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

Chapter 257: Capturing the Three Holy Mothers, Chongyang will be reincarnated

Speaking of the Lingxiao Palace in the Heavenly Palace, Erlang Shen Zhenjun seldom comes here, and he came here for the matter of the Three Holy Mothers.

Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun reported the matter to the emperor, and soon the Jade Emperor arrived at the Lingxiao Palace. All the civil and military immortals came to the palace to serve the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor summoned Xiansheng Zhenjun to come forward.

Erlang Shen entered the Lingxiao Palace and went straight before the emperor, where he bowed down without being disrespectful.

The Jade Emperor said behind the curtain: "I have heard what the True Lord said. We will handle it according to the Heavenly Law. Now the Three Holy Mothers have secretly had sex with ordinary people and have become husband and wife. What should we do according to the Heavenly Law?"

An immortal said: "He should be executed, he should be executed!"

Upon hearing this, Erlang Shen panicked and was about to bow down.

Taibai Jinxing leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty, please find out why the Third Holy Mother secretly had an affair with a common person. Only when you know the reason can you punish her. Otherwise, it would be unfair."

The Jade Emperor said, "According to what the Star Lord said, I will ask the spiritual officials to investigate this matter thoroughly and explain the reasons behind it."

The spiritual official immediately took the order and retreated.

After a while, the spiritual inspector entered the hall again and reported: "Your Majesty ordered a thorough investigation of the affair between the Third Holy Mother and a commoner. Now the truth has been found."

The Jade Emperor approved the request.

The inspecting spiritual officer said: "The reason why the Third Holy Mother secretly had sex with a mortal is because of her spiritual practice. Her earthly ties have not yet been resolved. Because her spiritual practice has not yet been successful, her mortal heart has been attracted, and she has thus secretly had sex with a person from the Southern Continent."

Taibai Jinxing leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty, this happened for a reason. It was because the Third Holy Mother made a mistake in her practice. The Third Holy Mother was a practitioner, and she had not yet completed her practice. She felt pity for all living beings and walked around with the Precious Lotus Lantern to subdue the monsters. This is a rare compassion. Therefore, I hope Your Majesty will remember the Third Holy Mother's compassion and her past merits and punish her lightly and give her a severe warning."

Erlang Shen turned around and looked at Taibai Jinxing with gratitude.

After hearing what Taibai Jinxing said, the Jade Emperor said, "Since the Star Lord has pleaded for him, considering his meritorious service, I will waive his punishment and exempt him from execution, and let him be imprisoned in Huashan for a thousand years."

Erlang Shen bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the troops to capture the Three Holy Mothers and imprison them under Mount Hua to restore the majesty of heaven. I hope Your Majesty will grant your permission."

The Jade Emperor allowed him to go and also allowed him to dispatch heavenly soldiers to the lower world.

Erlang Shen declined and said, "I will mobilize 1,200 soldiers and horses, which are enough to capture the Three Holy Mothers. There is no need for the heavenly soldiers to descend to the mortal world."

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor said no more and ordered Erlang Shen to descend to the mortal world.

After paying his respects, Erlang Shen left and went to Guanjiangkou to mobilize troops to capture the Three Holy Mothers.

……

Back in the Sanxing Immortal Cave, Jiang Yuan knew Chongyang's situation, and he knew that Chongyang was in a confused state of mind, with two gods bullying the righteous master and five people causing trouble. There was no hope for the righteous path.

When the Immortal saw Chongyang like this, he didn't know what to do, but he knew that he couldn't help Chongyang. Since Chongyang wanted to follow the right path of the Golden Elixir, he had to follow the necessary steps. If he missed any, it would not be the right path of the Golden Elixir.

The Tao is under your feet!

Everyone has his own way!

In the past, Jiang Yuan had his own righteous way to make the golden elixir, and Chongyang also had his own righteous way to make the golden elixir.

The difficulty of the right path is not something that can be taken lightly.

Therefore, Jiang Yuan knew that Chongyang would have a hard time, but he could not help Chongyang. Moreover, Chongyang was forced to live towards death, which was very different from his past.

One day, the Immortal was lamenting the difficulty of Chongyang. If feasible, he would rather Chongyang practice the side door. According to Chongyang's talent, he would surely succeed by practicing the side door.

Before he had thought much about it, he was suddenly summoned by the master. He immediately got up, walked to the master's quiet room, and met the master in person.

When the master saw the real person, he waited for him to finish his worship and said, "My boy, the time has come. You should send him off and sever your worldly ties."

Jiang Yuan had just been sitting cross-legged on a cushion. Upon hearing this, he asked, "Master, do you want to send Zhengwei to reincarnate to sever the earthly ties?"

The master said: "That should be the case. You can personally send him to the underworld to be reincarnated."

Jiang Yuan said: "Master, can I be his guardian?"

The master shook his head and said, "My child, you must know that too much is as bad as too little. But if his true self has not been lost, he must walk this path alone. Unless his true self is about to be lost, then you can take action."

Jiang Yuan could only give up after hearing this and bowed, saying, "Master, I understand."

The ancestor said: "Chongyang will be reincarnated for three lives. One life will be his father, one life will be his mother, and one life will be his people. After three lives, he will have someone to save him. Only then will he be successful, cut off his worldly ties, and enter the golden elixir path."

Jiang Yuan said: "Master, Chongyang's golden elixir is much more difficult than mine."

The Grand Master designated the Immortal Master, and he scolded him with a smile, "How can you, a boy, talk nonsense like this? How can your golden elixir path be said to be easy?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Master, in the past, Laojun gave me the Baoyu Ding to help me practice."

The master said, "Boy, you must know one thing. Even without Yu Ding, you will succeed. This is destiny, not the result of Yu Ding's help. You are devoted to the Tao, and it is a blessing for Yu Ding to follow you. Chongyang is different from you. Although he is devoted to the Tao, his opportunity to enter the Tao is completely different from yours. Even if he gets the treasure, it will be difficult for him to succeed."

Jiang Yuan heard this and bowed, "Master, I understand."

The master said, "Now that you understand, boy, you can go now."

Jiang Yuan bowed to the master, then got up and left.

Before the immortal walked out of the room, the master suddenly called out to him.

"Tong'er, you have not yet mastered the magical power of alchemy, so you should go and walk in the human world again, take a good look at the scenery of the human world, and take a walk in the world." Jiang Yuan said: "Master, the matter of repairing the law has been handed over to Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun. I am not here to repair the law, but only to walk in the human world and practice magical powers, but it is not worth it."

The master smiled and said, "Tong'er, since you know that this magical power of alchemy is the method of creating the world, why don't you pay attention to it?"

Jiang Yuan said: "When the destiny arrives, the supernatural power will be formed. If the disciple is determined to practice this supernatural power, it will be difficult to achieve it when walking in the human world."

The master said, "My boy, I don't need to worry about your cultivation. Just go on walking in the world and repair the law. It is not enough to show one saint. If you encounter something illegal, you can do it. Moreover, you promised Laojun that you would save a person. Now that person has reached the age of salvation, you should go."

When Jiang Yuan heard this, he recalled that he met Laojun on the mountain in the past and promised to cross Luliang. If that was the case, he would go.

The Immortal knelt before the Master and bowed, saying: "Master, I originally did not want to go out. I should have stayed at home to practice meditation and serve you. However, I often have to go out for important matters, which prevents me from fulfilling my filial duty."

The master smiled and said, "Tong'er, there is no need to be like this. One day, you will have the leisure to practice in the mansion."

Jiang Yuan said: "Master, when can I serve you?"

The master said: "When you have all the nine tripods, you can practice meditation in your residence. Then come to me more often and I will pass on my magical powers to you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan bowed three times to the master and then left the room, waiting to gather all the nine tripods the next day, and then he would come to serve the master.

……

The immortal left the room and walked into Chongyang's room. When he reached Chongyang's quiet room, he saw that its door was wide open. Chongyang was sitting inside with disheveled hair and red eyes, as if a demon had entered his heart.

When Jiang Yuan saw this, he sighed in his heart.

The Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave is where the ancestor is, and it is also where he is. How could any demon dare to enter? If any demon enters, it will be eliminated overnight.

External demons are easy to eliminate, but internal demons are hard to eliminate.

It is said that "a single thought can give rise to a hundred demons, and cultivation is the most painful, what can we do about it?"

Jiang Yuan walked into the room and said, "Zheng Wei."

Chongyang heard this, and all the distracting thoughts in his mind disappeared, as if he wanted to defeat the star. He looked up and saw the immortal coming. He stood up and bowed, saying, "Master."

Jiang Yuan said: "Zhengwei, you should know how difficult it is to make the golden elixir, but if you give up now, I won't blame you, I can teach you a side door."

Chongyang gritted his teeth and said, "Master, I don't want to give up. If I don't succeed, I will die."

Jiang Yuan sighed, "Zhengwei, do you know what you look like now? Can you still succeed now?"

When Chongyang heard this, he didn't know how to answer and was very confused.

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Zhengwei, take a good look at what you look like now."

Say it.

The immortal stretched out his finger and tapped between Chongyang's eyebrows.

Chongyang only felt a pain between his eyebrows, but after a moment, a warm feeling flowed into his eyebrows. He felt that the depression in his heart for many years was suddenly relieved. When he closed his eyes, he vaguely saw a person lying on the ground, panting, his face pale, and he had no strength to stand up.

This person……

This person looks exactly like him.

This is him.

Chongyang suddenly realized that this was the real him. He had been practicing hard for many years but to no avail. His soul was no longer able to help him. Just as the immortal had said, he could no longer succeed.

Chongyang knelt on the ground and said, "Master, I can no longer succeed."

Jiang Yuan said: "You have no hope of cultivating the Golden Elixir now. It's not that you don't have the Dao heart to cultivate the Golden Elixir, nor is it that you don't have the affinity to cultivate the Golden Elixir. It's that your worldly ties have not been severed, so you can't cultivate."

Chongyang asked: "Master, what does it mean that the earthly ties have not been severed?"

Jiang Yuan pondered for a long time and said, "Zhengwei, if you were the crown prince in the past and your mother had not died, would you still be willing to practice cultivation at that time?"

Chongyang replied: "If it is as Master said, then I have no chance to practice."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Your ties with the world are still there, but if you want to practice the side path, you don't have to worry about this. If you practice the golden elixir path, it will be difficult to succeed unless you can endure the pain of reincarnation."

Chongyang heard that he could still cultivate the golden elixir, so he didn't want to think about it anymore. He kowtowed and said, "Master, I am willing to suffer the pain of reincarnation."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "You still don't know why reincarnation is painful, how do you deserve it?"

Chongyang said: "As long as the golden elixir can be achieved, no matter how hard it is, I am willing to endure it."

Jiang Yuan said: "Reincarnation means you will be reborn into the underworld, truly severing your earthly ties."

Chongyang wanted to agree, but for some reason, distracting thoughts arose in his mind. He had an idea that told him not to agree. If he was reincarnated, he would not be himself anymore. Could he still be himself after losing his memory?

As soon as distracting thoughts arose in Chongyang's mind, he felt a light appear between his eyebrows, which dispelled the distracting thoughts.

Those who fear death and the extinction of this body are ultimately second gods, not the true self.

Chongyang knelt on the ground again, kowtowed countless times, and said: "Master, I am willing to reincarnate and become a golden elixir!"

(End of this chapter)