"Benefactor?" Hu Yuyu watched as Jiang Liuer vanished in an instant.
She looked around in confusion, finding no trace of him in the cave.
She peered outside the cave entrance but still saw nothing.
She exclaimed in amazement, "Was that Benefactor’s magic?"
Unbeknownst to Hu Yuyu, her reactions were fully observed by Guanyin.
Guanyin concluded that this little fox demon also didn’t know where the scripture-seeking monk had gone.
Even the Stone Monkey who once wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace with his Somersault Cloud—capable of traversing 108,000 miles in a single leap—couldn’t have vanished so completely!
Nor should he be undetectable to divination!
This was why even the revered Bodhisattva Guanyin found herself utterly astonished.
The current unforeseen circumstances...
Had exceeded all expectations of the celestial Buddhas.
...
What does it feel like to travel between worlds?
Jiang Liuer hadn’t known before, but now he could confidently declare: It’s utterly uneventful! Just close your eyes, open them again, and you’ve stumbled into a brand-new realm!
Looking up, Jiang Liuer saw myriad golden rays and auspicious vapors—a magnificent display of Buddha’s radiance, though somewhat blinding.
"Hey, kid! Looking the wrong way! This old Sun is right here!"
The sudden voice startled Jiang Liuer so badly he nearly activated his Hundred Curses Heart-Piercing Sword Art in panic.
Glancing down, he saw a "wild man" pinned beneath the mountain.
Upon closer inspection...
Not a wild man at all! It was a talking monkey!
"Great Sage?" Jiang Liuer ventured cautiously.
"None other!" Even after centuries beneath Five Elements Mountain, the monkey’s spirit remained unbroken. His fiery eyes showed no trace of submission—astonishing for someone imprisoned nearly five hundred years.
"A place of remarkable spiritual essence," another voice remarked. "Quite different from my original world."
Jiang Liuer whirled around to find a towering monk standing beside him.
He’d encountered tall demons before, but never such a gigantic human—this monk’s head nearly brushed the doorframe!
His build was powerfully robust, not with a potbelly but with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and perfectly proportioned muscles.
His massive frame made even a single hand resemble a palm-leaf fan.
A fist from such a hand...
...could probably crush a man’s skull instantly!
Strange thoughts flashed through Jiang Liuer’s mind.
"Senior Tang Sanzang?" he guessed hesitantly.
"Correct," the monk replied.
Tang Sanzang glanced at him. "Meeting my younger self brings nostalgia. But you surpass me—at your age, I’d only taken nine lives. Your aura suggests over a hundred kills."
Scratching his head sheepishly, Jiang Liuer corrected, "They weren’t humans—they were demons."
"Demons differ little from humans," Tang Sanzang stated. "Killing them is killing nonetheless."
"Enough chatter!" the Great Sage interrupted. "That Buddha’s seal remains atop Five Elements Mountain. I’ve tried everything—storms, deceived woodcutters, threatened mountain gods—but couldn’t remove that cursed scroll!"
"Waiting for that other Tang Sanzang? Who knows how long? After 476 years, I won’t endure another day here!"
Observing Sun Wukong’s indomitable spirit, Tang Sanzang chuckled. "You’re fiercer than my disciple. Same soul, different worlds—fascinating divergence."
"Naturally we’ll remove the seal," Tang Sanzang narrowed his eyes. "But first, we silence informants. Jiang Liuer, stay here while I handle some guardians."
A sudden gale erupted as Tang Sanzang vanished.
Jiang Liuer blinked—and his senior was gone.
BOOM!
A thunderous crash echoed as something golden plummeted from the sky.
It landed nearby—a golden-skinned deity with twisted limbs, protruding bones, and glowing golden blood.
Another crash. Another mangled golden body.
Three more impacts followed in quick succession.
Five corpses in moments!
"Impressive," the Great Sage remarked, eyeing the remains. "Well-deserved ends for these wicked guardians!"
"Wicked guardians?" Jiang Liuer gasped. "Senior, are these the Five Guardian Deities?"
"Those very curs," Sun Wukong confirmed.
The Five Guardian Deities—Golden Head, Silver Head, Bolo, Boloseng, and Mohe—lay broken beyond recognition.
To Jiang Liuer, they’d been celestial authorities. Now they resembled slaughtered animals.
"Amitābha," Tang Sanzang reappeared, golden blood dripping from his fists. "Took four breaths instead of three—stronger here."
His aura swirled with dark energy, resembling a wrathful deity.
"This realm’s Buddha may be stronger. Silencing them was wise."
Even the imprisoned Great Sage regarded him with newfound respect.
"What about the local earth god?" Jiang Liuer suddenly asked.
A tiny old man hiding behind a tree nearly fainted.
"He’s irrelevant," Tang Sanzang dismissed. "To the seal."
They ascended Five Finger Mountain’s peak, where a massive stone bore the glowing Buddha’s seal inscribed with "Om Ma Ni Padme Hum."
"Your turn," Tang Sanzang gestured.
"Me?" Jiang Liuer hesitated.
Nodding, Tang Sanzang explained, "Let him owe you this favor."
Grasping the seal, Jiang Liuer ripped it free.
"Done!" he shouted downward.
Laughter shook the heavens. "Stand back, kid! This old Sun emerges!"
As Tang Sanzang carried Jiang Liuer skyward, Five Finger Mountain collapsed in apocalyptic fury.
The Great Sage soared free.
