Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Maitreya Buddha quietly floated in mid-air, watching Jiang Liu's departing figure with a grave expression, but said nothing.

Although he had no memory of his past life due to having died once, Maitreya Buddha still retained certain knowledge from his enlightenment by the Sage Sect Master in the Realm of Void.

For instance, he knew about major events in Heaven and Earth, as well as the significance of Saints and Quasi-Saints, and other such matters.

The mysterious person wielding the Absolute Immortal Sword before him was not a disciple of Sect Master Tongtian; this much Maitreya Buddha knew.

Thus, Maitreya Buddha had always harbored doubts about his true strength.

In the recent clash, although the Absolute Immortal Sword was powerful, it had instead confirmed Maitreya Buddha's suspicions.

This mysterious one's cultivation level had indeed not reached the Quasi-Saint stage; otherwise, with the Quasi-Saint's prowess combined with the Absolute Immortal Sword's murderous aura, even with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, he could not have been stopped.

However, when the opponent revealed their law-type abilities and truly summoned the three corpses, Maitreya Buddha's doubts were instantly shattered.

To sever the three corpses, that definitely was the cultivation level of a Quasi-Saint, without a doubt!

"A mysterious figure, unknown to anyone, possessing a murderous weapon like the Absolute Immortal Sword and the cultivation of a Quasi-Saint—this Heaven and Earth are about to get chaotic..." Watching Jiang Liu's fading figure, Maitreya Buddha murmured to himself, feeling a weight in his heart.

Of course, Maitreya Buddha was even more curious about Jiang Liu's identity.

This mysterious person had the cultivation of a Quasi-Saint; could he be one of the Quasi-Saints he knew?

Or was he someone who had secretly broken through to the Quasi-Saint level, known to no one?

"Buddha, who is this person?" Yuanling, who had kept a distance, approached only after Jiang Liu had left, and asked.

"Yuanling, if you see him again in the future, you must stay far away. That you survived today is already a stroke of luck!" Maitreya Buddha said, turning to glance at Yuanling with lingering fear.

It's like a little puppy daring to chase a fierce tiger?

Isn't that courting death?

"Understood, Buddha!" Yuanling nodded in response to Maitreya Buddha's advice.

...

Meanwhile, Jiang Liu had flown far away, stopping only at the border between Shengshenzhou and Shanbu Continent, where he put away his Shadow Robe.

After a moment, a streak of light flashed past, and Sun Wukong appeared before him.

Sun Wukong then took out a thin booklet and handed it to him.

During the period of the Deification Calamity, the Investiture of the Gods was a treasure born in response to the calamity. Most of those who perished during the Calamity entered the Investiture, waiting to be appointed as deities afterward.

Similarly, this Calamity Book had emerged in response to the Calamity of the Journey to the West.

The only function of the Calamity Book was to record the eighty-one tribulations encountered during the Journey to the West.

Jiang Liu took the Calamity Book and glanced at it. Indeed, all the tribulations he had encountered on his journey were recorded within.

The fortieth tribulation: Losing the Buddha's Robe!

Seeing the last recorded tribulation, Jiang Liu realized that they had already gone through forty out of the eighty-one tribulations.

The Green Lotus Buddha Robe, transformed from the Green Lotus Treasured Flag, was taken away by Kong Xuan's Five-Colored Divine Light, a great loss indeed, counting as a tribulation.

"Something seems off…" Jiang Liu frowned as he looked at the Calamity Book.

In the original Journey to the West, the team encountered eighty-one tribulations, which was accurate.

But, with his continually increasing cultivation level, many of the original tribulations should no longer exist.

Logically, the number of tribulations should be fewer than in the original story.

Yet, on this journey, they had experienced half of the tribulations already?

Was his cultivation improvement meaningless?

However, examining the Calamity Book closely, it was clear that many original tribulations had been omitted due to his improved cultivation. For instance, the original tribulation of encountering a tiger when Tang Monk left Chang'an City was absent.

But when he left Chang'an, not only had he encountered no fierce beasts, he had also slain numerous Little Demons, constantly leveling up, so such encounters did not count as tribulations.

Similarly, the Three Demons of Chechi Kingdom, initially a tribulation, were no longer present.

However, because of his escalating cultivation level, the butterfly effect greatly altered the original storyline, changing the nature of the tribulations.

For instance, the seventeenth tribulation: Subduing the True Sun Fire.

The twenty-second tribulation: The Tingdi Beast abducting a monk.

The thirty-third tribulation: Guanyin's Killing Calamity—all of which were not in the original story.

About half of the recorded forty tribulations were not in the original story.

"So it seems that despite the changes in the plot, even to the point of being unrecognizable, the eighty-one tribulations remain a fixed fate?" Jiang Liu sighed as he realized how many tribulations he had endured for the first time.

Halfway through the journey, and half the tribulations completed. A coincidence?

"Heaven's will is hard to defy…"

Sighing silently, Jiang Liu closed and put away the Calamity Book.

The eighty-one tribulations were preordained; no matter his cultivation efforts, his swift advancement, or how he altered the original storyline…

The eighty-one tribulations would still occur.

Despite feeling helpless, upon reflection, Jiang Liu understood.

Heaven's will is immutable, even Saints can't alter it, so how could he?

Take the Deification Calamity: the Sect of Intercepting almost entirely participated, even Sect Master Tongtian deployed the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

But in the end, the Deification Calamity proceeded as fated, leaving the Sect of Intercepting nearly annihilated.

Hence, the inability to change this trial was normal.

After much contemplation, Jiang Liu stored the Calamity Book and turned his gaze to Sun Wukong.

"Wukong, do you have something on your mind?" Jiang Liu asked, noticing Sun Wukong's unusual silence.

Indeed, Sun Wukong was usually very active and couldn't stay quiet.

Yet, he hadn't uttered a word after handing over the Calamity Book, which was odd.

"Master, it's nothing…"

Sun Wukong hesitated slightly before shaking his head.

Seeing this response, Jiang Liu's expression darkened.

"Wukong, do you think your master is a fool? Your concerns are written all over your face, and you say it's nothing?" Jiang Liu chided.

Indeed, while most can hide their concerns well enough, Sun Wukong's demeanor clearly showed his troubles—denying it insulted Jiang Liu's intelligence.

"This…" Sun Wukong hesitated, then sighed and nodded, "Master, I do have some concerns!"

"What's the matter? Tell me." Jiang Liu asked, as he had anticipated this response.

"Master, I met my senior brother at the Eastern Temple…" Sun Wukong confessed after hesitating.

"Senior brother? From where?" Jiang Liu was puzzled.

Wasn't Sun Wukong the eldest disciple? How could he have a senior brother?

Then it struck him, could it be….?

After a moment's thought, Jiang Liu realized.

"No, Master, I mean a senior brother from my days of learning skills! As for my sect, Master, please don't ask. I promised…"

"You mean a senior brother from the Moon Three-Star Cave?" Jiang Liu interjected before Sun Wukong finished.

"What!? Master, you… how did you…" Sun Wukong was astonished.

He had sworn not to reveal Ancestor Bodhi or the cave, yet how did his master know?

Recalling when they first met under the Five Elements Mountain, he remembered Jiang Liu mentioning Ancestor Bodhi.

At the time, Jiang Liu claimed it was a slip of the tongue, but now he realized his master knew all along about his background.

"Alright, that's a detail, don't mind it. Now, tell me, how did you meet your senior brother from the cave at the Eastern Temple? And what happened?"

Brushing off the topic of how he knew about the Moon Three-Star Cave, Jiang Liu shifted focus.