I'm Dreaming of a Journey to the West

"Come on!"

Li Chen yelled at the top of his lungs, his eyes wide open, his face filled with horror as he stared at the fierce, overwhelming palm strike from Tathagata Buddha. This palm strike was incredibly powerful, as if it had the power to destroy the heavens and the earth, leaving one shuddering.

Seeing that the Buddha's attack was about to fall on him and Gonggong, Li Chen was extremely anxious. Without hesitation, he stretched out his hands and pushed Gonggong away with all his strength. At the same time, he quickly mobilized all the magic power in his body, gathering it in his palms, trying to build an indestructible barrier to resist the Buddha's thundering attack.

However, what Li Chen hadn't expected was that, despite his full effort, the barrier of his magical power only lasted for a while. With a loud "bang," the palm of the Buddha shattered Li Chen's defense, and the remaining power slammed heavily into his body.

Instantly, Li Chen felt an indescribable pain ripple through his body, as if thousands of steel needles were simultaneously piercing his bone marrow. His body flew backwards involuntarily, and blood spurted out of his mouth, drawing a poignant arc through the air. The intense impact made it difficult for him to breathe, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted.

At this moment, Tathagata Buddha slowly closed his palms, a kind look appeared on his face, and he spoke to Li Chen in a gentle voice: "Mr. Li, if you are willing to join Buddhism, with the boundless Dharma of our Buddhism, we will definitely be able to dissolve the evil spirit in you, help you achieve the right result, and escape from the sea of ​​suffering." At this moment, Tathagata Buddha was completely different from the ferocious look that wanted to put Li Chen to death.

Li Chen endured the pain and struggled to get up from the ground. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, snorted coldly, and sneered: "Hmph! I would like to ask, are there any special requirements for joining your Buddhist sect?"

After saying this, he narrowed his eyes slightly, stared at Tathagata Buddha with sharp eyes, and thought to himself: He wanted to see whether this so-called Buddhism was really as he thought.

Li Chen's words were like a thunderclap exploding in the air, striking Gonggong's heart directly, leaving him stunned and dumbfounded.

He looked at Li Chen with suspicion, wondering: What on earth is this guy up to? Why was he so confidently swearing to challenge the Buddhist sect just a moment ago, and then acting like he's ready to join the sect? This kind of erratic behavior is truly unpredictable.

However, despite his doubts, Gong Gong finally decided to respect Li Chen's opinion. After all, they had a deep friendship, and no matter what decision Li Chen made, he would follow him without hesitation.

If Li Chen is determined to join Buddhism, then he will naturally go with him without hesitation; on the contrary, if Li Chen is unwilling to take even a step into Buddhism, then he will never easily change his position.

At this moment, the solemn and dignified voice of Tathagata Buddha echoed from afar like the sound of a huge bell, reaching everyone's ears clearly: "If Mr. Li wishes to join our Buddhist sect, he must no longer use metal utensils! This is one of our important taboos."

Hearing this, Li Chen was slightly taken aback, his brow furrowed. "Hardware?" He murmured this unfamiliar yet familiar term, his mind racing through countless images as he tried to find some clue to its meaning. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall where he had heard it before.

"From now on, you are not allowed to use your stick, axes, banners, or any other tools!"

When the Arhat Subduing the Dragon said this righteously, a flash of lightning flashed through Li Chen's mind, and he instantly recalled that he had heard some information about the term "hardware tools" somewhere.

So, in the well-known "Journey to the West Sequel," the all-powerful Sun Wukong desperately seeks to redress the injustice done to Xiaobailong's uncle. However, the Buddha not only flatly refuses his request but also mercilessly takes away Sun Wukong's incredibly powerful Ruyi Jingu Bang. The reason given? It's the so-called Buddhist taboo against metal objects!

"That's absolutely right. And just now you actually had the audacity to speak disrespectfully to the Dragon-Subduing Arhat and the entire Buddhist sect! So, you must pay us the price for what you've paid!" the Tiger-Subduing Arhat added. Hearing this, Li Chen couldn't help but laugh, almost bursting out in laughter. But there was no other way; he had to hold it back. After all, these gods and Buddhas before him were actually discussing something as mundane as "human affairs."

You know, "human affairs" are usually things that only ordinary people would mention and care about. But now they are spoken of by these high and mighty gods and Buddhas, and they are even asking for them from us. This is simply too ridiculous and can really make people laugh to death!

"Could you two be the legendary Ananda and Kashyapa? Why do you keep talking about 'human affairs'?" Li Chen looked at the two men in front of him with suspicion, thinking in his heart: The behavior of these two guys is exactly the same as the two venerables in "Journey to the West" who asked for "human affairs" from Tang Monk and his disciples!

Hearing Li Chen's question, one of them held his head high and chest out, with a hint of pride on his face, and answered loudly: "Yes, I am Venerable Kashyapa!" While speaking, he also deliberately puffed out his chest, as if he was quite proud of his identity.

At this time, another person was not willing to be outdone, and quickly introduced himself: "I am the Venerable Maitreya! As for the Venerable Ananda, he is over there!" As he said that, he stretched out his hand and pointed to a monk next to the Buddha not far away.

Li Chen looked in the direction he pointed, and saw the monk called Venerable Ananda standing there quietly with a solemn and dignified expression.

Just as Li Chen was looking at these venerables, Tathagata Buddha slowly said: "In addition to this, there are two points that require special attention. First, you must stay away from women; second, remember to avoid the three pungent and five disgusting foods." As soon as Tathagata Buddha said this, it was like a bolt from the blue exploding in Li Chen's ears.

Stay away from women? That was like a bolt from the blue for Li Chen! You know, he had always been able to fight side by side with Fairy Furong and others, practicing magic together, and jointly fighting against those demons and evil spirits that harmed the world.

Not only did they have a deep friendship, but they had also cultivated an unparalleled tacit understanding through repeated life-and-death trials. However, now, this ban ruthlessly separated him from them, as if an unbridgeable chasm stood between them.

As for avoiding the three meats and five disgusting foods, Li Chen felt even more distressed and helpless. He thought about the delicacies that usually made him salivate: stir-fried dishes with the fragrance of scallions, roast meats with rich garlic flavor, juicy leek dumplings, unique scallion dishes, fragrant Xingqu cuisine... and the unforgettable dog meat hot pot, the rich goose stew, the succulent mullet feast, and so on.

From now on, these delicacies will become a luxury out of his reach, and he can only savor the wonderful taste they once brought him in the depths of his memory.

But what Li Chen never expected was that these so-called taboos mentioned above were just "appetizers"! The real highlight was yet to come!

When he learned about the more demanding and outrageous requirement, he was completely stunned - this completely refreshed his understanding of Buddhism!

How could someone in the world be so shameless as to impose such excessive conditions to restrict practitioners? Li Chen couldn't help but secretly groan inwardly, feeling as if he had fallen into a bottomless quagmire, and it would be as difficult as climbing to the sky to escape.