Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything-Chapter 493: Ksitigarbha is an Acquaintance?

Looking at Jiang Liu’s appearance, Bodhisattva Guanyin had thousands of points she wanted to criticize, but for the moment, she didn’t even know where to begin.

Firstly, monks in the Mortal World generally perform religious rites to deliver Lost Souls, which can be said to be a very important task for monks, yet he, being a monk, was actually afraid of ghosts?

It was like a fisherman being afraid of the fish in the river, which was hard to comprehend.

Furthermore, with Bodhisattva Guanyin’s keen vision, she could naturally tell that Jiang Liu had Cultivation Level, and furthermore, it was not weak. It was on the verge of breaking through to the Arhat realm.

With such Cultivation Level, ordinary wronged spirits and fierce ghosts certainly wouldn’t dare to approach him, right? Yet, he was frightened by mere ghosts?

Lastly, and most importantly, what place was the Netherworld? It was full of Ghosts. If he could be scared by just one ghost, what if he saw the parade of a hundred ghosts, or even the densely packed shadows of ghosts in the Underworld? Wouldn’t he faint from fear?

"Xuanzang, they are just wrongful spirits. With your Cultivation Level, they wouldn’t dare to come near you!"

With the corners of her mouth twitching slightly, there were so many points to criticize that she didn’t know where to start. In the end, Bodhisattva Guanyin fell silent for a moment and then spoke words of comfort instead.

"Bodhisattva, I understand what you’re saying, but I’m still scared!" Clinging tightly to Bodhisattva Guanyin’s Lotus Platform, Jiang Liu said with a frightened look.

Yes, rationally, Jiang Liu also knew that these wrongful spirits and fierce ghosts posed no threat to him, but the emotion of fear still automatically emerged and was not something he could control.

"Sigh..." Looking at Jiang Liu’s appearance, Bodhisattva Guanyin inwardly sighed and shook her head.

Then, a dazzling and bright Buddhist Light emanated from her, and in an instant, under the illumination of this Buddhist Light, the gloomy environment of the Netherworld seemed to dissipate a lot, as if another sun had risen.

"Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva..."

Following Bodhisattva Guanyin’s proper display of her Buddhist Light, countless wronged spirits and fierce ghosts fled far away in terror and then bowed in worship towards her.

Naturally, with Bodhisattva Guanyin showing her Buddhist Light, everyone in the Netherworld knew that Bodhisattva Guanyin had arrived.

The Judge clad in bright red official robes appeared swiftly, bowing to Bodhisattva Guanyin and saying, "May I ask for what commandment has Bodhisattva’s holy presence descended upon us?"

"Amitabha, it’s nothing. I’m just going to visit Ksitigarbha for a stroll!" Bodhisattva Guanyin replied to the Judge’s inquiry.

Hearing her words, the Judge nodded without wasting words and quickly withdrew.

With Bodhisattva Guanyin revealing her Buddhist Light, driving the countless wronged spirits and fierce ghosts far away, she then led Jiang Liu directly to find Ksitigarbha.

"Sigh..." Sitting on the Lotus Platform, Bodhisattva Guanyin turned to glance at Jiang Liu, who was beside her with a terrified expression, and silently sighed in her heart.

Originally, Bodhisattva Guanyin didn’t intend to make a public spectacle of her visit to the Underworld to see Ksitigarbha.

After all, Ksitigarbha’s impartiality was a common knowledge in the three realms. If she had come secretly and was refused, it wouldn’t have been embarrassing.

But now, with such a commotion, to end up being rejected would surely be embarrassing, wouldn’t it?

However, having Xuanzang by her side, who turned out to be frightened of ghosts, was something Bodhisattva Guanyin hadn’t anticipated at all. To prevent him from panicking and startling her, Bodhisattva Guanyin had no choice but to reveal her own Buddhist Light and drive away all the surrounding wronged spirits and fierce ghosts.

Under the guidance of Bodhisattva Guanyin, Jiang Liu soon accompanied her straight to Ksitigarbha’s abode.

Unlike the serious and dignified courts of the ten Yanluo, the place where Ksitigarbha resided was just an ordinary-looking cave.

At the entrance, a bald Disciple, seeing Guanyin and Jiang Liu coming, immediately bowed respectfully and led them into the cave.

"Eh?" Comparatively, Jiang Liu looked at the bald monk in front of him with surprise in his heart.

Because this monk dressed in monk’s robes had a completely bald head, without a single Scar of Precepts.

"How can this be!? This monk should be a Disciple under Ksitigarbha, yet there isn’t a single Scar of Precepts on his head? Could it be? Without the affinity for Buddha?" Jiang Liu wondered, puzzled by the monk leading the way.

"Bodhisattva, on his head..." Since he felt it strange, Jiang Liu naturally asked directly, whispering to Bodhisattva Guanyin beside him.

"Shh..." However, as Jiang Liu spoke, Bodhisattva Guanyin gestured for him to be silent, signaling him not to speak.

"Master Xuanzang!"

Although Guanyin gestured for Jiang Liu to be silent, the monk leading the way in front evidently still heard Jiang Liu’s words. Turning around with a warm smile, he said, "I and my teacher have our own lineage. Although we are also Disciples of the Buddhist Sect, we do not mark the Scars of Precepts!"

"Oh, I see!" Jiang Liu nodded in realization, maintaining his composure, yet he was inwardly shocked.

No matter how, to be completely different from other people in the Buddhist Sect? It seemed that although Ksitigarbha was a Bodhisattva, the relationship between him and the Buddhist Sect was indeed subtle.

"Alright, my teacher is inside. Please, Bodhisattva and Master Xuanzang, go in!" After leading Jiang Liu and Bodhisattva Guanyin to a Stone Chamber inside the cave, the monk spoke and subsequently, Jiang Liu and Bodhisattva Guanyin directly entered the Stone Chamber.

He stepped inside, and Jiang Liu curiously looked around—the stone chamber appeared very basic, with stone stools, a stone table, and even a stone bed, giving off a distinctly primitive atmosphere.

And upon the stone bed, a senior monk was seated cross-legged, dressed in a blue monastic robe, looking very much like a wandering monk from the Mortal World, sitting on a meditation cushion.

It was nothing like the presence of Guanyin with robes of office, seated upon a Lotus Platform, and even shimmering with Buddhist Light.

"I pay my respects to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva!" Although the presence seemed more imposing, when Guanyin entered, she actually greeted Ksitigarbha with a slight bow first.

"The Bodhisattva Guanyin is too courteous!" Ksitigarbha nodded slightly, returning the gesture.

"He, he is..."

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As the two Bodhisattvas exchanged greetings, logic dictated that Jiang Liu should also have stepped forward to pay his respects to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. However, upon seeing Ksitigarbha, Jiang Liu was secretly astonished.

A familiar face—Jiang Liu was not seeing Ksitigarbha for the first time.

Jiang Liu still remembered that during his initial Journey to the West, on the first New Year’s Eve they celebrated, with nothing better to do, they took out Mahjong to play.

After playing for quite some time and growing tired of it, he asked Little White Dragon Aolie to take his place while he sat idly on New Year’s Eve, lost in contemplation.

It was then that he happened to meet a mysterious monk with a completely bald head not even marked by a Scar of Precepts, who was an 88-level Golden BOSS.

Back then, he had a brief conversation with that monk, who knew about the Lost Soul of the Dragon King of Jing River being in his possession, which had startled Jiang Liu at the time—he had thought that the quest he entrusted to Sun Wukong to find the Dragon King’s Soul had been exposed.

Unexpectedly, that monk didn’t seem to be aligned with Tathagata.

Today, upon seeing Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva again, Jiang Liu realized, that mysterious monk was none other than Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva!

"So it was Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, no wonder he had the visage of an 88-level Golden BOSS!" Upon seeing Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva again, Jiang Liu was surprised, but also came to a sudden realization.

No wonder—that was the sort of level one would expect from a great being like Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, wasn’t it?

88 levels? That’s nearly at the level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal Peak.

"Master Xuanzang? Now that you have seen Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, are you not going to pay your respects!?" As Jiang Liu was lost in thought and reflection while looking at Ksitigarbha, Guanyin noticed his daze and couldn’t help but speak up.

"No need!"

However, before Jiang Liu could speak, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s expression remained calm as he said, "A disciple of Tathagata—I cannot accept his tribute!"

At Ksitigarbha’s words, Guanyin’s expression slightly betrayed her embarrassment as she said, "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva speaks too seriously, that’s too strong a statement!"

Jiang Liu refrained from rashly interjecting in the dialogue between the two Bodhisattvas, but his heart stirred subtly.

From Ksitigarbha’s words, it seemed there might be some discord between him and Tathagata.

Could it be that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva held a grudge against him? Jiang Liu didn’t believe it—after all, the former had known about the Soul of the Dragon King of Jing River being in his hands and had not seemed inclined to reveal it.

Moreover, they had met on the first New Year’s when Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had even spoken some words of blessing.

If Ksitigarbha held any resentment toward him, how could that be possible?

"So, all this on the part of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was meant for Guanyin to see, a mere deception?" Jiang Liu, though not particularly clever, wasn’t foolish either. After briefly pondering, he understood the situation and murmured to himself.

Although he didn’t know the grudges between Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Tathagata, as long as their relationship wasn’t good, it was good news for Jiang Liu.

Therefore, since Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva wanted to deceive others, Jiang Liu decided to play along.

Hence, he truly stood there upright, without any intention of paying respects to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

Guanyin’s gaze swept over Jiang Liu without leaving a trace, and she sighed inwardly.

She felt Jiang Liu might be too straightforward. After all, this was Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. As a disciple of the Buddhist Sect, told not to pay respects, he really didn’t?

Such behavior could likely make Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva feel alienated, couldn’t it?

Alas!

With this thought, Guanyin sighed again inwardly.

Thus, to retrieve the Lost Soul of Little White Dragon had become even more difficult.