As long as the Dream Eater touched someone, it could create a dreamland. This was the same as a type of fantasy technique. Very soon, Xu Yangyi recalled the Azure Winged-Demon Mask. In combining both these moves, he could almost ensure that the Dream Eater hit the enemy, and once the butterfly met its mark it would immediately create an illusion. Not to speak of trapping the enemy to death, the Dream Eater would be able to stop an opponent from using divine abilities for at least ten seconds!
Yet ten seconds could already be considered the turning point in a battle of Foundation Establishment cultivators!
āJust how divine is this Butterflymother Southflower? All of her items are amazing. In any caseā¦ I like it.ā
He laughed and shared a glance with Moonless. Just as he was about to step towards the Transference Formation leading back to Earth, though, slivers of black light suddenly flared from the Dream Walkerās broken corpse. In the next moment, a black hexagonal crystal, no less than the size of a fist, slowly floated up.
āA Gem of Dreaming?ā Xu Yangyi stared blankly. He felt the situation to be somewhat unimaginable.
He had never seen such a large one!
The past gems were the size of a finger, but this piece far exceeded them!
Based on the explanation heād received about Gems of Dreaming, they stored a memory or some object. The item that this Gem of Dreaming was storing definitely wasnāt insignificant!
Without a momentās hesitation, he took it and broke it in his hand. This wasnāt Butterflymother Southflowerās Gem of Dreaming, so he didnāt have anything to be scared of. In a flash, sparkling, crystalline light glimmered before his eyes, leaving him with no choice but to close them. But when he opened his eyes again, he was struck dumb where he stood.
Heā¦ wasnāt in the Nightmare passage! On the contraryā¦ he had arrived in a desert!
āNoā¦ itās not that Iāve moved. This is the memory stored in the Gem of Dreaming. This memory brought my consciousness here.ā
He himself wasnāt actually in the desert, but ratherā¦ he looked down upon everything with a godās view point.
Jingleā¦ Jingleā¦
From far away, the melodious bell of a camel was heard. A wizened middle-aged man was saddled on the camel, and he was slowly traversing the desert. At his side was an attendant, also saddled on a camel. The pair evidently hadnāt lost their direction, nor were they worried about drinking water and food. Little by little, they traveled ahead.
The setting sun was like blood, and the desert was like smoke. Amidst yellow sand flying upwards, they walked for an unknown period of time. In the end, the attendant spoke out. His voice, perhaps because the dreamlandās era stored in the Gem of Dreaming was long ago, seemed to reverberate all around like a bell chime once he opened his mouth.
āSir Che, how long until we reach the Kingdom of Gandhara?ā
Xu Yangyiās gaze quickly grew sharp.
Sir Che? Gandhara? Rocjourney had once said this name, but he hadnāt clearly explained what it was at the time.
It was abrupt, but Xu Yangyi suddenly remembered many things. His heart wanted to return to Earth, but he pressed down on the stop key for the time being.
He recalled that Enihilus had called himself Horseplague. He recalled the Gold-Banded Staff at the sealās entrance. He recalled Rocjourney and Enihilusās conversation. The entire string of events.
The Clearcloud Realm had too many secrets, but these secrets were perhaps hidden in this Gem of Dreaming!
Sir Che didnāt speak, rather taking step after step towards the sun. It was unknown how long he walked. Everything ahead began to blur, maybe because the history in this gem wasnāt anything worth remembering. White mist churned in front of Xu Yangyi, but it scattered away a few seconds later. He was now looking upon a city that was nothing like the style of Chinaās central plains.
There were many people in the city. Already, it seemed to be close to Persian in style. Xu Yangyi, however, kept on feeling that everyone else was vaguely indistinct.
If I can see and get a clearer understanding of some of this, thatāll be good
, he thought inwardly.
But unexpectedly, just as his train of thought fell, the scenery facing him cleared in a flash. As his spiritual sense brushed over each person, his gaze instantly narrowed.
These peopleā¦ werenāt human!
While there were humans in this place, less than half were shockingly half-demons!
Some had the upper bodies of leopards, and some had the head of a bird. But regardless of human or demon, all of them were interacting harmoniously in this city. There were even many humans and demons that were squatting down in front of a peddler, and asking about prices.
āWhat the hell is this place?ā Xu Yangyi murmured to himself.
White mist churned again. After the fog cleared, a Buddhist temple appeared this time. A middle-aged man was staying under the temple, taking a temporary stop.
āGandhara, this place is Gandhara? What connection does it have with the Clearcloud Realm?ā His gaze skimmed through the surrounding area. Sure enough, there were quite a few buddha statues all around. Each and every statue, though, was carved to be vividly realistic. A relaxed, free-handed style hadnāt been used.
The memory within the Gem of Dreaming repeated these monotonous scenes. Xu Yangyiās brows slightly furrowed together. Could it be that such a large Gem of Dreaming was recorded with these daily occurrences?
With the passage of ten minutes, the Gem of Dreaming shrunk a little. At this time, though, a strange situation happened all of a sudden.
Outside the Buddhist temple, a streak of black qi infiltrated the temple at night. This voice was muttering to itself,
āThis Throne has smelled the scent of an orthodox cultivatorā¦ While his realm is still inferior to my ownā¦ this person seems to be a carrier of the Voidspirit Immortal Physique. If I can devour itā¦ I will surely advance to Core Formation!ā
With a wooden expression, Xu Yangyi watched all of this. He hadnāt paid attention to where the black qi had come from, but this voice still hadnāt found Sir Che. The sun rose and the moon fell, cycling at lightning speed in the memory. On the second day, at the same time, Xu Yangyi was fully concentrated on the entire temple. As midnight arrived, his eyes shone; he finally discovered the black qiās origin!
Outside the monastery, there was a tomb. It was rather bizarre and too big for a human, no less than two meters tall and three meters wide. Furthermore, the tombstone didnāt have an epitaph. Instead, a pair of horses was carved on it.
āHorseā¦ Horseplagueā¦ Donāt tell me this is Horseplagueās true origin?ā Xu Yangyi began to mumble to himself.
On the fourth day, the black qi finally found Sir Cheās location. After a joyous cry, it rushed into Sir Cheās body. From that moment onwards, Sir Che fell to serious illness. Countless black and red scars began to grow all over his body, and he became increasingly prone to sleeping.
āI wish to the divine colt to bless and protect meā¦ā
Three days later, Sir Che was already on his last gasp. The templeās monk started to bring him up and down. Only then did Xu Yangyi know that the pair of horses was originally the templeās divine-object.
āSomethingās offā¦ā His brows pinched together again. āSomethingās offā¦ The more I see, the more I feel that this storyās familiarā¦ like I heard it from somewhere before?ā
Sir Cheās sickness became progressively dire, but in this story, even until now, Sir Cheās name hadnāt emerged.
On the sixth day, Sir Cheās breathing started to become difficult. He clutched at his bedside and said lowly,
āIf I completely recoverā¦ I am willing to shave my head and become a monk!ā
Yet on this day, Buddha did not watch over him.
On the seventh day, Sir Cheās life was hanging by a thread. As the templeās abbot was already preparing his final rites, however, the door swung open. Several novice monks rushed in excitedly.
āA Master of the Tripiį¹aka has come! A Master of the Tripiį¹aka has come! Sir Che is saved!ā
Xu Yangyi took a deep breath. This strange feeling he was getting was becoming stronger and stronger.
In these memories, the first name he was familiar with appeared!
A Master of the Tripiį¹aka!
This was a name that no ordinary monk dared to use in confusion! In Buddhism, the Three Scriptures, otherwise known as the Tripiį¹aka, were a collective term concerning the Classic Scripture, the Law Scripture, and Theory Scripture. In Chinese, this term was Sanzang. And one who called themselves a Master of the Tripiį¹aka symbolized that they had already totally comprehended and understood the Three Scriptures.
[1]
Even in consideration of the Indian subcontinent, there werenāt many such monks!
āA Master of the Tripiį¹akaā¦ the Gold-Banded Staff out thereā¦ā Xu Yangyi licked his lips. āCould it beā¦ that Iām really going to witness a world-shaking secret?ā
āAs long as this story is related to Journey to the West, as long as I can verify thatā¦ā He clenched his fists in a death grip and said no more.
In that caseā¦ he could confirm that immortals truly did exist!
Journey to the West was a legend. Although it wasnāt known how much was made up, if this novel was realā¦ he had an eternal goal!
[2]
Immortalsā¦ truly were above everything, forever strong! Everlasting and undying!
His mind focused in more and more. He sensed that this story was already beginning to enter the climax.
In the memory, a short, small monk walked in. While it was a memory, in the instant Xu Yangyi saw this monk he couldnāt help but automatically rouse his qi.
Core Formation!
Core Formation Dao Master!
āThis poor monk is Sheliyuemo, Sarira-Surpasses-Demon.ā
The old monk put his hands together and said.
[3]
Swoosh!
Understanding dawning on him, Xu Yangyi bolted up to his feet. This nameā¦ he remembered the history of this memory!
āChe Fengchao! One of ancient Chinaās fifty high monks!ā He gravely observed the memory. āNo wonder I thought this memory was a little familiarā¦ Sheliyuemo was a Master of the Tripiį¹aka, and Che Fengchao followed through with his promise, so he was conferred with the nameā¦ā
āWukong!ā
[4]
āThis is historical fact, he really did exist! Because numerous cultivation specialists want to find out if the cultivation realm of immortal exists from this cultivator who was portrayed as both a god and a man! They didnāt find out, but they found Che Fengchaoās Sarira! The surface is still swirling with dense qi! Experts theorize that he was a great cultivator at least at Nascent Soul!ā
āBoth a god and a manā¦ and this is becauseā¦ā His gaze flashed. āHis descendants, due to the story of his journey west with Tang Xuanzang, cleverly combined it and wrote a book that the cultivation world doesnāt even have an answer for nowāJourney to the West!ā
[5]
āAnd this is all of Che Fengchaoās history back then!ā
Xu Yangyiās gaze was red-hot as he continued watching.
In the memory, the Master of the Tripiį¹aka had already cured Che Fengchaoās illness. In that moment Che Fengchao was cured, however, countless golden symbols flashed around him, and his hair seemed to be shaved away by an invisible razor. It fell down in clumps.
āThe vow he swore was a Dao-Heart Oath. Now is when it came true.ā Xu Yangyi slightly nodded.
Sheliyuemo didnāt look at Che Fengchao, instead putting his hands together.
āBenefactor has achieved supreme enlightenment, and experienced the reincarnation of life and death. All is empty, so I bestow upon you a Buddhist title: Wukong. Are you willing?ā
[6]
āThis poor monk is willing.ā
Che Fengchao promptly returned the greeting.
At this point, only a very small piece was left of the Gem of Dreaming in his hand. It was about the size of a fingernail. In Xu Yangyiās heart, strong disappointment bubbled up. It seemed that this Gem of Dreaming had recorded the Clearcloud Realmās past events. Although heād already gained an approximate outline from within, he didnāt see what he wanted to.
He had somewhat more or less of a guess.
āSenior Che entered this place, and with the fall of his hair he became a monk. And according to historical record, he was pretty good at using a staff. Therefore, that Divine Sealock Needle outside should be his weapon.ā
āItās really not Sun Wukong,ā he made a long sigh.
āAnd Enihilus called himself Horseplague. That should be the soul of the horse-demon that Sheliyuemo suppressed back then. Senior Che had already taken part in the fortune and set down the butcherās blade, so the demon was suppressed here, thatās all.ā
āI donāt know what kind of realm Senior Che cultivated to, but it should be a realm that demands the execution of malice. Daoism has the Execution of Three Corpses, and Buddhism should also have a similar arcane effort. So, he executed his malice and suppressed it here together with Horseplague. This malice, though, became a Dream Walker because of a few unknown reasons.ā
[7]
āSo thatās how it isā¦ā
1. There is a lot to unpack here. Basically, Tripiį¹aka = Three Scriptures = Sanzang, if I havenāt made it clear enough. In this particular passage, its being referenced in how itās known in Buddhism in Sanskrit, how others understand it in Chinese, and then thereās the added layer for the translation. These scriptures are also known as the Vinaya Piį¹aka, SÅ«tra Piį¹aka, and Abhidharma Piį¹aka.
2. In case youāve forgotten,
Journey to the West
is one of Chinaās Four Classics.
3. The problem I face here is similar to Enihilusās name. Sheliyuemo = čå©č¶é = Sarira-Surpasses-Demon. Itās a symbolic name.
4. Wukong = ęē©ŗ. Same Wukong as Sun Wukong. The name Wukong, as I have noted, means āThe Comprehension of Nothingnessā. The name Sun Wukong is never actually mentioned in historical text prior to
Journey to the West
. If there is any character like āSun Wukongā, his name is something along the lines of āMonkey Pilgrimā. As we might presume, later writers used Che Fengchaoās title of Wukong for Sun Wukong.
5. The Tang Xuanzang mentioned here is the Master Sanzang that most people familiar with Chinese history are aware of.
6. I did my own research here, but the author actually might be wrong here. Later on in life, Che Fengchao is bestowed the title Wukong by Emperor Dezong of Tang. His initial title is Fajie (Chinese), or Dharma Realm (English). This was the title of the previous arc, Dharmadhatu (Sanskrit).
7. Now that everything is more or less revealed, you can see the juxtaposition between Enihilusās Buddhist title as what I had translated as Enihilus (Wumie), and Che Fengchaoās Buddhist title in the text, (Wukong). Respectively, āThe Comprehension of Exterminationā and āThe Comprehension of Nothingnessā. The Execution of Three Corpses is a real term in Daoism that is about vanquishing the three malicious intents that take the form of insects. Per corpse, there are three insects.
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