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

Chapter 310 The Bull King's Cultivation and Birthday Ceremony

Meanwhile, inside the Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave on Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, the Ox King, who was meditating, heard from Red Boy that Chenxiang had left and was going to find Erlang Shen to defeat him.

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King became somewhat anxious, as he was about to go outside the mansion to search for Chenxiang, but he had not yet gone there.

Suddenly, I saw Zhenjian standing at the gate of the mansion.

The Bull Demon King stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Why is the Buddha of Wisdom here? Is there something important you need?"

Zhenjian put his hands together, bowed, and said, "King Ox, I am here to stop you on my master's orders."

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King immediately asked, "Buddha of Wisdom, why is the Patriarch stopping me? I have always been cultivating in seclusion in my residence. Even when I leave, I am going home to meet my wife and children. I have never done anything evil. Why does the Patriarch want to stop me?"

Zhenjian said, "It is because of the matter of agarwood that your master sent you to the quiet room."

When the Bull Demon King heard that his master was looking for him, he dared not delay. He hurriedly said a few words to Zhenjian and then went to the master's quiet room.

Before long, the Bull Demon King arrived at the quiet room. He saw that the door of the quiet room was half open and half closed. The Bull Demon King walked in that direction, looking around. Suddenly, a book flew out and hit the Bull Demon King on the head.

"You ox, now that you've arrived, why don't you come in? What's the point of standing around at the door looking around?"

The patriarch's voice came from the quiet room.

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King dared not disobey. He picked up the book from the ground, carefully entered the quiet room, and bowed, saying, "Master, I have arrived."

The Bull Demon King placed the books on the table, sitting obediently and not daring to breathe loudly.

The patriarch said, "Ox, why do you dare not speak?"

The Bull Demon King said, "Master, I am ignorant of etiquette and am afraid of being impolite, so I speak less."

The patriarch laughed and said, "You little ox, you've learned a bit of manners from Guangxin. Your words today are enough to show your cultivation."

The Bull Demon King replied, "I dare not say such a thing."

The patriarch waved his hand and said, “I have summoned you here today because of the matter of Chenxiang. I know that Chenxiang has left the mountain. But the path is under his feet, and his intention to leave the mountain is his own course. There is no need to stop him.”

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King understood his master's meaning and bowed, saying, "Yes, Master, this disciple will no longer obstruct him."

The patriarch smiled and nodded, then asked, "Niu'er, how is your cultivation going? Tell me about it."

The Bull Demon King bowed and said, "Master, I have made some progress in my cultivation, and I have some magical power and martial arts skills, but I am still far from achieving enlightenment."

The Patriarch said, “I observe that you have cultivated yourself, possess magical power and martial arts skills. Ordinary people are no match for you. Even among the celestial beings, there are very few who can match your abilities. Do you know what you lack that prevents you from attaining enlightenment?”

The Bull Demon King said, "Master, what I lack is that my magical power and martial arts are not yet profound enough, so I have not yet achieved enlightenment."

The patriarch smiled and said, "How profound must your martial arts and magical powers be to be considered profound?"

The Bull Demon King replied, "Only those who are no less than Wukong can truly be considered profound."

The Patriarch asked, "Wukong is a being who has achieved the Golden Core Dao, and is born of Heaven and Earth. It is only natural that he possesses such magical powers and martial arts. How can you compare to him?"

The Bull Demon King pondered for a long time, as if he was thinking about what his patriarch had said. After a long while, he bowed and said, "Please, patriarch, enlighten your disciple."

The patriarch sat cross-legged on a futon and smiled, saying, "What you lack is a little bit of refinement."

The Bull Demon King kowtowed and asked, "Grandmaster, is the fire ready?"

The patriarch said, "The timing and method depend on the practice."

The Bull Demon King asked again, "What about merits?"

The patriarch smiled and said, "But you must go down the mountain to find the answer yourself. When you find the answer down the mountain, that is when you will attain enlightenment."

The Bull Demon King said, "If that's the case, I should go find the Master."

The patriarch shook his head and said, "This cultivation is up to you, not Guangxin; you must walk this path alone."

The Bull Demon King suddenly understood, bowed deeply again, and said, "Disciple understands, thank you for enlightening me, Ancestor."

The patriarch smiled and nodded.

……

The story goes that when Sun Wukong arrived at the Heavenly Court, no one dared to stop him along the way, for everyone knew of the mighty name of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

Sun Wukong rode the clouds and wandered through the Heavenly Palace for a long time, when he unexpectedly bumped into someone.

Sun Wukong took a closer look and saw that the man was none other than the God of Longevity.

The old man, who was on his deathbed, retreated several steps. Once he regained his footing, he saw that it was Sun Wukong and immediately bowed and said, "Great Sage!"

Sun Wukong grabbed the old man and said, "You old man, where are you going? You're in such a hurry, you almost knocked me over."

The God of Longevity smiled apologetically and said, "Great Sage, why do you say that? You are made of copper and iron, how could I have hurt you? To tell you the truth, Great Sage, I have received the Queen Mother's decree to go and prepare for the birthday celebration, so I was in a bit of a hurry and did not see you before bumping into you."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong asked, "Birthday celebration? Is it the Queen Mother of the West's birthday celebration?"

The birthday celebrant nodded and said, "That's right, that's right."

Sun Wukong grabbed the God of Longevity and asked, "Did the Queen Mother invite me?"

Upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, the God of Longevity was somewhat alarmed and trembled with fear, unsure of how to respond. He still remembered that hundreds of years ago, Sun Wukong had disrupted the Peach Banquet because he had not been invited to a seat, which led to the later havoc in the Heavenly Palace.

If Sun Wukong were to disrupt the birthday celebration again because he wasn't invited, it would be troublesome, as the current Sun Wukong is far more powerful than before.

Seeing the old man's appearance, Sun Wukong laughed and said, "You old man, there's no need to be afraid. I am not the same as I was when I taught those two gods to bewitch me. I am different now. Even if the Queen Mother of the West hadn't invited me, I wouldn't have said anything more."

The God of Longevity bowed and said, "Great Sage, the Queen Mother has not yet begun to invite people from all directions, so I don't know if she has invited you. Later, when the Queen Mother begins to invite people from all directions, she may invite you. Please wait a while, Great Sage."

Sun Wukong said, "I see. Then I'll wait a bit."

The God of Longevity laughed and said, "I knew that the Empress would invite the Great Sage, but she has not yet invited people from all directions. For now, she has invited some people with profound magical powers."

Sun Wukong, hearing what the God of Longevity said, became curious and asked, "But I wonder who the Queen Mother of the West has invited this time?"

The God of Longevity said, "Laojun, Your Majesty, and emperors from all sides have all been invited."

Sun Wukong scratched his head and asked, "Have you managed to invite my master?"

The God of Longevity shook his head and said, "I've heard that they invited Patriarch Bodhi, but he refused to participate. However, True Man Guangxin has clearly stated that he will participate." Sun Wukong said, "My eldest brother will actually participate in this matter?"

The God of Longevity nodded and said, "It was confirmed by the Queen Mother of the West several dozen days ago that the immortal would participate in the conference."

Sun Wukong nodded and said, "I already know about this matter, but I won't tell you more. I still need to go and find His Majesty."

The God of Longevity asked, "Great Sage, what business do you have with His Majesty?"

When Sun Wukong heard the God of Longevity asking about it, he told him about the evil dragon in the mortal realm.

Upon hearing this, the God of Longevity said, "But the affairs of the dragons in the lower realm have been chaotic for a long time. His Majesty once set up the Dragon-Slaying Platform to deter the dragons, but the deterrence will not last long before they commit the same offense again. Since the Great Sage has something to attend to, I will not stop you. The Great Sage may go."

Sun Wukong then bid farewell to the God of Longevity and headed towards the Tongming Hall.

Before long, Sun Wukong arrived at the Tongming Hall and met with the Four Celestial Masters, where he explained the matter to them.

Upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, the Four Celestial Masters immediately reported to the Jade Emperor.

Upon hearing of this matter, the Jade Emperor immediately went to the Lingxiao Palace and dispatched his Third Prince Nezha with three thousand soldiers to accompany Sun Wukong to the mortal realm to rectify the situation. Anyone involved in this matter was to be captured, and the Dragon Clan was to be put in charge of the affairs of the region.

Having received the imperial decree, Sun Wukong immediately traveled to the South Heavenly Gate to meet up with the Third Prince Nezha.

When Nezha saw Sun Wukong at the South Heavenly Gate, he came forward to greet him and said, "Great Sage, I'm sorry to trouble you with your help in this mortal realm."

Sun Wukong smiled and returned the greeting, saying, "Why do you say that, Third Prince? This trip to the mortal realm is just to deal with some dragons. With your abilities and those six demon-subduing weapons, you'll have more than enough to handle them. I'll be happy to watch."

Nezha laughed and said, "There might be some troublesome dragons among them."

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "I heard that before the Third Prince attained enlightenment, he had already extracted the tendons of a dragon. Now that he has attained enlightenment, how can a few dragons do anything to the Third Prince?"

As the two talked, they led three thousand heavenly soldiers down to the mortal realm.

……

In the vicinity of the Lijiang River in the Southern Continent, Lü Yan rode a white deer to this place. When he arrived, he looked around and saw that there was no demonic aura around him. If it weren't for the abnormal climate, he wouldn't have been able to see anything wrong.

Lu Yan gently stroked the white deer and said, "Immortal Deer, can you find the location of that evil dragon for me?"

The white deer raised its head, spoke in human language, and said, "It can be found, but are you going to deal with that evil dragon now?"

When Lü Yan heard the white deer speak, he was startled and exclaimed, "A celestial deer can actually speak?"

The white deer said, "If you can speak, why can't I?"

Lu Yan immediately dismounted from the white deer and said, "I was unaware of the Immortal Deer. I beg the Immortal Deer to forgive me!"

The white deer shook its head and said, "There's no need to call me a celestial deer; I am simply a human's mount."

Lu Yan said, "The true man's leg strength is also that of a celestial deer."

Bai Lu said, "There's no need for further words. Just tell me, do you want to find that evil dragon? If you do, I have my own way of finding it, but I don't think you should go to find it in this way."

Lu Yan asked, "Immortal Deer, but what do you mean by that?"

The white deer spoke in human language, saying, "Lu Yan, if you want to subdue a demon, you must first know its origins and then find something that counters it. Only in this way can you subdue the demon. Even if a real person were to subdue a demon, they would understand the demon's ways before taking any action. Your magical power is not comparable to that of a real person, so how can you subdue a demon in this way?"

Lu Yan said, "Its origins are not widely known; it is a vicious dragon. What else do you need to know?"

The white deer said, “You have never subdued demons or monsters, nor have you traveled to various places, so you naturally do not know the differences between dragons. But dragons are different, such as the white dragon of the West Sea, the red dragon of the South Sea, the black dragon of the North Sea, the green dragon of the East Sea, and so on. There are many differences. The same applies to the jiao (a type of dragon). If you do not know the intricacies of the matter and go to subdue a demon, and if it happens that the evil jiao is neither of the water element nor a benevolent one, wouldn’t you die and perish? How can you subdue a demon with such carelessness?”

Upon hearing this, Lü Yan bowed deeply to the white deer and said, "Lü Yan is grateful for your guidance, Immortal Deer. If it weren't for your guidance, I would not have been able to subdue the demons and would have only endangered myself. That would have been very wrong of me."

Bai Lu said, "No need for thanks, but if you achieve success in the future, please don't forget me."

Lu Yan shook his head and said, "I will never forget the Immortal Deer."

Bai Lu said, "Your words are enough. You don't have the ability to summon the underworld ghost to ask about its origins. If you want to know its origins, you can only go around and inquire about its whereabouts."

Upon hearing what Bai Lu said, Lü Yan felt enlightened and got up to walk along the riverbank, intending to visit various places and inquire about the evil dragon.

The white deer followed closely behind.

After learning that the white deer could speak human language, Lü Yan dared not ride on the white deer anymore and had no choice but to travel with it.

The man and the deer had been walking for a while when they came across a house by the river. In front of the house, an old man sat looking around, looking somewhat lonely.

Lu Yan immediately drove up and called out from afar, "That old gentleman!"

Upon hearing this, the old man on the threshold of the house stood up and said to Lü Yan as he approached, “You look to be in your forties or fifties, why are you calling me ‘old man’?”

Lu Yan stepped forward and said, "I am a cultivator who has traveled far and wide. I happened to pass through this place and had something to ask about. When I saw you, I came up to you. After hearing what you said, should I not call you 'Old Master'? I am now fifty or sixty years old."

The old man said, "I am only in my forties, why do you call me 'old man'?"

Lu Yan exclaimed in surprise, "I thought you looked seventy or eighty, but you only look forty. This is my fault. You are my junior, and I should not have addressed you like that."

The old man shook his head and said, "But I am troubled by making a living, so I look old. I am over forty, while you are a young man."

Lu Yan asked, "But what livelihood issue has caused you to be in this state?"

The old man said, “Since you are a cultivator, I will not hide it from you. I was originally a farmer here, and my family has relied on a few acres of meager land to make a living for generations. However, for the past ten years, the rivers here have flooded every year, destroying all my harvests. As a result, I have no harvest at all. How can I not be worried and look old in this situation?”

Lü Yan replied, "For ten consecutive years, there have been floods every year. How can this be explained?"

The old man said, "It is said that evil spirits are causing trouble in the rivers, which is why there are floods every year."

Lu Yan then said, "If there are demons and evil spirits, why didn't you escape?"

The old man said, “How can I escape? I am here now, where can I go? Since ancient times, people have followed the land, not the land. If I leave, I will be a refugee, and I will die on the way if I am not careful. Where can I go?”

Upon hearing this, Lü Yan remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "But do you know much about the evil spirits that are causing this trouble? Can you tell me?"

The old man asked, "Why do you need to know these things?"

Lu Yan bowed and said, “I will not hide it from you. I am a cultivator. I heard that there is an evil dragon causing trouble here, so I came here to subdue the demon. However, I do not know the way to subdue it, so I cannot subdue it. I can only run around to find out information. If you know the demon, you can tell me. After I subdue the demon, there will be no more floods to inundate your farmland.”

(End of this chapter)