Dark Journey to the West: My Quest to Break the Deadlock

Chen Yan, a history major in his third year of college, went to Mount Kongtong during summer break to work on his thesis. But a lightning strike sent him into the body of Tang Sanzang. After taking on his disciples and setting out west, he discovered that the journey to obtain the scriptures was an earth-shattering scam.

Taking advantage of the Tathagata’s retreat, the Golden-Winged Great Peng forged a decree to lure him west. Its true aim was to turn him, the “Golden Cicada reborn for ten lifetimes,” into an elixir of immortality to present to the immortals and Buddhas.

The Yellow Wind Demon, the Yellow Browed Monster, the Rhinoceros Spirit... The monsters operated like a vast criminal enterprise, with every tribulation part of an assembly line designed to wear him down. From the Kingdom of Bhikkhu, the Kingdom of Extinction, and the Kingdom of Zhuzi, human trafficking networks spread across the land, while the Kingdom of Shituo became a factory producing elixirs of immortality for monsters.

Even the Tathagata’s Spirit Mountain had been hollowed out by the Golden Peng’s syndicate. The Buddhist realm was on the verge of being completely overturned!

But he was more than just the Golden Cicada.

He devoured demonic essence with Buddhist teachings, wielded his staff as a sword, and used his kasaya as a shield, transforming from a “hostage” into the core of his team. Alongside three disciples who were hardened criminals, Wukong, trapped in depression; Bajie, caught in a romantic entanglement; and Sha Seng, covered in scars, he went from one enemy stronghold to the next.

His creed was simple: They would not only redeem demons and monsters, but also dismantle the criminal networks behind them. They would not pray to the immortals and Buddhas for help. They would investigate the protectors shielding them. His power surged in battle, growing from just enough to keep himself alive to a force capable of challenging demon kings.

At last, Tang Sanzang stood before Spirit Mountain, now possessed by another. The fake Buddha, the Golden Peng, sneered, “You don’t know your own strength!”

He pressed his palms together. Behind him stood the comrades who had fought their way through the darkness at his side.

“Wrong. This is where your conspiracy ends.”

“I will topple your fake Spirit Mountain and use your boundless power to pave a path to true Buddhahood.”

This was the ultimate counterattack against the false Buddha’s conspiracy.

When compassion needs thunder to clear the way, the true scriptures shine only after the demon’s lair has been swept clean!