Could this trial be bypassed as well?
They had already used this same trick when rescuing Sun Wukong. Were they going to use it again?
No. He had to take the initiative.
At that moment, Tang Yu decided to face the challenge head-on and strike first, catching the Buddhist Sect completely off guard.
Western Heaven.
Great Thunderclap Monastery.
As the Buddhas watched Tang Yu head toward Gao Family Village, they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
At present, it seemed there should not be any more mistakes.
Tathagata Buddha, in particular, feared that something else might go wrong. He sent Silver-headed Ketu down to secretly follow Tang Yu, instructing him to stay sharp and adapt to circumstances in case of unforeseen events.
"There shouldn't be any problems now, right?"
There was a trace of uncertainty in Tathagata Buddha's voice.
The Journey to the West had progressed to this point, yet everything seemed to have slipped beyond his control.
The original plan had been quite sound, but it had all been disrupted.
Above the Thirty-third Heaven.
Taishang Laojun watched Tang Yu and his group, his brows knitting slightly before relaxing again.
With a single step, he appeared outside Yun Zhan Cave.
Inside the cave, Zhu Bajie was feasting heartily.
Suddenly, he set down the food in his hand and appeared outside the cave dwelling.
"Tian Peng pays his respects to the Sage." Zhu Bajie knelt on the ground.
He had spent a long time here since being banished to the mortal world.
Thinking about it, he had truly been wronged. He had not even seen Chang'e in person before being charged with molesting her.
If someone wanted to accuse you, they could always find an excuse!
In the end, he had been banished to the mortal realm and mistakenly reincarnated into a pig's womb, becoming what he was now.
"Tian Peng, I imagine you have been banished to the mortal world for quite some time," Taishang Laojun said.
In this Journey to the West Tribulation, they were all merely sacrifices.
"Yes, it has been some time. Yet Tian Peng has never known where he went wrong."
He had always been loyal and dutiful, never expecting to suffer such an undeserved calamity and be inexplicably banished to the mortal world.
Still, Zhu Bajie vaguely understood something.
A Sage had been plotting behind the scenes. Without realizing it, they had fallen into the scheme—or perhaps they had been chosen as pieces on the board.
"In time, you will understand. I heard that Guanyin Bodhisattva passed by here not long ago?"
Taishang Laojun stood with one hand behind his back and spoke in a distant tone.
"Yes. The Bodhisattva told Tian Peng that a scripture pilgrim would be passing through here and asked Tian Peng to escort him on the Journey to the West."
Zhu Bajie answered truthfully.
Besides, such trivial matters could not be hidden from a Sage. With a mere movement of their divine sense, what could they not know?
"They will arrive soon. And among them are people you once knew."
"People I knew?"
Bajie looked at Taishang Laojun in confusion.
After a brief hesitation, Taishang Laojun slowly said, "A monkey."
A sharp gleam flashed through Zhu Bajie's eyes. "It's him!"
He remembered a monkey who had wreaked havoc in Heaven twice. The first time, the monkey's primordial spirit had nearly been shattered. Only a faint wisp of spiritual awareness escaped, falling into the Eastern Continent of Divine Victory and turning back into the stone he had once been.
The second time, he burst from the stone again, crossed the Eastern Sea in search of the Dao, proclaimed himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and eventually wreaked havoc in Heaven once more before being suppressed beneath Five Elements Mountain by Tathagata Buddha.
Yet he had forgotten his first life—or perhaps someone had tampered with it.
"That monkey escaped?" Zhu Bajie asked.
"He is the scripture pilgrim's eldest disciple."
"Then what about the monkey's woman?"
Taishang Laojun's gaze sharpened. Zhu Bajie remained kneeling on the ground without saying a word, knowing he had spoken out of turn.
Some things should not be asked about carelessly.
"Some things are already in the past. Sometimes, forgetting is also a kind of happiness, just like... that monkey." Taishang Laojun spoke meaningfully.
"Yes, Tian Peng understands." Zhu Bajie answered respectfully.
Taishang Laojun let out a long laugh. "I happened to pass by and came to take a look." As he spoke, his entire figure faded and vanished.
Gao Family Village!
Sun Wukong had already gone to knock on the door. When the servant who answered saw a monkey with a hairy face and thunder-god's beak, he could not help crying out, "A demon!"
Bang! The door was slammed shut.
Tang Yu could not help rolling his eyes. Why was it always the same line every time?
Should he make Sun Wukong look a little more handsome?
Then even a trivial matter like knocking on a door would not require him, the master, to personally step in.
Elder Gao had already become deeply anxious. Who could have imagined that the son-in-law he had taken in would turn out to be a demon?
What was more, he had locked their daughter, Gao Cuilan, in the attic and kept them apart for three years.
During that time, Elder Gao had hired countless highly accomplished Daoist priests to subdue the demon, but that pig demon possessed immense powers, and none of them could capture him.
"Elder, Elder..."
A servant rushed in frantically. "Two masters have arrived outside. They say they can slay demons and exorcise evil."
Elder Gao's eyes lit up, only to dim again. He let out a quiet sigh. "That pig demon's powers are formidable. So many masters have failed to capture him and lost their lives at his hands. To avoid harming innocent people, tell those two to leave."
He was still a kind man. So many masters had died at that pig demon's hands, and he no longer wished to see innocent people harmed.
As for his daughter, Gao Cuilan, everything would have to be left to fate.
It was not that he would not save her. He simply could not.
"Elder, they truly are capable masters."
The servant looked excited. Sun Wukong had just displayed several transformation techniques.
They had nearly blinded his titanium-alloy dog eyes.
"Quick, invite them in."
Elder Gao said excitedly, "No, I'll go welcome them myself."
He stumbled and rushed outside, but the moment he saw them, he became doubtful.
One was a monkey with a hairy face and thunder-god's beak, while the other was a fair, tender-looking monk who seemed too frail to withstand even a breeze.
Could they really subdue a demon?
"You must be Elder Gao. We came because of the pig demon. Hurry and prepare some food—make sure there's plenty of meat."
Tang Yu walked directly inside with Sun Wukong.
Elder Gao and the others stared blankly behind them.
Meat?
Could this monk be a hypocrite putting on a righteous front?
Still, Elder Gao was an honest and kind man. Even if they had come merely to freeload a meal, he would still receive them properly.
He instructed the servant beside him to prepare the food, then entered the main hall to keep them company.
"Venerable Monk, so you are from the Eastern Land of Great Tang."
After learning Tang Yu's identity, Elder Gao immediately became solemn and respectful.
As for eating meat?
Perhaps monks from Great Tang were different from the monks here.
He had been sent to Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and seek scriptures. He was clearly an eminent monk with profound Buddhist teachings.
"Amitabha." Tang Yu recited a Buddhist invocation. "I heard there is a demon causing trouble here. To be honest, my eldest disciple possesses some skill."
Sun Wukong leaned forward and laughed. "Old man, whatever your problem is, just tell Old Sun. Old Sun is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who wreaked havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago. No matter what demon it is, once it hears Old Sun's name, it'll run away obediently."
What a braggart.
Tang Yu curled his lip disdainfully. Why could he never stand this monkey's constant boasting?
Great Sage Equal to Heaven? Did he not know his own limits?
Before you continue