Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 505 - 499: The Fall of Jin Chanzi [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1

Jin Chanzi died. Jinzha’s palm strike had been delivered with full force and no restraint; he hadn’t expected Tianpeng to refrain from stopping him. Moreover, Jin Chanzi was completely unguarded. If he had shown even a hint of fear, or had merely attempted to parry, Jinzha would have stopped. But he didn’t. And so, Jin Chanzi died because he talked too much.

Jinzha was dumbfounded, kneeling on the ground and pleading with him not to die. However, no matter what magic he wielded, even using an Immortal Pill, he couldn’t bring Jin Chanzi back to life. After all, his strike had been too vicious, and Jin Chanzi’s heart meridian was already severed.

"How is this possible? How can this be? It’s impossible! I didn’t do it on purpose! Don’t die, please, I’m begging you, don’t die!" Jinzha cried out. "I didn’t intend to; it was in a moment of anger! Why did you provoke me? You shouldn’t have provoked me! I, I..."

Jinzha panicked. By striking down Jin Chanzi, all the previous cause and effect had turned into karmic obstacles. From now on, the calamity of the Journey to the West would only bring him karmic obstacles, with no benefits for him whatsoever, unless he became a demon on the journey and, in his next life, became one of the tribulations. But if he didn’t handle this well, not only would he gain no benefit, but he would also bring disaster upon himself, entangled by these karmic obstacles. It was all for naught in the end.

Jinzha’s face was unsightly as he turned to Tianpeng and roared, "You! You! Why didn’t you stop me?"

Tianpeng retorted angrily, "What a joke! Who knew you, this crazy monk, had such a strong urge to kill that you’d actually strike down the scripture seeker? How could I have reacted in time? Now you’ve killed the scripture seeker and you blame me? Ridiculous, truly ridiculous! You’ve killed the scripture seeker; I’m going to report this to Buddhism. You’re done for, you’re screwed!"

Jinzha panicked and wanted to beg for mercy, but he knew it was impossible to cover this up. Because this had happened at the Flowing Sand River, the outside world did not yet know of these events. Knowledge of it would only spread once he left the Flowing Sand River and it was deduced, or if someone who had witnessed it—like Tianpeng, Zhenyuanzi, or some of the demons lurking in the distance—spoke of it. They had all come to help earlier but had luckily survived Zhenyuanzi’s onslaught, and they had all witnessed this scene. In fact, they envied Jinzha. Killing the scripture seeker and consuming him could bring karmic benefits.

However, although Jinzha had killed the scripture seeker, he dared not consume him, for by doing so, he would become a demon. If that happened, laying down the butcher’s knife would not enable him to instantly attain demonhood. In other words, apart from earning an infamous reputation for killing the scripture seeker, there were no benefits for him whatsoever. This was unlike the scripture seekers of past lives who had died on their journey and were eaten by demons, who then reaped the benefits. He had gained nothing.

Tianpeng snorted coldly and lit a fire, burning Jin Chanzi’s reincarnation to ash. He actually knew that Jin Chanzi had intentionally sought death to avoid being revived by someone else—especially the crazed Zhenyuanzi, who was nearby at the Flowing Sand River and might have had a way to save him. So, Tianpeng burned the body, ending it once and for all.

Jinzha exclaimed in shock, "Tianpeng, why did you burn him? You, you—you did it on purpose! You didn’t want anyone to revive him!"

Tianpeng snorted coldly and said, "Don’t you know how he died? Who knew if you would become enraged from shame and desecrate his corpse? Since a monk has died, he should be cremated directly. This way, he might have the chance to achieve Buddhahood instantly in his next life. I’m helping him. You’re the one who killed him; you have no right to speak to me." Then, he turned and left.

Jinzha was a mixture of shock and anger but was unable to retort. He left in a daze, not knowing how he exited the place. When he did, the sun was shining brightly overhead, yet he felt his future was bleak.

「Inside the Flowing Sand River Cave,」

The White Bone Demon gritted her teeth and said, "Master, why didn’t you let me go out to save him? Just now, if we had brought out the Undying Magical Medicine, or even just a regular Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir, we might have had a chance to save Jin Chanzi! He’s your disciple! He went through all this hardship to come here just to see you, but now, before you even met, he’s already fallen at your doorstep. How can you stand idly by?"

Sha Chen said indifferently, "That’s because he was wholeheartedly seeking death, not wanting to drag me down or wish for me to go out there. So, he did it deliberately. If I had wanted to save him, why would I have sat by and done nothing?"

When Jinzha made his move, Sha Chen could have saved Jin Chanzi at any time; it wouldn’t have posed any problem at all. But he knew Jin Chanzi’s intentions. He was wholeheartedly seeking death, not wanting to involve Sha Chen, and also aiming to better accumulate merit. Moreover, bringing Jinzha down was precisely what Jin Chanzi wanted to achieve. Furthermore, Jin Chanzi’s current life was over. His next life was the true epoch of great contention, where he was destined to be the real protagonist in the calamity of the Journey to the West. If he didn’t die today, even if he left the Flowing Sand River, he would still die on the road, or perish at the hands of a demon shortly after, and then be eaten. The result wouldn’t change; it was merely a matter of when.

The White Bone Demon didn’t understand. She simply felt that since Jin Chanzi’s reincarnation was Sha Chen’s disciple, he had come seeking Sha Chen. Having died here today, Sha Chen should have revived him. However, she also found Sha Chen’s words reasonable. If Sha Chen hadn’t wanted Jin Chanzi to die, Jinzha would never have succeeded. Since Sha Chen hadn’t intervened to stop the killing, why would he bother saving him now? Sha Chen must have his own arrangements.

Actually, Sha Chen didn’t have any particular arrangements. He knew for certain that Jin Chanzi’s reincarnation could be reborn. In the next life, Jin Chanzi would have a complete spiritual essence and boundless merit, initiating his own great epoch of contention. If Jin Chanzi, in his next life, continued to follow Buddhism, then he would be Monk Tang; if not, he would become Sha Chen’s disciple. There would be some problems, some troubles, but Sha Chen was gambling, and also preparing to secure sufficient benefits for that next life. A few days earlier, he had already taught Jin Chanzi’s current reincarnation Dao Techniques and guided him. Although time had been limited, Jin Chanzi would have a long time after his next rebirth to comprehend them. Sha Chen had also given him an Elixir refined from the Nine Nether Purple Orchid. After Jin Chanzi consumed it, his Primordial Spirit surged, and his spiritual essence became perfect. He was fully capable of comprehending Dao Techniques on his own, which would also solidify his determination in following the Dao. Sha Chen felt that in the next life, Jin Chanzi’s reincarnation would surely inherit the memories of this life perfectly, understanding powerful and profound Dao Techniques. All he could do was await the return of Jin Chanzi in his next life.

Zhenyuanzi was still clamoring outside, unconcerned with Jin Chanzi’s life or death. But no matter how loudly he shouted, Sha Chen paid him no heed. Zhenyuanzi then began attacking the Flowing Sand River. After several days and nights, he made no progress. If he couldn’t break through the Flowing Sand River before, he naturally couldn’t do it now. In the end, he could only leave, cursing and swearing. The only consolation for him was that the heavenly mechanisms here were obscured, so the outside world was unaware of the situation inside. The fact that his attack on the Flowing Sand River had failed was not widely known, which somewhat salvaged his reputation.

However, he had previously coerced Tianpeng, thereby thoroughly offending him. Just a few days after Zhenyuanzi’s departure, Tianpeng had already spread the news about his failed attack on the Flowing Sand River and his coercion of Tianpeng, among other things. This ruined Zhenyuanzi’s reputation and made many laugh at him. Upon learning of this, Zhenyuanzi was instantly furious. Already enraged, Tianpeng’s slandering of his name incensed him even more. He dispatched a large number of his disciples to hunt down Tianpeng. Unfortunately, the number of his disciples who could now defeat Tianpeng could be counted on one’s fingers, and there were none who could actually catch up to Tianpeng.

「About three and a half months later.」

Tianpeng returned, once again arriving at the Flowing Sand River, and continued to call at the entrance. This time, it was no different from the first few times he had called. Sha Chen probed multiple times and confirmed that this was indeed Tianpeng himself, and that he was not being coerced. So, he let him in.

The moment Tianpeng entered the Flowing Sand River Cave, he complained, "Old Sha, you’re too cautious! I’ve been shouting myself hoarse; I nearly had to strip down to prove it was me before you let me in. That’s going too far!"

Sha Chen replied indifferently, "I initially had no intention of letting you in. It was only because I feared you stripping down outside my door would disturb the scenic beauty of the Flowing Sand River that I allowed you in. If you keep rambling, I’ll castrate you and throw you out."