Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything
Chapter 841 - 841: Upgrade

Eastern Temple, Maitreya Buddha sat quietly on his lotus throne, his expression stern and his eyes filled with contemplative thought.

First of all, Maitreya Buddha's thoughts naturally revolved around the fact that the Treasure Lotus Lantern had been stolen by Jiang Liu, which was very strange.

According to the information he received from the Sage Sect Master, that person was not a disciple of Sect Master Tongtian, but he actually possessed the cultivation level of a Quasi-Saint!?

Leaving aside other matters, just the fact that he has severed his corpse, I absolutely cannot be mistaken about that.

After severance of the corpse, it naturally leads to the cultivation level of a Quasi-Saint, this has never been wrong throughout history.

Just like regular people who cultivate, they must experience the three disasters and undergo the Heavenly Thunder Tribulation.

Similarly, after surviving the Heavenly Thunder Tribulation, one possesses the cultivation level of a Heavenly Immortal, this is also a fixed principle!

"Not a disciple of Sect Master Tongtian, yet possesses the cultivation level of a Quasi-Saint? What kind of deity could this be!?" Maitreya Buddha pondered deeply on the identity of the opponent.

However, the opponent's actions were very few and far between, moreover, every time he concealed his identity, leaving Maitreya Buddha utterly puzzled.

After long contemplation without any result, Maitreya Buddha shook his head, and temporarily set this matter aside.

The pressing issue now was the matter of the Journey to the West for Scriptures.

He was responsible for the overall coordination of the Journey to the West for Scriptures, but since his resurrection, he hadn't done anything.

Now, having acclimatized to his identity in all aspects, it seemed that he should focus his energies on the work of the Journey to the West for Scriptures.

Although he was resurrected after his death, his cultivation level had fallen to the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal, hoping that the work of the Journey to the West for Scriptures would be completed well.

At that time, immense merit would descend, and by relying on the power of merit, perhaps he could return to the realm of Quasi-Saint.

The ethereal sound of celestial music...

Just as Maitreya Buddha was alone contemplating the overall coordination work of the Journey to the West for Scriptures, suddenly, a wave of ethereal spiritual energy appeared out of thin air in the void.

Simultaneously, a figure emerged, dressed in a golden imperial robe, walked up to Maitreya Buddha.

Upon seeing the figure emerge, Maitreya Buddha's expression slightly changed, he immediately stood up and bowed: "Greetings to Your Majesty the Jade Emperor!"

In terms of status, Maitreya Buddha, being the Future Buddha and belonging to the Buddhist Sect, technically did not need to bow to the Jade Emperor.

However, due to his recent resurrection and significant drop in cultivation level, Maitreya Buddha inherently lowered his stance before the Jade Emperor.

Otherwise, if Maitreya Buddha still possessed the cultivation level of a Quasi-Saint, the Jade Emperor would likely not have come uninvited and appeared so directly.

"Congratulations on your resurrection..." the Jade Emperor gazed directly at Maitreya Buddha and said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Maitreya Buddha modestly replied with a slight nod.

"I have come today, and I believe you, Maitreya Buddha, should know why?" Without wasting much time, the Jade Emperor spoke, inquiring Maitreya Buddha.

"Your Majesty, is it about the Treasure Lotus Lantern?" Maitreya Buddha hesitated slightly before answering.

"Very well, Maitreya Buddha indeed speaks straightforwardly!" Hearing Maitreya Buddha's words, without any equivocation, the Jade Emperor nodded and said, "In this matter, you should give me a reasonable explanation, right?"

"Of course!" Maitreya Buddha nodded, saying, "Regarding this matter, I am completely unaware..."

"Naturally!"

As soon as Maitreya Buddha's words left his mouth, before he could finish, the Jade Emperor interrupted, saying, "It is rumored that at the time of Maitreya Buddha's death and dissolution of the path, he bathed in the Soul-Cleansing Pool water within the Ksitigarbha Cave, completely cleansing his past life's memories. Your ignorance of this matter is only natural!"

"Your Majesty, consider this, after the Treasure Lotus Lantern was unearthed, Sect Master Tongtian's disciple immediately appeared and took it away, indicating that he had planted it there and had been controlling it all along. This also suggests that he intended to frame me!" The Jade Emperor's words caused Maitreya Buddha to pause slightly before defending himself.

"Then the question arises, if you and he have no grudge, why does he want to frame you?" The Jade Emperor's expression remained calm as he continued questioning.

"This..."

Unable to respond immediately to the Jade Emperor's question, Maitreya Buddha shook his head after a moment, "I have indeed lost all memories of my previous life, so any enmity between us, I myself do not know!"

"Alright, let's take a step back and consider..."

The Jade Emperor remained indifferent to Maitreya Buddha's answer, continuing, "Since the Treasure Lotus Lantern was just unearthed and he immediately appeared, could it be said that ordinarily, he had been hiding near your Eastern Temple, perhaps even within it?"

"Hmm!?"

The Jade Emperor's conjecture seemed quite plausible. Hearing this, Maitreya Buddha paused.

It really seemed reasonable, otherwise, was it truly such a coincidence? The Treasure Lotus Lantern unearthed, and he happened to pass by?

"Could it be? The imposter posing as Sect Master Tongtian's disciple is actually within my Eastern Temple!?" Maitreya Buddha muttered inwardly.

If so, then who could it be?

Seeing Maitreya Buddha ponder deeply, the Jade Emperor did not speak, nor did he intend to disturb him.

After waiting for a moment, Maitreya Buddha let out a low sigh.

Clearly, whether anyone within Eastern Temple could be impersonating Sect Master Tongtian's disciple, Maitreya Buddha had not the slightest clue.

"Your Majesty, regarding the matter of Sect Master Tongtian's disciple, I am completely unaware, my previous life's memories were entirely cleansed, as Your Majesty knows well! If Your Majesty insists on suspecting me, I have no way to defend myself!" Maitreya Buddha answered the Jade Emperor.

"So, are you admitting it?" The Jade Emperor stared at Maitreya Buddha and asked.

"Not defending myself does not mean I admit it!" Maitreya Buddha replied, still with a lowered head.

"So, for this matter, you plan to feign ignorance and muddle through?" The Jade Emperor's gaze remained calm but authoritative, as he seriously asked Maitreya Buddha.

"Sigh…"

Maitreya Buddha sighed inwardly.

Given the Jade Emperor's personal visit, could this matter be so easily muddled through? Maitreya Buddha had never harbored such a wishful thought.

"What does Your Majesty intend to do?" Maitreya Buddha asked the Jade Emperor.

"The Journey to the West is a great calamity, I can have someone design a few trials to assist in adding hardships for your journey..." the Jade Emperor stated to Maitreya Buddha.

This statement caused Maitreya Buddha's brow to slightly furrow.

Though he was indeed troubled by the hardships of the Journey to the West for Scriptures, would the Jade Emperor specifically come to help him out of goodwill?

Maitreya Buddha found this notion improbable.

Sure enough, the Jade Emperor's subsequent words seemed to confirm Maitreya Buddha's suspicions.

"However, since the Journey to the West for Scriptures is your Buddhist Sect's affair and pertains to your sect's prosperity, I can design in secrecy, but the executors should be members of your sect..." the Jade Emperor added.

This statement brought an odd blush to Maitreya Buddha's face.

Don't misunderstand, it wasn't out of excitement nor embarrassment but sheer anger!

What did the Jade Emperor mean? His people hiding in the dark to plot, while the Buddhist Sect members execute?

On the surface, it sounded plausible, the Journey to the West for Scriptures was indeed the Buddhist Sect's affair, thus it was inappropriate for him to intervene. But in reality?

The dangers of the Journey to the West's great calamity would be borne by the Buddhist Sect members, but the merit of the Scripture Seeking would be taken by the Jade Emperor?

His words seemed to imply this?

"So, Maitreya, do you have any objections?" The Jade Emperor asked, calmly looking at Maitreya.

The title Future Buddha? Indeed, a prestigious identity, but if in the future he couldn't reach the realm of Quasi-Saint, could he still retain this title? That was a different matter.

At least, at the moment, Maitreya had completely lost the qualification to speak to him as an equal.

Anger! Maitreya Buddha's already stern expression turned colder, and his anger within increased.

But, the words he wanted to utter turned into: "No objections!"

"Good, no objections, that's fine!" The Jade Emperor was not surprised by Maitreya's answer, slightly nodding.

...

As for any private deals between the Jade Emperor and Maitreya Buddha, Jiang Liu naturally knew nothing about them. These days, Jiang Liu continued his journey westward.

The Calamity Book was already in hand, regarding the number of calamities in the Journey to the West for Scriptures, Jiang Liu could at least control it at present, and was the only one aware.

As long as he didn't reveal it, the Buddhist Sect members would remain completely oblivious about the Eighty-one Calamities.

On this day, along the journey to the west for scriptures, a Map of Mountains and Rivers floated in mid-air, shining brilliantly, with no one around.

Within the world of the Map of Mountains and Rivers, the entire team on the Journey to the West for Scriptures was present.

Sun Wukong was at level 84, Jiang Liu was at level 74, with their levels now within 10 of each other, they could finally form a party.

Thus, as the leader of the monster-fighting team, Jiang Liu had already included Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, White Dragon, and even the Good Corpse into the team.

The speed at which the whole team fought monsters was not only fast but their battle coordination was increasingly seamless.

Although adding Sun Wukong meant more members to share the experience points, resulting in fewer experience points gained per dungeon clear compared to before.

Nevertheless, with Sun Wukong's addition, the speed of dungeon clears had significantly improved.

Previously without Sun Wukong, Jiang Liu could only clear five or six dungeons a day, but now, he could clear seven or eight dungeons.

Overall, the daily experience points gained were actually more.

On this day, within the dungeon, the strongest BOSS Tathagata was suffering under the attacks of Jiang Liu and his team.

Although this dungeon's difficulty was high, having cleared it several hundred times, Jiang Liu and his team were now highly proficient.

Wielding the Ruyi Golden Cudgel, Sun Wukong activated the power of the Twin Essence Oil, and with one strike, he directly emptied Tathagata's health bar.

Prompt: You have gained 13.5 million experience points, and 8,500 taels of gold.

Prompt: Level up by 1, current level 75.