Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 229 - 223: Choosing the Seal of Fanning the sky or the Plantain Fan [Additional Update Forecast] _1
"Host detected facing the Heavenly Court’s arrest warrant. You have the following choices."
"Choice one: Accept the Heavenly Court’s arrest warrant, follow Li Jing to Heaven to accept punishment, and receive the reward [Seal of Fanning the Sky]. The Seal of Fanning the Sky: a Magical Tool given by Lord Yuan Shi to his disciple Guang Chengzi, possessing the ability to turn the seas and skies, suppress evil spirits, and its power is unmatched."
"Choice two: Refuse the Heavenly Court’s arrest warrant, ignore it completely, defy Heaven’s mandate, and receive the reward [Plantain Fan]. The Plantain Fan: Made from the Spiritual Root Qingteng that existed between Heaven and Earth, adorned with two plantain leaves, refined by the sage Laozi. It is the very fan used by Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad from Tushita Palace to fan the flames; its power is unmatched, capable of generating fierce winds."
Sha Chen saw the choices and didn’t hesitate to refuse the arrest warrant. It was impossible for him to return to Heaven with Li Jing and the others. They had previously invited him to be an official, holding a high position, and he had refused; he certainly wouldn’t go now as a prisoner. Here, he was still safe. Were he to go to the Heavenly Court, his life and death would truly be at the mercy of others, his survival hanging on their every expression.
Sha Chen chose to refuse the arrest warrant and ignore it. After the system confirmed his choice, he could retrieve his reward. Without another word, Sha Chen directly retrieved it.
Outside his cave abode, a streak of light flew past and entered it right before everyone’s eyes. All the immortals were stunned.
Li Jing, puzzled, asked, "What was that? Did anyone see it clearly?"
Jinzha, whose cultivation was superior to Li Jing’s, said, "Father General, I saw it clearly. It seemed to be a fan."
Li Jing frowned. "Could that be one of Sha Chen’s Magical Tools? What kind of Magical Tool is a fan?"
Wang Lingguan’s expression turned grave. "King Li, if I’m not mistaken, that should be the Plantain Fan belonging to Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad from Tushita Palace."
Upon hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded.
Li Jing was startled. "Could it be that Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad intends to protect Sha Chen? If so, this is troublesome. We must report this to His Majesty the Jade Emperor. This matter needs to be clarified."
He then summoned Thunder God Wen Zhong, Fire God Luo Xuan, and Water God Lu Xiong, the great gods of the three departments, along with Wang Lingguan and several others, into the command tent to discuss the critical situation. After some argument and discussion, Li Jing concluded that they still needed to report to His Majesty the Jade Emperor and let him decide whether to continue the assault on Flowing Sand River.
Li Jing summoned Lieutenant Fish Fork and ordered him to lead a group back to make the report.
Jinzha and Muzha stepped forward. "Father General, what should we do if the sage Laozi is indeed protecting Sha Chen?" Their expressions were troubled.
Li Jing glanced at Jinzha and Muzha, then said, "If he truly is protecting him, then let His Majesty the Jade Emperor decide."
Jinzha asked, "Will His Majesty order the attack to continue? If we retreat, won’t our plans be ruined?"
The assault on Flowing Sand River was something the Li Family had strongly advocated. Vengeance was secondary; their main goal was to fully assist Buddhism in subduing Sha Chen. If they could bring Sha Chen to the Immortal Slaying Stage, and then have Buddhist representatives rescue him while the Li Family graciously agreed, then their Li Family would be seen as a clan that truly understood the greater good, earning immense respect in both the Heavenly Court and from Buddhism.
Li Jing said, "Now, plans can no longer keep up with changes. Let’s see how His Majesty decides to handle it."
At that moment, Bodhisattva Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva personally arrived to meet with Li Jing and understand the situation.
Bodhisattva Manjushri said, "King Li, Buddhism’s dignity must not be tarnished. Sha Chen killed four of our Arhats and also injured two Bodhisattvas and a practitioner. This is truly unforgivable."
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva also nodded. "Even if the Heavenly Court withdraws, we from Lingjiu Mountain will not retreat."
Li Jing quickly said, "Rest assured, venerable ones. It is unlikely that His Majesty the Jade Emperor will withdraw. After all, the army has been deployed. How can it simply set off and then withdraw at a whim?"
Ultimately, the Heavenly Court could not afford such a loss of face.
Bodhisattva Manjushri said, "Actually, I also wish to meet this renowned Great General for Folding the Curtain from Flowing Sand River, to see what abilities he possesses that make his reputation echo overseas."
Samantabhadra Bodhisattva also smiled. "Indeed. When the time comes, I might just have to exchange a few moves with him."
Jinzha clasped his hands together. "Amitabha. Venerable ones, Sha Chen is indeed highly skilled, but he has a wild heart and refuses discipline. The best place for him is still within Buddhism."
The two Bodhisattvas smiled and nodded, deeply agreeing.
Li Jing promptly added, "Yes, if Sha Chen can become a part of Buddhism, that would be his good fortune. If that happens, my Li Family is also willing to forgive him and offer him a chance to convert."
This was him stating his position. Upon hearing this, the two Bodhisattvas were very pleased.
They nodded in unison. "King Li truly understands the greater good. It’s no wonder he could raise two such remarkable sons. Both young masters will undoubtedly have limitless prospects in Buddhism."
This was their way of reciprocating King Li’s understanding of the greater good with a promise.
Manjushri and Samantabhadra enjoyed a very friendly conversation with Li Jing and even arranged a banquet. Immortals and Buddhists gathered before the Formation, drinking and making merry, discussing everything under the sun.
When the immortals saw Li Jing growing close with the Buddhist contingent, some were scornful, others displeased, but the vast majority were envious. In this era, strength reigned supreme. Buddhism was flourishing, and it was known to all immortals that the Heavenly Court intended to rely on them. Whoever could get closer to Buddhism would achieve a higher status and receive more benefits in the future. Thus, Li Jing’s ability to foster ties with Buddhism naturally elicited envy.
Inside Flowing Sand River, Sha Chen had been listening and observing the immortals and Buddhists, hearing all their conversations and secret talks. With his Divine Power of Six Ears of All Heavens, Sha Chen could hear everything crystal clear, even if Li Jing and the others conversed closely or hid within a Formation to whisper.
He paused for a moment and muttered to himself, So Li Jing and the others think I have a connection with Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad and are worried about accidentally harming a disciple of the Saint. That’s why they don’t dare act rashly for now.
Sha Chen frowned. This business of leveraging powerful names is something I can’t engage in recklessly. He feared becoming entangled in causality. However, if others misunderstood, he wouldn’t explain; that was their business, not his. Even if Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad sought him out for trouble later, he could rightly claim that he never flew any false banners.
It was their own misunderstanding, unrelated to me.
Sha Chen had three principles: do not initiate, do not resist, do not take responsibility.
If that’s what they believe, what does it have to do with me? But if they slander me, I will fight them.
Since no attack was forthcoming from outside and they were merely surrounding the area, Sha Chen had no intention of going out to explain. He grabbed the Plantain Fan and weighed it in his hand.
The Black Bear Spirit looked at the Plantain Fan, its eyes filled with envy. "Master, your fortune is unmatched! Even the Plantain Fan has come to pledge allegiance to you."
Sha Chen smiled faintly. "It’s all luck."
In truth, he didn’t know whether obtaining the Plantain Fan was a good thing or a bad thing. After all, according to the system’s introduction, this darn thing was snatched right from Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad’s hands. So what should he do if the owner came looking for it? However, there was one advantage: when the system snatched it, it had already erased any traces of the previous owner. If no one had seen it, Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad might not even know that the treasure had ended up in his hands. But many outsiders had seen it, and Sha Chen believed Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad would definitely find out. He just didn’t know whether the old gentleman would come to reclaim it.
Sha Chen pushed those worries aside. He couldn’t be bothered with that now; refining the fan came first.
What the system gave him was his. He wouldn’t give it up easily, no matter who came.
Sha Chen immediately set about refining the Plantain Fan. He discovered it came with a set of incantations; after mastering them, he found he could control the power of the Plantain Fan at will. He didn’t know the precise full power of the Plantain Fan, but he had a general idea after refining it.
Magical Tools are matched according to the caster’s strength. They are generally related to Mana and the Primordial Spirit. The stronger the Mana cultivation, the more powerful the Magical Tool becomes. The stronger the Primordial Spirit, the more adeptly and diversely the Magical Tool can be wielded, with greater precision. That is to say, Mana cultivation determines the Magical Tool’s power limit, while the Primordial Spirit determines the tool’s skill and precision. If translated into game terms, Mana cultivation is the mana bar, while the Primordial Spirit is your hand speed and cooldown.
Sha Chen had no way to test the full power of the Plantain Fan, so he could only practice some basic techniques to ensure he could use it during combat. After trying several methods of simply using the Plantain Fan to generate wind, he found that although it was powerful, it would be useless if the adversary possessed the Wind-fixing Pill.
But when he combined it with Samadhi True Fire, Sha Chen found it could exponentially increase the fire’s power, and the wind itself would carry burning properties. Fire borrows the wind’s force; the wind whips up the fire, and the fire spreads like wildfire. Wind and fire together were a perfect match. Sha Chen, possessing both Samadhi True Fire and the Plantain Fan, had a perfect combination. He thus secretly practiced a set of combo moves.
Then he researched if it could be used in concert with other Divine Powers, discovering it had some degree of synergy with them. However, Sha Chen discovered that the Plantain Fan could not only blow people away but also Divine Powers and Magical Tools. He unleashed a barrage of Imperial Gods’ Thunder, and as it descended, he was able to blow the Divine Thunder away with the fan. He then conjured Samadhi True Fire; although the fan could make the great fire larger, it could also blow it away or even extinguish it. Everything depended on how the Plantain Fan was wielded.
Sha Chen was overjoyed and quickly worked on mastering the use of the Plantain Fan.
The Black Bear Spirit watched Sha Chen develop all sorts of bizarre moves, combos, and routines, feeling its scalp tingle in utter shock and amazement.
How does Master’s mind even work? Others just use the Plantain Fan as a normal, standalone Magical Tool, but he actually combines it with Divine Powers to create combos!
The Black Bear Spirit was filled with awe, and also a sense of envy for something it couldn’t replicate. Firstly, he lacked a corresponding Magical Tool. Secondly, he did not have Sha Chen’s profound Mana to support such feats, nor such a powerful Primordial Spirit capable of multitasking. Controlling a Magical Tool was one thing. To also coordinate it with casting spells required immense strength of Primordial Spirit and mental focus.
Having settled these matters, Sha Chen’s ears suddenly twitched.
Lieutenant Fish Fork, Li Jing’s deputy, had gone and returned, bringing back an edict from the Jade Emperor.
Li Jing and the others naturally gathered again for a secret discussion in their camp, even inviting Bodhisattva Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva to join them in deliberating the important matter. Although this was against protocol, none of the immortals voiced any objections. No one wished to offend the two venerable Bodhisattvas from Buddhism, especially since it was clear they were merely running errands for Buddhism in this affair.
Li Jing looked at General Fish Spear and asked, "What did the Jade Emperor say?"
General Fish Spear replied, "His Majesty the Jade Emperor has ordered..."
