Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything
Chapter 859 - 859: Jiang Liu: Emperor Zhenwu is such a good person!

Amitabha.

In Ksitigarbha Cave, looking at the lost souls appearing before him, Ksitigarbha's face revealed a trace of bitterness, as he uttered a Buddhist name softly.

Previously, I already knew that the great calamity of the Journey to the West was about to fully unfold, after all, someone had specially informed me.

But recently?

The Green Lion Demon and White Elephant Demon were once disciples of the Sect of Intercepting, Manjushri and Samantabhadra, both were among the Twelve Golden Immortals, plus the Bodhisattva of Vast Power, Maitreya Buddha, and now even the Empress Qinghua...

Recently, the fall of these mighty beings, one after another, was truly overwhelming.

The death of a Great Luo Golden Immortal level expert is a rare occurrence over a millennium, yet recently, I have dealt with quite a few of them?

Each fall of a Great Luo Golden Immortal meant I had to have a good chat with the major figures of the Immortals and Buddhas Realm.

Lately, the workload and the complexity of it has greatly increased!

"Greetings, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva..."

As the saying goes, under the eaves, one has to lower their head. Although the Empress Qinghua is one of the Four Royals, now falling into the hands of Ksitigarbha, he decisively gave in, saying rather politely.

"Amitabha, greetings, Great Emperor!" Seeing the Empress Qinghua greet him, Ksitigarbha also returned the courtesy politely.

"Bodhisattva, you must be aware of my identity, I..." With the greeting done, seeing Ksitigarbha being courteous to him, the Empress Qinghua took the chance, naturally, to ask for mercy.

At the very least, he should wait until the Great Jade Emperor comes to rescue him?

As one of the Four Royals, once he falls, the Great Jade Emperor would surely find a way to save him.

"Naturally..." But before the Empress Qinghua finished, Ksitigarbha nodded.

And said, "With your esteemed status, to be reincarnated, I will naturally arrange for you to be born into a wealthy family, ensuring you a life of prosperity and wealth!"

"No! Ksitigarbha, listen to me..." Hearing these words, the Empress Qinghua panicked and quickly spoke.

"Amitabha, Great Emperor, no need to worry, I will arrange your reincarnation now!" Still not giving the Empress Qinghua a chance to speak, Ksitigarbha spoke, then acted.

No!!!

The lost soul of the Empress Qinghua cried out.

But the sound was brief, immediately being thrown into the Soul-Cleansing Pool by Ksitigarbha.

In the Soul-Cleansing Pool, at first, the Empress Qinghua struggled desperately, but gradually, the struggle weakened, eyes became vacant.

Looking around, he seemed to remember nothing, not even knowing where he was.

After waiting a while, ensuring that the Soul-Cleansing Pool had completely wiped the memories of the Empress Qinghua, Ksitigarbha began to arrange his reincarnation.

Without any struggle, all memories washed away, the lost soul of the Empress Qinghua was muddleheaded, thrown into reincarnation by Ksitigarbha.

"Alas..."

Though successfully sending the Empress Qinghua into reincarnation, Ksitigarbha sighed helplessly.

For Ksitigarbha, the hardest part was not sending the Empress Qinghua into reincarnation, but how to deal with the Great Jade Emperor afterward.

At this moment, Ksitigarbha felt truly helpless, the killing was done by Xuanzang, yet all the aftermath seemed to fall on him?

For cases like Maitreya Buddha and the Empress Qinghua, others not knowing who the killer was, their lost souls ended up with him, and major immortals seeking him made some sense.

But for Manjushri and Samantabhadra, known to die at the hands of Xuanzang, yet immortals still came to him.

This created an imbalance.

At some point, he seemed to have become Xuanzang's exclusive scapegoat.

"Bodhisattva..."

As Ksitigarbha was silently lamenting, feeling it almost laughable, his Novice Monk walked in, saying, "The Great Jade Emperor is here!"

Hearing this, although shocked at the Great Jade Emperor's quick arrival, Ksitigarbha kept a calm face.

After tidying himself a bit, he personally went out to greet him.

...

What happened in Ksitigarbha Cave need not be mentioned further, it was nothing but the Great Jade Emperor trying to retrieve the lost soul of the Empress Qinghua from Ksitigarbha, the two pulling strings.

In handling such matters, Ksitigarbha was quite adept.

Meanwhile, on the road of the Journey to the West.

The group led by Jiang Liu was stopped by Emperor Zhenwu, Jiang Liu feeling a heavy heart.

Though fraught with hardships and calculations by many powerful beings, most of the machinations were covert.

Be it sending boys to the lower realm or dispatching their rides.

Even the Four Saints testing Zen initially disguised themselves, hiding their identities.

But Emperor Zhenwu appearing openly, without even changing his appearance, was the first encounter Jiang Liu had on his journey westward.

"Amitabha, may I ask who you are? And why..."

Though the list of characters already revealed Zhenwu Emperor's identity, Jiang Liu pretended ignorance as he had not declared it.

"Haha, Emperor Zhenwu, what a rare sight..." But before Jiang Liu could finish, Sun Wukong casually greeted.

"Greetings, Emperor Zhenwu!" As Sun Wukong spoke, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing also followed suit.

"Well, I suppose pretending not to know is impossible!" The reactions of his disciples left Jiang Liu feeling resigned.

"So, it's Emperor Zhenwu, this poor monk, Xuanzang, greets Emperor Zhenwu!" Pretending to recognize his identity now, Jiang Liu spoke up.

"Master Xuanzang, greetings!" As Jiang Liu greeted, Emperor Zhenwu nodded slightly, returning the gesture.

But after this, not wasting time on pleasantries, Emperor Zhenwu said, "Alright, the formalities are over, let's get down to business!"

Clad in armor, wielding a weapon, Emperor Zhenwu's decisive character took Jiang Liu by surprise.

Nodding, Jiang Liu said, "Please, give your orders, Great Emperor!"

"I heard you fought with the Empress Qinghua recently and severed one of his arms?" Emperor Zhenwu asked.

"Yes, that's true!" In such times, denial was futile, Jiang Liu admitted openly.

"Good, your admission is enough!" Hearing Jiang Liu's admission, Emperor Zhenwu nodded.

With a shake of his long blade, he said, "The Empress Qinghua and I are old friends, since he was injured by you, naturally, I cannot stand by idly!"

"So, Great Emperor, do you wish to avenge the Empress Qinghua and kill this monk?" Seeing his demeanor, Jiang Liu asked.

"No, since you did not kill Qinghua, I will not take your lives. I seek nothing but to obstruct your journey westward, make you reflect and repent!" Shaking his head, Emperor Zhenwu replied.

To harm the Pilgrimage Team critically was unthinkable.

But to avenge Qinghua and present a challenge to their journey, blocking their path seemed a reasonable choice.

Given the current aggressive streak of the Pilgrimage Team, they surely wouldn't take this lightly.

They would be confident to handle him after defeating Qinghua.

So, a fight was inevitable.

"Alas, Emperor Zhenwu, if that's the case, do not blame me, Old Sun, for being rude!" Hearing Emperor Zhenwu came to provoke, Sun Wukong's face turned cold, addressing Zhenwu resolve.

"Please forgive us for our rudeness, Great Emperor!" Following Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing drew their Nine-Toothed Rake and Blood-Transforming Divine Blade.

"You can all attack together!" Seeing their actions, Emperor Zhenwu's expression remained calm.

Clearly, their reaction was anticipated by Emperor Zhenwu.

Indeed, after fighting Empress Qinghua and winning, the confidence of Sun Wukong and his companions had greatly soared.

Now, facing Emperor Zhenwu, another of the Four Royals, they still had some confidence.

"Wait..."

But seeing them ready to fight, Jiang Liu hurriedly spoke to stop them.

"What are you doing? What are you doing? How dare you make a move against Emperor Zhenwu?" Jiang Liu stepped forward, scolding Sun Wukong and the others.

"Uh..." Jiang Liu's words left Sun Wukong and the others stunned, looking confusedly at their master.

Previously against Manjushri and Samantabhadra, it was their master who first ordered the attack.

Against Empress Qinghua, it was again their master who first ordered the attack.

Thinking they understood their master's temperament well.

This time, they acted on their own.

But their master stopped them, why?

Not only Sun Wukong and his companions, even Emperor Zhenwu looked puzzled at Jiang Liu.

What's happening?

Previously in conversations with Qinghua, Qinghua said Xuanzang was ruthless?

Why is this scenario completely different from expectations now?

"Great Emperor..."

Stopping Sun Wukong and the others, Jiang Liu turned to Emperor Zhenwu, bowing, "This poor monk believes the Great Emperor is right, in severing the Empress Qinghua's arm, this monk has been feeling guilty these days!"

"This monk is willing to stay here for ten years, no, a hundred years, to reflect and repent!"