Chapter 1: The Exorcist

Before entering the new world, Wang Bo had discussed it with his cheat, so naturally he knew what world he had come to this time.

He had arrived in the Journey to the West world.

However, Wang Bo had not entered the orthodox Journey to the West world, but a parallel world within the Journey to the West universe.

Journey to the West is a very vast universe, and just the worlds Wang Bo knew of were many.

For example, Havoc in Heaven, The Monkey King 2, The Monkey King 3, Monkey King: Hero Is Back, A Chinese Odyssey, Wu Kong, The Forbidden Kingdom, A Chinese Tall Story, The Battle of the Monkey King, and The Spring of the Pig King, among others.

Of course, there was also the orthodox Journey to the West and the nonsensical Journey to the West: The Sequel.

Among them naturally included the parallel world Wang Bo had entered this time... Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.

There was no doubt that although Wang Bo had entered this world, which was different from the orthodox Journey to the West world, the general outline was very similar; it was still the story of Tang Sanzang subduing three disciples and going to the West to obtain scriptures.

Only in this parallel world, Tang Sanzang—well, in this world he should be called Chen Xuanzang—was no longer the sworn brother of Emperor Taizong of Tang, but an exorcist.

To be honest, in the first few days after entering this world, Wang Bo did not act too ostentatiously.

Because this world had demons and also immortals and buddhas.

Wang Bo admitted that his strength was considerable, and ordinary immortals and buddhas might not be his match, but wanting to rival beings like Tathagata Buddha was still somewhat forced, so after entering this world, Wang Bo kept a very low profile.

First, he bought a large house near Chang'an City, and also purchased a batch of stewards and servants, packaging himself as a wealthy merchant, quietly integrating into this world without causing a stir.

No one knew that an outsider had appeared in this world.

The emperor within the Great Tang did not know, the demons within the Great Tang did not know, and even whether the Jade Emperor in the Heavenly Court and Tathagata Buddha on Mount Ling knew was also a question.

Wang Bo tended to think they did not know.

Although the Jade Emperor and Tathagata Buddha were powerful, they were not omniscient and omnipotent.

So they might not know that an anomaly had appeared in this world. Of course, if Wang Bo jumped around too much, they should know, but the question was, did Wang Bo dare to jump around too much?

No, he did not dare.

Back in the Central Earth Continent, that giant who could use evil energy was pinched to death by Ilúvatar precisely because he jumped around too much. With such a precedent, Wang Bo naturally would not jump around too much in this kind of world.

After all, the Journey to the West world had too deep waters.

Heaven knows what kinds of demons, ghosts, immortals, and great powers this world might have.

Was Tathagata Buddha really the strongest immortal or buddha in the Journey to the West world?

Not necessarily.

Of course, here it refers to the orthodox Journey to the West. If it were just the world of Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, even if Tathagata Buddha was not first, he should be second.

Ranked in the top three, that should be certain.

After integrating into this world, Wang Bo naturally did not do nothing; instead, he spent a large sum of money to invite exorcists to his residence as guests.

In this world, exorcists were a specialty.

All capable individuals who could subdue demons and ghosts were called exorcists.

And the imperial court recognized the existence of exorcists. If demons or ghosts appeared in some places, the court would post notices, offer bounties, and invite exorcists to vanquish the demons and eliminate the monsters.

As the saying goes, money makes the world go round.

Even in this world of immortals, demons, and monsters, money remains an indispensable thing.

Even exorcists cannot do without money in their daily lives and cultivation. Since ancient times, cultivation has required the four essentials: method, wealth, companions, and location—showing the importance of money.

Thus, as long as the imperial court offers a bounty, there will naturally be a group of exorcists who fear not death and come for the money.

Moreover, if demons or monsters appear in some places, even if the court does not intervene, the local villagers, for their own safety, will pool together a sum of silver from every household to invite exorcists.

So Wang Bo offering a large sum to invite exorcists to his residence was merely a basic move.

Upon hearing this good news, a large number of exorcists would rush over to meet Wang Bo.

Whenever an exorcist arrived, Wang Bo would treat them to fine wine and food, and upon their departure, he would also gift them a considerable amount of silver.

In this way, his reputation quickly spread among exorcists.

Many exorcists came to know that there was a generous patron in Chang'an who enjoyed dealing with exorcists.

Of course, Wang Bo did this not because he wanted to make friends with exorcists, but rather to obtain some secret cultivation methods from them.

Although exorcists varied in quality, there were among them some powerful masters.

For example, the three great exorcists of the world who appeared in the original plot:

Five Elements Fist, Heavenly Remnant Foot, and the Empty Void Prince.

The strength of these three was all above that of Zhu Ganglie, and though inferior to Sun Wukong, their immense fame in the mortal world suggested their power was not weaker than that of ordinary heavenly soldiers and generals.

Thus, their cultivation methods indeed had their own merits.

Unfortunately, although Wang Bo spent one large sum after another, he still failed to invite these three exorcists, perhaps because these three masters were unwilling to deal with an "ordinary person" like Wang Bo.

The exorcists who came for money were mostly those who were not very famous or only slightly renowned.

With a few words and his money tactics, Wang Bo easily fooled this group. As long as he revealed a little desire for cultivation, they would feel embarrassed.

They ate his food, drank his wine, and finally left with a huge sum of money. Unless they were utterly shameless, they would generally leave Wang Bo a few tricks, whether cultivation methods or spells.

Of course, there were also shameless ones.

But overall, those with a sense of shame were the vast majority.

So over these days, Wang Bo indeed received quite a lot of things.

These cultivation methods were not profound, but the ideas were good, broadening Wang Bo's horizons. Some things had unique merits and could indeed be integrated into Wang Bo's Solar Divine Art.

Thus, Wang Bo's Solar Divine Art became even more profound and versatile.

The path of dual cultivation in magic and martial arts grew smoother.

As a result, Wang Bo became more motivated and spent money even more lavishly, since money in his eyes meant nothing.

However, his wild spending spree soon caught the attention of one person.

And that person was none other than the emperor of the Great Tang.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin.

The reason this emperor took notice of Wang Bo was simple: on one hand, Wang Bo was wealthy; on the other, his extensive dealings with exorcists aroused Li Shimin's vigilance.

As for exorcists, Li Shimin's feelings could be described as complicated indeed.