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

Chapter 209: Zhenjun vs. Wukong, who wins?
It is said that in a long pavilion in the mountains, Jiang Yuan met with Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun in the pavilion. They set up a stone table and placed fine wine and delicious food on it.

At the table were Erlang Shen, Zhenren, Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King. There were also two or three small tables where Zuo Liang, the six brothers of Meishan and others sat.

Erlang Shen smiled and said, "Master, Great Sage, and Bull King, there are only a few of us here, and we are all brothers. There is no need to worry about etiquette, and you can do whatever you want."

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "You are right, Master. You don't have to worry about etiquette."

Jiang Yuan smiled and nodded.

A group of people were toasting each other in the pavilion, chatting and laughing, having a great time. Sometimes they talked about magic, sometimes about spiritual practice, and sometimes about the customs of different places, all of them were happy.

The conversation lasted for two days before it stopped. After the banquet, everyone sat down in the mountains and talked.

Erlang Shen said, "Master, I was out with my brothers on a patrol and hunting trip. I am so happy to meet you. I have heard that you are here for the Xuan Emperor to enforce the law, but I don't know why you are here now."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "I am walking in the human world, but I feel something in my heart. I know that the True Lord is in front of me, so I invite the True Lord to come and talk about friendship with me."

Erlang Shen smiled and said, "You are a real person walking in the world. What do you need my help for?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Nothing happened, please be at ease."

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Master, don't worry. With me and my brother protecting you, you will be fine. How could you need help?"

The Bull Demon King echoed, "That's right. My brother and I also have some skills. Ordinary people are definitely not our opponents."

Erlang Shen looked at Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King for a long time and said, "I was wrong. The Great Sage has the support of the two of you, but he does not need my help. The Great Sage has accomplished his mission and has been named Fighting Buddha. His practice has also improved."

Sun Wukong bowed and said, "I don't deserve it. Compared with you, I am not as capable as you."

Erlang Shen said with a smile, "It has been a long time since I have tried my magic with the Great Sage. Now that we have met, I see that the Great Sage is even more powerful than before. I wonder if the Great Sage would be willing to try his magic with me and compete with me?"

Sun Wukong asked, "I wonder if I can delay my elder brother's trip. If I do, I absolutely cannot do that."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "No problem, Wukong, it's fine for you to try your magic with Zhenjun. I also want to see how you have improved now, Wukong."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong covered his mouth and laughed, "If that's the case, then I'll let you and Zhenjun try it out a bit."

Erlang Shen readily agreed, and pointed to the old woods outside the long pavilion and said, "Great Sage, come with me to fight outside."

Say it.

Erlang Shen stretched out his hand and a strong wind whistled. A three-pointed, double-edged spear flew into his hand, and he leaped into the old woods.

Sun Wukong turned around and said with a smile: "Big Brother, Brother, please wait for me here for a while. I will go and fight with the True Lord."

As he spoke, Sun Wukong transformed himself and took off his monk robe. His body was shining with golden light. He was wearing lotus silk cloud-walking shoes, a golden chain mail armor, a Yin-Yang Qi bottle hanging from his waist, a phoenix-wing purple gold crown on his head, and a Ruyi golden hoop in his hand. He rode on a cloud and went towards the old woods.

The Bull Demon King approached and asked, "Master, who do you think is better, my brother or the Immortal Master?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. Wukong has become a Buddha now, and his heart is on the road to the west to be right. Now he has truly achieved enlightenment, his magic power is profound, and he has all kinds of magical powers. He is also the creator of heaven and earth. It is difficult for those in the Three Realms who do not have great magic power to defeat him. Xiansheng Zhenjun has been famous for a long time. He is a well-known 'good fighter' inside and outside the Three Realms. In the past, I tried martial arts with him. His martial arts are so strong that I have never seen him in my life. If I compete with him in martial arts, I will be defeated in less than ten rounds. Therefore, in this battle, I don't know who will win and who will lose."

The Bull Demon King said: "I don't know who will win or lose, but both of them are definitely more powerful than me. I will watch carefully."

Jiang Yuan said: "Niu'er, there is no need to compare yourself with others. You have your own path of cultivation. No matter how powerful his method is, it cannot shake your heart. Don't lose the big picture for the small."

The Bull Demon King smiled and said, "Master, don't worry. I have followed you for some time, how could I not know this? Master often taught me that cultivation should be based on cultivating the mind. If you practice without cultivating the mind, you will have no Dharma mind. If you practice first, you will have Dharma mind. Now that I am following you, I will just practice and cultivate my mind. When I have practiced a lot, I will definitely have magical powers."

Jiang Yuan nodded with a smile.

……

In the old woods, Sun Wukong was swinging his golden cudgel and was about to fight with Erlang Shen.

When Erlang Shen saw Sun Wukong dressed up like this, his eyes lit up and he said, "Great Sage, you are indeed majestic. I have never seen you dressed like this before, but now that I see you, you are truly majestic."

Sun Wukong covered his mouth and laughed secretly, "True Lord, you are too kind. When I was protecting Tang Monk on his journey to the West, I couldn't wear this to avoid distraction. Now that I have accomplished my mission, it is no problem. Moreover, I must not be careless when fighting with True Lord. True Lord is very capable. If I am careless, I am afraid I will definitely lose."

Erlang Shen shook his head and said, "Great Sage, you are joking. With your abilities, it is difficult for me to defeat you, not to mention that you have a lot of treasures on you. Moreover, your magical powers are increasing day by day. I am afraid that I cannot defeat you now."

Sun Wukong said with a smile: "Master, there is no need for us to be so modest. Let's try it out. How about that?"

Erlang Shen said, "That's right, Great Sage, be careful."

After that, Erlang Shen raised his three-pointed, two-edged spear and attacked Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong swung his golden cudgel and turned around to meet the enemy.

The two had a fierce fight in the old forest. On this side was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, who was personally conferred the title of Buddha by the Buddha, and on the other side was the Erlang God of Zhaohui, whose name was known to everyone in the Three Realms. The two fought in the forest, fighting back and forth to compete for strength. The Great Sage's iron rod was like a flying dragon, blocking left and right, while the True Lord's divine sword was like a dancing phoenix, welcoming and reflecting from the front and back. When the fight reached its exquisite point, the True Man and the Bull King all cheered, the Six Saints of Meishan all cheered, Zuo Liangfan was uneasy, and the soldiers of various units were uneasy.

Wukong and Erlang Shen fought for more than 300 rounds, but it was difficult to determine the winner.

Wukong's stick skills are both hard and soft, and Zhenjun is even more skilled in martial arts. It is hard to tell who will win in such a fight, but Wukong is born with great strength, so no matter how they fight, his strength does not decrease, and each stick is heavier than the last.

After fighting for more than 300 rounds, Erlang Shen thought to himself, "Not good, not good! This Great Sage was born from heaven and earth, but he has a long-lasting strength. If I fight him for another 200 rounds, I will be defeated. My martial arts cannot beat the Great Sage, so I will lose if I fight him again."

Thinking about this.

Erlang Shen fired a fake shot with his spear, knocked Wukong away, and flew away into the sky on a cloud.

Wukong was so excited about the fight that he couldn't let Erlang Shen leave. He came on a cloud and said, "Don't leave, my lord. Come and fight with me again!"

When Erlang Shen saw Wukong catching up, he turned around and transformed into a falcon and pounced towards Wukong.

When Wukong saw this, he knew that Erlang Shen intended to compete with him in magical powers, but he was not afraid. He plucked out a hair and blew a breath of magical air. In an instant, thousands of monkeys appeared, each holding an iron rod and attacked the falcon.

The falcon got anxious and turned his body to reveal his true form. He took out his slingshot and pulled the pull of the slingshot. With one shot, he killed most of the monkeys.

When Wukong saw this, he quickly jumped up and hit him on the head with his stick.

Erlang Shen turned around and held it, saying with a smile: "Great Sage, you are really capable!"

Wukong used his golden cudgel to hold Erlang Shen at bay, saying, "Your Majesty's magical powers are immense. On my journey west, I have never seen anyone as powerful as you."

Erlang Shen said with a smile: "I know the Great Sage's ability. There are very few people in the Three Realms who can fight with you! I am not satisfied with the fight now, let's fight again!"

Say it.

Erlang Shen wielded the three-pointed, double-edged spear to force Wukong back, then took out an axe and chopped at Wukong.

Wukong swung his golden cudgel to block it.

Unexpectedly, when the golden hoop and the axe collided, a huge force was felt, causing Wukong to retreat a lot.

Wukong looked at the plain axe in Erlang Shen's hand and knew it was a treasure, but he was not afraid and rushed forward with his golden cudgel.

The two men started fighting in mid-air.

Erlang Shen, with the blessing of his treasure, was able to overwhelm Wukong, leaving Wukong with only the power to defend but not to attack.

The two fought in mid-air for more than a hundred rounds, but still could not determine the winner. Wukong was no match for the divine axe, but after all, he had a deep foundation and was born and raised naturally, so even if he was hit by the divine axe, he would not be hurt.

After a day of fighting, there was still no winner, so the Taoist priest finally stopped the fight.

Jiang Yuan stopped the two and led them into the pavilion.

Erlang Shen was breathing heavily and was struggling.

On the other hand, Wukong was different. He was calm and composed. He changed into a monk's robe and sat on the pavilion.

Erlang Shen said: "The Great Sage is indeed very capable. He is truly amazing."

Wukong shook his head and said, "I tried this method, but I lost."

Erlang Shen said, "Great Sage, why do you say that? I relied on my treasure to fight you just now. If we were to compete in martial arts, I would definitely defeat you after a thousand rounds."

Wukong said, "Master, the treasure is also the method of cultivation in your body, why do you say the word reliance? If we fight, I am no match for you if the battle continues."

Erlang Shen wanted to say something else.

Jiang Yuanqi stepped forward and said, "You two don't need to fight anymore. This is a tie-breaker."

The two of them accepted it with pleasure.

(End of this chapter)