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

Chapter 241 Obtaining the Green Cauldron, Zuo Liang Becomes an Instructor

But Sun Wukong drew out his golden cudgel, and in front of the Great Sage Cave of the Sky-Bearing Twilight Wood, he threw a few banners and used a few moves, making the cave totter and the sun and moon dim, showing his omnipotent magical powers and high martial arts skills.

Sun Wukong waited in front of the mansion for a long time, but saw no movement from inside. He became impatient and shouted, "Open the door!"

The little demon guarding the door was so frightened when he saw Sun Wukong's powerful presence that he dared not speak to him. He just closed the door and shrank inside.

When Sun Wukong saw this, he swung his golden cudgel and hit the door of the mansion, breaking it into pieces and scaring the little demon behind the door into a panic.

Wukong was about to walk in.

Suddenly, a group of monsters of all sizes walked out of the mansion. A rough count showed that there were at least a hundred of them.

But then, groups of monsters of all sizes walked in, each holding something in their hands. The bull monster in the front was holding a few women, the tiger monster at the back was holding a few bottles of fine wine, the fox monster on the left was carrying boxes of gold and silver, the snake monster on the right was offering all kinds of rare treasures, and the wolf monster in the middle was wearing gorgeous clothes.

Wukong was a little confused.

After a while, another goblin walked out of the mansion. This goblin was wearing iron armor, his face was like a dead tree, his beard was sparse like iron wire, his lips were curled and his mouth was bloody, his hair was disheveled, and he was holding a wooden crutch. He was a rare goblin in Qingzhou.

The tree spirit left the house, bowed and said with a smile, "Are you the Great Sage Equaling Heaven?"

Sun Wukong swung his golden cudgel and said, "I am here. Are you the Great Sage who can lift up the sky and twist the wood in the mansion?"

The tree spirit bowed again and said, "I dare not call myself a great sage in front of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven."

Sun Wukong said, "Since you are the Great Sage who holds up the sky and twisted wood, please give me your crutch and let me beat you a hundred times to vent my anger. Then I can go and apologize to my senior brother."

The tree spirit panicked and said, "Great Sage, please forgive me! How can I bear your hundred sticks? We can talk about it, we can talk about it."

Sun Wukong said: "You have committed many evil deeds. Now that we have learned what we know, we will come to defeat you. What else do you have to say?"

The tree spirit said, "I know I have sinned deeply, but I have a repentant heart. Please forgive me, Great Sage. I have something here that can help me forgive my sins."

Sun Wukong pointed at the things the little demons were holding and said, "Are these the things you are talking about for forgiveness?"

The tree spirit replied: "That's right, that's right."

Sun Wukong looked him up and down and said with a smile, "What do you think I am? Not to mention that I have returned to the right path and practiced cultivation, even if I had not returned to the right path, what kind of treasures were those that I stole? They were pills from the Tushita Palace of the Supreme Lord Lao, and delicacies and fine wines from the Peach Banquet of the Jade Emperor. How can you compare to them? Not only me, but even my own family's monkeys and grandchildren would not covet these things."

When the tree spirit heard this, he felt ashamed and angry, and said, "This is the most precious thing in my house. How can you say that?"

Sun Wukong said: "Don't even mention that. Even if you really bring the treasures from the Heavenly Palace, I will not be tempted. Please surrender quickly to avoid a fight."

The tree spirit said, "Great Sage Equaling Heaven, I have forgiven all my sins now, are you really unwilling to let me live?"

Sun Wukong said: "You are a disaster, you have committed many evil things, and you have taught others to do evil things and led people into evil. I don't know how many sins you have committed. How can I let you go?"

Seeing that Sun Wukong refused to forgive, the tree spirit became very angry and said, "Since you won't forgive me, I will definitely fight you! My fellow soldiers, put down your treasures, take out your weapons, and surround and fight Bi Ma Wen!"

When the hundred or so little demons heard the order, they took their weapons, surrounded Sun Wukong, and fought together, wanting to kill him.

Sun Wukong was not frightened. He pounded his golden cudgel into the ground, then gathered some dust from the spot and threw it up into the air. He chanted the mantra, cast a spell to immobilize the body, and shouted "Stop".

But the hundred or so little demons were standing still, each with their teeth gritting, eyes open, hands spread out, unable to move, unable to speak, their weapons clanking and falling all over the ground.

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "You, you can't use these little demons to fight me."

When the tree spirit saw this scene, how could it dare to fight? It turned around and tried to escape in the wind and fog.

Sun Wukong shouted, "Demon! Take my stick!"

Sun Wukong swung his golden cudgel and hit the tree spirit in the face, trying to stop it from escaping.

Seeing that he could not escape, the tree spirit swung his crutch and hit Sun Wukong, wanting to challenge him to a challenge.

The two men competed for supremacy in the air in front of the palace. The Great Sage's golden eyes were like lightning, and the demon's round eyes were like silver flowers. One of them used his stick to frighten the ghosts and gods, while the other used his crutch to do something strange. They often used their sticks to fight each other, and it was difficult for good and evil to reconcile.

After fighting for five or six rounds, the tree spirit felt numb in his arms and he felt weak and tired. It was because the Great Sage's stick was too heavy and he had no strength to resist.

The tree spirit could not fight back and turned to flee.

How could Sun Wukong let the tree spirit escape? He yelled, "Don't run away!"

Sun Wukong swung his stick and hit the tree spirit on the top of its head, trying to end its life.

The tree spirit was terrified. As soon as it landed, it was going to blend into the trees and use the skill of "escaping from the shell" to escape with its life. But at the critical moment, a gentle breeze came and broke its trick, and froze the tree spirit.

But if you see Zhenjian coming, just a wave of the leaf fan is enough to break the spell.

The tree spirit knew that he could not defeat the real mana, so he fled in defeat.
Zhen Jian did not chase after her, but just waved a leaf fan with a smile on his face.

The tree spirit panicked and fled out of the mountain. He had not walked more than two miles when he saw the Bull King blocking his way.

The Bull Demon King swung his iron rod and cursed: "The real master is in front of you, why don't you accept surrender!"

Say it.

The Bull Demon King swung his stick and hit the tree spirit in an attempt to subdue it.

The tree spirit was terrified and picked up his crutch to fight against the Bull Demon King.

The two men's sticks collided and fought for two rounds. The Bull Demon King hit the tree spirit on the shoulder with his stick, causing the tree spirit to feel great pain. When he was about to escape again, Sun Wukong came and hit him with his stick, hitting him right on the top of his head.

The tree spirit knocked Sun Wukong down with one blow. How could he survive? He fell to the ground and revealed his true form, a dead tree that looked like a human.

When the Bull Demon King saw the tree spirit was on the run, he said, "My dear brother, how could you kill him without knowing whether the master would question you?"

When Sun Wukong heard this, he was about to say something, but the Immortal came over and said, "No need to ask questions. Seeing him take those things and confuse Wukong's mind is enough to know that he is hopeless."

Zhenjian said, "Big Brother, what you said is very true. This demon has red eyes. Its evil deeds are hard to eliminate. It also encourages people to do evil. Its sins are unforgivable."

Sun Wukong said, "Big Brother, Second Brother, Brother. Now that we have killed this monster, what should we do next?"

Jiang Yuan felt something in his heart, looked into the cave, and said, "The Nine Cauldrons are in the cave."

Sun Wukong said, "Big Brother, wait a moment. I will catch a little demon to ask."

Say it.

Sun Wukong retracted his golden cudgel and walked forward.

In a moment, Sun Wukong caught one of the little demons that was immobilized and placed it in front of the real person.

Sun Wukong only needed to ask once, and the little demon panicked and told the real person many things, such as there was a magical tripod in the cave in the mountain, which had existed for hundreds of years and the tree spirit had never been able to get it, and also that the land god in the mountain had colluded with the tree spirit to do evil, and so on.

After hearing this, Jiang Yuan pondered for a long time and said, "Niu'er, please go and identify the evil spirits in this place. Those who are good will stay, and those who are evil will go. Wukong, please report the actions of the local land gods and mountain gods to the Heavenly Palace and ask for their decision."

The Bull Demon King and Sun Wukong both obeyed the order and left. Jiang Yuan took the White Deer, Zhenjian, and Zuo Liang into the cave. Not long after, he saw a large tripod in the back hall of the cave.

But the tripod was hidden deep in the ground, with only a small half of its body exposed. There were bizarre patterns carved on it and it was covered with rust. I don't know how long it had been buried in this mountain.

When Jiang Yuan saw the tripod, he was moved and knew that it was one of the Nine Tripods.

Zhen Jian waved his leaf fan and asked, "Big Brother, is this the Nine Cauldrons?"

Zuo Liang looked eagerly in anticipation, also with a curious look on his face.

Jiang Yuan nodded and smiled, "It is the Nine Cauldrons. I don't know which one it is yet. But we need to take it out to know which one it is for the Nine Provinces."

Zhenjian asked, "How do you take it out, big brother?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Just use your strength to take it out."

Zhenjian was confused and asked, "Is this simple?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "It's not that difficult, but it's not that easy. Junior brother, why don't you give it a try and see if you can get this tripod."

Zhenjian said: "Can we really try it?"

Jiang Yuan said: "It's okay to try it."

When Zhen saw, heard and heard it, he walked to the big cauldron and stretched out his hand to lift it up.

He placed his hands on the tripod, but no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to lift it, which made him look a little embarrassed.

After a while, Zhen Jian was breathing heavily and asked, "Big Brother, can you use magic power?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "As long as you have magical powers, you can do it."

Zhen saw, heard and took out a leaf fan and fanned the cauldron. He saw wind rising and trying to shake the cauldron, but the cauldron was so heavy that it did not move at all.

When Zhen Jian saw this, he walked to the big cauldron, stretched out his hand and took a deep breath, wanting to fight the big cauldron again, but the big cauldron still did not move at all.

How can the spirit of a state be shaken?

Zhen Jian tried for a long time but couldn't find the way. He shook his head and said, "Big Brother, I can't take this tripod."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Nine Cauldrons are certainly not something to be trifled with."

Say it.

When the immortal walked to the big cauldron, the big cauldron seemed to sense something, and divine light burst out from the cauldron, giving rise to auspicious aura, which was extraordinary and magical.

Seeing this scene, Jiao Zhenjian and Zuo Liang were secretly frightened.

Zhen Jian thought to himself, "I have heard in the human world that the Nine Cauldrons will prosper when they meet a saint. Big Brother, you are indeed a saint."

The immortal reached out his hand and touched the big cauldron, then grasped it. With a slight lift, the cauldron, which was half buried in the ground, was easily brought out by the immortal. The cauldron emerged, radiating divine light and thousands of auspicious colors, looking like an immortal.

Jiang Yuan finally saw the entire appearance of the tripod.

This tripod is 18 feet long, with patterns carved on its body, which makes it sparkle. It is truly "a spot of divine light shines from the mouth of the tripod, and the zodiacal light is bright and auspicious." There is a rune on the tripod, which means "green."

Jiang Yuan lifted up the tripod. The tripod was spiritual and when the immortal lifted it up, it turned into a small tripod and fell into the palm of the immortal's hand.

Jiang Yuan said: "The nine tripods are Yu, Yong, Ji, Yan, Qing, Xu, Yang, Jing, and Liang. This tripod is the Qingzhou tripod, which is the wooden tripod. There is a saying that 'earth is the mother of the five elements, water is the source of the five elements, and wood is the beginning of the five elements'. This tripod is a wooden tripod, which has the effect of suppressing the wood of the world."

Zhen Jian smiled and said, "Big Brother, you have obtained a new treasure, we should congratulate you."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and smiled without saying anything. He hung the Qing Ding around his waist. From then on, the Immortal had three of the Nine Dings, namely the Yu Ding, Ji Ding, and Qing Ding.

Zuo Liang said, "Sir, I don't know."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Zuo Liang, what don't you know?"

Zuo Liang said, "Sir, earlier the green bull said that it had been searching for the two mountains for a long time, but for some reason it could not find them. Now you are searching for them and it is very easy. What is the reason? Could it be that the green bull did not try its best to search?"

Jiang Yuan hadn't answered yet.

Zhenjian said: "Zuo Liang, I can help you solve this problem."

Zuo Liang bowed and said, "Grandpa Buddha, what do you say?"

Zhen Jian laughed and said, "I thought Qingniu must have searched hard and dared not be negligent in the slightest, but this is not something that can be found immediately if you try hard. In the past, when I had not yet achieved success in my practice, I was an ordinary person, confused and muddle-headed. Fortunately, my master did not dislike me and my senior brother did not abandon me, so I am who I am now. At the beginning of my practice, I met my true self. It was only a millimeter away, and I could see it, and thus achieve success in my practice. But this millimeter has hindered me for who knows how many years, just like 'a leaf blocking the view of the mountain'. Qingniu and I are in the same situation."

Zuo Liang suddenly realized and said, "That's the truth. Thank you, Grandpa Buddha, for clearing up my confusion."

Zhenjian said: "Don't call me Grandpa Buddha. Maybe in the future, you will call me Uncle Master."

Zuo Liang was shocked and puzzled. He looked at Jiang Yuan as if he was thinking about something and his body trembled. This Buddha Grandpa was the Immortal's junior brother. Buddha Grandpa said that he should call him uncle-master in the future. Could it be that the Immortal wanted to accept him as a disciple?

If he could have a true man as his teacher, it would be a great blessing for him.

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Zuo Liang, how long have you been following me?"

Zuo Liang heard this, hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "I don't know, I don't know! But I was so focused on walking that I didn't even notice the time."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "Zuo Liang, you have been cultivating your mind and understanding all along the way. I would like to accept you as my disciple. Are you willing?"

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liang knelt on the ground, performed great respects, and said with great joy, "Disciple is willing, disciple is willing."

Jiang Yuan dodged and said with a smile: "Don't bow yet. I can accept you as my disciple, but there is one thing. If you can do it, I will accept you as my disciple."

Zuo Liang bowed and said, "Please tell me, sir. Even if there are a thousand difficulties, I will do it and will never give up."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "I have now subdued the evil spirit in this mountain and taken the Green Cauldron. I will return to the mountain. The place where I practice is in Xiniu Hezhou, which is more than 100,000 miles away from here. If you can follow me back to the mountain, then I will accept you as my disciple."

Zuo Liang said, "I am determined to follow you, sir. Please rest assured, sir. Even if it takes a million miles, I will follow you."

Jiang Yuan said: "This road is extremely difficult, it is not easy, you just follow me, if you give up, I will send you back, if you succeed, I will accept you as my disciple."

Zuo Liang said: "I, the disciple, thank you, sir. I will always remember your kindness to me. Even if I don't have the opportunity to become your disciple, I will never forget this kindness."

Jiang Yuan helped Zuo Liang up and told him to follow him alive.

Zuo Liang naturally agreed to follow.

Jiang Yuan then told Zuo Liang and Bai Lu to go outside the mansion and talk to Bull Demon King about gathering some things, and wait for Sun Wukong to return, and then they should leave for Xiniu Hezhou.

Zuo Liang bowed to Jiang Yuan, and then bowed to Zhen Jian, before leaving the mansion leading the white deer.

(End of this chapter)