Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 653 - 652: Sha Wujing Learns of Tian Peng’s Identity

Chapter 653: Chapter 652: Sha Wujing Learns of Tian Peng’s Identity

When he had held his position before, he had never done anything to anger the Jade Emperor, his presence was even exceptionally low.

If it weren’t for hearing his name, it would be impossible to notice the existence of such a divine official; if that could irritate the Jade Emperor, perhaps other divine officials should have been the first to receive the Jade Emperor’s punishment.

"When the common people live and work in peace and contentment, their prayers and worship of gods and buddhas relatively decrease. But as you know, divine officials in the Immortal Realm need to be worshipped to survive. Without worshippers, such an immortal has no reason to exist."

Sha Wujing nodded, though he wasn’t very noticeable in the Immortal Realm, he still had quite a few mortals worshipping him in the secular world.

The visibility of an immortal in the Immortal Realm has nothing to do with that in the mortal realm; he had always been diligent in his duties.

Chen Nuo’s understanding of Sha Wujing was limited to the descriptions in the original book, but it was only after meeting him in person that he realized the book didn’t provide enough detail.

Or rather, the book’s descriptions were plot-driven, mentioning only the details relevant to the storyline and character dialogue, allowing readers to infer the characters’ personalities from these.

When he saw the real person in front of him, the sparse descriptions were simply inadequate to encapsulate the whole individual.

"In order to ensure the continuity of incense power needed for the worship of the Immortal Realm and Buddhism, more believers are needed. This is also why the Journey to the West plan was initiated," Chen Nuo said.

"Since the goal is to spread the divine teachings, people from the Immortal Realm and Buddhism must descend to the secular world to preach, spreading the divine teachings from Great Tang to Western Heaven. The hardships along this path are not something mortals can endure."

"But what does this have to do with being banished to the mortal world?" Sha Wujing still didn’t understand. If spreading the divine teachings was the goal, then just go ahead and do it. What did this have to do with his being banished?

"Spreading the divine teachings is not so simple. The worlds of demons and monsters have always been keeping a covetous eye on the actions of the Heavenly Realm. If we went in our original identities, it would alarm those two realms. If they became aware of our actions, they would definitely seize the opportunity to attack both the Immortal Realm and the mortal realm," Chen Nuo explained.

"So I was just coincidentally chosen?" Sha Wujing asked, "But why, having been banished to the mortal world for thousands of years, am I still at the Flowing Sand River, unaware of these matters?"

This plan had been delayed due to Sun Wukong becoming Chen Nuo’s disciple. To manage the timing, the Buddhist leaders and the Jade Emperor had to urgently proceed with their plan.

However, up to now, the three disciples they had originally appointed had all been intercepted by Chen Nuo. He was also unclear about their subsequent plans.

"Because it hasn’t started yet," Chen Nuo explained, "According to their plan, you were supposed to be the third disciple. It’s still ongoing there."

Listening, Sha Wujing scoffed, "For this matter, those above actually found some random excuse to cast me down to the mortal world."

Indeed, this was beyond any easy judgment.

The Jade Emperor and Buddhism chose individuals with total disregard for the chosen divine officials’ own views, plucking them from their positions without a care for their willingness, simply finding some excuse to demote them to the mortal realm. This was true both for Sha Wujing and Tian Peng.

"You’re not the only one who’s been chosen," Chen Nuo revealed.

Sha Wujing looked up at Chen Nuo in shock. There wasn’t just him?

"Who else?" he asked.

Who else had gone through the same as he? What kind of treatment had that divine official suffered, and what was his attitude toward the Heavenly Realm now?

"You’ve met him," Chen Nuo said.

He had met him?

Sha Wujing froze. He had hardly seen anyone else, and considering it was Shopkeeper Chen who mentioned it, and Sha Wujing had seen so few, from the moment he entered the Chaos Residence, there had been just two people.

One was Shopkeeper Chen’s apprentice, whom he met with only briefly and didn’t speak to, and there was one more.

It dawned on Sha Wujing, and he suddenly looked up, "Shopkeeper Chen, the person you are speaking of, is it...?"

Chen Nuo nodded, "It’s him."

Sha Wujing felt a lump in his throat; it was such a coincidence. No wonder that man spoke of the Heavenly Realm with such an attitude.

Initially, he hadn’t thought much of it, but now it seemed that man must have despised the Heavenly Court’s Immortal Officials as much as he did, especially the Jade Emperor.

"So, he also..." Sha Wujing was about to ask if that man knew his own identity, but then he thought better of it. The question was redundant; of course, the man knew, or he wouldn’t have spoken those words.

"Yes, he knows," Chen Nuo said, "and you are also familiar with his former identity in the Heavenly Court."

Sha Wujing tried to recall the man’s face, but he couldn’t seem to remember his status. Given that he was now in a mortal body, his appearance would undoubtedly be different from that in the Heavenly Realm. His inability to recognize the man was reasonable.

"His former identity in the Heavenly Realm was Marshal Tian Peng, in charge of the Milky Way region," Chen Nuo, knowing that Sha Wujing wouldn’t guess Tian Peng’s identity, voluntarily revealed it to him.

Sha Wujing was shocked beyond measure. He had never imagined that the person was actually Marshal Tian Peng.

Marshal Tian Peng’s prestige in the Heavenly Realm was immense, endowed with great mana, and being chosen by the Heavenly Court seemed logical. Yet to have Marshal Tian Peng suffer the same disgrace of being banished to the mortal realm as he did was unthinkable.

"Shopkeeper Chen, what was the reason for Marshal Tian Peng’s banishment?" Sha Wujing asked.

Speaking of this made Chen Nuo indignant. The issue had already been resolved. For the sake of banishing Tian Peng, the Jade Emperor had abandoned all sense of dignity, prosecuting a case that had already been peacefully settled.

Furthermore, Yang Jian had also confided to him that the Jade Emperor felt envious of how the divine officials from the Heavenly Realm frequented his Chaos Residence, especially Tian Peng and a few other divine officials.

At this point, Chen Nuo had nothing much to say. He was just a cook, and even if his restaurant drew a large crowd, could it possibly interfere with the affairs of the Heavenly Court?

Chen Nuo believed he had never actively involved himself in the affairs of the Heavenly Court, yet it was for this reason that the Jade Emperor began to view the Chaos Residence with suspicion. To him, it seemed like the Jade Emperor’s pettiness was far too exaggerated.

"There’s no need to go into such detail about this matter."

Given that Tian Peng and Sha Wujing were still not on very friendly terms, Chen Nuo was uncertain if Tian Peng would be willing to share this information with the other, so he did not elaborate, "In any case, it wasn’t very honorable."

Chen Nuo didn’t provide many details, and Sha Wujing didn’t ask further.

After learning about Tian Peng’s identity, Sha Wujing’s animosity towards Tian Peng had diminished considerably, as they were all there for Shopkeeper Chen. If he were in the same position, he would likely not be any kinder to a stranger.

Having clarified this matter, Chen Nuo took Sha Wujing around the Chaos Residence to explain what tasks needed to be done and what didn’t.

After he finished speaking with Sha Wujing, night had fallen, and Sun Wukong’s milk tea shop had also closed for the day.

"Master, I’ve closed the shop," Sun Wukong said as he walked towards the kitchen, preparing to help Chen Nuo with the orders, only to find that someone was already at the delivery mechanism.