Tang Sanzang was in excellent spirits. Subduing Sha Wujing so easily had been entirely beyond his expectations.
Clearly, Lin Tian's earlier guidance and hints had been extremely useful.
"But where did the Vine Dao Venerable learn all these things? The location and identity of every demon, for instance, and even ways to counter them?"
Tang Sanzang was puzzled, but he did not pursue the matter. Lin Tian harbored far too many secrets for him to see through them all.
Sha Wujing hurried to pay his respects to his three senior brothers. Modest and steady, the sand monk was soon accepted by the other three disciples.
With Little White Dragon joining them, the master and his three disciples had become a party of five.
Little White Dragon had originally been no more than a mount, but now he had become the second senior brother. These subtle changes seemed insignificant, yet they had already begun to alter the arrangements for the Journey to the West.
Seeing that all his disciples were now in place, Tang Sanzang said, "Not even a goose feather floats on this Flowing Sand River. How are we to cross?"
Sha Wujing smiled. "To tell you the truth, Master, this string of skulls is a treasure. Though the Flowing Sand River cannot keep anything afloat, these skulls can float and sink with ease."
Those skulls were the nine heads of Golden Cicada's previous incarnations, something even Sha Wujing did not know. Yet here he was, showing off his treasure before Tang Sanzang.
Tang Sanzang smiled bitterly inwardly and said, "In that case, let us use these skulls to cross the Flowing Sand River!"
Sha Wujing tossed the skull prayer beads onto the river, and they transformed into a White Bone Ship. Tang Sanzang and the others boarded it one