Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

"Gone? It's over?"

Jiang Liu's eyes fixated on the ancient well, feeling a tremor within his heart.

Although he still had strength left in his body, he felt utterly exhausted; his eyelids seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

Female ghosts crawled out of the ancient well one after another—the previous one having died just a few seconds before, and immediately afterward, a new one would emerge. Jiang Liu had killed over a hundred such spirits, smashing each one directly with an Eighteenth Grade Lotus.

Naturally, because it was a long-range attack, Jiang Liu wasn't injured, but the mana consumption of the Eighteenth Grade Lotus was too great.

After all was said and done, Jiang Liu had consumed over a dozen Mana Potions just to hold on.

Ten seconds, half a minute, two minutes...

After killing over a hundred female ghosts, Jiang Liu stared intently at the ancient well for a full two minutes with no new ghosts emerging before he finally let out a sigh of relief.

It appeared that he could finally take a good rest, right?

Each female ghost gave him just over 300,000 Experience Points. Having killed over a hundred, hadn't he earned more than 30 million Experience Points?

The harvest was indeed substantial! If he could kill so many female ghosts every day, in one month, he could possibly gain a billion Experience Points!?

This rate of growth was much faster than when he farmed instances beneath the Map of Mountains and Rivers.

However, upon further thought, the continual encounters offered by the Map of Mountains and Rivers were starting to provide less challenge, and thus the Experience Points were increasingly insufficient for his needs—which seemed quite reasonable.

"Wait a minute, am I actually calculating how many Experience Points I could earn in a month!? I should think of a way to escape; this Illusionary Demon Cave is too terrifying!"

Although no new female ghosts were crawling out anymore, Jiang Liu felt uneasy about eating or sleeping with the ancient well looming nearby.

However abundant the rewards from the Illusionary Demon Cave might have been, they were not something Jiang Liu could continue to claim.

At this moment, physically and mentally drained, and only able to fight off the onslaught of female ghosts with the support of Mana Potions, Jiang Liu shook his head with a sense of helplessness. He wanted to sleep deeply, but didn't dare to.

He could only sit down cross-legged and earnestly cultivate the Green Lotus Taoist Scripture to recuperate the strength within his body.

...

Elsewhere, in a remote mountain range rarely tread by humans, a captivatingly beautiful Female Demon sat quietly at a stone table.

Before this Female Demon, a corpulent figure with a pig's head appeared—it was none other than Zhu Bajie.

"Husband, weren't you accompanying Holy Monk Xuanzang on his Journey to the West? What brings you here?" Looking at Zhu Bajie who appeared before her, Zhuzhu asked with a surprised expression.

"Hehehe, you must've really missed me. While our master seeks the scriptures in Western Heaven, I, Old Sun, wish to marry you!" Zhu Bajie said with a naive grin, quickly approaching Zhuzhu and, holding her hand, effortlessly recited cheesy lines of affection he had memorized by heart.

"Your words are so sweet..." Zhuzhu said, lowering her head shyly.

"You're so beautiful, my wife. Let's try for another child, shall we?" Zhu Bajie, looking at Zhuzhu's bashful appearance, felt his throat go dry and his gaze burn with desire.

"Aren't you afraid that after the child is born, I might eat you again?" Lifting her head, Zhuzhu gave Zhu Bajie a furtive glance, asking softly.

"To be eaten by you, I, Old Pig, would do so willingly!"

Sweeping Zhuzhu off her feet, Zhu Bajie carried her straight toward the depths of the cave, his eagerness clear in his voice.

...

Over at Flame Cloud Entertainment City, the reputation of the entire city was growing by the day. Whether immortals, Buddhas, or demons, anyone who entered Flame Cloud Entertainment City could safely enjoy themselves.

In just over a year, Flame Cloud Entertainment City had become the most famous entertainment venue across the Three Realms.

At this time, Little White Dragon Aolie had taken a half-year holiday, arriving directly at Flame Cloud Entertainment City.

The Little White Dragon had come, and what's more, he planned to stay for a while?

Upon receiving this news, Red Boy naturally came over to inquire about Little White Dragon's situation.

"So, Holy Monk was locked in the Illusionary Demon Cave to contemplate for a hundred years? That's good. Since he himself requested it, there's probably no cause for concern. The Holy Monk is so clever; he surely has his own plans!" Red Boy nodded upon learning Jiang Liu had been locked away by his own will.

"What? The Illusionary Demon Cave!?" However, when Red Boy relayed this information to his father, Demon King Ox, the latter's complexion involuntarily shifted.

"What's the matter, father? Is there something strange about the Illusionary Demon Cave?" Red Boy asked, puzzled by his father's reaction.

"Holy Infant, you don't understand. The Illusionary Demon Cave is an extraordinary place of this world, where anyone who enters will face their deepest fears, both real and unreal, enough to drive even a Daluo Golden Immortal to madness. It's too dangerous for the Holy Monk to be locked inside the Illusionary Demon Cave!" Demon King Ox shook his head, his well-traveled eyes discerning as he thoroughly explained the nature of the Illusionary Demon Cave to Red Boy.

"Father, you have no idea. Holy Monk Xuanzang has a nickname, 'Holmes', it describes his incredible intelligence, truly unparalleled wisdom. With his smarts, since he's entered the Illusionary Demon Cave, surely he has his own plans!" Hearing Demon King Ox's words, Red Boy shook his head, a look of absolute confidence in Jiang Liu, blindly worshipping him.

"Hm, Holy Infant, your words do indeed have merit. The Holy Monk truly possesses unparalleled wisdom. Given that, we needn't worry. We might even congratulate him in advance!"

Hearing Red Boy's explanation, Demon King Ox thought it over and then nodded in agreement.

"Congratulate him? Congratulate him for what!?" Red Boy was utterly confused by his father's words, unable to comprehend.

"Since the Holy Monk is of unparalleled wisdom and has plans in mind, surely he will succeed. Isn't that worth congratulating? Moreover, the Holy Monk managed to deceive even Guanyin Bodhisattva and the others before making his plans!" Demon King Ox explained.

"Ah? Father makes a good point!" Red Boy nodded after hearing Demon King Ox's explanation.

Immediately after, Red Boy pulled up the social system interface and sent a message to Jiang Liu: "Congratulations, Holy Monk, for successfully deceiving everyone and entering the Illusionary Demon Cave!"

At this time, Jiang Liu was sitting cross-legged in the Illusionary Demon Cave, cultivating the Green Lotus Taoist Scripture when suddenly, the sound of an incoming message rang in his ears.

Jiang Liu checked and saw it was a message from Red Boy.

However, seeing the message from Red Boy, Jiang Liu was stunned and somewhat taken aback.

Congratulations on entering the Illusionary Demon Cave? What was there to congratulate?

...

Setting aside the conversation between Jiang Liu and Red Boy in the friends list system for the moment, elsewhere, Sun Wukong leapt up and quickly arrived at the Moon Palace.

Although his master had been locked in the Illusionary Demon Cave, everything had happened at his master's own request. Knowing that his master had entered the cave to enhance his abilities, Sun Wukong didn't worry about his safety at all.

They had a half-year holiday now, which was rare indeed.

So, Sun Wukong came to the Moon Palace to keep his promise, as he had assured Zixia that he would visit her more often if he could.

"Monkey? You've come? What brings you here?"

Inside the Moon Palace, upon hearing from Jade Rabbit's hopping announcement that Sun Wukong had arrived, Zixia joyfully popped out and asked him with delight.

"Zixia, I, Old Sun, have nothing particular in mind coming here, just thought to take you out for a stroll. If you're willing, we could even go to Flower Fruit Mountain and stay for a few days!" Sun Wukong said to Zixia.

"Ah!? Monkey, weren't you accompanying Holy Monk Xuanzang on the Journey to the West? Why..." Upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, Zixia was both astonished and puzzled.

Could it be? Had they already successfully obtained the Western Scriptures and completed their task?

"Zixia, you don't know, but the Journey to the West has been put on hold for now. The master has gone into the Illusionary Demon Cave to reflect, and he's given us all a half-year break!" Sun Wukong didn't intend to hide anything and told Zixia frankly about the situation.

"So that's how it is..." Upon hearing Sun Wukong's explanation, Zixia suddenly understood. It was just half a year; no trouble there.

"It's just, I've been told not to freely leave the Moon Palace... If I were to go..."

Although thrilled by the idea of going to Flower Fruit Mountain for fun with Sun Wukong, Zixia remembered that the Jade Emperor had personally told her to stay put in the Moon Palace.

"Don't worry about it, the words of the Jade Emperor Old Man can be taken lightly. Let's go!" Sun Wukong, however, waved off the concern with a carefree gesture.

As he spoke, he beckoned Zixia to leave with him.

"Okay then!" Seeing Sun Wukong's attitude, Zixia hesitated for just a moment and then nodded, not refusing his suggestion.

"Wait, Great Saint..."

Just as Sun Wukong was about to leave with Zixia, Jade Rabbit suddenly called out.

"What's up?" Sun Wukong turned around, looking at Jade Rabbit with curiosity.

"Well, the Holy Monk... he's locked in the Illusionary Demon Cave, is he really alright?" Jade Rabbit asked hesitantly.

Even though she felt it wasn't her place to question, Jade Rabbit couldn't help herself.

As she spoke, both Fairy Chang'e and Zixia looked at Jade Rabbit with a bit of surprise.

Clearly, they too found it somewhat inappropriate for Jade Rabbit to suddenly broach the topic.

However, Sun Wukong didn't have their level of concern and didn't overthink it.

"Don't worry, the master's methods, even I, Old Sun, have not fully grasped to this day. This is what he requested; there won't be any danger!" Sun Wukong reassured without giving it much thought, dismissively waving his hand in an unconcerned manner.

(PS1: If even those on the Journey to the West get a break, shouldn't I get one too? Poor me, 'Traversing Through Journey to the West as Tang Monk' already has 6,000 words today, and 'The Most Dazzling Son in All the Heavens' has also reached 5,000 words. Is this even New Year's? I want a holiday too! Whimpering, there's supposed to be another chapter tonight, but on New Year's Eve, I don't want to write anymore, boo hoo hoo, I want to be a salted fish...)

(PS2: Alright, it's New Year's Eve, so I wish everyone a new year full of prosperity and good health!)

(PS3: Lastly, on New Year's Eve, won't any generous benefactors send me New Year's money? After all, I'm just a 16-year-old kid...)