Chapter 778
In front of all the gods and Buddhas, Tang Sanzang begged for medicine by clinging to th
Tang Sanzang, still clinging to Lin Zhu's leg, hadn't even had time to wipe his tears and snot before his eyes were fixed on the red pill. He sniffed, forcefully sucking back the snot that was about to drip into his mouth, his voice still carrying the lingering echo of his earlier wailing, but his tone had become excited: "Big brother, what... what kind of treasure is this?"
Lin Zhu looked down at him, a slight smile playing on her lips, and introduced in a calm and unhurried voice: "This blue one is called the Pillar of Strength. After taking it, it can strengthen your body, consolidate your foundation, and transform you from a weak mortal into a strong and capable pillar of strength."
Carrying 200 pounds of luggage up a mountain path is no problem, and if you encounter any minor demons or monsters, you can even swing your staff and fight them off for a few rounds.
When Tang Sanzang heard the words "Dongliang Dan" (栋梁丹), his brows furrowed. The name was too down-to-earth; it sounded like the name given by a quack doctor selling miracle pills at a village entrance—it lacked any mystical quality whatsoever.
His gaze shifted from the blue pill to the red pill that was shimmering with red light, his eyes filled with longing.
Lin Zhu continued, his voice still calm, but the smile on his lips deepened: "This red one is called the Asura Annihilation Pill. I personally refined it. After consuming it, you will gain the power of Asura, with baleful energy entering your body, causing your combat strength to skyrocket. However—"
Before he could finish speaking, Tang Sanzang had already released his leg, leaped up from the ground, rubbed his hands vigorously on his monk's robe, and his eyes shone like two lanterns. His voice trembled with excitement: "Asura Annihilation Pill! What a name! What a powerful name! It sounds like something extraordinary!"
Tang Sanzang rubbed his hands together excitedly, his face beaming with joy.
His mind raced with calculations—what were Asuras? They were the strongest beings in the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the men ugly and fierce, the women alluring and beautiful, a race born for battle. If he consumed this Asura Annihilation Pill, he could gain Asura power. What demons would he fear then? Wouldn't they all avoid him? Seizing the true scriptures would be a piece of cake!
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and the image of himself transforming into a demon and slaughtering everyone in his path already appeared in his mind.
Moreover, he was holding a grudge.
That old woman Guanyin Bodhisattva, she talks a good game, saying that Buddha is compassionate and saves all sentient beings, but in the end she gave all three life-saving hairs to Sun Wukong, not a single one to him, the proper person who went on the pilgrimage.
He, Tang Sanzang, is the core of the Journey to the West. If he dies on the road, even ten Sun Wukongs wouldn't help. Can't Guanyin Bodhisattva even understand this simple truth? No, she's not confused; she's doing it on purpose! It's a double standard! She looks down on him, a mere mortal!
Tang Sanzang grew angrier the more he thought about it, his teeth grinding together as he cursed Guanyin Bodhisattva eight hundred times in his heart. That old woman talked about equality for all beings, but in reality, she knew better than anyone how to treat people differently. She gave Sun Wukong, a Great Immortal, three life-saving hairs, but Tang Sanzang, a mere mortal, not a single hair. Wasn't she just blatantly sending him to his death?
But it is different now.
The Immortal Lord is fair and just, unlike Guanyin Bodhisattva who is biased. The Immortal Lord is willing to give him elixirs and opportunities to improve his survival skills; this is true compassion!
Tang Sanzang took a deep breath, clasped his hands together, and bowed deeply to Lin Zhu. His expression was devout and earnest, and his voice became solemn: "Immortal Lord, this humble monk is willing to take this Asura Annihilation Pill! If this humble monk can obtain the power of Asura, he will do his utmost to protect himself on his journey to the Western Paradise to obtain the scriptures, and will never disgrace the Immortal Lord!"
As he spoke, he reached out, his fingers trembling as he probed towards the red pill. His fingertips drew closer and closer to the pill; he could even feel the scorching heat emanating from its surface and the malevolent energy seeping into his skin through his fingertips.
Just then, a blinding golden light suddenly burst open in the sky.
The light came extremely fast, like a golden lightning bolt striking down from the heavens, so bright that Tang Sanzang instinctively closed his eyes.
Immediately afterwards, a clear yet somewhat urgent voice descended from the sky. Although the voice remained dignified, anyone with discerning eyes could hear the panic and anxiety hidden within it.
"stop!"
Guanyin Bodhisattva descended straight down from the clouds, stepping on a golden lotus.
She moved several times faster than when she left before, her dress fluttering in the wind behind her, and her hair was somewhat disheveled.
She had just seen Lin Zhu take out two pills from the heavens. The murderous aura emanating from the red pill made her heart pound even through the layers of clouds. That level of murderous aura was definitely not something an ordinary Asura could produce.
She even suspected that Lin Zhu might have actually killed some Asura King and used his primordial spirit and blood essence to refine such an inhuman pill.
We absolutely must not let him deliver this elixir to Tang Sanzang!
Startled by the sudden shout, Tang Sanzang trembled and withdrew his outstretched hand as if electrocuted. He turned around, glanced up at Guanyin Bodhisattva descending from the sky, a flash of panic crossing his face before quickly returning to calm.
He was, after all, a highly accomplished monk who had preached at the Water and Land Assembly and had seen many grand occasions; he wouldn't be so frightened by a single sentence from Guanyin Bodhisattva that he would wet his pants.
He clasped his hands together, bowed, and spoke in a relatively calm tone, but with a hint of impatience: "Amitabha, Bodhisattva, you have returned. What brings you here?"
Lin Zhu also turned to look at Guanyin Bodhisattva, unable to hide the smile on his face. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaned back slightly, and adopted a posture of watching a good show.
He really wanted to see what Guanyin Bodhisattva's expression was now—she had just finished pretending to run faster than a rabbit on her golden lotus feet, and now she was jumping out in a hurry to stop, running back and forth without getting tired.
Moreover, the fact that Guanyin Bodhisattva was so anxious shows that she had been watching this place from heaven.
She said she was leaving, but actually she was hiding above the clouds, spying on Tang Sanzang, afraid he might give him something good that would disrupt their journey to the West. This feeling of being secretly watched might make most people uncomfortable, but Lin Zhu just found it amusing. Guanyin Bodhisattva's little schemes were as transparent as a mirror; who could she possibly hide them from?
"The Bodhisattva left and then returned; was it because he couldn't bear to leave?"
Lin Zhu smiled and said with a mischievous tone, "Were you so engrossed in watching the show up there that you forgot the time?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva glanced back at Lin Zhu, her expression stiffening for a moment, but she quickly regained her dignified and compassionate demeanor. She didn't respond to Lin Zhu's words, because she knew she had never won an argument with him and would only become more and more passive.
The most important thing now is to stop Tang Sanzang; that red pill absolutely must not go into Tang Sanzang's mouth.
She took a deep breath, turned to face Tang Sanzang, and pointed a finger directly at his nose, her fingers trembling slightly with force. Her voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable authority and anger: "Tang Sanzang, as a Buddhist practitioner, how can you take such forbidden medicine!"
Tang Sanzang was startled by the angry rebuke and took a step back, but he quickly regained his footing and moved his lips as if to speak.
Guanyin Bodhisattva didn't give him a chance to speak at all. Her finger almost poked his nose, and her voice grew increasingly stern, each word uttered with extreme emphasis: "Just from the name, you can tell this pill is an evil one! Asura Annihilation Pill? How could you not know what Asuras are? The most ferocious and warlike race in the Six Realms, the men are ugly and cruel, the women are alluring and vicious, born to be accompanied by slaughter and destruction! If you were to take this pill, you would surely fall into the demonic path, become inhuman, and turn your back on your family!"
Tang Sanzang was so startled by her shout that he took another step back, tripped over a stone, and almost fell. Guanyin Bodhisattva wasn't exaggerating.
The moment she first saw the red pill, she sensed an aura that made her extremely uncomfortable.
The blue pill was quite ordinary; it was just a body-strengthening pill. Although its grade was not low, it was still within the normal range. Taking it would simply make one a little stronger, faster, and more resistant to beatings, posing no significant threat to the eighty-one tribulations of Journey to the West.
But that red pill was completely different.
The murderous aura emanating from the entire pill was so dense that it almost solidified, and the dark red patterns flowing on its surface seemed to be alive, each pattern containing terrifying killing intent.
She had seen at least 80,000 to 100,000 pills in all her years of cultivation, but she had never seen a pill with such a strong malevolent aura.
She even had a vague feeling that the ingredients of this pill might have actually refined a powerful Asura—not an ordinary Asura, but at least an Asura General or even an Asura King.
If Tang Sanzang were to eat this, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The scene of Tang Sanzang attacking her at the Water and Land Assembly was still vivid in her mind. She could still feel the pain of being punched on the face. It was the first time in her thousands of years of life that she had been pinned to the ground and beaten by a mortal.
Moreover, being slapped in the face by sitting on her in front of all the gods and countless believers, the humiliation still makes her tremble when she thinks about it.
At that time, Tang Sanzang was only suffering from inner demons and confusion, yet he had already beaten her so badly. If he had taken the Asura Annihilation Pill this time and gained the power of Asura, he would have been even more formidable. Perhaps next time he could have chased after her and beaten her in front of the 108 Arhats at Mount Ling.
Absolutely not.
"Do you know what this Asura Annihilation Pill is?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva continued her angry rebuke, her voice rising even higher, her eyes filled with rage and anxiety, "Just by smelling this malevolent aura, one can tell it's not of the righteous path! As a Buddhist disciple, you should be calm and cultivate your mind and character. Taking this substance is tantamount to destroying your own spiritual practice! Do you intend to abandon Buddhism and become a demon?!"
This time, Tang Sanzang did not retreat.
He stood there, his hands still clasped together, but the expression on his face had changed from respect to resentment.
His brows were furrowed, his lips were pressed into a straight line, and his eyes were fixed on Guanyin Bodhisattva, his gaze filled with anger, not fear.
Guanyin Bodhisattva's heart skipped a beat.
She was all too familiar with that look—it was the same expression Tang Sanzang had before he went berserk at the Water and Land Assembly.
"Bodhisattva, you are being utterly unreasonable!"
Tang Sanzang suddenly shouted, his voice not as loud as Guanyin Bodhisattva's chanting, but no less imposing. He flung his sleeves, took two steps to the side, then abruptly turned around, pointing at Guanyin Bodhisattva and saying, "This humble monk hasn't even spoken yet, and the Bodhisattva has already launched into a tirade, not even giving me a chance to explain! This humble monk would like to ask the Bodhisattva—why!"
Guanyin Bodhisattva's face turned cold, her voice deepened, and her tone carried an indescribable chill: "What do you want to say?"
"This humble monk has so much to say!"
Tang Sanzang was so angry that his beard stood on end. He took a deep breath, his voice still trembling slightly but his attitude was very firm, "Bodhisattva, this Asura Annihilation Pill can greatly increase my cultivation and greatly improve my chances of survival on the journey. It will be a tremendous help to my journey to the West! If I can obtain the power of Asura, those demons will have to give way when they see me. I can then safely reach the West and bring the true scriptures back to the Tang Dynasty. What's wrong with that?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva sneered, looking down at Tang Sanzang from her high position. Her voice returned to its original distant and solemn tone, but the chill in her tone was even stronger: "You are a Buddhist monk, so you should calm your mind."
This elixir will only lead you down the path of demons, plunging you into madness and corrupting you with demonic nature. Then you won't be Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West to retrieve the scriptures, but a madman controlled by the aura of Asura.
Her voice paused for a moment, then she continued, each word like a stone falling from a great height, hard and cold: "The journey to the West requires you to walk step by step to Mount Ling, to measure the earth with your own feet, and to personally experience countless hardships."
This is the karma you sowed in your past life. In this life, you should honestly obtain the true scriptures, not rely on some Asura elixir to ascend to heaven in one step.
Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang's anger flared even more fiercely, as if oil had been poured on it. He forcefully flicked the sleeve of his monk's robe, making a sharp cracking sound in the wind, and his voice cracked with rage: "This humble monk only wants to ask the Bodhisattva one question—what's wrong with this humble monk having a little more survival skill! This humble monk simply doesn't want to be eaten by monsters on the way; isn't that the most normal thought?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.
Tang Sanzang continued, growing increasingly angry, his voice still clearly audible amidst the roar of the stream: "Does the Western Paradise only care about appearances? Does it want a helpless burden to accompany them on their journey? A useless piece of trash who could be captured by monsters at any moment? Just to make him suffer and endure hardship, to make this journey to the West seem even more arduous and perilous? Is my life so worthless?!"
Guanyin Bodhisattva's face twitched violently.
Her fingers clenched white inside her sleeve, and her body stiffened slightly for a moment—Tang Sanzang's words had hit the most secret part of the Journey to the West plan.
She wanted to reprimand Tang Sanzang for his audacious nonsense, but when the words were on the tip of her tongue, she found herself hesitating for a moment, which made her even angrier.
"Tang Sanzang, how dare you!"
Guanyin Bodhisattva's voice suddenly exploded, the oppressive power of her Buddhist chant reverberating through the air in visible waves, causing the nearby stream to churn and splash. "Are these words appropriate for you? Have you forgotten your original intention? To retrieve the scriptures from the West, you made a grand vow before the Buddha, and you should proceed with utmost devotion, each step a lotus flower, each step a step of spiritual practice! The hardships and difficulties you endure now are all for tempering your character and achieving enlightenment! Taking shortcuts will only lead you astray, rendering all your efforts futile!" (End of Chapter)