Great Demon Sun Wukong

The two of them followed the stairs down. Although the room with the "Heaven" character wasn't as good as they had imagined, there was one thing that Sun Wukong was very satisfied with: there were no guards. This was because the rooms marked with the "Heaven" character were meant for those of the Battle Buddha Sect who were at the Intermediate Grade of Unity Dao or higher. These individuals were already the strongest fighters in the Battle Buddha Sect. If even they couldn't defeat or notice an enemy, then any additional guards would be in vain. Still, Sun Wukong was very cautious and carefully probed the area, only to find that there was no one around the "Heaven" character room, which made him feel at ease.

Having Zhu Bajie follow behind him, Sun Wukong, in the guise of Kuzhan, strode off in a random direction with Zhu Bajie in tow. Of course, in order not to encounter the real Kuzhan, Sun Wukong kept his Divine Sense released at all times. With the Divine Consciousness Power of an Eight Patterns Supreme at the Supreme Peak, these people from the Battle Buddha Sect could not detect it. Shortly, in less than half an hour, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie encountered a group of patrolling martial monks.

Although there were no guards in the rooms marked with the "Heaven" character, the Battle Buddha Sect had a rigorous defense. Once out of the area of the Heaven rooms, patrolling martial monks with serious expressions could be seen everywhere, and their cultivation was not weak. When this group saw Sun Wukong transformed into Kuzhan, they all bowed respectfully and performed a Buddhist salutation but made no other movement before planning to continue their patrol. It was a rule in the Battle Buddha Sect that disciples needed only to perform a brief Buddhist salutation, which involved standing with one hand vertical in front of the chest followed by a bow, when encountering even the Sect Master during patrol to prevent any oversight during the patrol.

Though Sun Wukong did not know these rules, he never cared about such formalities. However, he did not intend to let this group of patrolling monks go so easily. "Um, what's your name again?" Although Sun Wukong had only seen Kuzhan briefly, he had observed Kuzhan's demeanor, tone, and overall character well enough to mimic him. Kuzhan was a quite arrogant individual. It was normal for someone like him not to remember one or two patrolling monks. The martial monk Sun Wukong was pointing at stepped out of formation, followed by two others, while the rest continued their patrol.

The reason for leaving three behind was also a rule established by the Sect Master of the Battle Buddha Sect. This was precisely to guard against situations like Sun Wukong's, where an enemy might assume the guise of one of their own. If only one person was left and the enemy in disguise launched a surprise attack, they would definitely fall for it. With three people, the possibility was greatly reduced. It must be said that the Sect Master of the Battle Buddha Sect was somewhat clever. Killing such a person would be a pity. What the Sect Master Zhunli did not know was that because of this rule set to prevent surprise attacks by outsiders, he had escaped death and would later achieve unparalleled glory, but that is a tale for another time.

"Elder Kuzhan, I am called Qingfeng!" Hearing the name, Sun Wukong was somewhat taken aback and almost blurted out, "Then which one of you is Mingyue?" One of the disciples who claimed to be Qingfeng stepped forward and said, "I am Mingyue!" At this, Sun Wukong laughed, and even Zhu Bajie behind him chuckled. "I wonder if there are any Ginseng Fruits here, elder brother. You'd better not knock over someone's Ginseng Fruit Tree again!"

Zhu Bajie teased Sun Wukong in a whisper from behind. Upon hearing the fool dare to mock him, Sun Wukong was immediately startled and the words at the tip of his tongue instantly changed to, "You two, seize that fat monk behind me; I suspect he is a spy from the Buddha-worshipping Sect!" Hearing this, Qingfeng and Mingyue were instantly startled. Without a second word, they lunged to Sun Wukong's rear with nearly identical actions and swiftly restrained Zhu Bajie's arms. Of course, this was because Zhu Bajie didn't resist at all; otherwise, with his Dao Transformation Primary Grade cultivation, probably a mere fart could've blasted these two away.

"Big Elder Kuzhan, I'm being wronged!" Sun Wukong heard Zhu Bajie's pleas and then waved his hand with a smile, saying, "Alright, let go, you did well. Quick response. This one is my newly accepted disciple; I was just testing your reaction when encountering an enemy. Very good, very good!" Qingfeng and Mingyue were at first a bit puzzled— why was Elder Kuzhan acting so strange today? But they soon realized that Elder Kuzhan was testing them, and it was clear that he had intentions of promoting them. Being astute, they both immediately knelt on one knee and said in unison, "Thank you for your support, Elder Kuzhan!" Sun Wukong then pretended to nod in approval, and as though suddenly remembering something, he said, "Right, you two take my disciple to the Treasure Pavilion. I need to go back and fetch something. I will personally go to the Treasure Pavilion later to pick a few suitable Magic Treasures for my disciple!"

As he spoke, Sun Wukong was already preparing to use the Sleep Inducing Technique because he did not know what the Battle Buddha Sect's treasure chamber was called, so the name "Treasure Pavilion" was purely a guess. Sun Wukong was also unsure if the Battle Buddha Sect had a practice of allowing disciples to take treasures directly from the treasury. Therefore, if what he said was wrong and caught the attention of these two, Sun Wukong would not hesitate to throw a Sleep Inducing Technique at them and then drag the three to a deserted place to look for the next unlucky victim.

What particularly delighted Sun Wukong was that he had guessed right. Qingfeng and Mingyue were somewhat surprised because those who could choose Magic Treasures in the Treasure Pavilion were super geniuses who were rare even among their sect, yet this newcomer unexpectedly received such a privilege. How could they not be envious? It was clear that this fat-cheeked fellow would undoubtedly become a highly favored person within the sect in the future. Therefore, if they didn't take advantage of this opportunity to establish a good relationship, they would be doing a great disservice to the heavens and their parents. So, with the mentality of quickly bonding with the future influencer, Qingfeng and Mingyue didn't even bother with the other patrolling Martial Monk who was left hanging. After nodding in agreement, they first offered Bajie an apology and then gestured for him to follow.

Bajie had already received a signal from Sun Wukong, so he pretended to ask for permission from Sun Wukong disguised as Kuzhan. After Kuzhan nodded, Bajie followed Qingfeng and Mingyue. Sun Wukong then waved off the remaining disciple and turned to leave. But Sun Wukong didn't truly leave; instead, he went to a secluded corner, transformed into a fly, and followed behind Qingfeng, Mingyue, and Bajie. In fact, with Sun Wukong's strong Divine Consciousness Power, if he wanted to, he could easily find the Treasure Pavilion in the Battle Buddha Sect or even a First Rank sect's Treasure Pavilion in the Buddha Lotus Pure Land Realm.

But that wasn't what Sun Wukong wanted.

This way was more fun. After Qingfeng and Mingyue stole a few glances and saw that the elder Kuzhan had indeed left, they immediately began cozying up to Bajie. They flattered him incessantly, with one saying, "Brother, you truly are peerlessly handsome," and the other saying, "Brother, you're indeed magnificently towering." They praised Bajie until he was secretly thrilled; it seemed like it had been a long time since anyone had flattered him so uninhibitedly, right? And, oddly enough, the flattery was genuinely satisfying. So, in high spirits, Bajie generously made a bunch of promises, saying things like, "When I rise to high positions, I will definitely not forget you," and "Stick with old Bajie, and you'll have meat to eat." For a time, the two were so grateful they felt like kowtowing to Bajie and swearing brotherhood right there and then.

However, they still remembered what Sun Wukong, that is, Elder Kuzhan, had said. After some twistings and turnings, they led Bajie to a very majestic pavilion. "Handsome brother, this is the Treasure Pavilion," they said. "But without a token, we can't get any closer. Probably Elder Kuzhan went back to get the token. Although we'd also like to feast our eyes, we still have to patrol. Handsome brother, don't forget what we just talked about, okay!"

Bajie nodded solemnly, indicating that he understood. He then turned his head to look at the tall building. Qingfeng and Mingyue slowly backed away; although they really wanted to stay, their status made it absolutely impossible. "Qingfeng, when I turned around just now, it seemed like our handsome brother was drooling!" Qingfeng immediately knocked Mingyue and said, "Shut up, how could our handsome brother drool? Be careful if he hears you, you'll have no good fruit to eat later!" "Yes, yes, yes."

In front of the Treasure Pavilion, Bajie's saliva had already formed a little river on the ground.

"Blockhead, if you don't put away your drool, I'll kick you over there!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation or monthly pass at Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)