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

Chapter 177 Guangxin invites Xuantian God to see him

When Bull Demon King heard the old Taoist say that the Three Stars Immortal Cave was a small place, he became angry. But he also saw that the old Taoist was very old and had no special abilities, so it would be beneath his dignity to argue with him.

The Bull Demon King said: "Lingtai Fangcun Mountain is far away in Xiniu Hezhou. How have you heard of it? It is a famous place in Xiniu Hezhou."

The old Taoist asked, "Where is Xiniu Hezhou?"

The Bull Demon King pointed to the west and said, "Go all the way west and you will reach Xiniu Hezhou. It's a bit far, and you probably can't go there."

The old Taoist shook his head and said, "I have never heard of Xiniu Hezhou. There is no place to the west."

The Bull Demon King said, "That road is not easy to walk on. You have never been there before."

The old Taoist said: "If it's difficult to walk, how can you walk?"

The Bull Demon King replied: "I don't know how to explain it, but my master once said that the road is long and difficult, but if you keep walking you will reach your destination."

The old Taoist was shocked when he heard this and asked, "Who is your master? How could he say such a thing?"

The Bull Demon King said: "My master is a cultivator, and I follow my master to cultivate."

The old Taoist said, "If someone can say such things, he must be a very important person. Is your master here?"

The Bull Demon King nodded and said, "Of course my master is here. It was my master who sent me here."

The old Taoist said, "Where is your master? Go and invite him."

The Bull Demon King pointed to the distance and said, "It's on the road."

The old Taoist took a closer look and saw a Taoist in a purple robe riding on a white deer, followed by an old man. He said, "Go and invite your master here quickly."

Upon hearing this, Bull Demon King turned around and stepped back to ask for help from the real person.

The old Taoist instructed the Taoists behind him, "Hurry up and prepare the hot soup. Bring the man's stick in as well. Put it away and don't be disrespectful."

The Taoist bowed deeply and was about to take the mixed iron rod, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift the mixed iron rod.

Seeing the Taoist blushing, the old Taoist said, "How come you can't even lift a stick? I've told you before that those who practice cultivation should not lose their primordial energy too early. But you lost your primordial energy and are so weak."

The Taoist panted unsteadily and said, "Master, I didn't lose my yang energy. It's just that the stick is too heavy."

The old Taoist cursed: "It's just a stick, how heavy can it be?"

Say it.

The old Taoist tried to pick up the stick, but the stick was so heavy that he could not lift it no matter how hard he tried.

The old Taoist was puzzled and asked, "Why is this stick so heavy? Go to the temple and call someone to lift this stick."

The Taoist priest hurried into Guanzhong. Not long after, three or four Taoist priests came out. They were all young and strong. They came together to lift the mixed iron rod. However, none of them could lift the mixed iron rod. They thought the mixed iron rod weighed four or five thousand pounds.

Just when the old Taoist was feeling a little helpless, he suddenly heard a sound nearby.

"You can't lift my stick. I appreciate your kindness. You don't have to lift it anymore."

But then the Bull Demon King came out and easily lifted the iron rod with his hand.

The four Taoists were terrified and fell to their knees, calling him a god.

The old Taoist was also very panicked.

"Niu'er, don't be rude."

The purple-robed Taoist riding on the deer spoke with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Bull Demon King did not dare to be rude and served beside the Taoist priest in purple robe.

The old Taoist calmed himself down, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Master Xuan Jing of Jinyang Temple, I am honored to meet you, sir. May I ask your Dharma name?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan dismounted the white deer and said, "It is the abbot of Xuanjing Temple who is here. I am sorry for my rudeness. My Dharma name is Guangxin."

The old Taoist chanted "Guang Xin" several times and said, "I have never heard of it."

A few Taoists behind him muttered to themselves, "nobody" and so on.

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "I have never been famous, and it is normal that the temple master has never heard of me."

The old Taoist said, "Although fellow Taoist Guangxin has never been famous, he can speak famous words, so he must be a person who has practiced. Please come in. I have prepared hot soup to warm you up."

Jiang Yuan readily agreed, and he and the old Taoist entered the temple together. The Bull Demon King took the white deer to the back hall of the temple and tied it up, and then walked into the hall.

They walked into the main hall and then went straight to the back room, where they sat down one by one. The abbot, the Taoist priest, asked someone to serve them fragrant tea and prepare hot soup, then started a fire to warm themselves up.

When the temple master saw Jiang Yuan finish his tea, he said, "Daoyou, I heard that man say that you came from Xiniu Hezhou. Is that true?"

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "That's right."

The master of the temple asked, "What exactly is Xiniu Hezhou? I have made many friends, but I have never heard of this place."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "A small place."

The abbot nodded and said, "I see. I have also traveled around the nearby county and have some knowledge. If it is a small place, it is normal for me not to have heard of it."

Jiang Yuan said, "Please take this cultivator to wash up, arrange a place for him to stay, and let him rest."

The immortal pointed at Zuo Liang behind him. Zuo Liang was swaying and looked a little uncomfortable.

The temple master then arranged for a Taoist priest to take him away to rest.

The abbot said again: "Daoyou, how come this old man, who is so old, still follows you around? Is he also from Xi Niu Hezhou?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "He is from the Southern Continent. He came with me just to practice cultivation. His life span is not very long now."

The temple master asked, "Why do you say he has a short life span? I have some ability in face reading. The old man is over sixty years old."

Jiang Yuan said: "He is only one year old."

The abbot pondered for a long time and said, "Fellow Daoist, please don't deceive me. How can he be only one year old?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Just one year old."

The master of the temple asked, "What do you mean?"

Jiang Yuan said: "New life is also life."

A Taoist priest at the bottom laughed and said, "You must have gone insane from practicing cultivation. You said a person over sixty years old is only one year old."

Jiang Yuan smiled but said nothing and did not argue.

The Bull Demon King was a little indignant at first and wanted to argue with him, but when he saw the real person's appearance, he said no more.

The abbot listened to what his disciple said, shook his head and sighed. He also felt that Jiang Yuan had gone astray. He had often heard that if a cultivator practiced in the wrong way, they would go astray, probably just like the man in front of him.

The abbot had no intention of saying anything more to Jiang Yuan. He turned around and left, leaving a Taoist boy to receive the immortal.

The Bull Demon King whispered, "Master, do you want me to teach them a lesson?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Niu'er, don't be angry."

The Bull Demon King said, "Master, if this is the case, then we will just let him insult us."

Jiang Yuan said: "What he said is not an insult."

Hearing this, the Bull Demon King had no choice but to give up. Jiang Yuan said, "Practice here for a day and leave tomorrow."

The Bull Demon King agreed.

The Taoist boy in the corner came forward carefully and said, "Sir, do you want me to find a quiet room for you to live in?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "No need."

The Taoist boy pondered for a long time and said, "Sir, I think what you said is correct."

Jiang Yuan heard this, turned around and asked with a smile: "Why do you feel this way?"

The Taoist boy said, "Lifespans are what we remember when we were ordinary people. Now that we are practicing, why do we still remember lifespans? Practice is a new life. What you said makes sense, sir."

Jiang Yuan asked: "Do you really think so?"

The Taoist boy touched his head and said, "Many books left by our ancestors contain similar sayings. The master should know about this, but... he just didn't think of it at the moment."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Is there anything in the Taoist book that you don't understand? Tell me about it, maybe I can answer it for you."

The Taoist boy asked doubtfully, "Sir, you are from a foreign country, can you really answer this for me?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Maybe."

The Taoist boy was skeptical and told Jiang Yuan about some of the things he didn't understand about his spiritual practice.

After hearing this, Jiang Yuan explained the situation to the Taoist boy in a few words.

……

In another room in the Taoist temple, the temple master was roasting a fire with several Taoist disciples.

Several Taoists said, "Master, that foreigner is really ignorant of etiquette and is talking nonsense. What is he talking about? The old man is over sixty years old, but he said he is only one year old."

The abbot roasted himself by the fire and laughed, "Don't talk nonsense. People who practice cultivation should not speak of others in this way. We are born in the great country of China, so we must be considerate of these foreigners."

All the Taoists complimented him, and then said, "Master, since these foreigners do not know how to practice, why don't we invite them to come during our morning class tomorrow so that we can teach them the benefits and disadvantages of practicing in China."

The abbot nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. If that's the case, let's teach them how our morning prayers are in Jinyang Temple, so that they can be awed."

Everyone was smiling happily, saying that the foreigner would definitely worship the master of the temple.

The temple master listened to what everyone said, smiled and nodded, his mind was active, he said: "That foreigner does have some cultivation skills, if we can keep him in the temple, it will be a good thing."

When the crowd heard this, they began to flatter the abbot again, saying that he was merciful.

……

At dawn the next day, Jiang Yuan, who had been sitting cross-legged in the back room all night, was ready to leave. He called out to Niu Mowang to go and summon Zuo Liang, but he had not yet let Niu Mowang leave.

A Taoist priest came and invited Jiang Yuan and Niu Mo to attend the morning class at the Taoist temple.

Jiang Yuan heard this and asked, not understanding what he meant, "Why did you call me to attend the morning service?"

The Taoist said, "My master wants you to watch the morning service at my Taoist temple."

Jiang Yuan pondered for a long time and said, "I'm honored to stay in the temple for one night. Since the temple master invites me, I'll go."

After hearing what Jiang Yuan said, the Taoist felt relieved and led the way.

Halfway through the journey, they suddenly saw Zuo Liang coming. Jiang Yuan asked Zuo Liang to follow him, and they all walked forward again, followed the Taoist and walked to the main hall.

But in the main hall, the old Taoist temple master, along with a dozen disciples, were fiddling with one piece of jewelry after another. Some were diamond-studded Taoist crowns, and some were embroidered Taoist robes. There were about twenty pieces in total. The temple master placed these jewelry in front of the statue in the main hall.

Jiang Yuan looked up and said, "What are you doing?"

The Taoist behind him laughed and said, "You are ignorant. This is to worship the ancestor."

Before Jiang Yuan could ask, the Bull Demon King behind him was dumbfounded and said, "Didn't you say that we should have morning prayers? Do we need to offer sacrifices during morning prayers?"

The Taoist said: "Morning prayers must be offered. Offering such treasures to the ancestor will earn his care for the day."

The Bull Demon King asked, "Now that we have offered up all these treasures, what shall we do?"

The Taoist said, "Of course we are burning some gold and silver. Pilgrims have brought gold and silver here. We have not burned these treasures after offering them, so that we can show our sincerity."

The Bull Demon King was shocked. This Taoist was too extravagant. The offerings that people had made to pray for rain at the Flaming Mountain in previous years were nothing compared to what was offered in this morning service.

Jiang Yuan looked at the statue in the main hall and felt it looked familiar. He asked, "Who are you worshipping?"

The Taoist replied: "It is the God of Xuantian."

Upon hearing this, Bull Demon King couldn't help but laugh, because he knew that his master had an old relationship with Emperor Xuantian.

The Taoist was puzzled and asked, "How could you lose your composure when the Lord Xuantian is in front of you?"

The Bull Demon King just put away his smile.

Jiang Yuan asked, "How long will your morning class take? Does the Lord Xuantian know that you are waiting like this?"

The Taoist said complacently: "It will take us four hours to offer sacrifices. The Emperor Xuantian will surely know our sincerity."

Jiang Yuan said: "If you use these four hours to recite scriptures and practice Taoism, I think Emperor Xuan will understand your sincerity better, instead of offering such ornaments as offerings like now, which only makes Emperor Xuan unhappy."

Upon hearing this, the Taoist became very angry and cursed, "You ignorant foreign barbarian, how do you know that the Emperor Xuan is displeased?"

Jiang Yuan did not argue and wanted to leave with Bull Demon King.

The Taoist stopped him and said, "Tell me why Emperor Xuan is unhappy!"

The Taoist who was fiddling with the ornaments heard the noise, came over and asked, "Wuyin, what are you doing? Why are you making a noise in front of the Lord Xuantian?"

The old Taoist also came over with an unhappy look on his face.

The Taoist then recounted what had happened and told the old Taoist and his fellow disciples about it.

The old Taoist heard this and stopped Jiang Yuan, saying, "You foreigner, I kindly invited you to observe my morning classes. How could you speak so arrogantly to the Emperor? You said that the Emperor was not pleased. How can this be justified?"

The Bull Demon King swung up the iron stick, blocked the old Taoist priest, and his eyes were wide open with anger.

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "You have been offering sacrifices for four hours and spent so much gold and silver. Aren't you slacking off in your practice? How can the Emperor Xuan be pleased? If you can practice with a calm mind and recite scriptures in the morning class without distractions, then the Emperor Xuan will be pleased."

The old Taoist said: "You are not the Emperor Xuan, so how do you know what the Emperor Xuan is happy about?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Although I am not the Xuan Emperor, I know the Xuan Emperor."

The old Taoist was very angry and said, "How dare you, a foreigner, speak nonsense? If you continue to speak like this, don't blame me for not letting you leave the gate of my Jinyang Temple."

The Bull Demon King swung his iron rod and cursed: "You are blind, why are you worshipping the Mysterious Emperor? You don't worship the real immortal in front of you. Open your dog eyes and see what foreigner is in front of you."

The old Taoist looked at Jiang Yuan, but couldn't see anything. He opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know how to say it. After a long time, he said, "True Immortal? You are talking nonsense."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Since you said that Emperor Xuan likes you, I will invite Emperor Xuan to come and talk to you."

Say it.

Jiang Yuan walked into the main hall and faced the statue of Emperor Xuan. He bowed and said, "Xiniu Hezhou Lingtai Fangcun Mountain Xieyue Sanxing Cave Guangxin, please see me, Emperor Xuan."

As the immortal was speaking, a divine light appeared from his body, shining brightly. The two tripods on his waist, Yu and Ji, kept vibrating. The Bull Demon King revealed his true form, holding a mixed iron stick, and stood beside the immortal to protect him, looking around.

(End of this chapter)