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

Chapter 187 The Great Sage Escapes
Whoohoo!
Tang Sanzang was half-bent over, pressing his knees, panting heavily. The white horse beside him snorted innocently. Tang Sanzang stiffly turned his head and slapped the white horse hard.

"I'm so fed up! Why didn't you shout sooner? I ran all this way for nothing!"

Tang Seng mustered his strength and glanced back in the direction of Liu Boqin's house. Seeing that Liu Boqin hadn't chased after him, he sat down.

The road here is suddenly open and spacious, a stark contrast to the mountain forests we came through.

Tang Sanzang slowly sat down, supporting himself with an apple on one side.

The moment the apple touched his tongue, the sweet juice made Tang Sanzang let out a comfortable groan.

"Is it tasty?"

"Delicious!" Tang Sanzang responded subconsciously. He felt a chill run through his body and slowly raised his head in the direction of the voice, where he saw a huge stone statue.

In front of the stone statue, rows and rows of fruits were arranged very neatly, not to mention that at the very front of these fruits, there was a small incense burner.

The stone statue is none other than Sun Wukong.

At this moment, Sun Wukong slowly opened his eyes.

"Could it be the pilgrim from the Tang Dynasty in the East! Tang Sanzang?"

Upon hearing the stone monkey speak, Tang Sanzang forcefully swallowed the apple before weakly replying, "Yes!"

"It turns out that it is Master who has come in person. Please remove the six-character mantra on this stone statue and let me out. Your disciple Sun Wukong has been waiting here for five hundred years."

Tang Sanzang continued to look up from the stone statue and finally saw the six-syllable mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum.

Tang Sanzang's lips twitched slightly. He had only been looking at the main road and hadn't noticed the mountain beside him. Climbing to the top of the mountain would not be an easy task.

The eyes of the stone statue of Sun Wukong showed little emotion; they simply stared back at Tang Sanzang.

Tang Sanzang put his hands together and asked, "What kind of spirit are you? And why are you waiting for me here?"

"I am Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. Back then, the Jade Emperor ordered 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals to capture me, but they could not. So he asked Erlang Shen of Guanjiangkou to come forward. Only with the help of Laozi was I captured. But even so, swords, axes, and lightning could not harm me in the slightest."

"It was Laozi's benevolence that made him unable to bear my torment and sent me into the alchemy furnace to be refined. But he never expected that he would give me, Old Sun, a pair of fiery eyes. He also made the Jade Emperor hide in the Lingxiao Palace and dare not show his face. He asked the Buddha of the Western Paradise to suppress me, but the Buddha also lost a hand here."

"As the journey to the West is about to begin, Guanyin Bodhisattva has guided me to wait here for the pilgrims to travel to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and obtain the scriptures. If the journey is successful, it will also help to atone for my past sins."

Sun Wukong explained his origins in detail, leaving Tang Sanzang speechless.

"But aren't you a stone statue?"

“Heaven cherishes life. I protect the villagers here in this form and receive the power of incense offerings to ensure that I will not die. Master, you only need to remove the seal on the six-syllable mantra, and I will regain my freedom and have a physical body.”

Tang Sanzang examined you carefully for a long time, and finally put his hands together and said, "You are sealed here by the power of Buddhism, which shows that you are not a good person. I dare not release you easily."

The stone statue of Sun Wukong slowly closed its eyes: "Then Master, you may continue your journey westward."

(⊙o⊙)…!
Tang Sanzang was stunned. Wasn't Sun Wukong supposed to be here to acknowledge him as his master, guided by Guanyin Bodhisattva? How could he change his attitude so quickly?
As if knowing what Tang Sanzang was thinking, Sun Wukong continued, "The Bodhisattva did indeed send guidance, but I am currently caught in a dilemma of the six desires. If Master can avoid breaking this seal, it would be a good ending for me."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang frowned slightly: "Aren't you a cultivator? Why are your six senses not pure?"

"Aren't you the same? Now that you've entered the path of cultivation, why are you still hesitating and looking back?"

After being rebuked by Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang fell silent.

He learned a lot of scriptures from Liu Boqin and finally gained some understanding of the ways of the world. He learned about the distribution of power in the three realms and the different levels of cultivation. When he heard Sun Wukong's words, he had a vague feeling that was different.

"What is your current level of cultivation?"

"Perfected Great Luo Golden Immortal!"

With just one sentence, Tang Sanzang fell silent once again. Such cultivation was rare even in the Heavenly Court.

Tang Sanzang said nothing more, put away the horse and luggage, and began to climb the mountain.

The Five Elements Mountain that sealed Sun Wukong was shaped like five fingers standing upright. Although the slope was not quite ninety degrees, it was not far off, making it very difficult to climb.

But once Tang Sanzang decided to start climbing the mountain, he never stopped.

"Why did you decide to help me break the seal?" Sun Wukong's voice transmission rang out once again.

Tang Sanzang did not answer, but continued climbing on his own. Finally, he reached the top of the mountain. Looking at the six-syllable mantra, Tang Sanzang felt a heat rising between his brows, and the surrounding air also became scorching hot.

"If I help you break the seal, are you truly willing to protect me on my journey to the Western Paradise?"

This time, it was Sun Wukong's turn to remain silent.

Tang Sanzang couldn't help but laugh: "I'm climbing a mountain, and I can't afford to be distracted. If I can't reach the top in one go, I'm afraid I'll give up halfway. It will be even more difficult to break this seal. It's not that I'm ignoring you."

"That's right. Since I have been entrusted with the mandate of heaven, I will never break my promise."

"Is it enough to just peel it off?"

"Well, without the blessing of Buddhist faith, a mere mountain can't suppress me, Old Sun."

Having received an affirmative answer, Tang Sanzang had no further hesitation and stepped forward, saying, "Disciple Tang Sanzang, mindful of the mandate of heaven, is going to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and obtain scriptures. When I passed by the Five Elements Mountain, I encountered a stone monkey who said that he was waiting for me here in the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva of the Western Paradise."

"Now that I, Tang Sanzang, have no one to protect me, with the help of this stone monkey, we can accomplish great things and break this seal."

“This disciple observes that the sealing decree is vast and has the power to connect with the Buddhist kingdom. Although I am willing to accept this stone monkey, I fear that I may go against the Buddha’s will and wrongly release demons into the world, causing chaos. Therefore, I hereby report to the Buddha Tathagata of the Western Paradise.”

"If this monkey is truly the disciple that Buddha found for his disciples, then please let this decree be issued."

Almost the instant Tang Sanzang's voice fell, the talisman began to sway, yet there was not a breath of wind.

Upon seeing this, Tang Sanzang was overjoyed and immediately tore off the talisman without hesitation.

Rumble!
At the same time, the stone statue of Sun Wukong below began to crumble, and Sun Wukong's voice could be heard from afar: "Master, run a little further away, I'm coming out, I'm coming out."

"it is good!"

Upon seeing the talisman torn off, Sun Wukong immediately became concerned for his own safety, and Tang Sanzang's smile widened even more.

He knew he had really made the right bet this time.

He immediately ran away quickly: "With a disciple at the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, wouldn't the journey to the West be a piece of cake? As long as it's not an Emperor-level figure personally intervening, this trip will be worry-free."

Tang Sanzang ran a long way in one breath, and just as he was about to turn around, he heard a loud rumbling sound behind him.

The Five Elements Mountain collapsed. If he had taken even one less step, he would have collapsed along with the mountain, and his fate would have been unknown. "Very good!" Tang Sanzang felt no fear at all; on the contrary, he was even happier. This one step was enough to show how confident Sun Wukong was in his own strength.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound rang out, and Tang Sanzang saw a monkey with a hairy face and a thunder god's mouth appear before him, its bright eyes dazzling. He immediately knelt down.

"Disciple Sun Wukong greets Master!"

Tang Sanzang was overjoyed and quickly helped Sun Wukong up: "Please get up quickly. From now on, you and I, master and disciple, must take care of each other and not be so distant."

Sun Wukong didn't hesitate and stood up to carefully examine Tang Sanzang.

"Master's body is very strange!"

Tang Sanzang also began to ponder: "What's strange about it?"

"This disciple fears that I may offend my master."

Sun Wukong scratched his head sheepishly. Tang Sanzang was even more delighted by Sun Wukong's appearance, seeing that he was polite and respected his master.

This monkey isn't as rude as wild monkeys; it's quite amusing and must have been well-trained.

Hey?
Tang Sanzang vaguely sensed something, but the thought vanished in an instant, and he couldn't recall what had just crossed his mind.

"Speak freely, Master won't be angry."

"The master's body must have been very spacious, enough to house four people."

Tang Sanzang's lips twitched again.

"I forgot you said earlier that you have a pair of fiery eyes. I miscalculated. But don't worry, the Bodhisattvas have already examined me. I'm fine as I am. It won't affect our attainment of enlightenment."

“Indeed, indeed. After all, Master is the one destined to go on the pilgrimage. There should be some extraordinary things to see. Master has traveled a long way and I see that you are tired. Why don’t we go ahead and there is a house that I am very familiar with? Let’s stay there for the night and continue our journey tomorrow.”

"Huh? Weren't you sealed here all along? How come you're here..."

Tang Sanzang was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly slapped his forehead: "I forgot you said earlier that you had protected the residents of this place for a long time and received offerings from them. Oh well, I'll listen to you."

Tang Sanzang's long rambling left Sun Wukong somewhat bewildered, mainly because his master seemed to have a poor memory.

"Wait a minute, Master. Now that we have completely left the Two Realms Mountain, there will be no one to guard this place. The Mountain Guardian's actions some time ago were not dealt with properly. Later, he entered the mountains for Master's sake, but he did not know that there were still remnants of the Asura lineage here. Let me deal with them first."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang suddenly turned around and looked in the direction of Liangjie Mountain. The dense forest was lush and green, and the greenery had a dark blue tinge to it.

crisis!

Tang Sanzang felt a sense of panic when he thought of the three demon kings.

But the next second, his eyes became much more determined.

Looking at the forest, he even took a step forward: "Who are you, you insignificant rats of the Asura lineage? Show yourself at once!"

Tang Sanzang's righteous aura made Sun Wukong tilt his head and examine him carefully.

"His personality is changing, interesting!" Sun Wukong muttered to himself.

The next second, he stood in front of Tang Sanzang.

“Master, you can leave these chores to your disciple now. There’s no need for you to do them. Besides, I’ve just come out and I don’t have a proper set of clothes yet. I’ll use His skin to make one for me.”

Sun Wukong's actions gave Tang Sanzang even more confidence.

"Disciple, are you really sure you can do it?"

"I'm much more powerful than that mountain-suppressing bodyguard," Sun Wukong said with a smile, opening his palm and revealing the golden cudgel in his hand.

"Old friend, it's been five hundred years. If we make a move again, we'll use the demon king of the Asura lineage as a sacrifice to the heavens. Mara, how long are you going to hide?"

As Sun Wukong's voice was infused with magical power, waves of sound stirred the leaves of the trees.

A tiger slowly walked out, its gait still arrogant, but its eyes had lost some of their luster.

Sun Wukong tilted his head, scratched it, and carefully examined him: "You are now a rootless duckweed, no wonder you couldn't even withstand my roar. It's a pity, this outfit is not challenging at all."

The tiger spoke in human language: "The Xuan Tian lineage has gone too far. If you let me go now, I promise that after this wisp of my consciousness returns, I will put in a good word for you before the ancestor. What do you say?"

Sun Wukong chuckled: "Your original body is dead, all that's left is this wisp of your consciousness. You dare to swagger in front of me, Old Sun? Prepare to die!"

Before Sun Wukong finished speaking, he flashed and appeared in front of the tiger. Without any hesitation, he smashed down with his golden cudgel.

Fear flashed in the tiger's eyes, and it suddenly exerted force with its limbs, charging towards the golden cudgel!
Sun Wukong was dumbfounded. This wisp of Tianbo Xun's consciousness was a bit foolish, and too interesting! It actually wanted to go head-to-head with his golden cudgel.

boom!
There was no reversal of the outcome; the tiger was killed instantly by a single blow.

Sun Wukong transformed his golden cudgel into a boning knife and began to skin the tiger. His movements were truly fluid and graceful. Before long, a complete tiger skin was in Sun Wukong's hand.

"Master, look, this tiger skin can be made into a garment to cover my shame," Sun Wukong said, casually wrapping the tiger skin around his body and showing it off.

“It is indeed very nice, but it still needs some mending. When we get to that family’s house, we will ask for a needle and thread, and the craftsman will make one for you.”

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Master."

The master and his apprentice then walked forward.

"Master, weren't you afraid when I killed that tiger?"

“If you can’t kill him, then I will be afraid. After all, that is the demon king of the Asura lineage. I have encountered him before and know how powerful they are.”

"My master doesn't seem like a monk; he's even more carefree than I imagined."

"Having died several times, I finally have a chance to rise up, so I should be more carefree and not worry about some minor details."

“What Master said makes sense.”

At the same time, inside the Tushita Palace, Laozi, who was refining Tianbo Xun, suddenly widened his eyes, stood up in disbelief, walked to the furnace, and saw Tianbo Xun inside screaming in agony.

"Huh? What's going on? Why are all the clones suddenly wailing, and their power..."

"It's dissipating!"

(End of this chapter)