Joyful Boy's Tearful Plea

At that thought, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva shuddered. After collecting himself, he looked straight at Joyful Boy and, setting aside the matter of that Saint, asked with a frown:

"How did he know who you had reincarnated as? Could the one who killed you have been Yang Jian?"

When one reincarnated, all of one's power lay deep within the soul. On top of that, Joyful Boy had retained his memories and could deliberately conceal it.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva could not understand how Joyful Boy's identity had been seen through.

Apart from a heavenly eye, he could think of no other possibility.

"I can't understand it either. I called upon Buddha Power, but it was the Joyful Buddha Power Master gave me. Joyful Buddha Power is the best at staying hidden; it's almost like spiritual Qi. How could anyone possibly detect it?" Joyful Boy sat on the ground, his face full of puzzlement.

The most important word in Joyful Buddha Power was "joyful."

No matter how unwilling one was to admit it, the word "joyful" was just like an aphrodisiac.

And didn't that sort of thing need to be discreet?

That showed just how well Joyful Buddha Power could conceal itself!

"Besides, Bodhisattva, it definitely wasn't Yang Jian. There's no need to think about it. If it were Yang Jian, and he knew what we were planning, he might have already stormed Spirit Mountain by now," Joyful Boy said, shaking his head.

"Then what will you do next? Will you continue reincarnating?" Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva asked with a frown.

Without the Soul-Fixing Jade, he had to personally intervene each time Joyful Boy reincarnated, helping him lock onto Mount Hua Town.

His own time was precious. Spirit Mountain had paid an enormous price to insert him into the Underworld, and not merely to take control of it.

The main thing was the merit gained from converting evil ghosts.

That was good stuff.

Whether he could step into the next realm depended on merit!

If helping Joyful Boy slowed the rate at which he gained merit, it would be a completely unprofitable bargain for Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

It might even allow too many evil ghosts to accumulate, increasing his karmic burden.

That he could tolerate even less.

"Bodhisattva, I'd like to return to Spirit Mountain first," Joyful Boy said, looking at Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva pleadingly.

He had been killed twice in a row, and by such infuriating means at that.

If he regained his original strength, he would surely tear the soul of the scoundrel who had ambushed him to shreds.

Joyful Boy was now weighed down by a deep sense of grievance and needed to pour his heart out to his master.

More than that, he hoped his master would stand up for him.

"No. Do you know what a price the Venerable One paid to conceal your soul and keep it locked beneath Mount Hua?"

"Once you leave, your presence will reappear. When that happens, there will be no one to pay the price of concealing you from the workings of heaven a second time," Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said coldly.

"But in these circumstances, what else can we do besides ask Master to intervene?" Joyful Boy pleaded.

"There is no need to worry. You will reincarnate once more, and I will have three venerable beings-an evil ghost, a rakshasa, and an asura-protect you on your path. All three possess the strength of a Peak True Immortal. If the other party dares to appear again, they will surely drag his soul into the Eighteen Levels of Hell to suffer torture for all eternity." As Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva spoke, a glimmer of red flashed in his eyes.

"Then, Bodhisattva, may I reincarnate a little later?" Joyful Boy asked cautiously.

"You may. It so happens that I need to contact Joyful Buddha as well. Now that the Soul-Fixing Jade is lost, he will have to find another solution," Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said with a nod.

"Then could you ask Master for a little Joyful Buddha Power on my behalf, Bodhisattva?" Joyful Boy's eyes lit up at once.

"What do you want Joyful Buddha Power for? Without a physical body to suppress it, your soul cannot possibly conceal too much Joyful Buddha Power. If the Precious Lotus Lantern detects it, no one can save you," Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said with a frown.

"I want to restore my Joyful Eye. That way, if that damned monster tries to attack me again, I can control him immediately and buy the rakshasa protector time. At the same time, once I've captured his presence, we can catch him. Wherever he flees, Diting will be able to locate him."

Joyful Boy looked expectantly at Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

"I'll speak to your master about it. As for whether he agrees, you'll have to ask him," Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said expressionlessly.

Joyful Boy nodded hastily, then obediently hid behind Diting and gathered the Buddha Power in his soul.

Flower-Fruit Mountain!

Inside the Water Filth Cave, Tiger-Taming slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

The injuries he had suffered fighting that monkey had fully healed.

He had to admit, that damned monkey did have some ability.

It had injured him with nothing but its physical body. Just what kind of creature was it? Why had he never heard of it?

Tiger-Taming frowned deeply, then fell into thought. Perhaps such a monstrous talent could be converted and brought to Spirit Mountain.

For now, however, the most pressing task was still to obtain the Innate Numinous Treasure and the object of thunder.

Tiger-Taming had chosen to recuperate in the Water Filth Cave because he could sense the life Qi it contained.

This Qi had merely been left behind by the object of thunder, yet it had already helped him so much in recovering from his injuries.

It was hard to imagine just how powerful the thunderbolt itself was.

Was that not a powerful object capable of refining one's bones and meridians and remolding one's aptitude?

Perhaps the heavenly lightning punishment that had previously shrouded Flower-Fruit Mountain had come because heaven and earth could not tolerate the birth of this treasure.

According to the memories left behind when his clone died, that human's strength in battle had been completely different from when he faced the Demon King of Havoc.

Tiger-Taming turned over and over in his mind the memories he had searched out from Gray Monkey.

The man in crimson armor had killed the Demon King of Havoc in an instant with a single slash!

The flames of his armor had formed a dragon and swiftly defeated Tiger-Taming's clone.

"Samadhi True Fire..." A tiger's shadow flashed through Tiger-Taming's eyes, as though flames had ignited in their depths as well.

Not just anyone could possess Samadhi True Fire.

What right did a mortal cultivator have to wield Samadhi True Fire?

After turning it over in his mind, he concluded that it could only have come from that Numinous Treasure.

Such swift improvement must have come from obtaining that object of lightning spirit.

Besides, even without the object of lightning spirit, the Samadhi True Fire armor the man wore was a rare treasure.

Such an object was destined to be mine!

Tiger-Taming walked out of the Water Filth Cave and took a long look in the direction of Flower-Fruit Mountain.

"Once this humble monk has retrieved the treasures, I will surely return and teach you a proper lesson, you wretched beast." With a cold snort, Tiger-Taming strode forward. Golden light gathered beneath his feet, and he flew in the direction of Mount Hua.

Meanwhile, on Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong, who was drinking and chatting with the Bull Demon King, suddenly looked up.