Tang Sanzang ran for a while before stopping. Seeing no sign of the monkey, he sighed inwardly, estimating that the monkey had escaped and left, and would not come to protect him!
So he sat down and took out some dry rations from his bag to eat. Climbing the mountain earlier had consumed a lot of energy!
Just then, a monkey descended from the sky and appeared beside Tang Sanzang, saying, "Greetings, Master. I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. For this, the Buddha suppressed me for five hundred years until Master arrived!"
Tang Sanzang was also surprised and delighted to see the monkey return. After all, with the ability to cause havoc in the Heavenly Palace, fly, and split mountains and crack rocks, he would no longer have to fear wild beasts and venomous snakes in the future!
However, the monkey was in tatters at this moment. Although his clothes were torn, he was quite clean!
Sun Wukong had just broken free from the Five Elements Mountain and had gone to a nearby pond for a bath before rushing over!
"These are the monk's robes I used to wear. I'll give you a set. By the way, do you have a name?" Tang Sanzang took out a set of clothes from his luggage, gave them to Sun Wukong, and then asked!
Sun Wukong immediately replied, "Master, I do. My name is Sun Wukong!"
Tang Sanzang nodded, thinking the name was fitting for Buddhism. He smiled and said, "Since that's the case, but with your appearance, you resemble a Daoist priest. Why not give you another nickname? Let's call you: Sun Xingzhe!"
Sun Wukong repeated the name twice and liked it very much. He said, "Thank you, Master. Master, I see you are eating dry rations. Old Sun can cover 108,000 li in one somersault. Let me conjure some alms food for you!"
Tang Sanzang was surprised that Sun Wukong had such abilities, but dry rations were sufficient. He said, "No need. These dry rations are enough for this master. As for you, is this enough?"
Saying this, Tang Sanzang took out another flatbread!
Sun Wukong laughed heartily and said, "Master, you don't know, but Old Sun has already cultivated an immortal body and does not need to eat grains and cereals. Thank you for your kindness, Master!"
Tang Sanzang nodded. After all, although the monkey looked thin, he was powerful when he moved like wind and clouds!
After Tang Sanzang finished eating, Sun Wukong immediately rummaged through the package and pulled out a purple-gold alms bowl, smiling, "Master, I'll fetch some water for you!"
Tang Sanzang nodded with great satisfaction. This disciple was well-chosen!
Normally, he would have to spend a lot of time finding water himself!
Now, in just a few breaths, Sun Wukong had already brought a bowl of water!
With Sun Wukong's joining, the wild beasts along the way mostly could not escape Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang!
There was originally a Black Bear Demon, but Di Xin had not arranged for him. It was too simple, and now Di Xin was waiting for the master and disciples to reunite!
During this period, Sun Wukong was too violent, which displeased Tang Sanzang. Finally, a conflict arose, and Sun Wukong, in anger, left. Tang Sanzang did not say anything, as no matter what, he could not kill people, even if they were bad people!
Guanyin appeared and gave Tang Sanzang a golden fillet that transformed into a hat. She then persuaded Sun Wukong to return. After wearing the hat, Sun Wukong fell into the trap, but under Tang Sanzang's tightening-hoop spell, he eventually submitted!
Passing through Eagle-Feather Stream, the White Dragon consumed Tang Sanzang's horse, which angered Sun Wukong to no end. He stirred up the Eagle-Feather Stream and forced the White Dragon out. However, since this was a test orchestrated by the Bodhisattva, Sun Wukong could only grudgingly give up. Afterward, the White Dragon transformed into a dragon-horse and carried Tang Sanzang westward!
Gradually, the master and disciple arrived at Gao Village. Sun Wukong's trickery had greatly inconvenienced Zhu Bajie, who was a registered disciple of Xuan Du and a marshal in the Heavenly Palace with Golden Immortal cultivation. However, he had mistakenly reincarnated as a pig, which was rather pitiful!
Thus, the second disciple also joined the ranks of the journey to the West!
Until Tang Sanzang and his disciples reached the Flowing Sands River, Tang Sanzang instinctively felt a sense of dread!
There was no other way. His previous nine lives had all ended here, being eaten. Although Tang Sanzang did not remember, he still had a lingering shadow!
The Curtain-Lifting General in the Flowing Sands River, Sha Wujing, was arranged by Di Xin. Since the goal was to accumulate merit and also place some people in Buddhism, it was a common occurrence!
Both Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing were such cases!
After a battle, Sha Wujing finally joined the team and became one of the pilgrims! (This will not be described in detail here!)
The four master and disciples were now complete!
In the Heavenly Palace, recently, all the immortals were watching a show. Indeed, in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, there was a light screen displaying Tang Sanzang's journey to the West!
Many people sighed, saying that Dijun was good at entertainment. It was a pity for Marshal Tianpeng, who was Dijun's junior brother!
"Alright, their four master and disciples are complete. The Ancestor's two boys are also ahead. Next, Emperor Gouchen, are you ready!" Di Xin asked!
After all, they were in court, so they addressed each other by their titles!
Kong Xuan nodded. They were all ready and waiting for Sun Wukong and the others!
Di Xin nodded and looked at Guangchengzi, who was by his side!
Guangchengzi also nodded slightly, indicating that their Chan School had no problems!
"Very good, then all immortals, remember to act according to the plan!" Di Xin waved his hand and said with a smile!
The immortals nodded one after another!
As for the Jade Emperor? Heh, he hadn't come to court yet. There was no way. These people were too troublesome, and he was too lazy to be provoked. He just wanted this so-called Journey to the West tribulation to end quickly!
In the Jade Emperor's view, this Journey to the West tribulation was a joke. It was entirely scripted. Looking at the previous Dragon-Phoenix tribulation, Witch-Demon tribulation, and Investiture of the Gods tribulation, this Journey to the West tribulation was like child's play!
At this moment, Sun Wukong and the others had arrived at Pingding Mountain. Sun Wukong took a look and said, "Master, I sense demonic energy ahead. I fear there may be trouble. Perhaps I should go and assess the situation first!"
Tang Sanzang nodded. Along the way, Sun Wukong had displayed great abilities, so Tang Sanzang trusted him to a great extent!
"Second Brother, Third Brother, guard the Master well. I'll be back soon!" Sun Wukong instructed before flying away!
Zhu Bajie grumbled, "What's there to instruct? All the gods and Buddhas are watching. Would they let Tang Sanzang be eaten? What a joke!"
Therefore, Zhu Bajie also took advantage of any opportunity to slack off along the way. After all, in the end, everything would be fine!
Not long after Sun Wukong left, the Silver Horn King arrived with a group of small demons. They had just missed Sun Wukong. Seeing Tang Sanzang, the Silver Horn King smiled and said, "That monk, is he the monk from the East to the West to retrieve scriptures!"
Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing immediately jumped up. Zhu Bajie was stunned when he saw the Silver Horn King, not because he recognized him, but because he recognized the gourd in the Silver Horn King's hand. "Good heavens, isn't that Tai Shang Lao Jun's purple-gold gourd!"
In an instant, Zhu Bajie understood this fellow's origin, so he did not plan to fight seriously. If he were captured, he would just go with the flow. In reality, his Golden Immortal cultivation was not that high, and many demons had reached the Taiyi realm. It wouldn't make much difference whether Zhu Bajie went easy or not. As for Sha Wujing, he also recognized the gourd and put down his Zen staff, preparing to fight the small demons with his bare hands!