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

Chapter 30: Jin Gong Returns
There is no time in practicing cultivation, and one is truly "unaware of the eight solar terms and four seasons". It has been nine years since Jiang Tong'er accompanied Laozi to return home through Hangu Pass to the west.

Jiang Yuan burned a lung furnace until it was red everywhere, and his golden man took shape. The fire that was burning was actually Kun steel, and he refined the Kun steel into two beads.

Kun steel is indeed an extraordinary treasure. He taught the master the secret temperature and calcined it with civil and martial fire for nine years before refining Kun steel into two beads.

During this day.

Jiang Yuan saw that 'the sun sets in the west and a mirror of fire is hidden, the moon rises in the east and a wheel of ice appears'. It was a quiet night and it was the right time to extinguish the fire and take the golden man.

He held the Yu Ding in front of him and asked the Ding to protect him, so as not to let the two spirits penetrate his mind and disrupt his practice. Today was a critical day and he must not be careless.

He has practiced hard for two or three hundred years, how could he be careless and let the two gods undo his hard work?

Jiang Yuan sat on the mossy stone, swallowed the wind from heaven, and let the wind extinguish the fire under the stove.

Before long, the fire under the furnace went out, and the Golden God of the Lungs finally appeared.

Jiang Yuan entered into a state of meditation and saw two beads in his lungs, one black and one white. They were mixed into one qi, which was very mysterious. The black was turbid and the white was clear, and the yin and yang qi were connected to create the universe.

What a sharp weapon this is.

Jiang Yuan got up from the mossy stone, opened his mouth and spit out two beads. He saw two beads, black and white, appearing on both sides of him. He was indeed powerful. The black bead came with great force, while the white bead stayed where it was.

His mind was restless because he saw Jin Gong, who wanted to teach his mind to do things for him. He opened his sleeves and two black and white fish appeared.

Two beads fell on two black and white fish, and eventually became the eyeballs of the two fish. The black fish's eyeball had white part, while the white fish's eyeball had black part. This just corresponds to Tai Chi, there is Yang in Yin and there is Yin in Yang.

"I often wonder why my mind is lacking. It is because it lacks an eyeball, which is exactly 'having eyes but no pearls'. Jin Gong uses it and turns it into an eyeball to complete the number of days and teach Tai Chi to appear. Now that Jin Gong has returned to his position, he should take good care of the Yuan Shen and teach the Yuan Shen not to be oppressed by the two gods!"

Jiang Yuan stretched out his hand and gently stroked the black and white fish.

The black and white fish got the "eyeball" and jumped for joy. They swam around the boy's hand, forming a Tai Chi diagram to protect him.

Jiang Yuan immediately understood the purpose of Jin Gong.

Mr. Jin made two beads. The black bead is turbid and has the power to subdue all kinds of weapons. No matter what kind of magic weapon it is, it will be useless if it touches the black bead. The white bead is clear and has the power to avoid water and fire. No matter what kind of water and fire it is, it cannot get close to you. It is really a sharp weapon for self-defense.

Jiang Yuan was delighted to know that Lord Jin was working for him, and thought to himself, "What a good army! What a good army!"

He thanked Laozi for the treasure. It turned out that the two beads had great magical powers, but a big flaw. The two beads were made into porcelain, which made iron objects break at the touch. Gold was easily broken, and his hard work was in vain. Laozi gave him Kun steel, which taught him to refine the two beads, making up for the flaws, so that they would not break when hit or be damaged when touched.

It is the most difficult to practice the right way. Even after a hundred years of hard practice, there will be no sign of success. If one practices the unorthodox ways, it may take only one or two years of effort to see great results.

However, although the right path is difficult, the benefits of its cultivation are incomparable to those of unorthodox methods. If one wants to gain insight into the mystery of immortality, the right path is the only way.

Jiang Yuan taught the two fishes to return to the heart palace and the golden man to return to the lung palace. He got off the mossy stone, full of joy, and wanted to let the master know that his golden man had returned to his place.

……

Jiang Tong'er returned to Sanxing Immortal Cave. It was late at night and the room was quiet. No one came out. He walked straight to the front of the Yaotai and saw a person sitting high on the altar. It was the founder.

The master must have known that he would teach Jin Gong to return to his position today, and was waiting for his return here.

Jiang Yuan took two steps at a time and walked to the altar, saying, "Master, I am now returning to my position as the Golden Master!"

The master looked at the boy and was delighted when he saw him. He said, "Good boy, good boy! You are indeed outstanding. Now that I have seen you, Jin Gongcheng, you are even closer to the truth." Jiang Yuan kowtowed and thanked him, saying, "It is all thanks to Master!"

The Grand Master came down from the altar, tapped Jiang Yuan's forehead, and scolded him with a smile, "Don't be like this. I've seen how hard you've worked. The monkey mind returns to the right path, the water grinding technique, the golden man's appearance, the fire burning technique, if it's not created by heaven and earth, it's impossible to achieve. I didn't think you could achieve it. How can the right path be difficult? Who would have thought that the boy's heart of Taoism is intact? I'll teach you two to return to your positions. The great way is ahead!"

Jiang Yuan served the master and sat on the cushion in the class, saying, "If it weren't for Master Taixuan Qingsheng Fu, I would have died of old age long ago."

The righteous path of the golden elixir is the most difficult to maintain, how can a mortal being achieve it?

It still takes nearly a hundred years to invite one of the five righteous men. This is because there is a good teacher to guide. Without a good teacher, how can it be accomplished in a hundred years?

People in Jambudvīpa live to be a hundred years old, but many die young. Living to be fifty is considered a long life, and many people do not even live to be forty.

Jiang Tong'er knew that without the Taixuan Qingsheng Talisman to protect him from aging and the Yu Ding to protect him and make the two gods retreat, how could he succeed.

The master smiled and said, "Everything is caused by karma."

Jiang Yuan was filled with emotion and suddenly asked, "Master, in the past, when I was nineteen years old in Shangjing Mountain, I went up the mountain to become your disciple, but you refused to let me in. Why did you build a quiet room in your cave in the first year I went up the mountain?"

When he asked this question in the past, the master pointed at him and told him not to answer. Even now he still doesn't understand.

The master said, "When you came up the mountain, I saw that your spirit was strong. I thought you would practice some minor skills, so I built a quiet room for you and taught you for one or two years before you left. I taught you to make dead trees revive, which showed that we were destined to be together. I thought your spirit might show you the way, but I didn't expect you to do something like grafting, which surprised me."

Jiang Yuan suddenly realized that this fruit was the fate between him and the master.

The master said, "Tong'er, now that you have returned to your position, it is time to invite the next person."

Only when five people return to their positions can they cultivate the golden elixir!
Jiang Yuan then knelt down and said, "Master, I am the next disciple, may I ask for your permission?"

The five people are the Monkey Heart, the Horse of Will, the Male Gold, the Female Wood, and the Female Yellow.

Now he is in a state of panic, and Jin Gong has returned to his position.

Just waiting to invite Yi Ma, Mu Mu, and Huang Po.

The master nodded and said, "You should invite the mind horse, you should invite the mind horse! It is said that the mind horse is difficult to invite, so you may need to be more careful. The mind monkey can control the mind horse and act as a bridle for the mind horse. However, the mind monkey is not good at water, so you need to be more careful when you invite the mind horse."

Jiang Yuan took note of it and said, "Master, I understand."

There is no shortcut to practicing the right way. There is no need to ask the masters for their ideas. Just look for them yourself and you will find the way eventually.

The master suddenly asked, "Boy, I was preaching the sutras on the platform during the day, and I heard someone talking about your practice of the 'fire' sect. What is the principle of this sect?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "My fellow apprentices often ask me what I practice. I tell them the way of the 'fire' sect. I say that I can inhale and exhale heavenly fire every day. I can learn the essence of heavenly fire and gain immortality through a side door. However, I have to endure the burning pain of heavenly fire every day, with the wind stirring up the smoke, burning my eyes and causing pain in my mind. I just want to scare my fellow apprentices."

The master nodded when he heard this and asked, "Why do you say that? Are you afraid of disaster?"

Jiang Yuan said, "My fellow apprentices are all practicing side paths, so why am I practicing the main path? If I tell them, it might cause trouble. Others will see that I have it and won't ask me for help. If I teach them, I will mislead them and mislead the Dharma. If I don't teach them, they will be involved in war and I'm afraid my fellow apprentices will blame me for being biased."

The master stroked the boy's forehead and said, "Learn the Dao and etiquette, and behave uprightly. My disciples are restless. You are my eldest disciple, and you are my true teacher. If you are asked again in the future, just say that you practice the righteous Dao. I will see no one who dares to harm you."

Jiang Yuan thanked the master and sang a song of thanks. He then talked with the master for a long time, played a game of chess, and then left the room to rest and meditate for a while before looking for the trace of the horse...

(End of this chapter)