Volume 3: A Long Journey, Chapter 262: Breaking the Vow of Abstinence

Seeing that Yun Juanshu had agreed, Qin Wuxian was overjoyed. Together, they should be able to compete with that great grand master. Moreover, there were several elders from the Dao Seeking Sect in the Qin family who possessed the cultivation level of celestial immortals. The great grand master was only at the ninth rank of celestial immortals, so no matter how skilled he was, his capabilities were limited.
So Qin Wuxian gathered those elders in a secret room and shared his plan. Those elders were originally immortals of the Dao Seeking Sect and had no respect for human emperors. With Qin Wuxian and Yun Juanshu aligned in purpose, how could they refuse?
Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Qin Wuxian said, “I know the great grand master has a habit—he often goes to the north of the city to cultivate under the moonlight. We can lay in ambush first and strike when he’s off guard, ensuring success at once!”
Yun Juanshu added, “This matters greatly for our future. Everyone, please spare no effort!”
It was the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, with the moon hanging like a full disc in the sky, illuminating the ground brightly.
At the hour of Hai, a figure flew out of the capital of Wuji Country and headed north—it was the great grand master, the Green Lion Spirit. He came here not for anything else but to absorb moonlight. Amidst the chaos of the mortal world, his progress in cultivation was far slower here than on Wutai Mountain. The Green Lion Spirit had been at the ninth rank of celestial immortals for years, but lacking medicinal pills, he could only rely on his own perseverance.
Seeing the excellent moonlight, he rallied his strength, reverted to his true form, and dashed forward like a meteor for dozens of miles. As soon as he reached a high ridge, he sensed something unusual. In the wilderness, beasts often have sharper senses than humans.
He sat cross-legged silently when suddenly he heard faint fluctuations of magical energy. The Green Lion Spirit thought to himself, “This place is so desolate. Who could come here? Could it be for me?”
Qin Wuxian and his group had hidden well, but upon seeing that the great grand master was actually a green lion in his true form, Qin Wuxian was shocked. He never expected the grand master to be a demon, which made him uneasy and revealed a flaw.
Seeing the Green Lion Spirit sitting cross-legged with his back turned to him, Qin Wuxian seized this rare opportunity without hesitation. He summoned his flying sword and slashed at the Green Lion Spirit!
The Green Lion Spirit was prepared. He leaped aside to dodge the sword, then spun in midair and saw Qin Wuxian. Fuming, he shouted, “Qin, what do you intend?”
Seeing the Green Lion Spirit’s striking appearance, Qin Wuxian came up with a plan and shouted, “The king already knew you were a demon! Today, I’m here to capture you!”
Uncertain whether this was true or not, the Green Lion Spirit roared and unleashed a fist the size of a bowl, aiming at Qin Wuxian. As he moved, several figures emerged from the sides, armed with weapons and attacking the Green Lion Spirit.

The Green Lion Spirit was troubled by the lack of weapons. Though these few people were weaker than him in cultivation, they had the advantage of being more cunning. Coupled with their numbers, it seemed unlikely he would come out unscathed today. The Green Lion Spirit roared, “Qin, I’ll swallow you first!” He opened his massive mouth and, ignoring the weapons behind him, charged at Qin Wuxian. With his magical power amplified, his body swelled; his eyes resembled glazed cups, and his head looked like a furnace. His green fur gleamed with sharpness, and his red eyes emitted golden light. The swords and knives that struck his back left only shallow marks, likely not even piercing his skin. He had mastered a mysterious Buddhist technique; though not yet perfect, it made it difficult for ordinary immortals to harm him. At that moment, Qin Wuxian returned with his flying sword, which was now embedded in the Green Lion Spirit’s shoulder. Relying entirely on this sword for his powers, the Green Lion Spirit continued to charge despite being struck. Seeing its ferocity, Qin Wuxian dodged to the side but was scratched on the leg by the Green Lion Spirit’s giant claws. His mortal body couldn’t compare to the Green Lion Spirit’s, and immediately a gash appeared. Qin Wuxian quickly recalled his flying sword and retreated. With his retreat, the Green Lion Spirit fled and soon disappeared. Yun Juanshu and the others wanted to chase after it, but Qin Wuxian shouted in pain, “Don’t chase!” Yun Juanshu quickly brought out healing medicine to apply to Qin Wuxian, saying, “This monster is actually so powerful!” Though injured, Qin Wuxian was overjoyed. Laughing, he said, “I assume it’s alone and won’t dare come back. The Wujiguo is now in my grasp!” Yun Juanshu and the others hurriedly congratulated him. A cold glint appeared in Qin Wuxian’s eyes as he said, “There’s no time to lose. We’ll take action tonight—let’s head to the palace!” Yun Juanshu and the others didn’t mind. Aside from the Green Lion Spirit, there were no others with great magical powers in the palace. No matter how strong the military generals were, they were no match for them. They quickly set off toward the palace. Meanwhile, Wukong left the Fire Cloud Cave and returned directly to Wujiguo. Confident that his plan was flawless, he felt relieved, as if a major task had been completed. Upon arriving at the inn, Bajie saw Wukong return and asked, “Where have you been, elder brother?” Wukong replied, “I just went around to see the people and scenery of the country.” Bajie apologized and said, “Elder brother, I have a favor to ask…” Curious, Wukong asked, “Don’t be polite, just speak up.” Bajie said, “Do you have any silver? Could you lend me some?” Wukong asked, “What does a monk need silver for?” Bajie stuck out his tongue and said, “There’s a stall selling fried meatballs around the corner. It smells delicious. I, being a pig, usually don’t like too greasy food, but after traveling all this way, my stomach is empty—”

Wukong laughed and said, “Bajie, you’ve come to the wrong person. I’ve never had anything to do with yellow or white things. Why don’t you go talk to the master?” Bajie didn’t dare mention this to Tang Seng and muttered, “If it’s not there, then it’s not there. Why scare people with the master?” Wukong ignored him and went back inside. Lying on the bed, he pondered the secrets hidden within the Nine-Headed Worm and fell asleep in a daze. With his level of cultivation, he naturally didn’t need to sleep, but humans inherently rely on beds. Since there was nothing to do at the moment, it didn’t hurt to relax for a while. After what seemed like a long time, Wukong jolted awake and saw another person in the room—it was the Goddess Guanyin. Surprised by Wukong’s quick reaction, Guanyin said, “Wukong is quite impressive.” Wukong got up to pay his respects and said, “Your disciple didn’t realize the Goddess had come, thus failing in proper etiquette. Please forgive me.” Of course he knew why she was here—likely because the Nine-Headed Worm had disappeared, forcing Guanyin to come and investigate. With a worried expression, Guanyin asked, “Has the journey to obtain the scriptures gone smoothly?” Wukong replied, “We’ve arrived here safely, with no major obstacles.” Guanyin said, “Since you’re here, why not change your documents and head west sooner?” Realizing she was urging him to continue the quest, Wukong told her about the king listening to the grand sorcerer’s advice and sealing away the imperial seal. Guanyin snapped, “Do you really think I need to deal with such trivial matters?” Wukong said, “Of course not, Goddess. Tomorrow morning, I’ll find a way to make the king hand over the seal willingly.” Guanyin asked, “What method is that? Tell me.” Wukong smiled and said, “It’s quite simple. The grand sorcerer claims that keeping the seal ensures safety, so I’ll show him some danger, proving his method is ineffective.” The Goddess laughed and said, “That’s a clever trick, but be sure not to harm innocent people.” Wukong assured her, “Of course not.” He then asked tentatively, “Goddess, you didn’t come just for the quest, did you?” Guanyin replied, “Of course not.” She didn’t explain why she was there, and Wukong didn’t dare ask further. He simply said, “If the Goddess doesn’t mind, she may rest here. I’ll find another room.” Guanyin agreed, “Very good.” Wukong respectfully left, deeply puzzled. Her arrival already proved that the Nine-Headed Worm had been captured; otherwise, with its control over everything in the country, there would have been no need for Guanyin to make the trip.

Surely there must be a way for Guanyin to communicate with the Nine-Headed Worm; otherwise, how could he arrive so quickly? It’s possible that Guanyin has already gone to the Fire Cloud Cave to check if Kirin, Dayu, and the others left any clues. But given their cultivation levels and experience, they should have thought of this. The only concern is the Fire Phoenix and Golden Crow—if they stayed behind, it could lead to serious problems.

Guanyin couldn’t find the Nine-Headed Worm in the city. What was she doing here? Was there anything else in this city that could interest her? After a brief thought, Wukong remembered the Qin family’s estate. Likely, Guanyin came here for the person related to the Great Five Elements in that estate. Although the Qin family’s national advisor hadn’t gathered enough people, having twenty-three was already quite difficult. Apart from these twenty-three, nothing else seemed likely to attract Guanyin. What exactly was this Great Five Elements Spirit Blood Formation that made the Nine-Headed Worm determined to come here from the three realms? Now even Guanyin was involved—seemingly, he really needed to ask Feng Tong again.

When he stepped outside, he saw the sun was setting. He thought to himself that Guanyin was treating the journey to obtain the scriptures like hard labor—it was almost dark, yet she still forced them to keep going. Leaving the inn, he saw Zhu Bajie sneaking around in a corner, fiddling with something. He quietly approached from behind and saw that the fool was stuffing fried meatballs into his mouth.

Wukong chuckled inwardly. Even the fool had his tricks. He wondered where Zhu Bajie got the silver. Wukong gently patted Zhu Bajie’s shoulder. Zhu Bajie shuddered in fear, turned to see it was Wukong, and handed him the meatballs, saying, “Senior brother, these are rare.”

Wukong said, “Go away. Did you steal something?”

Zhu Bajie shook his head like a rattle, saying, “How could a monk do such a thing?” Wukong replied, “Lying! You don’t have any silver on you. If it wasn’t stolen, would someone give it to you for free?”

Zhu Bajie nodded, saying, “Exactly! Someone gave it to me!”

Wukong asked, “Who gave it to you?”

Zhu Bajie replied, “Guanyin Bodhisattva!”

Wukong grabbed Zhu Bajie’s ear and scolded, “A Bodhisattva would tell you to eat meat? That’s complete nonsense!”

Zhu Bajie feared this the most. In pain, he even dropped the fried meatballs on the ground, saying, “It really was given by the Bodhisattva! If you don’t believe me, go ask her.”

Seeing that Zhu Bajie didn’t seem to be lying, Wukong grew suspicious. What was Guanyin planning?

Wukong released Zhu Bajie’s ear. Zhu Bajie looked at the dirt-covered meatballs on the ground and sighed in regret.

Just then, Tang Seng came out of the house. Seeing Wukong and Zhu Bajie over there, he approached and said, “Wukong, it should be easier to ask for alms in the city. Bring the purple-gold alms bowl; I’ll go myself.”

Zhu Bajie quickly dodged away from Tang Seng, saying, “I’ll go! I’ll go!” and ran off in a flash.

Seeing a fried meat ball on the ground, Tang Seng frowned and asked, “Wukong, did you eat this?”
Wukong replied with a smile, “Master, I’ve always only eaten fruits. You know that.”
Tang Seng snapped, “Then did Wuneng eat it?” He raised his voice, his body trembling slightly.
Seeing Tang Seng’s intense reaction, Wukong thought that breaking his vegetarian rule wasn’t a big deal. Noticing Tang Seng’s shaking hands from anger, he said to Wukong, “Go and get some paper and pen!”