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

Chapter 304 The Mysterious Female Rejuvenation Pill, Returning to the Three Star Mansion

In the Tushita Palace, Laozi and the True Man were discussing the principles of alchemy. Not long after they began their discussion, the Celestial Venerable of Wonderful Joy arrived. Upon seeing the Celestial Venerable, Laozi stopped his conversation, asked the two to sit closer, and then formally began to teach them the principles of alchemy.

Laozi sat upright in the central hall and asked, "Today I will impart the Dao of Alchemy to you two. The Dao of Alchemy is vast and profound, and it also includes the external alchemy. But before I impart the Dao, I would like to ask you two, what do you think is the essence of the external alchemy?"

The Celestial Venerable Miaole did not understand this path very well. After pondering for a long time, he replied, "The external alchemy path is nothing more than the gathering of medicinal stones to refine them into elixirs. This is the foundation."

Laozi, annoyed, picked up a fruit and tossed it onto Miaole Tianzun's head, saying, "You never listen to anything I say, and now you're spouting useless nonsense. Guangxin, as you see, what is the true nature of external alchemy?"

Jiang Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "Laojun, in my opinion, the foundation of external alchemy is to emulate the creation of heaven and earth and to follow the waxing and waning of the sun and moon. Therefore, it uses the five metals and eight stones as its wonderful applications, and uses water, fire, yin and yang as its pivot, to reverse the creation, refine the physical form into pure yang, and transform turbid yin into pure emptiness. In this way, it corresponds to the numbers of heaven and earth, and the human body is a complete embodiment of the numbers of heaven and earth, which is exactly what it is meant to do."

Upon hearing this, Laozi was slightly surprised, and then praised him, saying, "Guangxin's words have startled me. I did not expect that you, a novice in the external alchemy, could utter such words."

Jiang Yuan bowed and said, "This is just my personal opinion, and should not be taken seriously."

Lao Jun sighed, "Guang Xin already has the air of an ancestor. As you said, Guang Xin, you have truly grasped the essence of alchemy."

The Celestial Venerable Miaole said, “What you have said is very simple, yet I have gained some understanding from it. It is truly remarkable.”

Lao Jun said, "What Guangxin has said has revealed the essence of alchemy, so I will not say anything more about it. I will pass on the alchemy to you two, and the first thing I will pass on is this pill."

Laozi picked up a pill from the table and handed it to Miaole Tianzun, indicating that he should swallow it.

Upon hearing this, the Celestial Venerable Miaole immediately swallowed the pill and said after a moment, "This pill has the ability to nourish the primordial spirit."

Lao Jun nodded and said, "That's right. This pill has the ability to nourish the primordial spirit and is called the 'Mysterious Female Rejuvenation Pill'. I will teach you two the way of alchemy, and first I will teach you the method of making this pill. You two must listen carefully."

Both of them bowed in gratitude to Laozi for his kindness.

Laozi then said, "This Mysterious Female Rejuvenating Elixir is an elixir for nourishing the primordial spirit. Therefore, in preparing this elixir, one must understand the way of the primordial spirit. The primordial spirit is the essence of the primordial ancestral qi, residing within the Niwan Palace..."

Laozi, Miaole Tianzun, and Jiang Yuan expounded on the Dao of the Primordial Spirit. The hidden secrets within were unknown even to the True Man. Therefore, by receiving Laozi's words, he gained a great deal and made progress in his Daoist practice.

Laozi had been explaining the Dao of the Primordial Spirit for a long time. After seeing that the two understood, he nodded with satisfaction. These two had already achieved the true path of the Golden Elixir, so they had some understanding of the Dao of the Primordial Spirit. Therefore, it was very easy for him to teach them.

After explaining the Dao of the Primordial Spirit, Laozi then spoke of the Dao of Elixir. He said, "The Mysterious Female Rejuvenating Elixir requires knowledge of the wonders of the Primordial Spirit, and it must be used in a special elixir furnace. This furnace must be cast from red copper from the first mountain in the lower realm. This furnace must be shaped like an upturned bowl, which corresponds to the image of the Li trigram. At the beginning of the elixir refining process, nine layers of pine needles are first laid inside the furnace, to symbolize spiritual connection. Then, medicinal stones are added. These medicinal stones are also particular. First, take five ounces of black essence, eight ounces of white poria, the essence of rabbit marrow, and then add three stems of lingzhi. With all the medicinal stones in place, the elixir furnace is arranged according to the eight trigrams, and the elixir is refined with alternating gentle and vigorous fire. At dawn, the gentle fire is used to nourish the elixir, like a silkworm eating leaves in spring; at noon, the vigorous fire is used to refine the elixir, like boiling water in a summer cauldron..."

Laozi spoke in detail, and this lecture lasted for a long time. The True Man and the Heavenly Venerable of Wonderful Joy listened attentively and dared not make any mistakes.

Half a day later, Laozi finally explained the details.

Patriarchal followers mostly rely on their own enlightenment, receiving spiritual inspiration, while Lao Tzu's teachings on cultivation vary greatly, and he explains them in as much detail as possible.

After listening to Laozi's words, Jiang Yuan already understood that he had mastered the Mysterious Female Rejuvenation Pill, just like the external alchemy method, and was only waiting for a good opportunity to refine the pill.

The Celestial Venerable of Wonderful Joy stood by, deep in thought, seemingly pondering the matter of refining this elixir.

Seeing that the two men had different expressions, Laozi asked, "You have explained the principles of this elixir to the fullest extent. But is there anything you two do not understand? If so, please speak up and I will answer your questions."

The Celestial Venerable Miaole asked, "But I have never refined elixirs, so I have many doubts and do not know where to begin."

Laojun said, "You have not mastered the complete Dao of alchemy, so refining elixirs is very difficult for you. I will personally teach you later, and your doubts will surely be resolved. Guangxin, is there anything you don't understand?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Laojun, there is nothing I don't understand. This alchemy is very easy, but if one refines the pills, one can succeed."

The Celestial Venerable Miaole exclaimed in amazement, "True Man, you just heard your master speak of this alchemy method, and you've already mastered it completely? You're truly remarkable!"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "It's because I previously learned external alchemy and also know many numbers of heaven and earth, so I was able to learn them all so quickly. It's nothing special."

Lao Jun stroked his beard and laughed, "Guang Xin is exceptionally talented, so it's common for him to learn so quickly. Now that you've already mastered it, I wonder if you intend to refine this Mysterious Female Rejuvenation Pill in the alchemy room, or perhaps go down to the mortal realm to cultivate?"

Jiang Yuan rose and bowed deeply, saying, "Laojun, I told my master that I came here to study the external alchemy. Now that I have succeeded in the external alchemy, it is already inappropriate for me to stay in the Tushita Palace and listen to the method of refining the Mysterious Female Rejuvenation Pill. Now I should go down to the mortal world to tell my master about it."

Lao Jun nodded and said, "I knew you would say that, Guangxin. In that case, you should go down to the mortal realm."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan bowed deeply again, expressing her gratitude for Laozi's teachings.

Laozi smiled and urged the immortal to descend to the mortal realm quickly.

The immortal had no choice but to get up and leave, heading out of the Tushita Palace.

As the Celestial Venerable of Wonderful Joy watched the departing figure of the True Man, he was filled with admiration and said, "The True Man is indeed a wonderful person."

Lao Jun agreed wholeheartedly, nodding and saying, "Guang Xin is indeed a remarkable person."

Laojun was about to pull Miaole Tianzun into the inner room to teach him alchemy when he suddenly remembered something and said, "I forgot to give that alchemy furnace to Guangxin. Go and tell Jinjiao and Yinjiao to quickly send Guangxin the cauldron he used to refine pills."

The Celestial Venerable of Wonderful Joy accepted the order and departed to convey Laozi's instructions.

……

Meanwhile, at the Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave on Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, Chenxiang received instruction from Sun Wukong and cultivated in the mountain for decades. The method he cultivated was 'military'.

Sun Wukong once said that the essence of military strategy is that the benevolent are invincible, the wise are free from doubt, and the brave are fearless.

Despite decades of cultivation, Chenxiang has never attained samadhi. He has only diligently practiced martial arts. After decades of cultivation, Chenxiang's martial arts skills are superb, far surpassing those of ordinary people.

However, it is still a long way from achieving true enlightenment through unorthodox methods.

One day, Chenxiang was practicing martial arts outside the mansion. He took out an axe and, with fierce momentum, swung it left and right, creating gusts of wind around him.

If he were alive, he would surely be a match for ten thousand men.

However, when it comes to spiritual practice, it is extremely shallow.

After practicing his martial arts for a while, Chenxiang finally stopped. He looked at Sun Wukong, who was guarding him, and stepped forward to bow, saying, "Master, how was my martial arts performance?"

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "Your martial arts are passable, but your cultivation is shallow, and the path you are taking is wrong." Chenxiang said, "Master, I have tried to cultivate, but the results were minimal, and I have no other choice but to focus on martial arts first."

Sun Wukong said, "This is putting the cart before the horse. Chenxiang, you must know that without cultivation, no matter how superb your martial arts are, they are useless. Martial arts without cultivation are like water without a source or a tree without roots. How can they be accomplished?"

Chenxiang said, “Master, since I started practicing martial arts, I feel that I am much stronger than before, but my cultivation is still very weak. It would be better to focus on martial arts first.”

Sun Wukong said, "No matter how powerful your martial arts are, what use is it? Without proper cultivation, it is ultimately useless. Cultivation that puts the cart before the horse is a futile effort."

Chenxiang said, "Master, how do you know it's a futile effort? Perhaps I can actually achieve success because of it."

Sun Wukong said, "I have never seen such a thing before. It is possible to succeed by putting the cart before the horse."

Chenxiang smiled and said, "Just because others cannot achieve success does not mean I cannot. I will first practice martial arts and then cultivate myself. Perhaps I can find another way to succeed."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong stopped trying to persuade him. He suddenly recalled the early days of his cultivation when he was overjoyed to obtain the Golden Elixir and the true path. However, he was just like Chenxiang now, unable to listen to the truth and completely unaware of the impending disaster. Back then, his master and senior brother looked at Chenxiang in the same way he does now.

In the past, his master and senior brother repeatedly taught him that he should cultivate his mind. If one does not cultivate one's mind in spiritual practice, it is a waste of effort. However, he did not listen, which led to so many disasters later on.

Sun Wukong sighed inwardly. He summoned Chenxiang away and instructed him to go into the palace to cultivate. After sending Chenxiang away, he got up to return to his quiet room for quiet cultivation.

Before Sun Wukong could return to his residence, he suddenly saw auspicious clouds approaching from beyond the sky. He looked up and opened his fiery eyes wide. Upon closer inspection, he saw Jiang Yuan riding the clouds toward Lingtai Fangcun Mountain.

Upon seeing this, Sun Wukong immediately understood that his eldest brother had completed his cultivation in the Tushita Palace and was now returning. He beamed with joy, leaped up, and rode a cloud to the clouds to greet the immortal.

Jiang Yuan was riding a cloud, followed by two celestial attendants, Golden Horn and Silver Horn, who carried the alchemy furnace as he arrived on the cloud.

Having traveled halfway, it will be time to return home.

Suddenly, the immortal saw a cloud blocking his path. Without looking too closely, he knew it was Sun Wukong. He said irritably, "You monkey, why are you blocking my way?"

Sun Wukong revealed himself, overjoyed, and said, "Elder brother, please don't be offended! I just saw you return from the clouds, so I came to welcome you home. If there is any disturbance, please don't blame me."

Seeing Sun Wukong's polite demeanor, the immortal laughed and said, "Alright. Seeing how polite you are, I know your cultivation has not gone wrong."

Sun Wukong said, "I dare not forget my senior brother's teachings, and I have never made any mistakes in my cultivation."

As he spoke, Sun Wukong looked at the two celestial boys, Golden Horn and Silver Horn, and stepped forward, saying, "Aren't these two the two great kings from the mountains when I protected Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West to obtain the scriptures? Back then, they used such treasures to make things difficult for me, causing me countless sufferings. Why are they here with my senior brother today?"

Upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, Golden Horn and Silver Horn bowed and said, "Great Sage, we did this under orders in the past, but please do not blame us. We did not intend to fight against you."

Sun Wukong waved his hand and said, "I know that you two did not intend to fight me, but were sent by Guanyin Bodhisattva of the South Sea to make me suffer a tribulation. I have no reason to blame you two, but why are you following my senior brother?"

Golden Horn and Silver Horn replied, "Great Sage, we are here on Laozi's orders to loosen the alchemy furnace and give it to our senior brother, so we have come down to the mortal realm with him."

Seeing Sun Wukong grabbing the two celestial boys and asking them all sorts of questions, Jiang Yuan said, "Wukong, stop fooling around. Come with me back to my residence. After my two junior brothers put down the alchemy furnace, we still need to return to Heaven to report to Laozi."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong greeted the immortal and headed towards Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, with the two immortal boys, Golden Horn and Silver Horn, following closely behind.

Before long, the group arrived at the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars. After placing the alchemy furnace into the alchemy room, the two celestial children bid farewell to the immortal and returned to heaven.

Seeing that the alchemy furnace was in its proper place, Jiang Yuan was about to pay his respects to the patriarch, but then he suddenly remembered the matter of Erlang Shen and his nephew, and turned to look at Sun Wu.

The immortal asked, "Wukong, how is the matter of the agarwood?"

When Sun Wukong heard the immortal's question, he told the immortal about the matter, including Chenxiang's cultivation and the mistakes he had made in his cultivation.

Upon hearing this, the True Man said, "Cultivating the way of military strategy? This path is indeed interesting. According to what you said, Wukong, Chenxiang never knew what cultivation was, so his cultivation was only for saving his parents and defeating the Manifestation True Lord. He didn't know what the future held, so how could he cultivate?"

Sun Wukong sighed, "Eldest brother, I have failed to teach this disciple well; this is my fault."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "The path is under your feet. Wukong doesn't need to say such things, but he should act according to his own choices."

Sun Wukong said, "Elder brother, I have reflected on my actions."

Jiang Yuan said, "Wukong, I won't say any more to you for now. I'll come back to find you later. I'm going back to my residence now to pay my respects to my master."

Sun Wukong said, "Eldest brother, you can go now. I'll come and bother you again later."

Jiang Yuan bid farewell to Sun Wukong and headed towards the Jade Terrace. Following the path along the Jade Terrace, he arrived at the Patriarch's meditation room, where he saw the door of the Patriarch's meditation room wide open, as if waiting for him.

The master immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply, saying, "Master, your disciple has completed his mission and is returning home."

The patriarch in the room smiled and said, "Now that you have succeeded, come inside and let me see you."

Upon hearing the words of the Patriarch, the True Man quickly entered the quiet room and paid his respects to the Patriarch.

The patriarch looked down at Jiang Yuan and, with his divine eye, saw that the spiritual light within him was even brighter than before, a sign that he had achieved success in the external alchemy path and that his alchemy skills had been laid to a solid foundation.

The Patriarch was overjoyed and said, "Child, you have indeed succeeded. The external alchemy is complete. This is the initial sign of great power. But when you have completed all the necessary steps, great power will be achieved."

Jiang Yuan said, "It's all thanks to Master's teachings."

Say it.

The master took out a white jade gourd from his waist, poured out a pill, and said, "Master, this is a golden pill that I have prepared. Please accept it."

Upon hearing this, the Patriarch asked, "Why are you not enjoying it?"

The master said, "This is the elixir of my master's external alchemy, and I should let my master enjoy it."

The patriarch smiled and nodded, accepting the golden elixir.

(End of this chapter)