Chapter 730
Guanyin Transforms into a Tiger and Gets a Beating
This tiger only possessed the strength of an ordinary mountain tiger. The original intention was to let Sun Wukong show off his skills by easily subduing or even killing it, which would not only demonstrate the disciple's abilities but also further strengthen Tang Sanzang's determination and sense of security for his journey to the West, who had just accepted a disciple and whose mind was still unsettled. Look, with such a powerful disciple protecting him, what demons and monsters are there to fear?
The plan was originally very good.
However, she overlooked one point—Tang Sanzang, who had just been inspired by Lin Zhu's "light of the righteous path" and "presence" promise and was almost about to ascend to heaven, now had a mindset that was completely different from the original timid and cowardly holy monk who relied solely on his disciple!
When Tang Sanzang was blocked by a tiger, he didn't hide behind Sun Wukong as expected. Instead, his eyes lit up! With the blessing of Lin Xianjun's "presence," he felt full of boundless confidence and energy. He even felt that his arms had inexhaustible strength, as if he could kill a bull with a single punch!
"What a great opportunity!" Tang Sanzang thought excitedly. "Immortal Lin just said that there will be a treasure opportunity soon, so we must keep our eyes open!"
In this desolate wilderness, a ferocious tiger suddenly leaps out—isn't that strange? It must be the 'test' or 'opportunity' the Immortal Lord spoke of! If I can subdue it alone, demonstrating courage and wisdom, the Immortal Lord might be pleased and bestow upon me even more powerful treasures!
He was just worried about not having a chance to show off!
At this moment, Sun Wukong, seeing the tiger blocking his way, showed a hint of impatience on his monkey face, raised his golden cudgel, and snorted coldly.
"Where did this blind beast come from, daring to block my master's path? You're asking for death!"
He was about to smash it with a stick, turning this "unsubdued" beast into mincemeat.
"Disciple, wait!"
Tang Sanzang suddenly shouted to stop them, his voice loud and clear, so strong that even Sun Wukong was startled.
Tang Sanzang stepped forward, blocking the path between Sun Wukong and the tiger. He frowned, carefully examining the tiger that was baring its teeth and growling at him. His eyes were sharp as he began a "meticulous" analysis.
“My disciple, look, this place is desolate, with sparse vegetation and no birds. It is clearly not a place where ordinary wild animals live.”
Although the tiger was enormous and its fur was glossy, its appearance was too abrupt and illogical.
He paused, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, then slapped his thigh and said decisively.
"I am certain! This tiger is no ordinary beast! It must be... it must have been created by someone secretly using their power! It was deliberately placed here as a test of our determination to travel west!"
Sun Wukong scratched his face, looking somewhat puzzled.
"A test? Who's that bored?"
"Who else could it be?!"
Tang Sanzang's eyes gleamed with wisdom, and his tone was extremely confident.
"It must be Immortal Lord Lin! Before he left, he specifically reminded us that we would have an 'opportunity' and that we should keep our eyes open! Immortal Lord is incredibly powerful; he could easily subdue a fierce tiger! This must be Immortal Lord in disguise, personally testing whether we are truly committed to the journey to the West and whether we have the courage to face the hardships and dangers! Immortal Lord is truly thoughtful!"
The more he talked, the more reasonable he felt, completely immersed in his own reasoning, and his "admiration" and "trust" for Lin Zhu reached a new level.
Hidden in the shadows, Guanyin, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, nearly coughed up blood upon hearing this! Me again?! No, how come everything gets dragged into Lin Zhu's head?! Was this Golden Cicada poisoned by Lin Zhu after his reincarnation?! Why does he get all the credit?! This was clearly my hard work transforming myself to give you confidence and my disciple a chance to shine! I'm so wronged! Utterly wronged!
Lin Zhu.
"...?"
What does this have to do with me? I was just saying it casually.
Sun Wukong's lips twitched as he looked at his master's smug "I've seen through the secrets of heaven" expression, then glanced at the tiger, thinking that his master's ability to make up stories... was truly something else. However, he was too lazy to expose him, since it wasn't the first or second time Old Lin had taken the blame.
"Master is wise!"
Sun Wukong obligingly gave a thumbs-up, and then asked a question.
"So, should we take this 'Celestial Lord's Trial' or not?"
"Fight! Of course we must fight!"
Tang Sanzang was fierce, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked, and his eyes burned with fighting spirit.
"However, it's not you who should hit me, my disciple!"
"what?"
Sun Wukong was taken aback.
"The Immortal Lord said that the journey to the West is fraught with countless calamities and tribulations, and one must temper one's true nature! If one relies on one's disciple to hide behind one's back in everything, how can one cultivate an unyielding will? How can one find one's own righteous path?"
Tang Sanzang spoke with righteous indignation and stern words, as if possessed by Lin Zhu.
"not to mention……"
His eyes darted around, and he suddenly remembered some Buddhist precepts that he had heard somewhere before, or that he had made up himself, and he spoke about them with great seriousness.
"The Buddhist precepts include the Eight Precepts, one of which is 'abstaining from killing,' and another is 'abstaining from any living being from killing me!' No, it is 'abstaining from any living being from harming me without cause!' This tiger has blocked the road without cause, intending to harm people, and has already broken the precepts! As a Buddhist disciple, I should personally step forward and... help it to be 'liberated'! Send it to be reborn in the Pure Land, to fulfill the compassion of the Buddha, and at the same time, to help it eliminate the karmic obstacles caused by breaking the precepts!"
Sun Wukong.
"..."
He was completely bewildered. What was all this about? Abstaining from killing and abstaining from being killed? There were such precepts? Master, who did you learn this Buddhist scripture from? But... it actually sounded quite reasonable?
The Guanyin, lurking in the shadows, is already going berserk inside the tiger! Forbid any living being from killing you?! What kind of Buddhist precept is this?! Jin Chanzi! Have you not only become more timid after your reincarnation, but also lost your mind?! And you want to perform a ritual for its release? How are you going to release a ferocious tiger? With your fists?!
"Disciple, step back and protect your master!" Tang Sanzang, without allowing any further explanation, assumed a starting stance that he thought was very powerful but was actually full of flaws, and roared angrily at the tiger.
"You wicked creature! I already know that Immortal Lord Lin sent you to test this humble monk! Today, I will show you what a true pilgrim is! Take this!"
Before he finished speaking, he actually started swinging his fists wildly and charged towards the 500-pound striped tiger! His steps were... a little messy.
Guanyin was completely dumbfounded! This wasn't the script! It should have been Sun Wukong easily defeating the tiger, with Tang Sanzang admiring and relying on him! How did it turn into Tang Sanzang having to fight the tiger himself?! And he even believed it was Lin Zhu in disguise?!
What should we do? Should we really let this amnesiac holy monk come up and fight? What if he actually kills me? Even though it's just a little bit of divine power, it's still incredibly shameful! To be killed by Tang Sanzang with his bare hands—what will become of the Western Paradise's reputation?!
In a flash, Guanyin made what she considered the most "safe" decision—run! Quickly manipulate the tiger to escape! Get out of this out-of-control situation! As for Sun Wukong demonstrating his strength and strengthening Tang Sanzang's resolve... let's talk about that later! This Tang Sanzang is already too "resolute"!
So, just as Tang Sanzang charged forward, brandishing his wild fists, the once majestic and poised tiger suddenly turned sharply, tucked its tail between its legs, and darted into the depths of the nearby forest without looking back! Its speed was more than twice as fast as when it came out! It was as if a ferocious beast was chasing it!
"Want to run?!"
Seeing the tiger about to flee, Tang Sanzang became even more certain of his judgment—this must be a test from the immortal lord. Seeing his bravery and fearlessness, and having passed the test, the lord was about to take away the transformation! No! How could I let you leave so easily? I haven't shown enough yet!
He was filled with rage and his anger flared up, so he roared.
"Hey! You beast, don't run! I am Tang Sanzang! Today I will bury the heavens, the earth, and all living beings! How can I let you, a mere tiger demon, escape?! Come back here!"
In the blink of an eye, Tang Sanzang suddenly accelerated and actually caught up with the fleeing tiger. He stretched out his right hand and grabbed the end of the tiger's thick tail!
Guanyin, who was controlling the tiger from the shadows, was focused on escaping when suddenly the tiger's tail was grabbed. She instinctively tried to shake it off.
However, the moment Tang Sanzang's palm touched the tiger's tail, Guanyin suddenly felt an indescribable, overwhelming force coming from the tiger's tail!
That wasn't a fluctuation of magical power, nor the pressure of supernatural abilities, but a pure, savage, and seemingly ancient physical strength?! It was like being grabbed by the tail by a humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex!
"roar?!"
The tiger let out a terrified roar, frantically pawing at the ground with its four claws, but it couldn't move forward an inch! Instead, it was dragged backward by that terrifying force!
A ferocious tiger weighing over 500 pounds was actually held back by a seemingly frail monk with a single hand?! He pulled it so hard that all four paws were off the ground, and it spun around in place?!
Guanyin was stunned! Utterly stunned! What... what's going on?! When did Tang Sanzang acquire such terrifying power?! Wasn't he just an ordinary monk with no strength to even kill a chicken?! Could it be that the Nine-Turn Great Rejuvenation Pill has the side effect of modifying the body?! No, that's not right! I've never heard of that!
What terrified her even more was the words Tang Sanzang had just roared out—"This humble monk, Tang Sanzang! Today I will bury the heavens, the earth, and all living beings!"
Burying the heavens? Burying the earth? Burying all living beings?!
And this unbelievable brute force...
An extremely absurd yet chilling thought surfaced uncontrollably within her.
This Golden Cicada...after his reincarnation, isn't something... a little off?!
In the shadows, Lin Zhu, who hadn't truly gone far but merely remained hidden to watch the spectacle, shook his head helplessly at the sudden change in the violent scene below. Yet, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upwards, his eyes filled with the delightful anticipation of "this melon is really sweet."
He stroked his chin, feeling somewhat puzzled.
'What kind of shock did this Golden Cicada undergo after his reincarnation? Does the Nine-Turn Great Rejuvenation Pill have the side effect of activating latent violent tendencies? Or... was he always holding back a lot of energy, which I completely unleashed after my persuasion? Tsk tsk, this isn't a monk on a pilgrimage, this is clearly a martial monk who has returned to secular life!'
He was happy to be a bystander, watching with great interest.
Among those present, the one most shocked was none other than Sun Wukong.
The monkey stood there, mouth agape, eyes wide with rage. He even forgot to brace his golden cudgel against the ground, staring blankly as his master grabbed the tiger's tail and swung it wildly like a sack being torn apart!
'This...this is really the Tang Sanzang who looked so frail in the Nine-Story Heavenly Prison, who fainted from fright, and who was just about to run away?'
Sun Wukong felt his centuries-old understanding of monkey life was severely shaken. 'This strength…this aura…this ferocity…if I, Old Sun, didn't use my supernatural powers, relying solely on my physical strength, it would still take some effort to so easily swing this 500-pound tiger, wouldn't it?'
Looking at Tang Sanzang's profile, slightly contorted from exertion, and the harsh words he was muttering about "breaking the precept against killing" and "falsely claiming to perform the Three Burials," he suddenly felt a strange...respect? And a hint of relief?
'If I'd known this monk… no, I mean master, was so fierce, would I, Old Sun, have dared to bare my teeth at him back under the Five Elements Mountain? I might have even been more polite and called him 'Master, what strength!''
Sun Wukong scratched his face and suddenly felt that following a master who could fight tigers with his bare hands to the Western Paradise seemed... pretty exciting? At least he wouldn't have to worry about him dragging him down and getting caught and stewed by monsters all the time.
He stood respectfully to the side, temporarily forgetting to make a move, and decided to observe his master's "performance" first.
At this moment, the "fierce tiger" whose tail was grabbed by Tang Sanzang and swung around in the air like a meteor hammer, was completely bewildered by the Guanyin Bodhisattva's primordial spirit inside it. Its mind was in complete chaos, as if it had been trampled by ten thousand ancient bulls!
'Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!' Guanyin screamed frantically in her heart. 'The reincarnation of Jin Chanzi was clearly a refined, weak, and utterly powerless mortal monk! Even if the Nine-Turn Great Rejuvenation Pill were incredibly potent, capable of repairing the physical body and primordial spirit, it could never possibly grant such terrifying physical strength! This power… this brute force… it's simply illogical!'
She felt her worldview crumbling. The refined, holy monk had transformed into a berserk warrior, demanding "physical salvation"? Who wrote this script?! Was the Taoist master drunk, or was Buddha asleep?!
"You wicked beast! If this humble monk does not save you today, then I will be unworthy to call myself Tang Sanzang!"
With a roar, Tang Sanzang slammed the tiger, which had been swinging around several times, to the ground! With a muffled thud, the ground trembled slightly, and the tiger was thrown around, dazed and seeing stars.
Tang Sanzang strode forward, stepped onto the tiger's back, and held it firmly down, muttering incantations as he did so, exuding a menacing aura.
"Come here! Go ask around the four streets, east, west, south, and north, and see who's your father! How dare you bare your teeth at this poor monk? Today I'll show you what it means for even a Buddha to have anger, and for even a monk to be furious!"
After saying that, he actually flipped over and mounted the tiger's back, grabbed the tiger's neck fur with his left hand, and raised his right fist high—that fist was white and tender, and looked harmless.
However, the next second, that fair fist, like a heavy hammer, accompanied by a heart-stopping sound of wind breaking, slammed hard into the tiger's nose!
"Awooo—!!!"
The tiger let out a shrill, distorted howl, and blood gushed from its nose, smearing its face! In that wretched and miserable state, where was the majesty of the king of the forest?
Guanyin was struck by this heavy punch. Although it was only perceived through her divine sense, the terrifying impact it transmitted still caused her vision to go black and her soul to tremble! She was utterly shocked.
'This power... is far beyond the reach of ordinary mortals! Even some Qi cultivators who specialize in body refinement wouldn't be able to achieve it without decades of arduous practice! Where did this newly resurrected monk get such strength?!' (End of Chapter)