Chapter 3.3: The Soul-Shattering Weapon — The Invincible Brick

Exactly. Since Sister Guanyin had personally absolved him of his punishment, why hadn’t she released him? Isn’t this a contradiction? Oh, the Earth Deity’s question was a bit sharp, but with your mortal wit, it still can’t stump me.

Without hesitation, Hu Rong replied to the Earth Deity, “How foolish! In Buddhism, everything is about fate and destiny! Though my sentence is over, since Sister Guanyin is not the destined one, she could only come tell me my punishment had ended, then wait for the fated person to remove the Buddha’s verse! Oh, old Earth Deity, you seem not to believe Sister Guanyin. Do you want me to reveal the origins of that destined person?”

“Ah! I dare not, I dare not!” The Earth Deity waved his hands repeatedly, then bowed slightly and said, “Then I shall not disturb you, Great Sage. I take my leave.”

With that, the Earth Deity transformed into a swirl of white mist and vanished into the earth.

Hu Rong snorted coldly, his gaze drifting to the azure sky as he sank into thought: Since he had become Hu Rong, all of his spells and equipment had naturally become his own. As recorded in Journey to the West, Sun Wukong had only learned the Supreme Celestial Art at the Cave of the Three Stars on Mount Fangcun. He had many techniques, the most frequent being the Seventy-Two Transformations and the Cloud-Somersault, alongside some Daoist arts, but little else.

Thinking carefully, the Supreme Celestial Art only allowed Sun Wukong to reach the peak of the True Immortal realm, with no further advancement. Yet, through coincidence, during the havoc in Heaven, Sun Wukong gained the battle prowess of a Golden Immortal from the Queen Mother’s peaches and the Supreme Lord’s golden elixirs. Afterwards, he gained a body of brass and steel and Fiery Golden Eyes from the Eight Trigrams Furnace, enabling Hu Rong to stand toe-to-toe with formidable figures like Yang Jian, whose bodies were sanctified.

At its core, however, the havoc in Heaven was orchestrated by Buddhism to force the Heavenly Court to grant their “appointed gatekeeper” Sun Wukong his benefits—the true aim was to showcase Buddhism’s prowess and lay the groundwork for the journey to the West.

Which brings the question: Who is the true identity of Patriarch Bodhi? Not only was he adept in both Buddhist and Daoist arts, with boundless power, but he also seemed fully aware of the journey to the West. In just three years, he taught a disciple whose battle power rivaled a Golden Immortal. Intriguingly, Bodhi’s teachings—the Seventy-Two Transformations and the Cloud-Somersault—meant that in the world of Journey to the West, those who couldn’t defeat Sun Wukong would be beaten by him, while those who could win couldn’t catch up to him.

With Sun Wukong’s Fiery Golden Eyes to see through all demon magic, and his indestructible Vajra body, he was clearly the perfect candidate to escort Tang Sanzang to the West: able to fight, endure, and escape—who else but him could be the Eldest Brother?

Thus, the mystery remains: Who, truly, is this Patriarch Bodhi, a master of both Buddhist and Daoist arts?

Lost in these thoughts, Hu Rong failed to notice the quiet changes occurring within his body: the copper and iron he had ingested over five hundred years was now being dissolved by a mysterious green light and expelled through his pores.

Meanwhile, the Buddha’s verse atop Five Elements Mountain suddenly dimmed, then returned to its original hue, continuing to suppress the mountain. But unseen, the power of the Buddha’s Five Elements was slowly being absorbed by the green light within Hu Rong.

What is this?

At last, Hu Rong sensed the anomaly in his body, and quickly turned his spiritual sense inward. He discovered his golden core enveloped in green, radiating brilliant, multicolored light.

What... is this power? It has manifested along with me in Hu Rong’s body... and it seems to be changing. Not only is it dissolving the filth within me, it’s also quietly absorbing the Buddha’s power from Five Elements Mountain...

Countless golden rays of Buddha light were drawn into the golden core, only to be dissolved by the green radiance and merged with Hu Rong’s own magic power. Gradually, he felt his golden core transforming. In his mind, a sound like thunder echoed again and again, as if he were listening to bamboo shoots breaking through the soil in spring.

Crack—

A sharp sound resounded in his mind. Hu Rong found that his magic was no longer sluggish as before; instead, he was filled with boundless power, even stronger than when he was suppressed beneath the mountain.

Had he, beneath the Five Elements Mountain, already broken through to the realm of the Golden Immortal? How intriguing...

Feeling his own transformation after regaining the Golden Immortal realm, Hu Rong’s golden pupils flashed with dazzling light, shooting straight to the sky. Alarmed, he closed his eyes, restraining his surging power before reopening them.

Unexpectedly, the mysterious green light that had traveled through time with him, after absorbing some of the Buddha’s power, had mutated into an energy capable of directly breaking through the primordial spirits of immortals and demons.

Moreover, this force could be upgraded by absorbing the opponent’s vital energy—a power that could grow. Without a doubt, this would become his most crucial ability for defying fate.

Delighted, Hu Rong deliberately shaped this power within his core into a green brick and dubbed it the Invincible Brick!

In his previous life, he had especially liked Third Prince Nezha from Investiture of the Gods; so, borrowing inspiration from Nezha’s signature weapon, the “Immortal-Smiting Brick,” he adopted it as his own.

After inventing the Invincible Brick, Hu Rong spent the next several days simulating its use in his mind. After countless tests, he decided to employ it as a concealed weapon. Thus, no matter who faced him in the future, as long as he struck unexpectedly with the brick and ambushed their primordial spirit, their combat power would instantly plummet. The scales of victory would immediately tilt in his favor...

As Hu Rong reveled in the study of his Invincible Brick, several miles away, Tang Sanzang had already bid farewell to Emperor Li Shimin in Chang’an and set out on his journey to fetch the scriptures, accompanied by two attendants.

Unsurprisingly, soon after leaving Chang’an, both attendants and Tang Sanzang were captured by mountain spirits and monsters. But, protected by the protagonist’s halo and Buddha’s light, only Tang Sanzang was spared—his attendants were promptly devoured by the monsters. The old Star of Venus arrived just in time to rescue Tang Sanzang, returning his white horse and baggage before departing on his crane.

Trembling with fear, Tang Sanzang mounted his white horse and hurried westward. After traveling less than a hundred meters, he encountered a tiger. Terrified to the core, his muscles went weak and he nearly collapsed. As he lamented his misfortunes, a local hunter named Liu Boqin happened by. After a desperate struggle with the tiger, Liu managed to slay it with his fork, saving Tang Sanzang’s life.

Seeing that Tang Sanzang was a monk from the Great Tang and that night was falling, Liu Boqin invited him to stay the night. Tang Sanzang, both frightened and weary of the dangers of the wild, readily accepted.

They returned to Liu Boqin’s home for the night. The next morning, after breakfast, the entire Liu family rose to prepare a vegetarian meal for their guest. Tang Sanzang, feeling indebted, decided to repay their kindness with what he did best—reciting scriptures. Learning that Liu’s father had long passed away, he washed his hands, lit incense before the ancestral hall, and paid his respects.

He recited the Scriptures for the Dead, the Diamond Sutra, and the Guanyin Sutra, ate a vegetarian lunch, then read the Lotus Sutra and the Amitabha Sutra, and in the evening, recited the Peacock Sutra before resting.

Perhaps thanks to the Buddha’s blessing, the next morning, the Liu family expressed their gratitude to Tang Sanzang for his prayers for their deceased loved one and tried to give him silver, which he refused. Seeing their genuine devotion, he asked Liu Boqin to escort him a little further.

Liu Boqin cheerfully agreed, leaving his hunting behind, and led Tang Sanzang, with provisions in hand, westward. Ahead of them rose the legendary Twin Realms Mountain, where the demon monkey was said to be imprisoned—