Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie returned to the Mortal World.

"Holy Monk, what happened?" The group of Spider Demonesses around them watched as Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie came back and immediately crowded around, eagerly asking.

"Hmm, it was a success, we got the Soul-Returning Pill!" Jiang Liu's face was filled with a smile.

This time, they had not only successfully obtained the Soul-Returning Pill but also a large variety of elixirs, which was an unexpectedly great haul for Jiang Liu.

It felt like randomly casting a fishing net into the water, with the intention of just catching a few small fish and shrimp.

Who would have thought that this cast would bring up a large lump of gold, a complete and welcome surprise.

"Then, then quickly..."

Hearing Jiang Liu's reply, the Spider Demonesses' faces were filled with joy, and then, they pointed at an enormous and ugly dark-brown spider next to them.

This was the dead Spider Demoness, who had already reverted to her original form.

While Jiang Liu and Zhu Bajie went to the Heavenly Court to retrieve the Soul-Returning Pill, the Spider Demonesses had already moved their eldest sister's body from the Pansi Spider Cave.

Jiang Liu nodded and took out a gourd filled with elixirs, giving it a light shake.

Immediately, seven or eight Soul-Returning Pills tumbled out.

Then, Jiang Liu poured those Soul-Returning Pills back in, leaving just one in his hand, and turned to hand it to a female Demoness in orange, saying, "Here you go, this is the Supreme Elder Lord's Soul-Returning Pill, capable of resurrecting the dead!"

Looking at the Soul-Returning Pill in their hands, then at the gourd in Jiang Liu's hands, the corners of the Spider Demonesses' mouths twitched slightly.

A casual shake had produced seven or eight Soul-Returning Pills? It looked like he hadn't even finished pouring them out.

How many Soul-Returning Pills were actually inside that gourd!?

Resurrection: for countless people, even Demons, this was an extremely difficult feat, but here with Jiang Liu, it seemed so simple? And there were so many Soul-Returning Pills?

"Wow, Master, how did you get so many Soul-Returning Pills, how could the old monk be so generous today!?" Sun Wukong witnessed this and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"Hehehe, Monkey Brother, you don't know, these gourd full of Soul-Returning Pills, they're just the tip of the iceberg!" Zhu Bajie, feeling a sense of pride in their haul of elixirs as if he had greatly contributed, couldn't help but snicker in response upon hearing this.

"Oh? Just the tip of the iceberg!? So, how much did you guys bring back today!?" Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing, hearing Zhu Bajie's words, said with an expression that was both shocked and delighted.

"Second Elder Brother, you and Master, you couldn't have possibly emptied out half of the Doushuai Palace, could you!?" At this point, Sha Wujing couldn't help but speak up, asking Zhu Bajie in astonishment.

"Impossible, completely emptying it out is impossible!" Zhu Bajie firmly shook his head in response.

Upon saying this, he paused briefly and then let out another laugh, with a particularly sleazy grin, "However, saying that Master and I emptied out about half of the Doushuai Palace, that would be quite fair!"

"Master!?"

Zhu Bajie's words naturally had to be taken with a grain of doubt. Hearing Zhu Bajie's remarks, Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing were both half convinced, and immediately turned their heads, looking at Jiang Liu with an inquiring gaze.

"Hmm, saying that we emptied out about half of the Doushuai Palace would be quite fair," Jiang Liu thought for a moment and gave a nod of agreement when met with the inquisitive looks from Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing.

Hiss!

Hearing Jiang Liu personally confirm this, Sun Wukong and the others couldn't help but gasp.

"You guys emptied out half of the Doushuai Palace? Master, isn't that a bit too ruthless!" Xiaobai, the Little White Dragon beside Jiang Liu, was the first to speak out in disbelief.

"Yeah, yeah, that old monk is normally very stingy. I, Old Sun, only ate a dozen or so of his elixir gourds five hundred years ago, and he got so angry he wanted to use me for alchemy. How did he let you guys directly empty out about half of the Doushuai Palace today?" The astonishment on Sun Wukong's face deepened as he spoke.

"About that, it's because the Supreme Elder wasn't in the Doushuai Palace today, so Bajie, along with two boys from the palace, ended up playing Mahjong. Unknowingly, we won!" Explaining Sun Wukong's words, Jiang Liu said.

So that's how it is!

Upon hearing this explanation, Sun Wukong and the others suddenly realized it all made sense.

Having been together as disciples for so long, they were all too aware of Zhu Bajie's almost cheat-level gambling ability.

"Holy Monk, this Soul-Returning Pill, how long does it take to take effect?" Just as Jiang Liu and Sun Wukong were casually chatting, after a short while, the Spider Demonesses approached again, looking somewhat nervous as they asked Jiang Liu.

"Eh? Hasn't it worked yet?" Surprised by this question, Jiang Liu's face showed astonishment as he walked over.

Jiang Liu wasn't using the Soul-Returning Pill for the first time; usually, after consumption, it worked quickly.

Sure enough, when Jiang Liu and the others approached the Spider Demoness's body in red.

They saw the Spider Demoness's corpse still lying on the ground, completely void of breath, with clearly no effect from the Soul-Returning Pill.

"How is this possible!?"

Not just Jiang Liu, but Sun Wukong and the others looking at the dead Spider Demoness displayed no signs of resurrection and were equally baffled.

"Master, could the Soul-Returning Pills you won be fake?" At last, Sun Wukong turned his gaze to Jiang Liu and asked with suspicion.

Could that be the only explanation?

"Impossible!" Hearing Sun Wukong's words, Jiang Liu shook his head decisively.

Jiang Liu had personally seen the elixirs when he had won them before; naturally, all the relevant information about these elixirs had also appeared before his eyes.

He had personally witnessed the effects of the Soul-Returning Pill as well.

If they were to say that they had won a bunch of counterfeit Soul-Returning Pills? It was impossible for the attribute information that surfaced from the system to deceive him.

"Exactly, the two boys' regretful expressions at the end couldn't possibly be fake!" Zhu Bajie, who was beside them, also nodded in agreement, disbelieving that the pills they had won could be counterfeit.

"That's strange!" Sun Wukong murmured quietly to himself.

"Master, why do you think that is?"

Compared to pondering the reasons himself, Zhu Bajie trusted Jiang Liu's wisdom most of all. His gaze rested on Jiang Liu as he spoke up and asked.

Yes, why indeed?

At that moment, everyone's gaze also settled on Jiang Liu, waiting for his answer.

It wasn't just Zhu Bajie asking him; Jiang Liu himself was also questioning himself at this time.

If the Soul-Returning Pills were real, then what was the reason that they could not resurrect the Spider Demoness?

"Ahem…"

After silently pondering in his heart for a moment, under everyone's watchful eyes, Jiang Liu cleared his throat and said, "If the Soul-Returning Pills are indeed real, then there can only be two possibilities if they can't resurrect the target!"

No one spoke, and their gazes were intently fixed on Jiang Liu, as if they were only a question away from learning about the two possibilities.

"First, to resurrect a target, naturally, you need a soul. If this Spider Demoness not only died but also had her soul completely scattered, then even the Soul-Returning Pills would be unable to resurrect her!"

"After all, as the name of the pill suggests, Soul-Returning, naturally it requires the soul to return!" Jiang Liu said, raising a finger.

"Hmm, that makes sense!" Sun Wukong and the others nodded their heads in agreement with Jiang Liu's words.

"Impossible, Holy Monk!"

However, hearing this, the purple-clothed Female Demon beside them spoke up in a hurry, saying, "We sisters saw with our own eyes when our eldest sister died, her death was normal, and her soul didn't scatter!"

"Yes, Holy Monk, it's impossible that her soul scattered!" Following the words of the purple-clothed Female Demon, the other Spider Demonesses also said in unison.

"Hmm…"

Jiang Liu nodded slightly, naturally not doubting the words of these Spider Demonesses, then continued, "If it's impossible for the soul to scatter, then it must be due to the second reason!"

"What's the second reason!?" The purple-clothed Female Demon asked Jiang Liu earnestly.

"The second possibility is that your eldest sister's soul is in someone else's hands. Even with the power of the Soul-Returning Pills, it can't be summoned back!" Jiang Liu spoke, proposing his second conjecture.

"This…" The words of Jiang Liu made the Spider Demonesses look at each other in dismay.

After their eldest sister died, her soul ended up in someone else's hands? Had it been imprisoned by someone? If that were the case, who could that person be?

"Hmm, that's logical! If someone else has control over the soul, then it makes sense that the Soul-Returning Pill is of no use!" Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing, hearing this second possibility, nodded in agreement, finding Jiang Liu's analysis reasonable.

"Master, that's impossible!" However, Zhu Bajie spoke up after Jiang Liu's words fell.

Jiang Liu and the others then turned their gazes to Zhu Bajie, waiting for his explanation.

"Master, to my knowledge, the power of the Soul-Returning Pill can forcibly summon lost souls back to their bodies to revive them. Such power cannot even be obstructed by the ten Yamas of Hell, unless it's a Quasi-Saint!" Zhu Bajie declared.

Speaking of which, among the Westward Journey quintet, Zhu Bajie might have the most extensive knowledge.

"A Quasi-Saint!?" Zhu Bajie's statement made Jiang Liu inwardly nod, obviously trusting it.

Even the ten Yamas of Hell could not stop the Soul-Returning Pill's power; indeed, it was incredibly overbearing.

But why would a Quasi-Saint arbitrarily capture the soul of the Spider Demoness?

"Furthermore, reincarnation of lost souls is a matter decreed by the Heavenly Dao. Even Quasi-Saints must not interfere at will, otherwise Ksitigarbha's existence would become meaningless!"

"Thus, if someone interferes with the reincarnation of souls, they will incur terrible karma!" After a slight pause, Zhu Bajie continued.

(PS: The next chapter will update in about five or six minutes.)