[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-invincible-and-you-tell-me-this-is-journey-t":3,"chapter-i-m-invincible-and-you-tell-me-this-is-journey-t-i-m-invincible-and-you-tell-me-this-is-journey-t-chapter-425":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm Invincible, and You Tell Me This Is Journey to the West?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2360926,4615,"Chapter 425: The Bitter Sea of Mortal Life Forges the Buddha","i-m-invincible-and-you-tell-me-this-is-journey-t-chapter-425",425,"\u003Cp>Outside Jiangzhou City, an abandoned ruin of a temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night rain droned on, wind howling through the broken window frames, making the fire inside flicker unpredictably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beat him! Give him a good beating! This little brat dared hide buns for himself!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A burly beggar boss, his face covered in coarse flesh, swung a thorny vine whip, lashing it hard against a frail body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three-year-old Chen Yan curled in the mud and water, his clothes tattered, his body crisscrossed with bloody welts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The whip tore through skin and flesh, blood mixing with mud as it dripped to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yan did not cry; he bit his lip until it bled, clutching the half-spoiled bun in his arms with both hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the only food he had managed to snatch after three days of hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You dare glare at me!” The beggar boss, enraged by his stubbornness, kicked Chen Yan hard in the stomach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yan groaned, rolling twice in the mud; the searing pain curled him into a ball, his consciousness beginning to blur.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his haze, fragmented images flashed through his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A burly man with a cruel face and a scarred cheek, yet gentle eyes, lifted him high with rough hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A beautiful woman sat beneath the eaves, softly calling his name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Father… Mother…” Chen Yan uttered a muffled sound from his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the last warmth in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he could no longer recall their names, he knew he had once had a happy home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above, deep within the clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Golden-Headed Jieti and Silver-Headed Jieti sat cross-legged on the clouds, gazing down at the scene in the ruin, their expressions cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is the trial of the Buddha Child,” said the Golden-Headed Jieti, watching Chen Yan being beaten, his tone flat. “Only by enduring the bitter sea of mortal life, suffering hunger and cold, can one see through the illusion of this flesh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Silver-Headed Jieti clasped his hands together: “Amitabha. Suffering the body strengthens the Buddha-heart. As long as his life is not in danger, let these mortals torment him. When the time is ripe, someone will guide him into the Buddha’s fold.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gods and Buddhas, towering above, regarded mortal suffering as a natural part of cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Months later, on the streets of Jiangzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yan was dragged by his hair across the cobblestones by the beggar boss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you don’t beg ten copper coins today, I’ll break your legs!” The beggar boss kicked Chen Yan in the stomach again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yan rolled a few times and collapsed by the roadside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was too hungry to even muster the strength to rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Passersby hurried past, pointing and whispering, but none dared intervene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beggar boss raised his wooden club, ready to bring it down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A deep, resonant voice rang out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd parted as an old monk, wearing a faded, threadbare cassock, walked forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old monk’s face was gaunt, his expression full of compassion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was Elder Fa Ming of Jinshan Temple, descending the mountain today to perform rites for the dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Fa Ming stepped before Chen Yan and knelt down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yan barely lifted his head. His eyes, though bloodshot, were clear and resolute, free of submission or numbness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Fa Ming’s heart trembled. Gazing into those eyes, he felt an overwhelming sense—this child was destined for the Buddha’s path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Amitabha,” Elder Fa Ming clasped his hands. “Good sir, I will buy this child.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beggar boss sized up Fa Ming and sneered: “Old monk, do you have money? This brat may be stubborn, but he’s good-looking—I want ten taels of silver!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fa Ming said nothing. He unfastened his satchel and emptied all its copper coins and silver fragments onto the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was all he had collected over months of alms-seeking, meant to repair the temple’s Buddha statues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here it all is,” Fa Ming said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beggar boss’s eyes gleamed. He snatched up the coins, weighed them in his hand, spat, and said: “You lucky brat. Old monk, he’s yours!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he vanished into the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fa Ming reached down and lifted Chen Yan into his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yan leaned against the monk’s cassock, thick with the scent of sandalwood, feeling warmth he had not known in years, and fell into deep sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above the clouds, the Silver-Headed Jieti watched and nodded slightly: “The trials are complete. The Buddha has guided a disciple to lead the Buddha Child onto his destined path.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time slipped by, fifteen years passing like a white horse crossing a crevice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, in the thirteenth year of Zhen Guan, the Tang Dynasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jinshan Temple, Scripture Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the tower, an eighteen-year-old young monk sat on a cushion, turning pages of yellowed sutras.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The youth had a handsome face, sharp brows and star-like eyes, radiating an air of transcendent detachment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was Chen Yan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since being brought into Jinshan Temple by Fa Ming, Chen Yan quickly revealed his brilliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He grasped the temple’s sutras at a single insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over fifteen years, his Buddhist cultivation surpassed all other monks in the temple—even Elder Fa Ming, in doctrinal debates, was often left speechless by his questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Fa Ming opened the door and entered the Scripture Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chen Yan, tomorrow is your ordination ceremony,” Fa Ming said, gazing at the boy he had raised, his eyes filled with pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yan closed the sutra and rose to bow: “Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fa Ming studied Chen Yan’s eyes: “Do you carry a knot in your heart?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yan fell silent for a moment, then spoke: “Master, the sutras say the Four Elements are empty, and one must sever all ties to the mortal world. But I do not understand—if there is no mortal world, how can there be Dharma? If all emotion is severed, and all beings seen as illusion, what difference is there between the Buddha and a wooden idol? Is true compassion not to dwell in the mortal world yet still pity it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fa Ming sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For fifteen years, Chen Yan had understood Buddhist doctrine deeply—but he had always resisted the teaching of severing ties to the mortal world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chen Yan, this is your destiny,” Fa Ming clasped his hands, his voice heavy. “You were born to enter the Buddha’s fold and liberate all beings. Mortal attachments only hinder your Buddha-heart. You must let go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yan lowered his head. In his mind, the blurred image of the scarred man and the gentle woman flashed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fifteen years had passed, yet the image had not faded—it had grown sharper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew it was the humanity he could not abandon, the only light that had kept him alive through his darkest years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Disciple… understands,” Chen Yan whispered, finally offering no further resistance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, the Great Hero Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, the golden Buddha statue loomed solemnly, gazing down upon all beings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hall echoed with chanting sutras and the steady beat of the wooden fish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air was thick with the scent of sandalwood. Chen Yan knelt before the Buddha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wore a gray monk’s robe, hands clasped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Fa Ming stood behind him, holding a razor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the temple’s monks stood in rows on either side, softly reciting sutras.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First, sever all evil. Second, cultivate all good. Third, liberate all beings.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fa Ming’s voice echoed through the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The razor descended. A strand of black hair drifted down, landing on the polished floor tiles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Yan closed his eyes, his thoughts unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above Jinshan Temple, the Golden-Headed Jieti and Silver-Headed Jieti stood on the clouds, their eyes fixed on the Great Hero Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Finally ordained,” the Silver-Headed Jieti exhaled, his tense nerves easing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Golden-Headed Jieti smiled faintly: “Eighteen years. Jin Chanzi has returned to his seat. The mortal world is severed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fa Ming shaved away the last strand of Tang Seng’s hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From this day forward, you are a true disciple of the Buddha. Your Dharma name: Tang Seng,” Fa Ming set down the razor and clasped his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Seng slowly opened his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up at the towering golden Buddha above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Buddha smiled—compassionate, yet cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep within Tang Seng’s gaze, a flicker of struggle passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had not severed the mortal world. He had merely buried the seed deepest in his heart, wrapped it in Dharma, hiding it from all eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Disciple… accepts,” Tang Seng bowed, his forehead touching the cold floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two Jieti above sensed nothing amiss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go. Report to Guanyin Bodhisattva in the South Sea. The scripture seeker has entered his proper path,” said the Golden-Headed Jieti, turning and dissolving into a beam of golden light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Silver-Headed Jieti followed close behind.\u003C\u002Fp>",1449,"2026-06-21T05:42:12.148Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","745ce9eaf02b6a5bcb2a31ad2e002fe4177b49f87d958b729532b499cea50908","i-m-invincible-and-you-tell-me-this-is-journey-t-chapter-426","i-m-invincible-and-you-tell-me-this-is-journey-t-chapter-424",470,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-invincible-and-you-tell-me-this-is-journey-t-cover.jpg"]