If you're so capable, then you go ahead and do it; this calamity is truly insurmountable.

Next are the third, fourth, and fifth stops.

There is no such person among the northern demon race.

The Four Seas Dragon Palace does not recognize this person.

The Ten Kings of Hell have no record of this name in the Book of Life and Death, just like last time.

Guangmu Jingang asked all the questions he could.

The result was exactly the same as last time.

Denied everything.

No one claimed the young man named Lu Chen.

Guangmu Jingang returned to Mount Ling and reported the truth.

After hearing this, King Puji's face darkened further.

"Another complete denial."

"Yes."

"Is it possible that they're telling the truth? That person really doesn't have any connections?"

Guangmu Jingang pondered for a moment: "This subordinate dares not make a rash judgment. But judging from the reactions of all parties, at least Laozi and the Jade Emperor do not seem to be lying."

King Puji was silent for a moment, then waved his hand.

"That's all for now. Keep an eye on it."

Guangmu Jingang accepted the order and withdrew.

King Puji sat in his meditation room, tapping the table, his brows furrowed in a deep knot.

It cannot be found.

Two rounds have been conducted, and they still can't find anything.

Where did this person come from?

What he didn't know was that this confrontation, although it didn't yield any results, brought about a side effect he hadn't anticipated at all.

The bigwigs from all sides were baffled, but they started to think about it.

When the Buddhist sect came to ask last time, everyone assumed it was just a routine matter.

This time when they came to confront him, their attitude was clearly different.

The tone became firmer, the level of formality higher, and the questions more pointed.

The Buddhist community isn't just doing this for no reason. They wouldn't send a high-ranking delegation to question everyone without a cause.

There is only one possibility.

A major incident occurred on their journey to the West.

Taiqing Palace.

After seeing off Guangmu Jingang, Laozi sat back on his prayer mat, picked up his whisk, and slowly stirred the fire in the stove.

"Gentle Breeze".

A young Taoist boy ran in from the side hall.

"master."

"Go and find out what has happened recently on the pilgrimage route."

As Laozi looked at the flickering flames in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"The Buddhist community is in such a hurry, it must be very interesting."

---

The news spread very quickly.

The information network of the Three Realms is already extensive, not to mention the considerable commotion the Buddhist sect has caused this time. The news of the high-level delegation visiting each sect for confrontation spread to the ears of all the powerful figures that very day.

The Taoist sect was the first to know the inside story.

Taiqing Palace, three days later.

Qingfeng Daotong has returned.

"Sir, I've found out."

"explain."

"The pilgrimage team stopped for nearly five months near a valley west of Huangfeng Ridge. The reason was that there was an extra person on the road who was blocking their way."

Lao Tzu, stroking his whisk, asked, "Who goes there?"

"A mortal. His surname was Lu, and his given name was Chen. He had no cultivation, no magic weapons, and only carried a wooden stick. But the Great Sage Equaling Heaven fought him for five months and could not defeat him."

Laozi paused for a moment.

"Can't beat them?"

"Even if three people attacked together, they couldn't defeat him. They couldn't avoid him even by taking a detour. The Buddhist sect has investigated twice, and no force in the Three Realms has claimed this person."

Laozi remained silent for a while.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't mockery, but the kind of laughter that was purely "funny".

The pilgrimage to the West was the core undertaking of Buddhism's eastward expansion.

Xiniu Hezhou was originally Buddhist territory, and now they want to extend their reach into Nanzhanbuzhou. Although the Daoist sects haven't said anything, they are somewhat unhappy about it. They have to accept the trend of the times, but that doesn't mean they are unhappy to see the Buddhist sect suffer a setback.

"Interesting." Lao Tzu repeated these three words.

He stood up, walked to the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and added some fire inside.

"Qingfeng, pass on a message to Master Taiyi: tell him to take a look when he has time. He doesn't need to interfere, just take a look."

"Yes."

The Heavenly Court, the Lingxiao Palace.

The Jade Emperor also received the news.

His sources of information were faster than those of the Taoist sects. After all, the day-roaming gods and night-roaming gods roamed all over the Three Realms, and such important matters could not be kept from the eyes of the Heavenly Court.

"Your Majesty," Venus leaned closer and lowered her voice, "the pilgrimage has been halted for five months. It's said that a mortal is blocking the way, and the Great Sage Equaling Heaven can't defeat him."

The Jade Emperor put down the memorial in his hand and glanced at Venus.

"mortal?"

"Yes. It can't be found in the Three Realms Archives, and no force has claimed it. The Buddhist sect has already sent two rounds of envoys all over the world to inquire about this matter, but to no avail."

The Jade Emperor did not speak, but picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.

His expression was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger.

But Venus, having followed him for so many years, knew what this Lord of Ten Thousand Heavens was thinking.

The Heavenly Court tacitly approves of the pilgrimage to the West. It neither supports, opposes, nor interferes. In short, it's a matter for Buddhism to handle itself, and the Heavenly Court turns a blind eye.

However, "tacit approval" does not equate to "welcoming it to happen".

Buddhism successfully expanded eastward, Taoism's territory shrank, and the Heavenly Court was caught in the middle, which was not easy for them either.

Is the Buddhist pilgrimage to the West now facing trouble?

Venus tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, should we send someone to investigate?"

The Jade Emperor put down his teacup.

"It won't hurt to take a look."

Four words, no more, no less.

Don't get involved, but you need to know what happened.

If Buddhism really suffers a setback, the Heavenly Court must make preparations in advance.

Venus understood immediately and withdrew to make the arrangements.

The news spread even more wildly among the northern demon tribes.

The demon race wasn't as particular as the Heavenly Court; as soon as the news arrived, the demon kings sat together and started gossiping.

"Have you heard? The Monkey King was cornered and beaten by a mortal for five months!"

"Impossible, right? The Monkey King who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace back then?"

"It's absolutely true. The Buddhist community is in a panic about this, searching the whole world to ask if they were behind it."

"Hahahaha! The Buddhist sect is getting anxious? That's great!"

"That's right! We've been on our pilgrimage for so long, and now we're stuck in some remote mountain valley. We've lost face in the entire Three Realms!"

"Hey, who exactly is that mortal? Whose side is he on?"

"I don't know. No one in the Three Realms has claimed it."

"That's even more interesting. An unknown nobody has turned the Buddhist pilgrimage to the West upside down. If that's true, I'll have to go and toast him."

"Let's go take a look! Even if we can't help, it'll be worth it to see Buddhism make a fool of itself!"

Their core attitude is simple: the pilgrimage to the West is a Buddhist matter, and it has nothing to do with them. They're happy to sit back and chat about anything that might cause trouble for Buddhism.

You don't even need to lift a finger; just watching the spectacle is enough to make it worthwhile.

As a result, various forces in the Three Realms dispatched their own spies.

The Taoist sect sent several immortals, disguised as mortals, to secretly infiltrate the vicinity of the pilgrimage route.

The Heavenly Court dispatched day-roaming and night-roaming deities to monitor the situation from afar in the high sky.

The demon race was even more direct; several curious demon kings transformed into birds and perched on the mountaintop to watch.

The Dragon Palace of the Four Seas also joined in the fun, sending several small dragons to transform into snakes and peek into the grass.

The inconspicuous valley on the journey to the West suddenly became the focus of the Three Realms.

All eyes were focused on the same place.

Right in the middle of the valley.

Bonfire, iron pot, thatched hut.

A young man dressed in cloth sat cross-legged on a rock, holding a golden-brown roasted sweet potato in his hand. He took a bite, chewed it, and had a happy expression on his face.

Beside it, a newly built thatched shed stood crookedly, barely able to block the wind. A wooden stick was stuck in front of the shed, with a dried fish, caught from some river, hanging on it.

There's only one person.

Under the watchful eyes of the most powerful forces in the Three Realms, they leisurely roasted sweet potatoes and dried fish.

A Taoist master disguised himself as an old woodcutter, carrying firewood as he walked along the edge of the valley.

He glanced at Lu Chen from afar.

He extended his divine sense and carefully sensed it.

There was no demonic aura.

It lacks any ethereal quality.

There is no Buddhist aura.

There is no demonic energy.

There was nothing there.

This person was as clean as a blank sheet of paper.

A complete and utter mortal with no cultivation whatsoever.

This mortal was someone that even the Great Sage Equaling Heaven couldn't defeat after fighting him for five months.

The old woodcutter stopped and stared at the young man for a long time.

Then he frowned.

"interesting."

He turned and left the valley.

But after walking ten miles, he looked back in that direction again.

I have a feeling that this matter is not that simple.

A mortal with no cultivation, unclaimed by anyone in the Three Realms.

But the Monkey King couldn't defeat him.

Or perhaps the monkey is putting on a show.

Or perhaps there exists a power in this world that he cannot understand.

The old woodcutter shook his head, transformed into a beam of light, and disappeared into the horizon.

He needs to go back and have a serious talk with Laozi.