Simultaneous traversal: All Abyss difficulty.

Chapter 563 Another Member Added to the Westward Journey Team
Guanyin Bodhisattva stands on a golden lotus, her whole body radiating Buddha's light, and with a willow branch gently waving her vase, she sprinkles drops of sweet dew.

Tang Sanzang immediately knelt down and bowed: "Disciple pays respects to Guanyin Bodhisattva!"

Upon seeing this, Li Shimin and his ministers also knelt down.

Guanyin nodded slightly, and with a gentle wave of her hand, a kasaya shimmering with rosy light appeared out of thin air: "This is a brocade kasaya, and this is a nine-ringed staff. It can protect you on your journey to the west. Keep it safe."

Tang Sanzang respectfully accepted it, but hesitated to get up.

Guanyin's gaze lingered on Tang Sanzang's face for a moment, then she suddenly noticed something amiss: "Xuanzang, why does your eyes lack the urgency to seek the scriptures?"

Tang Sanzang took a deep breath and put his hands together in prayer: "Disciple has a question that I do not understand, and I would like to ask Guanyin Bodhisattva for clarification."

Guanyin's heart skipped a beat, and the nectar in her vase rippled slightly. She remained expressionless, her voice still kind and gentle: "Ask away."

"That day in Chang'an, a benefactor questioned his disciple," Tang Sanzang raised his head, his eyes flashing with an unprecedented sharpness, "He said, even if we obtain the true scriptures, what does it have to do with the common people of the world?"

Guanyin's fingertip trembled. Oh no!

"Foolish child." Guanyin's voice remained gentle, yet carried a hint of warning. "You have cultivated for ten lifetimes; how could you be misled by the false words of an ordinary person?"

Tang Sanzang, however, remained unusually persistent: "But he said there is a Lion Camel Kingdom at the foot of Mount Ling, where the people are being devoured alive by monsters. I want to ask, if the true scriptures cannot relieve the suffering before us, what is the use of obtaining them?"

Upon hearing this, the world suddenly changed color!

The sky, which had been shrouded in auspicious clouds, suddenly became overcast, and the sound of muffled thunder could be heard in the distance.

The kneeling people bowed their heads in fear, terrified that they would be struck by lightning.

Guanyin's eyes blazed with Buddhist light, and her voice suddenly became stern: "Tang Xuanzang!"

This shout was like a thunderclap, making Tang Sanzang sway.

The willows on both sides of Ba Bridge swayed without wind, and Li Shimin and his officials were pressed down by an invisible pressure, unable to lift their heads.

Guanyin quickly composed herself, her expression returning to one of kindness and gentleness: "Do you know the origins of that demon?"

Tang Sanzang shook his head.

"He possesses extraordinary treasures and is disrupting the natural order."

"Your journey to the west is precisely to break through these obstacles!"

"The Lion Camel Kingdom is a result of karmic retribution and needs the true scriptures to guide it. You should set off quickly and not disappoint the Buddha's expectations."

Tang Sanzang stared blankly at the cassock in his hand, the Sanskrit characters embroidered on the brocade suddenly stinging his eyes.

"Disciple understands."

That's a forced statement, but how could Guanyin not understand it?

"Go."

"Yes"

Guanyin sprinkled a drop of sweet dew, and the golden lotus rose into the air.

Everyone immediately kowtowed in the direction where Guanyin had disappeared, but Tang Sanzang was still filled with confusion.
If we truly accept what that young man said—that the pilgrimage is useless and has nothing to do with the common people—then...
That seems to be true!

If scriptures can truly liberate people from suffering.

Why didn't Guanyin Bodhisattva bring the scriptures with her on this trip?

Did the journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, or was it merely a campaign to promote Buddhism?

If Buddha truly wants to save all sentient beings, why should it be an orphan like me who has to travel thousands of miles to the Western Paradise to seek the true scriptures?
Wouldn't it be better to send the Buddha over?

I have been gone for decades. Can Buddha just stand by and watch the people suffer?

Why didn't anyone else go to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures before I was born?
On the other hand, why didn't the Buddha deliver it himself? Why did mortals have to go and get it?

Take off your pants and fart?
Why do the high and mighty Bodhisattvas and Buddhas just watch the people suffer?

Can't things be kept simpler?

The seed of doubt was planted in Tang Sanzang's heart.

In fact, this is normal.

The reason why Jin Chanzi was reincarnated was because he questioned Buddhism.

Now, Fang Yu's words have awakened Tang Sanzang. Although he has died nine times in previous lives, in this tenth life he still has the stubbornness to get to the bottom of things.
In the Purple Bamboo Grove of the South China Sea, the lotus pond remains calm.

Guanyin Bodhisattva sits serenely on a lotus throne, her vase tilting slightly. A drop of nectar falls into the pool, stirring up a thousand waves!

"You wretched creature!" Her phoenix eyes flashed with murderous intent!
What enraged her was the hesitation in Tang Sanzang's eyes!

Jin Chanzi, who had reincarnated ten times, was actually swayed by a few words!
"Bodhisattva!" Muzha rushed over. "Bodhisattva Lingji has sent word that the demon has left Chang'an and is heading towards..."

"No need for further explanation." Guanyin suddenly rose, her lotus platform transforming into golden light that shot straight into the sky. "I will personally go to the Lingxiao Palace!"

In the ninth heaven, the Lingxiao Palace is shrouded in celestial mist.

The Jade Emperor was playing chess with Laozi when he suddenly saw auspicious light shining brightly outside the palace.

He held a white chess piece suspended in mid-air between his fingertips, a half-smile on his face: "Laojun, guess whether you've come to ask for elixirs or to lodge a complaint with the emperor?"

Before the words were finished, Guanyin had already entered the hall on a golden lotus.

Her usually kind eyes were now frosty, and she even skipped the formalities of greeting: "Does Your Majesty know of the recent actions of that sorcerer at Wuzhuang Temple?"

The chess piece in the Jade Emperor's hand landed "tap" on the chessboard.

Seeing this, Laozi wisely transformed into a wisp of green smoke and vanished.

"Why do you say that, Bodhisattva?" The Jade Emperor stroked his beard and chuckled. "Wasn't that boy already expelled from his sect by Zhen Yuanzi?"

"Expelled from the sect?" Guanyin sneered. "Yet he publicly incited the people of Chang'an to slander Buddhism!" With a flick of her sleeve, the image of Fang Yu striking Chang'an with lightning appeared in the water mirror. "This boy possesses a supreme treasure of the Thunder Department, murdered aquatic creatures registered in the Heavenly Court, and now he is disrupting the great journey to the West."

Don't be fooled by Guanyin's kind and benevolent appearance under normal circumstances; when she really gets scheming, no other deity or Buddha can match her.

Otherwise, where would the story of Zhenzhen, Lianlian, and Aiai in "The Tripitaka Never Forgets Its Roots, and the Four Sages Test the Mind of Zen" come from?

Upon hearing Guanyin's words, a glint flashed in the Jade Emperor's eyes. He had already received a secret report from the Thousand-Mile Eyes, but at this moment he feigned surprise: "Is that so?"

"Your Majesty!" Guanyin's voice suddenly rose, "If this child is not eliminated, where will the order of the Three Realms be?"

Venus, who was bowing his head at the corner of the palace, suddenly coughed twice. The Jade Emperor understood and slowly said, "Bodhisattva, don't be impatient. Zhen Yuanzi is, after all, the ancestor of all earth immortals."

"Does the Human Cult condone villains?" Guanyin retorted sharply. "Back then, when he secretly recruited 100,000 heavenly soldiers, His Majesty tolerated it and even gifted him three ginseng fruits, which His Majesty accepted. But this time..." she suddenly lowered her voice, "if we allow Jin Chanzi to continue to be bewitched..."

The Jade Emperor paused, stroking his beard.

The journey to the West was a matter of great importance to the fate of Buddhism and Taoism; how could he not know this?

But thinking of Zhen Yuanzi's "Covering the Sky with One Hand," the Jade Emperor suddenly laughed: "Venus."

“Your humble servant is here.” Venus quickly stepped forward.

"Go to Wuzhuang Temple," the Jade Emperor said, tapping his fingertips on the dragon table. "Tell Zhen Yuanzi to add a spot to this westward journey!"

Guanyin's lips twitched slightly!

Her original intention was to use the Heavenly Court to eliminate Fang Yu, but unexpectedly...
"Your Majesty!" Guanyin exclaimed urgently, "The westward journey was personally ordered by the Buddha!"

"I know," the Jade Emperor interrupted her, his smile carrying a deeper meaning, "but that boy needs someone to keep an eye on him, doesn't he?"

He suddenly stood up, his nine-dragon robe fluttering without wind. "Issue a decree! The demon Fang Yu stole the Thunder Department's most precious treasure and injured Heavenly soldiers. He should be cast into reincarnation, but out of respect for Zhenyuan Daxian, he is punished by escorting Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West to atone for his sins!"

Guanyin's expression shifted between light and dark.

This isn't punishment; it's clearly putting a protective shield on that kid!
Before she could speak, the Jade Emperor had already turned and walked towards the rear hall, leaving only a single sentence floating in the celestial mist.
"By the way, Venus, remember to remind Zhen Yuanzi that the ginseng fruit tree needs fertilizing."

Inside the Wuzhuang Temple, Qingfeng and Mingyue are sweeping up fallen leaves.

Suddenly, a burst of celestial music drifted in, and Venus arrived riding on a cloud.

The two young Taoist disciples were so startled they dropped their brooms: "Star Lord! Master has not yet returned from his travels!"

"It's alright." Venus chuckled and produced the imperial edict. "The Jade Emperor has decreed..."

Before the words were even finished, the entire Longevity Hill suddenly trembled!

Zhen Yuanzi's voice came from all directions:
"Tell the Jade Emperor that the ginseng fruit is gone."

"As for the trouble that kid caused, he'll have to take the blame himself!"

Venus nodded in satisfaction, bowed slightly, and left.

As soon as Venus left, Zhen Yuanzi emerged from the main hall.

He smiled and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards the sky.

it is more than words.

(End of this chapter)