Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything

Jinshan Temple, at the back of the mountain.

Clenching his fists, Jiang Liu activated the state of Arhat Fist, and smashed his fist forward.

In front of him, an injured black bear was shaken and staggered backward, roaring repeatedly.

After being pushed back, the blind bear suddenly crouched on all fours and then charged towards Jiang Liu. Its huge paw was lifted and swatted down at Jiang Liu's body.

The thick bear paw bore a tremendous force.

"Vajra Mantra," looking at the black bear's health bar overhead, which was not much left, Jiang Liu muttered internally.

The originally heavy and powerful bear paw struck his shoulder, and Jiang Liu only felt a slight weight on his body, but he wasn't injured.

Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Liu's golden fist smashed down again, cleaving onto the black bear's head and causing its health bar to drop a bit more.

He then quickly retreated, raising one hand in the process. Instantly, crimson flames gathered in his hand.

The flames, sized like a basketball, were launched at the black bear by a push from Jiang Liu and hit the bear precisely.

A piercing scream was heard as the black bear's health bar above its head instantly emptied, and it collapsed to the ground, entering a severely wounded and dying state.

Notification: Gained 60 Experience Points, 20 copper coins.

Notification: Level increased by 1, current level 10.

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With the game system's notification, Jiang Liu collected 20 copper coins from under the black bear and pocketed them. Seeing that it was also getting late, he turned and headed back.

Since the day when Jinshan Temple was attacked and Gaoyang was taken away, a week had already passed. During this week, Jiang Liu hunted wild beasts in the back mountain every day to level up. Fortunately, he didn't encounter any powerful demon creatures; they were mostly just demons.

Only the day before yesterday did he encounter a demon that could speak human language. Fortunately, the current Jiang Liu was not as he used to be. With the boost from the Redwood Ring as well as skills like Arhat Fist, Vajra Mantra, and Swift Fire Bead, although he was injured, he managed to successfully slay the demon.

Not only did he gain a large amount of experience points, but he also obtained a pair of shoes of normal quality.

Hemp Shoes (Normal Quality): Defense +5, Movement Speed +10%, Durability 8/10.

Although they were only shoes of normal quality, the additional attributes were better than nothing.

After about a week of hunting and leveling up, Jiang Liu's level had finally progressed from level 7 to level 10.

As his level reached 10, previously, equipment of Perfect Quality had dropped from the Three-Eyed Crow, namely the Demon Subduing Staff.

Thinking of that Demon Subduing Staff, Jiang Liu quickened his pace a bit. Due to his inability to equip it yet, he had left it in the Zen Room, and now he was eager to pick it up and try it out.

An increase of 70 Attack Power was enough to greatly enhance his strength.

Notification: Level increased to 10, new feature "Inventory Space" unlocked; simply think about it to open it.

However, just as Jiang Liu quickened his steps to return, suddenly, without warning, another notification from the game system appeared, causing Jiang Liu to pause slightly, somewhat startled.

Inventory Space opened? Could it be? The bag feature from the game?

Following the game system's previous notification, Jiang Liu silently recited "Inventory Space" in his mind.

Suddenly, a semi-illusory space opened up in front of Jiang Liu, a barely visible bag space that only he seemed to be able to see.

A 5*8 bag space wasn't large, but it had 40 slots, clearly capable of holding 40 items.

With curiosity, Jiang Liu placed the pair of shoes he had into it.

A slight suction appeared, and when Jiang Liu released his grip, indeed, the shoes shrank and were stored inside the inventory space.

"Just like in the game, the bag space function, do I need to wait until level 10 to unlock it? Then, what about other functions? Like the quest function? Or life professions? Or the marketplace…" he silently went over other functions in his mind.

Well, that had no effect whatsoever. Perhaps these functions did not exist at all, or they required reaching a certain level to unlock, just like the bag space?

He walked back to Jinshan Temple, taking the shoes in and out of his bag space repeatedly, amusing himself greatly.

To onlookers, it seemed magical that with just a lift of his hand, a pair of shoes would appear in his hand, and then, with another lift, disappeared into thin air.

Upon returning to Jinshan Temple, Jiang Liu headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner for everyone.

However, before he entered, he could hear noise from the kitchen, along with coughing sounds.

Walking into the kitchen, he found his senior brother Xuanming bustling about, his chubby face slightly blackened from tending the fire for cooking.

But he looked rather awkward in his attempts.

"Senior Brother Xuanming? What happened to you?" Jiang Liu asked, surprised by Xuanming's appearance.

"Liu'er, you're setting off for Chang'an tomorrow to attend the Incense Offering Ceremony. Unless something unexpected happens, you won't likely return. So, I have to learn to cook, right? Xuankong has lost an arm, and Xuanwu often leaves the mountain to perform ceremonies. Naturally, the cooking duties will fall upon me," Xuanming said with a smile, wiping his face.

Xuanming's words left Jiang Liu in silence.

Indeed, attending the Incense Offering Ceremony tomorrow was merely a formality for Jiang Liu. Regardless of whether he could light the incense scar or not, he had no intention of continuing as a monk, and someone at Jinshan Temple would need to take over the cooking. Senior Brother Xuanming seemed most suited for the task.

"Since I'm leaving the mountain, let me cook one last meal for everyone," Jiang Liu said after a moment of silence.

"No need, Liu'er. You've been cooking for us for so long. Let me cook for you today. Just to be clear, you're not allowed to mock my cooking skills."

"Absolutely not!"

Dinner was hard to swallow: the rice was half-cooked, the dishes were either too salty, too bland, or burnt.

Yet, this last supper at Jinshan Temple was consumed in silence by all— the atmosphere was somewhat solemn.

Even the half-cooked rice was eaten carefully, ensuring that every grain was finished.

"Liu'er, I originally wanted Xuankong to accompany you down the mountain, but he is injured. Let your Senior Brother Xuanwu accompany you," Senior Abbot Faming said after dinner.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Xuanwu," Jiang Liu sincerely thanked Xuanwu.

"No need for formalities between us, Liu'er. Don't feel too much pressure. The Incense Offering Ceremony is a matter of destiny, not something that can be influenced by human effort. Just take it easy tomorrow as if you're there to watch the festivities," Xuanwu said, waving off the thanks with indifference and offering words of comfort.

"That's right, the Incense Offering Ceremony at the Great Buddha Temple is a grand event for the Buddhist Sect. Temples within a hundred miles will bring many to attend, and it's quite lively. When I went to participate…" Xuanming seemed to reminisce about his days at the ceremony, a look of reminiscence on his face.

"Enough talk. Liu'er, you should rest early tonight. The Great Buddha Temple is more than twenty miles from here, and we need to get up early tomorrow," Senior Abbot Faming interrupted Xuanming and admonished Jiang Liu.

Xuanming cleaned up the last of the dishes, and as the sky darkened, Jiang Liu returned to his Zen Room.

He roughly packed up the things he needed and stored them inside the bag space.

Lying quietly on his bed, Jiang Liu contemplated the upcoming Incense Offering Ceremony in his heart.

After tomorrow, he would leave Jinshan Temple. From then on, he would have to fend for himself, diligently leveling up by defeating demons.

After all, Gaoyang was still waiting for him.

With his thoughts running rampant, consciousness slowly slipped into sleep…