

Dragging time, two months had passed in a flash.

As dawn broke and the belly of the fish flipped white in the sky, Jiang Liu stopped his cultivation and opened his eyes.

Since leaving Chang'an City, two months had passed. During these two months, the loneliness of traveling alone and friendless, unprecedented for him, made Jiang Liu feel very uncomfortable.

Originally, for Jiang Liu, the Journey to the West was a game against Tathagata, where the stakes were his and Gaoyang's lives. Therefore, it was essential for Jiang Liu to increase his strength as much as possible before reaching Western Spirit Mountain.

Therefore, Jiang Liu was in no rush to complete the Journey to the West. On the contrary, the slower he traveled, the better.

Since his horseback riding skills were poor, any carelessness could lead to falling off a fast-running horse. Additionally, he was not in a hurry to rush the journey, so Jiang Liu simply let the horse go early on and traveled on foot.

Walking and stopping intermittently, encountering fierce beasts to fight along the way and sitting down to rest and practice the Heavenly Dragon Zen Sound during spare moments, two months passed unwittingly, and Jiang Liu still had not left the territory of Great Tang.

However, it must be said, these two months of rigorous practice and slaying some venomous beasts and demons had earned him quite a few experience points, elevating his level from 16 to 19.

With a level 19 status coupled with the amplification from his equipment, even facing an upright-walking Demon Soldier, Jiang Liu could fend for himself in a battle.

Unlike initially when just one injured Wolf Demon had nearly cost him and Gaoyang their lives.

The next morning, after meditating overnight, washing up, and straightening himself out a bit, Jiang Liu continued on the Journey to the West. After walking half the day and feeling famished, he suddenly noticed a large mountain in the distance resembling a giant palm.

"A few days ago, I had asked about it, and if one walks a few hundred more miles forward, one would leave the borders of Great Tang. Could that be the Mount of the Two Realms?" Jiang Liu thought to himself as he looked at the distant mountain shaped like a palm.

Back at Great Buddha Temple, he had inquired about Sun Wukong from Saint Monk Longhai.

The mountain suppressing Sun Wukong was originally named Five Elements Mountain, but during Emperor of Tang Li Shimin's western expedition to stabilize the nation, it was renamed Mount of the Two Realms, signifying the boundary of Great Tang. Crossing this mountain meant leaving the territory of Great Tang.

Thinking of the Five Elements Mountain that was suppressing Sun Wukong right before him, Jiang Liu quickened his pace and swiftly walked towards it.

Though the Journey to the West encouraged delaying, being a modern-era traveler, Sun Wukong's renowned name was universally known and admired.

At this moment, with Sun Wukong right before him and even potentially becoming his disciple, Jiang Liu hurried along, his mood somewhat stirred.

"Elder, please walk slowly. I am Liu Boqin, known as the Mountain-Guarding Marshal. Since we have met, we are surely destined. I invite you to rest at my humble abode for a while.

I will serve you vegetarian dishes to display my devotion to Buddhism," said a burly man with bow and arrows on his back, who approached Jiang Liu with a friendly demeanor as he saw him walking fast towards the Mount of the Two Realms.

"Thank you, benefactor. However, this monk has urgent matters to attend to. Perhaps another time..." Jiang Liu paused slightly in his steps and responded as the man stopped him.

With those words, Jiang Liu passed by the man and continued on his way.

"Elder, I am not a wrongdoer. I saw you were travel-worn, so I thought...," said the man, chasing after Jiang Liu a few steps and calling out.

"No time."