The Western Sect's Hopes

Zhang Xuezhou entered Yanmen Pass Yanmen Pass, and so did Wu Chao.

It has to be said that the two of them met by chance during their long journey across the world.

This situation may seem somewhat fortunate, but their lives are by no means fortunate.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't need to ask to know that life in Wu Chao was terrible.

Having just escaped trouble, he had absolutely no intention of stirring up trouble for the Western Sect.

As for Wu Chao, seeing him is enough; he'll likely have the same thoughts.

Their eyes met briefly, and then it was over.

However, Wu Chao's desire to rebel against his senior brother, Buddha, has diminished considerably.

Firstly, Hongku wasn't at Yanmen Pass, so his attempt to cultivate a teacher-student relationship was futile.

Secondly, judging from Zhang Xuezhou's bald head, the other party is most likely impersonating Hongku and might just be playing the role of a scoundrel again.

In this situation, it's difficult for Wu Chao to determine whether he implicated Zhang Xuezhou or Zhang Xuezhou implicated him.

Everyone's having a tough time, so there's no need to make things worse for each other.

However, Wu Chao does not rule out cooperation between the two.

As long as there's profit to be made, Wu Chao thinks that Zhang Xuezhou, given his personality, will inevitably get involved.

He followed behind his senior brother, Tathagata, listlessly, watching the manipulated city gate guards follow the procedures to allow passage.

"Wu Chao, don't cause me any more trouble. You should know that I came here not only for myself, but also so that you can continue your cultivation of the Yin-Yang School's realm techniques!"

After they had traveled a certain distance Yanmen Pass, Buddha solemnly warned Wu Chao.

The youthful exuberance of yesteryear has given way to the maturity and composure of today.

Most people who have been disciplined will learn some lessons, and their personality will also change.

Brother Tathagata is just like that.

But what troubles Brother Tathagata is that people like Wu Chao are not like that. This guy has learned his lesson many times, but he has never restrained himself. He is always trying to do all sorts of stupid things, and Brother Tathagata still has to protect him.

The reason why Wu Chao can commit such atrocities is very simple.

The two leaders discovered a realm technique that greatly interested them on Wu Chao's body.

This is a cultivation technique that is difficult to replace even by many secret scriptures of the Western Sect.

Learning that the Yin-Yang School's Realm Technique is divided into two parts, one belonging to Yin and the other to Yang, and that the two can eventually merge into one, making it a unique Realm Technique, greatly intrigued the two sect leaders.

Brother Tathagata's journey is not only to help Wu Chao obtain the Yin-Yang School's cultivation techniques, but also to help the two sect leaders obtain the complete Yin-Yang School realm cultivation techniques.

The Western Sect clearly doesn't intend to rest on its laurels and has made corresponding progress, but it lags behind the Eastern lands, which are constantly innovating in cultivation. Even the two religious leaders feel the pressure.

If you can't do something but others can, then you have to learn from them, which is commonly known as "learning from others' experiences."

Seeking cultivation techniques from the East became a crucial task for Brother Tathagata.

For this journey, Brother Tathagata traveled tens of thousands of miles to reach the territory of the Eastern Kingdom.

Entering the dynasty's territory signifies the official start of the mission.

For Brother Tathagata, this was a terrifying place where top experts resided. Even someone riding a sheep or an ox could beat him up. Consequently, he had no arrogance whatsoever and showed no trace of the haughtiness of a Western Sect disciple.

If possible, Brother Tathagata wishes to come quietly, act quietly, succeed quietly, and finally leave quietly.

"What we're doing isn't just for my benefit or yours; it also benefits the leader. If the leader is doing well, we're doing well," Buddha admonished. "If you accomplish this, the leader will surely loosen that tight band around your neck!"

"Don't talk about the headband; if you're so capable, then wear it yourself!"

Wu Chao touched the golden headband on his head, which made him look somewhat exotic. Anyone with a poor eye would surely think he was a nouveau riche, wearing gold and silver on his head.

But this constraint is Wu Chao's nightmare.

If anyone is stubborn, Wu Chao wants them to wear a tight headband and then make them recite the incantation three times.

If the other party can withstand it, he can call them a hero.

"I'm not as unruly as you, I don't wear the headband," Brother Buddha waved his hand and said, "Just do your job well, and you won't need to wear this headband anymore!"

"You make it sound so nice, but who knows if you'll loosen this rein on me later?" Wu Chao said.

"Look at the leader, he didn't put any tight headbands on us," Brother Buddha comforted. "You're someone the leader has taken a liking to; there's no way he'll keep you bound forever!"

"I don't believe it! This headband is a death curse; once you put it on, you can't take it off!" Wu Chao shook his head repeatedly.

"We can definitely pick them!"

"I don't believe you unless you pick it and show it to me!"

"Don't try to fool me into taking off the headband. Even if I knew how to remove it, I couldn't possibly take it off for you right now."

"Cut!"

No matter what methods he used or how eloquent he was, Brother Tathagata endured it all and was completely unmoved by Wu Chao's tricks.

Wu Chao could only ponder when to create a formidable enemy for his senior brother, Tathagata, ideally leaving the enemy half-dead, which might force him to reveal the truth.

"If you kneel on the ground and kowtow sincerely begging for my help, I might take pity on you and reluctantly spare your life, I..."

He indulged in his fantasies for a while, and when he had followed his senior brother, the Buddha, for over a hundred miles Yanmen Pass, he saw that it was already getting dark.

"Don't lie down now. You must know that walking a little more each day, if you persist, will save you countless days!"

Seeing that Wu Chao was traveling slowly and looking around aimlessly, trying to find some birds and beasts to attack, Brother Tathagata had no choice but to lift him up and then stride forward.

Wu Chao was too lazy to resist and was simply carried away by his senior brother, Buddha.

"Senior brother, you've never been to the Han Dynasty before, and wandering around aimlessly will likely waste more time," Wu Chao said lazily.

"Although I've never been here before, I at least know that this is a military road built by the imperial court. It's impossible for anyone to build a sect or academy here, and it's unlikely that any cultivators would settle in such a place. There's no way that Jin Chang, as you mentioned, could appear here," said Senior Brother Tathagata. "Since there's nothing wrong with this road, we can't possibly go the wrong way, and we can continue along this road!"

"That sounds like a very good idea!"

Wu Chao replied in a muffled voice, then closed his eyes and began counting.

Unable to defeat him in a fight, and resorting to underhanded tactics was useless, dirty tricks were ineffective against Brother Tathagata, who also had a cursed headband on his head, Wu Chao could only try to torment Brother Tathagata.

For example, out of the 180 days in these six months, he will be carried around like this by his senior brother, Buddha, for 179 days.

The Wu Chao had gotten used to it, and so had the Buddha.

He was strong and didn't care about exerting himself. He carried the Wu Chao as if it were a magic staff, and there was nothing unusual about him as he strode along.

"Senior brother, I'm hungry!"

"Just bear with it a little longer!"

"Senior brother, I feel uncomfortable being held like this. Could you try a different grip?"

"If you're not feeling well, get down and walk around!"

"Senior brother..."

Wu Chao counted up to nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, which made him feel a little tired, and he started arguing with his senior brother, Tathagata.

"I'm starving! I'm starving to death! I haven't even found the secret manual yet, and I'm already starving to death..."

Like chanting sutras, the incessant cawing of the Wu Chao was unbearable, even for someone as good-natured as Brother Rulai.

I looked up at the somewhat bright moonlight and then started timing myself by counting on my fingers.

"You haven't eaten for five hours, it's definitely time to eat now. Shall we have naan?"

"I want to eat meat, eat meat, eat meat..."

"Killing is not a good thing. Don't spend all your time thinking about killing this or that to eat their flesh!"

"Your naan is made from flour, which grows on wheat. Over time, wheat can grow into monsters. By eating the naan, you're cutting off the wheat's chance to become a monster. That's killing!"

"May Buddha have mercy! In all my years, I've never heard of wheat turning into a demon!"

"You all ate it all, how could it possibly have had a chance to become a demon!"

The strange theory of Wu Chao left the Buddha with no way to refute it. According to Wu Chao's theory, coupled with his dislike of killing, life would be unbearable.

He ran for miles, but didn't see a single bird or beast.

When a flash of light appeared ahead, followed by the smell of burning, it gave him a glimmer of hope.

Brother Buddha dislikes killing and eating meat, but eating some while begging for alms makes it less sinful.