I start by accepting Sun Wukong as my disciple and reshape the Journey to the West

Chapter 141 Murderous Intent

The city of Chang'an has been bustling with activity lately due to the Water and Land Dharma Assembly, with monks from all over the country arriving at the capital at an extremely rapid pace.

Not to mention that the Tang Dynasty has never been particularly fond of Buddhism. If it weren't for the mediation of Prime Minister Xiao Yu a few years ago, there probably wouldn't have been a single Buddhist temple in Chang'an.

Now, the Tang emperor has personally ordered the holding of a grand water and land ceremony and appointed a highly respected monk to represent the Tang Dynasty on a mission to the Western Regions. Even ordinary people feel that something is amiss.

On the city wall, a Taoist priest looked at the portrait in his hand and carefully watched every passerby below. The portrait depicted none other than the Buddhist monk Xuanzang.

"it's him!"

Wow!
At the Taoist priest's command, a squad of imperial guards appeared before the monk Xuanzang, led by Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong.

"May I ask if you are the Venerable Xuanzang?" Qin Qiong looked down at Xuanzang from his high position, showing no intention of dismounting.

The monk Xuanzang narrowed his eyes, looking at the two with a hint of shock: "Such strong national fortune blessing! If this were anywhere else, they should be an emperor, how come they are just generals?"

Master Xuanzang silently grumbled to himself, but bowed respectfully and said, "This humble monk is indeed Chen Xuanzang!"

"By order of the Tang Emperor, we request that the Venerable Xuanzang enter the palace immediately!"

"Please lead the way, General!" Xuanzang clasped his hands together, his expression calm.

Upon seeing this, Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong exchanged glances, their eyes now showing a hint of seriousness.

This is simply too audacious.

With a wave of his hand, Yuchi Gong immediately had a group of imperial guards put Xuanzang into a carriage, which then sped off towards the palace.

At this moment, Li Shimin was playing chess with Xiao Yu. After placing the black pieces, Li Shimin smiled and said, "You've lost, my worthy minister! It seems your mind isn't on the game. You've lost ten games in a row."

"Your Majesty's chess skills have improved so much that I truly cannot beat you." Xiao Yu waved his hand repeatedly and began to collect the white pieces from the chessboard.

"What is it that you are worried about, my esteemed minister?"

Seeing that Li Shimin was pursuing him closely, Xiao Yu no longer concealed himself and immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, just before we made a move against the Bodhisattva, someone introduced two monks to my residence, saying that they were offering treasures. Those two treasures were a brocade kasaya and a nine-ringed staff. Now that I think about it, those two people were the Bodhisattva and his attendant."

"Well, so what?"

Xiao Yu said solemnly, "If I had never met those two, then there would naturally be no problem in following the Emperor's instructions. However, those two came to my residence, wanting to meet the Emperor through me. This means that those two have a chance to make His Majesty unknowingly enter the Great Tribulation and become a puppet with those two treasures."

Li Shimin gently tapped the table. He knew that Xiao Yu was meticulous and that his father had a good understanding of Buddhist principles and was more empathetic to strange people and events.

"So, according to your suggestion, my esteemed minister?" Li Shimin asked.

“The methods of a sage are unpredictable, and he proceeds step by step with great care. However, a sage is facing the entire Western Paradise, and there will always be places he overlooks. In my opinion, when Your Majesty bestows those two treasures upon the messenger, you can have someone else replace Your Majesty. Only in this way can you be absolutely certain of success.” Xiao Yu’s solemn expression made Li Shimin feel a little flustered.

"You mean that the Bodhisattva left these two treasures behind, and while they might not seem like a problem on their own, something strange would happen if the pilgrim were to see them!"

"That's right!"

Li Shimin immediately said, "We shall immediately offer a reward for any brave warrior who is not afraid of death!"

"As you command!" Xiao Yu accepted the order and left.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ya, perched atop the roof beam, couldn't help but scratch his head, thinking to himself, "This Xiao Yu is quite shrewd; how could he think of something like this? Aren't the twenty-four ministers of the Tang Dynasty a bit too clever?"

As the sun dipped below the horizon and silver sands blanketed the earth, a rough-looking man knelt before Li Shimin in his study.

Li Shimin asked, "Are you truly not afraid of death?"

Liu Quan: "My wife has already left me, and there is nothing left for me in this world. Moreover, I am willing to die for Your Majesty!"

"Alright! Then today, you will do one thing for me. If you live, I will grant you a lifetime of wealth and honor; if you perish, I will give you a grand funeral!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin finally spoke: "Summon the Venerable Xuanzang!"

Xuanzang had already entered the palace under the guidance of Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong, but he was unable to enter due to Xiao Yu's matter.

They waited until night fell.

Upon hearing this, Xuanzang hurriedly followed Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong inside. He really wanted to see what Li Shimin looked like and what kind of fortune he possessed that allowed Ye Xuantian and Guanyin Bodhisattva to wage so much strife on him.

Inside the study, looking at the dozens of curtains in front of him, Xuanzang's lips twitched slightly.

Not to mention that his physical body is very thin now, even if he had some magical power, unless his soul left his body, he would have a hard time seeing Li Shimin's appearance clearly with these dozens of curtains.

Most importantly, at this moment, Mosquito Taoist finally realized how foolish his idea was. With his physical body, it would be extremely difficult for him to break through the protection of the twenty-four ministers here.

Indeed, because of Xiao Yu's suggestion, all twenty-four ministers were present when meeting Xuanzang, standing on either side, twelve on each side, each blessed by the nation's fortune. The collective power of all beings naturally suppresses the Styx lineage, not to mention this immense national fortune, unless Mosquito Daoist can recover his cultivation.

The problem is that, in order to protect himself and preserve his soul, he had already gone all out and severed all his cultivation.

"Is the visitor the Venerable Xuanzang?" Li Shimin's powerful voice rang out, and with just this one sentence, Xuanzang felt the pressure.

The Emperor's Intimidating Power!
"This humble monk Xuanzang greets Your Majesty!" Xuanzang dared not be presumptuous at this moment and immediately returned to his residence.

"Now that our dynasty is holding a grand water and land ceremony, we wish to select a highly respected master as an envoy to the Western Paradise. Master Xuanzang has long been renowned and has been recommended to me. I wonder if Master Xuanzang would be willing to serve as our envoy?" Li Shimin was quite straightforward, directly throwing the question to Xuanzang.

Xuanzang looked up: "This humble monk is willing!"

"Very well! In that case, our dynasty will not treat you unfairly. The Bodhisattva who came from the West to deliver the message was truly courteous. When he came to see me, he brought two gifts: a nine-ringed staff and a brocade kasaya. As long as you wear this kasaya and hold the staff, you will not fall into depravity, not fall into hell, not suffer evil calamities, and not encounter the dens of tigers and wolves! Now, I entrust these two treasures to you."

Xiao Yu emerged from behind the curtain, holding two treasures, and presented them to Xuanzang.

At first, Mosquito Taoist was dismissive of the so-called treasures, after all, what treasures hadn't he seen? But when he looked up and saw the two treasures, he was stunned, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He couldn't believe he would see these two treasures here.

"Could it be that my lord truly desires me to become emperor?" Mosquito Daoist thought to himself, trembling as he accepted the two treasures. He buried his head in his cassock, inhaling deeply.

When he raised his head again, his eyes were now tinged with bloodlust: "So this is what my lord meant! Kill the Tang King, control the twenty-four ministers, and create another puppet to enter the Great Tribulation!"

Xuanzang simply draped the cassock over his body, and then aimed his nine-ringed staff at Xiao Yu in front of him.

Qin Qiong moved with lightning speed. The instant he noticed Xuanzang's eyes turn red, he pulled Xiao Yu to his side and shouted, "Protect the Emperor!"

Yuchi Gong immediately ordered to protect the Tang Emperor who was sitting behind the curtain.

But it was too slow. The moment Mosquito Taoist put on the cassock, his cultivation had already reached the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Although their cultivation level wasn't very high, they were still within the palace. The twenty-four ministers, though powerful, were ultimately just mortals. In front of a Grand Luo Golden Immortal, mortals were nothing more than chickens and dogs.

Whoosh!
With a whooshing sound, Mosquito Taoist passed directly through all the curtains and appeared before the Tang Emperor, who was wearing an imperial crown.

"Prepare to die!" Mosquito Taoist pointed his nine-ringed staff straight at the Tang King.

At this moment, King Tang's eyes were filled with disbelief, but he was no ordinary man. Faced with the attack of Mosquito Taoist, he actually put his hands together and blocked the Nine-Ringed Tin Staff in the blink of an eye.

"Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot," Mosquito Taoist sneered.

The nine-ringed staff emitted a silver light that pierced directly through the Tang King's brow.

The Tang emperor fell heavily backward, his bed soaked in blood, his hands still clutching the nine-ringed staff.

Only then did Yuchi Gong's protection arrive belatedly, his eyes also filled with crimson: "You're courting death!"

"How dare you ants act so presumptuously!" Mosquito Taoist slammed his nine-ringed staff down heavily on Yuchi Gong.

Its imposing aura was overwhelming, and it seemed it truly had no intention of holding back.

Behind Yuchi Gong, the nation's destiny emitted a dazzling golden light, forming a golden bell that protected him.

boom!
The nine-ringed tin staff fell with a deafening roar.

"I wear the cassock because I am the one chosen by the Buddha of the Western Paradise to retrieve the scriptures. I hold the staff because the journey to the West is complete. Anyone who wants to kill me, I can kill!"

Click!

As Mosquito Taoist finished speaking, Yuchi Gong's Golden Bell Shield of National Fortune shattered instantly.

Just as the Nine-Ringed Staff was about to kill Yuchi Gong, a sigh came from the roof beam: "Although I know you, Mosquito Daoist, are treacherous, and I know that the Styx Ancestor would never sit idly by and watch you perish, I really didn't expect that you could actually restore your cultivation with just your cassock and staff."

As the sigh fell, Mosquito Taoist retreated without hesitation.

Whoosh!
A white light appeared where he had landed, radiating a chilling killing intent.

Lu Ya Daoist landed in front of Yuchi Gong and looked at Xuanzang: "Mosquito Daoist, you shouldn't have had murderous intent at this time. Now, what will you do?"

"Lu Ya Daoist, you actually came here! Why are you here? The Mosquito Daoist in Xuanzang's body is already dead. I don't know what you're talking about."

Mosquito Taoist was now speaking somewhat recklessly.

Lu Ya Daoist sneered, "You and I were not easy to kill when we were Quasi-Saints, but what about now!"

(End of this chapter)