Journey to the West: Break the entire Western Heaven!

Tang Sanzang was just worrying about where to rest as it was getting dark when he heard the offer, and he immediately agreed.

A group of people, escorting several monks, made their way and soon arrived at the entrance of a large monastery with a plaque hanging above, inscribed with —— Imperially Commissioned Golden Light Monastery.

The monastery was immensely vast, with towering main halls, countless pagodas, and even a lofty tower at the back, reaching into the clouds with imposing grandeur!

Yet this vast monastery felt desolate at this very moment, lacking the liveliness of people and showing signs of decay.

Nevertheless, it was not difficult to see that the place had once been glorious and bustling.

The group took their seats, and the abbot came out from the inside. He was an old monk with a withered face. Hearing that Tang Sanzang and his companions were the saviors from the Great Tang of the eastern lands, he immediately came forward and knelt down, saying, "Venerable monk, please help us!"

Tang Sanzang said, perplexed, "You first tell me what pleasure... ahem, grievance you have."

The abbot said, "Venerable monk, this city is called Sacrificing Country, a great nation of the Western Kingdoms. To the south is Yueta Country; to the north is Gaochang Country; to the east is Xiliang Country; and to the west is Benbo Country. These nations have been offering Sacrificing Country beautiful jade, bright pearls, lovely consorts, and fine horses... in exchange for peace."

Tang Sanzang raised his eyebrows upon hearing this and asked, "The Xiliang Country you mentioned, is it the Women's Country of Xiliang?"

The abbot shook his head and said, "No, it is Xiliang Country, not the Women's Country of Xiliang. Uh... does the Women's Country of Xiliang even exist in this world?"

The abbot looked utterly puzzled.

Once Tang Sanzang heard it was not the Women's Country of Xiliang, he unclenched his fist. Otherwise, had he known anyone dared to force the women of Xiliang Country to offer consorts, he would not rest until he had destroyed them, "Oh, nevermind then, please continue."

His curiosity piqued, the Six-Eared Macaque asked, "With Sacrificing Country being so powerful, surely their king must be a wise and enlightened ruler, surrounded by a retinue of virtuous officials and valiant warriors, right?"

The abbot shook his head and said, "Venerable monk, you may not know that the civil officials of Sacrificing Country are not virtuous, the military officers are not good, and the king is not a man of benevolence and morality. Atop the treasure pagoda behind our Golden Light Monastery, there used to be a relic of a holy monk. It was shrouded in auspicious clouds every day, a thousand strands of auspicious light, and at night it was brightly radiant, visible from thousands of miles; in the morning, the colorful aura soared to the sky, witnessed by all four countries.

Because of such marvels, all four countries believed Sacrificing Country to be under the protection of the gods and the care of the Buddha, thus they submitted to Sacrificing Country, regarding it as the divine capital.

However, three years ago, on the first day of the third autumn month, in the middle of the night, the sky suddenly filled with dark clouds, followed by a heavy blood-red rain.

As day broke, every household was frightened, every family in a panic.

The officials reported to His Majesty the king.

The king immediately called for Taoists to perform rituals and monks to recite scriptures...

No matter what everyone did, the blood color on the Golden Treasure Pagoda remained, dissipating not at all, and the precious radiance and divine luster were lost.

Because of this dilemma, foreign countries stopped coming to pay tribute, and the nation gradually declined.

His Majesty the king wanted to wage wars to force them to continue offering tribute, but a minister advised that the monks in our monastery had stolen the treasure from the pagoda, and so the auspicious clouds and auspicious air were lost, which is why foreign countries stopped coming to pay tribute.

The deluded king did not investigate and simply ordered the arrest of the monks from our monastery, interrogating them batch by batch, beating them to death batch by batch... Until now, two generations of monks in this monastery have died.

Alas...

Now, they're finally about to lay hands on me and the youngest generation of disciples.

To prevent us from escaping, they have put us in shackles, with some even tied to the pillars...

Venerable monk, I beg you to exert your great mana and save our lives.

"

Tang Sanzang was cracking sunflower seeds and listening as the old monk cried and spoke. After hearing the story, Sanzang smacked his lips and said, "Well, that is interesting..."

Zhu Ganglie said, "Master, this sounds like a troublesome affair. The main issue is we have no idea what this is all about. How the Shariputra disappeared, who took it, we've got absolutely no leads. If you ask me, let's not get involved. We should fill our stomachs and head west as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, the old monk quickly kowtowed and pleaded, "Venerable monk, I beg you to save us!"

By this time, the monks outside had also heard and began to kneel and knock their heads on the ground with their shackles on.

Sun Wukong said, "Master, this matter might be tricky, but it's not necessarily too complicated. There's a cause for everything and there's always a clue to every event. Why don't we take a look into it?"

Tang Sanzang said, "We could..."

The Six-Eared Macaque said, "Since this issue started with the Golden Treasure Pagoda, why don't we start investigating from there?"

Tang Sanzang stood up, and took a look at the pagoda. He felt it looked somewhat familiar but couldn't remember where he had seen it before, "Wujing, take Wufan with you and start cooking. I'll go with Wukong and Xiaoliuzi to check it out."

Sha Wujing said, "Master, go ahead and we'll ensure you have something delicious to eat when you return."

When the abbot heard this, he quickly expressed his gratitude and suggested, "Venerable monk, among my disciples, there are some who are skilled at cooking. They could assist you. It's just that someone needs to take care of the shackles."

Sha Wujing laughed upon hearing this, "That's easy."

Sha Wujing walked over, casually broke a few shackles, freed some of the junior monks, and took them to the firewood room to start cooking.

Meanwhile, led by the abbot, Tang Sanzang approached the base of the Golden Treasure Pagoda.

Looking up at the tall pagoda, Tang Sanzang remarked, "It's quite tall. Sixi, Wukong, go up and take a look!"

The abbot cautioned, "Please be careful, Venerable Monk. The doors of this pagoda haven't been opened since the blood rain, and people say there might be demons inside..."

Tang Sanzang wasn't initially interested in going upstairs, but the mention of demons made his eyes sparkle. He grabbed the abbot and asked eagerly, "Do you know what kind of demon it is? Male or female? If it's a male, what kind is it? If a female, is she pretty?"

The abbot was completely dumbfounded by the question, looking at the refined and handsome monk before him and thinking that he didn't seem like a ruffian at all. But could a monk really ask such questions?
Continue reading stories on empire

Nevertheless, the abbot replied, "I don't know. No one has been up there."

Immediately letting go, Tang Sanzang called his two disciples and headed straight up the stairs.

The pagoda had a total of thirteen levels, and Tang Sanzang swiftly ascended...

As he was nearing the top and had yet to encounter any demon, Tang Sanzang grumbled, "If there's no demon, I'll have to beat that lying old monk later... I haven't even had my meal, how can I afford such physical exertion."

While he was still talking, they arrived at the thirteenth level.

The doors to the thirteenth level were tightly closed, but there was a faint sound coming from inside of people drinking and playing finger-guessing games!

Tang Sanzang's eyes gleamed, he kicked open the large stone door, and bellowed, "Hey! What species of demon are you!"

As the door opened, they saw that the top level of the thirteen-story pagoda was dedicated to a large Buddha, and below the Buddha on a table, sat two fish-headed people. These two were squatting on seats, eating the offered fruits, playing finger-guessing games, and drinking.

Suddenly seeing someone enter, the two were startled.

Upon looking up and noticing a dumb-looking monk accompanied by two monkeys, they instantly grew bold.

One of them raised a hand with a knife and said, "Who's this baldy daring to meddle in your grandpa's affair?!"