The four old men perked up upon hearing this, their eyes gleaming as they looked at Tang Sanzang, ready to pick him apart and slap his words back in his face.

    Touching his chin, Tang Sanzang looked around, then gazed up at the sky, and an inspiration struck him:

    "Before the skies there was Pan Gu,

    Yet the Great Way existed before even Pan Gu''s start. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

    The Great Way''s child knows not of counting,

    I''ll teach the Great Way how to count to three!"

    "Pfft!"

    The four old men almost spat out a mouthful of old blood!

    They each had lived just over a thousand years, and when writing poetry, they would slightly boast, claiming to have lived for over a thousand years, maybe a few thousand at most. Even that made them blush and feel embarrassed.

    But now, this baldy opens his mouth and immediately appoints himself as the teacher of the Great Way!

    This brag of his had shot straight up to the heavens!

    If he was the teacher of the Great Way,

    What did that make them?

    They probably wouldn''t even amount to a tadpole...

    The four old men watched Tang Sanzang with flushed faces, thinking, "Had we known, we''d have spoken later and straight-up called ourselves his ancestors!"

    The first round of bragging was a failure.

    Fu Yun Sour snorted, "Holy monk, how can you dare claim to be the teacher of the Great Way? Isn''t that boast of yours a bit too grand?"

    Tang Sanzang nonchalantly replied, "Too grand? I think it''s pretty reasonable, I''m quite modest about it..."

    Watching this shameless, unblushing braggart before them, everyone was left speechless.

    They realized that in a contest of shamelessness, they would be utterly defeated. It was best to change the competition promptly.

    Furthermore, eighteen Gong felt that if they continued on this topic, there might be a fight, so he interjected to calm things down: "We availed ourselves of the bright moon not to argue the toss but simply to enjoy reciting poetry and letting our spirits roam free... natural is how we go about being carefree. I do feel the holy monk''s poetry, though simple, contains an unrestrained essence. Our own writings, despite their ornate diction, lack that spirited freedom."

    With these words, the rest found an excuse to step down gracefully.

    Fu Yun Sour immediately added, "Exactly, eighteen Gong speaks the truth, I was too attached to forms. Since we are to recite poetry for pleasure, why not enter my humble hermitage to tea and compose verse?"

    Everyone gave a dry laugh, such lewd poetry, and they call it refinement? Pssh!

    However, everyone also realized, as soon as this thieving baldy opened his mouth, he got going, and he was quick on the draw.

    If they let him keep composing poetry, it would no longer be composing poetry, it would be downright lewd... If word got out, they''d be utterly disgraced.

    So Eighteen said, "Holy monk, composing poetry and lyrics isn''t all that interesting, why don''t we engage in a round of antithetical couplets instead?"

    Couplets, Tang Sanzang knew what those were and caught up in the enthusiasm, he didn''t care anymore, "Come on, let''s have at it!"

    While he was speaking, suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from outside.

    Everyone looked and saw two young girls in green, carrying a bunch of crimson lanterns outside the stone house, leading in a fairy. That fairy, twirling an apricot blossom, entered the stone house with a smile.

    Tang Sanzang glanced at her and his eyes popped!

    This woman wore a light red skirt adorned with five-colored plum blossoms and a lighter armor-like top over smoky silk.

    The clothing fluttered in the wind, carrying an air of an immortal, and yet there was an indescribable charm in her features.

    Seeing Tang Sanzang staring fixedly at her, the woman blushed and turned her head away.

    The four old men quickly stood up and said, "My, what wind has brought the Apricot Fairy out today?"

    The Apricot Fairy courtesied to everyone and then with eyes like silky threads, said to Tang Sanzang, "Knowing there was a distinguished guest here today, I came to have a look..."

    The four old men subconsciously glanced towards Tang Sanzang, who was staring with gleaming eyes, and then frantically signaled to the Apricot Fairy with their eyes.

    The Apricot Fairy, seeing the odd expressions on the faces of the four old men, was a bit puzzled.

    Eighteen couldn''t help it and sent a message telepathically: "Apricot Fairy, there''s been a change in plans. This monk isn''t any high monk, but an old lecher. He''s not worthy of you, retreat quickly."

    The Apricot Fairy was taken aback and replied telepathically, "I''ve heard he''s the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada, a fine person for ten lifetimes, with impressive cultivation and even better character, an ideal match..."

    Eighteen said, "Oh, it''s complicated. The rumors are false..."

    The Apricot Fairy asked, "His character is false, but surely his body isn''t false as well, right?"

    Eighteen hesitated for a moment, "That... should be real. Seeing Sun Wukong and others follow him, if it weren''t true, why would they follow him?"

    The Apricot Fairy laughed, "As long as the body is real, that''s all that matters. After all, we want immortality, not transient beauty.

    Let''s not forget, we are different from those big demons and monsters; we''re just a few small ones, we don''t have the power to deal with the consequences of consuming him.

    If we can seduce him with love, make him renounce asceticism, losing the support of Mount Ling, that''s when we''ll have our chance..."