Slowly walking among the monks, Marshal Silver gathered streams of spiritual power between two fingers and pressed it into the brows of the unconscious monks.
With a gentle touch, the monk who had been on the verge of death suddenly found his breathing much steadier.
Seeing this, the surrounding monks suddenly understood, quickly pressed their palms together and bowed to Marshal Silver and Tripitaka in thanks. Their gazes toward Tripitaka’s party grew much kinder.
Tripitaka also pressed his palms together and returned the gesture from afar.
"Don’t be too happy yet. Using spiritual power to extend life... Be careful, or we’ll all be dragged down with them." Prince Adrian pressed the back of his hand to Jack Rivers’s forehead, then checked his own, and said with a sigh, "Spiritual power is the foundation of our survival. Life-extension burns the most power—once it’s spent, we’ll be at the mercy of others."
"You’re talking too much today."
Turning around, Prince Adrian saw General Curtain staring at him coldly.
"What? Did I say something wrong? Did I?"
......
Netherworld.
In the loft, the Earth-Store King gazed at the bamboo slip set before Saint Raymond, inscribed with 'Suffering of Hateful Encounters,' and simply kept smiling.
"So, does this count as resolving the 'Suffering of Hateful Encounters'?"
"Is it not resolved?" Saint Raymond retorted.
"If this counts as resolved, then the westward quest is a joke." Earth-Store King tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and sighed, "If this counts as resolved, then the Way of Universal Salvation shouldn’t be proven by our Buddhist Order, but by the Daoists. Don’t forget, Marshal Silver is a Daoist. To prove the Way—is it enough to have a kind heart and courage?"
Saint Raymond merely asked expressionlessly, "According to you, what should be done?"
At this, the Earth-Store King frowned slightly. After a brief moment of thought, he looked at Saint Raymond and shook his head, "If it were a band of robbers, that would be easy. But unfortunately, these are just ordinary soldiers. To protect the monks, you’d have to strike at the soldiers. Yet swords are blind, and the soldiers are many... In the end, those soldiers are just following orders—they aren’t truly at fault. It’s like wolves eating sheep—it’s in their nature. If you save the sheep, the wolves starve; if you save the wolves, how can the sheep survive? The world’s problems can’t be explained by simple right and wrong."
"So you don’t know either?"
The Earth-Store King nodded, "This humble monk cannot unravel it."
Hearing this, Saint Raymond smiled and said, "Since no one can solve it, let’s simply watch quietly. However many obstacles you wish to set for him, I won’t interfere. He’s been sent onto the westward road, given his guardians; what happens next, success or failure, is all up to him now."
......
After making a round, beads of cold sweat dotted Marshal Silver’s forehead. His complexion looked as if he’d just come through a fierce battle.
"Marshal, are you alright?"
General Curtain hurried forward to help, but Marshal Silver stopped him.
"This is just the beginning. If I need help now, won’t you be carrying me later?"
General Curtain gave an awkward smile. "How about I go next time? Or we take turns?"
"No. The rest of you must conserve your strength." Marshal Silver shook his head. "If each of us uses our power to extend their lives and the enemy suddenly strikes, we’ll be left with no strength to resist."
With a sigh, Marshal Silver slowly sat down beside Tripitaka, still clutching the Jade Tablet used to contact Monkey.
Having taken this step, Monkey was already their only hope. But given his speed, no matter how far, he should be able to arrive in an instant—just as he did when facing Kui-Wolf.
Tripitaka pressed his palms together and bowed slightly to Marshal Silver. "This humble monk thanks you on behalf of all the monks, Marshal."
Marshal Silver waved his hand lightly, saying no more.
The monks across from them watched cautiously.
Soon, they approached Tripitaka’s group in twos and threes, bowing respectfully to Tripitaka and Marshal Silver.
"Disciple Miaodao, on behalf of my master, thanks you all for saving our lives."
"Disciple Gufa, on behalf of my junior brother, thanks you all for saving our lives."
"Disciple Puhui, on behalf of my senior brother, thanks you all for saving our lives."
For a moment, the atmosphere within the enclosure improved greatly. Tripitaka finally managed a faint smile, and Marshal Silver also smiled, though his brow remained furrowed.
Little White Dragon watched silently, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just shook his head and sighed.
An hour passed, and the breathing of the unconscious monks gradually weakened again.
Under those hopeful gazes, Marshal Silver had no choice but to stand up and once again infuse each of them with spiritual power to extend their lives.
The second round of life-extension consumed four times as much spiritual power as the first. With sixty or seventy unconscious monks, after two rounds, Marshal Silver’s complexion was deathly pale.