Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Heavenly Court, auspicious clouds in abundance, the faint sound of celestial music.

The Glycyrrhiza Garden is a place Empress exclusively uses to collect exotic herbs and flowers from the Three Realms and Six Paths. On this day, many Heavenly Soldiers and Generals knelt outside the Glycyrrhiza Garden and loudly called out, "Greetings to Empress!"

A few fairies led the way as Empress, dressed in a mist robe and wearing a phoenix crown, imparting a sense of noble elegance, walked slowly into the Glycyrrhiza Garden.

The many fairies inside the Glycyrrhiza Garden naturally knelt down in succession.

As the garden where Empress collects exotic herbs and flowers of the Three Realms, it was not unusual for Empress to stroll through the Glycyrrhiza Garden on a whim. There was nothing surprising about that.

Indeed, with a wave of her hand, signaling the fairies to rise, Empress entered the Glycyrrhiza Garden and clearly focused her attention on the miraculous herbs and flowers within.

Looking left and right, touching this and that, she clearly loved these miraculous herbs and exotic flowers.

However, after looking around for a while, suddenly, Empress paused and turned to a fairy beside her dressed in a purple skirt, saying, "You, there, fairy girl, my palace has some impression of you, you seem to be called Zixia, right!?"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Fairy Zixia nodded her head and answered.

In the Glycyrrhiza Garden, the expressions of the other fairies varied.

With Empress's visit to the Glycyrrhiza Garden, it seemed like the first time she had taken notice of one of these little fairies. Yet, Zixia instantly caught her attention, didn't she?

Certainly, it must be due to the incident when Great Sage Equalling Heaven killed Star Monarch of Warring States for her sake. Even Empress had an impression of her now.

"Hmm, you're not bad. You have reached the Realm of Heavenly Immortal!" But then, after looking at Zixia, Empress nodded and spoke suddenly.

What!? The Realm of Heavenly Immortal!?

Hearing Empress's words, the fairies and Immortal Maidens in the Glycyrrhiza Garden, even the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals outside, were all filled with surprise.

Unbeknownst to all, Fairy Zixia had actually reached the Realm of Heavenly Immortal!?

To know that within the Heavenly Court, being a Heavenly Immortal meant one could be ranked among the Immortal Rank, possessing the qualifications to become a Righteous God or Immortal Official!

"Good, perhaps that monkey had helped you, but regardless, you have successfully reached the Realm of Heavenly Immortal. From today onwards, you shall take charge of the Glycyrrhiza Garden!" After nodding, Empress spoke further.

Indeed, strength brings respect; having reached the cultivation of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, Empress now held her in higher regard, considering her not simply for the sake of Sun Wukong's face anymore.

Thus, originally just a minor fairy from the Glycyrrhiza Garden, Zixia's status was transformed greatly, becoming the Immortal Official in charge of the entire Glycyrrhiza Garden.

For Empress, such an appointment was but a trifling task.

After dropping that statement, Empress left following another stroll through the Glycyrrhiza Garden.

"Greetings to Immortal Official Zixia!" As soon as Empress departed, the fairies and Immortal Maidens in the Glycyrrhiza Garden immediately called out in unison to Zixia.

"Everyone, please rise!" Without putting on airs, even though her status had risen to the overseer of the entire Glycyrrhiza Garden, Zixia still did not show attitude and personally helped the fairies and Immortal Maidens to stand up quickly.

Naturally, following Empress's departure, a free Immortal took the initiative to record Zixia's name in the Immortal Register, also noting her duties.

As her cultivation reached the Realm of Heavenly Immortal, Zixia's status was elevated significantly!

...

As for the matters of Heaven, Sun Wukong and the others naturally did not know; after Yuanling had been taken away by Bodhisattva, the Tiger, Deer, and Sheep Demon soon left the Three Pure Ones Temple.

Jiang Liu began to explain the recent events to the three demons.

Of course, Jiang Liu did not hold anything back, mentioning that Yuanling's trip to Mount Luojia was to act as a spy on his behalf, to monitor every move of Bodhisattva.

"To monitor Bodhisattva, Holy Monk, you..." At Jiang Liu's explanation, the three demons looked at him in astonishment.

Indeed, as a follower of the Buddhist Sect, he was actually aiming to monitor Bodhisattva? It all sounded quite extraordinary.

"Yes, indeed, surveillance. This Journey to the West, while people claim it is to seek Scriptures, in reality, it's also for my self-salvation!"

His own motives for flipping Great Thunder Monastery on its head during his westward trip? Ordinary people certainly wouldn't say such things, but for the Tiger, Deer, and Sheep Demons, in Jiang Liu's view, they could potentially be persuaded to join his camp.

After all, their hatred for Buddhism was apparent even from the original story!

"So it is!" Upon learning that Jiang Liu's purpose was to overthrow Great Thunder Monastery during the Journey to the West, the Tiger, Deer, and Sheep Demons were shocked and thrilled.

After a brief exchange of glances, Tiger Immortal spoke up first: "Not only do you, Holy Monk Xuanzang, have anything we can assist with!? You have shown great kindness to Three Pure Ones Mount, and wherever we, three brothers, can be of use, we will certainly go through fire and water, never shirking the call!"

"Amitabha, if that is the case, then this monk shall not stand on ceremony! You three go to the Flame Cloud Cave and declare that it is I who sent you. The master of the Flame Cloud Cave, Red Boy, will certainly know how to receive you!" Hearing the words of the Tiger, Deer, and Sheep Demons, Jiang Liu couldn't help but smile as he spoke.

These three demons, having broken through to the Demon Immortal realm, now possessed remarkable strength.

With their addition, our strength to confront the deities and Buddhas of the heavens has grown stronger!

"The Flame Cloud Cave? We've heard quite a bit about it these days, and it turns out you have such a relationship with the Holy Monk! Since that's the case, we three brothers will make a trip to the Flame Cloud Cave!" Hearing Jiang Liu's words, and after exchanging glances, the Tiger, Deer, and Sheep Demons replied.
Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire

During their conversation, they chatted idly for a few more sentences, and without hesitation, the three demons set off directly towards the Flame Cloud Cave!

Originally, these demons had a profound disdain for the identity of monks.

Not just because the Three Pure Ones Temple was destroyed, but more importantly because of the calamity of deification!

During the great deification calamity, the once-prosperous Sect of Intercepting, with its claim of "ten thousand immortals paying homage," was nearly wiped out. Buddhism, on the other hand, took the opportunity to grow stronger. Therefore, any demon who revered the Sect Master Tongtian harbored deep hatred for the Buddhist Sect.

This time, with the destruction of the Three Pure Ones Temple, the three demons felt even greater enmity towards Buddhism.

Therefore, when they learned of Jiang Liu's goal, which was to overturn the Great Thunder Monastery in the Western Heaven, the three demons were resolute in their stance and expressed their willingness to contribute their strength.

It would be revenge both for themselves and for the Sect Master Tongtian!

After parting with the Tiger, Deer, and Sheep Demons, naturally, Jiang Liu had no intention of lingering around the Three Pure Ones Temple. After a brief tidy-up, he and his companions promptly continued on their journey, heading west.

Sitting on the back of the White Dragon Horse, Jiang Liu, as per his usual routine, crafted a few clothing items as equipment, brushed up on his tailoring profession's proficiency, and then prepared to cultivate the Green Lotus Taoist Scripture.

However, as Jiang Liu opened his storage space, he glanced at a thin booklet and sighed helplessly in his heart.

This booklet was what Jiang Liu obtained from the Perfect Level Treasure Chest rewarded by the system after completing the mission for the Yuanling Twin Arms.

As Jiang Liu's gaze fell upon it, the Attribute Information of the booklet appeared before him.

The Weakness Talisman, a level 50 Demon Master skill book.

Jiang Liu was aware of its effects—a curse skill that could weaken the target's attributes to a certain extent.

But within the Skill Bookcase, the three skills currently there—Sheep Transformation Technique, Palm Thunder, and Flamestorm Slash—were all crucial to Jiang Liu.

It seemed that there was no room left to learn the Weakness Talisman; regardless of which skill to replace, it didn't seem appropriate to Jiang Liu.

Moreover, he found that he had plenty of Skill Points at his disposal, but he lacked skills to use them on...

"Sigh..." After a glance at the Weakness Talisman curse skill book and then at the Skill Bookcase in his special equipment slot, Jiang Liu sighed with a hint of helplessness.

Special equipment should count as equipment too, right?

He wondered when he'd be able to upgrade the quality of his special equipment.

Shaking his head, Jiang Liu set those thoughts aside for the moment, sat down cross-legged, and began to circulate the cultivation technique of the Green Lotus Taoist Scripture.

True Yuan was quickly mobilized within his body, flowing rapidly. Naturally, the system prompts for gaining Experience Points continued to appear.

As Jiang Liu and his companions stepped back on the path westward, continuing their journey forward, Guanyin brought Yuanling back to the South Sea's Purple Bamboo Forest. After getting him well-acquainted with the environment, she started to teach him about cultivation.

Yuanling had extraordinary aptitude, but Guanyin wanted to see for herself just how quickly he could progress in cultivation!

However, after several days of instruction, Yuanling made no progress in cultivation, which deeply furrowed Guanyin's brows.

Something was amiss. She could tell that his aptitude was outstanding, but why then was his cultivation so utterly foolish and obtuse?

Yet, as there are countless wonders in the vast world, Guanyin did not rush to any conclusions about Yuanling's situation, deciding to take a long-term view of things.

Although nurturing Yuanling was important, for Guanyin, the journey west to obtain the scriptures was her primary focus.

Watching Jiang Liu and others resume their cultivation journey, Guanyin took out the Calamity Book and heaved a long sigh.

Indeed, not a single calamity for this journey to the Chechi Kingdom had been recorded.

"I originally thought that those three demons would certainly conflict with Holy Monk Xuanzang's group and add another tribulation, yet unexpectedly, nothing happened? It seems I'll need to arrange more tribulations!"

Looking at the few recorded tribulations in the Calamity Book, Guanyin mumbled to herself, her eyes filled with contemplative expression.