Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

"The bell tolls still must be silenced by the one who rang it."

This situation was orchestrated by the Tathagata, so only he could resolve it; none of the other Immortals and Buddhas were qualified to intervene.

Thus, Jiang Liu knew well, that to save Gaoyang, he had to seek Buddha himself.

However, from the perspective of the Buddhist Realm, they would probably prefer Gaoyang to perish so that he could quickly embark on his Journey to the West. What bargaining chip then did he have to make demands of the Buddha?

After much deliberation, Jiang Liu felt he had no choice but to use himself as the bargaining chip.

In times of having nothing, one can only gamble with oneself; it has always been so throughout history.

"Xuanzang, the affection between men and women is merely minor love. Compared to the vast love for all beings and the common people, that is the greater love. Why should you forsake your own life for such minor feelings? Your destiny should be to cultivate for the great love of the universe and its beings."

The Tathagata Statue, towering and imposing, spoke in a steady voice, each word resonant as the evening drums and morning bells, profoundly striking.

"Whether great or minor, all are forms of love. If one could forsake even the minor love of their own children, how could one speak of the greater love of the world? I ask Buddha to save her," Jiang Liu said, looking directly at the Tathagata, each word sincere and earnest.

"Amitabha..."

After a slight silence, a golden beam of light emerged before the Tathagata Statue and fell upon Gaoyang. Her form suspended in the air then rapidly shrank to be absorbed into the brow of the statue.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"This woman has a connection with Buddha, and naturally, I will rescue her. From this day, she shall stay at Spirit Mountain under the mentorship of the Great Bodhisattva Guanyin to practice until a day when you are destined to meet again..." After directly taking Gaoyang away, the Tathagata Statue declared.

As the voice faded, the brilliant Buddhist Light vanished along with the miraculous phenomena above, and the eyes of the statue gently closed, reverting to a sculpted form.

Clearly, the Tathagata had departed.

"Disciple thanks the Buddha! Farewell to Buddha!" Jiang Liu said aloud, bowing his head.

Since the Buddha had taken Gaoyang away and personally promised to save her, Jiang Liu harbored no doubts that the Tathagata would deceive him about this.

Firstly, would the leader of Buddhism contradict himself over such a trivial matter? While the matter of Gaoyang was significant for himself, to the Tathagata, it was but a trivial one.

Moreover, if he were to embark on the Journey to the West in the future, looking at the original stories, Sun Wukong would have many chances to meet Tathagata and Guanyin. If he could not see Gaoyang, wouldn't that be inexplicable?

Therefore, Jiang Liu understood that the Buddha agreed to save Gaoyang but kept her at Spirit Mountain just to solidify his resolve for his future journey to the West.

...

In the Western Heaven, at Spirit Mountain, Buddhist Light flashed, and Princess Gaoyang, previously decaying, was restored to her original condition and tranquilly fell into a deep sleep.

"Amitabha, Buddha, is this not detrimental to your reputation?" Since the Buddha had commanded Princess Gaoyang to follow him in practice, Guanyin naturally had no objections, but looking at Tathagata, she found it difficult to comprehend.

The Journey to the West for Scriptures is a significant matter. If it's the way it seems, with part of Xuanzang's reason for traveling west being to find a woman, isn't that somewhat disgraceful for Buddhism?

The matter of Gaoyang might be minor, but the dignity of Buddhism is significant.

"It doesn't matter..." the Tathagata, manifesting a golden body of eighteen cubits, calmly said, "When Xuanzang truly awakens and transforms into Golden Cicada, if he himself causes the destruction of Gaoyang's soul, such speculations will no longer exist."

"So that's how it is..." Hearing the words of the Buddha, Guanyin slightly nodded, her expression showing understanding.

Daoji is Dragon Subduing, but Dragon Subduing is not Daoji. Once the True Spirit awakens, decades of memories compared to thousands of years are but minor ripples, hardly influencing, so when the True Spirit awakens, Daoji dies, but alive is Dragon Subduing.

Similarly, although Xuanzang harbors deep feelings for Gaoyang, moving heaven and earth, if he arrives at Spirit Mountain one day, when his True Spirit awakens, becoming Golden Cicada, Xuanzang too naturally dies, and his feelings for Gaoyang will dissipate with the awakening of Golden Cicada.

Therefore, having Golden Cicada take action would indeed be most appropriate.

Moreover, keeping Princess Gaoyang at Spirit Mountain would further solidify Xuanzang's resolve. Such sincere affection would likely deter his heart from any seductive demons along the way.

It is a convenient arrangement. On the surface, he agreed to save Gaoyang, but in reality, as long as Xuanzang journeys to the West for Scriptures and reaches Western Heaven, both Xuanzang and Gaoyang will be gone, leaving only Golden Cicada.

For the Buddhist Sect and the Scripture Seeking mission, there is not the slightest adverse effect; this is the Buddha's intention.

Mortal World, at the Great Buddha Temple, as Princess Gaoyang was taken away by the Tathagata, Jiang Liu slowly got up.

"Greetings, Holy Monk Xuanzang!" As Jiang Liu turned around, the disciples of the Great Buddha Temple, and even many believers, all bowed to Jiang Liu and loudly called out.

Especially the disciples of the Great Buddha Temple, who looked at Jiang Liu with even more fervor in their eyes.

Who is the Tathagata? He is the supreme ruler of the Buddhist Sect, a far and mysterious, untouchable existence.

Even Saint Monk Longhai was only the abbot of the Great Buddha Temple because he had dreamt of an enlightenment from the Tathagata, therefore becoming the highest-ranking monk in the Great Tang.

But what about Master Xuanzang? He came to seek the Buddha's help with a woman in his arms, and the Buddha actually manifested!

Tell me, which monk in the world has the qualifications to make the Buddha manifest and personally save someone? Only Master Xuanzang could do so!

"Amitabha, I am somewhat tired and need to rest well..." With his palms together, Jiang Liu faced the frenzy and adoration of many monks and believers, yet he displayed no joy, only quietly speaking.

Naturally, upon hearing Jiang Liu's request, these monks and believers all stepped aside, allowing Jiang Liu to head straight back to his Zen Room in the Great Buddha Temple and fall asleep immediately.

These days, with his mind worried about Gaoyang and unable to eat or sleep well, Jiang Liu was indeed very exhausted.

Now that he had sought the Tathagata's intervention to save her, at least Gaoyang's life was no longer in danger, and Jiang Liu could finally be at ease.

After setting aside his worries, he collapsed on the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.

He slept for a full day and night before waking up, undisturbed by anyone.

However, lying in bed, Jiang Liu did not rush to get up; instead, he just gazed fixedly at the ceiling, his eyes full of contemplation.

Indeed, Jiang Liu was no fool. Concerning the Tathagata's intentions, he could somewhat guess them.

In the original Journey to the West, upon reaching Western Heaven, there was a part describing the disciples sitting on a bottomless boat, only to see Tang Monk's corpse floating in the river water, having abandoned his mortal flesh and attained saintliness.

Jiang Liu had not thought much about this section previously.

However, following the comparisons between Daoji and Dragon Subduing, Jiang Liu understood that in the original scripture-seeking story of Journey to the West, it was Tang Monk who braved hardships for many years, but it was Golden Cicada who eventually attained divinity...

The path of scripture seeking was undoubtedly one he had to embark on, but Jiang Liu was also aware that once he truly reached Western Heaven, it would be the time when he definitively fell out with Buddhism.

After all, he had no desire to end up like Golden Cicada!

Thus, Jiang Liu's journey to the West was like a high-stakes gamble, betting on strengthening himself enough to stand up to the Buddhist Sect, to grow to the point where he would not become a stepping stone like Golden Cicada!

The journey to the West was indeed a setup, with the Tathagata naturally acting as the chess master and himself as a piece on the board.

However, for Jiang Liu, this was also a gamble, a struggle between the chess piece and the chess player.

The Tathagata's set-up was for him to seek scriptures and for Golden Cicada to attain divinity.

But his own gambit was as a chess piece, growing strong enough to wrestle with the chess master.

If it came down to a life-or-death struggle, the Tathagata should intervene to save Gaoyang. Jiang Liu had always been clear about this. But why had Jiang Liu waited so long to come?

It was because Jiang Liu also understood that once he set foot on the path to the West, there would be no way back for either him or Gaoyang!

If possible, he would never wish to embark on the journey to the West, at least not so soon.

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The more time he had to grow, the greater his chances of winning this gamble on the journey to the West as a chess piece.

"It seems that the journey to the West is now inevitable. On this road of a myriad miles, I must strengthen myself by any means necessary, for at the end of this road lies the life and death of both me and Gaoyang..."

"I must break through this journey to the West! Only then can I save myself!"

(PS: After nearly two hundred thousand words of laying the groundwork and setting the scene, it's finally time to get ready for the journey to the West. Have you grown impatient? I might be the most long-winded writer on the theme of Journey to the West...)