Primordial Era: Starting by overwhelming the Sages, Hongjun was stunned!

In the void.

Kong Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

This monk is interesting.

This monkey is interesting too.

They chose this path.

That path that goes against the Buddha.

That path that truly belongs to you.

Kong Xuan turned around.

Looking towards the west.

Looking towards the direction of Mount Ling.

His gaze was slightly cold.

Tathagata.

Your game is about to end.

Heavenly Court, Lingxiao Palace

The ground is paved with gold bricks, and jade pillars reach for the sky.

Amidst the swirling celestial mist, civil and military officials stood in rows on either side.

The Jade Emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, adorned in a dragon robe, with pearls hanging from his crown.

But his dignified face was now filled with anger.

"What?!"

He slammed his palm on the dragon table, causing the jade cup on the table to roll off and shatter into pieces.

"Tianpeng is dead?!"

Your Highness, Thousand-Mile Eye knelt on the ground, trembling all over:

"Your Majesty, I witnessed it with my own eyes... Sun Wukong killed Marshal Tianpeng with a single blow, turning him into a bloody mist, his body and soul utterly destroyed..."

The Jade Emperor's face turned ashen.

Both body and soul were destroyed!

There's no chance of reincarnation!

He abruptly stood up, his dragon robe billowing:

"Who gave him the guts to kill?! Who gave him the audacity?!"

Shunfeng'er knelt to one side, his voice hoarse:

"Your Majesty, it was Xuanzang... he ordered Sun Wukong to do it."

"For some reason, Xuanzang regained Jin Chanzi's memories..."

"He recognized Marshal Tianpeng and said that Tianpeng was Buddha's spy..."

"Then, they had Sun Wukong... kill him."

The Jade Emperor was stunned.

Has his memory returned?

Jin Chanzi?

The disciple who was banished by the Buddha to the cycle of reincarnation and forced to undergo ten lifetimes of arduous cultivation?

How did he regain his memory?

The Jade Emperor slowly sat down, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

Tianpeng is dead.

He had worked so hard to get three spots, and now one of them is wasted.

On the surface, the Journey to the West was a Buddhist affair, but in reality, the Heavenly Court also got involved.

On the journey to the West, there were eighty-one tribulations, each one a calculated scheme.

Every hardship brings a share of good fortune.

That fortune is merit, the approval of Heaven, and a shortcut to advancement in cultivation.

As the Jade Emperor, he possessed the Heavenly Court, yet his cultivation had been trapped at the peak of Quasi-Saint for countless years.

Above that is the Primordial Golden Immortal.

That is the realm of a sage.

He dreams of crossing that bridge.

Therefore, when Buddha proposed the journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures and to share in the fortune, he agreed without hesitation.

He secured three spots.

Tianpeng.

Roller blind.

Little White Dragon.

Tianpeng was banished to the mortal realm and reincarnated as a pig, a decision he tacitly approved.

The fact that Juanlian suffered the pain of being pierced through the chest by a flying sword in the Liusha River was also arranged by him.

The White Dragon set fire to the pearl in the palace and was hung in the air and beaten three hundred times, but he still nodded in agreement.

Everything is for that sliver of luck.

For that sliver of possibility of breaking through to sainthood.

But now, Tianpeng is dead.

Died cleanly and completely.

Not even a crumb was left.

The Jade Emperor clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white.

"Where is the man in the black robe?" he asked in a deep voice. "Has he shown himself?"

Clairvoyant shook his head:

"No. Throughout Sun Wukong and Xuanzang's journey, the man in the black robe never showed himself."

"However, I have discovered that when Xuanzang regained his memories, a primordial power descended from the sky..."

"I cannot detect the source of that power."

"I just feel... it's unfathomable."

Unfathomable.

Upon hearing those four words, the celestial beings in the hall all paled.

The Jade Emperor remained silent.

a long time.

He spoke slowly:

"Issue my decree."

Venus stepped forward:

"Your subject is here."

The Jade Emperor's eyes were icy cold:

"Order General Rolling Curtain... no, Sha Wujing, to leave the Flowing Sand River immediately and head to the Five Elements Mountain."

Venus was taken aback:

"Your Majesty, the pilgrims have not yet arrived... What's going on?"

The Jade Emperor coldly said:

"wait."

"Wait for Xuanzang to come by himself."

"Since he is not taking the westward route, then let us make way for him."

"Sun Wukong killed Tianpeng, ruining the overall Journey to the West. This matter cannot be left unresolved."

Venus felt a chill run down his spine and bowed, saying:

"I obey your decree."

He turned and strode away.

The Jade Emperor looked out of the palace, towards the eastern land.

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

Tianpeng is dead, but his good fortune cannot be lost.

Those three spots were hard-won by him.

Even if one dies, a replacement must be made.

If it can't be fixed...

Then let Xuanzang and Sun Wukong pay with their lives.

流沙河

The river water was murky, and yellow sand churned up.

Deep in the riverbed, a figure huddled in the silt.

He had disheveled red hair, a red beard that curled back, nine skulls hanging around his neck, and a ferocious face.

Sha Wujing.

He closed his eyes and silently endured the pain of being pierced through the chest by a flying sword every day.

suddenly.

A golden light descended from the sky, pierced through the river, and landed in front of him.

Sha Wujing opened his eyes.

Within the golden light, a figure slowly emerged.

Venus.

Sha Wujing was taken aback:

"Venus? What are you doing here?"

Venus gazed at him, her eyes filled with complex emotions:

"Roll up the curtain, His Majesty has decreed it."

Sha Wujing shuddered.

His Majesty?

The Jade Emperor who banished him to the mortal realm, where he suffered the pain of flying swords piercing his chest every day.

Does he have another imperial decree?

Venus sighed softly:

"Tianpeng is dead."

Sha Wujing's pupils suddenly contracted:

"What?! Tianpeng is dead?!"

Venus nodded:

"He was killed by Sun Wukong's staff, his body and soul were destroyed."

Sha Wujing was stunned.

Tianpeng...is he dead?

Tianpeng, who was banished to the mortal realm along with him?

The one who was reincarnated as a pig and was just getting by in Gao Lao Zhuang?

died?

Venus looked at him:

"His Majesty said that the three slots cannot be abolished."

"Tianpeng is dead, but you are still here."

"Although the pilgrim did not take the route westward, his path could not ultimately bypass the Flowing Sand River."

"Wait for him here."

"When he comes, go with him."

"He's not coming..."

Venus paused:

"You will continue to suffer the pain of this flying sword piercing your chest forever."

Sha Wujing remained silent.

a long time.

He spoke slowly:

"Will the pilgrim return?"

Venus gazes into the distance:

"have no idea."

"But if he doesn't come, His Majesty won't let him off the hook."

"Sun Wukong killed Tianpeng, ruining the overall Journey to the West. This matter is not over yet."

Sha Wujing lowered his head.

He looked at his hands, which were covered in scars.

Suddenly he laughed.

That smile was bittersweet, yet it conveyed a sense of relief:

"OK."

"I'll wait."

"Anyway, I've had enough of this Flowing Sand River."

Venus looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

In the end, he just sighed softly, turned around and left.

The golden light dissipated.

The Liusha River has returned to silence.

Sha Wujing huddled in the mud, gazing at the murky river water.

self-mumbling:

"Oh, Tianpeng..."

"You certainly left quickly..."

"Leave me alone to continue suffering..."

Five Elements Mountain

The mountains are shattered, the earth is cracked.

The ground was covered with pebbles and overgrown with weeds.

Xuanzang stood before the mountain, gazing at the mountain that had suppressed Sun Wukong for five hundred years.

Sun Wukong stood to the side, scratching his head:

"Monk, you said someone wanted to see me, where is that person?"

Xuanzang did not answer.

He simply gazed at the earth god temple at the foot of the mountain.

The temple gates were tightly closed.

He stepped forward and gently knocked on the door.

With a creak, the door opened.

The Earth God peeked out and, seeing it was Xuanzang, and then the monkey behind him, trembled with fright.

"A...a magician?! A...a great saint?!"

Xuanzang put his hands together in prayer:

"Old sir, I have come here with a question to ask you."

The Earth God stammered:

"Master... Master, please ask."

Xuanzang said:

"Is there anything else beneath this Five Elements Mountain?"

The Earth God was taken aback.

"thing?"

He thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh:

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"

"There's something else pressed down at the foot of that mountain!"

"When Buddha struck down with his palm, he not only subdued the monkey, but also something else beneath the mountain!"

"The little god has guarded it for five hundred years, and that thing has never been touched!"