“Jin Chanzi, you have shown contempt for Buddhist teachings and violated the precepts, bringing shame upon the Buddhist community. You should be put to death as a warning to all monks.”
“Yet the Buddha is merciful. Your death sentence is commuted, but you will still be punished.”
“By the Buddha’s decree, you will be reborn in the Great Tang of the Eastern Land and cultivate anew. You must walk eighty-one thousand li from the Great Tang of the Eastern Land, spreading the Dharma all the way to Spirit Mountain. Once your merits are complete, you may attain the true fruit of Buddhahood.”
After transmigrating to the world of Journey to the West as Chen Xuanzang, the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, he obtains the National Guardian Monk System on the eve of the scripture-quest and informs Emperor Taizong of the scam behind the journey to the Western Heaven.
Emperor Taizong flies into a rage and grants Xuanzang the Imperial Sword, ordering him to undertake the scripture-quest to the Western Heaven and uphold the prestige of the Great Tang.
Armed with the Register of Demons, Xuanzang collects powerful monsters along the way and puts them to work for him. Those who refuse to obey are cut down by the Imperial Sword.
By the time Xuanzang reaches Spirit Mountain on foot, a million-strong army of immortals, demons, and monsters stands behind him. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven Niu Mowang, the True Lord Erlang Yang Jian, the Great Deity Nezha of the Three Altars and Seas, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, the Great Sage of the Yellow Wind, and eighty-one other mighty figures surround Spirit Mountain.
Xuanzang: “Tathagata, I have come to Spirit Mountain under the orders of His Majesty Emperor Taizong of the Great Tang in the Eastern Land to obtain the Three Collections of True Scriptures. Will you hand them over yourself, or shall I take them?”
