Chapter 479: How Is Your Mother?

"I am the humble monk Tang Xuanzang." Tang Luo said, "This, Chenxiang, how is your mother?"

"..." Liu Chenxiang swore that after living over three hundred years, this was the first time he had ever met someone who greeted his mother upon first meeting.

Originally, his expression was light and breezy with a hint of kindness, but it gradually faded.

On the other side, Luo Ze wanted to speak but hesitated, not knowing what to do, nearly turning in circles on the spot.

"Well..." Liu Chenxiang asked, "Why are you asking this?"

"Alright." Tang Luo said, "I won't beat around the bush—where is your mother Yang Chan imprisoned? Do you know?"

Liu Chenxiang sprang to his feet, his beard, hair, and robes unable to move on their own, a powerful aura surged forth, pressing toward Tang Luo: "Just who are you!"

His mother's matter had always been a secret.

Hidden deep in his heart, suppressed for countless years, sometimes even Liu Chenxiang himself nearly forgot it.

Now, however, a stranger suddenly brought it up—how could Liu Chenxiang not be startled?

As Liu Chenxiang stood up, the entire village instantly changed, with people rushing from all directions, surrounding the small pavilion in just a few breaths.

Their auras firmly locked onto Tang Luo and his three companions, battle intent palpable.

Some even brought children with little combat strength, quickly withdrawing.

Those children were also very well-behaved, neither crying nor fussing, following the adults obediently, and soon vanished from sight, unknown where they hid.

"Who are you, sir?"

Liu Chenxiang stared sternly at Tang Luo as he asked, not even bothering to question Luo Ze beside him.

First, it could be confirmed that these people were not incarnations of deities' incense.

After years of dealing with deities, their "stench" was something Liu Chenxiang could smell at once.

The three before him had none—no such nauseating odor on them.

But this did not mean one could let down their guard.

Besides deities, the Covert God Society was not without other enemies—some who had betrayed to side with deities, some deities' lackeys, and... monsters.

Yes, in this realm, monsters were equally important figures.

In Liu Chenxiang's life, his experience battling monsters was no longer rare.

Compared to deities, those fully transformed monsters were even harder to distinguish.

"I am Tang, dharma name Xuanzang." Tang Luo had to reintroduce himself, "This is my second disciple Zhu Wuneng, fourth disciple Ao Yulie, and the dog, Xiao Tianquan."

Zhu Bajie and Ao Yulie nodded slightly when Tang Luo introduced them.

As for Xiao Tianquan, lying lazily on Tang Luo's shoulder, he didn't even glance at Liu Chenxiang.

"Xiao Tianquan?" Liu Chenxiang obviously noticed this title.

Regarding dharma names and monastic identities, others might not know, but Liu Chenxiang at least knew of a profession—monk—whose followers were sparse and nearly extinct.

This identity, he did not care about.

What he cared about was Xiao Tianquan—not because Tang Luo called a cat a dog, but because Xiao Tianquan was the renowned "deity."

"Yes, the true Xiao Tianquan." Tang Luo said.

"Hah." Liu Chenxiang let out a light laugh, "You mean this cat is the real Xiao Tianquan."

"Exactly." Tang Luo said, paused for a moment, then said something he felt he had said many times before, "You might not believe it when I say it, but it's true."

Why do so many people react this way? Clearly speaking the plain truth, yet they refuse to believe.

"Alright." Liu Chenxiang clearly had no intention of dwelling on this, immediately returning to the topic, "Then, Master Xuanzang, how did you know... my mother?"

Not an insult, merely spoken with a pause and softly.

That Luo Ze understood well—when Liu Chenxiang paused, he had already withdrawn from the pavilion.

He ran into the surrounding crowd and said a few words, indicating the situation was under the assembly master's control, so no one needed to worry.

As for those three of unknown origin, all that could be said was that they had indeed feuded with deities.

Whether the enemy of an enemy could become a friend still depended on the assembly master's decision.

Until then, everyone only needed to watch and prepare to act—or flee—at any moment.

"Say it out... forget it." Tang Luo shook his head, "Your mother could be considered my number one fan."

Elder brother Yang Jian was Tang Luo's number one fan, but not a devoted follower.

But Yang Chan, she truly was Tang Luo's number one fan.

She once said things like, "So happy, today is another day I chased the great author ten thousand li."

Later, Yang Jian worried his position as a loyal fan was insecure, so he chased Tang Luo one hundred and eight thousand li just to surpass his own sister.

Before an idol, there is no sister complex!

"... Your mother!" This was not referring to anyone's mother—it was Liu Chenxiang cursing.

"Sigh..." Tang Luo let out a sigh.

Why does speaking the truth find no one believing it—what exactly went wrong?

Has the world changed, or is it people's thoughts?

Or perhaps both.

Seeing Tang Luo lose interest, Zhu Bajie stepped forward at the right moment: "Cough, Liu Chenxiang, what my master said is all true—your uncle is the Manifest Sage True Lord."

"Your mother Yang Chan fell in love with a mortal, your uncle intervened, sealing her beneath the mountain—I spoke correctly, didn't I?"

Liu Chenxiang frowned, but it was correct!

This past event, indeed, was so.

But how did they know this?

"You founded the Covert God Society to rescue your mother, right?" Zhu Wuneng asked.

Liu Chenxiang looked at Zhu Wuneng and said, "Founding the Covert God Society to rescue my mother? Master Wuneng, do you think I'm some seven- or eight-year-old child?"

"……" Zhu Bajie's face was slightly embarrassed.

I'm being foolish.

If the Liu Chenxiang before me were a boy of ten or so, then his founding of the Covert God Society would certainly be to rescue his own mother.

But now, the Chenxiang before me is a weathered old man who has experienced much.

In his heart, rescuing his own mother has probably long ceased to be the most important thing.

In fact, Liu Chenxiang's memory of Yang Chan is very vague.

Yang Chan left him when he was very young.

At first, Liu Chenxiang cultivated, grew stronger, and indeed wanted to rescue Yang Chan.

But after enduring the long passage of time, he is no longer the naive youth he once was.

Establishing the Covert God Society was never meant to save people.

Saying it is revenge might be more accurate.

To rescue his mother, Liu Chenxiang paid a great price; now, saving people is no longer his obsession—revenge is.

"Well, this actually isn't important." Zhu Bajie said, "Do you know where Yang Jian is?"

"Yang Jian?" Liu Chenxiang said, "Who is that?"

"Your uncle."

"So he's called Yang Jian?" Liu Chenxiang snorted coldly, "After all these years, I still don't truly know his name."

"……So you didn't know." Zhu Bajie said.

Liu Chenxiang slightly shook his head.

In fact, he truly never met face to face with the "True Lord" his father spoke of, not even an incense incarnation.

If forced to say, it's only the memories of his childhood.

Dark clouds blotted out the sun, and the beautiful life of a family of three was shattered; his mother vanished from life.

A few days later, his father told him his mother had been seized by an immortal called the Manifest Sage True Lord, who was also his uncle, and that when he grew up, he must surely rescue his mother.

Compared to the portrait in the temple, the dark clouds blotting out the sun in his memory are more like the "Manifest Sage True Lord."

Zhu Bajie still wanted to ask something, but Liu Chenxiang raised a hand to interrupt: "I've answered some of your questions; now it's my turn to ask."

"Ask away." Zhu Bajie said.

"What is your identity, why do you know those old events, and what is your purpose in seeking me?" Liu Chenxiang threw out three questions at once.

Zhu Bajie thought for a moment, then decided to start from the beginning: "A very long time ago……"

"Stop!" Liu Chenxiang immediately interrupted, "Are you telling me a story?"

Three hundred years ago, no one had ever told him a story; it was always him telling stories to others.

"Starting from the beginning will be more detailed, helping you understand the whole matter; if you don't want to listen, I can also make it simpler." Zhu Bajie said.

"Simpler."

"Well, we have old ties with your mother and your uncle, and we intend to find them." Zhu Bajie spoke concisely.

"……Are you also immortals?" Liu Chenxiang asked, "No, you don't have that aura."

"Are you referring to the power of incense?" Zhu Bajie said, "Strictly speaking, those people are more suitably called 'gods'; they walk the path of divinity through incense."

"As for us, we can be called gods, immortals, or buddhas—just different terms."

"In essence, we are actually 'strong ones'!"

Liu Chenxiang's mouth corner twitched slightly.

"What are you seeking them for?" Liu Chenxiang asked.

"I don't know; we'll see how things go, but most likely we'll have to fight." Zhu Bajie said.

"……" Liu Chenxiang felt for the first time that communication was a difficult matter, "How did you know of me, and of my relationship with the Manifest Sage True Lord?"

Zhu Bajie was somewhat at a loss; this is hard to answer.

Could it be that your story was compiled into *Baolian Deng* and spread in various forms?

He wouldn't believe it even if said aloud.

At this moment, Zhu Bajie suddenly realized: in this day and age, telling the truth to make people believe is actually harder than telling lies?

No wonder my master suddenly fell silent.

Such a troublesome mess, of course, is dumped on the disciples.

"A very long time ago, don't interrupt—I won't say it this way, you simply wouldn't believe me!" Zhu Bajie said, beginning to recount the past.

The more Liu Chenxiang listened, the more his heart was shaken.

Once there was a vast expanse of heaven and earth; now the heaven and earth we inhabit are merely fragments formed from that vast expanse.

These people, including his mother and his uncle, were prominent figures in that heaven and earth.

"……" Liu Chenxiang could not help but interrupt Zhu Bajie's words, walking to the side, "I need some quiet."

He is only level 10, just out of the newbie village.

Suddenly being given a lecture on the world map beyond level 100 is a bit overwhelming.

The map unfolded all at once, too large to take in easily.

Seeing Liu Chenxiang walk out of the small pavilion, Luo Ze approached and whispered a few words.

Liu Chenxiang nodded, and the two walked to one side.

After a while, Liu Chenxiang told the other members of the Covert God Society they need not stand guard here, and he re-entered the small pavilion: "If you three truly wish to see my mother or that Manifest Sage True Lord, joining forces with our Covert God Society would be the best choice."

The seasoned Liu Chenxiang, after learning the situation from Luo Ze, calmed down and immediately discarded those irrelevant side issues, cutting straight to the core problem.

Mother, "uncle"'s ancient past?

Former immortals?

No, none of that matters.

As long as you fight immortals, we're good brothers.

Whether the enemy of my enemy can become a friend depends on their answer.