The senior apprentice brother was still bouncing ahead, leaning on the cool shed and looking at Ling Mountain, urging:

"Master, master, let's hurry up. We've arrived at Ling Mountain."

The second apprentice brother also rushed ahead and said:

"Finally arrived at Ling Mountain. I wonder what delicious vegetarian food Buddha has prepared."

At this moment, the master turned around and smiled, instructing the third apprentice:

"Wujing, you, Wukong, and Bajie go ahead to explore the path. I'll tidy up and follow shortly."

"Oh."

The third apprentice answered and followed with a burden on his back.

After the three of them walked a distance, the master came to me, draped in robes, and whispered to me:

"Bailong, when you go to Ling Mountain to obtain the scriptures with the senior apprentice brother, remember to give and receive in accordance with the elders' wishes. Make sure to bring back the genuine scriptures to the Tang Dynasty. When we leave Ling Mountain, I will no longer be myself, and the same goes for others..."

Before the master finished speaking, the senior apprentice brother had returned, helping the master put on his robes and urging:

"Master, hurry up. Don't keep Buddha waiting."

"Alright, alright. You, reaching the Western Heaven, are still so impatient."

While saying that, the master was pulled forward by the senior apprentice brother. As they walked, he turned back and winked at me.

All these actions left my mind in a mess.

Throughout the journey to the west, the master only treated me as a porter and hardly spoke to me. Why did he suddenly talk to me about these things?

And what does "I will no longer be myself" mean, along with the previous mention of "entering hell"?

Moreover, what about "others"? Should I believe them or not? Should I believe everything or just a part?

Lost in thought, I followed the team and entered Ling Mountain, ascending to the top of Jiu Peak, where I saw the Great Thunder Monastery.

But when I stood still and took a look, I was immediately frightened and my legs went weak.

Before me, countless skulls were stacked into a lotus-shaped seat, and sitting on it was the Buddha.

However, this Buddha had a kind half of his face and a rotten flesh half, with pus and blood dripping down.

As for the various bodhisattvas and arhats on both sides, each had a sinister smile and a hideous face.

At that moment, a shrill voice came from the sea of bones:

"Golden Cicada, let your white dragon horse reveal its true form."

"Disciple obeys."

After the disciple replied, the master reached out and touched my head, saying:

"You should follow Buddha's instructions and return to your human form."

However, after he finished speaking, he lightly patted my head three times, and I didn't understand the meaning behind it.

I transformed into the handsome and elegant Third Prince of the Dragon King.

But when I opened my eyes, the Thunder Monastery had once again become a magnificent and smoky holy land for Buddhist disciples.

I suddenly understood that before I transformed, I belonged to the "animal realm," which could see all things and distinguish between true and false, so the Thunder Monastery I saw was different from the "human realm" and the "celestial realm."

In this light, could the Thunder Monastery in front of me be the "hell" mentioned by the master?

And at this moment, the Buddha on the seat was granting numerous special privileges to the Tang Dynasty, looking like a Buddha who deemed the Tang Dynasty as hell without the true Buddhist scriptures.

I thought to myself, the Western Niuhezhou under your buttocks isn't any better than the Southern Zhanbu Prefecture where the Tang Dynasty resides.

After a while, the conferment was complete, and the master patted me again.

"Bailong, go help the senior apprentice brother retrieve the scriptures."

"I will obey, Master."

I bowed and was about to turn around when a voice suddenly echoed in my mind:

"Bailong, remember to take the true scriptures and not bring back the demonic scriptures to the Eastern Land."