The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 65 Going to the ends of the earth

Jizang looked at Jiang Feng with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

He had heard about Jiang Feng's entanglement with the Mahayana Sect before, and there were even rumors that Jiang Feng was the leader of the Mahayana Sect.

In particular, during the battle of "Greatly Destroying Tiantai Mountain", Jiang Feng wiped out half of the disciples of the Tiantai Sect in one go, and also turned the main hall of the Tiantai Sect into a sieve, so that the main hall can only be used to dry raisins now...

Okay, it seems he knows where the rumors are coming from.

Demolishing mountains and temples—that's truly the style of Mahayana Buddhism!

Jizang asked with skepticism, "Can you really summon the souls of the Demon-Slaying Army?"

Jiang Feng said confidently, "Don't worry, as long as they're still in the human world, not a single one will be missed!"

"Not a single one will be missed?"

Jizang's heart skipped a beat.

To say something like that, you really must be the leader of the Mahayana sect!

Wang Yuanzhi already knew what had happened from Cui Ying, so he wasn't surprised. He frowned and asked, "What about the Changsheng Army? They only obey Sun En's orders, right?"

Celestial Master Sun En was born into a prominent family that migrated south during the Yongjia period. His uncle was the leader of the Five Pecks of Rice sect in Wu County. He was killed for plotting a rebellion. Sun En escaped with the remaining few hundred followers and eventually sought refuge on an island.

In the third year of the Long'an era, the Eastern Jin court forcibly conscripted tenant farmers who had just been freed from slavery to serve in the army, which immediately sparked public resentment. Sun En seized the opportunity to launch an uprising.

The rebels called themselves "the immortals," and after twelve years, they traveled to various parts of Jiangnan, killing a large number of aristocratic representatives, led by Xie Yan, which led to the complete decline of the Eastern Jin Dynasty's "Wang and Ma sharing the world" pattern.

Unfortunately, Sun En was unlucky and encountered Liu Yu, the founding emperor of the Liu Song dynasty. After being defeated by Liu Yu, he committed suicide by jumping into the sea.

The hundreds of believers who followed him at the time thought he had "transformed into an immortal through corpse liberation," and not one of them doubted it; they all followed him and jumped into the sea.

In terms of strength, Sun En's Longevity Army is superior to Fa Qing's Demon-Slaying Army in both numbers and combat power.

The soldiers of both armies had fervent faiths during their lifetimes, almost indistinguishable from orthodox Dharma protectors of Buddhism and Taoism.

If these two armies had protected the altar, those evil spirits from yesterday would probably have been annihilated before they even got close to it.

Jiang Feng stared intently at Wang Yuanzhi: "You should be able to find out Sun En's birth date and time, right? Summon his spirit, and I can offer him a deal he can't refuse."

Wang Yuanzhi sensed that he was about to cause trouble again and said with a headache, "You'd better think it over. If you really summon his soul, I might not be able to do anything to him with my cultivation level."

If we can't reach an agreement, a beating from him would be the least of our worries. If he were to cause trouble with the spirits of the Longevity Army, our sins would be far greater.

Jiang Feng patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, I've already prepared a backup plan."

I will lay in ambush with eight hundred axemen beforehand, and if the negotiations fail, I will immediately smash a cup as a signal.

Then you come out and admit that you were the one who ordered everything, and that I was on his side, letting him beat you up badly.

Finally, Sun En and I followed the example of the Oath of the Peach Garden and became sworn brothers. I became the deputy commander of the Longevity Army and gained command of the Longevity Army!

I call this strategy—"Going to the ends of the earth for someone!"

Veins bulged on Wang Yuanzhi's forehead: "A backup plan? This is clearly your real plan!"

"You'd be willing to go to great lengths for me, but you and Sun En stabbed me in the back? Forget about it!"

Seeing Wang Yuanzhi's furious expression, Jizang quickly stepped forward to persuade him: "Daoist, don't be angry, it was just a joke. If you don't agree, you can have Jiang Feng insert it a little shallower later..."

Wang Yuanzhi froze, turning to stare at the peacemaker Jizang, his eyes widening in disbelief: "??"

Master, do you want to listen to what you're saying?

Is this a matter of inserting it deeper or shallower?!

The matter of summoning Sun En's soul was thus decided by two unscrupulous monks.

Wang Yuanzhi, annoyed, went to find someone to inquire about Sun En's birth date and time, and made a talisman to summon his soul.

As evening approached, Jiang Feng set up the altar, placing a portrait of Sun En, five dou of rice, sea salt, and a wooden carved ship in front of it.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Jiang Feng gave a low shout, used his peach wood sword to lift the soul-summoning talisman, and began chanting an incantation.

"The heavens move in darkness, the seas and mountains conceal their secrets. The five pecks open the way, longevity is the guiding principle. The three souls are not obscured, the seven spirits are unharmed. Sun En's soul, swiftly arrive at the altar. So be it!"

Jiang Feng then spat out a flame, igniting the yellow talisman on the tip of his sword.

In the firelight, a man soaking wet appeared, looking exactly like Sun En's portrait!

Sun En glanced at Jiang Feng and his group, then his gaze was drawn to the ship on the table.

"What a magnificent warship!"

Jiang Feng said, "I just bought it this afternoon for twenty strings of copper coins. I'll sell it to you at an 80% discount."

Ao Ying asked in confusion, "Huh? Didn't we buy it for eight strings of cash? Shouldn't it be sixteen strings with a 20% discount?"

Cui Ying: "..."

How did you calculate that?

These two are truly wicked and stupid; they even swindled money from ghosts. What a terrible thing...

Sun En ignored them completely, played with the wooden boat for a long time, and then put it back in its original place.

"Why did you summon me here?"

Jiang Feng said, "We are currently performing a ritual to help the souls of the dead pass away. We would like to borrow your Longevity Army to prevent those evil spirits who do not want to be reincarnated from disrupting the ceremony."

A hint of melancholy appeared on Sun En's face: "The Changsheng Army, I wiped them all out long ago..."

As he spoke, he seemed to recall some past events and asked Jiang Feng, "What happened to Liu Yu later? Was he discarded by the powerful families after they had served their purpose?"

Jiang Feng said meaningfully, "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Later, he destroyed the Jin Dynasty and declared himself emperor."

Sun En was taken aback, then burst out laughing: "Haha, I didn't expect him to rebel too!"

I should have realized it sooner. Wherever I and the various armies of the imperial court went, the soldiers burned, killed, and looted, with almost no difference between us.

In the end, apart from those who had followed me from the beginning, very few people came to join me on their own initiative.

Only because his army was disciplined and did not harm the people in the slightest, should I have realized then that he had grand ambitions!

With that, he sighed deeply and asked, "What is the current state of the world? I killed many disciples of aristocratic families back then; they should have lost power by now, right?"

Jiang Feng shook his head slightly: "You eliminate a group of aristocratic families, and immediately a group of commoner aristocratic families fill the vacancy and become the new aristocratic families. To this day, it is still their world."

However, the world is now unified again, and the situation is much better than it was back then.

Upon hearing this, Sun En seemed to have all his strength drained away, and asked blankly, "So all that I did was useless?"

Jiang Feng said, "That's not true. At least you allowed the people who followed you to live for ten more years. If it weren't for you, they probably would have died long ago when they were conscripted into the army."