Fortunately, the silence didn’t last long.
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "Amitabha... This avatar stirs many memories in this humble monk! Is this a version of me from another world?"
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "Bajie, explain the situation to him."
[Altar-Cleansing Envoy]: "Heh, Old Pig has gained another master today."
[Altar-Cleansing Envoy]: "Young master, do not panic! This is the Multiverse Journey to the West Group. I am no demon—I am the Bodhisattva Altar-Cleansing Envoy from Ling Mountain in the Western Pure Lands!"
A bodhisattva? A... a pig?!
Jiangliuer was stunned.
The pig demon calling itself the "Altar-Cleansing Envoy" began explaining the Multiverse Journey to the West Group to Jiangliuer, rambling for hundreds of words.
Though naturally clever, Jiangliuer struggled with unfamiliar terms, piecing together meanings through context.
His shock deepened.
So... these beings were from different worlds? Among them, the monk named "Muscular Tang Sanzang" was another version of himself? Even sharing his mortal name, Jiangliuer?
The self-proclaimed "Altar-Cleansing Envoy" truly was a bodhisattva from the West!
The monkey demon claiming to be the "Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong" had once rebelled against the Heavenly Palace!
The demon titled "Yellow-Browed Ancestor" was actually Maitreya Buddha’s Bell-Striking Attendant!
The purpose of this group was to allow beings across worlds to communicate in one place.
What an astonishing divine artifact!
Could this be the "opportunity" Elder Faming often mentioned?
Was this Jiangliuer’s destined chance?
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "@Jiangliuer, activate [Photo], take a full-body image, and send it to me."
Jiangliuer: "How do I do that?"
He searched the group interface but found no [Photo] option.
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "No need to look—will it into existence."
A mental flick later, a click echoed as an exact likeness of himself materialized, shocking him anew.
"Did it suck me in?" Jiangliuer frantically patted himself, relieved to find no changes.
After calming down, he nervously attempted to send the image.
The picture showed a frail, undernourished teenager in patched gray-black robes. Despite his thin frame, his eyes gleamed with uncommon intelligence.
[Yellow-Browed Ancestor]: "Tsk, this reincarnation of Golden Cicada is so tender! One bite would burst with juices. But raw human flesh reeks—better marinate it with spices, carve patterns, then steam it for hours."
[Altar-Cleansing Envoy]: "Yellow-Browed Fiend! Your world’s pilgrimage ended long ago. Dare you covet MY master?!"
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "Nostalgic... Yet @Jiangliuer, why so scrawny? Where are your muscles? Disgraceful!"
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "And what’s wrong with your forehead?"
Am I thin?
Jiangliuer glanced at his stick-like limbs.
Hmm...
Indeed, he was malnourished.
Since childhood, full meals were rare. His nursemaid came from humble means. At ten, taken to Golden Mountain Temple, he labored for gruel. Only during festivals did he eat solid rice.
As for his forehead...
Jiangliuer touched the dried blood. Still painful.
He recounted his day’s ordeal in the group.
...
Another Journey to the West world.
"Outrageous! How dare Golden Light Temple baldies insult THIS monk?!" Tang Sanzang roared after reading Jiangliuer’s plight.
Though Jiangliuer was merely another world’s version of himself—insulting Jiangliuer WAS insulting Tang Sanzang!
He flung off his kasaya, revealing a sculpted torso of grotesquely beautiful muscles, each contour chiseled as if by divine craftsmanship. Scar tissue resembling axe strikes crisscrossed his skin, while intricate Sanskrit tattoos coiled across his broad back.
Tang Sanzang had etched his unique "Buddhist insights" onto his very flesh.
Standing at over two meters tall, his demonic aura condensed into visible black tendrils. More wrathful deity than monk, he radiated terror.
Nearby, a temple-sized black boar shuddered. "Brother Monkey... who provoked Master this time?"
A thunder-faced simian snorted.
A white horse whispered: "Last time, Master fought Patriarch Zhenyuan for only giving two Ginseng Fruits. The Patriarch ended up battered. Whoever angered him now... unless they’re Zhenyuan-tier, they’ll be punched into nirvana."
The trio spoke in hushed, fearful tones.
Tang Sanzang ignored them, focusing on the chat.
Controlling his rage, he mused: Had he been that weak Jiangliuer, he’d have slaughtered those monks already.
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "@Jiangliuer, how did you kill them? Disposed of the bodies cleanly?"
Jiangliuer: "What? I didn’t kill anyone!"
Tang Sanzang blinked in disbelief.
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "They insulted you, yet you felt no murderous intent?!"
Jiangliuer: "I... just found them annoying. Killing seems excessive?!"
...
Jiangliuer recoiled at the bloodlust. Was this his future self? A murderous demon monk?
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "At one, I strangled pythons. At five, clubbed tigers. At ten, ruled Golden Light Temple through force. At twelve, slaughtered my enemies. At eighteen, forged a Buddha-body feared by demons. Emperor Taizong himself calls me sworn brother!"
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "My Three Burials: Heaven, Earth, All Living Things! THIS is Tang Sanzang! THIS is Jiangliuer! THIS is Golden Cicada’s rebirth!"
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "@Jiangliuer, I refuse to tolerate a cowardly 'me'!"
Jiangliuer’s eyes stung.
Jiangliuer: "Sorry... I’m causing trouble again."
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "From today, you’re forbidden to say 'sorry.'"
[Muscular Tang Sanzang]: "I’ll mold you into Tang Xuanzang!"
...
