Simultaneous travel: I am proving the great way in the heavens.

Chapter 572 Luofu's Furious Outburst! The Price of Journey to the West!

When Sun Wukong mentioned the time for the journey to the West.

Let alone Tang Sanzang having the idea of ​​taking his leave and continuing on his journey.

Even Luo Fu, the host, felt embarrassed to continue trying to persuade them to stay.

After all, Tang Sanzang is still a mortal in the present day.

At over forty years old, coupled with the arduous journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, a distance of 108,000 li, involving trekking through mountains and rivers, enduring wind and rain and sleeping in the open along the way.

Fortunately, Tang Sanzang himself had eaten a ginseng fruit in the Wuzhuang Temple.

Otherwise, a truly mortal body might not be able to withstand the hardships of the journey to the West.

However, those who go on the journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures can only be mortals. Even if they eat ginseng fruit, its effects cannot be fully realized. Instead, they need to wait until the journey is over and their merits are fulfilled before it can be fully utilized.

In fact, even the rumor that eating Tang Sanzang's flesh would grant immortality only arose after he passed through the Wuzhuang Temple.

The first one to explicitly mention that eating Tang Sanzang's flesh could grant immortality was the White Bone Demon of White Tiger Ridge.

Luofu did not try to persuade them to stay, but tacitly saw the pilgrimage team off.

Having just left Ruzhen Temple, Tang Sanzang, sitting on his white dragon horse, complained, "Wukong, how could you be so presumptuous in Ruzhen Temple? Ruzhen Buddha is the patriarch of our Buddhist Pratyekabuddha lineage. It is a great opportunity for us to hear his teachings. It is truly a pity to miss this chance."

"Master!!" Sun Wukong, who was leading the way, wished he could pull Tang Sanzang along and fly to the Western Paradise.

Upon hearing this, he turned his head and said, “You should stop complaining. The Pratyekabuddha Vehicle is a Dharma gate of the One Reality Seal and the Original Nature of Self-nature, which is different from the Hinayana Buddhism you practice and the Mahayana scriptures we are about to obtain. The Pratyekabuddha Vehicle cultivates the fruits of Arhatship and Pratyekabuddhahood; the Mahayana scriptures we are about to obtain can lead to Buddhahood. How can we lose the greater good for the sake of the lesser? Besides, the journey to obtain the scriptures has already taken more than ten years, and it cannot be delayed any longer. Do you really intend to spend your life on the journey to obtain the scriptures?”

"You impudent monkey, talking nonsense!" Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang wished he could recite the Tightening-Headband Mantra to teach Sun Wukong a lesson.

Pigsy and Sandy, understanding each other without words, hurried on their way, afraid of hearing Luofu's voice behind them.

On the Luofu side, after bidding farewell to the pilgrimage team...

I felt a little unsatisfied.

After all, the pilgrimage team had indeed had a rather easy time with him.

Without Luofu Mountain, the westward journey would have required passing through the Spider Cave and the Yellow Flower Temple.

At present, in the Spider Cave, only some minor demons were killed. There was no conflict with the Seven Emotions Bodhisattva. Furthermore, Huanghua Temple was transformed into Ruzhen Temple by the Buddha himself several years ago.

It can be said that this westward journey group was merely there to make up the numbers at the Spider Cave and Ruzhen Temple, which were part of the eighty-one tribulations.

However, Luo Fu soon realized that his ordeal would likely be the most difficult one for the pilgrimage team, and that the team had not yet truly overcome his challenge.

Zhen Yuanzi, who had been pursuing Sun Wukong all the way, saw Sun Wukong and his companions from afar after arriving at Ruzhen Temple. He fled from Ruzhen Temple as if his life depended on it and hurriedly headed towards the Western Paradise.

"Brother!" Zhen Yuanzi called out loudly, chasing after him.

As the ancestor of all earth immortals, he possessed the power to control the universe within his sleeve, clearly having glimpsed the essence of the Dao of Space.

Even though Zhen Yuanzi is not known for his ability to fly, his methods, while not as wondrous as those of Wu Dijiang, the ancestor of space in the past, are still quite unique.

In a flash, he traversed an unknown distance and appeared before Sun Wukong and the others.

With a dark expression, Zhen Yuanzi said, "Brother, while I was away, you went to my Wuzhuang Temple and made things difficult for my disciples. You even demanded fifteen ginseng fruits. Don't you owe me an explanation?"

I sensed the hostility in Zhen Yuanzi's tone.

Sun Wukong chuckled and glanced cautiously behind him, as if afraid that someone from Ruzhen Temple might chase after him.

“Brother, I, Old Sun, apologize to you. Once I get through this ordeal, I will personally visit you in the future to accept the punishment without hesitation. But for now, please let us, master and disciple, go west.”

Tang Sanzang was truly furious at this moment.

After all, in his view, Sun Wukong, that monkey, had caused trouble again.

Even after more than ten years of arduous journey, and with his temperament vastly different from when he first left Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Sanzang still had a headache over Sun Wukong's disobedience.

Zhen Yuanzi sensed the urgency in Sun Wukong's tone. He glanced subconsciously in the direction of Ruzhen Temple, a sudden thought flashing through his mind, as if he had just realized something. With a forced smile, he said, "It seems my worthy brother is about to encounter a calamity!"

"Give me back my fifteen ginseng fruits, and I'll try to make peace with you, shall we?"

Before Sun Wukong could answer.

A terrifying surge of magical power swept in from the direction of Ruzhen Temple in an instant.

After the westward journey departed, Luofu handed over the nine ginseng fruits to the Bodhisattva of Seven Emotions, who then stored them in his treasury.

He himself returned to the main hall for alchemy and weapon crafting, preparing to reforge the wings and claws that came from the Golden-Winged Roc.

After all, during this trip to the Heavenly Court, Luo Fu received the inheritance of the Golden Elixir Dao from Laozi.

In addition, not long ago, during his trip to the Golden Gourd Cave, he obtained twelve Golden Elixir Sands from the Dragon-Riding Guanyin.

If the Golden Elixir Sand and the wings and claws were refined again, these magical treasures would definitely have the potential to become protective treasures for the sect.

After all, the Golden-Winged Roc is the first Roc born in the primordial era, with extraordinary origins.

Even an ordinary feather possesses immense power.

However, when Luo Fu opened the hall for alchemy and weapon crafting, he was horrified to find that the Cloud Wings and Grasping Claws, which he had almost finished crafting, had been destroyed, as if all his previous efforts had been in vain.

He instantly flew into a rage.

You must know that the Cloud Wings and the Capturing Claws are magical treasures that Luofu has high hopes for.

Although only half of it had been refined before, it still took Luo Fu a lot of effort.

If he hadn't obtained a Red Lotus Karmic Flame from the Styx Ancestor, it's unknown how long it would have taken to refine Yun Cheng's wings and claws into the embryonic form of the magic weapon he envisioned.

But now, all our previous efforts have been in vain.

What's even more infuriating is that the Cloud Wings and Grabbing Claws were clearly tainted by the magic of others.

In an instant, Luo Fu realized that the instigators were none other than Sun Wukong and his companions.

At this moment, Luo Fu, enraged, finally understood why Tang Sanzang's pilgrimage team had passed through his territory so unscathed. The eighty-one tribulations of the journey to the West were not only a test for the pilgrimage team, but also a test for the various gods, Buddhas, demons, and monsters involved.

Wherever the westward-bound caravan passed, it was a perilous ordeal for both sides.

Those who can't get through are killed outright, while those who can get through may still suffer losses.

Although many of the demons that appeared on the journey to the west had their own powerful backers.

However, it is undeniable that even with powerful backers, one can still suffer huge losses if one is not careful, let alone those monsters without powerful backers.

Putting aside other matters, when Kui Mulang transformed into the Yellow Robe Monster in the Wave Moon Cave of Wanzishan Mountain, even his painstakingly cultivated relic, the Linglong Inner Core, was swallowed whole by Sun Wukong. The magnitude of this loss is unimaginable.

It should be noted that Kui Mulang's relic, the exquisite inner elixir, is different from the ordinary outer elixir.

That was a true imprint of Kui Mulang's own Dao. Anyone who obtained this inner core would have been able to ascend to heaven in one step. Unfortunately, in Sun Wukong's case, such a relic-like exquisite inner core, which was clearly a masterpiece of the Golden Elixir Method combining the three religions, at most only added a few benefits to him.

As for the fact that Sun Wukong ate iron pellets and drank molten copper for more than 500 years after being suppressed under the Five Fingers Mountain, it may seem like torture for Sun Wukong at first glance, but in fact, it was a kind of care for him.

It could even be said that if Sun Wukong hadn't spent five hundred years under the Five Fingers Mountain, constantly eating iron pellets and drinking molten copper, he might not have had the strength he needed on the journey to the West.

This is not difficult to determine from Sun Wukong's own attributes.

In the westward journey, Zhu Bajie's attribute is Wood, representing the mother element. Sha Wujing is Earth, representing the old woman. The White Dragon Horse is Fire, representing the will. Tang Sanzang is Water, and Sun Wukong is Metal, representing the mind.

Ironically, during his rampage in the Heavenly Palace, Sun Wukong was captured and taken to the Heavenly Court. In the Tushita Palace, inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, he was subjected to forty-nine days of refining. Fortunately, Sun Wukong had acquired a solid theoretical foundation during his apprenticeship under the Patriarch Subhuti.

He hid in the Xun position of the Bagua Furnace, which belongs to the southeast in the Bagua. There is wind but no fire, which allowed him to escape the fate of being refined and even developed a pair of fiery eyes.

Even in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, in the Xun position, Sun Wukong, the Golden Lord, still inevitably suffered damage to his essence.

Fire overcomes metal; this is a well-known fact.

The reason Sun Wukong was able to display his divine power after jumping out of the Eight Trigrams Furnace was entirely because the flames of the furnace helped him burn away the medicinal power of the golden pills he had previously consumed. Although he gained an indestructible body, it also nearly drained Sun Wukong's original essence. It was a move that came after reaching the ultimate peak, leaving no future.

Fortunately, after being suppressed under the Five Finger Mountain for more than 500 years, he continuously ate iron pellets and drank copper juice, which barely replenished his metal nature.

Metal is immortal, but Kui Mulang belongs to the Wood element in the Five Elements theory. His inner core is countered by Sun Wukong's Metal element, but it does not greatly benefit the Metal element.

It can only be said that Kui Mulang's inner core was completely wasted by ending up in Sun Wukong's stomach.

Even so, Kui Mulang was left speechless, unable to express his bitterness.

After all, once you're involved in the Journey to the West tribulation, even if you have powerful backers, your fortunes are still unpredictable.

Wherever the westward-bound caravans went, they were almost always a scourge. Like harbingers of disaster.

Truly intelligent individuals would never get involved with the westward-bound groups at this time.

Luo Fu previously thought that the westward journey would be easily overcome under his command, but he underestimated the tribulations of the Journey to the West.

On the journey westward, anyone who encounters the westward-bound group, regardless of whether they harbor good intentions or evil intentions, will inevitably suffer a loss. Even those who harbor good intentions towards the westward-bound group, or even actively seek their guidance, will ultimately meet a tragic end, losing both their lives and their spiritual essence.

For example, in the ordeal of Xingxian, many demons may not have actually harbored any ill will towards Tang Sanzang and his disciples, but in the end, they inevitably met their demise.

It can only be said that these demons underestimated the cost of the Journey to the West calamity. What kind of level do they have to dare to challenge both Buddhism and Taoism, and even the Journey to the West project led by the Heavenly Court? Death would be the least of their worries.

Luofu is now clearly in the same predicament, having underestimated the cost of the Journey to the West.

That's not entirely unreasonable; Luofu itself wanted to raise it high and then gently put it down.

Zhen Yuanzi may have had the idea of ​​befriending the westward-bound group, but due to unforeseen circumstances, even his own ginseng fruit tree suffered a calamity.

Luofu won't fare much better.

When he realized that the Cloud Wings and Grasping Claws he had painstakingly crafted had ended up being completely wasted.

Luo Fu rode directly on a cloud and caught up with the westward-bound group.

From afar, upon seeing Zhen Yuanzi negotiating with Sun Wukong and the others, Luo Fu roared angrily, "You impudent monkey, you dare to damage my magic weapon! Today, I will not let you off the hook!!"

The moment the words fell, the two energies of yin and yang, one black and one white, representing the cycle of life and death, suddenly spread out.

As Luo Fu's cultivation advanced to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, he now possessed sufficient magical power to unleash the truly terrifying power of the innate Yin and Yang energies.

Like a millstone of life and death, a vortex of black and white cycles, it swept towards the westward-bound team as soon as it appeared, just like the power of heaven and earth.

Seeing this, Sun Wukong leaped out of the area enveloped by the primordial Yin and Yang energies at the critical moment.

But he dared not linger, for he knew very well the extent of the trouble he had caused at Ruzhen Temple.

Right now, he had no time to argue with Luo Fu. He was focused on escaping and finding a way to get help so he could come back and save his master and fellow disciples.

The only one who suffered was Zhen Yuanzi.

The innate Yin and Yang energies transformed into a vortex that swept everything away.

Zhen Yuanzi quickly spoke up, saying, "Buddha, please wait, this humble Taoist..."

Luo Fu completely ignored Zhen Yuanzi's explanation.

After all, in his view, it was completely illogical that the Cloud Wings and Grasping Claws he had crafted were inexplicably destroyed.

Having witnessed his own strength in the Golden Gourd Cave, Sun Wukong, who knew the immensity of heaven and earth, should not have inexplicably destroyed the magic weapon he had crafted, even if he was a bully who preyed on the weak.

Now that Luo Fu has seen Zhen Yuanzi, he has even begun to doubt Zhen Yuanzi.

The black and white vortex of primordial Yin and Yang energies swept in.

Sensing the terrifying suction force, Zhen Yuanzi flicked his sleeve, causing spatial ripples to spread, narrowly allowing him to escape the black and white vortex.

This is why, at present, Luofu has not yet reached the level of supernatural powers of innate Yin and Yang energies, such as the five-colored divine light of the peacock, which can be achieved with a single thought. Even a saint could be swept away if he is not careful.

Although Luo Fu can display the duality of Yin and Yang and devour everything, its speed is clearly insufficient to prevent opponents from dodging in time.

(End of this chapter)