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

Chapter 256: The Three Holy Mothers Break the Law, Easier Knowing Than Doing
Time flies, and before I knew it, two years have gone by.

It is said that ever since the Bull King got the magic weapon, he has been cultivating his mind. He has not forgotten his cultivation because of the magic weapon. On the contrary, he has been more focused on his cultivation because of the magic weapon and the elixir. During the two years, there has been peace in the mansion, and everyone has been cultivating. Chongyang and the other two would talk from time to time, and Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King would try their martial arts from time to time. The real person mostly used this time to cultivate his nature in silence.

One day, the immortal was meditating in a quiet room when he suddenly felt something in his heart and vaguely understood something.

Erlang Shen came to the mountain to visit him again.

Jiang Yuan sat cross-legged on a cushion, not understanding the meaning of the situation. He didn't know why Erlang Shen had come. Didn't Erlang Shen come to visit him a few years ago? Why was he here again?

Although the Immortal did not know why Erlang Shen came or why, since Erlang Shen had come in person, he had to go out to greet him.

As the Immortal thought so, he stood up and walked out of the mansion. Just as he reached the outside of the mansion, he saw auspicious clouds coming. He used his ability of observing qi and it was not difficult to see that there was a fairy god above the auspicious clouds. It must be Erlang Shen. He wondered why Erlang Shen did not lead the troops to go out today.

He often saw Erlang Shen, who liked to travel with troops. The Grass-Headed Gods, the Six Brothers of Meishan, etc. were mostly inseparable from Erlang Shen, but for some reason, they were not brought along this time.

Jiang Yuan waited outside the mansion for a while, and then saw auspicious clouds descending.

When Erlang Shen saw the Immortal waiting outside the mansion, he stepped forward and said, "I know you must have been able to make me come here."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Master, I just met you a few years ago. Why did you come to my house now? Are you worried about me?"

Erlang Shen said, "I am a little worried, but I have something to discuss with you to relieve my worries."

Jiang Yuan was puzzled when he heard this. What could have caused Erlang Shen to be troubled? He asked, "True Lord, is it about the law?"

Erlang Shen nodded and said, "It is related to this matter. It is a long story. True man, let's find a place and we can talk slowly."

Jiang Yuan said, "Since that's the case, Master, please follow me into the mansion and we can talk on the balcony."

Erlang Shen shook his head and declined, saying, "Master, please find another place."

Jiang Yuan didn't understand what he meant, but did not refuse, so he rode away on a cloud with Erlang Shen and headed out of the mountain.

Both of them were people with supernatural powers, and they had the ability to "travel to Beihai in the morning and Cangwu in the evening". It didn't take long before they arrived at a long pavilion on the mountain.

In the long pavilion, Erlang Shen somehow prepared some delicious food and wine for him to enjoy with the immortal.

Erlang Shen held up the wine cup and said, "Master, please use this. Although it is not as good as the delicacies at the grand banquet, it is also a rare wine and food in the world."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Such delicacies are rare."

Erlang Shen said nothing, but only drank with the immortal.

Jiang Yuan accompanied them with a smile. The two of them ate all the delicious food and drank all the wine. They waited until the sun set in the west and the fire mirror appeared, and the moon rose in the east and the ice wheel appeared. Only then did they stop enjoying their food.

Erlang Shen was a little annoyed and said, "Master, I came here for something. I want to talk to you about it. I hope you can give me some advice so that I won't be bothered."

Jiang Yuan didn't understand what he meant, and said, "True Lord, this matter of revising the law is so difficult for you, why is it so troublesome for you, please explain it clearly."

The Immortal also traveled through the human world. When he encountered illegal things, he would discuss with the Emperor Xuan and revise the laws, but he never encountered any difficulties. The most dangerous monster he encountered while walking in the human world was the Great Sage Water Ape. Apart from that, he never encountered any difficulties. Even the Great Sage Water Ape could not be described as difficult.

Erlang Shen said, "This is a long story. You should know that I am a law maker, so I walk around the world. My way of repairing the law is different from yours. You walk wherever you like, but I investigate everywhere. If there are any deficiencies in the law, I will draft a plan to repair it. If there are any violations, I will capture them to rectify the laws of heaven."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "You are the one who judges the law, so this is fine. But I don't know why this bothers you."

Erlang Shen said, "Please listen to what I have to say. I have been walking in the human world like this, but I suddenly saw that my sister had violated the law. I was at a loss and didn't know what to do."

Jiang Yuan said: "Sister Zhenjun, is it the Three Holy Mothers?"

Erlang Shen nodded and said, "That's right."

Jiang Yuan asked, "I wonder what law the Three Holy Mothers violated?"

Erlang Shen pondered for a long time before saying, "You are my good friend, so I have nothing to worry about. You, my sister, the Third Holy Mother, married a mortal for some reason. The Heavenly Palace has its own rules, and immortals cannot marry mortals. I don't know what to do about this matter."

Say it.

Erlang Shen had a look of anger on his face, but he couldn't show it in front of the real person, so he had to suppress it.

Jiang Yuan was surprised when he heard this and said, "I heard from the True Lord that the Third Holy Mother has always been loyal, but I don't know why she would do such a thing."

People who practice cultivation mostly cultivate their minds and cultivate their nature. Since they have always had a sincere heart, they must be people who practice the right way. With the golden elixir in their body, how can the Yuan Yang be lost? If it is lost, the root will be unstable and it will be difficult to succeed in cultivation.

Therefore, those who practice the golden elixir method wholeheartedly usually keep the primordial yang in their body and stabilize the root, thus achieving twice the result with half the effort.

Erlang Shen shook his head and said, "I am also confused. I am a little angry about this incident, but I don't know how to deal with it. If you ask me to handle it impartially, I can't bear it, but if I let it go, it would be a blasphemy against the laws of heaven."

Jiang Yuan pondered for a long time and said, "True Lord, can the Three Holy Mothers succeed in their righteous path?"

Erlang Shen said: "It has not been accomplished yet. I heard that the five people have not surrendered yet. It is still a long way from success, but with the help of the Precious Lotus Lantern, there is great power."

Jiang Yuan heard this and said, "Is it because of Mu Mu that she caused the Three Holy Mothers to violate the Heavenly Law?"

Erlang Shen said, "If it is really the Wood Mother who is causing trouble, and the two gods are being deceitful, then they shouldn't be doing this. Having sex with a mortal is like being trapped in a sea of ​​suffering. A mortal's life span is no more than thirty or forty. When they die, will they be able to escape from the sea of ​​suffering?"

Jiang Yuan said, "I know all about your troubles, Master. Master, neither you nor I have great magical powers. If you don't handle this matter properly, you may end up in a sea of ​​suffering."

Erlang Shen shook his head and said, "If I enter the sea of ​​suffering, what is there to be afraid of? I am righteous and invulnerable to all evil. The sea of ​​suffering cannot harm me."

Jiang Yuan said, "True Lord, although you are not afraid of the sea of ​​suffering, it is difficult for you to deal with the situation now. What do you think?"

Erlang Shen sighed and said, "Master, what I think is that we should respect the laws of heaven. The Jade Order cannot be violated. I can't bear it, but I can't violate the order."

Seeing this, Jiang Yuan said, "The True Lord has already had something in mind, and he came to me just to talk to me."

Erlang Shen nodded and said, "The only one who can talk to me is the Immortal. I know in my heart that if I do what I want to do, I must follow the law. Although I am a god, I cannot break the law. However, if I follow the law of heaven, my sister will definitely die, so I have not taken action yet, and this is why I am troubled."

Jiang Yuan didn't know what to say. If this matter was in his hands, he would also feel troubled. If he really saw such a thing and was asked to handle it himself, he would not know what to do, and he might even be worse than Erlang Shen.

Erlang Shen looked at the Immortal, shook his head and said, "Immortal, you don't know that I am suffering because of this matter."

Jiang Yuan said, "I heard that Zhenjun and the Jade Emperor have some kinship."

Erlang Shen nodded and said, "If we talk about personal feelings, I should call him uncle."

Jiang Yuan said: "Why not report this to the Jade Emperor and ask him what to do."

Erlang Shen shook his head and said, "If I report this, it will not cause trouble to the Jade Emperor. I will handle it now."

Jiang Yuan said: "If so, Master, what should you do?"

Erlang Shen said, "Do it according to the law." Jiang Yuan said, "If you do it according to the law, the Third Holy Mother will die."

Erlang Shen said: "I don't know what to do, but if there is no other way, I have no choice but to do this."

Jiang Yuan said, "In the past, Marshal Tianpeng got drunk and knocked over the Douniu Palace and molested Chang'e. This crime was much greater than that of the Three Holy Mothers, but Taibai Jinxing pleaded for mercy, so he had to be demoted to the lower world. Now the Three Holy Mothers have intercourse with the mortals, but it was because of a mistake in their practice and the evil deeds of the Wood Mother. It is understandable. It would be better for the True Lord to report to the Heavenly Court and discuss it carefully. Even if they have to punish them, there is no need to kill them."

Erlang Shen hesitated for a long time, but finally agreed.

Jiang Yuan said, "True Lord, if you want to perform a ritual, you can send others away, and you don't need to go."

Erlang Shen shook his head and said, "Since we have been ordered to enforce the law, we must do our best and not rely on others."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan bowed to Erlang Shen. He respected the true god's heart.

Erlang Shen talked with the immortal for a long time, and his troubles were relieved a little. After he bowed, he left and went to heaven.

Jiang Yuan watched Erlang Shen leave before he got up and returned to the Sanxing Immortal Cave.

When he arrived at the Three Stars Immortal Cave, he saw Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King fighting not far outside the mansion.

Sun Wukong swung his golden cudgel and Bull Demon King held his Pi Yue Spear. The two of them fought back and forth, and for a while, the fight was quite even.

Jiang Yuan took a closer look and found that although the two were fighting back and forth, Sun Wukong was ultimately better in martial arts, and his magic power was also greater than that of the Bull Demon King, so the Bull Demon King found it difficult to defeat him. The back-and-forth fight was probably due to the magic weapon in the Bull Demon King's hand.

The two fought for a long time, and just as the immortal had expected, the Bull Demon King was defeated.

The immortal walked out only after he saw that the winner had been decided.

The two were talking when they suddenly saw the immortal approaching and they both greeted him.

The Bull Demon King asked, "How did the master get out? I don't know."

Jiang Yuan said, "The Immortal Lord is here to visit me, so I went out to meet him."

Sun Wukong asked: "Why did the True Lord come to visit? Is there something difficult on the way to repair the law?"

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "Some things are difficult for Master Zhenjun, but Master Zhenjun has left now."

Sun Wukong said: "Big Brother, does the True Lord need help? If so, I can go and help the True Lord."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Don't worry, the True Lord will handle it himself, and there is no need for our help."

After hearing this, Sun Wukong had no choice but to give up. He then said, "Big Brother, has something gone wrong with my nephew's training?"

Jiang Yuan asked, "Wukong, why do you say that?"

Sun Wukong said, "Big Brother, I just saw Junior Brother Zhengwei cleaning the house. There was a dark blue spot between his eyebrows. This is a sign that his soul is bewildered. There must be something wrong with his practice."

Jiang Yuan heard this and said, "Don't worry, Wukong. I already knew about this. It's normal for the practice to be off track since the Wei Yuan Dharma has not yet arrived."

Sun Wukong said: "It would be fine if you knew about this, but I am afraid that you don't know and may miss out on this matter."

Jiang Yuan said, "Wukong, be at ease."

They talked for a long time outside the mansion, then went back into the mansion and returned to their quiet rooms.

……

But inside the mansion, in a quiet room.

Chongyang was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, trying hard to find the five people, but no matter how hard he looked, he could not find them.

In front of him were placed bamboo slips related to the "Golden Elixir".

Chongyang frowned, his heart was filled with annoyance like a dark cloud pressing down on his head. He could not find where his 'inner monkey' was. Sometimes an idea came to his mind and he tried to capture it, but it was gone in a flash. The idea was like a monkey and he could not catch it.

"Where are the five of them?"

"There are five people in my body: the monkey in my heart, the golden man, the will horse, the wood woman, and the yellow woman. How come I can't find any of them?"

"Could it be that Master is deceiving me, there are no five people in his body, what is the real self, what is the golden elixir, are they all deceiving me?"

"Impossible, Master can't lie to me, the Golden Elixir Path must be true."

"But if the Golden Elixir Path is true, why can't I get any hope after practicing so hard?"

"Brother Zhengyuan has only been practicing for a short time, but he has gained something. However, I have practiced for such a long time, but I have not gained anything. Why is this so?"

"Could it be that what Master taught me is a fake Golden Elixir Way, and what Junior Brother Zhengyuan practices is the real Golden Elixir Way? Master doesn't like me, but likes Junior Brother Zhengyuan. If Junior Brother Zhengyuan is killed, then Master will definitely teach me the real Golden Elixir Way."

"Chongyang, Chongyang, what on earth are you thinking about?"

Chongyang only felt disturbed by distracting thoughts. In the past, he could stop having distracting thoughts by cleaning the house, but now it was different. No matter what he did, distracting thoughts kept coming up, making it impossible for him to calm down.

His eyes were red, and he stretched out his hand to tear into pieces the scripture with the words "Golden Elixir" written on it.

As soon as Chongyang tore it apart, he felt that the distracting thoughts in his mind had suddenly achieved their purpose. They retreated one after another and no longer disturbed his mind.

Chongyang became a little more sober. He looked at the paper in front of him that he had torn into pieces, and his heart tightened. This piece of paper was given to him by the immortal himself. There had never been such a scripture in the library. Now he was asked to tear it into pieces. What should he do?

Chongyang suddenly had some distracting thoughts in his mind, and he even had the guts to do something evil. If he tore up the paper, his master would surely blame him. It would be better for him to just run away from his master, and then he wouldn't be blamed.

Chongyang had this thought just now, so he told him to put it out.

This went on over and over again, and Chongyang's thoughts rose and fell, but it was difficult to find the right path.

……

Real person quiet room.

Jiang Yuan had just returned here and had not yet entered into a state of meditation. He felt something in his heart and looked towards Chongyang.

The article he wrote himself was now torn into pieces, and he must have felt deeply moved.

The Immortal sighed, "Zhengwei, you knew about the two gods long ago, but you don't know that you are disturbed by them now. Doctors in the world only know how to 'prescribe the right medicine for the right disease', but you are deceived and don't know that you are disturbed by the two gods. How can you solve the disturbance of the two gods?"

Jiang Yuan felt emotional. There is a saying that 'knowing is easy, doing is difficult', and this is true for Chongyang. Chongyang is well-read and knows two gods, and even more so five people. He also has the help of his primordial spirit, which is a very good situation. However, they are only principles after all, not real deeds. Now that he is practicing the right way of golden elixir himself, he knows how difficult it is.

(End of this chapter)