Journey to the West: Beginning with the Apprenticeship of Bodhi Patriarch

Chapter 132: The Immortal Accepts Chongyang as His Disciple, and the Corpse Demon Plays Tricks on Tang Monk
Jiang Yuan knew that the person with whom he had a destiny was about to be reborn, so he left Wuzhuang Monastery and used the Qingyun Dharma to travel to Baoliang Country in an instant. However, the time and place in Baoliang Country were different.

Jiang Yuan held down the auspicious cloud and looked down. After a closer look, he saw that the country was bustling and prosperous. It was really a place where 'commodities were transported to the lake, boats entered the market, thousands of hotels drew their curtains, buildings were crowded with people, and the streets were bustling with merchants every morning'. This country was not inferior to the East.

When the Immortal saw this country, he was delighted. This country had been enlightened by him twice in the past, and now it was so prosperous. This was exactly in line with what was said in the past: 'Seeing confusion will lead to thinking, and seeing obstacles will lead to wisdom.' Only then will wise people be born to make the country prosperous.

Jiang Yuan thought to himself, "The Immortal has profound magical powers. He said that those who are destined to be with me will be born in the country in three days. I will just wait patiently for a while."

The immortal had no intention of going down to the city to wait, so he stood among the clouds. The people in the city did not know that there was a Taoist immortal in the clouds and was busy making a living.

Three days passed by in a blink of an eye.

Jiang Yuan stood on the auspicious cloud, waiting quietly. Three days later, it was September 9th, the Double Ninth Festival in the world of Yama.

Jiang Yuan felt something in his heart and looked towards the palace. He seemed to see something vaguely, and he rode on a auspicious cloud to that place.

He rode a cloud to the palace, but saw a secluded and cold palace where a man in his twenties was sitting cross-legged on the ground. His energy was unstable, as if he was alive and dead, like a fantasy or a dream, rising and falling.

Jiang Yuan took a closer look and saw that the man had an extraordinary appearance, with a golden figure and jade-like body, a Taoist look, a crane's head and a monkey's back, and eyebrows reaching his temples.

This person is destined to be with him. In the past, Liu's son, Li's man, Guan's son, etc. were all his previous lives. Why is this "life" different from that life? He originally thought that this "life" was like a mother's pregnancy for ten months, and the fruit will be born when it is ripe. He never thought that this life was a life of despair.

It is said that when the heart dies, the Tao is born, and this is the life towards the Tao.

If a person encounters a great disaster, he will gain enlightenment, which is the practice of enlightenment. However, if he encounters great disasters one after another, and the difficulties are far beyond what a person can endure, many people will want to commit suicide. The two gods are also the most rampant at this time, and the five people are the most confused. If one can endure it during this period, his heart will die.

When the heart dies, new life comes, and that is when the true self awakens.

This man is now as disheartened as a broken heart, and his fate has finally come to an end.

Jiang Yuan said to himself, "At noon on September 9, this person was reborn. There is something to say."

The man suddenly stood up, picked up some soil and burned incense, then knelt on the ground and said, "I have suffered a great disaster, but my heart remains unchanged. I beg the gods and immortals to save me. I will practice with all my heart and have no regrets."

Say it.

The man chanted a prayer, begging for help from the gods, as his body was in a state of uncertainty.

Jiang Yuan pushed the auspicious cloud down much further, landing not far from the palace. He transformed himself into an old man, walked up to the man, and asked, "Who are you, and why are you burning incense and offering prayers here?"

When the man saw the old man, he bowed and said, "You are the god in front of me. I am here to show my respect."

The old man said, "I am not a deity, but a cultivator. I passed by here and saw you burning incense and praying, so I came to ask you, who are you in the palace, and why are you in this remote place."

The man heard that the old man was not a god, so he bowed, this bow being a sign of respect for his age, and said, "I am the prince of the royal palace."

The old man said, "Since you are the prince, why are you here in such a remote place without any followers?"

The prince asked, "Does the old gentleman really want to know?"

The old man said, "Since you are here, I should know the reason."

The prince said, "Since the old gentleman has asked, I dare not not answer. I am the prince of the country. I have been born with some spirit since I was a child. My father and mother love me and made me the prince early on. I was trained as the heir to the throne of the country. Since I was a child, they said that I would be the king. Even earlier, a fortune teller said that I would make the country prosperous. Unexpectedly, my mother died early, and my father made another queen. In the struggle for power, he sent his son to seize my throne and imprisoned me here. My father was bewitched by him, my relatives were harmed by him, my reputation was damaged by him, and I was injured by him. He imprisoned me here, refused to give me tea and food, and refused to let me be at ease. Now I understand that glory and wealth will vanish into thin air. I have no interest in the palace and can only be truly at ease if I practice."

Upon hearing this, the old man laughed and said, "So, you are a prince who failed in his struggle for power."

The prince shook his head and said, "If there is no struggle, how can there be defeat?"

The old man asked, "Why don't you fight?"

The prince said: "Fighting will harm the country, it is better not to fight."

The old man said: "If you don't fight, you will die. This fight is a fight for your life."

The prince said: "My heart is dead, so I don't want to be a prince anymore."

The old man asked, "So, you are devoted to cultivation?"

The prince said: "Practice wholeheartedly. This method has made me calm down and observe. Suddenly I realize that wealth and glory are useless. Practice is the true life."

The old man smiled and said, "You are the prince, and you want to be born like this, but you can't. Besides, you don't have the fate of becoming an immortal, so how can you practice?"

The prince said: "If I have no destiny to become an immortal, I will just visit famous mountains and rivers and seek it with all my heart. If I cannot obtain it, it is my fate. If I die on the way, I cannot blame others."

The old man said, "You are an interesting prince. It is fate that we meet. So, I will help you a little and talk to the King of Baoliang to make things clear. I will treat you fairly. What do you think?"

The prince said, "I have no chance to meet the old gentleman, so I dare not ask him for help. Since he is not a god, I will ask him for help here."

The old man smiled, said nothing, and turned away. He wanted to see how the prince was determined to practice, and to what extent this mind could reach the state of death and rebirth.

Jiang Yuan turned around and revealed his true form. He walked away on auspicious clouds and watched what the prince did among the clouds.

However, it is said that the prince was worshipping in the cold palace, his heart was dead and the Tao was born, he was devoted to the Tao, he burned incense and made prayers, but no gods or Buddhas came to rescue him. The prince was determined and did not move for more than a month. He burned incense and made prayers every day, but when there was no incense, he just prayed quietly.

A month went by like this, and suddenly one day, an order came from the King of Baoliang State, ordering the prince to commit suicide, and there was also a cup of poisoned wine.

When the prince saw this, he laughed loudly several times and said, 'I am drinking the poison now to repay my father's kindness. All my relatives are gone and I am alone. The world is so big that there is no place for me. I have no worries anymore. If my father wants me to die, I must die. If my king wants me to die, I must die.' After saying this, he drank the poison in one gulp and fell to the ground dead within three quarters of an hour.

Jiang Yuan sat and watched from the clouds, blowing a breath of magical air downwards to prevent the prince's body from rotting and his spirit from moving.

A man who was in charge of seducing the dead came with a document to seduce the prince's soul.

Jiang Yuan revealed his true form, pressed down the cloud, and said, "You two, don't try to seduce him. This person and I have a predestined relationship."

When Gou Siren saw Jiang Yuan, he was attracted by the immortal's appearance and said in panic, "Greetings, Immortal! Since this person has a predestined relationship with the Immortal, we dare not act rashly and leave now."

Jiang Yuan said, "Thank you both for taking a trip."

The man said, "I dare not, I dare not."

Say it.

The two men bowed and left, not daring to act rashly.

Jiang Yuan looked at the prince's corpse, smiled without saying a word, and rode up to heaven on a auspicious cloud.

Not long after, someone entered the palace, lit a fire, and tried to burn the prince's body.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Yuan waved his sleeves and used his magical power to take away the prince's body. He flew away on a cloud and went to a pavilion in the mountains. He put the prince's body down and took a cup of water.

The immortal chanted a spell, spit out a mouthful of water containing immortal energy, and sprayed it on the prince's face. The poison in the prince's corpse was immediately gone, and life returned.

The prince woke up, looked around, confused, and asked, "Where is this?"

Jiang Yuan said, "You drank poison and committed suicide, and I saved you." The prince remembered, knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I was already dead at that time, and you are a god who brought me back to life."

Jiang Yuan said, "I disguised myself as an old man to talk to you before. You are dead now, but I brought you back to life. I will not hide the truth from you. You and I have had a predestined relationship for several lifetimes. You should have been my disciple, but now I have no intention of accepting you as a disciple, and you are so focused on cultivation. If you become my disciple, I am afraid that it will hinder your cultivation. If you go out, you may find a good teacher. But staying with me is not beneficial. That's all I have to say. It is up to you whether to leave or stay."

The prince kowtowed countless times and said, "I pay homage to you with all my heart. I wish to follow the immortals in cultivation and will never regret it until I die."

Jiang Yuan asked: "Really?"

The prince said: "I will never regret it until I die!"

Jiang Yuan said: "In this case, you will practice with me. May I know your name?"

The prince said: "My earthly life is over, and now I am reborn. I have never had a name, but please give me a name, immortal."

After hearing this, Jiang Yuan pondered for a long time and said, "You were born on September 9th at noon, so you were named Chongyang."

The prince said: "I thank you Master for the name. From now on I will be Chongyang."

When Jiang Yuan saw this, he felt mixed emotions, not knowing whether it was right or wrong to accept this boy at this time. He suddenly recalled his master, who took him in at Shangjing Mountain back then, and wondered whether he was the same as he is now.

……

The story goes that on their journey to the West, after the pilgrims left Wanshou Mountain, there was some discord among the four people in Wuzhuang Temple.

Tang Seng blamed Monkey King for always making him hungry and not listening to his teachings, and his evil nature was hard to get rid of.

The Monkey King secretly resented Tang Monk for coaxing him into wearing the golden hoop, and he often blamed Tang Monk for things that were not his fault.

Bajie remembered that he had never tasted the ginseng fruit, so he asked Bi Ma Wen to push it down.

Wujing was somewhat jealous that the traveler was a disciple of Sanxing Immortal Cave, while he had been unable to become his disciple.

This time, his heart was not in harmony with his appearance, and something happened on the way. A demon, disguised as a woman, came to murder Tang Monk while Monkey was begging for food. It was the demon who was talking to the group of people seeking scriptures, and neither Pigsy nor Sha Seng could recognize her true face.

The traveler picked some peaches in the mountains to feed the old monk, but when he saw the woman's face, he became suspicious. There were no shops or houses in the mountains, so how could there be a woman?

The Monkey King used his ability to see the air, but he didn't know that it was a demon in disguise. The Monkey King drew out his golden hoop and hit the woman.

"Master, please move aside, this is a demon."

The traveler started hitting him while waving his iron rod.

Tang Seng was so frightened that he fell down, grabbed Monkey and said, "Wukong, who are you going to hit?"

The Monkey King pointed at the woman and said, "That is a demon in disguise. Master, please get out of the way."

Tang Seng said, "How can you be so blind, you monkey? This is a kind-hearted female Bodhisattva who wants to beg for alms from us. How can you say she is a demon?"

The Monkey King said, "Master, the demon eats people, so how could it reveal its true form to you? It must have transformed itself into gold, silver, beautiful women, and mansions to lure you in. If you entered, it would surely harm you."

Tang Monk said: "This is a kind-hearted person."

The Monkey King opened his eyes wide and said, "Master, you were tempted by the appearance of this enchantress? How come you were not tempted when the Bodhisattva tested your heart, but are you tempted now? Perhaps the Bodhisattva is not charming enough to tempt you. Since this is the case now, Bajie will go cut some wood, and Sha Seng will find some grass to build a house for Master. To repay your kindness, we will disperse and let Master consummate his marriage here."

These words made Tang Seng feel ashamed.

The traveler took the opportunity, raised his stick and hit the woman. After one blow, the woman fell to the ground. The goblin had some skills and used a method of "dissolving the corpse" to leave, leaving only a skin bag.

Tang Seng was trembling with fear.

The monk pointed to the lunch box that the woman had brought, which was full of maggots, and said, "Master, look at what these are."

Bajie said, "Master, don't listen to him. Maybe he is too vicious to control his stick. He might be reciting some old sayings to deceive you. We all know that Bi Ma Wen has great magical powers. How can we see his magical powers?"

When Tang Monk heard this, he became angry and began to recite the spell to tighten the hoop.

The traveler Wu had a headache and cried out, "It hurts, it hurts! Master, if you have something to say, just say it. Don't recite the sutras."

Tang Seng said, "I have nothing to say to you. You are hurting people now. How can I tolerate you? Go away! Go away! I will never tolerate you here."

The traveler said, "Master, where do you want me to go?"

Tang Seng said: "I don't want you to be my disciple, just go."

The Monkey King said, "The obstacles ahead are fierce and high. Without my protection, Bajie and Sha Seng will not be able to succeed."

Tang Seng said angrily: "If I can't go, it's my fate. I don't need you to save me. Just go."

The monk had no choice but to plead with Tang Monk.

After hearing Monkey’s plea, Tang Monk changed his mind and stopped chasing him away.

The pilgrims were just moving forward, but they didn't expect that the monster ahead was not dead, but still existed in its original form. It was secretly shocked by Monkey King's ability.

The goblin was a zombie, a corpse demon. He was just sighing at Monkey's ability and said to himself, "I've heard about this guy a long time ago. He has great magical powers. In the past, 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals could not do anything to him. He has a great method that I have never seen before, but now I have seen it. It is really amazing. But Tang Monk does not believe him. The people are not in harmony. I should use some tricks to make Tang Monk drive Monkey away. Then Tang Monk will be in my hands. I have the final say whether to steam or boil him. When I host a banquet, if I eat a bite, I will live forever. It is much better than the ginseng fruit on Wanshou Mountain."

The corpse demon wanted to harm again, so he went up the mountain again.

……

In the state of Baoliang.

Jiang Yuan brought Chongyang here to rest for a long time, but they had to leave and return to Lingtai Fangcun Mountain.

Before leaving, Jiang Yuan stood on the top of the mountain, with Chongyang serving beside him, looking out at Baoliang State at the foot of the mountain.

Jiang Yuan said, "Chongyang, once you leave this place, you will never come back. There is no time for cultivation. If you sit in meditation and keep your mind calm, it will take thousands of years. In that time, the world will go through ups and downs for who knows how many generations. Are you willing to accept this? If you are not willing, I can help you take the position of crown prince and make you the king. Then, you will be rich and glorious before your eyes."

Chongyang bowed and said, "Master, I have done my duty. This life is a gift from you, and I will never leave it. I will practice with all my heart. Besides, wealth and honor are not as valuable as life. Even if you have a fortune of millions, a cup of poison will make it all disappear."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "In that case, you come back with me. The road is long. If you feel tired, tell me."

Say it.

He walked down the mountain without riding on the clouds.

Chongyang followed closely behind, serving his mentor without daring to make any mistakes.

(End of this chapter)