Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 718 - 717: Imitation Kasaya

"I’m not unwilling to honor you, it’s just that I still need this kasaya. If I didn’t need it, I wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to get it,"

"I know it’s useful to you," Chen Nuo said. "Aren’t you using it for tribulation? Once you’ve completed the tribulation, give it to me. Does that work? If it does, I will definitely help you. If not, then I won’t bother."

"Agreed, agreed, Shopkeeper! I promise!" Xiong Daoren breathed a sigh of relief.

He had thought Chen Nuo absolutely needed the kasaya and wouldn’t wait for him to finish using it.

After all, once he was done with it, it truly would be of no use to him. He had previously planned to trade the used kasaya for a few dishes with Shopkeeper and maybe even experience an awakening of another Divine Skill.

Why wouldn’t he dare agree to a win-win situation, especially when dealing with his own Shopkeeper?

"All right, that’s settled then. Once you’re finished with the kasaya, give it to me," Chen Nuo nodded and then said to the system, "Pay."

"Payment successful, energy transformation in process," the system beeped again, and after a moment, prompted, "Please host, recharge the kasaya with energy, and you may stop after the beeping."

Chen Nuo reached out towards the kasaya, then suddenly withdrew his hand, looking at Xiong Daoren, "Place your hand here."

Xiong Daoren blinked, "Huh?"

Chen Nuo said, "Channel your mana into this kasaya, and I’ll let you know when it’s enough."

"Oh, okay." Xiong Daoren, although not understanding what was happening, did as Shopkeeper Chen asked and began channeling spiritual power into the ordinary kasaya.

After a while, upon receiving a prompt from the system, Chen Nuo said to Xiong Daoren, "That’s enough, you can stop now."

Xiong Daoren withdrew his hand, looking incredulously at the kasaya.

He had just watched an ordinary kasaya slowly becoming extraordinary. What exactly was going on, and how did Chen Nuo do it?

"Shopkeeper, you’re really amazing. I had no idea you possessed such an ability—to make an ordinary kasaya so extraordinary,"

Xiong Daoren praised sincerely, "In that case, I’ll take this newly-accomplished kasaya for myself. Are you going to return the original kasaya to Jin Chanzi’s reincarnation?"

"No, give that kasaya to Xuanzang," Chen Nuo said. "Keep the real kasaya, that’s the good one."

"Huh?" Xiong Daoren’s face showed his confusion.

"After all, it’s a copy, and it’s normal to have some slight differences," Chen Nuo smiled. "If we’re going to keep it, we must keep the original. The one just made is merely for quick use."

Xiong Daoren nodded, half-understanding, and couldn’t help but say, "Shopkeeper, you’re really playing it dark."

"This isn’t anything," Chen Nuo smiled. "Since it has fallen into our hands, it won’t be so easy to get it back out."

Xiong Daoren looked at the two kasayas that were almost indistinguishable, worried he might mistake one for the other at some point. He hurriedly secured the real one and set the newly-fabricated copy aside.

"So, Shopkeeper, what do we do next? Six-Eared Macaque has returned now, but he’s bound to come back. When he does, should I return the kasaya to him then, or should I send the kasaya back to him now?"

"Look at you, all flustered," Chen Nuo glanced at the kasaya, feeling that it was still not quite right.

Though it now looked seven or eight parts similar, if Guanyin were present when it was handed over, she would definitely detect the fake.

He applied another blinding skill over it, and now the kasaya was a complete replica of the original one.

"Shopkeeper, it’s incredible, hey, this is exactly the same as the other kasaya." Xiong Daoren examined the kasaya from all angles, finding it indistinguishable from the original one, "I almost can’t tell which one is real and which is fake."

"Alright, when they come next time, just beg Six-Eared Macaque for mercy and tell him that you will return it after the Buddhist Robe Assembly is over," Chen Nuo said, "If you’re going to pretend, at least make it convincing."

Xiong Daoren nodded, "Okay, Shopkeeper, I got it. But is that Six-Eared Macaque really that powerful? If I really face him, can I not beat him?"

"No, you are more powerful than him," Chen Nuo said.

In the original text, Xiong Daoren already possessed considerable mana, and even Sun Wukong could only tie with him; now that he had awakened a few divine skills, he was even more formidable.

The Six-Eared Macaque would definitely not be his match, but that didn’t account for his backers. If they truly confronted each other, Buddhism along with the Heavenly Realm would surely intervene. Facing one was feasible, but facing a group was not just a simple matter.

"Ah? Then if I’m more powerful than him, why should I fear him?" Xiong Daoren asked, puzzled, "I could just beat him off with a few moves. There’s no need for you to lift a finger, let alone make such a fuss."

Chen Nuo gave him a cool look, "You can beat him, but can you take on the people behind him?"

Xiong Daoren fell silent; he had forgotten about that aspect.

The figures from Buddhism behind the Six-Eared Macaque—Shopkeeper Chen had thought everything through and considered all factors.

If it had been up to him, he would have charged in recklessly without getting anything done right and surely would have caused a heap of trouble.

"Look at my memory, I actually forgot about that, uh, Shopkeeper, don’t worry, I’ll handle it properly, I’ll do whatever you tell me, and I won’t cause any trouble for you," Xiong Daoren assured.

"Fine," Chen Nuo was done witnessing the commotion and had a pile of other matters to attend to, so he did not think of staying any longer, "Just remember, don’t give it to him too quickly, keep up the act for a bit longer."

"Sure, okay Shopkeeper, don’t worry, I remember," said Xiong Daoren.

Chen Nuo nodded and then left Black Wind Mountain.

With the kasaya in hand, Xiong Daoren returned to his cave abode, and as soon as he arrived, his underlings gathered around him.

"Great King, you’re back. That hairy monkey looked really formidable, but it was still up to our Great King to send that little one packing!"

Hearing what the first minion said, the others hurriedly chanted in unison, "Great King is mighty, Great King is mighty!"

Xiong Daoren gestured for them to quieten down, "Alright, knowing that I’m mighty is enough, hurry up and prepare for the Buddhist Robe Assembly. It’s being held together with my birthday celebration, so it has to be done grandly."

"Yes, Great King, rest assured, we will make sure the Buddhist Robe Assembly is a splendid event!" his subordinates promised.

Xiong Daoren nodded, kasaya in hand, and walked away.

The day before the Buddhist Robe Assembly, as expected, something out of the ordinary happened—Mr. Lingxu paid him an unexpected visit.

"Oh, have you finished making that potion?" At this point, Xiong Daoren hadn’t noticed anything unusual and asked with a smile.

Mr. Lingxu held out the potion in his hands and placed it before Xiong Daoren, "This is the potion I’ve just finished concocting, specially brought for you, big brother."