Journey to the West: Please Call Me the White Bone Demon

The stone door to the quiet room opened. After three years of seclusion, the Eye-Piercing Pearl had completely recognized its master.

Yun Zhao left the cave, where the White Bone Demon was already waiting in the hall. Seeing him emerge, her eyes lit up, and she greeted him softly, "Your Majesty, you've come out of seclusion?"

"Um."

After a long rest, the two had long since become familiar with each other's abilities. Yun Zhao casually ruffled her hair and said, "I'm going out for a walk. You stay here and watch over the cave."

Seven years is still a long time, so Yun Zhao plans to travel around first.

The White Bone Demon nodded obediently: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will not go anywhere."

Yun Zhao smiled slightly, transformed into a streak of light, and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Head east first.

After breaking through to the Celestial Immortal realm, his escape techniques became incomparable. Now, traveling 100,000 miles a day is no problem for him. In just half a day, he arrived above the Five Finger Mountain.

From afar, the giant mountain, resembling five fingers gripping the ground, still stands majestically. At its summit is a golden talisman bearing the six-syllable mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum," radiating a faint Buddhist light and exuding a chilling aura of power.

Even from a distance, one could sense the terrifying flow of cultivation power within, which stung Yun Zhao's eyes.

Although they were still dozens of miles apart, they could already sense the countless faint divine thoughts intertwining in the air—some from Buddhism, some from the Heavenly Court, and even a few that were indescribable.

"Tsk, they're monitoring them pretty closely."

He had only hovered dozens of miles away when he felt his primordial spirit tremble slightly, as if if he took another step forward, he would be stared at by countless eyes at the same time, and then without saying a word, they would directly kill him, this little demon who had just reached the Heavenly Immortal realm.

Yun Zhao decisively turned around.

"Forget it, the monkeys are still too early. This muddy water is not something I can wade into with my current strength."

Continuing eastward, passing through clouds and fog, several hours later, signs of human habitation began to appear on the eastern land.

The territory of the Tang Dynasty.

As soon as Yun Zhao stepped into the territory of Dongsheng Shenzhou, he felt a majestic and awe-inspiring aura of the human emperor rushing towards him, shining like the sun, which made the demonic power in his body instinctively shrink into a ball.

So what if she's a celestial being?

In this land where human fortune is at its peak, dragon energy soars to the sky, and the aura of a king is subtly in harmony with heaven and earth. He acts with such force and arrogance that even Taiyi must kneel before him.

Even someone as powerful as the Great Luo Immortal would have to show deference to the power of the Human Emperor!

Yun Zhao immediately concealed his aura completely, transforming into an ordinary, handsome scholar, his robes fluttering as he landed outside Chang'an City.

His purpose for this trip was simple—to see what Chen Xuanzang was doing now.

Upon entering Chang'an, following the original story's memory, he traveled south and soon arrived at Jinshan Temple.

The temple gate is majestic, and the incense is extremely popular.

Standing far away from the crowd, Yun Zhao saw a young monk in his twenties giving a sermon in front of the main hall.

The monk had a face like jade, eyes like bright stars, a clear voice, and spoke eloquently. He recited the Lotus Sutra with wonderful words, captivating the devout men and women in the audience, many of whom were even moved to tears.

It was Chen Xuanzang, who later became the Tang Monk.

At this time, he was still called Jiang Liuer, or Chen Jiangliu. Before he became a monk, he was already known as the "reincarnation of Jin Chanzi". Although he has now been ordained, he is famous in Chang'an and is hailed as the "Number One Monk of the Tang Dynasty" at a young age.

Yun Zhao narrowed his eyes.

Young as he may be, that golden light... tsk, it's blindingly bright.

With Buddhist merits, the blessing of good fortune, the tacit approval of the Emperor, and the secret protection of all the gods and Buddhas, Tang Sanzang is now a walking strategic nuclear weapon. Anyone who dares to touch him is essentially declaring war on Buddhism, the Heavenly Court, and the Tang Dynasty at the same time.

Yun Zhao mentally simulated seventeen or eighteen different ways to kill him, all of which ended with either being "killed on the spot by a palm strike from Buddha" or "dying from the aura of the Heavenly Court."

"Touch him now? You're just asking for trouble."

Only by embarking on the journey to the West would it be justifiable to harm Tang Sanzang, and he could even be mistaken for an obstacle on the journey.

Moreover, this is not within the coordinate range, so even if Tang Sanzang is killed, there will be no reward, and a simulation opportunity will be wasted, which is not worth the loss.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, shook his head, and turned to leave Jinshan Temple.

He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing westward beneath the ancient trees outside the temple.

"But... it's okay."

"You have countless opportunities, but you only have one."

"Tang Sanzang, oh Tang Sanzang, the journey to obtain the scriptures is long and arduous, and in the future..."

"I'll play with you slowly."

With a flick of his robes, Yun Zhao's figure gradually faded away, transforming into a wisp of breeze and silently disappearing from the streets of Chang'an.

The wind passed without leaving a trace, as if no one had ever been there.

After leaving Chang'an, Yun Zhao walked west along the official road for three or five miles, found a deserted hill, and then transformed into a streak of light and ascended into the sky.

He wasn't in a hurry to return to White Tiger Ridge.

Although he is currently at the early stage of the Celestial Immortal realm and possesses the Eye-Slaying Pearl, in the grand scheme of Journey to the West, he is merely a slightly larger pawn.

Buddhism, Heaven, Taoism, the Western Paradise... any one of them, if they get serious, can easily crush him.

To turn this pawn into a "general" that crosses the river in the simulation, you need to see the chessboard more clearly.

To be honest, after simulating it several times, he has never gone too far from White Tiger Ridge, and he still can't see what this world really looks like.

With ample time and strength that is neither too strong nor too weak—enough to protect oneself in the current Three Realms—it's natural to want to travel around properly.

He first flew northeast, across the Bohai Sea, and skimmed over the East China Sea. It took him about ten days to finally stop above an island shrouded in sea mist.

Liubo Mountain, Purple Bamboo Forest.

The sacred site of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Yun Zhao was certainly not foolish enough to barge in directly.

At the Celestial Immortal realm, he was already able to barely glimpse the flow of cause and effect.

On the seemingly calm sea outside the Purple Bamboo Forest, there were at least seventy-two killing restrictions at the level of Taiyi Golden Immortal, one hundred and eight lotus seals personally placed by Bodhisattvas, and three auras that he could not see through at all—most likely at the Quasi-Saint level.

"Tsk, their security measures are even more extravagant than those in Heaven."

He glanced at the ever-present statue of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva from afar, noted the terrain, the direction of the restrictions, and the pattern of the patrolling children, and then turned and left.

This trip isn't to raid their base, it's just to scout it out.

For the next year, he traveled westward from the Tang Dynasty like a true solitary cultivator, crossing mountains and rivers, stopping wherever he went.

At Huangfeng Ridge, he looked at the cave occupied by the Yellow Wind Monster and noted the location of the eye of the storm.

From Black Wind Mountain, he glanced at the cave where the Black Bear Spirit had stolen the cassock.

In Gao Lao Zhuang, he even sneaked into the village and drank a cup of wedding wine.

Baoxiang Kingdom, Pingdingshan, Kusongjian, Heishui River... He scouted the places along the way and made notes as he went.

He wasn't in a hurry to snatch the treasure, nor was he in a hurry to kill someone to establish his authority (in fact, he didn't have the strength to do so).

He simply went through all the future "monster levels" on the journey to the West, memorizing every terrain, formation, demon king's strength, and the direction of the national guardian dragon's aura.

A year later, he finally returned to White Tiger Ridge.

Sensing the familiar presence, the White Bone Demon came out to greet him from afar. Upon seeing him, she threw herself into his arms, her voice soft yet reproachful: "Where have you been, Your Majesty? I've missed you so much!"

This demon died young and transformed into a wisp of resentment. It gained some fortune and cultivated itself into a demon.

He didn't know anything about that kind of thing before, but after being "trained" by Yun Zhao, he got a taste for it.

Yun Zhao smiled and pinched her cheek: "Missed me? Is everything alright in the cave?"

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm fine."

The White Bone Demon pulled him inside, saying, "Your Majesty has been away from home for a whole year. Now that you're back, why don't I serve you and help you rest?"

Yun Zhao laughed and said, "Alright, alright, let's take a rest."