Chapter 446: Bajie Gets His Kidneys Harvested

Journey to the West Plane, on the road to the west.

"Sea-Calming Divine Ability: Dinghai One Staff Ten Thousand Demons Bow!"

In front of a lake, Sun Wukong raised the Golden Cudgel and smashed it toward the water.

Suddenly, the earth shook and the mountains swayed; the water in the lake splashed thousands of feet high, carrying with it quite a few fish and shrimp.

Under a tree by the lakeside, Bajie, who was dozing off for a nap, did not have time to dodge and was instantly drenched into a drowned pig.

Bajie stood up with a sudden jolt, looked at the lake water and waterweeds all over his body, and cursed loudly:

"Damn it, this plague-ridden dead monkey, has the world turned upside down?"

"Master, if you don't do something, this monkey is getting more and more arrogant." Bajie hurriedly ran to Xuanzang to complain.

At this moment, Xuanzang was bare-armed, leading Xiaobailong and Heixiong to cultivate their physical bodies.

Under the midday sun, the sunlight made their muscles shine as dazzlingly as diamonds.

Xiaobailong and Heixiong benefited greatly, their realms improving imperceptibly.

Yet Bajie ran over, cursing and swearing.

This annoyed Xiaobailong and Heixiong!

"Second Senior Brother, Master is teaching us to cultivate. Even if you don't cultivate, why come over and disturb us?" Xiaobailong said, his gaze unkind.

"No, Xiaobailong, you didn't see the commotion the monkey made just now; that lake water splashed all over me," Bajie said.

"Master says that cultivating muscles yields high energy. It just so happens that we need cold water for yin-yang complementarity," Heixiong said.

"..." Bajie.

"Bajie, your recent performance has disappointed your master," Xuanzang said.

Upon hearing this, Bajie trembled and said:

"Master, I am physically weak and cannot withstand such high-intensity cultivation from you."

"Besides, there is the principle of teaching according to aptitude and education for all. Choosing a cultivation method that suits oneself is what matters most."

"So, Second Senior Brother, your cultivation method is sleeping," Xiaobailong said.

"Otherwise? Look at me, I can cultivate to the peak of Heavenly Immortal just by sleeping. Isn't this the best proof?" Bajie said proudly.

"That is clearly because Master gave you the Ginseng Fruit," Heixiong said.

"Bajie, don't compare yourself to Xiaobailong. Look at Heixiong; his origin is not much better than yours, yet he is already a Golden Immortal," Xuanzang said.

"Master, you gave him the Ancestral Blood of the Chaos Demon Bear; of course he would take off. If you gave it to me, I wouldn't be any worse," Bajie replied.

"All excuses, you fool." Sun Wukong flew over, raising his staff, intending to make Bajie's head bloom.

Bajie greased the soles of his feet and in an instant ran behind Xuanzang, saying:

"Master, didn't Guanyin Bodhisattva give you a Tight-Fillet back then? I think you should put it on Houzi Brother; otherwise, he is too wild to be tamed."

"Dead pig!" Sun Wukong was furious upon hearing this.

Xuanzang's heart stirred; reminded by Bajie, it seemed that both the Tight-Fillet and the Golden Fillet were now in his own hands.

This thing didn't have much binding power over a Great Luo Golden Immortal, but it was very effective against immortals below that level.

Even a great demon as strong as Sun Wukong would suffer splitting headaches under the Tight-Fillet.

"Forget it, Bajie ate the Ginseng Fruit not long ago and hasn't fully refined it yet; there should still be quite a bit of Ginseng Fruit essence left in his body."

"Tonight, let's have steamed pig kidneys to give everyone a boost!"

"Agreed." Sun Wukong clapped his hands in delight.

"Seconded, Eldest Senior Brother is right," Xiaobailong said.

"I think so too." Heixiong revealed an innocent smile.

"!" Shaseng.

"..., Master, don't!" Bajie let out another miserable scream.

Heavenly Court, Thirty-Three Heavens, Tushita Palace.

The Jade Emperor arrived at the palace silently, seeing at a glance that the green ox was missing from the stable and the boy was no longer fanning the fire in front of the Eight-Trigrams Furnace.

Before long, Taishang Laojun appeared out of thin air before the Jade Emperor and bowed slightly.

"Laojun, your people have gone down?" the Jade Emperor asked.

"Why does Your Majesty ask when you already know?" Taishang Laojun said.

"I ask this, and you still don't know the reason, Laojun? Xuanzang has now advanced to a Great Luo Golden Immortal; can those two boys of yours handle him?" the Jade Emperor said.

"The Innate Gourd, Binding Immortal Rope, Seven-Star Sword, and Suet Jade Purifying Bottle—with these treasures combined, even a Great Luo Golden Immortal cannot defend against them," Taishang Laojun said.

Among them, the Innate Gourd in particular is a true Innate Dharma Treasure, a treasure gourd grown on the Innate Gourd Vine; it inherently possesses the Space Law, forms its own world, can contain heaven and earth, and can swallow all things.

"Laojun, these Dharma treasures of yours are indeed powerful, but to deal with Xuanzang, I feel they are far from enough."

"Compared to Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie lacks wisdom, but Xuanzang is clearly sharp-minded; your silly boys will likely be sold out," the Jade Emperor said half-jokingly.

"It doesn't matter; in the end, I will make a move."

"Furthermore, the Heavenly Court itself is just going through the motions, just putting on a show; that is all," Taishang Laojun said.

"That's true. Let Buddhism worry about their own affairs." The Jade Emperor nodded, agreeing with Laojun's view.

"However, I am still puzzled by one thing. Laojun, tell me, how did this Xuanzang suddenly become a Great Luo Golden Immortal? I don't believe there is no one behind him."

The Jade Emperor asked again; this was also a common question among the gods and demons of the Heavenly Court and Buddhism.

How difficult it is to attain the Dao as a Great Luo Golden Immortal; one might not succeed even after a hundred thousand or a million years!

Even if Xuanzang had the Merit of nine lifetimes, his foundation was still insufficient to cultivate into a Great Luo.

"Heavenly secrets must not be revealed."

Taishang Laojun's expression was calm as he gently fanned the flames of the Eight-Trigrams Furnace.

"Laojun, why must you still speak in riddles with this Monarch? I strongly suspect that you are the one supporting Xuanzang from behind the scenes," the Jade Emperor said.

As long as there is enough Nine-Turn Golden Elixir, Taishang Laojun could pile up a Golden Immortal at perfection, and with certain specific conditions, molding a Great Luo would not be difficult.

Hearing this, Taishang Laojun merely glanced indifferently at the Jade Emperor and said:

"I have said that heavenly secrets cannot be leaked, so they cannot be leaked."

"If the Jade Emperor insists on knowing, there are two ways."

"What ways?" the Jade Emperor asked hurriedly.

"First, become a Saint. If Your Majesty were to become a Saint, then knowing everything would be very simple. Second, Your Majesty could go and ask the Dao Ancestor," Taishang Laojun said.

"..."

The Jade Emperor's face turned green; what kind of rotten ideas were these two methods?

Becoming a Saint—even after cultivating for another hundred thousand years, the Jade Emperor would not dare guarantee he could succeed; unless the world gained one more wisp of Hongmeng Purple Qi, the possibility was extremely low.

As for asking the Dao Ancestor? That was even more impossible!

The Dao Ancestor was hidden in Chaos, like a Dragon that shows its head but never its tail, and had not appeared for a very long time.

"Laojun, are you really not going to say?" the Jade Emperor asked again, unwilling to give up.

Taishang Laojun remained calm and composed, saying leisurely:

"Jade Emperor, is there a possibility that, in fact, this poor Daoist does not know either?

Since you have come, then be at peace. Letting all things follow their natural course is the true Great Dao."

"Farewell."

The Jade Emperor waved his hand and left directly.

Taishang Laojun smiled and said nothing; inside the pill furnace, one could vaguely see a golden Pill gradually taking shape.