Journey to the West: Building a Celestial Empire Starting from Lion Camel Ridge

The next day.

Shuangchaling.

As Sanzang rose, Liu Boqin and his entire family also stood up, happily preparing the horses for him. They then stepped forward and bowed in gratitude: "Thank you, Elder, for your help in freeing my deceased father from suffering and allowing him to be reborn in a better realm. We can never repay your kindness!"

It turned out that yesterday, Sanzang chanted sutras to help Boqin's father be reborn in the heart of China and enjoy wealth and honor. He came to express his gratitude and originally intended to keep Tang Sanzang for a few more days. He also presented silver as a thank-you gift.

Tang Sanzang refused to accept any money and was preoccupied with the journey to obtain the scriptures, so the group had no choice but to set off.

When they reached the middle of a mountain, Liu Boqin stopped.

"Elder, this mountain has been renamed Liangjie Mountain. The eastern half belongs to the Tang Dynasty, while the western half is Tatar territory. I cannot cross the border. You may go on your own!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ping'an abruptly raised his head.

Observe the shape of this mountain; it looks like five fingers standing on the ground, but the palm is nowhere to be seen.

Liangjie Mountain, formerly known as Wuxing Mountain!

This is the part of the script where they rescue the Monkey King.

Chen Ping'an didn't reveal anything because he clearly sensed that although Liu Boqin was talking to Tang Seng, his attention never left him.

A moment later, it walked towards him again.

"May I ask the esteemed elder and his disciple's name?"

Here it comes, the test has begun.

"My secular surname is Chen, and my given name is Xiuyuan."

Xiuyuan is the secular name of Ji Gong, who was a high-ranking monk in the Southern Song Dynasty. Chen Ping'an directly quoted it.

"Cultivating affinity."

Liu Boqin pondered the name, unsure of its meaning.

However, now that we've asked about this name, we can tell Mr. Shoucheng about his next plans.

"Disciple, your secular name is Xiuyuan?"

"Yes, Master."

"What a nice name."

Xuanzang nodded: "In Buddhism, we value karma the most. Cultivating karma means cultivating good karma and ending bad karma. You and the Buddha are truly destined to be together. You are a born Buddha's disciple."

He looked at his apprentice and became more and more satisfied.

As for the Golden-Headed Jiedi who was secretly following, he also nodded in praise. This person's own Buddhist cultivation has not yet been revealed, but judging from his name alone, he must come from a virtuous family.

"With the help of this divine disciple, Elder, you will surely succeed in obtaining the true scriptures on this journey to the west."

Although it was the Tang Emperor's decree, Liu Boqin himself was extremely opposed to the journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Naturally, Chen Ping'an saw a rather conflicted expression on his face, and he stammered out his auspicious words.

This aligns with his background as a hunter in the mountains.

Chen Ping'an nodded, secretly smiling to himself: "Then I'll take Taibao's good wishes. When my master and I return from our pilgrimage, we will definitely pass through Shuangcha Ridge again, and then I'll catch up with Taibao."

Liu Boqin cupped his hands in greeting and left with his men without looking back.

"Master, Taibao has led everyone down the mountain. Let's go too!"

"good!"

Tang Sanzang was riding a horse, holding a tin staff.

The white horse is clever; though no whip has been raised, it has already galloped forward.

"My master is here! My master is here!"

Just as the two were about to set off, they suddenly heard a thunderous shout from the foot of the mountain.

Tang Sanzang, in a daze, fell off his horse.

"Disciple, what do you hear that sound?"

He sat trembling in the grass, too afraid to get up.

The sound came intermittently, filled with the exhilaration of liberation.

Liu Boqin stormed off before he could even make an introduction, leaving Chen Ping'an to play the role of the introducer alone.

He pondered for a moment: "Master, I've heard that there's an old ape living at the foot of this mountain. Five hundred years ago, this mountain fell from the sky, and a divine monkey was trapped beneath it. If that's true, then it's this divine monkey calling out; but I wonder why it's calling for you, Master?"

"Could this also be an arrangement by Guanyin Bodhisattva?"

Although Tang Sanzang was pedantic, he was extremely intelligent.

If one can live for five hundred years without dying, then one is definitely not an ordinary mortal. There was the divine disciple Wu'an here before, and the old ape under the Five Elements Mountain was probably arranged by Guanyin Bodhisattva.

"Disciple, shall we go down the mountain and see who is calling out?"

Chen Ping'an silently led his horse down the mountain. After traveling only a few miles, he saw a monkey inside the stone box.

Upon seeing the two, he excitedly waved wildly, saying, "Master, why did you only come now? Good thing! Good thing! Save me, and I'll guarantee you a journey to the Western Paradise!"

Tang Sanzang was timid and hesitant, feeling both surprised, delighted, and fearful.

The good thing is that this old monkey can live for five hundred years, so it must have great abilities.

What's frightening is that this old monkey's face was covered in dust, and its behavior was vulgar; it didn't look like a Buddhist monk at all.

This is understandable, as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven was not originally a Buddhist. If it weren't for the Buddha's divine power of the Buddha Kingdom in his palm five hundred years ago, using the Five Elements Mountain and the Six-Syllable Mantra to suppress him here, who knows how much trouble he would have caused.

He was a troublemaker, yet he remained lawless.

"Disciple, go and see that old monkey, and ask him clearly what happened."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ping'an was slightly taken aback.

He nodded immediately, his mind racing.

Before long, they arrived in front of the old monkey.

The Monkey King from 500 years ago.

The Stone Box Ape, 500 years later.

It can eat iron pellets when hungry and drink molten copper when thirsty; it is unharmed by heat or cold and will not die from freezing or starvation.

He once wore a purple-gold crown, chainmail, lotus-silk cloud-walking shoes, and held a Ruyi Jingu Bang (a magical staff).

Ten thousand heavenly soldiers and generals could do nothing against them.

Today, however, I am in a sorry state.

Chen Ping'an sighed. The current state of the human race is not much better than that of the demon race.

He stopped in front of the old monkey and squatted down.

......

"Hey, who are you? Where's my master? Why didn't he come down to save me?"

Sun Wukong exclaimed in surprise, glancing at Tang Sanzang, who was sitting slumped in the distance, and then at Chen Ping'an in front of him.

Although Guanyin Bodhisattva told him to protect Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West to obtain the scriptures, she never said that there would be no other people. Therefore, she did not know at this moment that Chen Ping'an had already become Tang Sanzang's designated eldest disciple.

"I am Chen Wu'an, the eldest disciple of Tang Sanzang."

"Who are you, shouting here and disturbing my master?"

When you're out and about, you have to choose your own identity, so Chen Ping'an simply arranged one for himself.

In the distance, Tang Sanzang, trembling with fear, finally sat up, but still dared not go forward, only watching from afar.

"The eldest disciple?"

Sun Wukong rolled his fiery eyes.

"I see you're only at the seventh level of Qi Refining, how did you become my eldest disciple?"

The thought of being overshadowed by this mortal filled Sun Wukong with resentment. Being a straightforward person, he couldn't keep his thoughts to himself and asked directly.

"On what grounds?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "I became a disciple first, and you became a disciple later, so how can I not be the senior disciple?"

"joke!"

Wukong was furious: "I, Old Sun, have only cultivated for a thousand years, while the Jade Emperor has cultivated for a million years. He still has to give up his Lingxiao Palace to me; might makes right."

"With your meager cultivation level, why should I, Old Sun, submit to you?"

"Are you really not convinced?"

"I'm not convinced! I'm not convinced!"

Sun Wukong roared angrily.

"it is good."

Chen Ping'an didn't waste any words and turned to leave.

Upon reaching Tang Sanzang's side, he whispered, "Master, that's an old ape from the mountains. Five hundred years ago, he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, drinking fine wine and nectar. Later, he was suppressed by Buddha under this mountain. I just spoke with him for a few moments, and he still doesn't respect Buddha. He also mocks our Buddhist sect in every way. I'm afraid it wouldn't be appropriate for him to join the pilgrimage team."

"Um?"

Tang Sanzang was puzzled, but after all, Chen Ping'an was well-behaved in front of him, and from afar he saw that the old ape had a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks, sharp teeth and a sharp tongue, and did not look like a good person at all.

Even with his high level of cultivation, he seems to be a troublemaker.

He was already hesitant and undecided.

"Did Guanyin Bodhisattva instruct that this person become my disciple?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head: "No. Guanyin said that this person's wild nature has not been tamed, and it will be difficult for him to obtain the true scriptures."