Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

The thirty-fourth tribulation, Xuanzang is wrongfully accused.

Within Maitreya Buddha's hands was the Calamity Book of the Journey to the West. Indeed, an additional calamity had emerged on the book, which secretly delighted the heart of Maitreya Buddha.

However, looking at this newly emerged tribulation, a shade of embarrassment flickered across Maitreya Buddha's face.

Wrongly accused? Wasn't this a reminder that he, despite being a Buddha, had intentionally designed a conspiracy to frame Xuanzang?

"Alas, this pilgrimage for scriptures to the West is indeed no easy task. To fabricate a calamity, even I have personally taken action to do such deeds that cannot see the light of day. If this matter were to be exposed..." Thinking of this, Maitreya Buddha shook his head in secret.

If this matter were to be revealed and spread, it would be a significant blow to his reputation, wouldn't it?

"No, this matter must absolutely not be exposed!"

Lurking in the shadows, monitoring everything that happened to the Journey to the West Pilgrimage Team, Maitreya Buddha's spirit became gravely concerned when he knew that Jiang Liu planned to visit Doushuai Palace to seek a Soul-Returning Pill and resurrect the killed Spider Demoness, in order to interrogate her about what had occurred.

How to stop him? With a slight stirring of thought, Maitreya Buddha had an idea and immediately left.

...

At this moment, Jiang Liu stood employing the Cloud Ascending Leaps, and had already soared into the mid-air.

At Jiang Liu's side, Zhu Bajie accompanied him on their journey.

"Marshal, Holy Monk!" At the South Heavenly Gate, a few guarding Heavenly Soldiers greeted Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie after seeing them approaching, taking the initiative to say hello to the two.

"Greetings to the two Heavenly Soldiers!" With a modest and polite demeanor, Jiang Liu clasped his hands together and returned the greeting.

"You two, my master and I are off to make merry at Doushuai Palace, so we won't join you chaps for chit-chat anymore. Master, let's go!" Zhu Bajie also greeted the two gate-guarding Heavenly Soldiers, pulling Jiang Liu directly towards the direction of Doushuai Palace as he spoke.

"Marshal, Holy Monk, you are busy...," hearing Zhu Bajie's words, the Heavenly Soldiers guarding the South Heavenly Gate naturally didn't obstruct them and nodded, watching as Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie entered the South Heavenly Gate and headed towards Doushuai Palace.

"Bajie, once we arrive at Doushuai Palace, we will follow the plan!" Jiang Liu glanced over at Zhu Bajie and spoke.

"Rest assured, master, just watch Old Pig's performance!" Zhu Bajie patted his chest confidently as he spoke.

Traveling through mid-air, they encountered many Heavenly Soldiers and Generals who came forward to inspect the passing figures.

Upon learning their identities as Jiang Liu and Marshal Tianpeng, the soldiers did not trouble the two.

"Gentlemen, has something happened in the Heavenly Court lately?" It was one thing to be stopped once or twice, but after coming across four or five groups of Heavenly Soldiers conducting inspections, Jiang Liu grew curious and couldn't help asking. It wasn't his first time visiting the Heavenly Court.

"Holy Monk, you're not aware of it!" Upon hearing Jiang Liu's inquiry, one of the Heavenly Soldiers looked somewhat helpless, shook his head, and said, "The Empress encountered a mysterious and powerful figure while she was out, rumored to be a disciple of a Saint. She was almost killed, so in recent days, the inspections throughout the Heavenly Court have become much stricter!"

"Oh, I see, I offer my best wishes for the Empress's speedy recovery!"

Hearing the Heavenly Soldier's words, Jiang Liu understood that he was the root cause of this situation, nodded, and spoke.

"Well, Holy Monk, we must attend to our duties and will not disturb you any further!" Hearing Jiang Liu's blessings for the Empress, the soldiers nodded in response and turned to leave.

Soon, Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie arrived at the gates of Doushuai Palace.

Thump, thump, thump!

Once at the palace, Zhu Bajie went straight up and knocked on the grand door of Doushuai Palace, causing it to resound with his thumping.

To those unaware, one might think Zhu Bajie was returning to his own home.

Quickly, a sliver of the grand door of Doushuai Palace opened, and a boy peeked out from inside. Seeing Zhu Bajie and Jiang Liu at the entrance, his face involuntarily changed, "Xuanzang, Master Xuanzang, how, how did you come here?"

"What's wrong? Do you, a celestial boy, perhaps not welcome us, master and disciple?" Zhu Bajie, without any courtesies, pushed the door open and walked in, speaking as he did so.

Meanwhile, he nodded and bowed towards Jiang Liu, "Master, please come inside!"

"Ah, Master Xuanzang, it's you!" At the same time, another Immortal Boy ran out. Seeing Jiang Liu, he too was startled.

It couldn't be helped; the two boys had previously transformed into the Gold Horn King and Silver Horn King and descended to the Lower Realm to face a trial, and Jiang Liu had almost brought them to tears.

So, seeing Jiang Liu actually visiting Doushuai Palace naturally made them anxious.

"Amitabha, I extend my greetings to the two Immortal Boys!" Despite their fear, Jiang Liu remained polite and humble, greeting the two boys properly.

"Ah, greetings, Master Xuanzang..." Though somewhat fearful of Jiang Liu, the celestial boys hesitated briefly and then followed suit, returning the greeting to Jiang Liu.

"May I ask where the Supreme Elder Lord is?" After greetings were exchanged, Jiang Liu asked the two boys.

"This... Our master had to step out for a bit because of some trivial matters. Based on the time, he should be back very soon!"

One of the boys, with a quick roll of his eyeballs, didn't dare to admit their master was absent and instead insinuated his imminent return.

"Yay? Heaven helps me too, the Supreme Elder Lord isn't in the Doushuai Palace right now?" Jiang Liu was slightly astonished upon hearing the boy's words but quickly felt a surge of joy and involuntarily a hint of a smile crept onto his face.

"Master Xuanzang, what... what are you smiling about?"

Seeing Jiang Liu's smile, which was entirely suggestive of a scheme, the two boys suddenly felt a pang of fear in their hearts and a sense of unease washed over them. With a cautious look, they stared at Jiang Liu and asked.

"Oh, nothing much, just sighing in my heart that the Supreme Elder Lord isn't here and feeling a bit unlucky, that's all!" Hearing the boy's words, Jiang Liu immediately put on a face of regret and said.

Meanwhile, he made himself comfortable in the Doushuai Palace without any pretense of politeness and said, "Since the Supreme Elder Lord will return shortly, then I, the humble monk, shall wait here!"

"This..."

Fearing Jiang Liu in their hearts, they had intentionally said that their master would be back soon to scare him and prevent him from causing any mischief.

They hadn't expected that upon hearing their master would return shortly, Master Xuanzang wouldn't leave but instead sat down?

This caused the two boys to secretly regret their decision, thinking they should have just said their master was out and asked him to come back another day.

"By the way, the two of you, I've heard that lately in his leisure time, the Supreme Elder Lord has crafted many exquisitely beautiful poker cards and mahjong tiles?" Once seated, Jiang Liu asked with a nonchalant air.

"Yes, Holy Monk, you are quite well-informed!" Upon hearing Jiang Liu's inquiry, the two boys nodded in confirmation.

"Well then, may I have a look?" Jiang Liu asked, feigning interest.

It was just a set of mahjong tiles, and the two boys, of course, were not stingy. They nodded and quickly brought out a set of tiles that indeed were as white as jade and extremely delicate, placing them in front of Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu casually picked up a few mahjong tiles and examined them carefully.

Now that Jiang Liu was proficient in life professions, he was able to discern some nuances in the craftsmanship of these mahjong tiles.

The Supreme Elder Lord indeed lived up to his reputation as the foremost alchemist and artifact refiner in the Three Realms. The elixirs and Dharma Treasures he created were unparalleled, and even from this set of mahjong tiles, his extraordinary skill was evident.

Moreover, these mahjong tiles completely blocked any divine sense, utterly eliminating the possibility of cheating.

"Indeed beautiful!" After a thorough observation, Jiang Liu loudly exclaimed his admiration.

During the conversation, he then suggested, "Since the Supreme Elder Lord will be a while longer, and we happen to have four people here, why don't we... play a few rounds of mahjong?"

"Play mahjong!?" Upon hearing Jiang Liu's suggestion, the two boys were taken aback and exchanged looks, both appearing somewhat tempted.

Because in recent days, the Supreme Elder Lord had crafted many such items, the two boys had also learned to play mahjong by osmosis.

However, they had no companions to play with ordinarily. Now that they were coincidentally four people, the thought itself was enticing.

"Wait a minute..."

Then, one of the boys, who was a bit older, spoke, "It's known across the Three Realms that this mahjong and poker originated from Master Xuanzang's group. You must be quite skilled at it, Mage. We can play, but let's not wager anything!"

"Of course, that's fine!"

Hearing this, Jiang Liu nodded agreeably, saying, "What makes mahjong fun is its fairness. Besides, beginners often have the best luck. I'd actually be afraid of losing if we were betting. Not gambling makes it all the better!"

"Great, great, if we're not wagering anything, then let's start!" The two boys, reassured by Jiang Liu's words that they truly wouldn't gamble, said with a sigh of relief.

During the dialogue, the four of them took their places facing each other and began shuffling the mahjong tiles.

At the beginning, there were wins and losses among the four players, and they were enjoying the game.

However, after a while, Zhu Bajie and Jiang Liu's luck worsened, resulting in more losses than wins.

But unlike the two boys who were thrilled with their victories, Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie appeared indifferent to their losses.

"Holy Monk, don't you wish to play?" Seeing that Jiang Liu didn't seem bothered by losing, one of the boys couldn't help but ask.

"Since we're not wagering anything, naturally, losing isn't interesting!" Waving his hand, Jiang Liu appeared disinterested as he replied.

"This... it does make sense!" Hearing Jiang Liu's words, the two boys looked at each other, puzzled.

Then? Should we bet just a little?