Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Spirit Mountain of the Western Heaven, Great Thunder Monastery.

Tathagata sat quietly on his Lotus Platform. Although after his journey to Flame Mountain, Tathagata and Demon Master Kunpeng had made an agreement not to interfere, whether the True Sun Fire of Flame Mountain could be extinguished was reliant on Jiang Liu's own abilities. Nonetheless, it was impossible for Tathagata not to care at all.

Therefore, Tathagata paid quite some attention to Jiang Liu's actions.

Seeing Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie heading towards Foutu Mountain, Tathagata naturally took notice.

"Hmm, Xuanzang is quite clever, actually thinking of seeking his help. If he's willing to help, then passing through the flames of Flame Mountain will certainly be easy, but unfortunately, will he help?" Tathagata shook his head privately in the end.

Master Wuchao's identity being the tenth son of the Golden Crow, would he be willing to help the Buddhist Sect to cause trouble for Demon Master Kunpeng?

It seemed highly unlikely, didn't it?

As expected, the subsequent development wasn't much different from what Tathagata had anticipated. It turned out to be a fruitless journey. Master Wuchao didn't have any intention to help.

However, under Tathagata's watchful eye, Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie soon headed towards the Flame Cloud Cave, which surprised Tathagata a bit.

What's happening? Why would he go to the Flame Cloud Cave?

Could it be? Out of sheer boredom and depression, he wanted to play in the Flame Cloud Cave to pass the time?

...

Setting aside the astonishment in Tathagata's heart, Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie swiftly arrived at the Flame Cloud Cave.

"Is this, this really the Flame Cloud Cave? Could I have taken a wrong turn!?" Hovering midair and looking down at the extravagantly designed Flame Cloud Entertainment City below, Jiang Liu wore a look of astonishment. When he left the Flame Cloud Cave before, it certainly didn't look like this.

"Previously, Red Boy mentioned constructing a large building called Flame Cloud Entertainment City. I didn't expect it to be this massive!" Gazing down at the Flame Cloud Entertainment City from a high vantage point, Jiang Liu marveled to himself.

"Holy Monk? Is it the Holy Monk who has come? Please come down!"

At the Flame Cloud Entertainment City, they received immortals, demons, devils, ghosts, deities, saints, and even Buddha and Bodhisattvas in abundance, so someone hovering midair didn't surprise them. However, the Little Demon, originally wanting to invite Jiang Liu down for fun, recognized him and spoke with joy.

Fulfilling the Little Demon's call, Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie naturally descended and entered the Flame Cloud Entertainment City following the Little Demon's lead.

"Holy Monk, I'll go inform the Great King right away!" The Little Demon said while guiding Jiang Liu towards the heart of Flame Cloud Entertainment City.

"No need, I am just here to have a bit of fun! There's no need to alert your Great King!" Jiang Liu said, waving his hand dismissively with a calm expression.

"Master, aren't we supposed to be looking for a way to extinguish the True Sun Fire of Flame Mountain? What are we doing here?" Zhu Bajie, following beside Jiang Liu, asked perplexedly.

Even though he hadn't entered it yet, the noise coming from inside Flame Cloud Entertainment City let Zhu Bajie know it was a place for entertainment.

"Elder Zhu, our Flame Cloud Entertainment City is really fun, with Fight the Landlord, Legends of the Three Kingdoms, playing Mahjong, and even poker and more. There are plenty of games to enjoy, I assure you, you'll like it!" Hearing Zhu Bajie's words, the Little Demon by their side, who seemed unimpressed, hurriedly started explaining.

"Alright, alright, stop talking. These things originated from us, do you think Old Pig wouldn't know?" Zhu Bajie waved his hand to interrupt the Little Demon, speaking with annoyance.

Turning his head, his face suddenly looked very serious, "Master, if you want to play Mahjong, Fight the Landlord, or Legends of the Three Kingdoms, couldn't we just go back and play with Monkey Brother and the others? Why come and play with these strangers?"

Although Zhu Bajie also found Mahjong fun, given the choice, he naturally thought it was better to play with acquaintances rather than with strangers. What was the point of playing with unknown people?

"If you don't feel like playing, then just wait for me at the entrance!" Not expecting Zhu Bajie to be so serious, Jiang Liu was indeed surprised but didn't say much more, merely waving his hand.

"Oh, master, go ahead and enjoy yourself then. Old Pig will just rest outside, wake me up when you're done!" Zhu Bajie, naturally lazy, stretched and truly didn't want to go in.

Looking around, he was ready to find a flat spot to lie down and sleep.

But at that moment, the gates of the Flame Cloud Entertainment City opened. Zhu Bajie glanced inside casually and immediately his eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out, his mouth opened, and drool began dribbling down.

Directly in front, there was a long table with several people sitting around, evidently playing poker.

And on the other side of the table, acting as the croupier, was a cat demon, extremely beautiful in appearance.

What's more, dressed revealingly. Although she hadn't reached the Demon King Realm, she had taken human form. However, cat ears still sat atop her head, giving her an appearance that was both cute and sexy.

Zhu Bajie took a closer look and saw that within the Flame Cloud Entertainment City, aside from the croupiers at the poker tables, there were many sexy female demons in provocative attire, carrying trays in their hands with an array of drinks and spirit fruits, weaving through the crowd, serving exquisite wines and spirit fruits to the patrons.

Sometimes, a patron would casually stroke their waist or grab a handful of these voluptuous female demons' behinds, which always elicited coy whimpers from them, making the atmosphere incredibly lively and charming.

"Hmm, in my spare time, I've chatted with Red Boy about the operating model of these entertainment cities, and he really does seem to have a knack for it!" Jiang Liu walked into the entertainment city and looked around at the scene reminiscent of a Las Vegas casino, nodding with satisfaction, feeling very pleased.

"Eh? Bajie?"

While nodding with inward satisfaction, Jiang Liu suddenly sensed something, turned his head, and looked at Zhu Bajie beside him, asking curiously, "Didn't you say you were going to sleep at the entrance? Go and sleep, I will call you when I'm done playing!"

"Master!"

As Jiang Liu's words ended, Zhu Bajie's gaze reluctantly shifted from the sexy female demons, and with an earnest expression, he said, "After some thought, I, Old Pig, reckon that this Entertainment City is teeming with a mix of creatures and countless demons, ghosts, and spirits. It's safer for me to stick by your side!"

Seeing Zhu Bajie's earnest facade, Jiang Liu rolled his eyes at him in annoyance.

On the surface, Bajie seemed to be acting out of concern for his master's safety, but Jiang Liu could naturally guess what Bajie really had in mind, though he had no intention of calling him out on it.

The Entertainment City was divided into several levels, and patrons would exchange money for chips to play on different floors depending on the amount.

For Jiang Liu, the Flame Cloud Entertainment City was practically his own property, with Red Boy serving merely as the Vice Sect Hierarch, working on his behalf.

Having arrived, it was only natural for Jiang Liu to take a good look around.

After exchanging for enough chips, Jiang Liu proceeded to ascend the levels, one floor at a time.

As he continued to go higher, the stakes became increasingly large, as did the cultivation levels of the patrons playing there.

After carefully surveying the situation on each level, Jiang Liu soon reached the upper levels of the Flame Cloud Entertainment City. Here, there were only a handful of people gambling, and looking around, he saw that they all possessed cultivation levels of at least the Taiyi True Immortal realm.

Whoosh!

However, as Jiang Liu made his way over, he hadn't yet managed to recognize everyone when suddenly, his vision blurred, and a gust of fragrant wind struck him, with a person appearing in his arms.

"Holy Monk, have you come to find me so soon after we parted? Did you miss me?"

The familiar voice rang out, and Jiang Liu looked down to find none other than the Scorpion Demon—who else could be so bold?

Annoyed, he rolled his eyes and muttered an incantation, and the Scorpion Demon, bound by the Golden Hoop, instantly became like a puppet on strings. After releasing Jiang Liu, she walked to a corner and stood still.

"Holy Monk, please release me!" Unable to move at all due to the Golden Hoop's control, the Scorpion Demon pleaded.

However, Jiang Liu did not pay attention to the Scorpion Demon's words, instead looking at the crowd of gamblers.

Well then, demons, ghosts, immortals, and arhats were all present, and naturally, their looks toward Jiang Liu varied.

Among the demons, some looked at Jiang Liu in amazement, knowing full well the Scorpion Demon's capabilities, and were shocked at how quickly she was subdued by Jiang Liu's methods.

Others gazed greedily at Jiang Liu, evidently recognizing his identity. The rumor that eating a piece of Tang Monk's flesh could grant longevity had long spread throughout the realms.

Of course, in contrast, the immortals and arhats greeted Jiang Liu quite amiably, even smiling and nodding in a friendly manner.

"Holy Monk Xuanzang, long time no see!" After the Scorpion Demon greeted him, two other demon creatures stood up to greet Jiang Liu, the Black Bear Demon and the White Bone Demon.

"Ah, good to see you both!" Jiang Liu nodded, noting that the Yellow Wind Monster was not present and wondering where he had gone.

"Hahaha, Holy Monk Xuanzang! Hearing that you had arrived filled me with joy!" Following the greetings from the Black Bear Demon and the White Bone Demon, a childishly jovial laugh suddenly sounded.

Red Boy, with a face bearing a maturity that did not match his form, approached and said with a smile.

"Amitabha, Holy Infant King, long time no see!"

Jiang Liu brought his palms together and greeted Red Boy, appearing to have a good relationship, yet there was a sense of distance.