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

Chapter 231: The Past of Tieguai Li

But the Immortal wanted to help Li Tieguai to subdue the Green Ox, so they went to Donglai County in Qingzhou. They traveled for more than a month. It was a cold winter day with a biting north wind and the ground was slippery and icy.

The group of Immortals walked on the road without feeling cold, because they all possessed supernatural powers.

Tieguai Li turned around and saw Zuo Liang walking in the cold winter. He saw that Zuo Liang was an ordinary man. He felt sorry for him and asked, "Are you cold?"

Zuo Liang shook his head and smiled, "Thank you for your concern, Immortal, I never felt cold."

Tieguai Li asked, "You don't have any magical powers now, so why aren't you cold?"

Zuo Liang smiled and said, "To be honest, Immortal Master, I am now following you to practice cultivation in order to seek freedom. At first, I felt a lot of pain in my body, and was afraid of heat or cold. However, as I walked along the way, although my body was in pain, I felt much more relaxed and enjoyed it. I was not afraid of this kind of cold."

Tieguai Li asked: "What should you do if you are injured?"

Zuo Liang shook his head and said, "If sacrificing this body can make me truly free, then there is no use for this body, just take it."

When Tieguai Li heard this, he was moved and bowed to Zuo Liang.

Zuo Liang avoided him and asked, "What is this, Immortal?"

Tieguai Li said: "Although my magical power is higher than yours, you are better than me in this aspect of mind and character, so I should bow down to you."

Zuo Liang asked, "How can you say that my character is better than yours?"

Tieguai Li smiled and said, "Have you ever heard my story?"

Zuo Liang shook his head and said, "No."

Tieguai Li walked back and stood with Zuo Liang. He smiled and said, "Let me tell you something. Are you willing to listen?"

Zuo Liang said: "The immortal is speaking to me, and I am willing to listen."

Tieguai Li smiled and said, "I was like you before, an ordinary person who loved to practice cultivation. That's how I became what I am now. At that time, I was conceited and handsome, and I got the Dharma from Laojun, who accepted me as his disciple. Later, I left my soul and traveled with Laojun. I never thought that my body would be destroyed, so I had to use a corpse to revive. I became what I am now. All along, I have been a little concerned about my body. Now I hear what you say, and I know that I can't let it go. I must change."

Zuo Liang asked in surprise, "Resurrection through a corpse? There is such a magical power?"

Tieguai Li smiled and said, "Don't be alarmed. I am using a corpse to revive my soul, but this body is dead. It is not some evil magic."

Zuo Liang said: "I know that the immortal is not a person who uses evil magic, but I am surprised by your ability. I hope you will not be surprised."

Tieguai Li said: "Although I have supernatural powers, I am not as good as you in some aspects. I value my body, but I am not as clear as you. When I was reborn, I often hated my body. If it were not for Laojun's persuasion, I would never have been able to bear this body."

Zuo Liang smiled and said, "What's so valuable about this body? If I can give it up and be free, why wouldn't I give it up? Immortal, there's a saying that 'appearance is determined by the mind', so why not accept it with all your heart and soul? Who knows, you will find that there is nothing wrong with this body."

After hearing this, Tieguai Li pondered for a long time, bowed to Zuo Liang, and said, "I appreciate your advice."

Zuo Liang accepted the greeting.

The two said no more.

Jiang Yuan listened to their conversation and smiled without saying anything.

The group continued to move forward, and soon Sun Wukong turned back and said, "Big Brother, Donglai County is just ahead."

Jiang Yuan looked ahead from afar and indeed saw a city looming in the distance. He asked, "Where is the 800-li Liquan Mountain?"

Tieguai Li stepped forward and said, "Master, I don't know. You can call the land god to ask him."

Jiang Yuan agreed.

Sun Wukong immediately obeyed the order, chanted a spell, used his magical powers, and sent the land god to come. After a while, an old man appeared, got up from the ground, bowed to the immortals and said, "Songshan land god, I greet the immortals, I greet the great sage!"

Sun Wukong asked, "Don't say too much. I sent you here to ask you something. You must answer it with all your heart."

The land god panicked and said, "Please ask me, Great Sage. I will answer you with all my heart and will not make any mistakes."

Sun Wukong said: "There is a 'Eight Hundred Miles Away Spring Mountain' here. Where is that place?"

The land god pointed to the west and said, "It is in the west. Walk fifty miles from here and you will see it. Great Sage, you must be careful when you go to that mountain. There is a monster in the mountain. It has extraordinary abilities and it is difficult for ordinary people to defeat it."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "You, the Earth God, are suspicious. Have you never heard of my abilities?"

The land god said tremblingly: "I know the Great Sage's ability, but that monster is also a skilled fighter. I am afraid that the Great Sage will suffer a loss."

Sun Wukong said, "Thank you. I will definitely keep your advice in mind and not let him suffer any loss. But I wonder if that fellow is in the shape of a green ox?"

The land god said: "I am fortunate to have seen it once, but it is a blue bull, but I don't know where it came from."

Sun Wukong said: "I already know, I will go there now to subdue him, you go now."

When the land god heard the news, he dared not disobey and escaped underground.

Sun Wukong turned around and reported to the immortal.

The Immortal smiled and said, "Let's go west. It has been some time since I last saw this Green Ox. He used to praise me as Broad-minded, but I haven't heard of him for a long time."

Sun Wukong and others all obeyed the order, changed their plan and headed west. Their purpose was to subdue the Green Ox.

……

To the west of Donglai County in Qingzhou, 800 miles away from Quanshan, there is a cave where a green ox lives, enjoying himself every day. He also gathers soldiers and horses, about a thousand of them, and calls himself "Si King", the Demon King of Qingzhou, looking very majestic.

One day, Qingniu was eating fruit with his family in the mansion, and a little demon was serving him.

A little demon said, "My king, you have gathered more than a thousand soldiers and horses, but do you need to gather more?"

Qingniu shouted, "Why are there only a thousand soldiers? What's the use of this? At least we can gather more than ten thousand, at most a hundred thousand, the more the better."

The little demon didn't understand what he meant, so he asked, "My king, why do you want to gather so many soldiers? If we had a few hundred soldiers, we could dominate Qingzhou, but there are no demons in Qingzhou that can rival us. Now we have more than a thousand soldiers, not to mention Qingzhou, even in Xuzhou, there is no rival."

Qingniu said, "Don't pay any attention to it, just gather together."

The little demon said, "Is the king going to rebel against the heaven?"

When the Green Ox heard this, he was furious and wanted to throw a fruit at him, but after a closer look, he felt reluctant to do so, so he took a cup and threw it at him, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about."

The little demon said, "Your Majesty, you have gathered a hundred thousand soldiers and horses. What else can you do if not to rebel against the heaven?"

The blue ox cursed, "What do you know? The Bull Demon King of Cuiyun Mountain in Hezhou, Western Niu, has more than 10,000 men under his command. How can I be weak against him?"

The little demon was speechless, he found that his king was a little strange. He usually didn't allow him and others to do evil, but he wanted to gather troops and horses. He didn't eat meat and only ate fruits. Now he heard that the purpose of gathering troops and horses was to compete with the Bull Demon King?

His king is not like the ordinary monsters. If it were not for his great power, no monster would be willing to obey him.

Under Qingniu's strong request, Xiao Yao had to leave and continue to gather troops.

(End of this chapter)