Several years had passed since the Havoc in Heaven incident. Golden Cicada, the chief disciple under Buddha Tathagata of the West, had also embarked upon the path of reincarnation.
After receiving a message from Ying Zheng, Xiao Zhen secretly headed to Fire Cloud Cave out of curiosity.
The master and disciple had not met for a long time. Ying Zheng had changed considerably and was no longer the First Emperor clad in the Black Dragon imperial robe.
Ying Zheng now wore ordinary Peasant School hemp clothing, and his residence was an unremarkable little Thatched Hut.
Several kinds of crops had been planted nearby. Was this what pastoral life after retirement looked like?
"Ha ha ha, Master has come! Hurry inside and have a seat. I'll prepare the food right away."
Before long, a table of food and wine was laid out in the courtyard. Though it all looked like ordinary vegetarian dishes, the only hint of meat was a grilled fish.
The moment Xiao Zhen tasted it, he sensed something unusual.
The food contained an indescribable artistic conception—more precisely, principles of cultivation.
"A Zheng, are you planning to become a culinary god?"
Ying Zheng smiled as he poured several cups of wine, then brought up the matter of Journey to the West.
"Master, as an important official of the Heavenly Court, you must know something about the Buddhist Sect's Journey to the West, right?"
Xiao Zhen asked in return, "Are you too idle in Fire Cloud Cave and planning to add another trial for them? Or are you... planning to stop the rise of the West?"
By the end, Xiao Zhen's tone had turned serious.
Ying Zheng drained a mouthful of wine and said coldly, "I simply can't swallow what happened back then, especially since the Buddhist Sect went to