Simultaneous Transmigration: We Share a Role-Playing System

Chapter 169 Erlang's Heart Sutra

As the Celestial Master of the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain, Zhang Zhiwei is not only the leader of the Zhengyi sect and even the righteous path of the supernatural world, but also the most outstanding person in the world. As a result, a saying has been circulating in recent years.

Two heroes, one unparalleled.

Now, this peerless master stood by the stands, his eyes fixed on his grand-disciple, but his thoughts were still wandering. His junior brother, Tian Jinzhong, had noticed something was wrong a couple of days earlier, but after asking him without getting any answers, he stopped asking.

After all, he had already learned a lesson: some things shouldn't be questioned too deeply, otherwise, his crippled fate would be proof of that.

The old Celestial Master seemed to have sensed his junior brother's thoughts. His eyes narrowed slightly, and after a moment's thought, he asked Tian Jinzhong, "Junior brother, let me test you. What is the purpose of this Luo Tian Grand Ritual?"

"Senior brother, I'm in my forties, not my teens. Look at the question you're asking."

After teasing his senior brother for a moment, Tian Jinzhong looked at Zhang Chulan on the martial arts stage, who had shamelessly defeated three opponents, and explained with a smile: "The Universal Ritual, the Zhou Tian Ritual, and the Luo Tian Ritual are the most solemn activities in our Taoist rituals. They are meant to be offered to the gods of heaven and earth, and are held to pray for national peace and prosperity and good weather."

Zhang Zhiwei nodded in agreement, but the thought of the words "gods of heaven and earth" immediately made his thoughts complicated. Tian Jinzhong, however, did not notice and continued, "However, since the country has been revitalized, the atmosphere of the martial arts world has gradually changed. The Luo Tian Grand Ceremony has gradually become another reason for disciples from various sects to spar and exchange skills. However, it has never been as lively as it is this year."

Upon hearing the word "lively," Zhang Zhiwei's worry deepened, and he echoed meaningfully, "Yes, it's unlikely to be this lively in the future."

After saying that, he unconsciously recalled what had happened two days ago.

"Will other demon kings appear at Longhu Mountain?"

When Zhang Zhiwei heard the news, he felt like the sky was falling. The thought of the legendary great demon kings gathering at Longhu Mountain made him extremely uneasy.

This is the ancestral land of their Celestial Master's Mansion. If it's gone, how can he face his ancestors and master in the afterlife?

"At first I wasn't quite sure, but after staying in Changbai Mountain for a while, I suddenly smelled a familiar fishy smell. I immediately recognized it as Black Wind, so I went out of Shanhaiguan and followed that smell to find him."

At this point, Locke propped his head up, pretending to be very sorry, and sighed.

"It's a pity that his ability to gather and disperse energy was too great, and I was unable to catch him. However, I have confirmed one thing: this world is indeed not our world, but there are traces of our existence and familiar places everywhere."

Upon hearing Locke's account, Zhao Fangxu immediately became very attentive, realizing that he might be able to get an answer, or at the very least an explanation.

As for whether it's true or false, that's not something he can decide right now. That move, the Samadhi Divine Wind, left him with no other choice.

"The simplest example is Journey to the West, but I have also learned privately that your Journey to the West is just a storybook, and there are even many different versions, and even the current version has many differences."

"For example, I have a master named Lingji Bodhisattva."

Upon hearing this, Master Jiekong's narrow eyes, which were usually half-closed and whose openness was never clearly visible to others, widened in surprise.

Back when he was discussing the Dao with the bear in the Great Hall of the Buddha, he wanted to ask if all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens really existed, but unfortunately he didn't have the chance to ask. He felt very regretful and thought he would probably never get an answer.

Who would have thought that we could still get the answer from Huang Feng?

This means that all the Buddhas on Mount Ling are real.

Moreover, if even the Great Sage Yellow Wind possesses such heaven-defying supernatural powers, then what kind of majestic demeanor and all-encompassing abilities must the Bodhisattva Lingji, who was able to subdue him, have attained? And going even higher, what inconceivable realm must the World-Honored One Shakyamuni, who sat serenely on Mount Ling and attained unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, have reached?

Even if this World Honored One is not necessarily the one who preached the Dharma for forty-nine years as described in the scriptures or in his understanding, there must be such a Buddha in this vast world and within the three thousand universes, sitting atop Mount Sumeru and illuminating the emptiness of the five aggregates.

But if the Buddha is real and true, does He sit on the nine-tiered lotus throne, coldly watching the beings of this Saha world sink into the sea of ​​birth and death, suffering the torment of the eight kinds of suffering? Or is He truly, as the Tripitaka and the twelve divisions of scriptures say, practicing the Four Great Vows, to deliver all beings from suffering and attain ultimate Nirvana and liberation?

He doesn't know, but he should be able to get an answer.

"For example, Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, also died at our hands."

Master Jiekong: "?"

Guan Shihua: "?"

Zhang Zhiwei: "?"

Zhao Fangxu: "?"

Chairman Su: "?"

Zhang Chulan: "?"

Feng Baobao (looking left and right): "?"

Seeing everyone's panicked state, Locke's mischievous sense of humor was fully satisfied. He nestled on Feng Baobao's soft, flat hair and chuckled softly, his dark eyes filled with wicked intent.

Zhang Chulan caught a glimpse of his mischievous smile and instantly relaxed. He was all too familiar with that smile, so he immediately concluded that the other party was deliberately teasing everyone. He quickly put on a shameless smile and leaned forward, complaining cheekily, "Oh dear~ Your Majesty, you're so mean! Why are you teasing us with those words!"

"Who said I was kidding you?"

Locke looked up, his tone casual yet resolute.

"If it were anything else, I could joke about it, but when it comes to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, that's absolutely impossible. Even though the Great Sage died at our hands, he is still the person I admire most, and I will never allow anyone to disrespect him."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the room, lost in their own thoughts, fell into a deathly silence.

Back to the present, Zhang Zhiwei still couldn't understand many things. He knew that Huang Feng was naturally hiding something, but the other party's claim of killing the Great Sage Equaling Heaven didn't seem to be false.

What kind of people are they? What is their attitude toward this world? Are they the saints mentioned in the Heavenly Master's teachings?

Zhang Zhiwei was completely unaware of this. All he could do was cooperate with Zhao Fangxu's actions and, while the Luo Tian Grand Tour proceeded normally, make as many preparations as possible to deal with the appearance of the demon kings.

Zhang Chulan, who had already left the arena, was also uneasy. He had spent the last two days searching for various related materials and found that there was indeed no version of Lingji Bodhisattva taking Huang Feng as a disciple.

Given this unusual situation, and considering what Huang Feng himself had said, even the astute Zhang Chulan understood what he meant. Neither those demon kings nor Huang Feng had anything to do with the history they knew, yet they were all intricately connected to this world.

In the dark, deserted passageway, in this place where no one cared, Zhang Chulan finally escaped all gazes and removed his mask.

With his back pressed against the cold, rough wooden wall, he slowly slid down to the ground. His muscles, which had been tense for months, seemed to fall apart instantly. He didn't even have the strength to lift his arms. His experiences during this period had made him afraid to relax even for a moment, and now he finally couldn't hold on any longer.

He cursed himself in his heart: Zhang Chulan, you're fucking crazy.

You can't fight city hall, and there are powerful figures like the Heavenly Master and the All-Knowing One to hold things up if the sky falls. Why do you insist on getting involved in this mess? What are you trying to achieve?

From the day his grandfather died suddenly and his father left without saying goodbye, Zhang Chulan's life was reduced to just one word.

hide.

Avoiding all malicious prying eyes and all hidden dangers, like a mouse that has strayed into traffic, it cowers and hides its tail under the roaring wheels, carefully trying to survive.

But when the Yellow Wind King descended from the sky and barged into his finally mundane life, he was surprisingly relieved and enjoyed a few days without having to live in fear or constantly act subservient.

Upon arriving at Longhu Mountain and learning about the past of Master Tian, ​​the Old Celestial Master, and my grandfather, this sense of relief that had been weighing on me for half my life surged up once again.

It was like a rootless duckweed that had been drifting for over twenty years finally touching the mud at the bottom of the water; it was like a tree that had been swaying for half its life without roots finally settling firmly into the soil.

Zhang Chulan, after living in hiding for over twenty years, finally seems to have found his roots.

But when he learned that the other demon kings were coming to Longhu Mountain, he began to worry again. He was afraid that Longhu Mountain would be destroyed, that the advisor and the king would be in trouble, and that Bao'er would also be imprisoned.

The thought of Bao'er made Zhang Chulan's heart ache, and he couldn't bear to look at those innocent and pitiful eyes.

After pondering in the shadows for a long time, Zhang Chulan gathered his chaotic thoughts, stood up, and took firm steps.

He wanted to get to the bottom of things, no matter what happened.

After Zhang Chulan composed himself and hurried back to Bao'er and the Great King by the training ground, he just happened to hear the referee call out Feng Baobao's name. Bao'er was about to walk onto the stage. Zhang Chulan instinctively leaned forward, about to take over the task of serving her, but before he could even open his mouth, Locke, nestled on Feng Baobao's head, seemed to have read his mind and lazily interrupted him.

"Little Lanzi, this fight is all show and no substance, it's so boring. Let's go down the mountain for a stroll."

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Chulan immediately bowed and replied, "Sir!"

The Luo Tian Grand Battle was in full swing, and the crowds heading up the mountain were shoulder to shoulder. They were all strange people from various factions crowding into the Tianshi Mansion's martial arts arena. Only they went against the flow of people and went down the mountain.

There were hardly any people to be seen on the mountain path leading down the mountain. After walking halfway down, looking across the entire stone path, there was only Zhang Chulan carrying Locke.

But that's only on the surface.

Having lived in hiding from the prying eyes of others for over twenty years since childhood, Zhang Chulan's sensitivity to gazes far surpasses that of ordinary people. Even without using Qi to probe, he can instinctively spot at least seven or eight eyes watching from the shadows.

"Alright, stop being so tense and worrying about those small fry." Locke, who seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, casually patted his head and comforted him instead. "What Na Du Tong needs now is balance, to keep the order of this world of supernatural beings from collapsing."

"With a ticking time bomb like me around, the fact that Fatty Zhao can still remain calm and make the safest judgments is already quite something. A little surveillance is nothing more than a free bodyguard the company sent us; don't take it to heart."

As the core target being watched and the instigator of this turmoil, Locke saw through everything perfectly, dissecting the underlying logic of Na Du Tong with a single sentence. He then rolled over, perched on Zhang Chulan's head, and slowly whispered in his ear, "Alright, little Lanzi, there's no one else around. If you have something on your mind, say it now. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll answer any questions. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Hearing this, Zhang Chulan's inner turmoil intensified.

The Great King above him, who would protect him, support him, and see through even the unease hidden deep in his bones, was now a completely separate entity in his heart from the Yellow Wind Ridge monster he had read about in "Journey to the West" since childhood, a monster who could cause great harm and eat people by blowing divine winds.

On one hand, there was the condemnation brought by his conscience and basic morality etched into his bones; on the other hand, there was the constant tug-of-war between the sense of crisis hanging over his head and the unprecedented sense of belonging, like two ropes twisting and grinding against his mind.

But Zhang Chulan was never one to hesitate or be indecisive. In just a few breaths, the scales in his heart were set, and he quickly made his decision.

"I'd like to know, why does Your Majesty seek me out?"

"It's simple, because you have the strongest smell."

"taste?"

Faced with Zhang Chulan's doubts, Locke slowly made up an explanation (crossed out): "Since my resurrection, I have been able to smell a certain scent, which is strongest on two people: you and Feng Baobao."

Having successfully persuaded him, Locke patted Zhang Chulan's head with his little paw and asked, "So, do you know what the biggest thing you two have in common is?"

Zhang Chulan remained silent for a moment, racking his brains but unable to come up with any major commonalities. In the end, he could only think of a rather hellish commonality.

"Are we all orphans?"

"Don't you have a father? Fine, I'll tell you the answer. Simply put, you are all related to the Eight Extraordinary Skills and the Thirty-Six Thieves, which is why you have a very high status in this world."

Upon hearing about the Thirty-Six Thieves and the Eight Extraordinary Techniques, Zhang Chulan's heart skipped a beat. Perhaps because of the birth of the Demon King, the elders, such as the Celestial Master, did not take the matter of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques and the Thirty-Six Thieves as seriously as before. Therefore, they told him a lot more information in advance than originally expected.

This reminded him of his conversation with King Huangfeng before he left. Heaven didn't want him to know beforehand, so King Huangfeng naturally couldn't tell him. Now that someone else had told him part of the truth, King Huangfeng could finally tell him.

After figuring this out, Zhang Chulan realized two things: that fate might actually exist, and that his destiny might have been predetermined long ago.

Secondly, there is the Yellow Wind King, who may have the ability to change his own destiny; at least, his destiny is not under the control of Heaven.

"So, the origin of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques is a matter of great significance to this world?"

"That's natural. We even suspect it's related to the 'Severing the Heavenly Connection,' otherwise, given your master's talent, he should have become an immortal even in such an environment. Now, he's still unable to take that final step, which must be due to the restriction."

"A ban?"

At this moment, Zhang Chulan remembered what his advisor had told him a couple of days ago: if he wanted to know the truth, he should wait until he accepted the Heavenly Master's Ordination and became a true Heavenly Master.

Could it be—this Heavenly Master's Ordination!

"I've gone a bit off-topic, but judging from the current situation, I'm right. Although I don't know much about the Eight Extraordinary Techniques, I can still figure something out. Therefore, I'm certain that I am now the chosen protector."

"Protect? Me, or Bao'er-jie? Who chose me?"

"It's the two of you. As for who they are—"

Locke chuckled, then said, "Of course, it's the one on top of your head."

Zhang Chulan fell silent instantly, while Locke continued, "Since my rebirth, I have sensed something unusual about this world. The heavens here are not right. They actually chose me, a monster who stole oil, to be the one who undergoes tribulation."

"Later I learned that the spiritual essence of this world has completely ceased to manifest, and all the gods and Buddhas have disappeared. You people have also developed another way of thinking."

"But I was still chosen. I have a feeling that my resurrection is perhaps to deal with a calamity that you absolutely cannot handle, a crisis that has deviated from the normal course."

Locke did not completely deceive Zhang Chulan on this point; he was indeed chosen by this world, and everything he did went smoothly, which could be described as the heavens and earth conspiring with him when the time was right.

Therefore, not long ago he chose to find the truth, and following his intuition, he found the most auspicious place in accordance with the laws of nature, Mount Tai, where he had a simple conversation with the heavens and received a response from them.

There will indeed be a crisis in the future, he doesn't know what it is, but he can prepare in advance.

"But why did you do this, Your Majesty? Does this mean that you are a good monster, unlike those in Journey to the West?"

""

"Good monster, I can only be considered a monster with a bit of chivalry. Although I did good deeds in the Kingdom of Sihari, I went to extremes and ended up causing the people of Sihari to turn into rats. I even ate people."

Upon hearing that the other party was cannibalistic, Zhang Chulan swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. Locke continued, "However, after being eliminated by the Chosen Ones back then, I finally had some time to calm down and think things through. I thought about many things and eventually figured them out. Perhaps this is why this world chose me."

As he spoke, Locke stood up from Zhang Chulan's head, looked down at the human world below Longhu Mountain, and said, word by word, "I really like this world now. There is no oppression from gods and Buddhas, no cannibalistic schemes born out of the struggle for spiritual essence, and there is the equality I crave."

Although injustice still exists, it's much better than the Three Realms of the past. That's why I love this place and am willing to protect it, to atone for my past sins.

Upon receiving this answer, Zhang Chulan instantly breathed a huge sigh of relief.

He still didn't understand what had happened to Sun Wukong, but none of that mattered anymore. At least he was certain that this king was truly on his side.

Well, at least now I can feel a little more at ease.

At that moment, Locke glanced at Zhang Chulan and suddenly had an idea, so he asked, "Little Lanzi, are you interested in learning something?"

"Your Majesty, I am overjoyed by your gift, how could I possibly refuse?"

"Alright, I'd like to see what someone like you will be like after learning this mental cultivation method."

"Mental cultivation method? What mental cultivation method?"

"I stole this cultivation technique. Its owner was one of the people who fought alongside us against Sun Wukong. His name was—"

""

"Yang Erlang of Guanjiangkou".