That great battle from years ago remained vivid in his mind, as though it had happened only yesterday.
The Demon King stood proudly in the field, Iron Staff in hand. His eyes had already been blinded, blood streaming endlessly from them. His entire body was charred black, and large portions of his bones had been shattered, yet he still stood tall and unyielding.
Like a madman, he kept swinging the Iron Staff in his hand.
He was crazed, dancing wildly.
"Tathagata, do you dare fight me?"
The Demon King let out an unwilling roar. Resolute and mad, he frantically brandished the Iron Staff in his hand.
In the end, he fell, like a reef covered in wounds.
And without the Demon King, the Myriad Monsters descended into chaos, slaughtered and massacred.
The Myriad Monster Nation no longer possessed its former glory. It had utterly declined.
Later, some said that the Demon King had been beaten back into his original form, turned into a stone, and fallen into the lower realm.
"Ah? The Demon King is dead?" the little demon cried out.
Cough, cough. The old demon began coughing, and the little demon hurriedly patted his back.
"Dead? Perhaps." A trace of sorrow surfaced in the old demon's eyes.
Tang Yu had drunk a little too much. By the time he sobered up, the donkey had already carried him a long way.
You really couldn't drink too much. Drinking too much felt awful.
He wondered whether Yellow Wind King, his sworn big brother, had already set out on his journey.
He had probably gone very peacefully.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for changing the course of the Buddhist Sect's Journey to the West and plundering Destiny from the Buddhist Sect."
"Reward: 200,000 Destiny Points!"
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for changing the course of the Buddhist Sect's Journey to the West and plundering Destiny from the Buddhist Sect."
"Reward: 200,000 Destiny Points!"
At that moment, the system's notifications also rang out.
Tang Yu grinned happily. Sure enough, making his dear big brother fight a Bodhisattva had earned him quite a haul.
Although he had used the Location Revealing Talisman and spent fifty thousand Destiny Points, hadn't he still made a profit?
Hm? Why was it four hundred thousand?
Tang Yu did not know that, according to the Buddhist Sect's arrangements, Sun Wukong was supposed to injure his eyes, seek out Guanyin Bodhisattva for treatment, and then be directed to Lingji Bodhisattva to obtain the Wind-Calming Pearl.
It could be said that there were two separate predicaments, hence the two notifications.
In other words, he had received four hundred thousand Destiny Points.
If he could not figure it out, then he would not dwell on it.
Still, when he thought of his dear big brother, Tang Yu felt guilty for a whole two seconds.
"Master, what exactly happened?"
Seeing Tang Yu wake up, Sun Wukong hurriedly asked.
He was completely bewildered. Before he could even go rescue him, Tang Yu had swaggered out of the monster's cave on his own. And judging from the state he was in, he had clearly been drinking.
Could it be that he had gotten the monster drunk and slipped out while it was impaired?
Tang Yu turned around atop the donkey, facing backward, and yawned. "I had some drinks with that monster and became sworn brothers with him."
Both disciples instantly widened their eyes, staring at him in disbelief.
This could be done too?
Drinking with a monster, then becoming sworn brothers?
"Uh, Master, Old Pig truly admires you."
Zhu Bajie's mouth twitched, and he had to fight the urge to laugh.
Naturally, he knew some things about the Journey to the West.
And the tribulations had all been arranged by the Buddhist Sect.
But he believed that those people in the Buddhist Sect could never have imagined that his master would pull off something this outrageous.
Nonsense.
I'm your master. If you don't admire me, who will you admire?
Tang Yu lit a cigarette.
Sun Wukong did not care about any of that and burst into laughter. "Master, Old Sun really wants to know how spectacular the expressions of those Buddhist Sect people must be right now."
This monkey really dared to say anything.
If Tang Yu had not used the Heavenly Secrets Concealment Formation, there was a chance they might have been overheard.
His head still ached faintly from the drinking.
He circulated his mana through his body once, and Tang Yu immediately felt clearheaded again.
Riding the donkey, he casually asked, "Er Daizi, is Chang'e beautiful?"
They said Chang'e was the greatest beauty in the Three Realms, and Tang Yu could not help feeling curious.
Hearing Tang Yu bring up the matter himself, a flash of pain crossed Zhu Bajie's face. Then he smiled in relief. "Old Pig never saw her. I got drunk back then, then they pinned the charge of molesting Chang'e on me and kicked me straight down to the mortal realm."
The Buddhist Sect and the Heavenly Court had prepared for this Journey to the West Tribulation for far too long.
And Er Daizi had merely been a chess piece.
Tang Yu gave him a sympathetic look. Drunk? Probably not. He suspected Er Daizi had been drugged, then had an unfounded charge directly pinned on him.
"You were Marshal Tianpeng for so long, yet you never saw Chang'e?" Tang Yu asked in surprise.
"Though Old Pig was Marshal Tianpeng, I commanded the Heavenly River Navy and spent most of my time at the Heavenly River. Chang'e stayed secluded in the Moon Palace, so naturally, it was difficult for Old Pig to see her."
"Even when she danced, she secretly danced for the Jade Emperor in a room. Naturally, no one else got to appreciate it."
From Er Daizi's words, it was obvious that he was dissatisfied with the Heavenly Court.
And rightly so. He had been Marshal Tianpeng, after all, yet he had ended up in such a state.
Who would be able to accept that?
"Er Daizi. Your master sympathizes with you." Tang Yu took out a cigarette and handed it to him. "But your master can't understand it. Why did they choose you?"
He pointed upward.
Zhu Bajie hesitated, but Tang Yu gave a mysterious smile. "Say whatever you want. No one can hear us."
Both Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie were startled by this.
For people like them, if Buddha wanted to divine their whereabouts, it would be effortless.
Yet they had no idea where Tang Yu's confidence came from.
After a brief hesitation, Zhu Bajie slowly said, "Master, Old Pig is also someone who bears great merit."
Tang Yu froze, then immediately understood.
Tang Sanzang was Golden Cicada's reincarnation and possessed immense merit by nature.
And Sun Wukong had been born from the Five-Colored Stone Nuwa had left behind when repairing the heavens. It could be said that he, too, bore immense merit—the merit of repairing the heavens.
And Zhu Bajie, as Marshal Tianpeng, likewise possessed considerable merit.
Once their group completed the Journey to the West Tribulation and attained Buddhahood, the merit they bore would naturally belong to the Buddhist Sect.
So that was it!
No wonder every one of them had been so carefully selected!
"All in all, it was still their arrangement." Tang Yu pointed westward.
"Old Pig naturally knows that. I simply never expected the Jade Emperor to abandon me."
"Heh, that's perfectly normal."
Tang Yu chuckled. In his view, the Heavenly Court and Western Heaven were also cooperating.
The Journey to the West was an irreversible trend. The Heavenly Court probably wanted a share of the benefits as well.
Thus, sacrificing two people in exchange for the benefits of great merit was something the Jade Emperor would never refuse.
Even if the Journey to the West could not be completed, it would not matter. If the Buddhist Sect failed to flourish, the Jade Emperor would probably be delighted to see it.
And all he had sacrificed were two insignificant people.
Those bastards were each more sinister and calculating than the last.
Sun Wukong only vaguely understood their conversation and looked rather confused.
Seeing him like that, Zhu Bajie sighed. "Brother Monkey, perhaps it is better to forget some things. At least then, there is no pain."
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