Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Explanation is merely a coverup, and in such a circumstance, there's nothing worth explaining, so the best course of action was to change the subject!

Thus, with that thought, Jiang Liu spoke up, looking at the woman, asking, "Excuse me, sister, I am new to this precious place. Today, I noticed that every household has hung up big red lanterns, which look very festive. May I know what you are celebrating?"

Indeed, changing the topic proved effective.

Upon Jiang Liu's words, the faces of this husband and wife from Chen Family Village both brightened with smiles. Soon after, the robust man spoke, "Master, our village is celebrating a sacrificial ritual! The ritual for King Linggan!"

"Celebrating King Linggan's ritual!?" Hearing this, Jiang Liu's eyes widened, his face full of confusion, hardly believing his ears.

What's going on!? Had he arrived in a world mirroring 'Journey to the West'? The sacrifice for King Linggan, and these people of Chen Family Village, were actually all celebrating with lanterns and streamers!?

"Who is this King Linggan?" Although puzzled, Jiang Liu understood from their conversation that, because he came from Lotus Pond, the plot involving King Linggan hadn't changed despite his premature entry into 'Journey to the West'. Was it really that King Linggan had already come to Tongtian River?

"King Linggan is a demon creature from the nearby Tongtian River. We need to offer sacrifices to him annually so he can ensure our year is prosperous with favorable weather. Otherwise, we don't know how many people from our village would be swept away by the river," the robust man explained upon hearing Jiang Liu inquire about King Linggan.

"Never thought that this King Linggan was actually a benevolent demon, capable of blessing the locals!"

Hearing the man's words, Zhu Bajie nearby spoke, his tone somewhat emotional.

For a demon to achieve this was indeed a great blessing.

"What's the situation!? Has King Linggan transformed? Or is it due to the butterfly effect!?" Compared to Zhu Bajie's emotion, Jiang Liu felt even more amazed. This was completely contrary to his original memories.

"This, Elder Zhu, you are mistaken..."

Hearing Zhu Bajie's words, the woman nearby spoke, "Actually, King Linggan has always been a cruel and fierce demon. Previous sacrifices required us to present a pair of young boy and girl. But this time, for some reason, they said it wasn't needed, only the sacrifice of three animals was necessary, so our whole village set up lanterns and streamers to celebrate!"

"So that's it…" Hearing this, Jiang Liu came to a realization—no wonder all these people from Chen Family Village were celebrating with lanterns and streamers.

He had thought King Linggan had changed from the original narrative.

So, he had just suddenly changed his nature, had he?

After pondering quietly for a moment, the corners of Jiang Liu's mouth slightly lifted.

He happened to arrive at Chen Family Village and King Linggan had suddenly changed? It hardly seemed like a coincidence!

If King Linggan truly blessed the locals here, even if he came from Lotus Pond, Jiang Liu might not kill him.

However, from the villagers of Chen Family Village, Jiang Liu knew it was only this time; in previous sacrifices, he had consumed several pairs of children.

This scenario had already caused Jiang Liu to mark him as doomed.

"Amitabha, it is getting dark, my disciples and I will stay here for the night, rest assured, we are not the type to freeload," Jiang Liu spoke after pondering for a moment, his thoughts whirling swiftly.

As he spoke, he flipped his palm and presented exactly two taels of silver.

Two full taels of silver could afford a good inn stay in the city.

Accepting the two taels of silver without refusal, the rural couple warmly welcomed Jiang Liu and his group to stay.

Knowing Jiang Liu didn't abstain from eating meat, they even caught a big fish and cooked a pot of fish soup, then brought out a jar of old wine hidden under their bed.

During the meal, Jiang Liu naturally inquired about the sacrificial rituals of Chen Family Village and learned that he had arrived just in time—five days later would be the village's day of sacrifice.

So, after some thought, Jiang Liu decided not to rush leaving and instead stayed in Chen Family Village, wanting to witness the sacrificial scene and join in on the excitement.

Of course, Jiang Liu's real intention was to look for an opportunity to execute King Linggan on the spot should he show up during the sacrifice!

Thus, Jiang Liu and his group remained in Chen Family Village.

During these days, the village had a visitor, a monk from the Great Tang in Eastern Land, accompanied by an unbelievably beautiful fairy and a few fearsome-looking demons. Naturally, this also caught the attention of many people in Chen Family Village.

Some were curious to see what a monk from the Tang Dynasty looked like, while some children came to see the demons.

Of course, quite a few young men from Chen Family Village came with the intention of seeing Fairy Zixia…

However, Jiang Liu didn't pay attention to these matters and quietly continued his cultivation.

Of course, in these days, Jiang Liu had also taken advantage of the time to run instances in the Map of Mountains and Rivers, fighting demons to level up. Not only had he gained a massive amount of Experience Points, but he had also burst out quite a lot of good items, including equipment and many rather unique props.

...

However, the days Jiang Liu spent in Chen Family Village were extremely comfortable. He ran instances, practiced cultivation, and even trained in Life Professions. His days were nothing but delightful. But in the Tongtian River, King Linggan felt his days were quite unbearable.

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In those days, having learned that the Westward Pilgrims were coming, King Linggan naturally had informants to monitor everything. As soon as Jiang Liu and his team arrived, King Linggan was among the first to know such news.

However, in his opinion, the Westward Pilgrims should have merely been passing through and, at most, would have stayed in Chen Family Village for one night before leaving.

But the results of his investigation left King Linggan with a feeling of wanting to cry but having no tears.

It turned out that the Westward Pilgrims had no intention of leaving Chen Family Village. On the contrary, they had actually settled down in the village.

From the Buddha's Decree by Bodhisattva Guanyin, King Linggan knew about the dangers of the Journey to the West Pilgrimage Team, so he didn't have the courage from the original story to provoke Jiang Liu's group.

Even so, he had made up his mind to lay low, waiting for the Westward Pilgrims to pass by and move far away before acting.

"Ah, it looks like I need to hide well these days!" At the thought that Sun Wukong and his team had stopped in Chen Family Village, a long sigh escaped King Linggan's heart, feeling his days were indeed too difficult.

This feeling was like having a large sword hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment.

Indeed, King Linggan had good intentions — with the Westward Pilgrims' team here, he could just avoid them, right?

They surely couldn't turn the entire Tongtian River upside down just to deal with him, could they?

However, the ritual was for the people of Chen Family Village to worship King Linggan, so when the time came, he must be present.

Sure enough, five days passed in a blink, and soon, the day of the ritual arrived.

That day, under the leadership of an elderly village chief with white beard, many people from Chen Family Village came ceremoniously to the bank of the Tongtian River.

At the same time, they also set up the offerings and officially began the ritual.

"This, this is indeed a lot of food..." Jiang Liu and his team were naturally watching the ritual unfold, but unlike the others, Zhu Bajie's gaze was fixed on the offerings.

Fruits and sacrificial animals - all these were delicious things, right!?

"Wukong! Keep a close watch! If King Linggan shows up, take him down immediately!"

Although Jiang Liu was also watching the ritual of Chen Family Village, he instructed Sun Wukong in a low voice.

"Alright, Master!" Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong nodded his head and did not ask anything further.

As expected, as the grand ritual took place, King Linggan soon appeared.

Yet, because of the presence of the team, he did not dare to appear openly but instead stealthily hid in the shadows.

Normally, without any alertness, perhaps Sun Wukong would not have really noticed King Linggan's presence, but with his master's reminder, Sun Wukong was vigilantly watching his surroundings all the time. Naturally, he noticed King Linggan as soon as he appeared.

"Hey, Evil Demon, where do you think you're going!"

Upon spotting King Linggan, Sun Wukong shouted loudly, and at once, his Golden Hoop appeared in his hand, striking directly towards the Tongtian River.

"Big Brother, I'll help you!"

Wujing, knowing that Sun Wukong was not adept at water combat, shouted loudly after seeing Sun Wukong make a move, and he joined the battle as well.

Wujing, now in a state of Demon Possession, was also at the Taiyi Realm

And Sun Wukong? He was a Taiyi Peak level, Golden BOSS version. The two of them teaming up to capture King Linggan - how could they let him escape?

So, in just a moment's time, a figure was lifted by Sun Wukong and thrown onto the bank of the Tongtian River.

"Spare me! Spare me!" Taken down in no time, King Linggan completely lost his composure, crying and sh

outing with a runny nose and tears, begging Jiang Liu and the others for mercy.

"Hmph! Spare you!? What about those boys and girls you devoured, did you spare them?"

Watching King Linggan loudly crying for mercy, Jiang Liu coldly snorted and asked.