Namgung Clan’s Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal

0. Prologue

He was an unwelcome guest.

"It's been a while."

The man with golden hair made no attempt to hide his discomfort.

"What brings you here? I haven't caused any trouble lately—at least, nothing big enough for you to show up in person..."

Arms crossed, his golden eyes rolled with a radiant gleam.

A subtle hint that he was avoiding her gaze.

The woman smiled faintly.

"You're the same as ever."

"I heard you didn't just take a little—you cleared out the whole storeroom."

"Cleared out? Don't be petty, it was just a few jars. What, are you going to whine that Grand Marshal Tai Shang won't give back the elixirs he took?"

"If he took them, why would Grand Marshal Tai Shang be raging that they were stolen?"

"Stolen? I just grabbed a bite because I was peckish. Don't be so sensitive. But judging by your face, this isn't about something so trivial. Why are you here?"

"Do you think I only come to scold you?"

"Think about your own track record before you talk. Do you know how much trouble I've gone through because of your errands?"

"Thanks to me, you escaped Five Elements Mountain and now hold a post in the Heavenly Realm."

"Hmph. Hardly a position that suits me. Do I look like a Buddha to you?"

"Victorious Fighting Buddha."

"Why the sudden serious tone? You're going to give me a heart attack. You were like this back then, too—dead serious, telling me to go to Tianzhu, just..."

The man shuddered, golden light flickering around him like a dance.

All because of that cursed Golden Headband she gave to that crybaby monk—how much suffering had he endured for fourteen years?

"So, what's your game? Why are you here all of a sudden?"

The golden-haired man stomped his foot.

Even after attaining Buddhahood through asceticism, his original fiery temper that once overturned the Heavenly Realm hadn't gone anywhere.

The woman—no, Guanyin Bodhisattva—still wore her gentle smile.

"Have you heard any news of Tripitaka?"

The man's face twisted instantly.

"Ugh, just hearing that blockhead's name gives me indigestion. I heard he gave up being a Buddha and chose the path of reincarnation."

"He chose it himself, determined to save the beings of the Mortal World through endless cycles of reincarnation."

"...So why bring up Tripitaka? I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Tripitaka's soul has vanished."

"......"

A heavy silence fell. The man flinched and waved his hands.

"Not my problem. I don't know anything. Just hearing that guy's name gives me a headache and turns my stomach. Go find someone else."

"It's serious. Tripitaka's name has disappeared from both the Heavenly Registry and the Book of Life and Death."

"Ah, someone probably erased it."

"Other than you, since the heavens opened, has anyone else ever dared erase a name from the Book of Life and Death? Who would even try?"

"So what, you want me to go find him? Seriously?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva nodded. The man let out a groan and collapsed onto the floor.

"...That blockhead wanted to reincarnate, so he should've at least lived well. He left me alone in the Heavenly Realm, and now he can't even keep track of his own soul?"

Who knows how much time passed. Muttering to himself, he finally let out a deep sigh and tried to refuse.

"There are plenty of capable people in the Heavenly Realm. There's Lord Erlang, the one you sent after me."

"It's too dangerous to descend to the Mortal World."

"Dangerous? Ha!"

He let out a laugh of disbelief.

"The demons have all been wiped out. The Seven Great Sages are gone. Who in the world would dare threaten a general of the Heavenly Realm?"

"Humans."

"...Have you lost your mind after serving Shakyamuni Buddha for thousands of years?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva's smile deepened. Every time she faced this stone monkey, she realized her own cultivation was still lacking.

Really now. Who else but this monkey could make Guanyin Bodhisattva feel even a hint of killing intent?

"Just as demons once dominated the Mortal World with their demonic power, now humans are the same. The power of the Heavenly Realm has flowed down, and as time passed, the natural demonic energy faded. As the demonic energy left, the world became more pure. That's the way of nature. But humans have refined that power and now wield something called Internal Qi."

"So now humans with this Internal Qi can threaten generals of the Heavenly Realm? They're still just humans."

It was hard to believe. Back when he rampaged across the Mortal World, humans couldn't even stand up to the weakest demons.

"No matter how strong their Internal Qi, could they really match a general of the Heavenly Realm? The world has changed. When beings from the Heavenly Realm descend, they can't use their full power anymore."

"What a ridiculous restriction. Since when?"

"...Obviously because of the chaos you caused in the Mortal World."

"Again, my fault? Every time something happens, it's always me. Next you'll say I ruined the Queen Mother of the West's peach orchard! Seriously, the Heavenly Realm is full of blame-shifters."

"With someone like you around, who knows when the Mortal World will be thrown into chaos again? Shakyamuni Buddha strictly separated the worlds. The Mortal World and the Heavenly Realm are now distinct, and interference is nearly impossible. At the very least, descending in your full power is almost out of the question."

"So?"

"Even if you do descend, you'll lose much of your original power. The problem is, there are humans in the Mortal World who've cultivated enough to become immortals themselves. They could be a real threat."

"......"

"But you're different. Even if most of your power is sealed, who could stop you?"

"So it's up to me?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva nodded slowly, pointing downward.

The white clouds parted, and the sky opened.

The tiny figures of humans below grew large before their eyes.

Sensing she might drop him into the Mortal World at any moment, the man panicked and waved his hands.

"Wait, hold on! Who said I was going? Who agreed to this?"

"Will you try to run to the ends of the earth again?"

"How did this turn into a threat? Are you blackmailing me? You think I'm still the same old monkey?"

"Still, aren't you always in the Buddha's palm?"

"...Is this Shakyamuni Buddha's order?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva smiled faintly. The man's face turned pale.

The only being who could ever instill fear and awe in the stone monkey who feared nothing in the world.

Shakyamuni Buddha.

His will, his command.

"The last trace of Tripitaka's soul was found in Anhui Province, at a place called the Namgung Clan."

"......"

"They call their world Murim. Go, return Tripitaka's soul to its rightful body, and guide him so he doesn't stray from the path of reincarnation."

"No, come on. After all this, I have to get tangled up with Tripitaka again? That blockhead? I have to go looking for that crybaby?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva spoke firmly.

"Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong—go to Murim."