Primordial Era: Starting by overwhelming the Sages, Hongjun was stunned!

Night deepened.

Inside the cave, Xuanzang's chanting echoed softly.

The sound was extremely soft, yet it carried an indescribable sense of peace in this desolate mountain.

Sun Wukong leaned against the cave entrance, his eyes half-open.

He didn't need to sleep, but the night was too quiet, so quiet that it made him feel uneasy.

suddenly.

His ears twitched.

In the distance, there is the sound of wind.

It's not a mountain breeze.

It's a wicked wind.

Sun Wukong squinted and looked into the darkness.

There, pairs of eerie lights are lighting up.

Not a pair.

There are dozens of pairs.

Hundreds of pairs.

Sun Wukong stood up, his golden cudgel already in his hand.

"Monk, stop chanting."

Xuanzang stopped and looked up at him.

Sun Wukong grinned:

"We have guests."

Outside the cave, in the darkness, countless figures slowly emerged.

spider.

Hundreds and thousands of spiders, big and small.

They crawl out of the forest, emerge from the cracks in the rocks, and gush from the ground.

Densely packed, covering the sky and the earth.

The leader was enormous, with eight long legs like iron pillars, its body completely black, but with a golden stripe on its back.

Golden-striped spider demon.

She stared at the cave, her eyes filled with resentment.

"You filthy monkey, you killed my sister, tonight you'll pay with your life!"

Sun Wukong walked out of the cave and stood at the entrance.

He glanced at the spiders covering the hillside, scratched his head:

"Your sister? That little spider?"

"I, Old Sun, could kill you with a single blow. You want to try?"

The golden-striped spider demon roared:

"Get them!"

Countless spiders surged in like a tide.

Sun Wukong raised his golden cudgel and swept it across the room.

A burst of golden light erupted, and dozens of spiders in the front row instantly turned into a bloody mist.

But the spiders kept swarming in, endless and relentless.

Sun Wukong frowned.

These spiders may be weak, but there are just too many of them.

Kill one batch, and another batch comes.

He wasn't afraid, but the monks behind him couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

Sun Wukong looked back.

Xuanzang stood at the cave entrance, holding his staff, his face calm.

There was no fear, no panic.

He simply recited scriptures silently.

The chanting echoed in the night sky.

Something strange happened.

The spiders, upon hearing the chanting, began to hesitate.

Some stopped, some backed away, and some spun around in place.

The golden-striped spider demon was furious:

"What are you afraid of! Get them!"

She rushed forward herself, her eight long legs like sharp blades, stabbing towards Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong dodged to the side, and the golden cudgel came crashing down.

The golden-striped spider demon raised its leg to block.

Click!

One leg is broken.

She screamed and turned to run.

Sun Wukong was not about to let him go; he caught up in one step and smashed the golden cudgel again.

boom!

The golden-striped spider demon transformed into a cloud of blood mist.

Upon seeing their leader dead, the little spiders scattered and fled.

In a short while, all the spiders that had covered the hillsides were gone.

Sun Wukong put away his staff and turned to look at Xuanzang:

"Monk, can your chanting really ward off demons?"

Xuanzang shook his head:

"It's not about exorcising monsters."

"It is because they have evil in their hearts that they cannot hear Buddhist scriptures."

"Hearing it made me feel uncomfortable, and I wanted to run away."

Sun Wukong scratched his head:

"Then why is Old Sun alright?"

Xuanzang smiled slightly:

"Because there is no evil in your heart."

Sun Wukong was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter:

"I love hearing that!"

He walked back to the cave entrance and sat down again.

"Go to sleep, I, Old Sun, will keep watch."

Xuanzang nodded and closed his eyes.

Night returned to silence.

......

Far outside the cave, on an ancient tree.

A figure was hidden among the branches and leaves.

Dressed in white as snow, with delicate features, yet exuding an eerie charm.

Snake spirit.

He has cultivated for three thousand years and possesses profound Taoist attainments.

She gazed at the cave, a glint of greed in her eyes.

Jin Chanzi.

A good person who has cultivated himself for ten lifetimes.

Eat a piece of meat, and you'll live forever.

That monkey is powerful; she can't beat it.

But she had other options.

The snake spirit's lips curled slightly, and with a flick of her body, she transformed into a wisp of white smoke and vanished into the night.

......

Day two.

Its daybreak.

When Xuanzang woke up, the injury on his foot had healed somewhat.

He got up and walked out of the cave.

Sun Wukong was already waiting at the cave entrance, holding a few wild fruits in his hands.

"Monk, eat."

Xuanzang took it and silently ate it.

The two continued on their journey.

Hidden Mist Mountain is very large; it takes a whole day to cross it.

After walking for about two hours, a stream appeared ahead.

The stream is clear and flows gently.

Xuanzang stopped, squatted down, and washed his face.

The cool stream water invigorated him.

Just as he was about to get up, he suddenly saw something floating in the stream.

A flower.

The flowers are white, with petals as white as snow and golden stamens.

Very beautiful.

Xuanzang reached out and scooped up the flower.

Upon handling the flower, a refreshing fragrance wafted into my nostrils.

Sun Wukong leaned closer:

"Monk, where did these flowers come from?"

Xuanzang shook his head:

"I don't know, it drifted down from upstream."

Sun Wukong stared at the flower, his brows furrowed slightly.

He sniffed it; there was no demonic aura.

But something just doesn't feel right.

"Monk, throw it away."

Xuanzang was about to nod.

Suddenly, the flower transformed into a beam of white light and disappeared into his palm.

Xuanzang was startled.

Sun Wukong's expression changed drastically:

"Monk!"

He grabbed Xuanzang's hand.

In the palm of his hand, a white mark, serpentine in shape, slowly moved.

Sun Wukong's eyes blazed with golden light.

Sharp eyes and keen observation.

He saw it.

Within that mark lies a primordial spirit.

The primordial spirit of a white snake.

"court death!"

Sun Wukong roared angrily, and golden light surged from his palm, trying to force the mark out.

But the mark, like a malignant tumor, remained firmly embedded in Xuanzang's palm, unmoving.

A burst of laughter came from afar.

"Hehehe... The Great Sage Equal to Heaven is nothing more than this."

Sun Wukong looked up.

Upstream, on a blue stone, a figure in white slowly emerged.

Snake spirit.

She looked at Sun Wukong with a smug look in her eyes.

"That flower is the imprint of my primordial spirit, condensed from a thousand years of cultivation."

"It has already entered the monk's palm and become one with his flesh and blood."

You can't force it out.

"Unless... his hand is cut off."

Sun Wukong's face turned ashen.

He looked at Xuanzang.

Xuanzang's face was pale, but his eyes remained calm.

"Old Sun, don't rush."

Sun Wukong gritted his teeth:

"Monk, it's me, Old Sun..."

Xuanzang raised his hand to stop him.

He gazed at the snake spirit, then clasped his hands together in prayer:

"What do you desire, benefactor?"

The snake spirit laughed:

"clever."

"I want your flesh."

One piece is enough.

"Give it to me, and I will take back the mark."

"If you don't give it to me, this mark will slowly erode your flesh and blood, and within seven days you will turn into a puddle of pus."

Xuanzang remained silent.

Sun Wukong gripped his golden cudgel tightly, his entire body radiating murderous intent:

"Monk, don't listen to her!"

"I'll go find the senior; he'll definitely have a solution!"

The snake spirit laughed:

"Looking for a senior? That man in black robes?"

"He is indeed very capable, but he is not here now."

"By the time he arrived, the monk was already dead."

Sun Wukong's eyes were spitting fire.

He took a step forward, ready to make his move.

Xuanzang stopped him.

"Old Sun, don't be impulsive."

Sun Wukong said urgently:

"Monk!"

Xuanzang didn't look at him, but stared at the snake spirit.

"Benefactor, you may take my flesh."

"But I have one condition."

The snake spirit was taken aback: "What are the conditions?"

Xuanzang said:

"Tell me, who told you that eating my flesh would grant you immortality?"

The snake spirit's expression changed slightly.

"This...everyone knows this already, why would anyone need to say it?"

Xuanzang shook his head:

Not everyone knows this.

"I have reincarnated ten times, and in the first nine of my previous lives, I died young."

"Nobody knows that my flesh can live forever."

"In this life, suddenly all the demons know."

"Someone must have deliberately leaked the information."

"Who is it?"

The snake spirit remained silent.

Xuanzang continued:

"If you don't tell me, I won't give it to you."

"If you kill me, you will get nothing."

The snake spirit's expression changed.

After a long silence, she gritted her teeth and said:

"It's Guanyin."

Upon uttering those two words, Sun Wukong was stunned.

Xuanzang was also stunned.

Guanyin Bodhisattva?

One of the Four Great Bodhisattvas of Buddhism?

The Buddha's most trusted disciple?

She... spread the word that monsters would come and eat Xuanzang?

The snake spirit continued:

"All the monsters on the journey to the west knew this news."

Some want to eat you, some want to capture you, and some want to kill you.

"But whatever you want to do, the source of the information is always Buddhism."

"It is Guanyin, it is Tathagata, it is Vulture Peak."

Xuanzang closed his eyes.

He had already guessed it.

Hearing it with my own ears still hurts.

Ten lifetimes of reincarnation, ten lifetimes of arduous practice.

He always thought it was his calamity.

Little did they know that the calamity was actually set up by the Buddhist community itself.

The Buddha wanted him to go on a pilgrimage to obtain the scriptures, and also spread the word that demons would come and eat him.

Why is this?

To test him?

So that he could endure hardships before he could achieve enlightenment?

Or... for something else?

Xuanzang opened his eyes, and they were clear and bright.

"Thank you for informing me, benefactor."

He looked down at the white mark on his palm.

Suddenly he laughed.

"You're saying this mark can't be forced out?"

The snake spirit nodded: "It can't be forced out."

Xuanzang said:

"Then I won't press you."

He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

With hands clasped together, silently recite the scriptures.

The chanting was different from usual.

It is not a prayer to Buddha, nor a confession to Buddha.

It is... a process of salvation.

He converted the white snake's primordial spirit in his palm.

The snake spirit's expression changed drastically:

"What...what are you doing?!"

Xuanzang did not answer.

They simply continued chanting scriptures.

The sound of the scriptures was like a spring breeze, a gentle rain, and a warm sun.

It landed on the white snake's primordial spirit.

The white snake's spirit struggled violently, trying to escape, but it couldn't.

The power of the scripture, like an invisible chain, firmly binds it.

The snake spirit screamed and collapsed to the ground.

She felt that her primordial spirit was being gradually converted.

That transformative power is gentle yet irresistible.

Like ice and snow meeting the warm sun, like darkness meeting light.

The snake spirit exclaimed in terror:

"Stop! Stop!"

"I take back the mark! I take it back!"

She desperately channeled her magical power, trying to reclaim that primordial spirit.

But that primordial spirit was no longer under her control.

It is enveloped by the power of the scriptures and is slowly dissolving.

What is dissolved is not destruction.

Yes... rebirth.

Within the white snake's primordial spirit, evil thoughts were dissipating, while good thoughts were growing.

The demonic aura accumulated over a thousand years of cultivation was gradually washed away.

In its place, there is a trace of Buddhist nature.

The snake spirit collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.

She felt her cultivation level plummeting rapidly.

A thousand years of cultivation, vanished into nothingness.

Strangely, she felt no fear.

Because the power of the scripture washed away her demonic aura and also her pain.

She suddenly felt so relaxed.

So relaxing.

It's as if a burden that has lasted for thousands of years has been lifted.

Xuanzang opened his eyes.

The white mark in his palm had disappeared.

Instead, a white flower appeared.

The petals are as white as snow, and the stamens are golden yellow.

It's exactly the same as the one in the stream yesterday.

It's different now.

There was no demonic aura or resentment in those flowers.

Only purity.

Only peace.

Xuanzang got up and walked to the snake spirit.

The snake spirit had transformed into a small white snake, only as thick as a finger, curled up on the ground.

She looked up at Xuanzang.

In their eyes, there was no hatred, only confusion.

"What...what did you do to me?"

Xuanzang knelt down and gently lifted her up.

"This humble monk did nothing."

"It was you who let go of evil thoughts."

The little white snake was stunned.

Xuanzang placed her by the stream:

"Let's go."

"From now on, do not harm anyone."

"Cultivate yourself diligently, and you will naturally attain enlightenment."

The little white snake looked at him, and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.

She nodded, turned around, and disappeared into the bushes.

Sun Wukong stood aside and watched from beginning to end.

He scratched his head:

"Monk, what skill do you possess now?"

Xuanzang stood up:

"It's not a matter of skill."

"It is the Buddha's teachings."

Sun Wukong was stunned:

"Buddhism?"

Xuanzang nodded:

"The scriptures that the Buddha asked me to retrieve are Hinayana Buddhist teachings."

"It cannot save demons, it cannot save monsters, it cannot save evil people."

"You can only save yourself."

"But the true Dharma should liberate all sentient beings."

"Whether it's a demon, a monster, or an evil person."

"As long as you are willing to turn back, you can get through it."

"This is the true Mahayana Buddhism."

Sun Wukong looked at him, then suddenly grinned:

"Monk, you're right."

"That old Buddha is indeed no good."

Xuanzang smiled slightly but did not reply.

He turned around and continued on his way.

Sun Wukong followed.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly turned around and glanced at the stream.

Among the grass, a small white flower was swaying in the wind.

He scratched his head, then turned and left.

Xuanzang walked ahead, his steps more steady than yesterday.

His foot injury hadn't fully healed, but he walked with determination.

Sun Wukong followed behind, playing with the small white flower in his hand.

The flowers were picked by Xuanzang from the stream just now, as a keepsake.

Sun Wukong smelled it and found no demonic aura, only a faint fragrance.

He tucked the flower behind his ear, looking like a silly, goofy girl.

Xuanzang glanced back and suppressed a laugh.

"Old Sun, why are you wearing flowers?"

Sun Wukong grinned:

"Is it pretty?"

Xuanzang nodded:

"nice."

Sun Wukong laughed heartily:

"Then I, Old Sun, will wear it!"

The two continued on their way.

The road to Hidden Mist Mountain gets narrower and narrower as you go.

The trees on both sides became increasingly dense.

The sunlight couldn't penetrate, and the forest was cold and gloomy.

Sun Wukong suddenly stopped.

Xuanzang also stopped.

"Is there a demonic aura?"

Sun Wukong shook his head:

"It's not demonic energy."

"It's murderous intent."

He looked up at the top of the tree.

A bird was perched on the top of a tree.

A black bird with blood-red eyes stared intently at Xuanzang.

Sun Wukong frowned.

This bird isn't a demon; it's a spy.

Someone sent them to keep an eye on them.

He raised his hand, and a golden light shot out.

Before the blackbird could even cry out, it turned into a pile of ashes.

Xuanzang said softly:

"Who is it this time?"

Sun Wukong looked into the distance:

"have no idea."

"No matter who it is, kill them all."

Xuanzang nodded without saying anything more.

He was no longer the soft-hearted monk who couldn't even bear to hurt bandits.

Through ten lifetimes of reincarnation, he understood.

Some people just can't overcome this.

Some demons cannot be allowed to live.

Compassion is for virtuous people.

To be merciful to the wicked is to be cruel to the good.

The two quickened their pace and headed out of the mountain.