Journey to the West: Tang Monk Conquers Everything-Chapter 286: Only children make choices, I want it all of course!

As the saying goes, ask for the moon and settle for a few coins—Jiang Liu knew that Nine Revolutions Golden Pills were very precious, so asking for a hundred and eighty just to try them was out of the question.

But ask for the moon, and sometimes, you end up with more than what you had initially hoped for, right?

The Supreme Elder Lord calmly looked at Jiang Liu without uttering a word.

Indeed, from the initial asking of a hundred and eighty, now down to ten or eight, it seemed like a colossal concession. However, even with ten or eight, it’d be impossible for the Supreme Elder Lord to satisfy him.

"Supreme Elder Lord, what’s with that look? You’re not going to give me even one, are you?" Seeing the expression on the Supreme Elder Lord’s face, Jiang Liu’s own expression turned peculiar as he spoke.

Promising compensation and giving nothing at all? That seemed somewhat unreasonable.

"Actually, if you do want a Nine Revolutions Golden Pill, I can give you one!"

The Supreme Elder Lord finally spoke up, relenting. His words filled Jiang Liu with immense joy!

He had specifically found an excuse to visit the Doushuai Palace and even had Sun Wukong fetch the Jadescent Nectar, all for the sake of that one Nine Revolutions Golden Pill, hadn’t he?

Who would have thought that the Supreme Elder Lord would now relent and agree to give him one?

This was truly like searching high and low for someone and then finding them where the lights were waning!

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"However..."

Yet, before Jiang Liu could celebrate, the Supreme Elder Lord switched gears and continued, "The value of the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill lies in its ability to let an ordinary person achieve the Cultivation Level of a Heavenly Immortal in an instant. However, everyone has their limits in what they can endure. If your improvement is solely based on the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill, you may reach the Heavenly Immortal Realm but will never be able to break through again in this lifetime!"

"So, if you want it, I can give it to you, but I advise against it. On the other hand, with your current Cultivation Level, I think a Triple-Transformation Golden Pill would suit you best!"

"This..." Jiang Liu was momentarily stunned by the Supreme Elder Lord’s words, looking at him in amazement.

A Nine Revolutions Golden Pill had such side effects? Taking it would mean being stuck in the Heavenly Immortal Realm forever? He had never heard of this before.

Yet, Jiang Liu didn’t doubt the Supreme Elder Lord’s words.

After all, the Heavenly Immortal Realm was an elevation many couldn’t achieve in their entire lifetime. Even being stuck in the Heavenly Immortal Realm for life would make countless people envious.

"This is a Nine Revolutions Golden Pill, and this is a Triple-Transformation Golden Pill. Pick one..."

After discussing the drawbacks of the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill with Jiang Liu, the Supreme Elder Lord wasn’t bothered to explain further. He extended his hand, presented two golden pills, and placed them before Jiang Liu.

The Nine Revolutions Golden Pill showed nine stripes, while the Triple-Transformation Golden Pill had three stripes.

As Jiang Liu’s gaze lingered on them, corresponding Attribute Information appeared before his eyes.

Triple-Transformation Golden Pill (Consumable): Upon consuming, obtain 40,000,000 Experience Points. Subsequent consumption, effect halved.

Nine Revolutions Golden Pill (Consumable): Upon consuming, obtain 2,560,000,000 Experience Points. Subsequent consumption, effect zero. Note: The lower the level when consuming this pill, the greater the side effects, with diminishing Experience Points from monster battles, possibly reaching zero.

"Hiss..." Seeing the effects of the Triple-Transformation and Nine Revolutions Golden Pills, Jiang Liu gasped in surprise.

The Triple-Transformation Golden Pill would grant 40 million Experience Points, which was not a small amount.

But the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill yielded an even more terrifying number—2.56 billion Experience Points!

So does that mean, to grow from an ordinary person to the Heavenly Immortal Realm, about 2.56 billion Experience Points were needed?

Triple-Transformation, with only 40 million, but the Nine Revolutions with 2.56 billion? The disparity seemed way too vast.

Could it be that a single-transformation pill gives 10 million, a double-transformation gives 20 million, a triple gives 40 million, a quadruple 80 million, and so on?

It seemed likely that this was the only way to make sense of it. Nine transformations for exactly 2.56 billion!?

The Nine Revolutions Golden Pill, with its whopping 2.56 billion Experience Points, indeed made Jiang Liu’s heart burn with desire. A single consumption, and he could instantly rise above level 61, right?

But thinking of the aftermath, the virtual end to his growth thereafter, Jiang Liu’s enthusiasm cooled significantly.

After considering the benefits of both the Nine Revolutions and Triple-Transformation Golden Pills, Jiang Liu clearly knew which to choose.

He reached out and took both the Nine Revolutions and Triple-Transformation Golden Pills into his hands, chuckling, "Supreme Elder Lord, there’s no need to be so stingy. Since you’ve brought them out, how can there be any reason to take them back?"

Kids are the ones who make choices; adults, of course, want it all!

"Xuanzang, you…" Seeing Jiang Liu take both golden pills, the Supreme Elder Lord had a somewhat helpless smile on his face.

If Sun Wukong was the one making such a move, it might still make sense, but Xuanzang, the reincarnation of the circumspect and courteous Master Golden Cicada, doing something like this was unexpected for the Supreme Elder Lord. Continue reading on novelbuddy

"Xuanzang, with such greed, aren’t you afraid you won’t achieve Buddhahood later on?" Seeing Jiang Liu gleefully stash away both golden pills, the Supreme Elder Lord, though feeling the pinch, still couldn’t bring himself to seize them back. He could only speak with a tone of disapproval.

"Heh heh heh, achieving Buddhahood? What’s that?"

However, in response to Supreme Elder Lord’s words, Jiang Liu showed an indifferent attitude, and said, "Could it be? Mere strict adherence to commandments, fasting, and chanting is enough to achieve Buddhahood? Enlightenment is not about actions but the heart, isn’t it?"

"As long as there is a clear mirror in the monk’s heart, even if I drink wine, eat meat, gamble, and kill, I can still become a Buddha!"

"In this life, I do not cultivate good deeds, but revel in killing and arson. Suddenly, I shake off the golden shackles here, and break the jade locks. Huh! News of the tide from Qiantang River arrives, and today I finally realize that I am myself."

Unmoved by the words of Supreme Elder Lord, Jiang Liu eventually spoke up and recited the Zen poem from Lu Zhishen’s meditation.

"Huh? This Little Monk, your wisdom root is indeed very profound!"

Hearing Jiang Liu’s view on achieving Buddhahood, particularly the last verse which seemed to perfectly describe his own situation, Supreme Elder Lord looked at Jiang Liu with a hint of amazement and said.

"Many thanks for your grace, Supreme Elder Lord!" In response to Supreme Elder Lord’s praise, Jiang Liu did not show any arrogance, but simply expressed his gratitude for the elixir that had been bestowed upon him.

Of course, this statement was also an implicit way of seeing him off. Having obtained the Golden Core, Jiang Liu naturally did not wish to linger any longer with such a powerful being.

The presence of one at the Quasi-Saint Level could almost kill him with a mere breath, and being around someone like that—feeling one’s life not in one’s own control—was hardly a comforting sensation.

Nodding slightly, Supreme Elder Lord didn’t show any intention to stay longer either.

After listening to Jiang Liu’s understanding of Buddhahood, Supreme Elder Lord felt even more regretful, contemplating how wonderful it would be if such a promising individual were a disciple of his own sect instead of the Buddhist Sect.

At this thought, Supreme Elder Lord’s gaze unnoticeably swept over Zhu Bajie beside him, and with a flick of his finger, two streaks of light hit Zhu Bajie on the head.

Without saying much more, Supreme Elder Lord mounted the Green Ox and left. Naturally, the two boys transformed by Gold Horn King and Silver Horn King also followed Supreme Elder Lord away.

As the Supreme Elder Lord and the two boys departed, the Little Demons of Pingding Mountain turned pale with fright and turned to flee for their lives.

They had been eager to eat the longevity meat of Tang Monk; now, seeing such a formidable figure as Supreme Elder Lord personally descend to take away the two Great Kings and eyeing the formidable appearance of Tang Monk’s party, how could these Little Demons from Pingding Mountain dare to stay?

"Stop them!" Seeing the Little Demons scattering in retreat, how could Jiang Liu let them escape? He shouted out loud.

To Jiang Liu, these Little Demons were essentially Experience Points.

With the Divine Tree Staff raised in his hand and the Feather Demon Blade unfurling behind his back, Jiang Liu focused his thoughts, and a multitude of blade-like feathers shot out following his movements, falling upon the crowd of Little Demons.

The Feather Demon Blade vibrated as it moved closer, and the Divine Tree Staff swung repeatedly, continuously striking the Little Demons.

The battle was completely one-sided; even the Demon Marshal level creatures could hardly threaten Jiang Liu.

Thus, after about half an hour or so, the group of Little Demons were all beaten into severe injuries and unconsciousness by Jiang Liu’s attacks.

All in all, from this battle, Jiang Liu gained another two to three hundred thousand Experience Points and some loot burst forth.

However, after a glance, none of it seemed very valuable; the highest quality were only Perfect Quality equipment, and naturally, Jiang Liu was not interested.

Notification: Quest "Subduing Demons at Pingding Mountain" complete, received 800,000 Experience Points, Legendary Level Treasure Chest *1.

Following Jiang Liu defeating all the Little Demons and leaving them severely injured and unconscious, the system’s notification sounded in his mind.

Another 800,000 Experience Points were credited, and Jiang Liu felt a secret joy.

Silently invoking his character panel, he checked his level. To level up from 39 to 40, he would need 5 million Experience Points; he was already past 3 million.

However, this was not the time to consider these things. After checking his character panel, Jiang Liu took out the two Golden Pills he had just extorted from the Supreme Elder Lord.

The Nine Revolutions Golden Pill would naturally not be consumed immediately; he set it aside in his inventory space and directly swallowed the Triple-Transformation Golden Pill.

As the Triple-Transformation Golden Pill was swallowed, in an instant, Jiang Liu felt a warm force suddenly explode out, but in the blink of an eye, it diffused into his limbs and bones.

At the same time, an overwhelming surge of Cultivation Level roared within him, quickly absorbed by Jiang Liu.

Concurrently, a constant stream of system notifications appeared.

Notification: Gained 40,000,000 Experience Points.

Notification: Level increased by 1, current level 40.

Notification: Level increased by 1, current level 41.

Notification: Level increased by 1, current level 42.

Notification:

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