Journey to the West: The Great Sage's Guide

Chapter 53 Trading

Ye Quanzhen spotted the boy standing on the high platform at a glance.

Without saying a word, she picked up her sword and walked over.

"Zhong Xuan".

She called him by his first name, her tone harsh, as if she were addressing someone who owed her a debt.

Zhong Xuan turned around, but before he could speak, Ye Quanzhen had already walked up to him.

She was half a head shorter than him, and now she was looking up at him with her eyes burning like a fire, so bright it was almost blinding.

"Come with me."

"Is something wrong, Senior Sister?"

Upon hearing the words "Senior Sister," Ye Quanzhen frowned even more deeply.

Master Jingyuan was not happy that Zhong Xuan had been accepted as a disciple.

Why is it that this wild kid who suddenly appeared out of nowhere can get the master to look at him differently as soon as he enters the door?

But she didn't say it aloud.

"What's the deal with that reanimated corpse?"

"He was a sorcerer who was preaching in the North Square. I caught him in the act, and he ran away."

The two began to talk to each other.

Zhong Xuan finally understood why Ye Quanzhen had been so agitated just now.

It turns out that the beautiful corpse was Yeh Chuan-chen's friend. However, she had already disappeared before the new year.

Ye Quanzhen tracked them down, and along the way, he experienced many battles.

The fact that she was saved by Master Jingyuan and took her as her master was also due to a cause-and-effect relationship.

He hadn't expected it, but to his surprise, he actually found his missing friend here.

Ye Quanzhen blinked as she spoke, as if she didn't want others to see the glint in her eyes and the fleeting vulnerability. She lowered her head and said that she would take the beautiful corpse back to Shuiyue Nunnery and ask her master for help in finding a way to save it.

Zhong Xuan said it was no problem, and then looked at the wooden fish: "This Zhang Chengming, Master Zhang just said that the body of the beautiful corpse still has the three souls and seven spirits. But if what he said is true, I don't know the method of summoning the soul. Senior Sister, why don't you take him back to Shuiyue Nunnery as well? Maybe he can help."

Ye Quanzhen was taken aback for a moment, bit her lip with some embarrassment, and said thank you very softly.

Zhong Xuan, standing to the side, was also momentarily dazed. Only then did he realize the girlish demeanor that had inadvertently slipped out just now.

It turns out that my cheap senior sister is also a beautiful woman with outstanding temperament.

He then said, "I won't delay my senior sister's important business. I also want to hold a sermon here to reverse the trend of those who have been led astray by heretics."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Chengming suddenly spoke from inside the wooden fish.

He clearly refused, and then began to tempt Zhong Xuan: "If you send me to Shuiyue Nunnery, I might be destroyed one day. You are so talented in the art of talismans, don't you want to learn more? I can teach you more advanced talisman-making methods and tell you the secrets that are not written in the two books, so that you can become a talisman master within a year."

Upon hearing this, Ye Quanzhen's expression immediately changed.

Her eyes instantly flashed like swords drawn from their sheaths, or like a pool of autumn water, bright and sharp, staring straight at Zhong Xuan.

She had hoped to see guilt or hesitation in his eyes, but instead, she saw only a pair of clean and gentle eyes, bright as a mirror, which reflected her own emotions that she herself was unaware of.

Yeh Chuan-chen blinked, a rare occurrence for her, but she was much more stubborn than most people and refused to turn her head away.

"How do you want to choose?" she asked directly.

Zhong Xuan was also a little surprised and found it strange.

He never expected that, besides the monkey, there would be someone else who could look him directly in the eye without looking away.

In his previous life, for a hundred years, in the bustling city, in an era where information exploded like a storm, he cultivated Taoism for a hundred years. No matter how slow-witted he was, he couldn't escape struggling in that tide. Gradually, he cultivated this characteristic, which he didn't know if it could be considered a skill.

When he looks at someone with curiosity, people always say his eyes are "like a mirror."

This doesn't seem to have much to do with energy and spirit; it's a skill that naturally grows after one reaches a certain level of self-awareness and reaction to the outside world.

This is what he should look like after successfully establishing his foundation in the Tai Xuan Dao. His three true disciples also underwent this change. People often say that they "see through people's hearts" or "are not swayed at all."

Ultimately, this characteristic is the very foundation of his innate supernatural ability to create the Tai Xuan Illumination Qi Method.

These thoughts only flashed through my mind.

Zhong Xuan spoke up, smiling calmly at Ye Quanzhen, "Of course I'd choose Senior Sister."

Yeh Chuan-chen then revealed a small smile.

She thought to herself, "Choosing me was the right decision. It seems this junior brother is barely acceptable."

But why does this sound a little strange?

Zhang Chengming spoke again, this time not as a temptation, but as a direct threat. If they sent him back to Shuiyue Nunnery, given his current state as a Yin spirit, he would absolutely not cooperate. Getting his help was out of the question. Unless he first converted to the Ghost Immortal Path, don't expect him to utter a single word.

Ye Quanzhen sneered, took the wooden fish from Zhong Xuan's hand, and tightened his grip: "I naturally have ways to make you obedient."

Zhang Chengming sneered back: "Even if you can make me obey and teach you how to summon souls, where are you going to find talisman masters? How can your Buddhist monks possibly summon back the soul of this beautiful corpse before it dissipates—if the soul is still there?"

Ye Quanzhen was taken aback, then suddenly remembered what he had just said, and his gaze fell back on the young junior brother.

She bit her lower lip again, her voice clearer this time, but with a hint of difficulty as she cautiously asked, "Are you... confident you can learn the methods Zhang Chengming mentioned in a short time?"

Zhong Xuan, with a clear understanding of the situation, offered his analysis: "If Shuiyue Nunnery isn't far, we should first send this beautiful corpse back there to be cared for. At the same time, we can use Abbess Jingyuan's connections, or ask the eminent monks like Abbot Jingchen of Jinguang Temple for help, to find out whether what this person said is true or false before deciding what to do."

Ye Quanzhen was very anxious, fearing that running back and forth would delay the opportunity.

She clenched her fists tightly, as if forcing herself to be decisive and cut off all hesitation.

A few breaths later, she said to Zhong Xuan in a clear voice, "Alright, you can keep this wooden fish for now. You can learn those techniques from him. I'll take my friend to Jin Guang Temple to explain the situation and ask Abbot Jing Chen and the others for help. Then I'll go back to Shui Yue Nunnery."

After she finished speaking, she looked up and met the boy's gaze.

The boy's eyes seemed to be fixed on her, and he had a slight smile on his lips.

It felt as warm as the sunshine that was falling on me at that moment.

Ye Quanzhen's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason. He quickly shoved the wooden fish back into Zhong Xuan's hands, turned around, picked up his friend's body, and left.

Zhong Xuan watched her leave, then heard someone scoffing from inside the wooden fish drum: "First that woman, and now this one. You're quite the one who easily gets into romantic entanglements."

Zhong Xuan didn't care at all, and replied leisurely, "Can't you see that? That heroine has potential—or rather, she has a sword of wisdom in her heart. She's a good seedling for cultivation. Someone like me, seeing such good material, really can't help but want to polish her."

Zhang Chengming chuckled inside the wooden fish, unusually refraining from rebuttal.

.....

The next few days were surprisingly calm.

For Zhong Xuan, the greatest gain was that the incense offerings could finally be made more stable.

On this day, the Qingyang Temple, which had been simply converted into a "branch temple" of the mountain god, saw a steady stream of locals from the Kingdom of Jisa coming to offer incense. The incense smoke drifted towards Cuiyun Mountain, and after being sensed by the mountain god's avatar, it was absorbed into the mountain god's seal, continuously enhancing its power.

Zhong Xuan was also practicing the power of the mountain god at this time.

He was certainly not just playing around with the Mountain God Seal, nor was he simply wasting the power of the Mountain God's authority and recklessly altering the earth's veins.

After the Mountain God Seal was activated, he was dissecting and studying it!

No matter how powerful the authority within the Mountain God's Seal is, it can easily alter the earth's veins and watercourses...

But this power still comes from the Heavenly Court's creation of this thing, not from his.

Besides helping the mountain god's incarnation obtain stable incense offerings and merits, Zhong Xuan has been practicing various protective skills to enhance himself.

For example, the Earthly Fiend Technique obtained from the Taoist Zhang of the Green Sheep Temple is a beast-taming technique with the ability to control beasts.

This is progressing very quickly.

For example, at this moment, Zhong Xuan had a thought, and the mountain god avatar gently whistled.

Suddenly, a gust of wind and a monkey's loud shout came from nearby.

Before long, the tiger demon "Junzhi" and the monkey "Wukong" appeared.

The monkey in the mountain god's incarnation has already been given a name by Zhong Xuan.

Although he interfered with the future destiny of the Monkey King, he still did not have enough power to reverse his fate and become the Victorious Fighting Buddha many years later.

Therefore, Zhong Xuan was grateful for the investment from Bodhi Patriarch.

So they abandoned all other thoughts and decided on a name for the monkey early on.

"Wukong is here!"

The monkey hopped and leaped, rushing over like a gust of wind.

Although they are not like the white-haired tigress who now has a formal name, Junzhi, or the gray monkey Fenglisheng who is secretly called "Second King" by people and monsters from other temples, both of them are born or trained to have a good ability to manipulate wind.

However, Wukong's intelligence goes without saying. Now he can also use the power of wind to run wildly, and only a wind dragon can be seen flying by. He is quite fast.

When the two of them arrived, they saw a group of little tiger spirits and rabbit and fox spirits playing around the mountain god temple, which looked like a monster kindergarten.

Neither the White Tiger Taoist nor Monkey Wukong currently has a surname; they only have Taoist names: Tiger Junzhi and Monkey Wukong.

The White Tiger Taoist attained the Three Flowers Realm in a daze, yet he was still full of wisdom and wildness.

To say he's exceptionally polite or worldly-wise wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Among the great demons who roam the world, such as those on Lion Camel Ridge, there are also those who devour countless people and are full of desire.

Now that they were approaching the Mountain God, they felt that he exuded an aura of majesty and dominance.

However, Wukong's feelings were far weaker than those of Tiger Taoist.

This is precisely the wonder of beast taming techniques.

Zhong Xuan looked at the puzzled expression on Tiger Taoist's face, and then saw Tiger Girl roll on the spot and transform into a huge white-furred, skinny tiger. She actually walked over with tiger-like steps and gently sniffed around him.

The little demons beside her, annoyed by her soft shout, impatiently manipulated a gust of wind to scatter them to the side to play. Then they asked curiously, "Mountain God! Why do you seem so friendly now?"

Zhong Xuan blinked and asked, "Junzhi, how much of the Three Character Classic did you and Wukong understand?"

In the past few days, he has also clarified the rules and regulations for studying.

The Three Character Classic was naturally a modified version he had edited to suit the times.

Tiger Taoist's eyes lit up, and he immediately squatted down in front of the mountain god like a big dog, and began to recite a poem.

"Hmm, not bad."

Zhong Xuan stood up, reached out and patted Hu Junzhi's head, then asked, "Now that you and Wukong can start learning something, what do you want to learn?"

The White Tiger Taoist transformed back into a disheveled, white-haired female Taoist. Her beautiful face did not conceal her wildness at all. She nonchalantly sat cross-legged on the ground and said that she would let the master teach her anything. She was willing to try to learn anything, and if she could learn it, she would learn it; if she couldn't, so be it.

Zhong Xuan hummed in response, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and turned to look at Monkey King.

The still-monkey-like Wukong asked curiously, "Brother Mountain God, what skills do you possess?"

Zhong Xuan thought for a moment,

Unbeknownst to him, he had already acquired a considerable amount of resources and methods.

But there is almost nothing that one specializes in mastering.

For example, the mountain god's incarnation possessed the first righteous sword he obtained, the Evil-Slaying Sword, which could behead a Qingyang demon with eight hundred years of cultivation, demonstrating its considerable power.

When fully unleashed at the Human Immortal realm, the sword light can even be used as a common magical weapon in battles between Human Immortals.

So he said, "I possess a righteous sword that can vanquish evil, allowing me to fly and easily slay demons and monsters. What do you say?"

Wukong scratched his head and asked, "Is it as powerful as my iron rod? It looks so light."

Zhong Xuan shook his head.

Wukong immediately said he wouldn't learn it.

Although it admired the knowledge of its fellow human after enlightenment, it was never inferior to others in terms of combat itself.

Zhong Xuan was so confused he wanted to scratch his head.

As for weapons and magical artifacts, apart from the sword he currently possesses, the Green Goat Demon's double-horned mace, and that small protective bell that doesn't seem particularly special, he doesn't have much else.

Then he spoke again, "Do you want to learn magic? The kind of head-regeneration technique that Feng Lisheng and Li Gongcao learned."

Zhong Xuan counted his family's belongings one by one.

In terms of magic, it is naturally the two Earthly Fiend techniques that we have obtained so far.

One method is head reattachment.

To everyone's surprise, Wukong blinked and cleverly asked, "Brother Mountain God, have you learned it?"

Zhong Xuan shook his head helplessly: "No."

Hu Junzhi, also curious, asked, "Even someone as clever as the Mountain God didn't learn it?"

Zhong Xuan chuckled: "How am I smart? It's normal that I can't learn it... But to say that I've truly learned it... never mind—you want to learn the art of beast taming? To be the king of wild beasts in the mountains, just now Junzhi felt that I seemed close to the majesty, that's the art of transformation."

He shook his head and said nothing more.

It's better not to explain the matter of head restoration surgery clearly.

If I were to explain it in detail, it might create a psychological barrier for the monkey and the tiger.

You can learn something when you don't know it. But once you know it, it becomes very difficult to learn it again.

The key lies in...