Chapter 780
The Immortal Lord's words, "pillars of the Western Paradise," directly aw
What does this show? It shows that Guanyin Bodhisattva dared not make a big fuss, much less let the Buddha know about what happened at Eagle's Sorrow Gorge.
Lin Zhu knew perfectly well that Guanyin had no idea what would happen next.
In Guanyin's eyes, that Pill of Strength was just an ordinary body-cultivating pill. Eating it would only make one a little stronger and more robust, posing no threat to the Journey to the West.
That's why she said, "Just give the blue one to Tang Sanzang," and even felt that she had taken a step back and gained an advantage.
But how could something given by the system be ordinary?
Lin Zhu remembered clearly that when the system introduced the Pillar of the Nation, it said it "opens the qualification for body cultivation." What did those four words, "opens the qualification," mean? It meant that the pill itself wasn't the key; the key was the door it opened.
Even the lowest grade of pills, as long as they have the attribute of "activation qualification", are by no means ordinary things.
Lin Zhu wasn't entirely confident either; he didn't know what would happen after Tang Sanzang took the pill. Perhaps the changes would be immediately apparent, perhaps they would take a long time to manifest, or perhaps certain specific conditions would be required to trigger the effect.
But one thing he was certain of was that the system would never disappoint him.
That's what he's betting on.
As for the fact that the Asura Annihilation Pill was essentially a laxative, that can only be considered a beautiful accident.
Lin Zhu never expected the system to give him such a bizarre pill. It looked so imposing that it scared Guanyin out of her wits. If someone actually ate it, they would probably be stuck in the outhouse for three days and three nights.
However, this misunderstanding has now come in a great help to him—Guanyin's attention is entirely focused on the red pill, fearing that Tang Sanzang will turn into a demon if he eats it, while she is almost completely unconcerned about the blue Pill of Strength.
Lin Zhu didn't waste any more words with Guanyin.
He stuffed the red pill into his sleeve, turned to face Tang Sanzang, his smile fading and replaced with a serious expression.
"Tripitaka".
Tang Sanzang raised his head, his eyes still brimming with the anger and resentment he felt after being firmly rejected by Guanyin. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.
Lin Zhu looked at him, her voice calm and earnest, as if she were explaining a very simple truth: "Destiny is hard to defy. You bear the heavy responsibility of obtaining the scriptures, and you are the chosen one from the Western Paradise to face the tribulations. You are destined to go through eighty-one tribulations before you can achieve enlightenment."
This is a path already predetermined; you can't change it, I can't change it, and nobody can change it.
He paused, his tone becoming more solemn, emphasizing each word clearly: "You must endure what others cannot endure, and suffer what others cannot suffer. This is your mission, and your destiny."
Tang Sanzang's shoulders slumped.
He understood completely. Lin Zhu's words, on the surface, were advising him to accept his fate, but in reality, they were telling him a cruel truth—you are just a pawn.
The duty of a chess piece is to move forward according to the player's wishes; it cannot have its own ideas, its own power, or any actions that exceed the boundaries of the chessboard.
"But……"
Tang Sanzang couldn't help but speak, his voice hoarse and low, his eyes fixed on Lin Zhu's sleeve—where the red pill was kept—"This humble monk can also..."
He was interrupted by Lin Zhu raising his hand halfway through his sentence.
Lin Zhu's smile returned, and his tone brightened, as if he were encouraging a dejected child: "Sanzang, you are a pillar of society and the hope of the Western Paradise."
He took out the blue pill from his sleeve and held it in his palm. Sunlight pierced through the pill, casting a small patch of pale blue light on his palm. The light was gentle and calm, lacking the menacing aura of the red pill, but possessing its own calm and restrained quality.
"This Pillar of Strength is bestowed upon you."
Lin Zhu handed over the pill, his voice filled with laughter and unwavering determination, "I hope you can fight bravely, without fear of difficulties or hardships, and take one step at a time to reach the Western Paradise, obtain the true scriptures, and achieve enlightenment."
Tang Sanzang lowered his head, staring at the blue pill, and remained silent for a long time.
Not reconciled.
These three words were as if they were engraved on his bones, causing him to feel a dull ache all over his body.
There was something much stronger right in front of him, he was just a hair's breadth away from obtaining the power of Asura, and he could have stopped himself from living in fear and being eaten by monsters, but Guanyin Bodhisattva stopped him with a single sentence.
"This humble monk can also..."
Tang Sanzang spoke again, his voice even lower than before, muffled as if talking to himself, "This humble monk can also strive after gaining power. A person with power is power wherever they go; without power, relying solely on passion, this humble monk fears demons..."
His words were interrupted again.
Lin Zhu reached out and patted Tang Sanzang's shoulder. The force of the pat was not strong, but it made Tang Sanzang feel as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulder.
"Tripitaka".
Lin Zhu's voice still carried a smile, but there was something unfathomable hidden in that smile: "You must strive for the sake of striving. That is the contribution you will make to the Western Paradise society."
Tang Sanzang's pupils suddenly contracted.
Strive for the sake of striving.
These words were like a knife, piercing his heart with cold precision.
Lin Zhu continued, his tone as casual as if he were chatting, but every word sent a chill down Tang Sanzang's spine: "Don't think about possessing power. Power—that's for the higher-ups in the Western Paradise. Just focus on your efforts and play your role well."
"Once you successfully complete your journey to the West, the Western Paradise will naturally reward you with power. But not now. What you need to do now is to move forward steadily and not think about anything else."
Finally, he patted Tang Sanzang on the shoulder, his tone becoming even more amiable, as if encouraging a junior about to embark on a journey: "Be strong. You are a pillar of the Western Paradise society."
Tang Sanzang remained silent.
Complete silence.
He understood.
He understood every single meaning in Lin Zhu's words.
"Striving for the sake of striving" means that your struggle itself is what the Western Paradise desires most, and whether you can gain anything from the struggle is not important at all.
Your existence is meant to be suffering. The more suffering you endure, the more difficult this journey to the West becomes, and the more precious the scriptures become. Whether you are willing or not, or what you are thinking, is completely unimportant.
The phrase "The power belongs to the higher-ups of the Western Paradise" means that you ants shouldn't even dream of possessing any power. Just be honest mortals, obediently let the monsters capture you, and obediently wait for someone to rescue you.
You just need to charge ahead, shedding blood and sweat. Once the job is done, if the higher-ups are in a good mood, they might reward you with some scraps. But that's only a possibility; it also depends on their mood.
"A pillar of the Western Paradise society" means that you are a wooden stake used to support the Western Paradise society system. A wooden stake doesn't need to think, feel, or exert strength. It only needs to stand in its place, bear its weight, and not move, complain, or fall. When the day comes that this wooden stake rots away, just replace it with a new one.
Tang Sanzang raised his head and glanced at Lin Zhu.
Lin Zhu's smile remained gentle, making him look like a compassionate elder imparting experience to a younger generation.
But Tang Sanzang saw a faint sadness and mockery in those eyes. It wasn't mockery directed at him, but rather a deep-seated contempt for the world, the order, and the rules.
In that instant, Tang Sanzang understood many things.
Sun Wukong, standing next to Lin Zhu, also understood.
His hairy hands clenched tightly, his nails digging into the flesh of his palms. His body trembled slightly, his teeth clenched so hard they made a grinding sound, and his eyes were fixed on the golden lotus at the feet of Guanyin Bodhisattva, his gaze filled with anger, hatred, and resentment that had been suppressed for five hundred years.
He understood the weight of these words better than Tang Sanzang did.
Five hundred years ago, he was slapped under the Five Elements Mountain by the Buddha because he refused to accept his fate, refused to be a pawn, and refused to obediently follow the arrangements of the Heavenly Court.
Five hundred years is enough time for him to figure out many things—the essence of Heaven and the Western Paradise is the same; they both want obedient dogs.
Dogs don't need to have thoughts, dogs don't need to have strength. Dogs only need to charge into battle when their owners need them and lie obediently when their owners don't need them. They are grateful if their owners occasionally throw them a bone.
Lin Zhu's words, ostensibly addressed to Tang Sanzang, are actually a message to Sun Wukong—you are all pawns. A pawn must remain a pawn to live. If a pawn has its own thoughts, it is courting death.
Lin Zhu was able to say these things so openly because he was helping them face reality. Although reality was cruel and suffocating, it was still better than being unwittingly sold out and then helping the seller count the money.
Sun Wukong raised his head, shifting his gaze from Guanyin Bodhisattva to the western horizon. There lay Mount Ling, the abode of all Buddhas, the center of the Western Paradise, and the place where all rules were set.
He made a silent vow in his heart.
One day, one day he will break through the Western Paradise.
Compassion, salvation, and equality for all beings—it's all a lie.
These high and mighty Buddhas and Bodhisattvas treat all living beings as pawns and mortals as tools, deceiving everyone with the guise of merit, making everyone believe that as long as they work hard, they will receive good rewards.
He wanted those Buddhas who had fooled the people to die a gruesome death.
Tang Sanzang took a deep breath, bent down, raised his hands above his head, and respectfully bowed to Lin Zhu.
His voice regained its calmness, the anger and resentment from before were suppressed deep in his heart, leaving only a thin layer of polite, formulaic respect: "Amitabha. This humble monk thanks the immortal lord for the medicine."
He took the blue Pill of Pillar from Lin Zhu's hand, his hand steadied as if it hadn't been trembling just moments before. He held the pill in his palm, looking down at it, his eyes concealing all emotion beneath his drooping eyelids.
He was very grateful to Lin Zhu.
This is a genuine thank you, not just polite formalities.
He knew that Lin Zhu's words were a reminder to him, a way to make him see reality clearly. He also knew that Guanyin Bodhisattva must have secretly threatened Lin Zhu, forcing him to take back the precious Asura Annihilation Pill.
Otherwise, given Lin Zhu's personality, having already taken out the pills, he wouldn't have retreated just because of Guanyin's angry roar.
He also realized his own powerlessness.
He was just a monk, an ordinary person with no cultivation, no power, and no background. In this world where gods and Buddhas roamed and demons and monsters were everywhere, there was nothing he could do.
All he could do was obediently listen, endure hardship, and become a pillar of this Western Paradise society, giving up all futile resistance.
He looked down at the blue pill in his palm, and a thought popped into his mind.
Since I can't become an Asura, I'll become a pillar of the Western Paradise society.
Being a pillar of the Western Paradise is fine; there's nothing unacceptable about it. It's better than being a pawn abandoned by the Western Paradise, and better than dying on the road without even seeing the true scriptures.
He brought the pill to his lips.
"and many more!"
Guanyin Bodhisattva suddenly spoke, her voice less furious than before, but still carrying a sense of caution and wariness. She floated over on a golden lotus, reaching out to stop Tang Sanzang's movements, her eyes fixed on the elixir, her gaze like a knife.
"Check me to see if there's anything fishy going on."
As she spoke, she took the elixir directly from Tang Sanzang's hand.
Guanyin brought the elixir close to her eyes, examining it from all angles. She gently pressed her fingers against the surface of the elixir, feeling the hardness and temperature of the shell.
Then she closed her eyes, and an invisible divine sense shot out from between her eyebrows, seeping into the surface of the pill like water, scanning the inside of the pill inch by inch.
Her divine sense was incredibly precise, meticulously examining every part of the pill. Its pharmacological structure, active ingredients, release rate, and absorption pathway were all revealed to her.
She examined it very carefully, not overlooking any detail.
Although this pill looked like an ordinary body-cultivation pill, she dared not be careless about anything that had come into Lin Zhu's hands. She had personally witnessed the murderous aura of the red pill, and although this blue pill showed no unusual energy, what if Lin Zhu had hidden something fishy inside?
She couldn't let Tang Sanzang become a lawless outlaw.
The memory of Tang Sanzang pinning her to the ground and beating her at the last Water and Land Assembly is still vivid. That time, Tang Sanzang was only confused due to his inner demons, yet he was already capable of doing such a thing.
If he consumes some unknown elixir this time, gaining immense power and losing control again, the consequences would be unimaginable. If a scene of Tang Sanzang chasing and beating Guanyin were to unfold in front of the main hall of Mount Ling, she would be utterly disgraced.
Tang Sanzang stood to the side, watching Guanyin Bodhisattva snatch the elixir from his hand and examine it over and over, his gloom growing ever deeper.
This old woman.
He no longer called Guanyin "Bodhisattva" in his heart, but instead directly used "old woman" instead.
She absolutely refused to let anyone take that Asura Annihilation Pill, saying it would lead to demonic possession and the loss of humanity. Now that it's this simple and unassuming Pillar of Strength, she suspects it's poisonous and suspicious, and insists on checking it herself before she'll feel at ease.
In short, it all boils down to one sentence—she didn't want Tang Sanzang to have anything.
Tang Sanzang stood there with his hands clasped together, his expression calm, but his heart was churning with bitterness and anger. Immortal Lord Lin Zhu wouldn't harm him. If the Immortal Lord wanted to harm him, he had plenty of ways; he wouldn't need to give him the elixir. (End of Chapter)