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

Chapter 318 Venus Returns to Its Position, Li Bai Becomes an Immortal?
In Yangzhou, in his thatched hut, Li Bai died trying to catch the moon. As he died, his spirit was freed from its torment and no longer bound by suffering.

Li Bai, in his thatched hut, looked around blankly, not knowing what was wrong with him. But after a short while, he realized that he was dead and no longer human.

He died trying to catch the moon.

But how did we end up here?
Could he have become a ghost?
Li Bai was puzzled and was about to go outside the thatched hut to take a look, but before he could leave the hut, a sound suddenly came.

"Venus, if you don't return to your position now, when will you?"

Upon hearing the words "Venus," Li Bai felt a sudden tremor within him, for he did not know why, but these four words felt extremely familiar to him.

Taibai Venus.

This is the name of a deity.

Why did he feel a sense of familiarity?
Li Bai looked out of the thatched hut and, under the cover of night, suddenly saw the immortal and his entourage appear on the mountain path. Wherever the immortal went, there was a faint golden light. The immortal was like a saint, surrounded by auspicious mist and auspicious energy.

Li Bai hurriedly left his thatched hut, bowed deeply, and said, "Greetings, immortal! Greetings, immortal!"

Jiang Yuan rode a white deer and came to Li Bai. He bent down, dismounted, helped Li Bai up, and said with a smile, "We are kindred spirits, why bother with formalities?"

Li Bai, trembling with fear, said, "How dare I claim to be a fellow traveler with immortals?"

Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "You are a deity, how can we not be of the same ilk?"

Li Bai was somewhat puzzled and said, "Immortal, I am but a mortal, how can I be an immortal? I am now dead and a ghost, I certainly cannot be described as an immortal."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said nothing more.

Li Bai looked at Jiang Yuan, intending to ask her something, but seeing her like this, he didn't know what to say. He then looked at Sun Wukong, about to speak.

Sun Wukong pointed at Li Bai and laughed, "You are a god, you are a god."

Li Bai was still puzzled, and looked at Zhu Bajie again.

Pigsy clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "You are Venus!"

Qingniu also laughed and said, "You are Venus!"

As Li Bai listened to what everyone was saying, he suddenly realized that he was Venus. A divine light emanated from his body, and his appearance changed drastically. It was Venus returning to his place. He saw colorful clouds covering the houses and auspicious energy protecting his spirit, as if the heavens and earth were overjoyed at the arrival of Venus.

In a short while, Li Bai was gone, and Venus reappeared in the world.

Taibai Jinxing bowed to the True Man and the others, and said, "I thank the True Man, the Great Sage, Marshal Tianpeng, King Si, and my two young friends. I never imagined that I would be trapped in a sea of ​​suffering. If it weren't for your help in getting me out of this sea of ​​suffering, I would probably have to travel through the mortal world several times before I could escape this sea of ​​suffering."

Jiang Yuan returned the greeting, saying, "Star Lord, there's no need for such formalities. We are friends, and seeing you in such distress, we should help you. Besides, we are merely offering you a chance to save yourself; the one who saves others is yourself, not me."

Pigsy patted his belly and said, "Venus, I promised before that I would save you, and I have kept my word."

Venus bowed to the True Man and said to Pigsy, “I thought that if I were in deep distress, you would not come, but I did not expect you to come. This shows that your cultivation has progressed and is far superior to what it used to be.”

Pigsy laughed and said, "No need for you to say more, I have made progress in my cultivation."

Sun Wukong grabbed Taibai Jinxing and said, "Old man, I have helped you so much, do you deserve this kindness?"

Venus said, "I am grateful for the Great Sage's kindness in helping me."

Sun Wukong laughed and said, "I have heard that the Queen Mother's birthday is approaching and there will be a grand gathering. I wonder if you have invited me. If you have not, you must persuade the Queen Mother to invite me."

Upon hearing this, Venus smiled and nodded, saying, "But I have not been to the Heavenly Palace for a long time. I hope you will wait a while, Great Sage, as I need to return to Heaven to inquire about the matter. If you cannot come, Great Sage, I will certainly persuade the Queen Mother of the West."

Sun Wukong said, "Thank you for your trouble."

After speaking with Venus and Pigsy for a while, they invited the immortal to their thatched hut for a meeting.

The immortal readily agreed and entered the thatched hut with Taibai Jinxing. Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and the others did not go inside but rested outside and protected the immortal.

Inside the thatched hut, the immortal and Venus sat down, not minding the poverty of the place.

Venus then bowed in reverence.

The immortal helped Venus up and said, "Why does the Star Lord offer this courtesy again?"

Venus said, “I know that what you said, Master, gives me the opportunity to save myself. The one who saves me is myself. But this opportunity to save myself is very rare. If you do not give it to me, Master, I will definitely not have this opportunity to save myself. Therefore, I should pay homage to you, Master. I hope you will not refuse me.”

Upon hearing Venus's words, the True Man had no choice but to allow Venus to bow down.

After receiving the deep bow, Venus said, "True Man, the Emperor's efforts to save all living beings have failed."

The True Man sighed, “Star Lord, I also know about this matter. The Emperor has indeed failed. Many stars have lost their true nature in this matter and have sunk into the sea of ​​suffering. Very few have been able to return with their true spirits.”

Venus said, "This is my fault."

The Master said, "This failure is due to the difficulty of saving all living beings; how can you say it is Venus's fault?"

Venus sighed and said, “To be honest, I have not been able to help the Emperor at all when I descended to the mortal realm. When I descended, I had to leave due to some matters, so I was not able to reincarnate immediately. As a result, when the Emperor grew up, I had not yet grown up. By the time I grew up, the Emperor was already old and senile and could not use me. Therefore, I have not been able to help the Emperor at all, which is my fault.”

The Master said, “It is difficult to save all living beings. It is not something that can be done by ordinary people. Even if the Star Lord could help, it would still be difficult to save them. Therefore, this is not the fault of the Star Lord. The Star Lord does not need to hold a grudge.”

Venus said, “What you say makes sense, but I have also made mistakes, which cannot be determined.”

The Master said, "To save all living beings is not something that can be accomplished in one lifetime. How could the Emperor not know that this attempt has failed? But we should learn from this failure and try again next time."

Venus nodded and said, “True Man, now that I have returned to my position, I foresee that the Emperor’s decline in this world is not far off. I should wait in the mortal realm until the Emperor returns to his position and then personally go to welcome him.”

The immortal said, "Since the star lord has said so, I will naturally go along with him and we will go together to welcome the emperor."

Venus said, “There’s no need for you to do this, but if you have important business to attend to, you may go ahead without waiting.”

Jiang Yuan shook her head and said, "If there is nothing urgent, I can wait for the Emperor. To be honest, I originally wanted to repair the laws in the mortal realm and also find some seekers of the Dao, but I have not been able to find them for a long time. This is because the mortal realm is in great chaos, so it is extremely difficult to repair the laws or find seekers of the Dao."

Venus laughed and said, "In that case, it is the Emperor who has burdened the True Man."

Jiang Yuan shook her head and said, "How can you say that?"

The two men were talking in the thatched hut, and as they talked, an auspicious aura arose from the hut, attracting the attention of passersby. They wanted to come closer to take a look, but as soon as they got close, a strong wind howled, forcing them back.

Passersby exclaimed in astonishment, saying that Li Bai had truly attained immortality, died and became an immortal, and had now returned to his hometown.

Upon hearing this news, everyone who had heard of Li Bai was shocked, saying that Li Bai's past encounter with immortals was true, and that he had finally become an immortal. His attempt to catch the moon was not a death, but rather an ascension to immortality.

...In the imperial palace of Chang'an, Li Longji, upon hearing of this, could not sit still and exclaimed in surprise: "That Li Bai, is he really not dead, but has become an immortal? I thought he died trying to catch the moon, but I never imagined that he would become an immortal as I guessed."

A palace attendant beside him said, "Your Majesty, this news is true. An official in Yangzhou witnessed it firsthand. There was indeed an auspicious aura in that thatched hut, but the auspicious aura has not dissipated for a long time."

Li Longji asked in surprise, "But have any officials gone inside to take a look?"

The palace attendant replied, "Your Majesty, you cannot look, you cannot look. If you were to approach, a strong wind would surely blow past, forcing you to retreat, so you cannot enter."

Li Longji said, "Li Bai has become an immortal! Li Bai has become an immortal! I must go there myself, to Yangzhou. I will issue an edict to prepare the ceremonial guards and go to Yangzhou. I want to see Li Bai in person! But Li Bai wishes to live forever with me, no, he wishes to prolong my life. Everything I have is for him!"

The palace attendant said, "Your Majesty, why not issue an imperial decree to summon Li Bai? The strong wind may be able to stop people, but it certainly cannot stop Your Majesty, who is the Son of Heaven."

Li Longji shook his head and said, "I have been feeling unwell lately, and I fear my time is near. I should go in person."

How could the palace servants dare to discuss matters of lifespan with the emperor? They could only kneel on the ground and prostrate themselves, saying, "Long live Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Li Longji simply shook his head and said, "Throughout history, how could there ever be an emperor who reigns for ten thousand years?"

The palace attendant said, "No one has ever done this before, but His Majesty will surely live ten thousand years now."

Li Longji asked, "What do you mean by that?"

The palace attendant said, "Your Majesty has created an unprecedented golden age, which is enough to prove that Your Majesty is a monarch unlike any other in history, far surpassing both ancient and modern times. Therefore, Your Majesty will surely have what no one has ever done before, and therefore Your Majesty can live ten thousand years."

Upon hearing this, Li Longji laughed heartily, overjoyed.

Just as the two were talking, a eunuch came to report, saying, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

Li Longji asked, "What's the matter that you're so alarmed?"

The eunuch said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, a general in the capital has said that An Lushan has rebelled."

Upon hearing this, Li Longji waved his hand and said, "Absolutely impossible. Who is An Lushan? He is a loyal minister and would never rebel. There is no need to say more. This matter must be a lie and cannot be taken seriously."

The eunuch said, "But the general vouched for it with his life, saying that An Lushan has rebelled."

Li Longji said, "In that case, go and take that general's life. I absolutely do not believe that An Lushan would rebel. There is no need to say more."

Upon hearing this, the eunuch immediately withdrew.

Li Longji was about to get up and go to Yangzhou in person, intending to find Li Bai.

But as soon as he got up, he felt weak and dizzy, and slumped back into the chair.

The palace maid was greatly alarmed and said, "Your Majesty, are you alright? I will go and find the imperial physician right away."

Li Longji waved his hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright. I've been feeling unwell lately, and the imperial physicians can't find anything wrong with me, so sending them here is useless."

The palace servant said, "But given His Majesty's current condition, I'm afraid he can't go to Yangzhou. It would be better if I did it in his place. When I see Li Bai, I will keep kowtowing to him and beg him to get up and see His Majesty. But Li Bai is soft-hearted, and when he sees me kowtowing, he will surely come."

Li Longji asked, "Can you really invite Li Bai here?"

The palace attendant said, "Your Majesty, if Li Bai is willing to see me, I will certainly be able to invite him here."

Li Longji said, "If that's the case, then I'll send you there to take a trip."

The palace servants received the order, tidied up the area, and headed towards Yangzhou without delay.

……

The conversation between the immortal and Venus in the thatched cottage in Yangzhou ceased when the palace maid arrived by imperial decree.

The True Man sensed something and soon understood what was going on. He smiled and said, "Star Lord, but your ties to the mortal world are not yet severed."

Venus shook his head and said, "This is my fault, but I did not know that after reincarnation, I would leave such a name in the mortal world. I fear that I will find it difficult to sever my ties with the mortal world until the next tribulation."

The immortal smiled and said, "If the Star Lord insists on severing his ties to the mortal world, with his abilities, he can certainly do it. It is just that the Star Lord is unwilling."

Venus said, "Let nature take its course."

The immortal said, "If that's the case, what should the Star Lord do now?"

Venus shook his head and said, "It is best not to meet him. Li Longji is the reincarnation of the Emperor, and he is now deeply mired in suffering, unable to extricate himself. With the two gods covering him, what he seeks must be immortality. How can I give it to him? If I do, wouldn't I be misleading the Emperor?"

The immortal smiled and said, "If the Star Lord does not wish to see him, it is not good for us to stay here any longer. Why don't we leave together, Star Lord? This will save us a lot of trouble. What do you think?"

Venus said, "That is certainly the case."

After speaking for a while, the two got up and walked outside.

Outside the thatched hut, Sun Wukong and the others saw the Immortal and Taibai Jinxing come out, and they all stood up and bowed to the two.

The immortal said, "Wukong, Zhengyuan, let's set off and leave this place."

The group accepted their orders and left. Before long, they departed from this place and headed towards Jingzhou.

……

Two or three months after the True Man and his entourage left, the auspicious aura surrounding the thatched hut gradually dissipated.

When the palace maid arrived at the place, nothing had changed; it was just an empty space.

Upon seeing this, the palace attendants were greatly alarmed. They stopped a passerby and asked, "It is said that there is an auspicious aura here, a sign that Li Bai will become an immortal. Why is there no auspicious aura here today? Could it be that all of that is just hearsay?"

A passerby shook his head and said, "It's not just a rumor. Two or three months ago, there really was auspicious energy here, but it has long since dissipated. It gradually dissipated over the past two or three months. Ten days ago, someone entered the place and was not stopped by the strong wind."

The palace attendant exclaimed in surprise, "It's vanished? But did the person who went inside see anything?"

The passerby said, "No, no. But those who enter will find it completely empty; there is no immortal among them."

The palace attendant said, "We've heard that Li Bai became an immortal, and those auspicious omens are signs of his ascension. How can we not see an immortal inside?"

A passerby laughed and said, "Since Mr. Li has become an immortal, he can't stay in one place forever. Perhaps he was in his thatched hut reminiscing about the past. Now that he has had enough, he has naturally gone to the heavens and joined the ranks of the immortals."

The palace servants, hearing what the passersby were saying, were at a loss for words. They were terrified and didn't know how to explain it to His Majesty. If they told His Majesty that Li Bai had left, His Majesty might punish him. What should they do?

(End of this chapter)