Journey to the West: The Great Sage's Guide

Chapter 73 One wave subsides, another rises

On the other side of the tea stall,

Just as the snake demon was about to attack, its steel fork was already about to pierce the grandfather and grandson.

The grandfather was holding his granddaughter when the sharp tip of the steel fork was about to pierce the little girl's back and plunge into the old man's chest.

"Certainly!"

Just then, a loud shout rang out from nearby.

A monkey leaped down from mid-air, with a pointed snout, hairy cheeks, a face like a hairy god, a mouth like a thunder god, and dressed in coarse cloth clothes, looking quite human.

As he uttered this shout, he pointed a finger, instantly enveloping the snake demon's body in an invisible force, rendering it unable to move.

Jun Zhi, the tiger demon who had followed along, was dumbfounded.

She watched in disbelief as the monkey that used to play with her, carrying stones and mud to build houses, suddenly became so powerful!

Wukong walked over and casually snatched the snake demon's steel fork. Then, he picked it up and struck the snake demon hard on the head with the end of the fork, causing it to collapse limply to the ground.

This tiger demon, Junzhi, is quite like a playful young woman:

"Hey, tell me quickly, how did you learn this skill? When did you learn it? I want to learn it too."

She started yelling and tried to pull on the monkey's arm, demanding that he explain himself.

Little did they know when this monkey had mastered such a powerful technique, able to freeze others' movements with a single word like "freeze."

But Wukong was as slippery as a fish at this moment, easily shaking off her and rushing over to Zhong Xuan, shouting, "Brother! Brother! You're back!"

Seeing this, Zhong Xuan opened his arms and hugged the rushing Wukong, the hairy monkey, into his arms. He stroked the fluffy monkey head; it felt very nice.

Then he laughed and said, "You monkey! The mountain god has asked you to come over several times, but you couldn't refuse. Now you're being very enthusiastic."

Wukong nestled into the familiar embrace, embracing the familiar warmth and scent, but then looked up with a bright, clean smile, laughing like an innocent child, "I'm going to give you a surprise, brother! Come quickly, come with me to the valley."

The Rakshasa woman watched from the side, and a strange feeling of jealousy welled up in her heart.

The reason is simply because the emotions they displayed when they met were genuine, natural, and heartfelt, and because they were more familiar with each other.

It only made her look like an outsider, a third party!

The tiger demon Junzhi watched from the sidelines, chuckling, but finally understood.

It turns out that all the monkey's previous procrastination was for this moment.

I endured twenty days of waiting, hoping that now that we'd finally met, I could give this guy a surprise and show him off.

At the same time, she stared strangely at the veiled woman behind her, and gently sniffed the air, already recognizing the scent.

Isn't this the female Taoist priest from that beautiful cave dwelling near the heart of Cuiyun Mountain, where the spiritual energy is most abundant?

How come you're hanging out with this human now?

The Rakshasa woman noticed the other person's confused look, simply staring back at them. Then, her eyes, clear and bright, seemed to blink as if they could speak, implying that the other person should keep their mouth shut and not reveal her true identity.

Even at this point, Rakshasa still harbored a sliver of hope, believing that Zhong Xuan was still unaware of her true identity.

"No rush."

Zhong Xuan's words caused Wukong to misunderstand.

Wukong pointed to the bull demon's corpse on the ground and asked curiously, "Are we going to take this guy back and eat it first? Like that night, barbecue it?"

As Wukong said this, he looked like he was about to drool.

But the tiger demon Junzhi scoffed from the side and said, "If we really eat them, that would be troublesome! Those bull demons will fight us to the death."

Zhong Xuan said, "Let's go back first and get some help. We'll take the corpses of the bull demon and the snake demon back to the mountain god temple. Anyone who wants them can come and talk to us."

……

After we've dealt with this matter properly...

Everyone returned to the mountainside, which wasn't far away.

The Rakshasa woman also found an excuse and left halfway through.

But by this time, Wukong was so curious he couldn't contain himself. He scratched his head and asked, "Brother, brother, what exactly is going on?"

Like a child with its parents backing it up, the monkey became even more lively than usual. It then turned to look at the tiger demon and asked curiously, "And what exactly is the background of those bull demons?"

Tiger Demon Junzhi said, "Weren't you being led around by a bull demon during the Water and Land Gathering before?"

"That guy is the old patriarch of the Bull Demon Clan!"

"And if we're talking about familiarity, I'm not that familiar with her. But that woman from before... Little temple keeper, you've been with her for so long, and you still don't know?"

"If you ask her, she knows more than I do."

The tiger demon scratched his head of fluffy white hair, and Xiao Li looked puzzled.

Zhong Xuan shook his head and said, "If she's willing to talk, she probably will, but I think asking her would be difficult for her."

Tiger Demon Junzhi disagreed, saying, "That's your opinion!"

"How will you know if you don't ask?"

"However, some of these bull demons are quite powerful, and they fight very fiercely. We killed the old bull demon's thirteenth child, so we're probably going to be punished soon."

Wukong, instead, became extremely angry and said, "What? They were the ones who blocked our path and tried to kill our brother, yet he's the one who's outmatched! He's dead, and now he wants to come back here and demand justice? What kind of logic is that?"

The white-haired female Taoist priest, now in human form, was struck on the head by the tiger demon Jun Zhi with her right hand, and said irritably:

"Reason? Reason isn't something you can just talk about!"

"Their fist is so big, so their reasoning is just as strong."

"If they won't listen to reason, are you going to use your words to invite a slap in the face?"

She was quite disappointed in him.

This little monkey is clever, but too naive.

Wukong was indignant and shouted, "Let him come! Let him come!"

"If he dares to come, I'll have a go at him and give him a piece of my mind!"

"Let alone these little bull demons, even if the bull demon who turned into a woodcutter came looking for me, I wouldn't be afraid now."

Wukong is still fearless and audacious.

The tiger demon Junzhi rolled her eyes and ignored it.

She started calling to the other curious little fairies who had gathered around, telling them to find something to scare the two guys away.

A corpse... and a snake demon that will probably become a corpse soon, were properly settled.

He sternly warned them not to steal any food, because these two monsters were not edible!

Then the tiger demon Jun Zhi explained to Wukong, "You haven't told me yet!"

"You used the word 'freeze' repeatedly to immobilize this snake demon. What skill did you use? Teach me quickly!"

Or rather, this is more like a follow-up question.

Wukong snorted, proudly twirled his staff, and then looked at Zhong Xuan, saying happily, "This was taught to me by Feng Lisheng. It's a spell called 'Immobilization Spell'! Anyone weaker than me can just shout at it and freeze the other person in place, rendering them unable to move."

The tiger demon Jun Zhi was overjoyed. She scratched her head with her long fingernails, about to say something more, when she caught sight of Zhong Xuan out of the corner of her eye and immediately said:

"Young temple keeper, the mountain god sent you here to oversee things here, but what do you plan to do?"

After listening to this, Zhong Xuan pondered it for a moment, and realized that it was indeed a problem.

Although he was also the incarnation of the mountain god.

This human being's identity is also him.

But since both are me, I must distinguish between them.

Otherwise, this ability to create a clone would only make things worse for oneself.

In other words, it's what's called going astray in cultivation.

Thinking of this, Zhong Xuan took off his backpack.

They picked out one of the books introducing Taoist practices with almost perfect precision.

Although it doesn't explain how to practice spells, it does provide a fairly in-depth introduction to some powerful spells and supernatural abilities commonly found in this world.

This book, which was a treasured record of magical encounters, was given to him by one of the cultivators he had helped. He never expected it to be so helpful in broadening his horizons.

Turning to one of the pages, the ideal state of an external avatar is clearly and vividly described:

You must know in your heart that the incarnation is yourself, but it is a different version of yourself.

If one truly manages to cultivate an avatar into two independent selves, this is considered going astray in cultivation.

But if the two incarnations appear to have identical thoughts and actions, with almost no difference, then that would be another form of going astray.

Thinking of this, Zhong Xuan glanced at Wukong.

He couldn't help but think: Someone with Wukong's personality couldn't learn this external incarnation in the early stages.

Otherwise, with such unconventional behavior, I fear the other demon monkey will soon become another independent demon Wukong.

"Now that the mountain god has left, our whole family can't hold on. If we do nothing, I'm afraid the other side will keep testing and pressuring us."

Just as Zhong Xuan finished speaking, a sound came from nearby.

It turned out that Feng Lisheng had come out from the peach grove behind, carrying a bundle on his back, and said, "That's right. I didn't expect you, little temple master, to have such good eyesight and think of this."

Wukong immediately leaped over, glaring angrily and shouting, "Feng Lisheng, are you trying to run away again?"

Feng Lisheng said speechlessly, "I only stayed because of the mountain god. Now that the mountain god has left, I also have things to do and things to do. I will come back when the mountain god returns."

As Feng Lisheng spoke, he summoned a gust of wind and prepared to ride it away.

Wukong stomped his foot in anger and roared at him, "Go away, go away! Once you leave, you're not allowed to come back!"

Zhong Xuan patted Wukong's head to calm it down quickly, and then said to the tiger demon:

"In that case, I will write an invitation now. You and the little fairies can copy it together and then spread it widely to all the famous and powerful families in Cuiyun Mountain, inviting them to the banquet."

Upon hearing this, Little Red Fox immediately exclaimed cheerfully, "I'll go get it! I'll go get it!"

She hurried to the back of the mountain god temple, which has now expanded into three or five rooms, and went to the study in that almost complex of buildings to retrieve the Four Treasures of the Study.

Rabbit Xiaoyu, who was in charge of all sorts of miscellaneous tasks and had a job similar to that of a housekeeper, turned her head away helplessly.

She looked at the young temple keeper, who was much more handsome than the mountain god and resembled a younger version of the mountain god, and said, "Young temple keeper, we're in trouble now!"

"We've recently developed a fondness for white rice, wheat, bread, and roast meat. But we're running out of food, are we going to have to go hunting again?"

"How can we hold a banquet?"

"If we want to invite a lot of people to eat, it will take us a long time to prepare. Perhaps it would be much better to use money to buy food from the local people in the villages and towns."

Tao Yaoyao also trotted out from the nearby peach grove with her short little legs.

Only this little guy, whose branches reached up to Zhong Xuan's knees, hopped over, babbling excitedly, and then said that he had peaches, peaches, and could offer everyone peaches.

The tiger demon Junzhi was speechless and amused, so she put on a stern face and tried to scare it, saying:

"Those who come are all great monsters!"

"You're serving your guests those green and astringent peaches?"

"I'm afraid they're just hungry and will grab you in one bite!"

"Those teeth are so long!"

"One bite and half of your body will be gnawed off, chewed a couple of times and it'll be crushed."

As the tiger demon Junzhi spoke, she made faces and bared her teeth, scaring Tao Yaoyao so much that she cried out and trembled all over. She quickly went behind Rabbit Xiaoyu's fair legs and hugged her tightly.

Zhong Xuan couldn't help but chuckle. He was about to scold the mischievous tiger demon as usual for not allowing it to bully the little demons.

But then he realized that he was no longer the mountain god, so he coughed and said, "Stop joking around and get this done quickly."

"I went with Brother Monkey to the back mountain to check on the house construction, and I also brought back this big gift to share with you all."

Zhong Xuan swung his bundle around, instantly making the innocent and carefree monsters' eyes light up with longing.

Some of the young vixens who were seeing Zhong Xuan for the first time were curiously observing him and whispering among themselves.

Or perhaps it wasn't a private discussion at all, but rather a public and aboveboard discussion.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side...

The mountain god incarnate possessed a clear and pure Daoist heart, and was about to casually kill the three members of the Celestial Masters faction who had ambushed him.

However, unexpectedly, someone from the caravan that was rescued took the opportunity to retaliate.

Amidst the stench of blood.

After overhearing Zhong Xuan's brief conversation with the three men, which revealed that they were using the caravan as bait to ambush him, he realized that they had been lying in wait.

The wounded caravan owner and her son jumped out, and the little girl pointed at him, crying, "It's all your fault!"

The mother glared angrily and shouted, "Since you have such abilities, why didn't you come to save people earlier! Instead, you watched as we, the mortal caravan guards, were killed and injured by monsters before you were willing to come and fight these evil demons!"

Upon hearing his wife and daughter's words, the wealthy merchant, who had just been helped up by his guards and still had a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat, suddenly fainted.

Stupid mother and daughter!

Is this going to kill their entire caravan?!

As expected, Zhong Xuan had a playful smile on his face as he prepared to handle the aftermath of the matter.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed and then relaxed.

His gaze swept around.

"Fellow Daoist, why hide in the shadows? Come out."

"Good eye!"

In the empty surroundings, a surprised voice suddenly rang out on the official road not far from the Kingdom of Zhu Zi.