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

Another half month passed.

It was late autumn in the capital of Baoxiang Kingdom, and the ginkgo leaves outside the palace walls had fallen to the ground, carpeting the road in gold.

He was placed under house arrest in the courtyard.

Tang Sanzang faced high walls and deep courtyards every day, with morning bells and evening drums, chanting scriptures and meditating, yet his heart was ashen.

Although the mansion had no shortage of food, Yun Zhao would not allow anyone to mistreat him. The maids and eunuchs served him attentively, but the four gates were tightly closed, and twenty elite guards were on duty day and night, so that not even a fly could get out.

Tang Sanzang tried to see the Regent several times, but was turned away by the eunuchs on the grounds that "the Prince is too busy with state affairs".

He could hear the hustle and bustle of the streets and the laughter of children through the wall, but he could never step out of this small world again.

Every evening at dusk, he would stand under the old locust tree in the courtyard, gazing at the last rays of the setting sun in the west, and murmur to himself, "Bajie, Wujing, are you both alright?"

"I...I'm so sorry, I've failed you all."

If we compare the journey to the West to the construction of a house, he has only just stepped through the gate and is still far from the main hall.

But they were stuck here, unable to go in or out.

With Bajie and Wujing also in uncertain situations, who else can come to his rescue?

Whenever he thought of this, Tang Sanzang couldn't help but shed tears.

Above the clouds, the Dharma Protectors, including the Six Ding and Six Jia, the Four Duty Officers, and the Five Great Jiedi, were hiding in the clouds, anxiously pacing back and forth.

"No, no! That regent clearly didn't send anyone to verify the monk's identity; he's just leaving him hanging like this!"

"If this continues, the timing of the eighty-one tribulations will be thrown into chaos! Who can bear the blame if Buddha punishes us?"

The duty officer, Zhou Deng, gritted his teeth and said, "No, we can't wait any longer! Let's use the same trick again. We'll appear in the regent's dream tonight and let him know the holy monk's identity so he can let the monks travel west!"

The gods all nodded in agreement: "Yes! That's the plan! With so many of us together, let's suppress him in his dream; that should bring him to his senses!"

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were few.

In the rear hall of the Wanxiang Palace, Yun Zhao leaned against the dragon bed, while the beautiful concubines had already withdrawn.

He closed his eyes to rest, but his divine sense enveloped the entire palace. As a cultivator, he had long since transcended the need for sleep. He closed his eyes every day simply to rest, and he was even too lazy to cultivate.

After all, they're all people with systems now, so who would bother to cultivate seriously?

From the clouds, a dozen or so guardian deities quietly descended, each wielding a magical weapon, which transformed into streaks of golden light and drilled into Yun Zhao's brow.

The art of dream transmission is as easy as entering a deserted place for mortals, but tonight, as soon as they approached, they sensed something was amiss—

A surge of immense celestial power erupted, like a raging storm, sending those strands of golden light flying backward!

"Oh no! This person is skilled in magic!"

"Celestial Immortal level! Not weaker than ours!"

Yun Zhao suddenly opened his eyes, a golden light flashing in them.

He sat up and sneered, "Finally couldn't hold back anymore?"

He raised his hand and summoned a black light from his sleeve—it was the Eye-Slaying Pearl!

The bead hovered in mid-air, its surface writhing with blood-red patterns, instantly transforming into a black cage that enveloped most of the golden light. The trapped generals were terrified, unleashing their magical treasures, their swords flashing and talismans exploding, but they could only struggle futilely within the cage.

"My lords, what brings you to my dream in the dead of night?"

Yun Zhao's voice carried a chilling murderous intent.

He had long anticipated that Tang Sanzang still had the protection of the gods, and seeing that he was trapped in Baoxiang Kingdom, he would surely try to get him to let him leave.

That's exactly the time he's been waiting for.

Yun Zhao stood up, stepped onto the jade steps, and walked step by step toward the black cage.

The trapped gods were deathly pale: "Who...who are you? Why are you stopping the holy monk on his pilgrimage?"

Yun Zhao chuckled: "A holy monk on his pilgrimage? I am merely the regent of Baoxiang Kingdom, governing the country and ensuring the people's well-being. The holy monk has no permit to enter the country and speaks of the past affairs of the demon princess, disrupting the court. What's wrong with detaining him temporarily for investigation?"

A Jiedi (a local deity) angrily shouted, "Stop your sophistry! We are the Dharma protectors appointed by the Buddha. The holy monk's journey to the West should be smooth sailing, yet you are making things difficult for him in every way. Clearly, you harbor ulterior motives!"

Yun Zhao shook his head: "Holding ill intentions? Since that's what you think, then so be it."

As they spoke, the blood-red light from the Eye-Piercing Pearl intensified, and the trapped general felt as if his soul was being pierced by a thousand needles, screaming in agony.

Seeing the situation was dire, the remaining divine generals who were not trapped dared not linger in battle. They transformed into streaks of golden light and fled eastward in a panic.

Yun Zhao frowned slightly, wanting to give chase, but these guys were all at the Heavenly Immortal level. He had only gained the upper hand because they didn't know he had magical power. In addition, the Eye-Slaying Pearl had ambushed him, which was why he managed to leave so many people behind.

If the enemy attacks all at once, there are more than a dozen Celestial Immortals, and he definitely won't be able to handle them.

Since that's the case, let's just let them leave; it'll buy us some more time.

Anyway.

Yun Zhao understood that once they could no longer resist stepping in and saw through his cultivation level, they would no longer be able to intercept Tang Sanzang.

There's not much time left in this simulation, so there's no need to chase after it.

He didn't dare kill those divine generals either.

The other party is either from the Heavenly Court or the Buddhist sect. Even if they die, their souls will be drawn back by them, making it easier for them to be exposed prematurely.

So they simply stripped these people of their magical powers and imprisoned them temporarily.

Aolai Country, Flower and Fruit Mountain.

Outside the Water Curtain Cave, monkeys frolicked and played, but inside the cave, it was very quiet.

Several months have passed since Sun Wukong was banished and returned.

He spent his days eating, drinking, and having fun, living a carefree life. If it weren't for the golden headband still on his head, he wouldn't even remember having had such an experience.

However, Tang Sanzang was, after all, his benefactor, and he would think of him from time to time.

That night, he was tilting his head back and chugging a pot of monkey wine when he suddenly saw several golden rays fall from the eastern sky and crash into the dense forest at the foot of the mountain.

Sun Wukong, with his fiery eyes, frowned upon seeing this: "Prajñāpāramitā, Mahājñāpāramitā, Liu Hong (the Time God), and Li Bing (the Year God), how did they end up in such a sorry state?"

He somersaulted down the mountain and appeared in the forest.

Four guardian deities collapsed to the ground, their robes torn and their expressions terrified. One of them managed to lift his head, recognized the newcomer, and exclaimed with overjoyed, "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"

Sun Wukong frowned: "Weren't you secretly protecting Tang Sanzang? What happened? Who beat him up like this? How is my master?"

Mokejiedi, panting, recounted the events of Baoxiang Kingdom in detail: Tang Sanzang was under house arrest, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing were imprisoned in the Wave Moon Cave for over a month, and the regent of Baoxiang Kingdom, Yun Zhao, turned out to be a celestial cultivator who obstructed the journey to the West and even used a demonic pearl to injure people...

By the end, the group was in tears: "Great Sage! The Holy Monk is now in dire straits, and his two junior brothers are in grave danger. If there is no turning back, our journey to the West may be ruined! We cannot defeat Yun Zhao, so we have no choice but to beg the Great Sage... We beg the Great Sage to consider our past master-disciple relationship and save the Holy Monk!"

After listening, Sun Wukong remained silent at first.

After a while, he suddenly smashed the boulder next to him to pieces with a stick, sending fragments flying everywhere, his monkey eyes turning red.

"What a magnificent kingdom of Baoxiang! What a magnificent kingdom of Yunzhao!"

He gritted his teeth, his voice trembling slightly: "I, Old Sun, was driven away by my master, who wanted to teach me a lesson so I'd know how good I am... but I never expected him to be trapped like this!"

"Great Sage..." Gong Cao wanted to say more.

Sun Wukong took a deep breath, slammed his golden cudgel on the ground, and the forest rustled: "You all go back and rest for now. With me here, I'll make sure that old monk is unharmed!"

"I, Old Sun, will go to Baoxiang Kingdom right now and bring my master out!"

"Who dares to stop me—"

He swung his staff, its cold light gleaming: "I'll make him vanish into thin air!"

The divine generals were overjoyed and quickly bowed in gratitude.

Sun Wukong, however, somersaulted into a golden light and headed straight for the southwest.

The wind howled, and in the blink of an eye, we arrived at the destination, a distance of 108,000 li.