Journey to the West: A clone sacrifices to the heavens, possessing boundless magical power.

Tie Niu seemed a little embarrassed and continued, "I'm strong and fast. If... if that Pig Lord gets angry, I'll just drop the food box and run away. It's better than scaring others."

Although this sounds foolish, it is true.

The butler took another look at Tie Niu. The man was burly and had an honest face. He didn't look like a clever person who would cause trouble.

Moreover, he's new here and has no ties, so even if something really happens, it'll be easy to handle.

"Alright, you're the one!" The butler made the decision with a stern gesture, then immediately warned, "Remember this! Put the food box down and leave immediately! Don't look up even once, and don't say a single word! Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand!" Tie Niu nodded vigorously.

And so, Fan Yuan found his first opportunity to get up close and observe Zhu Bajie.

Night fell, and the moonlight was cool and clear.

Tie Niu carried a heavy food box and walked alone on the pebble path leading to the back garden.

He deliberately made his steps appear somewhat unsteady and his breathing slightly rapid, perfectly mimicking the fear of an ordinary person taking on a dangerous mission for the first time.

The pavilion is just ahead.

A large, fat, dark-skinned man sat imposingly in the pavilion, wearing only an open jacket that revealed his hairy chest.

He didn't look this way, but instead looked up at the bright moon in the sky. His broad back, under the moonlight, revealed a hint of indescribable loneliness.

It was exactly the human form of Pigsy.

The closer they got, the greater the pressure Fan Yuan felt through his clone.

That wasn't just simple demonic energy. The black bear spirit's demonic energy was violent and ferocious, but the aura emanating from this giant was as deep and unfathomable as an abyss.

Beneath that overwhelming demonic aura, there was also a trace of extremely pure and orthodox Xuanmen Daoist charm slowly flowing.

That is rooted in orthodox Taoism, which is completely different from the unorthodox demon kings like those from Black Wind Mountain.

Tie Niu walked outside the pavilion, not daring to go any further. He gently placed the food box on the ground, kept his head down, and said in a hoarse voice, "Master... the wine and dishes... have arrived."

After saying that, he turned and left as the butler instructed.

Pigsy in the pavilion seemed to glance over unconsciously.

In an instant, an indescribable, terrifying pressure, like a celestial river pouring down, enveloped Tie Niu!

Fan Yuan's true form, located dozens of miles away in a mountain cave, was shaken to his core, feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cave!

At that moment, he felt as if he was facing not a monster, but a primordial beast that had emerged from chaos. Under that gaze, the entire existence of his clone Iron Bull seemed to be erased!

Fortunately, the gaze only swept over for a moment before turning back to the bright moon in the sky.

The oppressive aura receded like a tide.

Tie Niu's back was already soaked with cold sweat. He dared not linger for a moment until he was completely away from the pavilion, at which point the deep-seated oppressive feeling slowly disappeared.

In the mountain valley, Fan Yuan let out a long breath of stale air, still shaken.

It was too dangerous, but it was worth it!

He relived that breathtaking glance again and again, truly feeling the profound depth of this Marshal Tianpeng.

That is a manifestation of a higher level of Tao, the essence of Zhu Bajie's life, unconsciously crushing the lower beings around him.

Fan Yuan finally understood how incredibly lucky he had been to gain supernatural powers from Sun Wukong's staff.

To think that by simply sending someone to their death, one could allow a clone to instantly perceive the other's supernatural powers is nothing short of a pipe dream.

Under the true strike of such an existence, the clone, along with its own divine sense, would be instantly wiped out, with the chance of it transmitting divine power being extremely slim.

He realized that to obtain substantial feedback from his clones, he couldn't rely on brute force or suicide.

We must create opportunities for the clone to capture more and clearer Daoist trajectories in order to increase the chances of the clone gaining enlightenment before its death.

It seems that this task of delivering wine and food must be fixed, and it is best to choose a time when he is drinking and gazing at the moon, like tonight, when his mood is relatively calm, in order to minimize his wariness.

Nighttime, the pavilion in the back garden of Gao Laozhuang.

Tie Niu came here again, carrying a heavy food box.

In the pavilion, the burly figure sat alone at the stone table, with several empty wine jars already placed in front of him.

He silently faced the moon, downing one glass of wine after another.

Tie Niu lowered his head and carefully walked forward, placing the food and wine from the food box onto the table one by one.

Pigsy didn't wave him away; he just mumbled something indistinctly from his throat: "Just leave it there."

Tie Niu responded, but did not leave immediately. He pretended to be clumsy and bent down to clean up the empty wine jars that had been overturned, thus buying himself a few seconds.

In those few short seconds, Fan Yuan's main body, through the eyes of his clone, keenly captured a detail.

Pigsy's hand, which was resting on the stone table, was unconsciously stroking across the surface.

As he moved his fingers, an extremely faint, almost imperceptible spiritual light flowed from his fingertips, outlining mysterious and incomprehensible patterns.

The patterns flashed by in an instant, yet they seemed to have some mysterious connection with the movement of the stars in the night sky.

Fan Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

He immediately focused all his attention on imprinting that fleeting glimpse of the pattern firmly into his soul.

This is very likely an unconscious manifestation of some basic rune in the Heavenly Gang Method!

Fan Yuan forcibly suppressed his excitement, controlled the iron ox, picked up the empty wine jar, and silently withdrew from the pavilion.

A few more days passed.

The night was as still as water, and the moon hung high in the sky.

Tie Niu carried the food box again and came to the pavilion in the back garden.

Tonight, Pigsy seemed more dejected than usual. Instead of sitting at the stone table, he leaned against a pavilion pillar, drank a whole jar of wine, and then smashed it on the ground.

"Bang!"

The wine jar was broken into pieces.

He gazed at the bright moon in the sky, then suddenly let out a sneer, his voice filled with endless sorrow and self-mockery.

"Chang'e... Marshal... Heh, it's all bullshit! I'm just... a pig demon now!"

He was completely drunk.

Fan Yuan's heart skipped a beat; he knew his opportunity had arrived.

He controlled the iron ox, not leaving the food and wine as usual, but standing a few steps away, and cautiously asked in a tone devoid of any guile:

"Master...Master, you...you have such great abilities, why are you unhappy?"

Pigsy paused, glancing at Iron Ox with blurry, drunken eyes. His gaze was murky and unfocused.

Perhaps it was because Tie Niu's simple-minded image posed no threat, perhaps it was because he had become familiar with the person he was delivering alcohol to over the days, or perhaps he was simply too drunk to speak to.

He grinned, revealing a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Skill? Heh... My skill back in the day... hiccup... I could stir up the Milky Way! Now?" He shook his head, his eyes filled with desolation. "Now... even a mortal would look down on me!"