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

Chapter 178 Emperor Xuan arrives in person, and the book is full of heart

It is said that in Wudang Mountain, behind the Taihe Palace, the Heavenly Venerable Dangmo was meditating there. He could hear a sound like the ringing of thirty-six golden chimes. This was the sound of millions of pilgrims offering incense. There was a lot of incense in Wudang Mountain.

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable opened his eyes, called the fairy boy in, and asked, "Have you checked the incense recently?"

The fairy boy bowed and said, "Master, I check it every day and there is no mistake."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Lord asked, "Has anyone been injured by the demons?"

The fairy boy said, "Master, most of them come here for trivial matters, and no one has ever been harmed by demons. That is because you are powerful and in control of the world, and you are the real warrior, so demons dare not harm pilgrims."

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Master nodded and said, "The sea and mountains are peaceful, and the universe is tranquil and peaceful, which is naturally the best."

The fairy boy saw that Emperor Xuan looked a little sad, so he asked, "Master, why do you look sad?"

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said, "I enjoy a quiet and peaceful life here, and rarely have friends come to visit me. In the past, the real people came to visit me, and I had a good chat with them, which made me happy. But I haven't seen any friends come to visit me for a long time."

The fairy boy said, "If you want to have a good chat with your friend, you can write a letter and ask him to come."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Master shook his head and smiled without saying anything.

The fairy boy was about to say something else when he suddenly saw the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Lord looking outside the hall and a voice came from inside the hall.

"Xiniu Hezhou Lingtai Fangcun Mountain Xieyue Sanxing Cave Guangxin, please see it, Emperor Xuan."

The words were accompanied by the sound of blue smoke and the echo of the sound of tripods.

When the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable heard it, he realized that it was the voice of a real person, who was using the sound of a temple in Jambudvīpa to transmit the sound. He then said, "Quickly check which temple in Jambudvīpa this is from."

The fairy boy received the order, and five hundred spiritual officials appeared with auspicious clouds around them. They thoroughly investigated the source of the incense and within a moment, they got the news that it was the Jinyang Temple in the southern continent of Jambu.

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable asked, "Where is the Golden Sun Temple?"

The fairy boy said, "Master, Jinyang Temple is a private temple. You didn't know about it. Jinyang Temple has been built for sixty years. There was a temple master who went to Wudang Mountain to burn incense. Master saw that he had a connection with Taoism, so he looked down at him and showed him a favor. Later, this man left, practiced for many years, and built Jinyang Temple to worship you."

Upon hearing this, Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said, "Has the abbot of the Golden Sun Temple achieved success in his cultivation?"

The fairy boy said, "No, he has long passed away. I don't know who the abbot of Jinyang Temple is now."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said, "The Immortal has called me at the Jinyang Temple. If so, I will go there."

The fairy boy didn't understand what he meant, and asked, "Master, this person came here because of the incense, so you should just go away in a trance to accompany the incense, how can you move your real body?"

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said, "If the Immortal invites you, I will go there in person."

The fairy boy said, "Please wait for a moment, sir. I will gather the soldiers and follow you immediately."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable shook his head and smiled, "No need. I am going to look for the Immortal. With the Immortal and I, there are very few people in the world who want to hurt us."

Say it.

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable stood up, left the Taihe Palace, and rode on a auspicious cloud to the Jinyang Temple. After a while, he arrived at the Jinyang Temple.

But in the Jinyang Temple, the immortal prayed to the Emperor Xuan to appear. Divine light appeared in his body, the two tripods on his waist vibrated, and the Bull Demon King was beside him as a guardian.

The old Taoist priest and the Taoists at Jinyang Temple were dumbfounded. How could they not know that this was a person who had practiced cultivation?

The old Taoist was panicking and was about to go forward to pay his respects when he suddenly saw a man appear in the hall. This man was full of majesty and looked like an immortal. Upon closer inspection, he was exactly the same as the statue of "Xuantian God".

The old Taoist recognized him and fell down in fright. The Taoist priest behind him helped him up, not understanding what he meant.

Everyone asked, "Master, what's wrong with you?"

The old Taoist said tremblingly: "That person is exactly like the statue, it is the God of Xuantian."

Hearing this, everyone was so frightened that they staggered and fell in panic.

The old Taoist was extremely panicked. That man's shouting actually caused the God of Xuantian to appear. Could it be that the God of Xuantian really disliked him as this man said?

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable appeared, walked in front of the Immortal, and said, "I am here, Immortal."

When Jiang Yuan saw the Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable, he stood up, bowed, and said, "Greetings to the Emperor Xuan."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable did not dare to be arrogant, and returned the greeting: "Master, please don't be so polite. You called me here, isn't it just to greet me?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Emperor Xuan, please listen to me."

The Immortal then told the affairs of Jinyang Temple.

Upon hearing this, Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable had a heavy expression on his face and was extremely angry. The joy he had felt in meeting his good friend was completely gone.

He pondered for a long time and said, "Master, I know that many people in Jambudvīpa worship me. This is because I have seen that many people in Jambudvīpa are harmed by demons. Therefore, I will protect those who worship me and the demons will never dare to harm them. But I didn't know that those who worship me would use such a ridiculous ceremony to treat me."

Jiang Yuan said: "The Emperor Xuan has many incense offerings, so he doesn't know this."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable did not answer, but looked at the old Taoist priest. When he came to him, the Taoist priests retreated when they saw the Emperor Xuan approaching, feeling timid. He said, "When did I ever say that I liked this kind of incense and flower sacrifice?"

The old Taoist trembled and bowed, saying, "Disciple Xuan Jing, I bow to the Emperor Xuantian."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable asked, "Please answer my question."

The old Taoist said in panic: "My disciple made a presumptuous guess and offered incense and flowers to you. Please forgive me, Lord Xuantian."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable shook his head and sighed, "Since you offer me sacrifices, you should know that I never like any kind of incense or flowers. But you are sincere and have a heart devoted to the Tao. Even if you do not bow to me, I will still be happy to tell you. But you are confused and lazy in your practice. Even if you offer incense, flowers, gold and silver, I will still hate it."

The old Taoist prostrated himself on the ground.

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable sighed again, as if he was feeling regretful. He walked to the side of the Immortal and said, "Immortal, the people in this temple have offended you. Please forgive me."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Emperor Xuan, don't say that. This is the case with this temple. I'm afraid there are many such cases in the world of Jambu. People don't know the intentions of the gods and immortals, and they offer sacrifices recklessly and neglect their cultivation."

The Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable agreed with this and said, "Master, this should be the law. Therefore, 'At the beginning of cultivation, as long as one has a sincere heart and practices diligently, he will eventually be protected by me, and evil spirits will not harm him, and all kinds of magic will not invade him. However, if one is diligent at the beginning but becomes lazy and careless in the end, he will be expelled from the Tao, lose his fortune and life, and go to the Copper Pillar Hell after death.'"

Jiang Yuan bowed and said, "Emperor Xuan knows the principle of tension and relaxation."

The Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable said, "Thank you for walking around the human world to investigate illegal activities. There are three laws in the Black Law Book, all of which were investigated by you. I should thank you."

Jiang Yuan said: "Emperor Xuan, there is no need to thank you."

The two talked for a long time in Guanzhong, which made everyone in the main hall feel uneasy. Fortunately, the two did not talk for long. Emperor Xuan knew that this was not a place to talk, so he asked the Taoist to come to Taihe Palace more often when he was free. He snorted at the old Taoist and others, and left on the auspicious cloud.

The old Taoist and others only felt a loud bang in their ears and felt dizzy. They sat on the ground for a long time before they felt better. When they woke up, they saw no people in the hall. Whether it was Emperor Xuan, Jiang Yuan, Bull Demon King, Zuo Liang and others, they had all left. It was really like a dream.

The old Taoist said tremblingly: "Have you seen Emperor Xuan before?"

Everyone was panicked and said, "Of course I see it, of course I see it."

The old Taoist knelt on the ground and said, "From now on, I will not dare to be disrespectful anymore. I will practice cultivation with all my heart. I will remove the incense and flowers, and I will no longer accept gold or silver in the temple. I will keep everything simple." Everyone obeyed his order.

Suddenly, a Taoist boy came in in panic and called out, "Master, Master."

A Taoist stopped the boy and asked, "What are you doing?"

The Taoist boy pointed at the book in his hand and said, "Master, I know who that gentleman is."

The old Taoist called the Taoist boy in and asked, "Why are you flipping through the Taoist books for nothing?"

The Taoist boy said, "Yesterday, that gentleman explained to me many of the profound meanings of the Taoist books. He answered all the questions I didn't understand in a few words. So when I read Taoist books, if I don't understand something, I will ask the gentleman again. But I met that gentleman in the Taoist books."

The old Taoist was startled and asked, "How did you see that gentleman in the Taoist book?"

The Taoist boy pointed to a passage in the Taoist book in his hand and read, "Master, there is a passage in the book, so there is a biography of the immortals, 'Guan Ling Yin Xi was a doctor of Zhou. He was good at studying the stars, taking essence, healing hidden virtues and benevolence, and no one at that time knew it. Guan Yin Xi was good at observing the qi, and sometimes saw purple qi coming from the east and golden light going into the west. He knew that two saints were coming, so he looked for them and blocked them, and he actually got the Western Saint and Laozi.' There are two more chapters, and I remember that 'Guan Yin Xi worshipped the Western Saint, and knew that the Western Saint had broad mind, and sometimes had the ability to stop food and protect grain, and live forever, and he was surprised to see it.'"

Upon hearing this, the old Taoist was surprised and said, "You said that the Western Saint in the book is that gentleman? The Western Saint's name is Guangxin, which is the same as that gentleman's Taoist name. They both came from the West. But how can we take this seriously? The Western Saint in the book was a person from the Zhou Dynasty."

The Taoist boy turned over another page of the Taoist book, on which there was a picture of the Western Saint. He said, "Master, the picture of the Western Saint is very similar to that gentleman."

The old Taoist took the book and looked at it carefully. He trembled and said, "No, no. That gentleman is actually a god."

It is too late for the old Taoist to regret. He worships Emperor Xuan every day and wants to see immortals. When a real immortal came and entered his temple, he did not treat him with courtesy and behaved inappropriately.

The old Taoist priest exhaled, looking much older. He sat on the ground, at a loss.

……

On the mountain road, there was a vast expanse of white. The immortal was riding a deer, the Bull Demon King was leading the way, and Zuo Liang was following behind the deer.

The real person asked with a smile: "Zuo Liang, did you have a good rest yesterday?"

Zuo Liang said, “Sir, it’s ok to take a rest, but the Taoists in the temple are a bit slack.”

The real person asked, "How do you say that?"

Zuo Liang said, "Those Taoists dislike me because I am a foreigner. Even though I talked to them and said I am a local, they still dislike me because I am not from this county. Yesterday I thought, if I were from this county, would these people dislike me because I am not from the Taoist temple? If I were from the Taoist temple, would these people dislike me because I am not the direct disciple of the temple master?"

The real person smiled and said, "What do you think?"

Zuo Liang shook his head and said, "Sir, I don't think these people look like cultivators at all."

Jiang Yuan asked: "Zuo Liang, what do you think of cultivation?"

Zuo Liang hesitated for a long time, then shook his head and said, "Sir, I don't know."

Jiang Yuan said: "You can go and ask the Bull King."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liang quickly stepped forward, stopped the Bull Demon King who was leading the way, and asked him what cultivation was.

The Bull Demon King swung his iron rod and smashed a huge rock that was blocking his way, and said, "Why are you asking me this?"

Zuo Liang said, "Master Niu, I don't know, so I came to ask you. You are a person who has practiced cultivation, so my questions will definitely be useful."

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King was overjoyed and said, "You are right. I am a practitioner. It is wrong for you to ask me what practice is."

Zuo Liang was confused and asked, "Master Niu, why do you say that?"

The Bull Demon King said, "You are practicing cultivation now, so it is wrong to ask me what cultivation is."

Zuo Liang was confused and walked back. It didn’t take long before he reached the white deer.

Jiang Yuan asked: "Do you understand?"

Zuo Liang shook his head and said, "Sir, I didn't understand. Master Niu said that I was practicing."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Zuo Liang, cultivation does not necessarily require the power to move mountains and fill the sea, or to subdue demons and monsters. Cultivation is cultivation, and there is no subdivision. True cultivation is often between heaven and earth."

Say it.

The real man said no more and just kept moving forward.

Zuo Liang still had some doubts, but he had a vague understanding in his heart. He just followed the immortal and after completing this journey, perhaps he would understand what cultivation was.

Jiang Yuan walked forward for a long time, and the Bull Demon King turned back and asked, "Master, how should we move forward?"

Jiang Yuan asked, "Are we not far from the Huai River now?"

The Bull Demon King nodded and said, "Sir, that's right."

Jiang Yuanben was heading south when he suddenly felt the Ji Ding on his waist vibrate slightly. He looked down and felt something in his heart. He said, "Niu'er, let's go to Jizhou. How far is it from here?"

The Bull Demon King looked towards the north for a long time and said, "Master, if you want to know the direction, I know it, but if you ask me how far it is to Jizhou, I can't tell you. I know the cloud path. When the clouds come, I go, and when the clouds leave, I return."

Zuo Liang stepped forward and said, "Sir, I know."

Jiang Yuan said: "Since you know it, tell me."

Zuo Liang pointed to the direction of Jizhou and said, "Master, the distance from here to Jizhou is such that if we were to travel at our normal speed, it would take us three or four months to get there."

Jiang Yuan said, "Three or four months? Just keep going. If there are any inns, temples or houses along the way, you can rest there. If not, just keep going."

Niu Mowang and Zuo Liang both responded.

They all went to Jizhou.

After walking for a long time, I didn't realize that time passed quickly and more than a month had passed.

One day, they suddenly saw a high mountain ahead. Jiang Yuan was sitting on the back of a deer, but the Bull Demon King turned back to pay homage.

The Bull Demon King said, "Master, there are some secrets in the mountain ahead, and it seems that there are real cultivators there. We can go into the mountain and see them, or take a detour. It all depends on your opinion."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan looked up and used his ability to "see the air". After a closer look, he saw some divine light and auspicious aura on the mountain ahead. He said, "There must be immortals in the mountain. Let's go up and pay our respects to them."

The Bull Demon King took the order and did not dare to rush forward to make way. He held the iron stick and led the deer forward.

When Zuo Liang heard that there was an immortal in the mountain, he was also frightened. He followed the deer closely, not daring to make a sound, and was in a panic.

Jiang Yuan smiled and rode the white deer forward. Under the feet of the white deer, golden light appeared and paved the road. One only had to walk along the golden road to go up the mountain.

They went up the mountain together, and soon they reached the mountainside. In the forest ahead they saw auspicious air, auspicious clouds and hazy purple mist, which was exactly the atmosphere of a fairyland.

An immortal also appeared in Jiang Yuan's body, with divine light surrounding him, and he moved forward unimpeded. When he got closer, the immortal saw the road ahead. There were two people playing chess in the woods. The game was in full swing, and both of them were so engrossed that they were unaware of the outside world. The one on the left was a man with a full spirit and a majestic aura, and the one on the right was an old man with a long head, long ears and a short body.

(End of this chapter)