The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 63 Just Start the Team

As eminent figures from both Buddhism and Taoism flocked to Daxing, a rumor spread like wildfire about the birth of a Taoist saint.

Zhang Guo's fame was unparalleled for a time, and Taoist priests came to the post station every day, wanting to catch a glimpse of this holy son of Taoism.

Zhang Guo had to greet and see off guests every day, and his smiling face became stiff. Unable to bear it any longer, he hid in the Cui residence.

Cui Ying looked at Zhang Guo, who was exhausted and listless, with a faint smile on her face.

"Jiang Feng, what's with all this fuss about Zhang Guo? Calling him the Holy Son of the Daoist Sect? I think you'd be more believable as the Holy Son of the Daoist Sect."

Jiang Feng looked her over a few times, then said with some annoyance, "Yeah, why didn't I think of that before! In terms of background and lineage, you're much more suitable than him!"

Cui Ying's pupils contracted, and she quickly said, "I think Zhang Guo is more suitable!"

Zhang Guo rolled his eyes: "Is this what they call 'better you than me'?"

Jiang Feng looked at Cui Ying, a hint of regret in his eyes.

In some respects, Cui Ying is indeed more suitable than Zhang Guo. If she were carefully groomed, she would be a replica of Wei Huacun, the founder of the Shangqing School and the Purple Void Primordial Sovereign!

However, Zhang Guo also has an advantage over her: his mysterious background fits the reclusive nature of the Taoist sect.

Cui Ying gave Zhang Guo a helpless look, then said with some worry, "It's not easy to pretend to be a Daoist saint. What if Zhang Guo gets exposed?"

Jiang Feng smiled mysteriously: "What if Zhang Guo, this Daoist holy son, is really true?"

Zhang Guo clapped his hands, his wise eyes seeming to see through everything: "I understand, you've even fooled yourself. This is the legendary self-deception, isn't it!"

Jiang Feng: "..."

To be honest, nobody believes him. Where can he go to seek justice?

Not only did Buddhism have a plan to travel to the West, but Taoism was also planning a journey to the East, which started as early as the Han Dynasty with Zhongli Quan. Zhang Guo was one of the destined Eight Immortals!

Jiang Feng wants to drag everyone into this mess. He'll just be in charge of initiating the team fight, and everyone will be automatically matched with suitable opponents!

He refused to believe that, now that he had orchestrated Zhang Guo's early start to the Eastern Journey, the Buddhist sect would still allow him to die in the Flowing Sand River.

If Zhang Guo really does retrieve the Taoist scriptures, but the Buddhist pilgrim dies on the journey to the West, that would be quite a mess.

When ordinary people see that the Daoist saint is so much stronger than the Buddhist saint, won't they all rush to believe in the Daoist sect?

The Buddhist community would never allow such a thing to happen.

When traveling, one's identity is something one chooses oneself, and Jiang Feng is very adept at this.

Regardless of what happens in the future, he is now a genuine Buddhist saint, so let's build up a thick layer of armor for him first!

Just as Jiang Feng was thinking, a servant came in and reported: "Commander Jiang, Master Zhikai, a highly accomplished disciple of Master Jizang, requests an audience."

Jiang Feng had someone lead him in. Zhi Kai bowed to everyone and said, "General Jiang, there are already three hundred eminent monks from all over the country. I have arranged for them to stay at Daxingshan Temple."

"Do you think we could organize a small-scale water and land ritual for them to pray for the souls of the deceased?"

Jiang Feng said, "Thanks to Master Zhikai's reminder, I hadn't even thought of this. How about this, let's set up two altars in Nanshi, holding the Water and Land Dharma Assembly and the Universal Ritual together, so that eminent figures from both Buddhism and Taoism can participate in this grand event!"

Zhi Kai looked constipated and asked hesitantly, "Aren't you afraid they'll start fighting?"

Jiang Feng's eyes lit up: "Right, you reminded me again. We need to set some rules beforehand! They must be prohibited from using magical artifacts during their sparring, and they must stop short of a decisive victory or death match!"

Zhi Kai's eyes widened immediately: "Huh???"

Is that what I meant?

You've even come up with the rules for the fight! Are you asking me to set up a magic altar or a fighting arena?!

Although he was filled with helplessness, Zhi Kai still followed Jiang Feng's advice, wrote down the rules of the competition, had them posted in Nanshi, and then organized the three hundred monks to head to Nanshi in a grand procession.

When he arrived in Nanshi, the Honglu Temple had already had two altars set up.

The monks led by Zhikai and the two hundred Taoists led by Qihui met in front of the altar. The two groups stared at each other, and a tense atmosphere spread.

A moment later, the two groups ascended the east and west altars respectively, each using their own methods to perform rituals to help the deceased find peace.

More than three hundred monks, clad in crimson robes, sat cross-legged on prayer cushions, their chanting rising in unison, mingling with the evening breeze as the prayer flags fluttered and echoed in a deep, resonant tone like the tolling of bells.

The monks gently struck the handbells in their hands, the wooden fish made a deep, resonant sound, and the chanting of scriptures overlapped. The banners fluttered in the wind, as if the souls of the common people and soldiers who perished in the war had come to hear the sounds.

On the other side, two hundred Taoist priests lined up in a four-way altar, their black robes and plain sashes fluttering in the cold wind.

On the altar were arranged ritual implements such as the Seven Star Lamp, the Peach Wood Sword, and the Death Certificate, while incense burned in the burner, and blue smoke rose straight up.

The Taoist priests might gently shake the Three Pure Ones Bell, its delicate sound cleansing the air. Or they might hold the Rebirth Certificate in their hands and chant scriptures.

The Taoist priest in the front row held a willow branch, dipped it in the sweet dew from the basin, and sprinkled it in all directions. Where the water droplets landed, the dust settled, as if the dead souls had calmed their anger.

Jiang Feng sat in a restaurant in the distance, eating a roasted lamb leg with Ao Ying, their eyes fixed on the direction of the altar, praising it repeatedly.

"The steward of Yang Su's house is so generous, he even gave the freshly served lamb leg to this poor monk. This roasted lamb leg is absolutely amazing, Cui Ying, why aren't you eating any?"

Looking at the feast that had been collected through alms, Cui Ying tried to pretend she didn't know him and said helplessly, "You two eat. If it's not enough, you can take Ao Ying to collect more alms. Yuwen Huaji is also eating at this restaurant. I saw that there's a roast suckling pig on their table that they haven't touched yet."

Ao Ying's eyes lit up, and he immediately put on the tattered cassock bestowed upon him by the emperor and ran towards Yuwen Huaji's room to beg for alms on imperial orders.

Soon, she returned carrying a roast suckling pig and said, "Jiang Feng, Yuwen Huaji asked if you'd like to eat anything else?"

Jiang Feng glared at her, annoyed, and snapped, "I already said we can't order! Anything the benefactors have given us, even if it's just two plates of braised sea cucumber with scallions, we'll eat it!"

Ao Ying said "Oh," put down the roast suckling pig in her hand, and ran off to deliver the message.

Zhang Guo took a bite of sugarcane, then his eyes suddenly lit up as he stared at the altar: "Jiang Feng, something seems off about the altar!"

Jiang Feng looked up and saw a blood-red cloud of mist slowly approaching, quickly drifting above the altar.

A cry came from the blood mist, quickly drowning out the chanting. Then a strong wind arose, and paper ash and incense smoke swirled around the monks and Taoists, as if thousands of dead souls were returning with resentment and malevolence!

Then, a chaotic commotion arose from within the blood mist as two groups of undead cavalry, carrying a heavy aura of bloodlust, charged toward the two altars.