## Chapter 564: Western Journey
A dazzling Mechanism Vehicle traveled along the rugged Official Road. The reason for describing this Mechanism Vehicle as dazzling was because various strange and bizarre objects were hung on all four sides of the vehicle.
On the left side of the Mechanism Vehicle hung a Fishing Net. Unlike a fisherman's net, this net had mesh large enough to fit an adult's palm, and the net ropes, thick as goose eggs, were entirely black, as if soaked in ink.
Looking at the mesh, some might even believe this net was used for catching whales. Below the Fishing Net hung several Peach Wood Swords wrapped in Yellow Talismans, and Coin Swords. On the other side of the Mechanism Vehicle, besides heavy weapons like Spiked Clubs and Great Axes, there were also several Ballista Bolts resembling Spears.
The axe blades of the Great Axes and the arrowheads of the Ballista Bolts were clearly deliberately sharpened, emitting cold air and looking full of killing power.
On top of the Mechanism Vehicle, a Ballista was set up. Judging from its old style and winch, this Ballista clearly had some years on it. However, in the Tang Dynasty, even the oldest Ballista was a controlled item and generally impossible to circulate among the populace.
Unless they were registered Exorcists of the Demon Subduing Division! They could exchange points earned from Demon Slaying for these great killer weapons that the Military had phased out.
The current His Majesty allowed these military weapons to flow into the populace for two reasons. Firstly, these Exorcists had to face fierce demons and monsters. This Heavenly Khan pitied their hardship and also did it to protect the borders and bring peace to the people.
(Hearsay from the palace says that this His Majesty did it to give face to the Tang Grand Governor!)
Secondly, thanks to the formidable weapons presented by the Tang Grand Governor, the Tang Dynasty Forces have now fully equipped themselves with Flintlock Guns. Coupled with weapons like the Tian Ce Cannon and Tiger Crouching Cannon, if not for the demons and monsters causing trouble,
The Tang Military Edge would have long ago annihilated foreign tribes like the Turks, Tubo, and Goguryeo.
Even with demons and monsters as unstable factors within its borders, the Tang Dynasty's Territory has expanded by more than a third compared to the Tang Dynasty maps in other Cycle Worlds.
Although the Ballista has great force, it is too cumbersome. A single Ballista often requires seven or eight people to control, and is generally only used for defending cities.
Under the invincible Tang Military Edge, great killer weapons like the Ballista are also gradually being phased out, which is why they ended up in the hands of Exorcists.
A dazzling Mechanism Vehicle traveled along the rugged Official Road.
"Boss! How about we save up some silver and buy a few horses? This is really tiring!"
In front of the Mechanism Vehicle, a Middle-aged Man with disheveled hair, in his forties, was harnessed with reins, pulling the heavy Mechanism Vehicle forward step by step.
With every step he took, the muscle under his clothes tensed. His bronze-colored arms faintly revealed muscle lines twisted like steel wire, making him look extremely powerful and strong.
In front of the carriage shaft, Miss Duan, dressed in a gray cloth shirt, was using her finger to hook Chen Xuanzang's chin, teasingly watching his flushed and embarrassed face.
Hearing her subordinate's words, she turned her head irritably. "Er Sha, you bastard, can pulling a vehicle tire you to death? Do you know how much a good horse costs now? Thirty taels of silver!"
"Our vehicle needs at least two horses, that's sixty taels of silver, plus the monthly cost of grass! Raising horses, fine, the money will be deducted from your monthly salary!"
"My monthly salary is only twenty taels!" Er Sha grumbled under his breath, not daring to let the Boss hear him.
"I think this Mr. is right. People are not horses. If you make him pull the vehicle like this, he will also get tired!" Chen Xuanzang looked at Miss Duan seriously, trying to persuade her.
Miss Duan looked at his serious expression and burst out laughing. She turned to Er Sha: "Er Sha, Mr. Chen says you'll get tired pulling the vehicle. Are you tired?"
"Not tired!" Er Sha heard the Boss's words and quickened his pace. The vehicle and person together weighed several thousand jin, yet his steps were as swift as flying.
"It's wrong to exploit people like this!" Chen Xuanzang looked at Miss Duan and said with a serious expression.
Miss Duan looked at Chen Xuanzang and directly reached out to pinch his face. "Alright, I know. When I catch the Pig Demon later and exchange it for the bounty, I'll buy two horses to pull the vehicle! Tsk tsk, I just love your earnest look!"
Chen Xuanzang was made flushed and embarrassed by Miss Duan's boldness. He used the excuse of organizing his things and scrambled into the Compartment in a flustered state.
Chen Xuanzang had originally intended to go to Fuling Mountain to Convert the harmful Pig Demon according to his Master's instructions. Unexpectedly, he met Miss Duan, whom he had encountered once before, on the road, and she clung to him.
He had followed his Master in Cultivation since childhood. Although he had not yet been tonsured, he had always disciplined himself according to the Buddhist School precepts. Female charm was something he absolutely dared not approach. "Hey! Are you really an Exorcist!"
Inside the Compartment, a young woman dressed in revealing clothes with a beautiful face was sharpening throwing knives on a whetstone. Seeing Chen Xuanzang pull out the tattered *Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes* and a rattle-drum used for coaxing children from his cloth pouch, she couldn't help but ask a soul-piercing question.
"You rely on *this* for Exorcism!"
"My Master said that Exorcism is not the purpose. The most important thing is to expel the evil thought of these demons and monsters and awaken the truth, goodness, and beauty in their hearts."
"How can demons and monsters have any good thought?" The young woman looked at this messy-haired, homebody monk as if he were a fool, not understanding why the Boss would take a liking to him.
"We've caught no less than five hundred demons and monsters, if not a thousand. These beings are inhuman," a child next to her chimed in.
"My Master wouldn't lie to me. It's just that I haven't fully grasped the true meaning of my Master's words!" Chen Xuanzang didn't even lift his head as he flipped through the *Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes* in his hand, which was almost worn out from his reading.
Inside the Compartment, several Exorcists exchanged glances, confirming that this was a complete simpleton.
"How could the Boss take a liking to him!"
"You ask me? How would I know?"
"The Boss has quite a peculiar taste."
"Do you have the guts to say that to the Boss's face!"
Chen Xuanzang didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a great disturbance in the quiet Compartment, even though no one was speaking.
He abruptly raised his hand. The several Exorcists who were communicating with their eyes immediately broke off their eye contact. Those sharpening knives continued sharpening, and those whistling continued.
Wu Sha, the child, even pushed open the window next to him and leaned out to look outside.
"Wow! What a huge boat!"
"Boat! Are you seeing things? There's no river nearby, where would a boat come from!"
San Sha, the whistling Exorcist, said to Wu Sha while leaning his head out. "Wow! What a huge boat!"
Chen Xuanzang walked out of the Compartment and stood in front of the vehicle, looking up and gazing into the sky. A Giant Ship, wrapped in rolling cloud waves, disappeared into the horizon.
"What kind of boat is this that can fly in the sky?"
"There's a Demon Subduing Division flag on the boat!" Miss Duan held a single-barrel telescope in her hand. She extended the barrel and looked up at the sky.
This telescope was also a product of the Demon Subduing Division. It could observe the traces of demons and monsters from over a dozen li away and was widely praised among Exorcists. Before figuring out the background of a demon monster, no one wanted to meet them up close. With this telescope, the survival rate of these Exorcists was greatly increased.
From over a dozen li away, if they observed that a demon monster was too formidable, they could just turn tail and run. Miss Duan's eyebrow furrowed slightly, and a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes.
Why had she encountered people from the Demon Subduing Division so frequently lately? A boat that could fly in the sky was something she had never heard of.
What were these Demon Subduing Division people doing here? Oh no, that Pig Demon!
"Da Sha, Er Sha, get moving! Someone's trying to steal our business! That's a pig head worth three thousand taels, we can't let someone else get it cheap!"
At Miss Duan's call, to Chen Xuanzang's dumbfounded surprise, this heavy Mechanism Vehicle, driven by a strange driving method, rushed towards Fuling Mountain at the speed of a galloping horse.
"This driving method is driven by air turning gears..."
Da Sha kept blowing into a bag made of parchment. Whenever the air bladder swelled up, Er Sha and San Sha would take wooden hammers and smash down hard on the air bladder. The air in the air bladder visibly rushed out from a tube, driving the Mechanism Vehicle.
Meanwhile, Wu Sha, the child, sat in front controlling the direction of the Mechanism Vehicle.
Miss Duan earnestly explained the working principle of the Mechanism Vehicle to Chen Xuanzang.
Rumble! Suddenly, thunder sound rolled in from the horizon.
"What is that?"
Miss Duan looked up. The next second, she stared at the sky, dumbfounded.
"Is that... a mountain?!"
A thousand-zhang mountain peak was thrown towards the sky. Following the direction from which the mountain peak was thrown, Chen Xuanzang saw a figure standing there, taller than a mountain.
He looked at Zhu Ganglie, then looked at Miss Duan. "Is that the Pig Demon you want to catch!?"
Miss Duan looked up at the figure of Zhu Ganglie, taller than Kunlun Mountain, and fell silent for a moment.
Who could tell her what this Pig Demon had eaten to grow so big! Before the few Exorcists could recover from Zhu Ganglie's body size and the mountain peak that rose from the ground, they witnessed an even more terrifying scene.
The Void rippled, and a fair fleshy finger extended out. With just a gentle flick, the mountain peak shattered, and the ten-thousand-zhang tall Pig Demon was directly shattered into a sky full of blood mist.
The shattered mountain rocks fell, and tens of thousands of tons of soil and rocks rose like a great wave, sweeping away all the trees and Small Mountains around!
After a long time, the trembling of the Land finally stopped! Although they were dozens of li away, the soil splashed up by the falling mountain rocks and gravel still turned Miss Duan and the few Exorcists into mud people.
"Boss! Are we still doing this business?"
Deep fear appeared in Er Sha's eyes, and his voice trembled slightly.
"Doing, doing your head off, turn around!" Miss Duan cursed fiercely, calling for the others to turn the Mechanism Vehicle around.
Suddenly, a bright light streaked across the sky. A Giant Ship slid through the dense clouds. When the boat passed over the Mechanism Vehicle, it suddenly stopped.
Amidst everyone's unease, a radiance flew down from On the Ship. It was a white-robed figure with a pale complexion, clearly lacking Qi, who flew in front of them using sword control.
Empty Lord's feet didn't touch the ground as he curiously sized up the people before him. "Are you the Exorcists who subdued the Fish Demon in Shuixi Village that day? The Grand Governor wants to see you!"
"Grand Governor? Which Grand Governor?" Miss Duan asked, not understanding.
"Is there any other Grand Governor in the world? Naturally, it's the Tang Grand Governor who is in charge of the Demon Subduing Division!" Empty Lord bowed slightly towards the Giant Ship overhead from a distance, showing his respect.
"Tang Grand Governor!" Upon hearing the name Tang Grand Governor, the few Exorcists, including Miss Duan, all fell silent. Miss Duan couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
"The Grand Governor, he wants to see me?" Miss Duan pointed to herself in disbelief. What virtue or ability did she possess to be summoned by the Grand Governor?
One must know that since the establishment of the Demon Subduing Division, the Grand Governor's reputation had resounded throughout the entire Tang Dynasty. How many famous great demons among the nine demons and thirteen monsters within the Tang Dynasty's borders had fallen into the hands of this Grand Governor?
It could be said that in the eyes of Exorcists, and even those demons and monsters, this Grand Governor's prestige was even higher than that of the Heavenly Khan. Exorcists held a heartfelt reverence for the Grand Governor as a Powerful One.
As for those demons and monsters, they would change complexion upon hearing the Grand Governor's name, fearing him to their very bone.
Once, in a certain year, the Shanxi and Shaanxi regions of the Tang Dynasty suffered a Locust Plague. That demon monster, using the name of the Locust God, rampaged across the Divine Land. Wherever the locust demon passed, the people's crops yielded nothing.
The Locust God was powerful, and the locust demons it bred were astonishingly numerous. Ordinary Exorcists facing the dense masses of millions of locusts and locust demons couldn't even see the Locust God's face before being gnawed down to white bone.
The Tang Dynasty government even used new weapons like gunpowder and artillery, but couldn't harm those locust demons.
The matter was reported by the local Demon Subduing Division to the Tang Grand Governor. He merely wrote a letter by hand. A minor official of the Demon Subduing Division, holding a scroll of his handwritten letter, suppressed the million locust demons.
That great demon who called himself the Locust God was burned to ash by raging fire!
Such a legendary figure actually wanted to see her. Even the usually bold Miss Duan couldn't help but feel a little nervous. "Sir, may I ask what business the Grand Governor has with us? Was it the Grand Governor who just subdued the Pig Demon?"
"Naturally, it was the Grand Governor! Otherwise, who would possess such divine ability!" Empty Lord's face was filled with reverence. "You are also fortunate. This year, Heaven's Will has changed drastically, and demons and monsters are rampant. The Grand Governor has calculated that these demons and monsters come from the Western Regions. The Grand Governor is impatient with those annoying demons and monsters and has specially summoned all the exorcists in the world to go on a Western Journey to eradicate the source of the demons and monsters."
"You are also fortunate. You must serve the court well, Demon Slaying and Exorcism. When the time comes, the court will naturally bestow rewards! Why aren't you quickly following me to meet the Grand Governor!"
"Western Regions, Western Journey!"
Miss Duan and Chen Xuanzang exchanged a gaze. Miss Duan was somewhat bewildered.
Chen Xuanzang muttered, "Western Regions! My Master said that the Western Regions are where the Western Spirit Mountain is located. There, there is no greed or slaughter, one cultivates Qi and nurtures the Spirit. Although there are no Supreme Gods, everyone lives long lives. How could it be the source of demons and monsters!?"
As soon as Chen Xuanzang's words left his mouth, Miss Duan quickly covered his mouth with her hand.
Empty Lord's sword-like gaze, however, had already fallen upon Chen Xuanzang.
"Sir, he's gone silly from reading/studying, please don't mind him!" Miss Duan quickly said with a fawning smile.
Empty Lord looked at the beggar-like Chen Xuanzang and shook his head with a laugh. "I've been to places like the Western Regions too. Hmm, the Hu Girls there have quite good figures, but that place is rampant with demons and monsters, and bandit problems are rampant. Those small Western Regions countries constantly engage in slaughter against each other. How can it be called a place of no greed or slaughter, where one cultivates Qi and nurtures the Spirit, and everyone lives long lives even without Supreme Gods! This time, the Grand Governor is leading the Forces there, not just to expel demons and subdue monsters, but also to completely flatten the various Western Regions countries and incorporate them into our Tang Dynasty Territory! Only when the Western Regions are under our Tang Dynasty's rule can it be called a place of no greed or slaughter, where one cultivates Qi and nurtures the Spirit, and everyone lives long lives even without Supreme Gods!"
(end of chapter)