Chapter 461: The Immortal Sword Journey to the West

"Seventy, seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three purple gold alms bowls." Su Lin looked at the pile before him, holding up his own purple gold alms bowl: "Add this one in my hand, and it's seventy-four."

"Is this world some kind of Tang Xuanzang drop-shipping marketplace?"

No one could answer him, for beneath those tombs were merely symbolic graves, each containing nothing but the plainest of monastic robes.

"So, are we the seventy-fourth group of Western pilgrims?" Meng Qi mused, then suddenly seized the air with his right hand, using karmic ties to trace the inevitable object causing the chaos of heavenly fate.

The starry sky rippled like water.

In an instant, Meng Qi saw the heavens and earth "rewinding": first, countless different Xuanzang masters set out from Tang, journeying west to seek the true sutras—but vanished without a trace.

Later, more Xuanzang masters and their disciples emerged from Huasheng Temple, yet none made it beyond Chang'an before dying—cut down by soldiers bearing the emperor's qi and the Junior Director of the Astronomical Bureau.

Occasionally, some were impervious to blades and spears, others could transform into monsters, wielding immortal and demonic arts to summon strange artifacts, as if possessing the power to destroy heaven and earth, pluck stars and seize the moon—but the fate of these Xuanzang masters remained the same.

Half never left Chang'an; even those who escaped perished under various calamities.

"Wrong." Meng Qi murmured: "Time hasn't passed?"

He vaguely sensed something amiss; by now, he was no longer the ordinary immortal he had been when first attaining the Yuan Shi Jin Zhang—secrets of the heavenly Dao, relics left by the Three Pure Ones, the Yuan Shi seals—if he sought the root cause—

It was not impossible!

A phantom ancient lamp appeared in his hand; from it, a chain of karmic secrets shot upward, piercing into infinite heights. Meng Qi looked up, his gaze piercing through layers of obstruction, into a chaos—

A towering, distant ancient scroll hung within, its pages flowing with time, revealing a figure ruling the cosmos, enlightening myriad heavens, walking the Way of Heaven.

"Hun Tian Di."

The next morning, a thousand officials in jade pendants, five guards' banners leading the way, the Tang Emperor escorted Su Lin's party all the way to the outskirts of Chang'an.

The Tang Emperor sat upon a dragon carriage, drawn by six fine steeds.

Su Lin held up his purple gold alms bowl to the Tang Emperor: "Give me seven more. I'll make up ninety-nine—exactly matching the ninety-nine trials."

Xuanzang's kasaya, staff, and golden circlet were given by Guanyin and Muzha; the purple gold alms bowl was bestowed by Emperor Taizong. Since all were taken anyway, why not gather a number with ceremonial significance?

The Tang Emperor summoned an official, whispered a few words in his ear, then rose and said to Su Lin: "That alms bowl in your hand must have been granted to my first imperial brother—I've nearly forgotten him."

The Tang Emperor seemed lost in memory, then asked: "This cycle of suffering—surely this is the final time?"

"Perhaps." Su Lin could not give him a definite answer.

"I have a feeling this is the last time." The Tang Emperor smiled, leaning back on his dragon carriage, singing in a melodic tone: "Imperial brother~~ How long will it take you to return from the Western Heaven?"

"The Western Journey, the Western Journey is hard. What use is being a mortal emperor? Even immortals struggle, demons find it hard—but only mortals suffer."

The Emperor was the only one who remembered these things—not because he was special, but because heaven needed him to cooperate.

Only when he encountered problems even immortals could not solve did he realize the Western Journey was merely a game of chess; his current state was simply having seen through everything.

But sometimes, seeing through things isn't a good thing. It was better to be as clueless as before.

When the dragon carriage halted, attendants and eunuchs laid out gauze candles and incense burners; others brought horses and packed their luggage.

Mist curled softly, the scenery perfect. The Tang Emperor poured wine from a flask into a silver cup and handed it to Su Lin: "What is your honorable title, Imperial Brother?"

"Sanzang." Su Lin took the silver cup and smiled.

"Let me relive the past—let me say those old words again." Li Shimin paused, then smiled with relief:

"I won't put earth in your cup this time. I beg you, relieve the suffering of all beings—if you ever have the chance—"

"I implore you, find the remains of my imperial brother."

"Take care."

Li Shimin finished the wine in one gulp, then turned and departed.

The official previously instructed arrived at full gallop, leaving seven purple gold alms bowls.

Su Lin placed a flask of Zui Xian Niang Nian on the dragon carriage: "Your Majesty, try this wine of mine when you have time."

He lifted his staff, mounted his horse, draped himself in the dimmed pearl-adorned Jin Lan kasaya, and rode westward.

The rest of the tale—wait for the next installment—

"What are you showing off for?" Su Lin looked at Lu Mingfei, who was reciting on a white horse, and said:

"I've heard 'white horse is not a horse,' but I've never seen a black horse riding a horse before."

Lu Mingfei retorted: "You're the horse! I'm a man, got it?"

"This Journey to the West is turning into a puzzle." Su Lin ignored Lu Mingfei, pulled the pass document from his saddlebag:

"I knew why the quest's background characters were called Tang Sanzang, Sha Wujing, Zhu Bajie—names that only came after the journey began—not Jin Chanzi, Juanlian, or Marshal Tianpeng."

"Now that we've obtained the quest item, can we head straight to Lingshan?"

"Be cautious," Meng Qi said:

"Those pilgrims didn't go west in sequence—they restarted time, and the original pilgrims never reappeared, so others were pulled in to fill the gaps."

"The true body of Hun Tian Di isn't here; what I saw was his remnant. These heavenly immortals must be using it to resist—"

In short, if the pilgrimage team fails once, the entire world resets—but the pilgrims don't revive.

"Are the heavenly immortals still watching?" Su Lin gazed upward for a moment—nothing but blue sky and white clouds:

"I thought you, the crown prince of the Three Pure Ones, would inherit the new legacy."

What crown prince? That phrasing is far too disrespectful.

"If others insist on giving it to me, what can I do?" Meng Qi coughed lightly, changing the subject:

"This is a group raid instance. Those Reincarnators probably know something—let's investigate this world first."

"Perhaps the people behind Yuan Shoucheng and Huangfu Tiangang are weighing whether to approach us."

The top-tier beings of this realm have clearly severed ties with their subordinates and fallen into an unknown state—currently leaderless.

Heaven's situation is neither good nor bad. Since they've chosen to secretly interfere in the mortal realm, they appear trapped—powerless against their enemies, relying only on delay.

Ultimately, if you think carefully, we ourselves appear as Reincarnators. Even if they've mistaken our identities, they'd likely think: 'Could the Tianzun have defected?' 'There must be a deeper reason for the Tianzun's actions.' 'This doesn't seem like the Tianzun we know.'—

"Sun Wukong, I don't know what to eat tonight. Go to heaven and ask the Kitchen God for advice," Su Lin said.

Meng Qi replied dryly: "You'll get kidnapped by demons first."

Finding a god to descend isn't done for this reason, though he really wanted to see the heavenly court of this world anyway.

"But we have our own concerns—what if these gods have ulterior motives, or if great powers like the Three Pure Ones or Hun Tian Di in this realm still exist and are plotting against us? This possibility can't be ignored." Ke Ke Ke Laien donned the attire of a wandering martial artist, a sword strapped to his back.

"Great detective Mr. Xia Luoke." Su Lin, Meng Qi, and others all stared at Ke Ke Ke Laien:

"This is Journey to the West, not Immortal Sword Legend."

You go on your pilgrimage with Hu Ge's face—are you trying to be Li Xiaoyao or Jing Tian? If you're aiming to be Jing Tian, you've gone the wrong way; the heavenly realm is where you belong.

"Reminding everyone, you've forgotten one thing." Ke Ke Ke Laien tugged the reins, drawing closer to Han Li, who was dressed as a guard.

Seven people: five of us as pilgrims, the other two as soon-to-be-killed extras.

"What?" Su Lin blurted out, but this question didn't even need Ke Ke Ke Laien to answer.

Hooves clattered from behind; turning back, they saw Zhang Heng and Chu Lingyun, forgotten in Chang'an City.

"Perfect." Su Lin greeted them: "We need to ask you something."

Famen Temple, according to the records of Journey to the West, should have been a major temple housing hundreds, yet now it lay in ruins, unable to even shield from wind and rain.

"We'll rest here tonight." Su Lin glanced around and spoke to the two newcomers, their clothes caked with demonic blood.

"We continue at dawn; don't waste the travel time—cultivate your own techniques diligently."

Both looked exhausted, but upon hearing Su Lin's words, they nodded and obeyed; they'd endured many life-or-death crises these past two days, yet thanks to the veterans' backing, their gains had been substantial.

Over these two days, Su Lin realized that worldly order maintained a superficial normalcy, but inwardly teetered on the brink of collapse.

This place was roughly a hundred li from Chang'an, yet demons and monsters had grown increasingly numerous—some nearing the strength of ordinary demon immortals.

Clearly abnormal, even deeply incongruous: even if the Journey to the West timeline had restarted, it had nothing to do with mortals or mortal cultivators—so how had demons and monsters become this rampant?

There are too many demons and monsters. The fact that order hasn't collapsed yet must mean someone is deliberately orchestrating it.

Han Li swept his left palm, igniting a fire atop some dry firewood left by previous travelers.

"Three ox demons, one leopard demon, one snake spirit." Shi Hao was busy applying seasoning, sneering:

"But their power's too weak—the benefits from eating them are less than what my sauces offer."

Shi Hao was disappointed—the only demon immortal he'd encountered on the road, Su Lin and the others told him, was called a dung beetle.

"The first trial of our journey is coming—up ahead is Shuangcha Ridge, where three powerful demons dwell; we can have a proper feast then." Su Lin pulled a bottle of fake Zui Xian Niang Wine from history and handed it to Li Huowang:

"Wujing, pour the wine. I'll go see what that monkey's up to."

Inside the courtyard, a faint rustling sound came and went, lingering unpredictably.

"You rascal monkey, come eat!" Su Lin stepped over the temple gate and looked into the courtyard.

Moonlight bathed the scene; Meng Qi swung a jet-black iron rod through the air, then suddenly slammed it into the ground.

The withered yellow grass was swept clean by an energy surge, leaving behind a pile of spiders, centipedes, venomous snakes, beetles, and white maggots.

"Cultivation insects." Meng Qi retracted the rod and clapped his hands, smiling: "Fang Yuan, this is your specialty."

Hearing Meng Qi's words, Zhang Heng, who had been meditating with eyes tightly shut, suddenly opened them and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Su Lin glanced back at Zhang Heng and said: "Losing your composure in the Reincarnation space will get you killed."

One reminder is enough; being disturbed by such a false name is unacceptable.

The cultivation insects glowed with a hazy light, coalescing into a massive human face, whose enormous mouth opened and spat out a red beam stretching several zhang long.

Corroding blood qi, withering soul essences, burning skin and bones, alongside the wails of countless living beings echoed.

Facing this assault, Su Lin merely tossed out a ball of black-and-white Taiji-shaped flame, then turned and walked into the room.

Silent and unseen, a pile of ash fell, piling into a pyramid shape in the courtyard of Famen Temple.

Moments later, a brilliant white-gold radiance emerged from the ash; a white flying ant broke through the ground, then hundreds, then ten thousands—each flying in one direction, piercing the sky.

Meng Qi smiled: "You really know cultivation insect arts?"

"Just learned it." Su Lin asked: "What else do you want to see? I'll satisfy you all at once."

"Eat noodles through your nostrils."

"Get lost."

Watching the two joke this way, Zhang Heng felt ashamed once more of his own neuroticism.

He'd still been sensitized by his ID—after completing this mission, he'd buy a rename card and change his name to something villainous.

"Brother Yun!" A girl with ribbons tied in her hair and tiny bells on her wrists cried out in terror.

The next instant, her eyes rolled back, blood gushing uncontrollably from her mouth.

"Bai Zhou, treat Xue Rui!" shouted the young man wearing a towering double-horned crown.

A delicate, androgynous man tore open a sheepskin scroll; countless green specks flew out and surged into the body of a woman named Xue Rui.

"Lu Beiyun, we need to move," Bai Zhou said to the double-horned man. "Our captain only sent us to scout—don't waste your life."

Lu Beiyun suppressed his anger and said: "Go. I've severed the space here—those bugs can't get in for now."

"Those bugs are trying to locate us. Though the cultivation insect path is hard to advance, its advantages are clear…" Bai Zhou expressionlessly pulled out a human-skin scroll:

"We can now confirm for certain: Tang Sanzang's group are Reincarnators."

"Their strength likely exceeds ours. For now, don't listen to the Soul-Shaking Squad's provocation. First, summon the two teams at Liangjie Mountain and Heifeng Mountain—they won't want another team stealing their share."

As he spoke, countless white flying ants twisted and spiraled into a single, immaculately clear spear, thrusting into this isolated space.

Riiip—

The human-skin scroll tore apart; a void storm swallowed everything within the space, including the tracing flying ants, annihilating them all.

"Good news: just now, the Niu Mowang Tiger Demon, Xiong Shanjun the Mountain Fiend, and Te Chushi the Wild Ox Demon attacked us—I've located them." Su Lin told Shi Hao.

Shi Hao's eyes lit up; he rolled up his sleeves and prepared to rise.

"Bad news: they're all Reincarnators—in human form."

"Oh." Shi Hao's eyes dimmed; he silently flipped the roasted meat.

(End of Chapter)