Chapter 8: Xuanzang Descends the Mountain

Journey to the West: Opening by Joining the Chat Group, Main Text Volume, Chapter 8, Xuanzang Descends the Mountain.

Xuanzang and the Old Monk stood in confrontation; their gazes met, and at this moment, silence spoke louder than words.

As Xuanzang grew older, the thought of descending the mountain naturally grew stronger.

The Old Monk knew it was impossible to keep Xuanzang from descending the mountain forever; that was unrealistic.

And now, for the sake of "doing one good deed a day," Xuanzang had even more reason to find an excuse to descend, even if it was highly likely he would be physically "enlightened" by the Old Monk.

It was just that, clearly, the Old Monk had no intention of taking action this time; he was still relatively civilized.

The Old Monk said in a tone of helplessness: "Disciple, what is so good about the world below? Why must you descend the mountain?"

"There is... *cough cough*, Master, staying in the temple and building a cart behind closed doors is like drawing a circle on the ground to serve as a prison; one cannot become a Buddha this way. Moreover, Confucius once said, 'Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles.' Entering the world after transcending it is true cultivation," Xuanzang explained with a straight face.

"Heh." The Old Monk gave a noncommittal smile, his attitude somewhat inscrutable.

Xuanzang laid his cards on the table and asked: "Master, then tell me why you have never let me descend the mountain? Other temples hold grand ceremonies everywhere and perform rites to earn money; they don't just stay in one place."

The Old Monk glanced at him, rubbed his smooth, bald head, and said: "I cannot control other temples, but in my territory, I am the master. As for why you cannot descend, it is naturally because the heavenly secrets must not be leaked. When the time comes, you will understand my painstaking efforts."

"That excuse again. It's been eighteen years, Master. Can't you come up with something more original?" Xuanzang said.

Upon hearing this, the Old Monk's expression suddenly turned serious, very formal, and he said:

"Xuanzang, have you ever noticed that you are different from others? In other words, you are born with the potential to become a Buddha. Why give up a bright future because of a craving for the mortal world?"

"Heh." Xuanzang gave a light, airy smile.

"There are many demons below. If you descend and get eaten by a demon, who will inherit my temple?" the Old Monk added.

"Master, let's speak plainly. Do I look weak to you? It's not that I'm boasting, but within a thousand miles of Chang'an, I hammer every demon I see," Xuanzang said.

"..." The Old Monk.

It seemed Xuanzang was not wrong; with his current cultivation, he was already invincible in the Human Realm.

"Disciple, have you decided? Do you really want to descend?" the Old Monk asked again.

"Yes." Xuanzang nodded.

"Very well, I will take a step back. You may descend now, but your range is limited to within ten thousand miles of our Wuming Mountain, excluding Chang'an City. You cannot go there, at least not for now," the Old Monk said.

"OK!" Xuanzang made a gesture.

"?" A question mark appeared above the Old Monk's head, but he roughly understood.

Xuanzang had not expected the Old Monk to concede, and as for why he was forbidden from going to Chang'an City, he did not ask.

Being able to descend was enough!

Besides, once down the mountain, wouldn't it be like a fish leaping in the vast sea or a bird flying in the high sky?

"Also, before that great event in the future begins, you must return every three days; you are not allowed to linger outside for long periods," the Old Monk added.

Seeing the Old Monk's worried look, Xuanzang was reminded of his father from his previous life.

"No problem, no problem," Xuanzang agreed readily.

"Bye-bye."

Following that, Xuanzang waved his hand and left the temple that had confined him for many years without looking back.

The Old Monk watched Xuanzang's dashing retreating figure, feeling a sense of foreboding in his heart; he wondered if his decision had been too rash.

At the foot of Wuming Mountain, Xuanzang looked back at the temple on the mountain once, and then began his first journey.

He looked into the distance toward the east, where a magnificent and prosperous city sat; that was naturally Chang'an City.

Although he really wanted to go there, Xuanzang felt that violating the Old Monk's agreement right after descending might be disrespectful.

There was no rush for that!

The surroundings of Wuming Mountain were also filled with green hills; everywhere there were forests, woods, and rivers, with few signs of human life.

After all, this was the Mythical World; although it had a historical background, it was truly vast and boundless.

Along the way, Xuanzang checked the Chat Group a few times and found that the chat in the group was sparse; after all, everyone had just joined, they weren't very familiar with each other, and they were likely all tinkering with the Chat Group's functions.

However, Li Chungang was quite diligent, appearing punctually to check in every morning, noon, and night.

As for the Demon Queen Morgana, she would pop out every now and then to curse, but no one paid her any mind.

"While I have this time, should I go to Five Fingers Mountain to see my future disciple, Sun Wukong?" Xuanzang said.

At his current pace, at full speed, he could reach Two Worlds Mountain on the border of Great Tang in half a day at most.

But he quickly rejected this decision; better to play it safe!

"Do one good deed a day!"

As Xuanzang traveled, he looked for opportunities to do good deeds.

Of course, there was a technique to doing good deeds, and there was also internal competition.

If it was just a simple good deed, it lacked technical content.

For example, helping an old lady cross the street, finding a lost cat, or suppressing bandits?

I'm afraid the rewards wouldn't be very good!

Half a day passed.

By the evening, Xuanzang felt there was no hope for a good deed today, but he didn't force it; it wasn't mandatory anyway.

Doing good deeds should be natural; forcing it would be unseemly.

So, while the sun had not yet set, Xuanzang hunted a wild boar in the forest and dragged it to the riverbank, then caught a few large carp and roasted them naturally.

He also purchased a few bottles of strong sorghum liquor from the Chat Group Mall and drank them down in one gulp.

In the Chat Group Mall, as long as you had points, you had everything.

"This is what life is about!"

With a pork knuckle in one hand and strong sorghum liquor in the other, Xuanzang couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.

Although he would occasionally sneak a bite of meat behind the Old Monk's back while on the mountain, it was nowhere near as satisfying as eating now, without a single restraint.

"Singing while drunk, how long is a human life; I only pine for the mortal world, and envy no immortals or Buddhas!"

Facing the evening sunset, Xuanzang chanted the first half of a poem.

Yet in a corner where Xuanzang could not perceive, the Old Monk's face was black with rage, truly wanting to jump out and beat this rebellious disciple.

It had only been such a short time, and he had already broken the precept against killing, the precept against meat, and the precept against alcohol; only the precept against lust remained.

"Rebellious disciple!" the Old Monk roared in his heart.

Xuanzang suddenly sneezed, a chill running down his spine; why did he feel like someone was talking about him?

An illusion?

Afterward, he drank a mouthful of strong sorghum liquor straight down and fell fast asleep on the rock.

A night passed.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Accompanied by a burst of intense fighting sounds, Xuanzang woke up from his sleep, somewhat annoyed.

However, Xuanzang's expression changed quickly; these fighting sounds were not ordinary, but accompanied by waves of magical power.

It was just that the fluctuations of the magical power were somewhat weak.

Xuanzang immediately rushed to the scene of the fight, a dense forest, and looking from afar, three figures were engaged in combat.

These three figures were one white, one cyan, and one black!

Judging from the conclusion, none of them were human, and it seemed to be a two-on-one situation.

"Three demons?"

"Has the opportunity to do a good deed arrived?" Xuanzang laughed.

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