Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

"Master, it is said that the Merit Golden Lotus is the supreme treasure of the Buddhist Sect and has always been in the hands of the Tathagata. How did it come into your hands!?"

As a former Marshal Tianpeng who had spent many years with sharp vision, Zhu Bajie looked at the Merit Golden Lotus with surprise written all over his face and said.

During the conversation, after taking a careful look at the Merit Golden Lotus in Jiang Liu's hand for a moment, he shook his head and added, "No, this Merit Golden Lotus is of the eighteenth grade, it's of even higher quality than the ninth-grade one held by the Tathagata."

"This matter is a long story, and it begins with the day Xiaobai perished!"

Seeing Zhu Bajie's astonished look and considering that they were all on the same side, Jiang Liu did not intend to hide anything and took time to explain to Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing how he had come into possession of this Merit Golden Lotus.

Firstly, the Tathagata, in pursuit of the greater goal of the Journey to the West, had exchanged this ninth-grade Merit Golden Lotus with Ksitigarbha for Xiaobai's lost soul.

Second, while at Wood Immortal Hermitage, when he had been abducted by a demon, it turned out that Tingdi, a disciple of Ksitigarbha, had stolen the ninth-grade Merit Golden Lotus to trouble him.

Then, he joined forces with Sun Wukong to defeat Tingdi and took back the Merit Golden Lotus from him.

Subsequently, after fusing the ninth-grade Merit Golden Lotus with a ninth-grade Black Lotus, it transformed into the present look of the eighteenth-grade Merit Golden Lotus.

"What a stroke of fortune! Master, you really have gained immense fortune!"

Hearing what Jiang Liu said, and understanding the entire story, Zhu Bajie spoke with a tone of amazement, "Each of the four lotuses is a supreme treasure of heaven and earth. Not only were you able to obtain the Golden Lotus, but also the Black Lotus. Most importantly, you were able to fuse these two lotuses into the eighteenth-grade Merit Golden Lotus!"

"Alas, it's a pity that this Black Lotus isn't the ninth-grade World-Destroying Black Lotus. Otherwise, that would have been truly formidable!" said Jiang Liu with a hint of regret upon hearing Zhu Bajie's lament.

"Master, how insatiable you are! The ninth-grade World-Destroying Black Lotus has long been destroyed, and it's already fortunate that the Supreme Elder Lord could collect parts of it and reforge it to fall into your hands. Otherwise, how could the complete World-Destroying Black Lotus have come into the hands of Bodhisattva Guanyin and from there into yours?" responded Zhu Bajie upon hearing Jiang Liu's regret.

"Er, that's true..." Zhu Bajie's words gave Jiang Liu pause, and he quickly nodded in agreement.

He had to admit, Zhu Bajie had a point; if it were a complete ninth-grade World-Destroying Black Lotus, not to mention whether Guanyin would have been deserving of it, even if she were, would she have given it to him?

"In the future, Master, if by some chance you manage to find another part of the World-Destroying Black Lotus and fuse it in, that fully integrated eighteenth-grade lotus, its quality surely won't pale in comparison to any other supreme treasure of heaven and earth, right?"

Though Zhu Bajie called Jiang Liu quite greedy, in the end, he also nodded in agreement with his own statement.

"Wait a moment, Bajie..."

However, hearing Zhu Bajie's words, Sun Wukong, who was not afraid at all, couldn't help but interject, "didn't you say there were four lotuses in total? We only have two here, where are the other two? If there's a chance, why don't we seize them as well; wouldn't that be perfect!?"

"My Monkey Brother, you truly dare to dream!" Hearing Sun Wukong's words about collecting the four great lotuses, Zhu Bajie was taken aback and couldn't help but inwardly marvel at Sun Wukong's fearless ignorance, saying, "Do you even know where the other two lotuses are?"

"No idea, if I did, I, Old Sun, would already have devised a plan to snatch them!" Sun Wukong shook his head.

While talking, he looked at Zhu Bajie and teased, "You fool, the way you talk, it seems you know where the remaining two lotuses are?"

"Indeed, I, Old Pig, do know!" Zhu Bajie nodded and did not deny it.

"Oh? Bajie, tell me, where are the other two lotuses?" Curiously, Jiang Liu's eyes brightened considerably as he asked Zhu Bajie.

"The ninth-grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus, it is said to have always been in Ksitigarbha's possession, who intends to dissolve the boundless karmic force within it with Supreme Dharma! You know about Ksitigarbha, Master. He governs the reincarnation of all Immortals and Buddhas. Though he stands alone, his status is no less than that of Buddha or the Jade Emperor!"

"Lastly, there is the ninth-grade Purifying World Green Lotus, which in the past was in the hands of the Empress. The Empress turned it into a lamp called the Treasure Lotus Lamp! You already know about the Empress."

"This is really not easy to deal with!" Hearing Zhu Bajie's words, Jiang Liu's brow furrowed slightly.

Ksitigarbha and the Empress, those indeed are big shots, and treasures in their hands are not easy to acquire.

However, upon further reflection, Jiang Liu realized he had met both Ksitigarbha and the Empress and was acquainted with them. Maybe if chance allowed, there might be an opportunity to obtain those treasures?

Dreams are there to be had; what if they came true?

Having heard of the great name of the Treasure Lotus Lamp, Jiang Liu was no stranger to it. In his previous life, there were many TV shows about it. The Treasure Lotus Lamp could virtually transcend the heavens and the earth with its supernatural powers.

If it represented one of the four great lotuses, the ninth-grade Purifying World Green Lotus, all of this seemed to make sense.

"However, Master, I advise that even if you get the chance, you should not seek the whereabouts of the Red Lotus and the Green Lotus!"

But just as Jiang Liu was secretly pondering his chances of obtaining the Karmic Fire Red Lotus from Ksitigarbha and the Purifying World Green Lotus from the Empress, Zhu Bajie once again spoke up with a serious expression.

"Oh? Why is that?" Seeing Zhu Bajie's solemn face, Jiang Liu's mood also turned serious as he stared at Zhu Bajie and asked.

"The ability to fuse the lotuses is your divine skills, Master, and it's beyond others' reach. However, each individual lotus is already a supreme treasure of heaven and earth. If you really managed to collect all of them and fuse them together, it might even surpass Innate Supreme Treasures!"

"As the saying goes, 'To possess a treasure is to invite trouble.' Such treasures are definitely not something you, Master, should own!"

"Thirty-sixth Grade Green Lotus?"

Hearing Zhu Bajie's words, Jiang Liu felt a slight movement in his heart and immediately nodded to himself in agreement.

Indeed, if the thirty-sixth grade lotus truly resurfaced in the world, this treasure would certainly be more formidable than the Pangu Banner or the Chaos Bell.

At that time, even Saints would become restless, right?

Not to mention, there were two Saints within the Buddhist Sect alone, could they remain unaffected?

Those who have not attained Saintliness are ultimately as insignificant as ants!

This saying wasn't just lip service. Even if he reached level 100 max level, he would definitely not be a match for a Saint.

Unless, could he break through the system's level 100 limit, transcend the system, and also achieve the status of a Saint?

Shaking his head, Jiang Liu couldn't help but smile wryly at his own runaway thoughts. How frighteningly divergent his thinking was!

Up to now, he hadn't even reached the Immortal Taoist Realm, yet he was already considering attaining Saintliness?

If he were to share such thoughts, it would probably make all beings in the Three Realms laugh their teeth off, right?

"Alright, alright, enough talk. Bajie, I understand your point!" Jiang Liu waved his hand, indicating no further interest in discussing the Four Great Lotuses, and only looked at Zhu Bajie as he spoke.

Now wasn't the time to ponder these things. Knowing the whereabouts of the Red and Green Lotuses was enough. The pressing matter was his own crossing of tribulation to become immortal, right?

"So, with this Merit Golden Lotus, there won't be any danger when I cross the tribulation, right?" Bringing the conversation back on track, Jiang Liu asked Sun Wukong and the others.

As he had no experience with becoming immortal, he could only inquire from Sun Wukong and the others.

"Naturally, with the Merit Golden Lotus aiding you, Master, you will definitely not face any danger!"

Sun Wukong nodded and said. In Sun Wukong's view, the so-called 'three calamities' were not too formidable, and with the Merit Golden Lotus in the Master's possession, there was no chance of mishap.

"The three calamities are formidable, no one dares to underestimate them, but it has to be said, with you holding the Merit Golden Lotus, Master, there shouldn't be any problem with them!" Zhu Bajie, in comparison, was much more cautious.

But given Zhu Bajie's cautiousness, he too felt that Jiang Liu wouldn't face any issues.

"It seems there won't be any problem then!" Hearing Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie express this, Jiang Liu quietly nodded to himself and felt much more reassured.

Speaking of self-defense abilities, when the Bodhisattva Guanyin tasked him with the Journey to the West, she even gifted him two treasures: a Nine-Ring Staff and a Brocade Kasaya for his protection.

Considering this, there really shouldn't be any problems.

Feeling much more at ease, Jiang Liu continued Journeying to the West with his disciples.

Of course, they also hastened their time in dungeon leveling.

Without having reached level 61, the constant sense of palpitations was really hard to endure.

So, the best course of action was to rush to increase his Cultivation Level and strive for level 61.

After all, whether sticking your neck out or keeping it down, the chop comes all the same!

And so, they traveled westward for about another month.

Since leaving Thistle Ridge, Jiang Liu had been on his westward journey for two months.

In the past month, due to devoted time in cultivation and dungeon leveling, he gained even more experience points.

Opening the character panel to check, reaching level 61 required 3 billion experience points, and he already had 2.9 billion.

He was just 10 million experience points short.

It looked like in just a few days, he would face the tribulation of the three disasters.

And as his Cultivation Level grew higher with each passing day, the sense of palpitations became increasingly strong, giving one the impression that the Heavenly Tribulation could come at any moment.

"Master, there is a temple ahead, it looks quite magnificent!"

At that moment, Sun Wukong suddenly hovered mid-air, with his hand shading his eyes as if he was looking into the distance.