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

Chapter 258 Chongyang enters the underworld, the Lotus Lantern [ask for monthly tickets]

After Huabiao Zhenren finished talking with Chongyang, Chongyang decided to go to the underworld to reincarnate. Zhenren did not take Chongyang to the underworld, but summoned two disciples in the mansion to come to Yaotai to say goodbye to Chongyang.

I don’t know how much time will pass before I can return after Double Ninth Festival.

Perhaps when we meet again, everything will have changed.

It is necessary to say goodbye today.

The three disciples gathered at Yaotai, and Jiang Yuan said that Chongyang should be reincarnated to complete the golden elixir path.

Zuo Liang and Red Boy were both shocked when they heard this.

Zuo Liang stepped forward and held Chongyang’s hand, saying, “Big Brother, why did you have to do this?”

Chongyang shook his head and said, "As long as it is for the right path, I will do whatever it takes."

Zuo Liang sighed, "Brother, what is it that you can't let go of? If the right way is difficult, then choose the side way. Why do you insist on the right way? As long as there is a way to practice, you can be free, which is enough. Brother, the scriptures say: 'There is no greater disaster than not being satisfied, and no greater fault than wanting to get. Therefore, knowing that you are satisfied is always enough.'"

Chongyang said: "Brother, everyone has their own ambitions, but my ambition is to achieve the golden elixir path. Apart from that, I have no other desires."

Zuo Liang said: "There are three kinds of suffering in life: not getting what you want, not getting enough, and not being able to let go."

Chongyang smiled and said, "Brother, I know you are doing this for my own good, but this is what I want in my heart. If I cannot find the right path, it is my fate. However, I will risk my life to pursue the path of truth."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liang sighed and said no more. He was different from Chongyang Zi.

He entered Taoism at the age of sixty, but Chongyang was different. He entered Taoism before the age of thirty, living towards death. He was more content with what he had and more willing to go with the flow, while Chongyang was more inclined to pursue his goal with one heart and to destroy before he could build.

Therefore, Zuo Liang knew that it was difficult for him to practice the golden elixir in the orthodox way, so he changed to practice the side path. But Chongyang was different. He would not practice without the golden elixir and would practice until his death. If he failed, he would die. There was no other way.

Red Boy stepped forward and asked, "Big Brother, after this separation, when can we meet again?"

Chongyang stroked Red Boy's head with a smile and said, "My fellow disciples and I have a predestined relationship and we will meet again someday. Junior brother, you must practice well. Your temperament has never been stable, so Master has never taught you the way. But when you cultivate your spirit, don't forget to cultivate your mind. You must know that cultivating your spirit will never make your temperament stable. If you want to be stable, you have to cultivate your mind."

Red Boy bowed and said, "Big Brother, I'll remember this."

Chongyang said: "My two junior brothers, I bid you farewell today. If we meet again, you two junior brothers must achieve something in your cultivation, so that I can be pleased."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liang and Red Boy both bowed to Chongyang.

Chongyang returned the gift to his two junior brothers, and then bowed before the real person. , and said: "Master, I can go to the underworld at any time."

Jiang Yuan sat on the high platform and asked, "Zhengwei, have you thought it over? You must know that there is no turning back after this trip."

Chongyang said: "Master, I have absolutely no intention of repenting. I know that I will never have the opportunity to cultivate the golden elixir again, so I hope to cultivate in the next life."

Jiang Yuan looked at Chongyang for a long time with a sharp gaze, then stood up and said, "In that case, Zhengwei, you come with me. Zhengyuan, Zhengci, you two go back to your room to practice."

The three of them all obeyed the order, and Zuo Liang and Red Boy left.

Chongyang followed Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan walked out of the mansion, ready to leave for the underworld.

He had just brought Chongyang to the gate of the mansion when he saw three people blocking the way. He looked carefully and found that they were Bull Demon King and Sun Wukong. He really saw three people.

The three of them here all hold weapons. Zhen Jian holds a leaf fan, Sun Wukong wears a cassock and swings a golden hoop stick, and the Bull Demon King wears armor and holds a Piyue Spear.

Jiang Yuan didn't understand what he meant, so he asked, "Why are you here?"

Sun Wukong smiled and said, "Big Brother, we learned from our master that you will be going out, so we are waiting for you here."

Jiang Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Why are you waiting for me? Do you know what I'm going to do?"

The Bull Demon King said, "Master, of course I know. Master wants to send Zhengwei to the underworld to reincarnate, and then walk in the human world. We know this, so we come to protect Master and move forward together."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Even if I want to go to the human world, it's not now. I should send Zhengwei to the underworld first, and then come back. Besides, even if I go to the human world, I don't need you to go with me. I am going to the human world, not to defeat the big monster."

When the three heard this, they all asked, "How many people are needed?"

Jiang Yuan said: "One person is enough."

I heard the real person say this.

Sun Wukong said, "In that case, Brother, Second Brother, I can go with the First Brother. I have magical powers and can protect the First Brother."

The Bull Demon King stepped forward and said, "My dear brother, I am the guardian of the real person. This is my duty. I should go."

Zhenjian looked at the two of them and sighed in silence. His abilities were inferior to those of the two. If it came to supernatural powers, he could still fight them, but if it was a duel, he could not rely solely on supernatural powers, he must have all the martial arts.

But his martial arts skills are mediocre. If he were to fight against the Bull Demon King or Sun Wukong, he would have a hard time winning.

Furthermore, what the real person needs is a Dharma protector. The Dharma protector must be martial arts oriented, so the only choice is Sun Wukong or Bull Demon King.

Jiang Yuan looked at the Bull Demon King and Sun Wukong arguing endlessly. He shook his head and said, "If you want to protect me, Niu Er is enough. He is my protector and this is his duty. But I want to go to the underworld. If you two junior brothers don't mind, you can go with me."

All three of them responded in agreement.

Sun Wukong put away his golden cudgel and said, "Big Brother, I will lead the way and escort my nephew. I have some friendship with the King of Hell, and they all know me."

Zhen Jian smiled and said, "I know more than you, Junior Brother. I have heard about it a long time ago. In the past, Junior Brother, you wanted to cause a big disturbance in the underworld, but you were stopped by Senior Brother. Later, you went to the underworld again in private and caused a big disturbance. This incident also shocked the three realms. Because Junior Brother, you caused a big disturbance in the Heavenly Palace before, it is not worth mentioning."

Sun Wukong said, "Second Brother, please stop mocking me. These are all things I did when I was ignorant."

The Bull Demon King laughed and said, "My dear brother, when you were like that in the past, you committed more than one or two things that are worthy of mention."

Sun Wukong felt a little ashamed.

Jiang Yuan said, "Wukong, since you want to open the way, and move forward, we will also protect Zhengwei and go to the underworld."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong walked outside.

As they were about to move forward, Zhen Jian waved a leaf fan, looked at the silent Chongyang, and said, "Nephew, we have not yet reached the underworld. If you have regrets, you still have a good chance to save yourself. But if you reach the underworld, you will have no chance and will have to reincarnate."

Chongyang's expression remained unchanged, and he said, "Uncle Master, I have absolutely no regrets."

After seeing and hearing this, Zhen had no choice but to give up and stop trying to persuade him. He said, "Nephew, I hope that when you return, you can practice the righteous way."

I pay my respects on Double Ninth Festival and thank you for your true insight.

The group then set out. The immortal used his profound magical powers to lift Chongyang up, and they all headed towards the underworld.

All of them were people with profound magical powers. They rode the clouds at an extremely fast speed and went straight into the underworld and entered the outside of the Senluo Palace without any obstruction.

Sun Wukong entered the underworld, swung his golden cudgel to clear the way, and shouted, "Where is the Tenth Generation Hades? Why don't you show up at once!"

Say it.

Auspicious light appeared in Sun Wukong's body, and he saw that 'the ten generations of Yama Kings bowed their hands to receive it, the five ghost judges kowtowed to welcome it, the thousands of sword trees were tilted, the thousands of knife mountains were flattened, the demons in the city of the dead were transformed, the ghosts under the Naihe Bridge were reborn, the divine light shone like a pardon from heaven, and the dark underworld was bright everywhere'. "Great Sage, Great Sage! We are waiting here!"

The ten generations of Yama Kings all wanted to invite Sun Wukong into their palaces.

Sun Wukong stopped the ten kings, pointed to the road in the distance, and said, "How can you welcome them in but not the real person, the Buddha of meditation and wisdom, and the Bull King?"

The Tenth Generation Yama King looked over there, but saw a group of Immortals standing in the distance.

Master Guangxin.

The Bull Demon King of Cuiyun Mountain.

Buddha of meditation and wisdom.

Why are each one more powerful than the other?

The Tenth Generation Lord of Hell was in a panic and stepped forward to greet him, bowing and saying, "I am sorry for not welcoming you from afar, I am sorry for not welcoming you from afar."

Jiang Yuan and others all bowed together with the ten kings.

They all entered the Senluo Palace.

The ten kings bowed again and asked about the purpose of the Immortal's visit.

The Immortal said: "Now I have a disciple whose earthly ties have not yet been resolved, so I must reincarnate to sever my earthly ties. Now I am entering the underworld. I hope you will open the door of convenience and allow my disciple to enter the underworld and reincarnate."

Upon hearing this, the Ten Kings were surprised and asked, "Is the disciple of the Immortal reincarnated?"

The Immortal said: "That's exactly what happened. Is there any inconvenience?"

The Ten Kings said, "No, no. But we obey the Immortal's order and dare not disobey. But generally speaking, since we entered the Immortal God Palace, we are no longer under our jurisdiction. Few people send disciples from the palace here, which makes us a little surprised."

The Immortal said: "My disciple is devoted to cultivating the righteous path, but he has not yet severed his worldly ties, so he has no choice but to do this."

The Ten Kings said, "Since that is the case, we will certainly accept it. But I wonder where you, Immortal, would like to send your disciple to reincarnate? To a rich and noble family, or the most noble place in the world, or to a military general's family?"

Jiang Yuan looked at Chongyang and asked, "Zhengwei, where are you going?"

Chongyang shook his head and said, "It all depends on Master's teachings."

Jiang Yuan said: "Since you say so, then let it be as fate would have it, and let the king decide."

Upon hearing this, the Ten Kings immediately sent the Ghost Judge to bring Chongyang down and teach him how to reincarnate.

The ghost judge came upon hearing the order, walked to Chongyang, and said, "Sir, please follow me, I will take you to reincarnation."

Chongyang was about to get up and follow Guipan, but he took a step and suddenly stopped. He turned around and knelt down to Jiang Yuan and said, "Master, I don't know how many years it will be since we met. Please take care of yourself. I cannot show my filial piety in front of you. This is a big mistake. I hope you will wait for me to return. Then I will stay in front of you often and listen to your teachings."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and smiled, "Just go ahead, I'll wait for you in the mansion. One day, you will come back to find me."

Chongyang kowtowed countless times before he left with the ghost.

Jiang Yuan watched Chongyang leave and sighed helplessly.

When the ten kings saw him, they said, "Since the real person is reluctant to let him go, why not bring him back?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "This path is his choice and cannot be changed."

The ten kings bowed and said, "The true man is righteous."

Jiang Yuan said: "That's not right."

The Ten Kings said, "In fact, the True Man and the Sage are the same kind of people. One of them may send his disciple to reincarnate for the sake of his disciple's cultivation. But you must know that reincarnation will lead to the difficulty of entering the sea of ​​suffering again. The Sage also does this."

Jiang Yuan asked, "How about showing the saint?"

The Ten Kings said, "Recently, we heard that the Third Holy Mother had committed a crime, had an affair with a mortal, and had conceived a child. This sect was furious, and after asking the Jade Emperor for permission, he dispatched troops to capture the Third Holy Mother and imprisoned her under Mount Hua. True people should know that this Third Holy Mother is the sister of True Lord of Manifestation. We should respect True Lord of Manifestation for doing this."

Sun Wukong scratched his head and said, "Third Holy Mother, I have heard of his name for a long time. Some say he has a treasure, the Precious Lotus Lantern, and some say it is a rare treasure. How come the True Lord is now imprisoned under Mount Hua?"

The Ten Kings said, "Great Sage, you don't know that the Three Holy Mothers committed a serious offense, which is a violation of the Heavenly Law. They should have been executed, but now they are only imprisoned under Mount Hua, which is a light punishment."

Sun Wukong said: "I have heard that immortals cannot have secret relations with mortals. But being imprisoned at the foot of the mountain is not pleasant."

The Tenth King laughed and said, "But that is a punishment, and it must be done."

Jiang Yuan asked, "But what about that mortal and the son of the Three Holy Mothers?"

The Ten Kings said, "It's funny to talk about this. The Third Holy Mother had the Precious Lotus Lamp in her hand, but the Sage-Manifesting True Lord couldn't stand it, so he sent troops to surround her, but she couldn't stand it. It was because the Third Holy Mother was worried about her son and the mortal, so she gave him the Precious Lotus Lamp to protect him and sent him away. Then she was captured and imprisoned under Mount Hua."

Sun Wukong asked: "Since the Precious Lotus Lantern can protect its son and the mortal and let him leave, why didn't the Three Holy Mothers leave with them?"

The Ten Kings said, "Great Sage, you don't know that the Jade Order is to capture the Three Holy Mothers. If the Three Holy Mothers leave, and the True Lord fails to capture them this time, then the Heavenly Soldiers will come next time."

Sun Wukong said: "That makes some sense."

Among the conversation.

The ghost judge came to report, saying, "My lords, the disciple of the Immortal has been reincarnated."

The Ten Kings said, "Now that everything has been arranged, why don't you quickly tell the Immortal where you will be reincarnated?"

The ghost judge was about to speak.

But he didn't say a word, so the immortal stopped him.

The immortal shook his head and said, "No need to say anything, I know where my disciple will be reincarnated."

The Ten Kings said, "The Immortal has profound magical powers, and we admire him. But please stay in the palace for a while, and we can set up a banquet to welcome him."

The real person shook his head and said, "No need, I will leave now."

Seeing that the Immortal was determined to leave, the Ten Kings could not stop him, so they greeted him and wanted to see him off.

Jiang Yuan waved his hand and taught them to do their respective duties and not to cause chaos in the underworld, and then took Sun Wukong and others away.

Sun Wukong and the immortal walked out of the underworld.

Sun Wukong asked: "Big Brother, we are friends with the True Lord. Now that things are like this, do we need to go and look for the True Lord?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "We can't help in this matter if we go, so we should stay calm and practice meditation. If the True Lord needs help, he will come to us, and then we can help him. But in my opinion, the True Lord doesn't need our help, and he is also a person with profound magical powers."

Sun Wukong said: "Speaking of which, I wonder what a treasure that Lotus Lantern is, it is so precious that it makes Master Zhenjun so impatient."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Even if the Precious Lotus Lantern has great power, it will be difficult to use if the person controlling it does not have profound magical powers. I think the True Lord does not want to hurt the Three Holy Mothers."

(End of this chapter)