Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 543 - 537: Ancestor Subhuti Meets Wukong [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1

Chapter 543: Chapter 537: Ancestor Subhuti Meets Wukong [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1

Sha Chen’s mood was somewhat heavy.

He clearly hadn’t expected that Sun Wukong too might have been breached by Zhunti, which could potentially spoil his plans.

Although Zhunti had sworn his assurances regarding Jin Chanzi, Sha Chen wasn’t worried because he was more confident that, although Jin Chanzi might be pressured by Zhunti to resume his Buddhist cultivation for the time being, his heart had changed. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Even if Jin Chanzi remained Monk Tang at that time, a change of heart meant he was no longer aligned with Buddhism in spirit.

The one thing that truly worried Sha Chen was Sun Wukong, a ticking time bomb.

He had the least interaction with him, but his investment was no less for it.

He had intentionally arranged for his alter ego Li Bai to interact with Sun Wukong and to foster his growth, thus establishing an emotional bond.

Later, to diminish Li Bai’s presence, he even told Sun Wukong the truth, letting him know that it was he who had always been aiding him.

Initially, Wukong was naturally unwilling to accept this, but later he came to understand that whether it was Li Bai or Sha Chen, as long as they helped him, that was enough, as he had gained benefits.

Sha Chen had sincerely come to aid him and had indeed helped him during times of trouble.

In the end, he even had the Black Bear Spirit bring many treasures to him, allowing him to continue his cultivation and aspire for a more radiant tomorrow.

Sun Wukong was naturally grateful to Sha Chen.

What Saint Zhunti didn’t know was that Sun Wukong had actually already broken through to the Quasi-Saint Realm at the time he sent Subhuti over. But Sun Wukong was suppressed, and his distrust in Buddhism had always led him to suppress his own cultivation.

It was only when his own master appeared and he felt that Ancestor Subhuti would help him, with Subhuti’s backing to boot, that he recklessly made his breakthrough.

Ancestor Subhuti thought of it as his own credit, but Wukong’s inner gratitude was for Sha Chen.

Zhunti did not personally see Wukong but had Subhuti appear before him. Subhuti was not a Saint. His true strength was only that of a Peak Quasi-Saint, not even a Sub-Sage.

Naturally, he lacked the discernment of a Saint and could not see the intricacies, merely reporting what happened to Zhunti, who believed it to be Subhuti’s merit.

Sha Chen too was unaware of the specifics, as the Heavenly Dao cloaked the Flowing Sand River, though he could probe many things in the Three Realms. Most of this information was superficial, and he could no longer deduce many things.

The chaos of the Heavenly Dao affected him as well.

Zhunti continued his aggressive push, applying psychological pressure on Sha Chen, who, in turn, was resisting.

He indeed felt immense psychological pressure, but it wasn’t as bad as Zhunti had imagined.

Because even if both Jin Chanzi and Sun Wukong had been pulled back to their original paths by Buddhism, the impact on him would only be a loss of some time and energy.

At most, it would also be a loss of resources, but these resources, while exceedingly precious and sought-after to outsiders, were commonplace to him.

Nearly all of his followers could obtain them. The fact that Jin Chanzi and Sun Wukong, having obtained them, could progress further was purely due to their stronger innate talents.

Sha Chen always treated his followers equally, never imparting unique skills based on closeness.

For those following him, he imparted what was suitable.

Even if it wasn’t suitable, he still taught it, as long as they wanted to learn, then he would teach.

However, Sha Chen’s followers would not all learn everything. They had substantial differences from Sha Chen, the foremost being their unique constitutions, unsuitable for divine powers and spells of various attributes.

Additionally, they needed to venture out into the world to gain experience, lacking the time to delve deeply into the myriad of spells and divine powers.

Time, energy, and innate potential limited their ability to master everything, so they selected what was suitable for themselves.

While discrepancies would arise during this process, these were choices they made on their own.

Take Sun Wukong, for instance, trapped within Five Finger Mountain, he could only diligently practice Dao techniques, the 72 Polymorphic Transformations, and the 36 Transformations, unable to cultivate many other spells and divine powers.

It wasn’t that Sun Wukong didn’t like these other abilities, but within Five Finger Mountain, he simply had no room to stretch his limbs, nor the means to learn the spells.

After all, mastering divine powers required practice, much like martial arts; without a vast open space and repeated use, one could never truly master them.

Sun Wukong learned only a few divine powers from Sha Chen, but for Sun Wukong, simply mastering the 72 Polymorphic Transformations and the 36 Transformations to a level of proficiency or even perfection was enough to make him unrivaled.

Being an ape, his strengths lay in his spells and physical body. By mastering the transformation techniques that encompassed the fundamental outlines of spells and divine powers, it was equivalent to learning all of the spells.

These were all basics, but once the foundation was extremely solid, the application was terrifyingly effective.

In the original story, Sun Wukong utilized the 72 Polymorphic Transformations to execute various divine powers to a certain degree, showcasing his talent.

Yet, that Sun Wukong had been suppressed for five hundred years, wasted five hundred years, and was in decline for five hundred years.

The Sun Wukong of today hadn’t squandered those five hundred years; instead, he cultivated even more diligently and devotedly.

As a result, this Sun Wukong was naturally stronger than the original, almost having achieved consummate merit even before leaving Five Finger Mountain, if not stronger.

The Sun Wukong of the original story probably only broke through to the Quasi-Saint Realm after reaching Lingjiu Mountain, or maybe he hadn’t even achieved that breakthrough yet.

But the current Sun Wukong, with Sha Chen’s support, had already made his breakthrough.

Yet the five hundred years were not up. If he could leave Five Finger Mountain and had more space to utilize his abilities, he would undoubtedly be stronger than in the original story.

「At this very moment—beneath Five Finger Mountain.」

Sun Wukong, looking at Ancestor Subhuti before him, cried profusely, excitedly kowtowing unceasingly.

"Master, Master, your disciple knows his mistakes, please save me, Master, and release your disciple from Five Finger Mountain."

Sun Wukong kept kowtowing, also pleading for help.

In fact, Ancestor Subhuti had visited twice in the past few years. This was his third visit, and he didn’t intend to release Sun Wukong this time. His intention was purely to deepen their master-disciple bond.

According to the plan, he could have disappeared, never to appear again in Sun Wukong’s world.

However, plans cannot keep up with changes. During Zhunti’s last visit to this place, he noticed a qualitative change in Sun Wukong.

He suspected that Sun Wukong might have been swayed by Sha Chen, so he quickly sent Ancestor Subhuti here.

The first time Ancestor Subhuti appeared, he reminisced about the days when he taught Sun Wukong, while also rebuking him to strengthen their bond.

The second time he appeared, Ancestor Subhuti still scolded Sun Wukong and told him to reform himself properly.

It was during this second visit that he began conversing with Sun Wukong, probing for his secrets, and discovered Sun Wukong had indeed encountered an enlightened being.

Sun Wukong naturally betrayed Li Bai and Sha Chen, indicating that Li Bai was an incarnation of Sha Chen, who had come to help him.

Upon learning this, Ancestor Subhuti grew angry, blaming Sun Wukong for not heeding his teachings—for being suppressed yet not reflecting, instead trying to take shortcuts.

Then Subhuti instructed Sun Wukong in cultivation techniques, knowing Sun Wukong was ready to cultivate and couldn’t be suppressed, so he might as well be the benefactor.

This time, seeing Sun Wukong had broken through to the Quasi-Saint Realm, he naturally considered it his own achievement.

Having seen Ancestor Subhuti for the third time, Sun Wukong was still excited and as always, earnestly begged Ancestor Subhuti to free him.