Fire at the Monastery

After leaving Spirit Mountain, Ao Tu followed the Pilgrim's route until he reached the area around Guanyin Monastery.

Looking down, he spotted two figures-a man and a monkey. They were none other than Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong.

Just then, the system's voice rang out.

[Entered the Great Tribulation of the Journey to the West]

[Main quest: Journey-to-the-West Roadblocker (activated)]

[Objective: Obstruct the Pilgrim and prevent Buddhism from flourishing.]

[Current side quest: Trouble at Guanyin Monastery]

[Quest requirement: Keep the Pilgrim within the Guanyin Monastery area. Rewards will be calculated according to the length of the delay.]

[Quest rewards: Three days/Art of Moving Mountains, seven days/Sixth-Turn Golden Elixir, half a month/True Dragon Pearl, one month/Houtian Spiritual Treasure: Five-Fire Divine Flame Fan, one season/Supernatural Ability: Five-Colored Divine Light, half a year/Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood, one year/Congenital Spiritual Treasure: Soul-Scattering Gourd, three years/Congenital Spiritual Treasure: Hetu Luoshu, twelve years/Chaos Bell, sixty years...]

[Current progress: Zero days]

[Note: If the delay falls short of the next reward threshold, the excess days will be carried over to the next side quest.]

Delighted surprise spread across Ao Tu's face. He had never expected the system's rewards to be so generous!

Leaving aside the supreme treasures further down the list, even the earlier rewards, which were relatively easy to obtain, were all extraordinary.

The Art of Moving Mountains was extremely useful.

The Sixth-Turn Golden Elixir could greatly improve his cultivation.

The True Dragon Pearl was an invaluable treasure particularly useful to the Dragon Race.

Among the Dragon Race, only those whose cultivation had reached at least the Golden Immortal realm could be called True Dragons, and a dragon pearl contained the essence of a dragon's entire cultivation.

If Ao Tu could obtain this True Dragon Pearl, not only would his combat strength soar, but he could also quickly advance to the Golden Immortal realm. Then he would at least have some ability to protect himself.

As for the Five-Fire Divine Flame Fan further down the list, it was even more powerful.

Also known as the Five-Fire Seven-Bird Fan, this treasure was formed from the feathers of seven birds-Phoenix, Azure Luan, Golden-Winged Great Peng, Peacock, White Crane, Swan, and Owl-combined with five fires: Heavenly Fire, Stone Fire, Wood Fire, Samadhi Fire, and Mortal Fire.

Though it was a Houtian Spiritual Treasure, its power rivaled that of some Congenital Spiritual Treasures. During the Investiture of the Gods, it had burned countless Jiejiao disciples to death. Even Sun Wukong's indestructible diamond body could not withstand the might of this divine fan!

The only drawback was that obtaining it required delaying Tang Sanzang and his disciple for an entire month. With Ao Tu's current cultivation, that was still rather difficult, and he likely would not be able to accomplish it anytime soon.

Still, while obtaining the Five-Fire Divine Flame Fan would be difficult, securing just the True Dragon Pearl would be much easier.

With some careful planning, keeping Tang Sanzang and his disciple in the Guanyin Monastery area for half a month should not be hard.

A dragon could grow large or small, soar aloft or conceal itself. Hidden among the clouds, Ao Tu watched what was happening below and considered his options.

Meanwhile, Tang Sanzang and his disciple entered Guanyin Monastery, hoping to stay the night. Seeing that Tang Sanzang was no ordinary man, the monastery's abbot, Elder Jinchi, struck up a conversation with him and asked about treasures from the Eastern Land. Tang Sanzang excused himself, saying that the journey was long and he had brought no treasures.

Unable to stomach Elder Jinchi's boasting, Sun Wukong took out Tang Sanzang's Brocade Kasaya to show it off to him.

The moment Elder Jinchi saw the Brocade Kasaya, he could not bear to let it go, and greed stirred in his heart. With tears in his eyes, he begged Tang Sanzang to let him admire it for a night. Unable to refuse, Tang Sanzang handed it over, repeatedly reminding him that he must return it the next day.

That night, Elder Jinchi clutched the kasaya and wept bitterly. He did not want to return it; he wanted to keep it as an heirloom.

Elder Jinchi had two granddisciples by his side, one named Guangzhi and the other Guangmou. He was very fond of both of them. Hearing him cry, they came to offer advice.

Guangzhi said, "Tang Sanzang and his disciple have traveled a long way and are utterly exhausted. They're already asleep. Why don't we find a few strong monks, arm them with swords and spears, open the meditation hall, and kill him? Wouldn't that settle it?"

Overjoyed, Elder Jinchi said:

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! What a splendid plan!"

But Guangmou shook his head. "If we're to kill them, Tang Sanzang would be easy enough, but that hairy-faced thunder god doesn't look like someone we should provoke. If we fail to kill him, won't we bring disaster down on ourselves instead? I have a plan that requires neither swords nor spears. Why not sacrifice those three meditation rooms? Each man can bring a bundle of dry wood, and we'll set a fire, leaving them no way to escape. We'll burn the horse along with them and make a clean sweep of everything. Wouldn't that be better?"

Elder Jinchi was even more delighted when he heard this and said:

"Better! Better! Better! This plan is even more splendid! Even more splendid!"

At once, Elder Jinchi gathered the monks and had them pile up firewood and set it alight.

Tang Sanzang was already asleep, utterly unaware of what was happening outside.

Although Sun Wukong had lain down, he was merely cultivating his qi and concentrating his spirit. Hearing the commotion outside and seeing that the monks meant to harm him, he immediately wanted to take his Golden Cudgel and strike them down. But after thinking it over, he feared Tang Sanzang would recite the spell. So he somersaulted to the South Heaven Gate, found Heavenly King Guangmu, borrowed his Fire-Proof Cover, and placed it over Tang Sanzang.

Sitting on the rooftop, Sun Wukong formed a hand seal and recited an incantation, raising a gust of wind that whipped the flames into a roaring frenzy. The wind raged and the fire surged. In mere moments, the whole of Guanyin Monastery glowed red.

Hidden among the clouds, Ao Tu watched the fire below.

Suddenly, a black wind swept out of a nearby mountain and secretly carried off the kasaya amid the blaze.

Ao Tu guessed that this must be the Black Bear Spirit.

This monster had some real ability. Without a single Magic Treasure, he had fought the monkey several times through sheer brute strength and never been defeated. Later, Guanyin had also taken a liking to the black bear's abilities and subdued him with a fillet given to her by Tathagata, making him a Mountain-Guarding Deity.

Could I join forces with this Black Bear Spirit?

Ao Tu considered it for a moment, then shook his head.

Strong as the Black Bear Spirit was, he was still no match for Guanyin Bodhisattva.

In the original story, only a few days after the Black Bear Spirit stole the kasaya, Sun Wukong invited Guanyin Bodhisattva to subdue him. Even if Ao Tu joined forces with the Black Bear Spirit, the two of them would not hold out for long.

His strength was still meager. If he wanted to obstruct Tang Sanzang and his disciple's Journey to the West, he could not rely on force. He had to win through cunning.

As Ao Tu pondered, his gaze suddenly fell on the burning Guanyin Monastery below and the many monks crying out. An idea came to him.

This time, he would not need to fight Sun Wukong. He only had to employ a scheme in secret to block Tang Sanzang and his disciple's pilgrimage, delaying them for at least half a month.

For his scheme to be fully put into effect, however, he would have to wait until Sun Wukong had dealt with the Black Bear Spirit. Only then could it have the greatest effect; otherwise, it might be disrupted.

The next day, Tang Sanzang rose and opened the door. Outside, there were no towers or halls to be seen, only collapsed walls and fire-reddened masonry.

Sun Wukong then told Tang Sanzang what had happened the night before.

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang immediately reproached Sun Wukong for what he had done, going on and on. Worried that the kasaya had also been burned, he ordered Sun Wukong to recover it at once.

Sun Wukong went to find Elder Jinchi.

Elder Jinchi had lost the kasaya the night before and burned down the monastery, leaving him wracked with remorse. When he saw Sun Wukong coming to demand the kasaya, he could think of no solution and saw no way forward or back. He broke into a run and slammed himself hard against a wall, dying on the spot.

With Elder Jinchi dead, Sun Wukong dug three feet into the ground but still could not find the kasaya. He rounded up every monk in the monastery, young and old, and searched them one by one, but there was still no trace of it.

Seeing that the kasaya was lost, Tang Sanzang bitterly resented Sun Wukong and began reciting the Tight-Fillet Spell.

Sun Wukong fell to the ground with a thud, clutching his head in unbearable pain. He pleaded, "Stop! Stop! Old Sun will find the kasaya and bring it back!"

Seeing this, the monks feared being dragged into the trouble. Trembling, they came forward one after another, knelt, and pleaded with Tang Sanzang. Only then did he close his mouth and stop reciting.

Sun Wukong questioned them again, and the monks recounted everything from beginning to end, leaving out no detail. He then asked whether there were any monsters nearby. The monks told him that a Great King Black Wind lived twenty li away. Guessing that this Great King Black Wind had stolen the kasaya, Sun Wukong immediately leaped onto his Somersault Cloud and sped toward Black Wind Mountain.