The Eighty-One Tribulations Instance

The story of the Stone Monkey entering the East Sea to find the Sea Calming Divine Needle and the Great Sage Set left many cultivators present puzzled, because Ma Feifei had already performed this story before.

We're almost at the Dragon Palace.

"We've run into Shrimp Soldier."

"The Dragon King has emerged."

"They've started demanding the divine artifact."

The rest of the story unfolded methodically in the mouths of the cultivators until the Stone Monkey obtained the Sea Calming Divine Needle) and returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain wearing the Great Sage Set. Only then did the crowd stop talking, but they became even more puzzled by what had just happened.

"Could the benefits from the book 'Journey to the Journey to the West' be obtained repeatedly?" This was the question that arose in everyone's mind.

So far, apart from martial arts techniques, which can be repeatedly obtained, it's practically impossible to obtain the same benefit repeatedly from the books in the Mysterious Bookstore. For example, if a high-level spiritual artifact in a book is mastered by a certain cultivator, then that artifact cannot be mastered by any other cultivator.

Of course, the Pokémon book doesn't count.

Previously, Ma Feifei clearly took a set of the Great Sage Set and the Sea Calming Divine Needle) from the Journey to the Journey to the West. Now, the Great Sage Set and the Sea Calming Divine Needle have been obtained by another Stone Monkey, which inevitably raises questions for everyone.

"That can't be right, can it? This Stone Monkey is the main character in Journey to the Journey to the West, so maybe these items are originally its own," one cultivator Analytic.

When he said that, everyone suddenly remembered that the monkey was a character in the book, and characters in the book would not lose what they possessed because of the benefits gained by cultivators.

During the discussion, the plot had reached the Stone Monkey, in order to grant his monkey descendants immortality, descended into the Netherworld and, using his Tongtian, Havoc in the Underworld, erasing the names of all the monkeys.

"My God! Is there really a place in this world that controls our life and death?" Upon seeing this, everyone was utterly shocked. In their worldview, they had never imagined that there could be a place in the world that could control their own lifespan.

"The Book of Life and Death, which controls the cycle of life and death of all things—that sounds incredibly powerful!"

"I wonder if there's Underworld here, or if there's Book of Life and Death that controls our fate."

"No way..."

"I think it's unlikely; this thing is too far-fetched."

The appearance of the Underworld was so shocking that they didn't pay much attention to the following plot. Time flew by in the projection, and several episodes were played out in the blink of an eye. For example, the Dragon King and Yama petitioned Jade Emperor to subdue the monkey demon. However, the Jade Emperor, persuaded by Taibai Jinxing, sent Taibai Jinxing to Flower-Fruit Mountain to recruit the Stone Monkey. The Stone Monkey went to Heaven and served as the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses for a while, but upon learning that this position was just a horse-raising job, he immediately abandoned his post and returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain. The Bi Ma Wen Jade Emperor was furious... This monkey dared to disobey the Heavenly Rules and descend to the mortal realm! Wasn't this Taunt to his, the Jade Emperor's, authority?

Then the Jade Emperor sent Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li, and Nezha down to the mortal realm to capture the Stone Monkey.

"This looks a bit like the plot of 'The Lotus Lantern'!" A cultivator, already somewhat puzzled, finally couldn't help but ask.

"Yes! I remember Nezha, he got slapped away by the shopkeeper in 'Lotus Lantern'."

"And that Jade Emperor from earlier too, he was chatting and laughing happily with the shopkeeper in 'The Lotus Lantern'."

"Nonsense! In 'The Lotus Lantern,' the Jade Emperor clearly wanted nothing more than to kill the shopkeeper. Last time, a cultivator triggered a quest in the book, and the immortals even asked him if he knew the shopkeeper."

"Why do the same characters appear in both * The Lotus Lantern * and * Journey to the West *?" This is what everyone is most curious about. Two books with different titles and varying quality, yet the Heavenly Court is exactly the same, featuring the Jade Emperor, the Queen Mother of the Taibai Jinxing, Venus, Nezha...

"Is there some connection between the two books?"

As the plot of "Journey to the West" unfolds, people's doubts about the two books, "Journey to the West" and "The Lotus Lantern," grow. In particular, people suddenly realize that the Stone Monkey's name is Sun Wukong! This overlaps with the name of the Victorious Fighting Buddha Sun Wukong encountered in "The Lotus Lantern." Then there's the overlap in the staff and the overlap in the image, making people even more uneasy.

Next, everyone witnessed the earth-shattering scene of the Stone Monkey causing havoc in the Havoc in Heaven, marveling at the Stone Monkey's domineering and heroic demeanor, witnessing the myriad spells and supernatural powers among the immortals, and also seeing how a figure like the Stone Monkey was ultimately subdued by the Tathagata Buddha with a single palm strike and suppressed under the Five Finger Mountain.

"I remember now! A while ago at the Yihong Tower, I heard a storyteller mention that the Victorious Fighting Buddha in 'The Lotus Lantern' had caused Havoc in Heaven in the Heavenly Palace before becoming a Buddha. He was then suppressed under the Five Finger Mountain by the Tathagata Buddha. Later, he was rescued by Tang Monk accompanied him to the Western Heaven to obtain the true scriptures, thus becoming the Victorious Fighting Buddha!" A cultivator suddenly realized and pointed at the projection, shouting loudly.

"Does that mean the plot of this 'Journey to the West' is the same as the plot of 'The Lotus Lantern' five hundred years ago?" a cultivator asked incredulously.

"No!" Another cultivator shook his head, looking at the plot in the projection, and said, "It should be eight hundred years ago. A cultivator just completed a plot quest involving the broken Osmanthus Tree, which mentioned that the Victorious Fighting Buddha went to the Heavenly Court and made a bet with the Jade Emperor. The two had a conversation, and the Victorious Fighting Buddha mentioned the havoc he caused in the Havoc in Heaven eight hundred years ago. It should be the scene that just happened in Journey to the West."

"So, the background of these two books is actually the same world?" a cultivator asked doubtfully. If it is the same world background, but the quality of the books is different, the benefits obtained will definitely be different as well. This seems a bit unreasonable under the same background.

Gradually, after the Stone Monkey was suppressed under the Five Finger Mountain, the story shifted to Xuanzang, also known as Tang Monk, who was guided by Guanyin Bodhisattva Tang Monk the Journey to the West.

Having seen this, everyone has no more doubts and is 100% certain that the world backgrounds of "Journey to the West" and "Lotus Lantern" are the same.

However, the fact that the same world setting was split into two books, and of different quality, gave rise to many speculations. It was precisely because of these speculations that everyone became more and more interested in the upcoming plot, and they stared intently at the projection.

Throughout this scene, Ma Feifei carefully observed Sun Wukong's expressions. He noticed that when Sun Wukong saw the Havoc in Heaven, his eyes revealed intense fighting spirit; after being suppressed by the Buddha, he showed deep regret and resentment; and when Tang Monk appeared, he remained expressionless. His emotional fluctuations were quite dramatic, which surprised Ma Feifei.

The story then moves to the point where Tang Monk rescues the Stone Monkey at the foot of the Five Finger Mountain. After being rescued by Tang Monk, the Stone Monkey, as he had promised Guanyin, is ordered to escort Tang Monk to the Journey to the West the Buddhist scriptures.

It was at this moment that the system notification sounded in Ma Feifei's mind.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have triggered the Legendary-grade quality book, 'Journey to the West: Eighty-One Tribulations,' in this instance."

"Task Details: From now on, after the host finishes watching all the remaining episodes of 'Journey to the West,' the host can purchase the 'Journey to the West: Eighty-One Tribulations' dungeon. After successful purchase, the host can set up the dungeon within a hundred miles of the Mysterious Bookstore. Readers can enter the dungeon for trials using their Literary Examination Qualification Certificate. Upon successful completion of the trial, they can obtain any magical treasure or supernatural power that appears in the Eighty-One Tribulations of 'Journey to the West.'"

"Host reward: Legendary-grade quality book <Investiture of the Gods>."