Chapter 153: Chapter 147 The Scripture Seeker Enters the Flowing Sand River [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1
The scripture seeker was plummeting, pursued by the Nine Heaven Divine Thunder. However, the Divine Thunder was not there to save him, but to kill. Naturally, it wasn’t the scripture seeker they aimed to kill, but Sha Chen, who sought to save him.
「Within the Flowing Sand River.」
Chang E was enraged and said, "Brother, those vile people from the Thunder Department actually slander you. You were clearly trying to save the scripture seeker, yet they accuse you of wanting to kill him."
Unable to contain her fury, she added, "Brother, let me go out and teach them a lesson."
She had made substantial progress in her cultivation. Although she had not yet reached the Da Luo level, her cultivation had deepened considerably after switching to practice the Eight-Nine Profound Art. Her foundation had grown stronger.
Sha Chen, however, was serene as he said, "There’s no need."
He had noticed only celestials from the heavens were around, with no one else in sight, likely thinking this matter didn’t warrant a large turnout. Therefore, he had no more scruples.
His body emerged from the Black Tortoise Armor, instantly growing tens of thousands of times larger, becoming like a celestial pillar sprouting from the bottom of the Flowing Sand River. Standing in the middle of the Flowing Sand River, half of his body was now exposed.
This was his true form.
Sha Chen struck the myriad thunderbolts with his palm, annihilating them, but his body crackled with lightning serpents.
In the sky, thunderclouds gathered densely.
Sha Chen frowned and glanced at the celestial beings above, saying, "I am here to save someone, not to kill. Do not slander me."
Taoist Master Gou retorted, "Nonsense! Don’t believe him! Strike him with lightning!"
Sha Chen frowned. As the lightning struck him, it actually made his flesh tingle with numbness—a sensation he hadn’t experienced in a long time of tempering. Now, it had returned.
Sha Chen’s eyes glinted. HISS. If I continue to be bombarded by Heavenly Thunder a hundred times more powerful, I might be able to condense a Da Luo Dharmakaya soon.
He wanted to stand there and endure it, but the timing wasn’t right. Besides, these celestials were blatantly lying; he could not indulge them any longer, or they would only become more outrageous. Moreover, if he didn’t do something, who knew what Taoist Master Gou and the others would report back.
He slapped the Flowing Sand River, and instantly, its entire volume of water surged skyward, transforming into a water dragon. The primal power of water flowed through Sha Chen’s hands as naturally as a fish in water. It rushed to the heavens, scattering the dark clouds.
The celestials all scattered to avoid it. Then Sha Chen grabbed the Sky Shaking Bow, drew the bow and nocked an arrow, immediately loosing hundreds of streaks of light.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH...
The streaks of light flew forth, illuminating the sky magnificently.
The celestials in the sky plummeted one after another. One of Taoist Master Gou’s arms was struck and instantly exploded. Terrified, he retreated continuously, hiding behind a Formation. The eight gods of the Thunder Department all retreated in horror.
Sha Chen retracted the Sky Shaking Bow and reached out, grabbing Jin Chanzi’s reincarnation, who was about to fall into the water. In his hands, the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi was as small as dust.
Sha Chen merely glanced at him and was about to toss him to the opposite bank of the river.
When the reincarnated Jin Chanzi saw him, he was stunned for a moment and exclaimed in astonishment, "You, you, you are..."
Sha Chen furrowed his brow. Had he been recognized?
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi said, "You must be the divine instructor Hanshan spoke of! I have endured countless hardships, traveling over mountains and rivers, all just to meet you."
Sha Chen was taken aback, looking at the figure in his palm.
His expression was blank as he said, "You should be on the Journey to the West, not seeing me."
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi answered, "Undertaking the Journey to the West to obtain the scriptures is truly out of helplessness; I am not that noble. Meeting you, however, is my life’s greatest wish."
Sha Chen felt a pang in his heart.
He asked, "You’ve seen me. What do you want to say?"
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi answered, "Hanshan is dead."
After saying this, tears streamed down his face like rain. The old Monk wept, tears pouring like rain.
Sha Chen was completely taken aback. He had intended to throw him to the other side of the river, but he stayed his hand. Instead, he gripped him tighter, enveloped himself in golden light, shrank in size, and returned to the Flowing Sand River Cave.
In the sky, the celestials were in complete disarray.
Taoist Master Gou was panic-stricken and said, "This is bad! The scripture seeker has been captured by the Great General for Folding the Curtain! We must report this to our higher-ups immediately!"
The celestials then hurried to report to the Heavenly Court. But strangely enough, after their message was relayed, it sank like a stone in the sea. The Heavenly Court gave no instructions whatsoever, showing no intention of dispatching troops to encircle and annihilate him.
That was the scripture seeker; he had been captured by Sha Chen.
They all wanted the scripture seeker to die in the Flowing Sand River, but if Sha Chen captured and then devoured him, the nature of the matter would be entirely different. Taoist Master Gou and the others were baffled, yet there was still no news from above.
「At this moment.」
Li Changgeng, the Jade Emperor, and others were rejoicing in the Bright Palace, all wreathed in smiles and laughing heartily. Even Li Changgeng, who had earlier been angered by Sha Chen, could not help but laugh now.
"I made so many arrangements and thought it would all be for naught again. Unexpectedly, we succeeded this time!"
"Ultimately, Sha Chen could not resist the temptation and captured the scripture seeker. I fear he will devour him next."
The Jade Emperor said, "Let him eat. Once he eats this time, there will be a next. As long as he dares to eat, he will have no way to turn back."
"With evil in his heart, the taste of blood in his mouth, flesh in his belly, and his mind filled with desires, he can only fall endlessly into depravity."
With a sigh, he continued, "Once fallen, one cannot bear the loss of desire, only thinking of satisfying their inner self. He is already a condemned person. If he then eats the scripture seeker, We will have ample reason to kill him. Only by undertaking the Journey to the West can he then atone for his crimes and achieve merit."
The assembled celestials burst into laughter; this was precisely the reason. Weren’t all their efforts aimed at pushing Sha Chen into the abyss step by step, only for the Buddhist faction to then extend a helping hand? Then Sha Chen would be indebted with gratitude to Buddhism. And then, Sha Chen, due to the Heavenly Court turning a blind eye, would also feel grateful to the Heavenly Court.
This was exactly what the Heavenly Court had planned, and what the Jade Emperor had in mind. The assembled celestials had recently been driven to distraction by Sha Chen; now, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
They were just waiting for Sha Chen to eat Jin Chanzi and then toss his skeletal remains out of the cave dwelling. If he were cruel enough to fashion an ornament from the reincarnated Jin Chanzi’s skullcap and wear it, that would be even better.
However.
「Within the Flowing Sand River.」
Sha Chen had not eaten the reincarnated Jin Chanzi. He even had Chang E prepare a sumptuous feast and invited the reincarnated Jin Chanzi to sit and dine.
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi was baffled. He was now in the Flowing Sand River Cave, feeling incredibly small, lost, and helpless. One was the colossal river god of the vast Flowing Sand River, and the other was an incomparably beautiful celestial maiden. For a moment, he was bewildered, not knowing what to do.
Sha Chen patted the table and said, "Sit. You drink alcohol, right?"
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi said, "This humble monk does not drink alcohol or eat meat; I dare not violate the precepts."
Sha Chen chuckled, "I remember a high monk from Buddhism once said, ’Alcohol and meat pass through the intestines, while the Buddha stays seated in the heart.’ Your realization is insufficient."
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi was astonished. He had pored over countless scriptures and learned of innumerable past events, yet he had never heard any great sagely monk of Buddhism utter such words.
Even Chang E was taken aback, snickering secretly. She too had never heard it and secretly thought Sha Chen was just tricking the reincarnated Jin Chanzi.
Actually, that great sagely monk had not said this yet, but he would in the future. As long as he was going to say it, it didn’t prevent Sha Chen from using it to trick the reincarnated Jin Chanzi now. He had to test the reincarnated Jin Chanzi to see just how steadfast his commitment to Buddhism was. Was there potential for development? Since his avatar couldn’t sway him, he decided to take action personally. If Buddhism wanted to scheme against him, then he would dig at Buddhism’s foundations. Sha Chen had decided to lead Jin Chanzi astray. His avatar had failed before, but he hadn’t planned to give up. Now that the man had been delivered to his doorstep, he would be letting himself down if he didn’t try.
Actually, after the reincarnated Jin Chanzi entered the cave dwelling, Sha Chen had tested and examined him repeatedly. Only after confirming there were no issues did he dare to start the subsequent conversation and attempt to persuade him to drink wine and eat meat.
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi clearly hadn’t processed the situation. Since Hanshan’s death, he had completely entered the gate of emptiness and hadn’t eaten meat or drunk wine for a very long time. Now that someone was urging him to drink wine and eat meat, he genuinely hadn’t reacted yet.
He was stunned for a long while. He wanted to refuse, yet he also felt that what Sha Chen said made some sense.
"Immortal, please don’t try to fool this humble monk. Drinking wine and eating meat violates the precepts. One cannot cultivate the Buddhist Law, and it will be even harder to obtain the True Scripture."
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi’s will was still very firm, which gave Sha Chen a bit of a headache; for a moment, he didn’t know what to do.
He glanced at Chang E, wondering if he should ask her to use her beauty to tempt him. But ultimately, he didn’t dare make this request; otherwise, Chang E would probably beat him to death. Besides, that would be letting the reincarnated Jin Chanzi off too easily.
Jin Chanzi looked at the table laden with mountain delicacies and fine wines, closed his eyes, put his palms together, and chanted Buddhist scriptures. However, he kept his mouth shut and wouldn’t eat.
Chang E said, "Brother, this old monk doesn’t know what’s good for him. Just send him across the river; as long as he doesn’t die in the river, it’s fine. Why keep him here to be a jinx?"
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi had been secretly listening. Hearing such a beautiful celestial maiden speak of him in this way, his heart ached. Not wanting to stay any longer, he said, "Yes, Immortal, please send this humble monk across the river. After this humble monk obtains the True Scripture, I will definitely be endlessly grateful."
Sha Chen said, "Didn’t you come to meet me? Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi said, "This humble monk only wished to inform the Immortal about Hanshan’s fate. That wish has now been fulfilled, and it is time to undertake the Journey to the West."
Sha Chen nodded and asked, "Before Hanshan died, what did he tell you? Was it just to have you undertake the Journey to the West?"
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi fell silent.
Of course not. In his final moments, Hanshan was speaking ill of Buddhism, telling him to firmly guard his original heart and not to join Buddhism. But then, a great monk from Buddhism came. His Buddha light shone universally, his Divine Power was immense, capable of reviving the dead and regrowing flesh on bare bones. He also told him that as long as he undertook the Journey to the West, he too could reach that stage and would naturally also be able to revive the dead and regrow flesh on bare bones. Jin Chanzi’s heart had never changed; he only wanted to revive Hanshan. Towards Buddhism, although he cultivated, he lacked the reverence of his previous incarnations, merely wanting to use Buddhism’s power to achieve his own goals. Actually, this was not much different from the vast majority of people in Buddhism; they were just no longer pure. Buddhism wanted to cultivate a pure Jin Chanzi to be its spokesperson. It certainly did not want to cultivate a Buddha who had his own selfish desires; Lingjiu Mountain already had many such Buddhas.
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi remained silent but still refused to drink wine or eat meat.
Sha Chen decided to play his trump card, saying softly, "The wine is Immortal Peach Wine. Drinking it prolongs life, replenishes vital essence and spirit, and is greatly beneficial for strengthening the Primordial Spirit."
"The meat dishes all contain Divine Power. Eating them can strengthen the physical body and increase Divine Power. Even without Divine Power, it can enhance one’s flesh and blood."
The reincarnated Jin Chanzi frowned but remained unmoved.
Sha Chen chuckled, "You weren’t so hesitant when you ate dog meat."