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

Chapter 172 The three demons fled, and Tang Seng gained enlightenment (asking for monthly tickets)

Outside the Lion City, there was a shocking and brutal fight. Six kinds of weapons showed their power and six kinds of bodies competed with each other in strength. The Monkey King's golden hoop was mighty with a hundred moves, and the Dapeng's halberd was ferocious with a majestic manner. The two fought fiercely.

The Bull King's iron stick was extremely fierce, and he wanted to kill Jie Diwei. He used both the White Elephant Trunk Spear and wanted to escape without fighting. The Holy Infant fought the Green Lion with his spear. The spears and blades were sharp and neither of them gave in. Fortunately, the Green Lion was injured by the fire, and the Holy Infant overwhelmed the Lion Demon.

The six men sometimes fought on the ground, sometimes fought fiercely in the clouds, and fought for a long time with six kinds of weapons. Three of them were brothers from the same family, and three were evil demons. They fought hard for fifty rounds.

The Monkey King overpowered Dapeng. The golden cudgel was so heavy that Dapeng had no power to fight back. He relied on his tight defense to fight with the Monkey King.

The Bull Demon King beat the White Elephant with his iron stick until it became weak and numb, and the White Elephant fought with the Bull Demon King with all its ruthlessness.

Red Boy was fighting with the Green Lion. The Green Lion was injured and was no match for Red Boy, so he was defeated one after another.

Six people fought, and the three travelers beat the three old demons so hard that they couldn't breathe. If they relaxed, they would surely be killed.

Dapeng was gasping for breath. He used his Fang Tian Hua Ji to block the Monkey King's golden hoop stick. When he looked closely, he saw that both the green lion and the white elephant were in a state of defeat.

Dapeng thought to himself, "Not good, not good! If these two brothers cannot defeat me and capture me, how can I survive? If the Bull Demon King and the Bull Saint Infant attack me together, I will not be able to resist."

Dapeng was frightened and lost his dignity, and was thinking of escaping.

Before he could figure out the result, he saw the Green Lion make a feint with its sword, which made the inexperienced Red Boy turn around and run away, riding the strong wind towards the Lion Cave. How could he dare to enter the Lion City?

When the white elephant saw the blue lion fleeing, it didn't hesitate to shoot the Bull Demon King away and turned around to flee with the blue lion, riding on the evil wind.

After a while, the two demons both fled. How could they dare to fight?

Dapeng was terrified when he saw this, and he cursed, "My two brothers, how dare you do this!"

Dapeng wanted to escape.

Unexpectedly, Bull Demon King and Red Boy arrived together, ready to attack with sticks and spears.

Dapeng waved his Fang Tian Hua Ji to fend off Bull Demon King and Red Boy.

The Great Sage shouted, "Demon, die!"

The Monkey King swung his golden cudgel and struck at Dapeng on the head. The cudgel hit the Fang Tian Hua Ji and made Dapeng's hands go limp and he almost couldn't hold the Fang Tian Hua Ji.

The Bull Demon King said: "Take my stick!"

Niu Wang hit him with the iron stick again.

Dapeng had just used up all his strength and had not yet regained it. Seeing the Bull King coming at him aggressively, he had no choice but to pick up his Fang Tian Hua Ji to block. Under the blow, Dapeng bled from all seven of his orifices and nearly fell down.

Red Boy shouted, "You disloyal monster, look at my flaming spear!"

Red Boy was very majestic. He used his flaming spear to knock away Dapeng's Fang Tian Hua Ji. Dapeng was caught off guard and his weapon fell to the ground.

The Great Sage swung his stick to end Dapeng's life.

The roc panicked and flapped its wings to escape.

The Great Sage shouted, “How can you escape? Don’t run!”

Say it.

The Great Sage rode his somersault cloud and chased after Dapeng.

The two of them left the Lion City in an instant. The Great Sage rode on his somersault cloud and traveled a distance of 180,000 miles, but the Great Peng could fly a distance of 90,000 miles with just a flap of its wings. After flapping its wings twice, the Great Peng flew far away, and no matter how hard the Great Sage tried to chase it, he could not catch up with it.

The Great Sage could not catch up with him and had to return along the old route.

When they returned to the old road, they saw Bull Demon King gathering his troops and chasing the monsters from Lion City. No matter how big or small the monsters were, Bull Demon King killed them with one stick.

When the Great Sage saw the Bull Demon King fighting, he pressed down the clouds, raised his stick and started hitting him, saying "long". The golden hoop was dozens of feet long and rolled to the ground. No matter how the demons tried to escape, they were all killed.

When the Bull Demon King saw the Great Sage, he stepped forward and asked, "My dear brother, have you killed that thief?"

The Great Sage shook his head and said, "No, to be honest with you, brother, when that guy flapped his wings and flew away, I could still see his figure and chase him on the cloud. But when he flapped his wings twice, I couldn't see his figure anymore and had to retreat."

The Bull Demon King was surprised and asked, "Is that Yunlu so amazing?"

The Great Sage said, “I have heard that he is called Cloud-Climbing Ten Thousand Miles Peng before. He is indeed amazing.”

The Bull Demon King said, "My dear brother, since the three demons from Lion Camel Mountain have escaped, you should rescue Tang Monk and his companions first and destroy this Lion Camel City. Just do your best and ignore the evil spirits in the city. They are all cannibals and have committed countless evil deeds. They would eat up all the citizens of a country and all the people living in the 800-mile Lion Camel Mountain. Their crimes are too numerous to list."

The Great Sage said, "Brother, why do you speak to me like this? In the past, I was also the master of the Flower-Fruit Mountain."

The Bull Demon King smiled and said, "Your Buddha nature is very deep now, and I am worried that you will have compassionate thoughts."

The Great Sage said, "Brother, although I have some knowledge, I also know the difference between good and evil. What's the point of keeping a demon like this that has caused trouble and eaten countless people?"

The Bull Demon King felt relieved just then, and he and his group razed the Lion Camel City.

Without the three demon leaders in charge, how could the monsters in Lion City have the courage to fight against the Bull Demon King and his entourage? It was a complete defeat, and within two or three hours, all the monsters in Lion City, big and small, were wiped out.

The Bull Demon King led his troops to deal with the aftermath, and the Great Sage went to the Golden Palace to meet Tang Monk and his entourage.

When Tang Monk met the Great Sage, the Great Sage recounted the previous events and explained to him the matter of the three demons in Lion City, and also said that the Bull Demon King and others would come to help.

Upon hearing this, Tang Monk held the Great Sage by the hand and said, "My dear disciple, I have often encountered difficulties, but you have used your magical powers to save me. I am grateful for your kindness. When I obtain the true scriptures and return to Zhongtian, I will tell the Emperor of Tang that you have made the greatest contribution."

The Great Sage laughed and said, "Don't talk about merits, just ask you, Master, not to chase me away."

Tang Seng clasped his hands and said, "It was my fault. I will never do that again."

The Great Sage said, "Master, you have made great progress."

Tang Monk said: "Disciple, please save Bajie and Wujing and save them from punishment."

The Great Sage opened his flaming eyes wide and took a closer look, only to see that Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing were tied up with hemp ropes, and the ropes were sprayed with water, which tied the two men tightly.

The Great Sage stepped forward and rescued Sha Wujing.

Sha Wujing bowed and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother, for saving me."

The Great Sage laughed and said, "Don't thank me, brother. I saw you trying your best to save me that day, so I knew you had no intention of trying to capture me."

Sha Wujing bowed again.

Zhu Bajie was tied to a pillar and cried out, "Brother, save me, save me."

The Great Sage grabbed Zhu Bajie's palm-leaf fan and said with a smile, "You fool, you almost got me caught that day."

Zhu Bajie yelled, "Brother, don't blame me. That thief had some rules and I was defeated." The Great Sage said, "Fool, he had rules, so why don't you have any rules? I know your ability. You dared to fight me and fight for a few rounds. Why is it that when you meet that thief now, you are afraid and lose your way, so you are defeated by him?"

Zhu Bajie said: "I have never been careless, so I am really no match for him."

The Great Sage said, "I don't blame you. As long as you strictly observe the precepts, you will make merit on your journey to the West if you only observe the precepts and cultivate your speech."

Zhu Bajie nodded and said, "Brother, I understand. Please put me down quickly."

Upon hearing this, the Great Sage put Zhu Bajie down.

Zhu Bajie relaxed and cursed, "I'll get my nine-toothed rake. These monsters want to boil me. I won't let them go."

The Great Sage stopped him and said, "All the monsters in the city will be killed. My elder brother, the Bull Demon King, has come to help. There will be no monsters left in the city."

Sha Wujing asked, "Big Brother, where are the three demons in the city?"

The Great Sage said, "My brother, nephew and I fought him, but the three of them were no match for us. The old demon and the other two fled to Lion Camel Mountain, and I don't know where the other three have fled to."

Upon hearing this, Tang Monk went outside the Golden Palace.

The Monkey King followed closely behind, and Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie also followed behind.

Tang Seng walked out of the Golden Palace, but saw skulls and bones like a mountain outside the palace, human hair turned into felt, human skin and flesh rotted into dust, and the stench was unbearable. He also saw a big pot in the palace, boiling water, and someone was in it, half-cooked.

Tang Seng was so frightened that he fell down, his bones and muscles became weak and numb, and he almost lost his soul.

The Great Sage supported Tang Seng and told him to sit on the ground.

Tang Seng was trembling with fear and asked in panic, "Disciple, what do you mean?"

The Great Sage said, "Master, these are a group of demons that specialize in eating people. This city was originally a country called the Lion Country, but it was eaten by the three Lion Demons. From the king to the subjects, everyone in the country was eaten by them, either raw, cooked, or stewed. No one survived."

Tang Seng was surprised and asked, "How can this group of demons be so vicious?"

Zhu Bajie shouted from behind: "Master, don't try to stop Monkey King from dealing with this kind of monster. Just teach him to kill it."

Tang Seng pondered for a long time and said, "Disciple, what should you do now?"

The Great Sage said, "Let's wait and see, Master. If Master is determined to teach and go west, I will bid farewell to my brother and protect Master on his journey. But if Master is determined to rescue the dead souls of this place and punish evil and promote good, I will eliminate all evil and go with my brother to deal with the three demons of Lion Camel Mountain."

Zhu Bajie said: "If I follow Master's advice, I will definitely leave this place of trouble as soon as possible and go west as soon as possible to avoid disaster."

The Great Sage sighed and said, "If that is the case, Master, please stay here for a while. I will go and talk to my brother. We have already passed through Lion Camel Mountain, so we will have no obstacles on our way forward."

Tang Seng stopped him and said, "Disciple, go ahead and follow your brother to subdue demons and monsters."

The Great Sage was somewhat surprised when he heard this. He looked at Tang Seng and said, "Master, why do you say that?"

Tang Seng clasped his hands and said, "I have been reciting scriptures a lot recently. If you can explain them to me, you will understand some of the profound meanings."

The Great Sage asked, "Master, what profound knowledge do you have?"

Tang Monk said: "This is exactly what it means to obtain the scriptures."

The Great Sage asked again, "How do you say that?"

Tang Seng said, "The purpose of obtaining the scriptures is to liberate the souls of the dead and persuade all living beings. I came here to save all living beings. I have experienced countless hardships on this journey. Now I finally understand my purpose. Seeing that the people of a country are suffering, I cannot help them eliminate the demons and monsters, so I have to ask you, my disciple, to go. You are the one who has the ability to do this. I will wait for you here, Bajie, Wujing, help me up, find some incense and candles, and help me liberate the souls of the dead here."

The Great Sage bowed to Tang Seng, thought no more, and flew away on a cloud.

We will not mention for now how Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, together with Tang Monk, saved the Lion City.

……

Outside the Lion City, the Great Sage returned and saw the Bull Demon King gathering his troops. He stepped forward and said, "Brother, brother!"

The Bull Demon King turned around and saw the Great Sage, and said, "My dear brother, have you rescued Tang Monk and the others?"

The Great Sage said, "Brother, I have rescued Tang Monk and my two brothers. It was Tang Monk who sent me here to help you deal with the demon from Lion Camel Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Bull Demon King laughed and said, "I was just about to go to the Lion Camel Mountain, but I didn't expect you to come to help me. By the way, Tang Monk is quite capable, so he sent you to help him."

The Great Sage seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "This is near the Holy Mountain. We have been practicing for a long time. If there is no appearance, it is actually different."

The Bull Demon King said, "I have heard that Tang Monk is the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi, the second disciple of the Buddha. It is normal for him to have some Buddha nature. My dear brother, since you have come to help, we should go to Lion Camel Mountain and defeat the monster as soon as possible. The master once taught us to 'do no evil, but practice all good'. The monsters in Lion Camel Mountain are deeply sinful. If they only eat people, they have never committed such a sin. The soldiers under my command have also eaten people, but mostly to fill their stomachs. However, the monsters in Lion Camel Mountain do not eat people to fill their stomachs, but mostly to play with them."

The Great Sage agreed, and together with the Bull Demon King, he gathered his troops and went to the Lion Cave.

……

But in the Lion Cave.

The blue lion and the white elephant fled here one after another, gasping for breath and in a panic.

The blue lion was shocked and said, "That Holy Bull Infant has such great magical powers. That breath of true fire almost killed me. I really can't defeat him. I can't defeat him."

The white elephant said, "Brother, the Bull Demon King is also a very capable person, with great martial arts and magical powers. His stick is not as heavy as Sun Wukong's, but his strength is not weaker. I cannot defeat him. If we fight to the death, I will definitely die without Lily."

The blue lion said, "If we escape, Dapeng will be in danger."

The white elephant shook his head and said, "Brother, I think the big peng is safe. His flying skill is very amazing. As long as he finds a good opportunity, it will not be difficult for him to escape. But the monster in the city may not be able to save its life."

The blue lion nodded and said, "As the saying goes, 'a snake cannot move without a head, and a bird cannot fly without wings.' If the three of us leave, the demons in the city will surely disappear, but our lives will be saved."

The white elephant asked, "What do you say, brother?"

The Green Lion said, "The Great Sage Equaling Heaven rescued Tang Monk and others and is heading west. We cannot stop him, so our lives are safe. Besides, the Bull Demon King is here to help the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. Now that the Monkey King has left, the Bull Demon King cannot come looking for us."

The white elephant was a little worried and said, "Brother, why are you so sure? We have eaten many people."

The blue lion said with a smile, "I saw that the pilgrims never looked back after they had passed the sutras. They put the sutras first. Why would they look back this time? They must be focused on the sutras. Don't be afraid. I am suffering from the burn of the Holy Ox Infant. My dear brother, please find some medicine for me."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiang wanted to get the medicine. Just as he was about to move, he saw Dapeng approaching from outside the mansion with a fierce look on his face.

Seeing this, the white elephant stepped forward and said, "My dear brother, is there anything wrong with you?"

Dapeng was very angry and said, "My two brothers, why did you treat me like this? I was almost killed by the Bull Demon King and his men."

The blue lion stepped forward, pretending to be seriously injured, and said, "My dear brother, it's not that we two escaped, but that you only need to flap your wings to fly 90,000 miles away. If we two hadn't escaped, you wouldn't have been able to get away, so we two left first, knowing that you have the ability and will be fine. My dear brother, you should know that I was injured by the Bull Saint Infant's True Fire, and we can't defeat the Bull Demon King and his three men."

(End of this chapter)