Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 500 - 494: Tricking the Ancestor of the Land Immortal [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1
That was not a space-time portal.
It was purely a spatial channel Sha Chen had constructed on the fly, and the other end of the spatial channel was not his Flowing Sand River Cave.
Jin Chanzi fell into the spatial channel and, in the blink of an eye, was back on the banks of the Flowing Sand River.
Zhenyuanzi, who had also plunged into the spatial channel, emerged from the other end as well. The other end was also above the banks of the Flowing Sand River, and as he dove down, he went straight into the ground.
A moment passed. Zhenyuanzi rose to his feet, stood on the bank, and was silent for a long time.
All the monsters were baffled.
Jinzha was also stunned for a moment before being pushed back by Tianpeng, and both chose to remain silent.
The monsters looked at each other, seeming to have figured out what was going on, wanting to laugh but unable to do so. But there were monsters fearless of death who directly scoffed.
BANG.
That monster instantly turned into a mist of blood.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
In the blink of an eye, the monsters above the Flowing Sand River all exploded and perished. Before their deaths, they hadn’t realized they wouldn’t die in battle, but because they had witnessed Zhenyuanzi’s embarrassing mishap.
Jinzha and Tianpeng were unharmed, for they bore karmic destiny, and Zhenyuanzi dared not casually kill them. But today’s embarrassment had been witnessed, and he had lost all face.
Jin Chanzi got up from the ground, saw Zhenyuanzi, and was also stunned for a moment before he realized what had happened.
He laughed, "May I ask which Immortal this is? Thank you, Immortal, for saving this poor monk, Amitabha."
Zhenyuanzi frowned, then landed on the ground and, going along with the situation, said, "Well met. I am Zhenyuanzi, the master of the Wuzhuang Temple."
"Seeing that someone wicked wanted to harm you, and another wanted to capture you, I thought you must be the person fated for the Journey to the West, and thus I lent a hand."
He smiled faintly, already composed, no longer dwelling on the previous incident. After all, having lived for countless years, he had experienced every kind of awkward situation. He planned to use this opportunity to get on good terms with Jin Chanzi, thereby becoming involved with the karma from the calamities of the Journey to the West. When the time came, he would have a chance to receive the rewards of the Journey’s calamities.
Jin Chanzi was indeed pleasantly surprised. "Truly an Immortal! Thank you for your rescue. Please, help this poor monk capture that thief as well; he sought to harm me."
Then, he pointed at Jinzha.
Jinzha’s cheeks twitched. He quickly got to his feet and clasped his hands in a salute to Zhenyuanzi. But he did not reveal his true form. Should Jin Chanzi realize he was a Bodhisattva from Buddhism, it would undoubtedly lead to misunderstandings, which were really unnecessary.
But who could have known? Tianpeng descended, swiped his rake, and struck Jinzha, injuring him and forcing him back to his original form.
Jinzha emitted a brilliant Buddha light, imposing and regal.
Jin Chanzi was startled.
"You, you, you are from Buddhism? If you are from Buddhism, why would you seek to harm a little monk like me?"
Jinzha then said, "I indeed am a Bodhisattva from Buddhism, a disciple of Buddha. I am not here to harm you but to enlighten you. All that before was but a trial for you. Other than this explanation, he could find no better justification."
Tianpeng snorted coldly, not taking it seriously, but kept a vigilant eye on Zhenyuanzi to prevent any underhanded moves from him.
Zhenyuanzi also stopped looking at Tianpeng. He knew that by now Tianpeng had likely sealed his spirit and consciousness, eliminating his chance of return. To threaten him with this matter was now impossible. If he wanted to threaten Tianpeng’s life, he could only do it outright rather than coerce from the shadows.
However, he was the Patriarch of Earth Immortals; to threaten openly would greatly affect his reputation if word got out. So, he would not make another move against Tianpeng unless it was necessary. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Jin Chanzi simply did not believe Jinzha’s words and said, "I don’t believe it! You must be a fake, an impostor!"
Zhenyuanzi, standing to the side, said indifferently, "He truly is Bodhisattva Hongfa from Buddhism, and his father is the Pagoda-carrying Heavenly King from the Heavenly Court."
With Zhenyuanzi’s corroboration, Jin Chanzi could no longer persist in his argument.
He then complained, "This humble monk’s Journey to the West to retrieve the True Scripture has already been fraught with hardship and peril. Now, I must even endure trials from the Bodhisattva. It truly wearies my heart."
Upon hearing this, Jinzha was infuriated but pretended as if he had not heard anything. He simply did not know how to respond. He always felt that this scripture seeker was different from those of previous lives. Even compared to the scripture seeker he had escorted for over a decade, they seemed like totally different people. His personality had greatly changed, as if he had become another person.
Zhenyuanzi did not have time to engage in their idle talk and instead looked toward the Flowing Sand River, his gaze somewhat chilling.
Jin Chanzi noticed something amiss with Zhenyuanzi and, thinking he might try to force his way into the Flowing Sand River, quickly clung to him.
He smiled and said, "Noble Immortal, your Mana is profound. May I inquire if you could escort this humble monk for part of the journey?"
Zhenyuanzi replied, "Every individual has their own fate. You must face your own tribulations. Otherwise, how can you seek the True Scripture?"
He knew that this life of the scripture seeker was still fated to end in death; only in the next life would the true great calamity of the pilgrimage begin. The scripture seeker of the next life absolutely must come to no harm, as all the gods and Buddhas would protect him. Whoever could assist the scripture seeker would achieve boundless merit and establish ties with Buddhism. For that reason, Zhenyuanzi was not particularly concerned with the current reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, but he also did not wish to become enemies, so his attitude became somewhat more detached.
He then parted from Jin Chanzi and arrived at the entrance to the Flowing Sand River Cave.
He roared, "Sha Chen, this old man knows you are inside! If you have the guts, come out! How dare you play tricks on me? You’ve got some nerve!"
「Inside the cave.」
Sha Chen was tasting wine while the White Bone Demon massaged his shoulders from behind, serving him dutifully. He was savoring the decadent life of a wealthy landowner.
Unable to tolerate Zhenyuanzi’s insults, the White Bone Demon suggested, "Master, that decrepit fellow is acting high and mighty because of his age—this is too much. Why don’t we retort?"
Sha Chen responded indifferently, "No need. We are not shrews cursing in the streets. Why shout back?"
"Then let’s fight back and let him know we’re not to be trifled with," the White Bone Demon huffed.
Sha Chen glanced at her and said, "You’re getting ahead of yourself. We’re truly easy to provoke, but he’s genuinely not to be messed with."
The White Bone Demon shrank her neck, only then recalling that the old man cursing outside was none other than the Patriarch of Earth Immortals, Zhenyuanzi. Under heaven, aside from Saints, probably no one would dare claim they could genuinely defeat him. And even Saints would have to give him some respect. He possessed such status and strength, reaching from heaven to earth. If they truly dared to confront him head-on, they’d be out of their minds.
Sha Chen’s strength was not weak. His cultivation and Primordial Spirit had already reached the high-rank Quasi-Saint realm. As for his body, it was about to step into the Primeval Chaos Law Body’s Great Perfection. If he were to break through completely, he could contend with those at the Quasi-Sage Peak with just his physical body. But he wasn’t there yet, still half a step away, and that half step was particularly difficult, necessitating more effort.
Even so, though his body had not yet broken through to the peak of Primeval Chaos, his spatial powers had already reached Great Accomplishment. This was because as his body continued to improve, it propelled the myriad powers within him to elevate continually. The power of space had also integrated into his body, and as his body neared the critical threshold between the Primeval Chaos Law Body’s Great Accomplishment and its Peak, his spatial power naturally increased as well. After all, he had previously reached the peak of minor spatial achievement, only a step away from the pinnacle. Although that one step, in the past, might have required an endless accumulation of time, presenting a one-in-a-million opportunity for a potential breakthrough.
However, he now possessed the incredibly rare and scarcely seen Pangu’s Heart Blood, which brought with it Great Accomplishment in power, and Space Greatness. Not only that, but his abilities in other areas such as flames, thunder, violent winds, and even sand had all reached the Great Achievement Realm. Regarding his strength, it had even attained the peak of Great Accomplishment, just one final push short of the ultimate peak.
Once his body broke through, his strength would also surmount the threshold. By then, he would be a prominent figure at the peak power of an Ancestral Witch. Among all the twelve Ancestral Witches of the primordial times, only three had achieved the Primeval Chaos Law Body’s Great Perfection. Sha Chen would be considered the fourth.
However, he was not an Ancestral Witch. He was a being of the Realm of People with spirit and Mana. His path was destined to diverge from the Ancestral Witches, and he could go even further.
