Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 13, Reward Settlement

Meanwhile, Tang Sanzang and his disciples were blocked in the Gao Lao Zhuang area and unable to travel west.

A few days later, the progress of the Aotu system quickly increased from twelve days to fifteen days.

If the settlement is completed at this point, Ao Tu will receive three rewards: a three-stage Golden Elixir, True Dragon Essence Blood, and a Purple-Veined Peach.

Ao Tu's current cultivation level is at the mid-stage of the Profound Immortal realm, approaching the late-stage. He still has some of the medicinal power of the Six-Turn Golden Pill in his body that he hasn't fully refined. If he could eat another Three-Turn Golden Pill, although it wouldn't increase his cultivation as much as the Six-Turn Golden Pill, it would still be enough for him to break through to the late-stage of the Profound Immortal realm.

Afterwards, he will refine the true dragon's essence blood and the purple-veined peach together, and there is a high chance that he will break through to the Golden Immortal realm.

An immortal golden immortal, even on the journey to the West, can be considered a powerful figure.

Moreover, the system progress is still increasing at this time.

If he can hold on for another half month, he will be able to obtain an extremely powerful acquired spiritual treasure, the Five Fire Divine Flame Fan!
With this treasure, even Sun Wukong would be no match for him; if Ananda comes again, give Ananda a surprise!
At that time, in Gao Village, Bajie had been working for several days in a row, but he was just going through the motions and not putting in any real effort, so there was no noticeable result.

The villagers weren't fools. They knew that if things continued this way, they wouldn't get their land even after ten years. So they went to Tang Sanzang again, presenting him with the document signed by Ao Tu, and demanded that Tang Sanzang hand over the land.

The villagers were all very excited, and Tang Sanzang had no choice but to bury himself in chanting sutras and reciting Amitabha Buddha's name.

After the crowd finally dispersed, Tang Sanzang questioned Bajie, asking why he hadn't worked hard enough.

Pigsy also had a reason to complain:

“Master, it’s not that I, Old Pig, am not trying; but how can I possibly manage these thousands of acres by myself? Even an ox would die from exhaustion.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang realized that this made sense.

Sun Wukong, however, said from the side:

"Master, don't listen to this fool's nonsense. He's Marshal Tianpeng descended to the mortal realm. When he mistook you for a monster before, he bravely resisted my golden cudgel and knocked down seven mountains in a row. How come he's exhausted now? I think he's just asking for a beating!"

Pigsy quickly hid behind Tang Sanzang and said:

“Master, I, Old Pig, did do wrong things before, but I was also tricked by that monster. Although I meant to hit you, I was actually trying to protect you. As the saying goes, a monk doesn't hold grudges. For the sake of the Bodhisattva, please forgive me!”

Tang Sanzang sighed:
"It's easy to spare you, but how are we, master and disciple, going to get through Gao Village now?"

Bajie said:
“Master, this is easy. My senior brother was in charge of agriculture and animal husbandry in the Heavenly Court back then. He was a very high-ranking official. This is something he is best at.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong was about to beat Pigsy.

"Idiot, what nonsense are you spouting? You're asking for a beating!"

Pigsy dodged around Tang Sanzang, saying:

"How can I talk nonsense? Back when you were guarding the Peach Orchard, you were in charge of every single one of the strongmen who hoeed the trees, carried water, pruned the peaches, and cleaned up. As the saying goes, 'Even if you leave, the tea may still be warm.' If you could summon a few more from heaven, would you still be afraid that the land couldn't be cultivated?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong couldn't help but recall past events and stopped what he was doing.

Seeing this, Tang Sanzang advised, "Disciple, if you really have such ability, then go and settle things in Gao Village, so that we, master and disciple, can go west to obtain the scriptures."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong sighed and said:
"Master, you don't know this, but back then I, Old Sun, stole peaches and pills, and committed many wrongdoings. I'm afraid the local earth god and all the strongmen in that garden were implicated, and now I'm afraid I'll never see my old friends again!"

Tang Sanzang said, “Disciple! Have you not heard that to know one’s faults and correct them is the greatest virtue? The Buddha said: All the evil deeds I have committed in the past were caused by beginningless greed, anger and ignorance, arising from my body, speech and mind. I now repent of them all!”

Sun Wukong was finally moved after hearing this.

“Alright, Master, I, Old Sun, will go to the Heavenly Court. But there’s one thing: I, Old Sun, never do anything without a name. After I leave, Bajie, you must explain the situation to the villagers. It was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who helped them, not that monster.”

Bajie listened and said:
"Senior brother, don't worry. That wealthy man from Gao Village, Old Master Gao, was my father-in-law. I'll go find him and have him explain things to everyone."

Sun Wukong smiled and said to Pigsy:

"Fool, I didn't realize you were a fire-dwelling monk!"

Bajie said:
"Senior brother, why are you making such jokes? It's often said that there are Taoist priests who practice at home but do not abandon worldly affairs, and they are called 'fire-dwelling Taoist priests'; there's no such thing as a 'fire-dwelling monk'."

Sun Wukong said, "You have an father-in-law here, isn't he the Fire Monk?" Bajie replied, "That's all old news."

Sun Wukong laughed, walked outside, and somersaulted up to the South Heavenly Gate.

At the South Heavenly Gate, Pang, Liu, Gou, and Bi bowed, while Ma, Zhao, Wen, and Guan bowed their backs.

Sun Wukong waved his hand and said, "Gentlemen, please make no need for formalities. Please inform the Jade Emperor that I, Old Sun, wish to see him."

This is truly a strange thing; the monkey who once wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace now understands manners.

After some time, the Jade Emperor issued an edict, summoning Sun Wukong inside.

Upon arriving at the Lingxiao Palace, Sun Wukong bowed deeply and explained his request.

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor issued an edict: "As Wukong has reported, the local deities and warriors of the Peach Garden shall be at Wukong's disposal."

Sun Wukong thanked him without further ado and rode a cloud to the Peach Garden.

This trip was indeed a case of things changing beyond recognition; of the land deities, strongmen, and celestial officials he had once seen, only a fraction remained.

Because the Great Sage caused chaos in the Peach Garden back then, the Queen Mother punished them. These people were either banished to the mortal realm or stripped of their immortal status, their arduous cultivation vanishing in an instant...

Sun Wukong recalled the past and couldn't help but feel sad.

As the saying goes, a day in heaven is equivalent to a year on earth.

Since Tang Sanzang wasn't captured by a demon, Sun Wukong wasn't in a hurry. By the time he gathered his warriors and went down to the mortal realm, more than ten days had already passed in Gao Village.

Sun Wukong, accompanied by a group of celestial warriors, descended to the mortal realm.

With a strongman wielding his hoe, the earth churned and turned, and in the blink of an eye, acres of wasteland were transformed into arable land.

Then a powerful man poured down the magical spring, and the ordinary land instantly turned into excellent fertile fields.

The villagers of Gao Laozhuang all knelt down and thanked him, exclaiming that a god had descended to earth.

The celestial warriors returned to the Heavenly Palace after finishing their work, which is another story.

Tang Sanzang originally intended to leave that day, but it was already late, and the people invited him to stay for a vegetarian feast, so he stayed in Gao Village for another day.

The next day, Tang Sanzang and his disciples began to leave Gao Village.

Meanwhile, on Ao Tu's side, the system's progress had just reached the thirtieth day.

This made him happy, and he thought to himself that he was lucky.

However, to his surprise, the system's progress did not stop calculating. Tang Sanzang and his disciples traveled for another three days before the system finally began to settle the accounts after they crossed Fuling Mountain.

The progress has now reached thirty-three days.

The system's original assessment of the Gao Lao Zhuang area included not only Gao Lao Zhuang itself, but also the entire Fuling Mountain area.

[Ding, reward settlement in progress, a total of thirty-three days of interception.]

[Ding! You have received a reward: a Three-Tier Golden Elixir.]

[Ding! You have received the reward: True Dragon Essence Blood.]

[Ding! You have received a Purple-Veined Peach as a reward.]

[Ding! You have received the reward: the Five-Flame Divine Flame Fan, a spirit treasure for later use.]

[Ding! Three extra days have been added and will automatically be transferred to the next side quest; the next side quest is: The Wind Rises at Dusk.]

(End of this chapter)