Translation Problems

"Cough, cough... a translation problem!"

Viscount Orson's prayer did not miss a single word as it reached Zhu Bajie, the one being worshipped.

That divine name was practically as long as the Jade Emperor's.

And "Void," "Final," such an embarrassingly flashy, chuunibyou-sounding divine name... Luckily, none of his colleagues in the Heavenly Court had heard it, or he would have been mocked for several eras.

It was fine in front of natives from another world, but now that he had run into someone he knew, he was embarrassed enough to dig out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.

Zhu Bajie hurriedly coughed twice and explained, "This was the earliest incense-worship idol. When this old pig first arrived, I hadn't mastered this world's language yet, so I could only leave behind a strand of divine thought for worship. The worshippers misunderstood its meaning."

Yin Ming: [_?]

Divine thought was better suited than language as a carrier of information.

But when mortals interpreted information beyond their understanding, subtle deviations were bound to appear.

But this... was absurd beyond belief.

What kind of translation genius could translate Zhu Bajie as: Commander of Void Water Star Spirits, Final Consumer of Sacrifices, Keeper of Scarlet Precepts?

They were completely unrelated. Wait...

Maybe they were not entirely unrelated after all.

"Commander of Void Water Star Spirits... could that be the Marshal Tianpeng who commanded the Heavenly River's hundred thousand naval troops?"

"Final Consumer of Sacrifices... could that be the Pure Altar Envoy?"

"Keeper of Scarlet Precepts... could that be Zhu Bajie?"

That was it!

Bajie was the Dharma name bestowed by Guanyin Bodhisattva. His secular name was Zhu Ganglie.

The accurate form of address should have been Zhu Bajie, Zhu Wuneng—not Pig Bajie, with an animal as his surname.

"Then what about this consecration ritual involving blood-stained white gauze?"

"By heaven and earth, this old pig only asked for a piece of red cloth to cover it!"

"The three giant wooden stakes soaked in black corpse oil?"

"Three sticks of incense! Who would have thought that people in this world had such a heavy taste when it came to incense? They actually extracted fragrance from young girls' fat."

"The three hundred serf live sacrifices?"

"It was the most ordinary ritual! They only needed to devoutly kowtow and gather incense power!"

Yin Ming: "..."

Well, damn.

Absurdity opened the door for absurdity—absurdity had come home!

Wronged—he had been so fucking wronged! If that idiot Viscount Orson had blood-sacrificed him, even Dou E would have had to hand him a handkerchief.

Fortunately, he had run into a familiar god and had not been chosen as dye. Otherwise, even after going to the Netherworld, he could only work in the City of Wrongful Deaths.

The last time he had heard such an accurate translation was in Wild Wolf Valley.

"..."

"Lost lambs prostrate themselves before You, willing to offer three hundred sacrifices in exchange for the knowledge to enter the transcendent world."

A believer?

Evil gods had no believers, only exchanges of benefit.

Orson had not immediately performed the sacrifice because he wanted to negotiate terms with the evil god. To avoid angering the evil god, he had deliberately upgraded the ritual to please it.

However, the civilizational gulf between gods and humans, between two worlds, made this upgrade entirely superfluous.

Zhu Bajie had carelessly inhaled a breath of corpse incense. The fact that he had not torn this fellow to pieces already showed the fine moral character of a blessed Orthodox God.

That was all?

Who gave you the nerve to make demands?

The pure white space shattered piece by piece. The knight, who had raised his blade, was immobilized by Zhu Bajie, and time seemed to freeze at that instant.

Riding the gourd, Yin Ming's soul returned to his body once more. The ropes around him had somehow come undone. He walked onto the altar and cautiously asked, "When Envoy returns to the Immortal Realm, could you take this little immortal along?"

"No!" Zhu Bajie decisively shook his head. "This world has not been enlightened by the Dao Ancestor, so becoming immortal is far too difficult. Three natives outside the town are setting up a barrier, preparing to hunt this old pig's cultivation fruit and cross the tribulation to attain the Dao."

"Three mortals who have not become immortals? Wouldn't Envoy be able to crush them with one finger?"

"Then you are sorely mistaken! This world's transcendent energy is not spiritual qi. The mana consumed cannot be replenished."

"Furthermore, this world's wizards rely entirely on themselves. Anyone who can reach the Immortal Dao Tribulation Realm is a hero capable of founding a school, possessing strength no weaker than an ordinary True Immortal." Zhu Bajie took a deep breath, his expression grave. "Terrifying! This old pig is no match for them!"

"Then... shall we find a way to fight our way out?"

"There is no need. Giving them a single avatar does not matter."

Yin Ming: (╬￣皿￣).

You were an avatar, and you were proud of it.

What was he supposed to do with his full position and fiftyfold leverage?

"..."

Mountain Territory, sky above.

A transparent crystal barrier was slowly closing, its dome enclosing the entire town.

Pale flames burned, like snow, like moonlight—far more beautiful than any fireworks in the world. Neither scorching nor icy, they congealed the void like all-purpose glue.

Above, a massive black shadow lurked. Its wings blotted out the sky and sun, while its eyes resembled two red lanterns, appearing and vanishing as its trace remained utterly impossible to catch.

"Breathe..."

The air within the town gradually became incomparably viscous.

Every breath met powerful resistance, and their lungs felt like old bellows in a blacksmith's forge.

Oxygen deprivation, suffocation—their bodies felt as though a huge boulder were pressing down on them.

"Golden light fills my body, protecting me."

Using his finger as a brush, Zhu Bajie drew a talisman in midair and bestowed a spell upon Yin Ming.

Brilliant divine light enveloped his body. At last, he broke free from the void's restraints, like a dehydrated fish returning to water, instinctively gulping down great breaths of air.

"Meeting beyond this realm is fate. This old pig will not stand by and watch you die."

Zhu Bajie tossed Yin Ming a yellow talisman and a piece of white jade. "I give you one Minor Teleportation Talisman and one volume of the Primordial God-Devil Forging Art. The moment the barrier breaks open, tear the talisman paper, and you will have a sliver of hope for survival."

The Minor Teleportation Talisman was an immortal talisman capable of instantly transporting one thousands of miles away. Its importance as a life-saving treasure went without saying.

The Primordial God-Devil Forging Art sounded extraordinary just from its name.

The so-called Primordial Gods and Devils actually differed somewhat from those described in prehistoric fantasy novels. Broadly speaking, they referred to ancient cultivators who practiced unorthodox Dao methods before the Heavenly Court was established.

"Thank you, Marshal Tianpeng! I cannot repay such great kindness. How about this little immortal taking You as my master?"

Zhu Bajie had been invested as the Pure Altar Envoy. He had once been Marshal Tianpeng, commander of the Heavenly River's hundred thousand naval troops in the Heavenly Court.

In Buddhism, he belonged to the Golden Cicada Lineage and was Buddha Tathagata's grand-disciple. In Daoism, he belonged to the Xuandu Lineage and was Supreme Lord Lao's grand-disciple.

He had influence in both Buddhism and Daoism. There was no more formidable network than that; acknowledging him as master would be worthwhile even if it meant watering it down and drinking it.

"Repaying kindness with enmity? An avatar cannot make decisions for the true body."

Zhu Bajie pondered seriously for a moment, then shook his head. "Let us call it a transaction instead! When you encounter my true body in the future, give him a copy of this world's wizard cultivation method."

"I will also give you a wisp of the law of the character 'Purity.' It will be useful once you become a wizard."

"Whether it is the immortal Dao or wizardry, no matter what cultivation system one follows, nothing compares to a method uniquely one's own. Only then can one better traverse the myriad heavens and worlds."

[Dharma Form of Heaven and Earth!]

Zhu Bajie's body brimmed with mana as he revealed his true Dharma form.

Several hundred zhang tall, he had a pig's head and a human body. Four white tusks protruded from his long snout like four sharp swords thrusting toward the heavens, while black bristles served as hair, every strand as sharp as a needle.

The divine statue had still retained a somewhat humanized, guileless appearance.

But now, endless ferocity and savagery spread forth, as if a vicious beast from the primordial age had awakened. Mortals simply could not look directly upon such a towering figure.

Shamelessly begging for bookmarks and recommendations!