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

"I must go to Zhu Zi Kingdom in advance, lest the monkey kill the Golden-haired Roar and I will not be able to save him in time."

She changed her appearance and dressed as a human.

She wore a moon-white long robe, her hair was tied up in a high bun with a plain silver hairpin, her face was gentle, but there was a hint of coldness hidden between her brows and eyes. She looked like a scholarly woman who traveled around the world, and there was no trace of the solemn appearance of Guanyin of the South Sea.

Then, the refined substance was thrown into the sea, transforming into a small boat. The boat was long and narrow, made of the finest sandalwood, with simple lotus patterns carved on the bow, radiating a faint spiritual light.

She boarded the small boat, the oars moved on their own, and she drifted silently across the ocean towards Xiniu Hezhou on the road to the west.

The sea was calm all the way, with occasional fish and shrimp leaping out of the water, but no one could detect that a great being was hiding on this small boat.

Several days later, the small boat arrived at the border of Xiniu Hezhou. Guanyin abandoned the boat and went ashore. After walking for several days, she arrived at the capital of Zhu Zi Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Zhu Zi is located on the edge of Xiniu Hezhou. The city is not top-notch or magnificent, but it is still bustling with activity. Shops line both sides of the street, and the sounds of vendors calling out their wares rise and fall. The pedestrians are dressed in various styles, mostly local natives, and occasionally a few low-level demons can be seen disguised among them.

She found a secluded inn to stay in, named "Wangxilou". It was located in the northwest corner of the city, and she could see the continuous green mountains outside the city when she opened the window. The environment was quiet and peaceful.

Every day, Guanyin would meditate and regulate her breathing, or sit by the window sipping tea, gazing westward, quietly waiting for Tang Sanzang and his party to arrive.

She deliberately concealed all her aura, and all the spiritual light around her was absorbed into her body, making her look no different from an ordinary human woman. Even if a cultivator from the city passed by, it would be extremely difficult for him to detect her true identity.

Fortunately, the humans here are all natives who have lived here for generations and do not need to migrate. Therefore, those powerful human beings who control the migration routes of humans are unlikely to appear here.

This saved Guanyin a lot of trouble, as she didn't have to be constantly on edge, worrying about her whereabouts being exposed.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye, and the pilgrimage team still hadn't appeared.

Guanyin held the teacup, her fingertips gently stroking the rim, her expression indifferent, not taking it to heart.

"The journey to obtain the scriptures was fraught with difficulties. It was normal to encounter several calamities on the way and be delayed for several months."

With this thought in mind, she continued to sit quietly and wait each day. Occasionally, she would go downstairs and walk around the city to inquire about news, but all she heard were trivial matters of the city, and there was no news related to the pilgrimage team at all.

Another six months passed, spring turned to autumn, and fallen leaves began to drift down the streets of Zhu Zi Kingdom. The weather gradually turned cold, but the pilgrimage team was still nowhere to be found.

This time, the composure on Guanyin's face finally faded, and a hint of anxiety appeared between her brows.

She got up and walked to the window, gazing at the vast sky outside the city. Her fingers unconsciously tightened, causing the tea in her cup to ripple slightly.

“Something’s not right. Even if we’ve encountered a major calamity on the way, we shouldn’t have been delayed for so long.”

That monkey possesses extraordinary powers; ordinary calamities cannot imprison him. Even if he is temporarily hindered, news should still be getting out.

Guanyin muttered to herself, her unease growing stronger.

She had intended to use her divine eye to travel thousands of miles to search for the pilgrimage team, but the thought was forcibly suppressed as soon as it arose.

Now, the primordial land has undergone dramatic changes, and powerful human beings have risen to prominence, making them extremely sensitive to anomalies in the world.

If she were to unleash her supernatural powers without restraint, given their vast scope, it would surely attract the attention of those powerful human beings.

If they misunderstand that I am spying on the human migration route and plotting something, then that would be a huge problem.

The strength of the human race's powerful beings is unfathomable, and even if she were Guanyin Bodhisattva, she would not easily make enemies with them.

"Wait a little longer, they may arrive in a few more days."

Guanyin suppressed her anxiety and sat back down in her original position. However, this time, she could no longer calm down to enjoy tea and meditate. Her mind was filled with various possibilities, and the more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.

Little did she know that Tang Sanzang and his companions hadn't moved an inch in all those years.

"What exactly happened? Could it be that they've encountered some insurmountable calamity?"

Guanyin waited for almost a year, but still received no news, and finally could not bear it any longer.

She packed a simple bag, still dressed as a human woman, paid the bill and left the inn, heading east discreetly, intending to personally investigate the whereabouts of the pilgrimage team.

She concealed her aura as she traveled, avoiding the cultivators and demons along the way. Her steps were light, yet her speed was extremely fast. Before long, she left the capital of Zhu Zi Kingdom and sped eastward.

Guanyin wasn't the only one in a hurry.

Tang Sanzang was now even more anxious.

He was dressed in a brocade cassock, sitting cross-legged on a blue stone. His face was haggard, and his brows were full of anxiety and unease. His usual composure and calmness had long since disappeared.

Being trapped in this place for more than ten years, with no end in sight and Wukong nowhere to be found, caused him great torment.

Not far in front of him, Pigsy was leaning against a big tree, munching on wild fruit while sighing. His round face was full of sorrow, and the fat on his belly bounced with each breath.

Sha Wujing stood to one side, holding his demon-subduing staff, his brows furrowed, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily. His aura was calm, yet he could not hide the helplessness between his brows.

"Bajie, Wujing, what should we do?"

Tang Sanzang finally couldn't help but speak, his voice hoarse and weary, "Fourteen years, a full fourteen years, why hasn't Wukong returned yet?"

We're trapped here, unable to move an inch. If this continues, when will we ever reach the Western Paradise to obtain the sacred scriptures?

Upon hearing this, Pigsy stopped eating the wild fruit, wiped the juice from the corner of his mouth, and sighed, "Master, I don't know either! That monkey has never returned since he went out to scout for information all those years ago, without even a word from him."

If you ask me, maybe they ran into some powerful figure and got detained, or maybe they forgot about us and went back to Flower Fruit Mountain to live a carefree life.”

"You bullshit!"

Tang Sanzang frowned and rebuked him sternly, "Wukong is kind-hearted and loyal. How could he forget us and go off on his own? He must have encountered some difficulties, which is why he has not returned for so long."

Although he had some doubts, he still refused to believe that Sun Wukong would abandon them.

Pigsy pursed his lips, not daring to refute further, and muttered in a low voice, "Even if they encountered difficulties, it's been fourteen years, there should be some news by now."

We're trapped here, unable to even leave the house. If we wait any longer, we might die of old age here before we obtain the true scriptures.

Tang Sanzang fell silent. Although Zhu Bajie's words were harsh, they revealed the truth.

The area where they were trapped, seemingly an ordinary mountain forest, was actually shrouded in a mysterious force. No matter which direction they went, as long as they stepped outside a hundred miles, they would be struck by a lightning tribulation with immense power, which was impossible to overcome.

Over the past fourteen years, they have tried countless times, but have never been able to break through this constraint.

After a long while, Tang Sanzang seemed to have thought of something, a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes, and he looked at Zhu Bajie and said, "Bajie, why don't you try going to Flower Fruit Mountain again? Maybe this time it will work. If Wukong really returns to Flower Fruit Mountain, you can find him there and ask him to come back and rescue us."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy shook his head vigorously, refusing without a second thought: "I won't go! Master, please don't make me go anymore, I can't bear the taste of that tribulation."

As he spoke, he subconsciously touched his arm, as if he could feel the excruciating pain he had felt when he was struck by lightning years ago.

"The last few times I went there, before I had even flown a hundred miles, the lightning struck down, tearing my skin open and almost killing me."

That thing was terrifying; I'd never go there again.

Tang Sanzang's expression froze, the hope on his face vanished instantly, and he felt very unhappy.

Pigsy was afraid of death, but no one expected him to be so resolute, unwilling to even try.

"Bajie, how can you be so cowardly? We are on our journey to the West, bearing a heavy responsibility. How can we back down because of a few difficulties?"

"Master, this isn't a matter of being cowardly or not!"

Pigsy said with a bitter face, "That tribulation lightning is something that no human can withstand. If I go, I will only suffer in vain, and I might even lose my life."

"If I die then, that's a small matter, but who will protect you, Master?"

His words were half true and half an excuse; he had already experienced the power of the lightning tribulation and was still quite shaken.

Tang Sanzang was speechless, and his frustration grew.

He turned to look at Sha Wujing, his tone pleading, and said, "Wujing, why don't you give it a try? You have a calm personality and your cultivation is not weak either. Perhaps you can avoid the tribulation and find Wukong."

Sha Wujing frowned and said, "Master, it's not that I don't want to go, it's just that the lightning tribulation is too strange."

He spoke slowly, his voice low and tinged with helplessness, "Over the years, my second senior brother and I have tried hundreds of times. Whether it's day or night, whether we use our supernatural powers to sprint at full speed or sneak around, as long as we step outside a hundred miles, the tribulation lightning will descend on time, and its power will increase each time."

Both my disciple and second senior brother have suffered minor injuries several times as a result. If we were to force ourselves to try again, it would likely only cause serious damage.

He paused, then added, "Moreover, the lightning tribulation seemed to be targeted, only blocking the three of us, while the surrounding birds, beasts, plants and trees were unaffected."

This disciple suspects that we have been deliberately trapped here, and this tribulation lightning is a means to confine us.

"Were you deliberately trapped?"

Tang Sanzang was startled, his face turning pale instantly. "Who is it? Who have we made such a grudge against that they would scheme against us like this?"

He had always been a kind person and had never provoked anyone, so he couldn't understand why he was being targeted like this.

Pigsy chimed in, "Who else could it be? It must be those monsters who were beaten by Wukong back then, who hold a grudge and have joined forces to set up this trap, trapping us here and trying to wear us down to death!"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and his tone became indignant. "Once I, Old Pig, get out of here, I'll definitely take care of all those monsters one by one and show you how powerful I, Old Pig, am!"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Tang Sanzang rebuked, "Most of those monsters have already been subdued or killed by Wukong. Even if some escaped, they might not have such great abilities to set up such a bizarre trap and keep us trapped for more than ten years."

Although he had lost all his cultivation, he still had his insight and knew that it was not something an ordinary demon could do to set up such a large-scale and long-lasting predicament. There must be a powerful being controlling it behind the scenes.

Sha Wujing nodded and said, "Master is right."

The ability to set up such a predicament and manipulate the lightning tribulation is not something an ordinary demon could do. It is probably the work of some ancient powerful being, or someone with a grudge against Buddhism, who deliberately did it.

We simply don't know their purpose.

The three fell silent, and only the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard in the forest, making the atmosphere increasingly oppressive.

Tang Sanzang gazed at the distant, rolling mountains, his heart filled with confusion.

He didn't know what he had done wrong to deserve such suffering, nor did he know when this predicament would be resolved, or even where Sun Wukong was now, or whether he was safe and well.

Just then, a light footstep came from afar, accompanied by the sound of rustling leaves.

Sha Wujing's expression hardened, and he immediately gripped his demon-subduing staff tightly. He looked warily in the direction from which the voice came and said in a deep voice, "Who's there?"

Pigsy immediately stood up, put away the wild fruit in his hand, touched the nine-toothed rake at his waist, and looked wary.

Having been trapped here for years, they have developed a habit of vigilance, fearing any danger they might encounter.

The footsteps grew closer, and soon a figure emerged from the woods.

He was a man dressed in a blue robe, with a handsome face and an elegant demeanor. He had a long sword hanging at his waist and a folding fan in his hand, and he looked like a dashing scholar.

His eyes were deep, as if they could see through people's hearts, and he exuded an indescribable aura that was neither that of an immortal, nor a demon, nor a human cultivator.

"Don't be afraid, gentlemen. I was just passing by and heard that something was amiss here, so I came to take a look."

The man spoke, his voice gentle with a hint of a smile. His gaze swept over Tang Sanzang and his companions, finally settling on Tang Sanzang, a barely perceptible glint of light flashing in his eyes.

Sha Wujing said coldly, "This place is a desolate wilderness, rarely visited by people. Why would you pass by here? And why do you say there is something strange about this place?"

His guard was still up; the man before him was too strange, his origins unknown, and he had to be careful.

The man smiled, gently waving his folding fan, and said, "My name is Jiang Wang. I travel the world in search of strange phenomena in the heavens and earth."

I sensed a peculiar energy fluctuation here these past few days, covering a very wide area, so I came to investigate.

Unexpectedly, I encountered three of them.

Judging from your attire, you three don't seem to be ordinary travelers. I wonder why you've stopped here?

Jiang Wang? Tang Sanzang's heart stirred. He had never heard of this name before, but the man in front of him gave him an extraordinary feeling. He seemed gentle, but in fact, he was unfathomable.

He suppressed his doubts, put his hands together, and said, "Amitabha, greetings, benefactor."

I am Tang Sanzang, a monk from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East, who is on his way to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and seek Buddhist scriptures.

These two are my disciples, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing.

We have been trapped here for fourteen years due to unforeseen circumstances. (End of Chapter)