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

Chapter 253: The Spiritual Beast Captures the Green Ox, Reveals the Divine Law

There is a remote place in the south of Lingtai Fangcun Mountain. Qingniu opened a cave here and occupied the south of the mountain. He called himself the Great King Si and gathered the spiritual beasts in the mountains for his own use. For example, the black ape, white deer, golden lion and jade elephant were all under his command and used by him.

Qingniu was discussing with the spirit beasts under his command how to gather the demons outside to serve him.

Qingniu ate an orange in his hand and said, "Tell me a way to gather the demons outside. But if we rely on martial arts, they will only appear to be convinced but not in their hearts."

A black ape stepped forward and said, "My king, if you want to gather the demons together, you must use your skills, but you cannot rely solely on your skills. You must use benevolence and righteousness, one for power and one for benevolence, only in this way can you win their hearts."

When Qingniu heard this, his eyes lit up, and he threw the orange fruit to Xuanyuan, saying, "One is mighty and one is kind, well done! You deserve a reward!"

The black ape took the tangerine and thanked the green ox again and again.

When the Immortal's mount, the White Deer, heard the Green Ox say this, he stepped forward and said, "King Si, the master does not know what you are doing. Why don't you talk to the master first? If the master allows you to do so, then it won't be too late to gather the demons. Furthermore, if the master allows, with the master's name and the master's name, it will be a matter of time for King Si to gather the demons."

Qingniu said: "If I could get the Immortal to agree, would I do this? Don't say this. I know the Immortal has practiced for thousands of years, so he definitely doesn't know what we are doing, so don't worry about it."

Bai Lu said, "King Si, if nothing happened, I would have practiced for ages, but King Si is making such a big noise today, I must have alarmed him."

Qingniu said: "Don't worry, the real person won't know."

Bai Lu wanted to dissuade him again.

Qingniu said, "If you try to dissuade me again, don't blame me for being rude."

Upon hearing this, the White Deer dared not persuade the Green Ox any further, for fear that the Green Ox would become angry.

Qingniu was just about to discuss things with these spirit beasts when he suddenly heard a noise coming from outside the mansion.

"That green bull monster, get out of here immediately!"

When the Green Ox heard the sound, he knew that it was Sun Wukong who had come. He was about to ask him something, but unexpectedly the Golden Lion came to report.

The Golden Lion said, "Your Majesty! The Great Sage Equaling Heaven and the Immortal are waiting outside the palace. Please go out and talk with them."

When Qingniu heard that the Immortal had arrived, he was afraid and waved his hand, saying, "Go out and tell them that I am not in the mansion and have gone out for something."

The Golden Lion said, "My king, the real man is outside, and we cannot fool him."

Qingniu scolded, "Are you under my command or under the command of the real person? You should obey my orders."

The Golden Lion hesitated for a moment and said, "We will obey the orders of the Immortal, but please go out and meet the Immortal."

When Qingniu heard this, he was about to start cursing.

Suddenly, they saw the spirit beasts in the mansion all holding swords and weapons, staring at the Green Ox with murderous intent. Without waiting for the Green Ox to say anything, they rushed forward and subdued the Green Ox to the ground.

Qingniu shouted, "How dare you! I am your king, how dare you point your sword at me?"

The black ape held a rope and tied up the blue ox. He then ordered the white deer to take away the blue ox's weapons and said, "We are the beasts of the Immortal Mountain, and the Immortal is the master of the Immortal Palace. How can we disobey the Immortal's orders?"

Say it.

The Black Ape called upon the Golden Lion and the others to capture the Green Ox, and sent them out of the mansion to meet the Immortal.

……

But outside the mansion, the Immortal, Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King were standing there, waiting for the green bull to leave the mansion.

Sun Wukong drew out his golden cudgel and threw away all his tricks, wanting to force the Green Ox to come out, but when the Green Ox took a long time to come out, he became a little impatient and was about to break down the door to force the guy to show up.

The Bull Demon King stepped forward to stop him and said, "Brother, don't do this. This is a fairy mountain. If you break the gate, it will inevitably make the blue bull angry. Then you will fight with it and hurt the flower and grass spirits in the mountain, which will be bad."

Sun Wukong said: "But the blue bull has not come out yet, should we wait here forever?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Wukong, don't worry, the Si King has come out."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong opened his flaming eyes wide and looked towards the entrance of the cave. Sure enough, he saw a large group of people coming out, all of them were spirit beasts. The green ox was among them, but it was bound by the spirit beasts.

When the spirit beast saw the real person, it came forward to pay its respects and told him everything that the Green Ox had done.

After the immortal knew about this, he ordered the spirit beasts to release the green ox and leave, and not to mess with the green ox anymore.

All the spiritual beasts in the mountains obeyed the order and left.

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong burst into laughter and pointed at the Green Ox, saying, "How come this Green Ox allowed the magical beasts in the mountains to capture you?"

The Green Ox was very angry and shouted, "I gathered them together, why did you treat me like this? You captured me and took away my weapons. If I had my weapons, how could you have captured me?"

Sun Wukong was just about to say something else to make fun of the Green Ox.

Jiang Yuan stepped forward and grabbed Sun Wukong, saying, "King Si, I have received the order from Laojun to keep you here. Why are you making trouble in the mountains and not stopping?"

The Green Ox said, "It is boring for me to play alone in the mountains, so I gathered soldiers."

Jiang Yuan said: "Do you know that you are causing unrest in the mountains?"

Qingniu asked, "Why are you so restless?"

Jiang Yuan said, "The mountain is originally peaceful, and the spirit beasts are cultivating themselves, living in harmony. It's fine for you to gather the spirit beasts, but you want to gather the demons outside the mountain. What's the reason? Besides, you know that my master said you were 'making trouble', so I came to find you."

Qingniu wanted to argue, but when he heard the master say that he was "making a fuss", he kept silent and did not dare to say anything more.

Jiang Yuan said, "King Si, you must not act like this in the mountains. If I know you do this again, I will definitely send you back to Laojun and have a talk with him."

Qingniu said, "Master, please don't send me back and stop making trouble."

Jiang Yuan listened to what Qingniu said, and then he let Qingniu go, saying: "King Si, if you have some free time and do not want to practice meditation and enjoy peace, you can walk outside this mountain, but do not cause trouble and do not deceive others."

After hearing what the immortal said, Qingniu was overjoyed. He thanked him again and again, then took his weapons and went outside.

Sun Wukong said, "Big Brother, is it really harmless to let him go like this?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Wukong, don't worry. King Si is Laojun's beast and knows his limits. But since he came to the world, he has never harmed others or caused trouble. Don't worry."

Sun Wukong felt relieved after hearing what the immortal said.

Jiang Yuan then took Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King back to the mansion. When they arrived at the gate of Sanxing Immortal Cave, he, Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King were about to go back to the mansion when they suddenly felt something in their heart and looked outside.

Sun Wukong asked, "What happened to my eldest brother?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "An old friend came to visit."

Sun Wukong asked puzzledly: "Big Brother, do I know him?"

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "You recognize him, it is the Holy Lord Erlang who has come to visit."

Sun Wukong said happily: "It has been a long time since I last met the True Lord. Now that the True Lord has come to visit me, I want to have a good chat with him."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "We should treat the True Lord with courtesy. We will wait here and welcome the True Lord into our palace when he comes." Sun Wukong and Bull Demon King both responded.

The three of them then waited at the gate of the mansion.

After waiting for about two or three hours, I suddenly saw a strong wind and a thick fog ahead, indicating that there were soldiers approaching.

Sun Wukong opened his flaming eyes wide and took a closer look, and saw a group of grass-headed gods guarding Erlang Zhenjun and the six brothers of Meishan, who were coming with hawks and dogs.

The soldiers and horses stopped in front of Fangcun Mountain. Erlang Shen came out from there, riding on auspicious clouds. When they reached Sanxing Immortal Cave, the cloud stopped.

Sun Wukong asked the True Master for permission, and after receiving his permission, he leaped forward and said, "True Master, True Master!"

Erlang Shen pressed down the cloud and landed in front of the palace. He said, "Great Sage, why did you bother to come and greet me?"

Sun Wukong said: "My elder brother and I were just about to return home. He knew that the True Lord was coming, so he asked us to wait here. Sure enough, we saw the True Lord."

Erlang Shen heard this and said, "It's my fault that you waited in person."

Jiang Yuanxing stepped forward and said with a smile: "How can I not welcome an old friend who has come to visit me?"

Erlang Shen said with a smile: "I came to visit the Immortal today, but I feel a little nagging. Even if we have old feelings, it is not worth it for the Immortal to wait for me here."

Jiang Yuan said, "Master, we have known each other for a long time, please don't say such things. Master, please follow me into the mansion, and I will treat you with courtesy."

Erlang Shen smiled and replied, pointing to the outside of the mountain, saying, "Master, Great Sage, Bull King, I have placed my troops outside the mountain, and the peace in the mountain will not be disturbed."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "No, you can rest assured."

Sun Wukong said: "Your Majesty's troops are much more peaceful than that green bull, so why should they be disturbed?"

Erlang Shen was confused and asked, "What did the Green Ox say?"

Sun Wukong then told Erlang Shen the story of the Green Ox.

Upon hearing this, Erlang Shen laughed uncontrollably and said, "I've heard that Laojun's beast Si King is quite capable and has offended many people in the Heavenly Palace. Fortunately, Laojun was here and managed to make him safe. However, many people in the Heavenly Palace know his temper. I never thought that he would still act like this in the mountains and has not changed at all."

Jiang Yuan smiled and shook his head, then invited Erlang Shen into the mansion.

The group happily entered the Sanxing Immortal Cave, walked to a platform, and set up a banquet to welcome Erlang Shen.

During the dinner, everyone was talking about the past, and it was very lively.

Erlang Shen looked at the Immortal and said, "When I first met the Immortal in the past, the Immortal had just attained enlightenment. At that time, I was still able to fight with the Immortal. But now I am no match for the Immortal. Compared with the Immortal, I am far inferior."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and looked up and down at Erlang Shen. He saw that Erlang Shen had magical powers that were far stronger than before. He smiled and said, "Why do you say that, Master? Compared to when we first met, Master is far better. But if you have made progress, that is worth celebrating."

Erlang Shen nodded and said, "What the Immortal said makes a lot of sense."

Sun Wukong asked, "When did the True Lord and my elder brother meet?"

Erlang Shen smiled and said, "We have known each other for a long time. To be honest, my acquaintance with the real person is also a matter of fate."

Sun Wukong said: "How do you say that?"

The Immortal replied, "It's a long story. At that time, the head of the Zuo family wanted to go back to their hometown. The Zuo family came from the Southern Continent. To go back to their hometown, they had to cross a continent. I was worried, so I sent a white deer to protect them. The white deer sent the Zuo family son to Guanzhou in the Southern Continent, and the mission was accomplished. When it was about to return, it had evil thoughts and wanted to steal the offerings in the True Lord's temple. The True Lord caught it, and that's how I got to know the True Lord."

When Sun Wukong heard this, he covered his mouth and laughed secretly, saying, "I never thought that the white deer would do such a thing."

The Immortal shook his head and said, "I don't know if you are here to see me today for something important, or to reminisce about the past?"

When Erlang Shen heard the Immortal's question, he put down the wine cup in his hand and said, "I have something to ask you, Immortal. It's an important matter, and I also want to see you to reminisce about the past."

Jiang Yuan heard this and asked, "What's the important matter? Please tell me, I will definitely help you."

Erlang Shen said: "This matter has something to do with the real person, but I came here to repair the law."

Jiang Yuan asked again: "What about repairing the law? This is an agreement between me and Emperor Xuan. Because of this, I am walking in the human world, but because of the disciples in the sect, I have no choice but to return to the palace."

Erlang Shen said, "To be honest, I came here for this matter. The Jade Emperor knows that you left because of something. I also heard that Emperor Xuan reported the black book of laws to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor saw that it could be used for all living beings, so he sent me to walk in the human world on your behalf."

Jiang Yuan heard this and bowed, "If that's the case, I should thank you, Lord Zhenjun."

Erlang Shen shook his head and said, "I don't deserve the Immortal's gratitude. I am following the order of the Jade Emperor, which is different from the Immortal. In addition, I am different from the Immortal in that I follow the law of fate and walk in the world. I can see the shortcomings of the law. The Jade Emperor's order is to teach me to investigate the evil spirits and the confusion of people in the world, so as to make up for the law."

Jiang Yuan said, "Your Excellency has received the order from the Great Heavenly Venerable to come and look for me, but do you need my help?"

Erlang Shen said, "No. I know that the Immortal has no time to spare, so I went to find the Immortal and asked him where the most lawless places in the world are."

Jiang Yuan answered truthfully: "If it is the evil spirits that are lawless, then they are in the northern Juluzhou. If it is the people's hearts that are lawless, then they are in the southern Jambuzhou."

Erlang Shen took note of these words and thanked the immortal.

Jiang Yuan returned the gift.

After they had finished discussing the serious business, they had some fun in the mansion, and were very happy.

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, more than half a month had passed. The group was enjoying themselves in the mansion, discussing the sutras and the truth, and everyone gained something.

One day, Sun Wukong wanted to compete with Erlang Shen to test his martial arts again.

Erlang Shen readily agreed.

The group was afraid of disturbing the ancestor of the mansion, so they left the mansion and walked a hundred miles outside Lingtai Fangcun Mountain before they stopped, intending to fight.

The Immortal and the Bull Demon King rode on the clouds and watched from afar two people who were about to fight in a mountain.

The Bull Demon King asked, "Master, who do you think is better in this fight between the True Lord and my brother?"

Jiang Yuan looked out at the mountains and asked, "Niu'er, how do you feel?"

The Bull Demon King pondered for a long time and said, "Master, I think my brother is more capable than you."

Jiang Yuan smiled and asked again: "What do you mean?"

The Bull Demon King replied, "My Lord, in the past, when the True Lord and I fought, it was difficult to determine who would win, so we were evenly matched. But now it is different. My martial arts have greatly improved, and my magical power has greatly increased, far surpassing that of the past. With my ability, it is difficult for an old bull to last more than forty rounds against him, so the True Lord is no match for me."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Niu'er, you must know that it is not easy for Zhenjun to cultivate to this point. Just as Wukong has made progress, Zhenjun may have made some progress as well."

Upon hearing this, Bull Demon King was surprised and said, "If it weren't for my current ability, wouldn't I be able to capture the True Lord?"

Jiang Yuan said, "Just watch Niu'er, no need to say more."

The Bull Demon King stopped talking and looked at the fight below.

(End of this chapter)