Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

Fortunately, Liu Qing was also a disciple of the Jie Sect, so he wouldn't humiliate or drive them like the Jade Emperor did, and would leave them some dignity.

In addition, there was some remaining power gold. Combined with the three power divine positions that Liu Qing had left behind after his own promotion, Liu Qing had Bai She'er, Xiao Ya, Shui'er, and Sang Qingjun merge with the power and be conferred godhood.

The places where they joined the Dao were some densely populated waterways in the Wei River basin. While the gods were enjoying their freedom, it also added a layer of protection for them, making the enemy hesitant to harm them.

Traveling westward along the Wei River, passing through Dasanguan Pass, and going upstream along the Wei River until reaching the end of the Qinling Mountains, then flying another thousand or two miles, one arrives at the westernmost part of the Sui Dynasty's territory.

In the distance, a towering mountain could be seen, with five peaks resembling a human hand. This was our destination, Wuzhi Mountain.

This place was formerly known as Wuxing Mountain, then Wuzhi Mountain, and now it is also the boundary between the Sui Dynasty and various countries in the Western Regions, hence it is also called Liangjie Mountain.

Whether it's Five Finger Mountain or Two Realms Mountain, they both refer to the same place: the place where the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, was imprisoned.

When Liu Qing first heard about Sun Wukong from Changsun Wuji, he decided to travel west. However, his cultivation level was too low at the time, so he was unable to make the trip and has been putting it off until now.

Now that his cultivation has improved and his combat strength is sufficient to protect himself, he immediately flew from the Wei River to Wuzhi Mountain after this period of meditation.

I want to see what state the Great Sage Equaling Heaven is in now, beneath the Five Finger Mountain.

In addition, we need to figure out what kind of relationship exists between the fused monkey in our own Power Cave and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

Liu Qing retracted his fire wings and used his cloud-riding supernatural ability to summon an unclaimed cloud, then slowly landed on it.

Firewing's talent is already perfected, making it extremely fast and suitable for long-distance flight, while Cloud Riding is only at a minor level and its speed is far inferior to Firewing's.

After descending from the clouds, Liu Qing prepared to walk to Wuzhi Mountain.

This place is only a few dozen miles away from Wuzhi Mountain, not far at all, and can be reached on foot. In addition, because the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, is being suppressed, there are people jointly placed around Wuzhi Mountain by the Heavenly Court and Buddhism.

Such as the mountain god, the earth god, and the five directions of the Buddha in Buddhism.

Liu Qing walked along, pretending to be a woodcutter who had stumbled upon this place, just so he wouldn't disturb them.

It's not that I'm afraid of them; the main purpose of this trip is to see Sun Wukong, and I don't want to let them delay my goal.

Liu Qing has cultivated the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique to the fourth revolution. The great supernatural power of ever-changing transformations is due to this, and he has also achieved a minor success in comprehending it.

On a whim, Liu Qing transformed himself into a woodcutter and had the face-changing insect in his ear help conceal his aura.

In this way, even Liu Qing's closest people would find it difficult to recognize him in person.

Liu Qing determined the direction and followed the rugged mountain path, traversing the jungle, heading towards Wuzhi Mountain.

The Panlong Eight-Tone Cone transformed into a woodcutter's axe. Liu Qing used the axe to cut through the thorns blocking his path while also chopping some branches to carry on his back.

Since we're going to pretend to be woodcutters, let's do it convincingly.

Several hours later, Liu Qing arrived at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain.

He was quite excited and couldn't help but look forward to meeting the Monkey King, Sun Wukong.

After all, the Monkey King Sun Wukong accompanied Liu Qing throughout his childhood in his previous life.

Several hundred meters ahead, shrouded in mist, lay Five Finger Mountain, at the foot of which Sun Wukong was imprisoned.

Liu Qing picked a few ordinary blood peaches from his own power cave and put them in his pocket as a gift.

According to Changsun Wuji, whenever Sun Wukong encountered a woodcutter going up the mountain to chop wood or a passerby, he would clamor for a peach to eat.

Liu Qing traveled a while longer and was now very close to the foot of Wuzhi Mountain.

Suddenly, Liu Qing frowned.

This distance was enough for Sun Wukong to spot him, so why didn't he clamor for a peach for him to eat?

The area ahead was shrouded in mist, and even with Liu Qing's Yin-Yang supernatural powers, he couldn't see clearly beyond three zhang.

Liu Qing strode forward, filled with doubt. Before long, the mist cleared, and the towering Five Finger Mountain came into view.

Liu Qing quickly turned her gaze to the foot of the mountain.

Then, at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain, there was an empty cave entrance that looked like it had been forcibly blasted open. Some monkey hairs had fallen around the entrance, but there were no monkeys there.

Liu Qing's eyes flickered. Could it be that the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, had escaped?
But the time for the Journey to the West to begin has not yet arrived, so why was Sun Wukong born? Furthermore, how could the Five Directions Protectors, the Mountain God, and the Earth God, who were responsible for guarding Sun Wukong, easily let him escape?

Liu Qing strained his eyes to look at the top of Wuzhi Mountain, and saw that the place where the Buddha's six-character mantra should have been hung was empty.

Liu Qing disregarded his identity and immediately released his divine sense, instantly covering a radius of 100 miles around Wuzhi Mountain.

There are no mountain gods, no land deities, and no Five Directions Protectors left by Buddhism to guard this place.

Liu Qing concluded that Sun Wukong had been released from under the Five Fingers Mountain.

Judging from the fact that the Buddhist six-syllable mantra was removed from the mountaintop, the fact that Sun Wukong was rescued without alarming the Buddha must have been due to the Buddha's tacit approval.

Who would Buddha Tathagata approve of rescuing Sun Wukong from under the Five Elements Mountain?

It is obvious that the pilgrim is Tang Sanzang.

But the Tang Dynasty had not yet been established, so where would Tang Sanzang come from?
If it wasn't Tang Sanzang, then it must have been another pilgrim, possibly a previous incarnation of Tang Sanzang. It couldn't have been anyone else; otherwise, they wouldn't have been the chosen pilgrim, wouldn't have gained the approval of Buddhism, and even if they succeeded in obtaining the scriptures, they would still have difficulty acquiring the destiny of the Journey to the West.

Did Tang Sanzang release Sun Wukong decades in advance in his previous life?

Liu Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he came to a surprising conclusion: Could it be that Buddhism had started the Journey to the West ahead of schedule?

Liu Qing was startled by her own speculation.

I really didn't expect that.

What would have been the impact if Buddhism had actually initiated the Journey to the West ahead of schedule?
After careful consideration, Liu Qing realized that Buddhism had started the Journey to the West ahead of schedule, like a premature baby. As a result, the accumulated fortune for the Journey to the West was insufficient. Even though the Journey to the West was ultimately successful, the fortune that Buddhism obtained from the Journey to the West was much less than originally planned.

Furthermore, was the Heavenly Court involved in this?
It's likely that they did; otherwise, the mountain god and the local earth god of Wuzhi Mountain wouldn't have kept quiet about it from the Jade Emperor.

If the Heavenly Court intervenes, then the already inherently deficient fortune of Journey to the West will have to be shared with the Heavenly Court, so wouldn't Buddhism ultimately gain even less?

Why did Buddhism endure the decline of its fortunes and instead choose to begin the Journey to the West ahead of schedule?

Liu Qing guessed that it might be because of herself.

By assisting Li Shimin and helping the Li family replace the Yang family's Sui Dynasty, ultimately transforming the family into the state, he, as the greatest contributor, would not only reap substantial rewards but also gain the trust and respect of the Li family.

And he himself was a disciple of the Jie Sect. If the Journey to the West were to begin according to the established timeline, and Li Shimin were to become the Tang Emperor, then as Li Shimin's most trusted advisor, he would naturally be able to intervene in the Journey to the West.

Putting aside everything else, just considering Chen Xuanzang, the reincarnation of the pilgrim Jin Chanzi, his biological parents, and the people who raised him, Liu Qing could have intervened in the very beginning of the events.

So, with the three Tiger Power Immortals, the Six Thorn Immortals, the Special Envoy, and General Yin, wouldn't Liu Qing be even more able to intervene in the so-called eighty-one tribulations?

Liu Qing's ability to intervene in Journey to the West means that he can share in the fortune of Journey to the West.

Buddhism and the Heavenly Court certainly did not want Liu Qing to share in the fortune of the Journey to the West, which is why they started the event ahead of time, catching Liu Qing off guard.

The most important point is that Liu Qing, now a disciple of the Jie Sect and a fragment of the Tongtian Saint's soul, Yu Yu Dao Ren, is clearly planning to settle the karmic debt with Buddhism during the Investiture of the Gods in the Journey to the West.

Even if it was just a wisp of the soul of the Sage Tongtian, his cultivation and methods were enough to make Buddhism and the Heavenly Court fearful. Not to mention that after the emergence of the Taoist Yuyu, many disciples of the Jie Sect had a backbone and formed a terrifying force.

Faced with this situation, the Buddha Tathagata and the Jade Emperor devised a plan to start the Journey to the West ahead of time, so as to seize the fortune of the Journey to the West before the Jie Sect could discover it.

As for the amount being much less, it's still better than what Liu Qing received after the Jie Sect intervened, where the profits were distributed or even nonexistent.

Therefore, Buddhism and the Heavenly Court, on the one hand, claimed to have fought against the Jie Sect during the dynastic change of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, in order to cover up their true intentions, while on the other hand, they quietly launched the Journey to the West.

After figuring out the cause and effect, Liu Qing couldn't help but feel admiration. The Buddha and the Jade Emperor were indeed top-tier beings in the Three Realms, their schemes were so profound that they even managed to deceive a wisp of the Heavenly Saint's soul.

Even the powerful Wudang Holy Mother and Guangchengzi, who were of the same level, didn't notice anything amiss.

If Liu Qing hadn't impulsively decided to visit Wuzhi Mountain, he probably wouldn't have discovered it. Otherwise, if the Buddha and the Jade Emperor had succeeded in their scheme, they probably wouldn't have known until the end of the Journey to the West, let alone benefit from it.

At that time, with the blessing of the Journey to the West, the Buddha and the Jade Emperor will surely have greatly increased their cultivation. Then, it will be difficult for the Jie Sect to settle accounts with them for the karma or karmic debts from the Investiture of the Gods.

The Buddha and the Jade Emperor, whose cultivation had greatly increased, were not afraid of even a wisp of the Tongtian Sage's soul.

Liu Qing's expression was solemn.

He beckoned over a monkey hair from the cave entrance at the foot of Five Finger Mountain and placed it in front of the scent-smelling insect: "Smell it, and then find the owner of this thing."

After taking a sniff, the scent-smelling insect made a squeaking sound, and then pointed its long antennae toward the northwest of Wuzhi Mountain.

Liu Qing spread his fiery wings and flew northwest through the thick white fog that shrouded Wuzhi Mountain.

In the blink of an eye, Liu Qing had flown hundreds of miles, but the white mist in front of him still showed no signs of abating.

Liu Qing frowned and flew for another ten breaths, covering almost a thousand miles, but was still shrouded in white mist.

The white mist seemed to be deliberately controlled, always blocking Liu Qing's way, preventing him from flying away no matter how hard he tried.

If Liu Qing still doesn't realize something is amiss at this point, then he would be incredibly foolish.

"Could it be the mountain god of Wuzhi Mountain? Please come out and meet us."

Liu Qing stopped, thought for a moment, and then shouted a question. Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the thick fog in front of him parted from both sides, and a man dressed as a woodcutter walked out of the white fog.

The hunter was dressed exactly like Liu Qing, with animal skins covering his body, straw sandals on his feet, a bow and arrows on his back, and a wood-chopping axe in his hand.

But Liu Qing knew that this seemingly insignificant person was actually the most mysterious person in the early stages of Journey to the West, the mountain god of Five Finger Mountain.

"You snake demon are quite alert. It's not surprising that you could guess something was amiss, but it truly surprises me that you could call out my name."

"How do you know the name of the Five Finger Mountain God?"

Liu Qing couldn't tell him that he had read Journey to the West before he traveled through time.

Why is the mountain god blocking my way?

"No other reason than that the Journey to the West has already begun, and I left this place here just in case, but I didn't expect it to be the right decision."

"This road is blocked. You may return the way you came."

The mountain god of Wuzhi Mountain shook the axe in his hand, and the divine power of authority within his body surged, instantly revealing his original form.

But then, a warrior appeared, wearing a military armor, a five-finger crown, and mountain-climbing boots. He held a jade tablet in his left hand and a mountain-splitting axe in his right.

The axe that split the mountain shone with a precious light, revealing itself to be a rare, high-grade spiritual treasure.

"I am the fifth-rank mountain god of Wuzhi Mountain. After being conferred the title of god, I attained enlightenment and was ordered by the Jade Emperor to guard Wuzhi Mountain."

Liu Qing sensed it briefly and knew that the mountain god of Five Fingers Mountain was a Daoist with the power of the Three Flowers Realm. In addition, his aura was heavy and his divine power was strong, making him a formidable opponent.

"I am heading west. If you block my way, then we may have to fight!"

"My lord rarely leaves any survivors. Mountain God of Five Finger Mountain, your cultivation is not easy; do not ruin your own life!"

The mountain god of Wuzhi Mountain laughed heartily, pointing his magical axe at Liu Qing: "Enough nonsense, kill me, and you can go west!"

Liu Qing nodded, and with a surge of divine power, he revealed his true appearance. He then swung the Panlong Eight-Tone Cone in his hand and thrust it toward the Five Finger Mountain God.

The mountain god of Wuzhi Mountain dodged Liu Qing's Panlong Bayin Cone by sidestepping, and then poured divine power into his mountain-splitting axe, thrusting it toward Liu Qing's heart.

Liu Qing gripped the Panlong Eight-Tone Cone with both hands and smashed it down, knocking the Five Finger Mountain God's Mountain-Splitting Axe off the mountain. In the next instant, the Panlong Eight-Tone Cone swung upwards, its tip like a knife, aiming to tear open the Five Finger Mountain God's intestines from below.

The mountain god of Wuzhi Mountain's expression changed. Seeing the fierce momentum of Liu Qing's spear, he dared not meet it head-on. He took a step forward, and instantly the trees and rocks retreated. When he reappeared, he was already a hundred feet away.

"It lives up to its reputation."

The mountain god of Wuzhi Mountain gave a praise, then threw his axe, which instantly transformed into a terrifying white tiger that lunged at Liu Qing.

With another sway of his shoulder, he revealed the three flowers of essence, energy, and spirit, casting a halo of light to protect himself.

With his free hands forming a hand seal, he pointed at the ground, and instantly, the Five Finger Mountain beneath his feet rumbled and was uprooted, rising dozens of feet high before crashing down on Liu Qing.

Liu Qing was somewhat surprised. He had never imagined that the mountain god of Wuzhi Mountain had merged with the authority of the Wuzhi Mountain range and even refined Wuzhi Mountain as a means of fighting enemies.

Faced with the combined power of the Three Flowers Realm experts, Liu Qing could no longer afford to underestimate them. He immediately used his Whirlwind talent to transform into a two-headed, four-armed being.

The two bodies, one in front and one behind, hold the Panlong Eight-Tone Cone with both hands and knock away the Lingbao Mountain-Splitting Axe, while the other in back holds the Mountain-Driving Whip and smashes it towards the Five Finger Mountain.

The Mountain-Driving Whip is an earth-elemental spiritual treasure, specifically designed to counter attacks from rocks and mountains. Although it is said that Five Finger Mountain was transformed from a severed hand of the Buddha, it has now become a mountain and is naturally subject to the Mountain-Driving Whip's control.

As Liu Qing swung his mountain-driving whip, a profound earth-elemental light shone brightly. The Five Finger Mountain, which had been hurtling down with tremendous force, was knocked back several miles by the whip. (End of Chapter)