I am submissive in Journey to the West, I strike hard at the gods

Sha Wujing whispered, "Wait for Master to wake up."

As night fell, the Yuntai Palace was brightly lit. Jiang Wang, like a ghost, sneaked back into the palace. The system voice sounded: "Mission progressed, reward: Tranquil Wood Essence."

Continue surveillance; three years later, end the Journey to the West.

And so, a gambling battle escalated into a farce.

The joke about the sacred urine of the Sanqing Temple spread throughout Chechi Kingdom, with the people gossiping and the Taoists gritting their teeth.

The journey to the West is fraught with peril, and Jiang Wang's conspiracy is brewing like an undercurrent, with foreshadowing deeply buried.

Sun Wukong roared to the sky, "Come on! Who have I ever been afraid of?"

Pigsy yawned: "Brother Monkey, I'm hungry..."

Outside the capital of Chechi Kingdom, in the square in front of the Sanqing Temple, the sun blazed down, and the air was filled with a faint mixture of sandalwood and dust.

Two towering cloud platforms, each ten feet high, stand like mountains. The platforms are carved from white jade, with layers of cloud patterns spiraling upwards and reaching straight into the azure sky.

On the stage, two figures sat cross-legged. One was dressed in a golden robe with a kind face; he was none other than Tang Sanzang, the eminent monk of the Tang Dynasty in the East. The other was dressed in a flowing green robe with white hair and beard; he was Lu Li Daxian, the master of the Sanqing Temple in Chechi Kingdom.

The two sat facing each other, with lotus pedestals on their laps. Banners fluttered behind them, and the square was already crowded with onlookers. The king and his officials were present to witness the ceremony. Amidst the deafening sound of gongs and drums, the competition officially began.

"The elder and the immortal are having a meditation contest. From this day forward, whoever wavers first will admit defeat!"

The king sat high on his dragon throne, his voice booming like a bell, echoing throughout the land.

The square fell silent, with only the soft whistling of the wind passing through the clouds.

Tang Sanzang closed his eyes slightly, silently reciting the Heart Sutra, his body radiating golden light, as if the Buddha had descended to earth.

The Great Immortal Lu Li also closed his eyes and concentrated, his breathing even and long, his body surrounded by green energy, as if he had merged with heaven and earth.

The two remained motionless, sitting like rocks. At first glance, they seemed ordinary, but they exuded an extraordinary composure that inspired awe in the onlookers.

Below the stage, Sun Wukong crossed his arms, his monkey eyes narrowed to slits, staring intently at his master.

Beside him, Pigsy leaned lazily against a stone pillar, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, while Sandy clasped his hands together, silently guarding him.

Although the three were idle people, they became the unseen focus of the competition.

Wukong muttered to himself, "Master has great composure; this old Taoist priest does have some skill."

I, Old Sun, want to see who will have the last laugh!

Upon hearing this, Pigsy yawned repeatedly: "Brother Monkey, how can this competition be more important than my mealtime? The king is treating those Taoist priests to a feast, while we're left standing here. Humph, I'm practically drooling over my pork belly."

Sha Wujing smiled slightly: "Second brother, don't be impatient. The competition has just begun. Once Master wins, good days will naturally come."

Not far away, in the Sanqing Temple, Tiger Power Immortal stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping towards the cloud platform with a sinister look.

His junior brother, Master Lu Li, sat steadily on the platform, his profound Zen skills making him feel uneasy.

Tiger Power Immortal is the senior brother of Deer Power Immortal. He possesses unpredictable and cunning Taoist magic and was known in Chechi Kingdom for his underhanded tricks in his early years.

Seeing Tang Sanzang's meditation as deep as the sea, he sneered, "Hmph, you little bald monk, you dare to compete with my junior brother? Once I make my move, I'll make you reveal your true form!"

Having said that, he quietly retreated into the side hall of the temple, closed the door, sat cross-legged on a futon, plucked a short hair, chanted a spell, pinched it into a ball, and flicked it towards the cloud platform, heading straight for Tang Sanzang's nape.

The short hair took root on the ground and instantly transformed into a palm-sized stink bug, its entire body jet black, its abdomen swollen like a ball, emitting a foul stench.

The insect crawled up the cloud platform, silently approaching Tang Sanzang's nape, opening its pincers and suddenly biting down! Just as it was about to pierce his skin, Tang Sanzang's nape suddenly trembled, and a purple dragon scale silently appeared, the scale as sharp as a knife. A "snap" was heard.

With a sharp crack, the bedbug's pincers were snapped off! Green juice splattered from the broken pincers, and the bedbug rolled to the ground in pain, turning into a wisp of green smoke and dissipating.

Tiger Power Immortal's expression changed in the side hall, cold sweat beading on his forehead: "This bald monk actually has dragon scales protecting him? Could he be a reincarnation of a true dragon?"

He gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up, and plucked out another short hair, flicked it with a spell.

This time, the bedbugs reappeared, but they had learned their lesson. Instead of attacking the back of Tang Sanzang's neck, they climbed up to his chin, contracted their abdomens, and spewed out a yellowish-green stench that rushed straight to the elder's nose.

The stench was as pungent as a rotting corpse; an ordinary person would faint and vomit upon smelling it, but Tang Sanzang remained unfazed, his breathing steady as ever, as if the stench were nothing more than a morning breeze.

Tiger Power Immortal's eyes widened, his beard trembling with rage: "Impossible! This 'Corrosive Heart Mist' can even corrode iron and stone, how could he remain unmoved?"

Enraged, he cast another spell, causing the bedbugs to crawl to the front of Tang Sanzang's right nostril, burrow half an inch in, and spew out an even stronger poisonous gas that rushed straight into his lungs.

When poison enters the body, an ordinary cultivator would have bled from all seven orifices and lost his composure. But when Tang Sanzang's body flashed with golden light, the poison disappeared without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.

He didn't even flinch, and he chanted the Heart Sutra even louder, as if his meditative state had deepened.

Tiger Power Immortal coughed up three mouthfuls of blood in the hall. The backlash of his magic power made his face turn deathly pale: "This...this bald monk's composure is actually like that of a Buddhist monk? This immortal has been defeated today!"

He collapsed to the ground, powerless to do anything for the time being, and could only pray that his junior brother could hold on.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cloud platform, Sun Wukong could no longer contain himself.

Seeing that his master was as steady as Mount Tai, he knew that the old bastard Hu Li must have some dirty tricks up his sleeve. So he secretly channeled his primordial spirit, his soul left his body, and transformed into a golden light, quietly drifting towards the Great Immortal Lu Li.

The primordial spirit was only seven inches long, covered in golden fur. Upon landing, it transformed instantly into a seven-inch centipede with hundreds of needle-like legs and menacing poisonous hooks.

It climbed onto the cloud platform, circled around to the back of Deer Power Immortal's neck, and suddenly bit down! Centipede venom is extremely potent, and an ordinary person would die instantly if bitten, but a flash of blue light appeared on the back of Deer Power Immortal's neck, and the venomous hook seemed to bite into a diamond, sparks flying everywhere, with no reaction whatsoever.

Wukong's spirit was startled: "Such tough skin and flesh! This old Taoist is strange!"

Unwilling to accept defeat, Wukong's spirit reverted to its original form, and with a wave of its monkey paw, it aimed straight at the right hand of the Deer Power Immortal.

Those fingers were long and slender like jade. Wukong opened his mouth and bit down, first the index finger, then the middle finger, then the ring finger... He bit down on ten fingers in a row! With each bite, he injected the Monkey King's poison, and those fingers instantly turned purplish-black and swollen, swelling up like ten thick sausages, with the skin torn open and blood seeping out.

The onlookers vaguely noticed something amiss and began to whisper among themselves: "Why is the Taoist priest's hand swollen? Could he have been poisoned?"

But the Great Immortal Deer remained unmoved, his face calm and his breathing steady, as if the finger did not belong to him.

Wukong's spirit retreated, scratching his head: "How strange! He's bitten like this and hasn't even made a sound? I, Old Sun, am somewhat impressed by his composure!"

When his strategy failed, Wukong's spirit had a sudden inspiration. He transformed into the size of a grain of rice and burrowed into the left ear canal of the Deer Power Immortal.

The ear canal was deep and dark like a cave. Wukong was inside. He shook his hair and conjured up three or five musical instruments: a flute, a drum, a zither, and a few small gongs.

He commanded his hairs to transform into musicians, and instantly a deafening roar filled his ears! The sound of the flute was shrill like the wailing of ghosts, the drumbeats were like thunderous explosions, the strings of the zither were plucked wildly like a stampede of ten thousand horses, and the gongs clanged incessantly.

The noise was like a thousand troops fighting in his mind, making Deer Power Immortal's left ear ring. With a soft "snap," his eardrum ruptured, and blood seeped out of his ear.

But the Deer Power Immortal remained seated, with even a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, as if the noise was nothing more than a mountain breeze.

Wukong's spirit was horrified: "His eardrums are ruptured, yet he's still not moving? Could this old Taoist priest be deaf in his left ear?"

Undeterred, he emerged from his left ear and flew to his right, shrinking and slipping inside once more. His tiny hairs transformed into a band, and the noise intensified! From his right ear canal, flutes, drums, zithers, and gongs resounded, the sound waves even more powerful, causing the ear canal walls to rip and ripple. *Snap!*

Another sound, and his right eardrum ruptured, blood staining his Taoist robe.

Although blood was gushing from Deer Power Immortal's ears, his body remained as still as a mountain. The depth of his meditation shocked Wukong's primordial spirit: "This...this composure is simply the bearing of a celestial being! I, Old Sun, have witnessed it today. I admire you, I admire you!"

Helpless, Sun Wukong retreated to his physical body. He opened his eyes, sighed, and whispered to Sha Wujing, "Junior Brother Sha, this contest is tricky. That old Taoist is no ordinary person."

The competition was already rife with tension from the very beginning.

In the square, the king was in high spirits and ordered a royal banquet to be prepared, with special funds allocated to entertain the Taoist priests of the Sanqing Temple.

On the altar, delicacies from land and sea were piled up like mountains. Although the Great Immortal Deer Power sat motionless on the platform, his fellow disciples Tiger Power and Sheep Power, along with the other young Taoist priests, were feasting.

As the Great Immortal Yangli devoured a whole roasted lamb, he wiped his mouth and laughed loudly: "Junior Brother, your composure is unparalleled. Once you defeat that bald monk, I will treat you all to a feast at Chechi!"

The young Taoist priests cheered and jumped for joy, and after a few rounds of drinks, they became completely drunk.

On the other hand, the king seemed to have forgotten about the four travelers, only sending two eunuchs to bring them a few cold biscuits.

Pigsy's eyes lit up when he saw the banquet across the way: "My goodness! Those Taoist priests are eating with such gusto, while I, Old Pig, am just munching on flatbread? When will this competition ever end? Brother Monkey, I'm starving! Let's go beg for some food!"

Sun Wukong glared with his monkey eyes: "Fool! Master is fighting to the death on stage, and you're still thinking about your stomach? I, Old Sun, will stay by your side every step of the way, afraid that old Taoist priest will cheat!"

Pigsy pouted: "Oh my, Brother Monkey, you have the Golden Cudgel to protect you, but I, Old Pig, am just full of cravings."

Brother Sha, what do you say?

Upon hearing this, Sha Wujing smiled calmly and said, "Second Brother, don't be anxious. The Master is on the stage, how can we leave him? How about this, the three of us take turns guarding him, one person guarding him for one night, taking turns to guard him, which will prevent any underhanded tricks and ensure that we don't miss our meals."

Upon hearing this, Wukong nodded: "Excellent! Brother Sha is very prudent, let's do it this way."

On the first night, I, Old Sun, will be on guard duty, while that old Taoist priest Yang Li and his henchmen across the street will be on duty. Humph, I'll see what tricks they have up their sleeves.

Upon hearing this, Pigsy was overjoyed: "Alright! I'll go on the second night, keep watch, and while I'm at it, I'll take a look around the kitchen."

Sha Wujing shook his head and chuckled, but still agreed.

As night fell, the square was brightly lit, but the two people on the cloud platform remained as still as mountains.

Sun Wukong leaped onto a nearby ancient tree, his fiery eyes scanning the surroundings.

In the Sanqing Temple across the way, the Great Immortal Yangli, burping contentedly, led a few junior Taoist priests on a tour of the Cloud Platform.

His eyes were blurry with drunkenness, and ram's horns were faintly visible. He muttered, "Junior brother, sit tight. That bald donkey over there, hmph..."

The young Taoist priests carried lanterns, swaying back and forth, but dared not approach Wukong.

Wukong sneered, transformed into a night owl, and quietly darted past to eavesdrop on their gossip.

It turned out that the Great Immortal Yangli, emboldened by alcohol, was secretly plotting to use some tricks the next day. But how could Wukong allow them to succeed? He knocked a lantern away with his staff, scaring the little Taoist priest into howling like a ghost. The Great Immortal Yangli sobered up a bit and retreated in a huff.

Before I knew it, the first night passed uneventfully.

The competition was in full swing, far exceeding everyone's expectations.

At first, after three to five days, the crowd gradually dispersed, but little by little, this meditation on the cloud platform became a unique spectacle in Chechi Kingdom.

Under the blazing sun, the heat was intense, and the heat on the cloud platform was intense. Yet, Tang Sanzang and Deer Power Immortal remained motionless, their robes unwrinkled. A torrential downpour, with thunder and lightning, turned the square into a swamp, but the two remained as still as lotuses emerging from the water.

The cloud platform was originally made of white jade, and it became even more crystal clear after the rain. The two figures were reflected in the puddle, like immortals and Buddhas facing each other.

When the news spread, people from far and wide flocked to the scene, including merchants, travelers, wanderers, and even envoys from neighboring countries, all coming to witness the spectacle.

Tea stalls and taverns were set up outside the square, with shouts of vendors: "Look! Those monks and Taoists have been sitting there for over a month and haven't moved an inch! Buy a string of candied hawthorns and enjoy them while you watch!"

The Kingdom of Chechi was bustling with activity, and the competition became a royal event.

Three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Sun Wukong took turns guarding the area each day, but his heart was filled with anxiety, as if being scratched by a cat.

He jumped around restlessly in the tree, his fiery eyes fixed on Yuntai: "Master, how can this old Taoist be as stubborn as a rock? I've used all my tricks, but he still won't fall! If this continues, my monkey hair will turn white with worry!"

On the contrary, for Zhu Bajie, these three months were like paradise.

No need to rush or carry luggage, every day when it was his turn to be on time, he would sneak to the vicinity of the king's kitchen, secretly beg for some leftovers, and then come back to feast on them.

One stormy night, he stood under the stage, opened his umbrella, stuffed his mouth with chicken legs, and hummed happily, "Wonderful! Wonderful! I wish this competition could last for a few more years. I, Old Pig, will eat until I'm round and plump. It would be even better if Master won, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't, as it will save me from the wind and sun."

Upon hearing this, Wukong was so angry that he jumped up and down: "You idiot! You lazy pig, if it weren't for Master's mercy, I would have killed you with this staff long ago!"

Sha Wujing, on the other hand, remained calm and composed, seizing every spare moment during his shifts to cultivate diligently.

For the past three months, he has been sitting cross-legged below the platform every day, chanting scriptures and circulating his energy, his demonic power surging like a river.

At first, he was only at the peak of Taiyi, with a bottleneck as high as a mountain, but the tranquility of this competition became his opportunity.

One full moon night, he stood guard by the cloud platform and heard his master reciting the Heart Sutra. He immediately felt his mind clear and his dantian shone with golden light.

A loud "boom" was heard.

With a muffled thud, his demonic energy transformed into swirling sand waves, and his cultivation broke through its shackles, leaping from the peak of Taiyi to the early stage of Daluo Golden Immortal! In the Daluo realm, lifespan is long and magical power is as vast as the sea. When Sha Wujing opened his eyes, a glint of light flashed in them, and he was overjoyed.

He rose and bowed to the cloud platform, whispering, "Thank you, Master. This competition, though long, has given me an opportunity."

The disciple suspects that this prolonged battle might be due to Jiang Taigong secretly intervening, taking the opportunity to temper our character.

Otherwise, given their composure, the outcome should have been decided long ago.

Sha Wujing's words startled Wukong, a thoughtful glint in his eyes: "Jiang Ziya? That old fellow's Investiture of the Gods technique is indeed strange."

"Fine, I, Old Sun, will only protect my master; victory or defeat is ordained by fate!" (End of Chapter)