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

Chapter 280 Meeting Emperor Xuan at Taihe Palace
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, more than half a year had passed. The immortals and their group had walked and stopped, passed through many places, and finally arrived at Mount Wudang.

When they reached the foot of Mount Wudang, they saw thousands of pilgrims going up the mountain in an orderly manner to pay homage to Emperor Xuan of Taihe Palace.

Jiang Yuan had a divine eye, and he looked at the scenery in the mountain at a glance. He saw that this mountain was indeed a good place to go. It was a "huge town in the southeast, a sacred mountain in the middle of the sky. The Furong Peak is towering, and the Zigai Ridge is majestic. The Jiujiang River ends in Jingyang and is far away. The Baiyue Mountains are connected to Yizhen. There are Taixu Treasure Cave and Zhulu Spiritual Platform on top."

When the Bull Demon King saw the mountain, he smiled happily and said, "Master, this mountain is really lively."

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "The Xuan Emperor's Taoist temple is located here, and it has an air of immortality. It is not surprising that there are so many pilgrims on this mountain."

Zhu Bajie, carrying two loads on his shoulders, stepped forward and said, "Master, if you open up your cave house, the number of pilgrims who come to worship you will surely be no less than here."

Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "You, Zhu Bajie, are talking nonsense. How can I compare with Emperor Xuan?"

Zhu Bajie shouted, "In my opinion, the master is not weaker than the Xuan Emperor. The Xuan Emperor and I are old friends. We had some friendship when we were in the Heavenly Palace in the past. But I know that the Xuan Emperor is very capable. The master is not inferior to the Xuan Emperor, and even the master is much better than the Xuan Emperor."

Jiang Yuan smiled and asked, "How long has it been since you last saw Emperor Xuan?"

After hearing this, Zhu Bajie hesitated for a moment and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. The last time we met was in Heaven, when I was still Marshal Tianpeng."

Jiang Yuan said, "Bajie, you must know that 'a man should be treated with new eyes after three days of absence'. You haven't seen the Emperor Xuan for a long time, and he is different from before. Don't say such words. If the Emperor Xuan knew, you would hate him."

The Bull Demon King nodded and said, "That's right. If Emperor Xuan had no ability, how could he have entered the Northern Continent and succeeded in exorcising the demons?"

Zhu Bajie just stopped talking and dared not say anything more.

A group of people walked upwards.

Many pilgrims could not help but stop and watch when they saw the real people. They were all curious. There were many nobles riding horses in the world, but there were very few who rode deer.

But if the pilgrims see something, they will know that the real person is not an ordinary person.

A brave pilgrim stepped forward to stop them.

Jiang Yuan and his group were not angry when they saw someone blocking their way. The real person smiled and asked, "What's the matter?"

The pilgrim bowed and said, "I saw that you have a noble demeanor and seem to be a true practitioner, so I stopped you just now to ask for your advice on cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan dismounted the white deer, helped the pilgrim up, and asked with a smile, "What do you want to ask?"

The pilgrim asked, "But I don't know why we should practice?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Practicing is practicing, why should there be a reason?"

The pilgrim asked, "Nothing to compare?"

Jiang Yuan said: "The only thing for comparison is you."

The pilgrim nodded thoughtfully, then bowed again and said, "Thank you for your advice."

He then said, "To be honest, sir, I love practicing, I often read Taoist scriptures, and I often meditate and practice, but no matter how I practice, I can't gain anything. Is it true that I must go up the mountain to practice with that kind of Dharma lineage to achieve success?"

Jiang Yuan heard this and asked, "As you said, how can one achieve success in cultivation?"

The pilgrim replied: "When one has completed his practice, he will have extraordinary skills and magic."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "If that's the case, you will never achieve success." Then he said.

Jiang Yuan climbed onto the white deer again and walked forward.

The Bull Demon King and his followers did not stop and moved forward.

The pilgrim stood there in a daze for a long time, then suddenly came to his senses and looked towards the Immortal, but found that the Immortal and his companions had already left. He looked around but could not find any trace of them, and could not help but sigh.

He didn't know what cultivation was all about, but after listening to what the Immortal said, he actually had some enlightenment in his heart. This teaching made him feel something, and he believed that this Immortal must be truly cultivating. If he could follow this Immortal in cultivation, he might be able to achieve success.

However, the pilgrims searched everywhere and could not find the real person. I will not discuss this here for the time being.

Let’s talk about the Taihe Palace.

When the immortals and their group arrived here, Emperor Xuan was moved and sent five hundred spiritual officials to appear with them to welcome the immortals.

Emperor Xuan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency is coming, but you didn't send the Dharma Protectors to tell me first. I could have gone to meet you from afar. Now that Your Excellency has arrived suddenly, I was caught off guard."

The Immortal returned the greeting with a smile and said, "How dare I ask the Emperor Xuan to come to greet you from afar? If I really ask the Emperor Xuan to come to greet you from afar, it will be my fault."

As the two talked, they supported each other and walked towards the Taihe Palace.

The Bull Demon King and his entourage followed the spiritual officials and others into the side hall to rest.

The two entered the Taihe Palace, and Emperor Xuan prepared a banquet for the Immortal, with full courtesy, and asked, "The Immortal said goodbye to me and taught me in the palace. Later, I didn't know that he went out of the palace to fight the demons in the Northern Continent. I really admire him. When I heard that the Immortal was fighting the demons, if the Jade Emperor hadn't said so and ordered me not to mobilize troops, I would have led the troops to help, but it's a pity."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "There is a saying that 'great talents should not be used insignificantly'. Emperor Xuan wiped out the demons in the past, and there are not many demons left in Northern Juluzhou. How can Emperor Xuan be troubled to go there in person? It is enough for me to go there."

Emperor Xuan shook his head and said, "Master, please don't say that. It embarrasses me. Master, you have now wiped out the demons in Northern Juluzhou and subdued the Mother of the Mysterious Underworld. This is a great achievement, and your reputation will spread throughout the world. However, if Master is now appointed by the heavens, his position will definitely not be less than mine. He can command an army and garrison a place."

Jiang Yuan said: "I am still a beginner, how can I go to heaven to receive a title? If I really go to heaven to receive a title, wouldn't it be a joke?"

Emperor Xuan smiled and said, "How can you talk like this, Immortal? Your cultivation is laughable, so what kind of cultivation am I? Forget it, forget it, forget it. I won't talk about this with you any more. I wonder if you, Immortal, have come to me today to ask for my help?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "I have some free time now, so I went into the world to repair the laws, but I don't know how Emperor Xuan is doing with the repair of the laws, and I still need your help."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuan took out a black book and handed it to the immortal.

The Immortal took it and had a look. There were many laws recorded on it, many of which were formulated by him personally, and many were formulated by Emperor Xuan.

The Immortal said: "If there is this book of laws, it will definitely be able to restrain many people who practice cultivation in the world."

Emperor Xuan pondered for a long time, shook his head and said, "But I have some doubts."

Jiang Yuan put the black book down and asked, "What does Emperor Xuan have any doubts about?"

Emperor Xuan replied, "But I don't know if this book can restrain the practitioners of the world. Since the immortal left, I have also traveled around the world in my spare time to repair the laws, but I feel that this book can hardly restrain the practitioners of the world."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Emperor Xuan, have you forgotten what I said when we first decided to do this and I helped you to revise the laws? Those who hear the truth will move forward. If you don't hear the truth, even if you impose all kinds of laws on yourself, you will not be moved."

Emperor Xuan listened to the words of the Immortal, nodded, and said: "The Immortal's words make sense. I know that using this book to restrain the practitioners of the world is tantamount to saving the lives of a place from the sea of ​​suffering. The difficulty of this path cannot be described in words, but if you see the living beings having difficulty saving and struggling in the sea of ​​suffering, you will feel sorry for them."

(End of this chapter)