Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: The Gap (1)
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* * *
Marcus, pinned under a massive boulder, sent out a distress call.
“Lady Christina, lift this rock! It’s not something you can just pick up with stats alone!”
Looking at Marcus, he had a metal headband clamped on his forehead, while Christina herself was dressed in white monk robes.
“What in the world is going on?”
“No idea. We crossed the dragon’s throat, then suddenly everything went black. Next thing I know, my clothes have changed, and everyone’s gone.”
She peeled off the talisman stuck to the rock, causing it to crumble and free Marcus.
[The monk ‘Christina’ has accepted her first disciple, the Stone Monkey ‘Marcus.’]
[Please proceed to your destination.]
Barely escaping with his life, Marcus tilted his head.
“What’s this?”
“Hehe, who knows. Seems like it might get interesting.”
With her first disciple in tow, Christina set off down the path.
A little further along, Ben-Hur burst out from a deep mountain trail, wearing a pig’s head over his own.
“Mother, where the hell are we? I open my eyes, and I’m the gigolo for some woman I’ve never seen before.”
“Ben-Hur, you’ve got surprisingly good luck with women. You should get married soon.”
“This isn’t a joke! I nearly jumped out of my skin.”
[The monk ‘Christina’ has accepted her second disciple, ‘Ben-Hur.’]
After picking up Ben-Hur, they came upon a sandy marsh known as the Oil Sands River.
“Head Monk. Sorry, but could you grab my hand?”
Sigmund was sinking into the quicksand, only his head and hands peeking out.
With her three disciples gathered, Christina’s group faced countless adventures.
“Uh, Mother! I’m pregnant!”
“Oh my, I’m pregnant too.”
“Just as Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit has...”
In the all-female Western Liang Kingdom, they drank from the Mother River and got pregnant.
“Mother, I’m the real Ben-Hur!”
“Don’t fall for it, I’m the real one!”
Suddenly, a perfect copy of Ben-Hur appeared, convinced he was the original.
Marcus whispered in her ear.
“Lady Christina, how about we kill them both? The real Ben-Hur’s got tough hide, so whichever survives is the genuine one.”
“You bastard, Marcus! What the hell are you saying!”
“That rootless traitor fuck!”
The two identical Ben-Hurs stood side by side, cursing in unison.
Even as her disciples bickered, Christina in her monk role let out a hearty laugh.
“Talk about out of nowhere, but this world’s fun.”
“What’s this, some kind of Hercules labors? Back when I studied folklore psychology, I heard about a similar Eastern tale called Momotaro.”
“It’s different from that. Judging by Marcus’s headband or Ben-Hur’s pig head, it’s from the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West.”
Answering the psychologist Sigmund’s question, she gazed up at the illusory sky.
Most people were probably split into groups of five, each on their own journey.
Since her disciples were all her comrades, they’d been paired by affinity or closeness, minimizing the chance of outright murder sprees.
‘And with the headband in play, one good-hearted person plays the monk, while the one with the darkest heart gets the band to keep them in check.’
From the start, those crushed under Five Elements Mountain were likely the ones with the deepest karma.
They wore the headbands on their foreheads, so any shady moves could be quelled instantly by the monk reciting the spell.
‘But why Journey to the West, of all things?’
* * *
Ju Gonghyeok watched over her as she pondered.
“Everyone’s having a blast.”
He could see not just Christina, but the fragmented refugees and Halloween hunters struggling as well.
Pathetic hunters making a bet with three immortals and getting wrecked, or panicking at clones of themselves—it was quite the spectacle.
“Reminds you of the old days, doesn’t it, Mihou?”
= Black history. Don’t bring it up, little bro.
She turned her back on the chaos below.
This was her past experience.
Getting excommunicated by Tripitaka for falling for a fake, smashing yokai in one hit, getting pregnant and teased by Pigsy—it was all the laughing, rowdy memories now being relived by others.
Thanks to the Demon King Bel Marduk’s Genesis Annihilation Law reshaping the world, even Ju Gonghyeok should’ve been caught in the illusion, but the Great Sage had shielded him.
= Smells familiar.
She grinned ferociously.
= Wondered where my treasure went. Turns out it was napping here.
Her lifelong companion weapon.
The Stone Monkey King Mihou sensed the U.SSS-grade divine treasure, Ruyi Jingu Bang, within reach.
“Shall we?”
Leaving the illusions below, Ju Gonghyeok moved on.
The Yellow Wind Demon’s Withered Kingdom, his homeland Lao Kingdom, the immortals’ claimed lands, the women’s Western Liang, the human sacrifice Bighu Kingdom, the Dharma-Ending Kingdom that executed 9,996 monks.
Finally, beyond the Flat Heaven Great Sage Horse Demon King’s illusion, he reached the Thunderclap Kingdom.
‘The Western Paradise.’
The land of the Pure Land gods.
Inside Deserterio’s belly, nothing remained.
Except for the massive red pillar.
= Found it. My treasure.
Her half-phantasmal hand stroked the pillar.
As an avatar, Mihou King could never wield it again.
She turned to Ju Gonghyeok.
= Take it, little bro. I can’t use it anymore.
Her words carried a tinge of loneliness.
Even among U.SSS-grade items, it dwarfed the warehouse-like Absolute Vault (U.SSS) or the heavily restricted Clear Sky Wall (U.SSS).
A pure combat U.SSS-grade weapon.
No reason to refuse.
“Hmm. Not right now.”
But Gonghyeok just shrugged.
= What’re you saying, little bro? It’s worn, but still good.
- Yeah. A guy who flips for cash, rewards, or items—what’s the holdup? Poison on it or something?
Even under Nathaniel’s suspicious glare, Gonghyeok chuckled and plopped down.
The machine god Vulcanus had appeared, cylinders whirring on his back as he fidgeted, pointing at the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
= Mass unmeasurable. Weight unmeasurable. Volume unmeasurable. Want to absorb.
= Hey, scrap heap. This ain’t for you to eat.
Gonghyeok called to the growling Great Sage.
“Don’t look so fierce. The one who left it here might get sad.”
= Sad? Why?
“You know, your old master.”
As he spoke, the top of the sky-piercing Ruyi Staff flashed.
Wooong—
The staff shrank to eye level.
Atop the flattened head stood a monk in white robes.
No—a monk-like ‘avatar.’
“You’ve finally come. Long time no see, Six-Eared Mihou.”
= You’re... alive?
The monk was the A+ grade avatar 「Tripitaka the Monk」.
Nathaniel, hiding in Gonghyeok’s head, screamed in shock at the sight.
- H-He’s so handsome!?
The avatars stepped back, breaking into cold sweats.
= Bald, yet this handsome? Unbelievable!
= Whoa, light’s shining from his face! Ack! It’s repelling my darkness! What an awe-inspiring human!
= Kh-hm, back in my bachelor days, before marriage...
- Shut it, Zeus! Ugh, it hurts my eyes!
Tripitaka’s face radiated such overwhelming brilliance that even the angel Nathaniel had to shield his eyes.
An incandescent glow no durability stat could block.
Gonghyeok, donning prepared sunglasses, muttered.
“Still annoyingly handsome, no matter how many times I see him.”
Tripitaka the Monk.
His visage was the ultimate beauty that would stun angels, humans, and yokai alike.
Flowers would wilt rather than compete, and if he stepped outside, sun and moon would rise together just to gaze upon him.
Paired with his infinite dharma pheromones, it was no wonder Mihou King fended off thousands of female yokai to protect his chastity.
Gonghyeok thought seriously.
‘Damn pretty boy gigolo. Wanna smack him.’
Halo glowing, auspicious dharma rippling, Tripitaka quietly pressed his palms together.
= I am Tripitaka, who traveled with the Six-Eared Mihou here.
= Y-You, why’re you here?
Seeing the stunned Great Sage, the peerless beauty Tripitaka replied.
= The ‘Merit-Preaching Buddha Tripitaka’ entrusted this to me and passed on, while the ‘human Tripitaka’ stayed here, holding the Ruyi Staff.
After reaching Thunderclap, the pilgrims ascended to godhood for their labors.
The Great Sage became Victorious Fighting Buddha, Tripitaka the Merit-Preaching Buddha.
= I wondered how long I’d wait with this. But as expected, you’ve come with new companions.
= Yeah, well, something like that. Haha!
As the Great Sage blushed, Ancestor Cici looked puzzled.
= Monkey sir, why’re you embarrassed? Doesn’t suit you.
= Shut up.
Tripitaka smiled nostalgically as Ancestor Cici got smacked.
= Just like scolding Bajie. Seeing you all brings back old times.
= Ah~ yeah, brings it back alright. All 8 million yokai in the land swarmed for a taste of your essence! The worst was when Horse Bro fell for you and opened his eyes to sapphic love...
= And I excommunicated you twice.
= Right! Fooled by that English Stone Monkey copycat Sun Wukong! I’m Six-Eared Mihou Sun Wukong!
= Didn’t we call you Six-Eared Mihou after that to avoid confusion?
= Excommunication was still too much!
As they reminisced, a hand slipped in between them.
“Enough.”