Honghuang: My understanding is beyond belief. I am the first immortal of Jiejiao.

After teaching Tang Sanzang the "true mysteries of Buddhism" that would make even the most powerful figures in orthodox Buddhism vomit blood, Lin Zhu's mind stirred slightly, and his figure vanished silently from the cave like a gentle breeze and drifting clouds, leaving no trace, as if he had never lingered there.

Almost the instant he left his spot, a cold and mechanical notification sound, which only he could perceive, rang out leisurely deep within his consciousness.

[Ding! Detected that the host has successfully imparted subversive Buddhist concepts to the key plot character 'Tang Sanzang, the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi,' deeply distorting his inherent worldview and injecting highly uncertain variables into the main Journey to the West storyline. Mission: 'The Guide's Mischievous Taste' completion rate exceeded!]

[Rewards are being calculated... Due to the highly 'creative' and 'destructive' nature of the content taught, its potential impact on subsequent storylines is rated Abyss level. Critical reward triggered!]

[Congratulations, host! You have gained 100,000 merit points!]

Ten thousand merits!

Even though Lin Zhu's mind had long been tempered into an unwavering stillness, he couldn't help but be slightly moved at this moment. The power of merit was one of the most fundamental and mysterious recognitions and gifts of this world, with endless wonders.

Acquiring a staggering 100,000 at once is an astonishing windfall, even for seasoned Taiyi Golden Immortals.

This system, though usually elusive and its rewards are sporadic, is surprisingly generous when it triggers a critical hit.

He focused his mind on himself, and a semi-transparent attribute interface, shimmering with a faint light, appeared before his eyes, visible only to him. His gaze quickly swept over the cultivation realm, supernatural abilities, and spells, finally settling on the cultivation technique section.

There, clearly marked was the fundamental technique he primarily cultivated—the "Nine Revolutions Pangu True Body Technique." This technique was incomparably profound, originating from the supreme power that created the world. Each advancement required an enormous amount of resources and insights, but the resulting improvement was also transformative. However, at this moment, Lin Zhu's gaze paused slightly, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

After the "Nine Revolutions Pangu True Body Technique", the realm marked is not a specific "revolution", but two slightly vague words, even with a strange feeling of system lag - "revolution".

"The...turn?"

A hint of doubt arose in Lin Zhu's heart. Was there an error in the system's description? Or had the technique itself undergone some kind of change that even the system couldn't accurately define?
Recalling his previous "encounter" in the Kunlun Mountains, and the increasingly solidified "sacredness" within him, he vaguely felt that it might be related to these things. However, now was not the time to delve into it, so he temporarily noted down this doubt and turned his attention elsewhere.

Just as Lin Zhu was checking his own attributes and pondering the strange phenomenon of his cultivation technique, the Five Directions Protectors, who were secretly "protecting" Tang Sanzang in the clouds not far away, looked at each other with expressions that were more interesting than the last.

They naturally "saw" everything that happened in front of the cave below—Tang Sanzang was drinking the jar of pungent, fishy demon liquor, gesturing wildly as he drank, muttering incoherent nonsense like "wine and meat pass through the intestines," "Buddha remains in the heart," and "Pigsy is abstinent to others," and finally collapsed drunk in the cave, snoring loudly.

The Five Directions Protectors looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief and a headache.

Silver-headed Jiedi's lips twitched as he transmitted his voice.

"This...this Tang Sanzang, has he gone mad from the shock? He's drinking such filthy things and spouting nonsense..."

Polojiedi frowned.

"Judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem completely insane, but rather... some kind of frenzied excitement? What exactly did he encounter in that cave? Who is that man in white? Why were we completely unaware of his appearance and departure?"

The Golden-Headed Jiedi had the worst expression. He remembered how humiliated he was when Tang Sanzang grabbed his collar and questioned him. He was already holding back his anger, and now he was even more agitated.

"Who cares who they encounter! The problem now is that this pilgrim has become such a scoundrel! Drunk! Rambling! Acting mad! If Guanyin Bodhisattva finds out and blames us, how will we explain ourselves?!"

Upon hearing this, the other four Jiedi (priests) also fell silent. They knew perfectly well how much importance the Western Paradise attached to this pilgrimage. The pilgrim should, in theory, be a holy monk with unwavering resolve and profound knowledge of Buddhism, but now he had become a drunkard clutching a wine jar and spouting nonsense... The image was too much for them to bear; they dared not imagine what Guanyin Bodhisattva's expression would be upon seeing it.

After a long silence, Pārajīva tentatively spoke.

"How about... we report it truthfully? We say that after experiencing the tragedy, I was traumatized and temporarily... behaving somewhat abnormally?"

"Report?"

The Golden-Headed Jiedi glared at him.

"Have you forgotten why that old man Taibai Jinxing didn't come? There might be tacit approval or even arrangement from above behind this! If we rashly report it and expose this secret, what if the higher-ups blame us for meddling, or simply pin the blame for 'inadequate supervision' on us?"

Silver-headed Jiedi echoed this sentiment.

“Golden Head is right. Although Tang Sanzang is behaving strangely, his life is not in danger, and he has not truly deviated from the westward journey. Perhaps... this is part of the tribulation? Another test of his character by the Buddha? If we intervene, we may only make things worse.”

"Then... should we just pretend we didn't see it?"

Palagateti hesitated.

Jin Tou Jie Di gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"Just pretend we didn't see anything! As long as he doesn't die or openly abandon the pilgrimage, we'll continue to follow him secretly, and we won't care about anything else! Whether he drinks or talks nonsense, as long as it doesn't hinder our journey, let him be! If the Western Paradise asks... we'll just say everything is normal, and Tang Sanzang is firmly committed to his faith and continues his journey westward!"

"Is this... okay?"

Another Jiedi (a type of Taoist priest) had some concerns.

"No way!"

The Golden-Headed Jiedi lowered his voice, his tone filled with a desperate, reckless determination.

"It's better to avoid trouble! This job is already troublesome enough. If we get into more trouble, what will happen to our newly improved cultivation and merits? Let's slack off! Let's keep slacking off! As long as Tang Sanzang is still heading west, there are tall guys to hold up the sky if it falls!"

Ultimately, the five deities reached an agreement.

They concealed the truth and continued their "fishing" style of protection, turning a blind eye to all of Tang Sanzang's unusual behavior, only ensuring his safety and general direction of travel.

Lin Zhu, who was hiding higher up and “observing” all of this in a way that they could not perceive at all, couldn’t help but chuckle when he sensed the exchange and decision of the Five Directions Protectors.

"What a brilliant 'slacking off' technique! What a 'tall guy will hold up the sky' approach!"

Lin Zhu inwardly scoffed.

"These five guardian deities have honed their skills to the highest level in discerning the emperor's intentions and shirking responsibility. They are geniuses who surpass even Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong. With their 'dutiful' protection, I am much more at ease about how much trouble Tang Sanzang will cause in the future."

Ignoring the few Jiedi who were just coasting along, Lin Zhu turned his gaze into the distance, his figure blurring as he completely left the area, heading towards his next predetermined goal. Inside the cave, Tang Sanzang, clutching an empty wine jar, snored loudly, fast asleep, dreaming many bizarre and fantastical dreams. His dreams included the gruesome sight of Lu Sanzang's mangled flesh, Lin Zhu's calm yet piercingly scathing expression, and even more so, various fine wines and delicacies, and the exhilarating image of himself wielding a large sword, hacking countless blue-faced, fanged "precepts" to pieces.

The next day, the sun rises three poles.

Strong sunlight streamed through the cracks in the cave, stinging his eyelids. Tang Sanzang groaned and groggily awoke. He felt a splitting headache, a dry mouth, a churning stomach, and his entire body ached as if it had been torn apart and reformed.

"Uh... water..."

He struggled to sit up, looking around blankly. He found himself not in a cave, but in an unfamiliar forest, leaning against an old tree. Beneath him were soft fallen leaves, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees, along with a faint…smell of blood?

He rubbed his throbbing temples, his gaze unconsciously sweeping to the side.

Upon seeing this, he was so frightened that he was almost scared out of his wits, and his hangover was mostly sobered up!
Just seven or eight steps away, a massive, striped tiger lay dead on the ground! The tiger was already lifeless, its death extremely gruesome—not from swords or knives, but from a giant python, as thick as a bowl and already stiff, tightly coiled around its neck and body. The python's body was deeply embedded in the tiger's skin, its eyes bulging, and its tongue lolling out, clearly indicating that it had been strangled to death! Beneath the tiger, there was a large pool of dark red blood that had not yet completely dried.

"Ah! Old... tiger!"

Tang Sanzang cried out in alarm, scrambling backward and pressing his back tightly against the tree trunk, his heart pounding wildly.

"Where...where am I? How did I get here? Who killed this tiger?"

"Cough cough..."

A slightly dry cough came from the side and behind.

Tang Sanzang was startled again and turned his head sharply to look.

A burly, middle-aged man dressed in coarse hunting attire, with a hunting knife and bow and arrows hanging at his waist, was standing not far away beside a clump of bushes. His face was a little pale, and he was looking at him with a complicated expression. In his eyes, there was shock, fear, and a trace of undisguised... awe?
"Who...who are you? Did you kill this tiger?"

Tang Sanzang, still shaken, stammered as he asked.

The man dressed as a hunter was a local mountain dweller surnamed Liu, known as Liu Boqin.

Upon hearing this, the muscles on his face twitched. He took a deep breath to barely suppress the turmoil in his heart and clasped his hands in greeting.

“Master, I am Liu Boqin, a hunter from the vicinity of Shuangcha Ridge. This tiger… was not killed by me.”

"Not you?"

Tang Sanzang was taken aback. He looked at the strangely dead tiger, then at Liu Boqin, and asked in confusion.

"Who is that? Could it be... that it was the brave Liu who saved this humble monk?"

He vaguely remembered that he seemed to be drunk last night, but what happened afterward was a blur.

Liu Boqin's expression grew even stranger. He looked Tang Sanzang up and down—although his monk's robes were stained with dust and blood, torn in many places, and his face was filthy, one could still vaguely make out that he was a young monk. Yet this very person, last night…

"save?"

Liu Boqin gave a wry smile, shook his head, and spoke with a tone of unsettled admiration.

"Master, you jest. How could I possibly save you? It was you who... saved me, or rather, you didn't 'save' me as well, which is already a stroke of luck."

"Me? I saved...you?"

Tang Sanzang pointed to his own nose, completely dumbfounded.

“Why do you say that, Warrior Liu? Last night… I think I drank some wine and got drunk. After that… I don’t remember anything at all.”

Seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, Liu Boqin composed himself and slowly recounted what he had seen the previous night in a tone that was almost like a dream.

"Last night, under a dark and windy sky, I was tracking a wild boar that had injured a villager deep into the mountains when I suddenly heard a... a loud singing voice. The tune was strange, and the words were even more... terrifying. Things like 'wine and meat pass through the intestines,' 'Buddha remains in the heart,' and 'precepts are forbidding others.' Curious, I quietly approached to investigate."

He paused, his fear deepening.

"Under the moonlight, a... a man who looked like a wild man, no, dressed like you, Master, but... he was leading a skinny horse in one hand and holding a bloodstained broadsword upside down in the other, staggering as he entered the forest from the western mountain path."

You…you were chanting those strange words, your eyes…your eyes were sometimes dazed, sometimes fierce, and most terrifyingly, in your other hand you were dragging a dead python, as thick as a bucket, that you'd somehow acquired! You were whipping the python's carcass like a whip, snapping branches and flattening grass wherever it went!

Tang Sanzang was dumbfounded, and subconsciously looked at his hands. Leading a horse? Drawing a sword? Dragging a python? This...this is describing him?
Liu Boqin continued, his voice trembling slightly.

"That's not all. After you trespassed into the forest, for some reason, you aroused the wolves and tigers. First, a pack of hungry wolves pounced, and then... and then you used that python carcass like a giant whip, lashing it left and right with astonishing force, and in just a few strokes, you whipped those seven or eight hungry wolves until their bones were broken and they howled and died! Then two leopards sprang out, and you... you used that big knife to cut them down one by one, clean and swift!"

"Later, this striped tiger," Liu Boqin pointed to the tiger carcass on the ground.

"Perhaps drawn by the stench of blood, it roared and lunged at you. You...you didn't dodge or evade, but instead laughed heartily, threw the dead python to the ground, and met it head-on with your bare hands! While fighting, you shouted...shouted something like, 'You beast! You've broken the precepts against killing and stealing! Today, this humble monk will physically deliver you to see the Buddha!'"

"Physical... exorcism?"

Tang Sanzang muttered to himself, his mind even more confused.

"Yes...yes!"

Liu Boqin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"That fierce tiger was like a cat in your hands! You were as fast as a ghost and as strong as a human. The tiger could not even touch the hem of your clothes when it pounced and scratched! In the end, you... you held down the tiger's head with one hand and grabbed the dead python on the ground with the other, and just like that... just like that, you wrapped it around the tiger's neck and tightened it!"

The tiger struggled desperately, its claws digging deep holes in the ground, but you...you remained unfazed, muttering, "May Buddha have mercy, send you to paradise..." A moment later, the tiger...it breathed its last.

After Liu Boqin finished speaking, he still looked at Tang Sanzang with lingering fear, as if he were looking at some primordial beast. "At that time, I was hiding behind that rock, trembling with fear, and didn't dare to breathe." (End of Chapter)