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

Chapter 351 Nine Calamities Mountain, People of the Heavenly Palace (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

In the middle of the main road westward, in a mountain, Pigsy, carrying his nine-toothed rake, arrived at the demon's cave. He saw many lesser demons practicing in front of the cave entrance.

Pigsy took a closer look and saw that there wasn't a single decent demon in front of the cave, so he felt reassured. Even with these monsters, he, the old pig, could easily make them flee in haste with just a flick of his nine-toothed rake.

Pigsy laughed and said, "How could such a monster be sent by Brother Monkey? It would be enough for me to come. Brother Monkey, you should have been more cautious in your words. You should have been more cautious."

Say it.

Pigsy picked up his nine-toothed rake and walked towards that spot. He struck the ground with it, and sure enough, the earth shook and rocks crumbled.

The many lesser demons were greatly frightened by this and said, "Who is it that has come and is disturbing the peace of my cave?"

Pigsy cursed, "You wicked monsters, you've been ruling the mountain on this westward road, causing havoc and utterly disrespect! I, Pigsy, have come here to subdue you and teach you a lesson so you can be reincarnated and free from sin!"

Pigsy swung his nine-toothed rake, pretending to strike forward.

The little demons scattered like birds and beasts, filled with fear and unease, fleeing outwards. In an instant, they vanished without a trace, all running for their lives.

Two or three loyal demons took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the mansion, close the gates, and rush inside, shouting in panic, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! A pig demon has come to our door!"

Meanwhile, on a high platform in the mansion, a snake spirit was drinking wine and eating human flesh. Looking down from the platform, she saw three or four lesser demons capturing a man and tearing out his heart and lungs.

The snake spirit had been enjoying herself for a while when suddenly two or three lesser demons came running in panic, shouting that something terrible was about to happen.

The snake spirit immediately dispatched two or three lesser demons to stop them, asking, "Why are you shouting and disturbing my enjoyment?"

The lesser demons all said, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! A very powerful pig demon has broken in!"

The snake spirit was puzzled and said, "What are you talking about, this pig spirit or not? I, the Nine Calamities King, have been living in this mountain for over ten years and have never fought with a pig spirit. How can you say that a pig spirit has come to deal with me?"

The little demons all said, "But we did not lie, we did not lie. There really was a pig demon who came with a rake, threatening to kill us and make us enter the cycle of reincarnation as soon as possible."

The snake spirit didn't understand his meaning. He thought that he rarely fought with monsters and mostly ate people, so how could a pig spirit come here to oppose him?

He wanted to ask a few more questions.

Suddenly, the cave shook violently, and a little demon came to report, saying, "Your Majesty, there is a pig demon outside the mansion challenging us. He has damaged the gate of my mansion and is very arrogant, clamoring for Your Majesty to go out and die."

The snake demon was furious and said, "How dare you be so arrogant and ruin my reputation! Guards, bring me my sword and let me put it on. I'm going out to subdue that pig demon!"

Then a little demon stepped forward, took two precious swords and gave them to the snake spirit, and also took an armor and made the snake spirit wear it.

The snake spirit, dressed in armor and wielding a sword, led dozens of lesser demons out of the mansion.

But when the snake spirit arrived outside the mansion, she saw Pigsy shouting and wielding his nine-toothed rake wildly, killing two or three lesser demons.

The snake spirit roared, "Where did you come from, you pig spirit, daring to cause trouble in front of my Nine Calamities King's mansion! And you even damaged my gate!"

Pigsy said, "I am the Cleansing Altar Messenger of Mount Ling, and the Protector of the Cauldron under the tutelage of the True Man Guangxin of Mount Lingtai. I am here by imperial decree to clear the road to the west. You plague-ridden evil spirit, when you see your grandpa Pig, why don't you quickly surrender!"

Upon hearing the name Pigsy, the snake spirit asked, "Are you the former Water God Tianpeng, who was later banished to the mortal realm and sent west?"

Pigsy said, "Since you know your grandpa Pig, how dare you cause trouble here and disturb the peace of this place?"

Seeing Pigsy's rudeness, the snake spirit scolded, "I have heard of your name before. You once caused chaos in the Heavenly Palace, causing people to be banished to the mortal world and reincarnated as pigs. Later, you protected Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West, and he attained enlightenment. But this is not the same as the story of you causing trouble in front of my house. Now that you have damaged my gate, even though I have some past camaraderie with you, I cannot tolerate you. I will kill you here to vent my hatred."

Say it.

The snake demon swung her sword and charged at Pigsy.

Upon seeing this, Pigsy swung his nine-toothed rake and stepped forward to fight back.

The two engaged in a fierce battle, wielding twin swords and precious rakes, their expressions shifting as they fought. One said, "You have ruined my sect, how hateful!" The other retorted, "You have committed countless evils, beyond forgiveness!" One was determined to avenge the sect leader, while the other intended to vanquish the demon and sweep away the evil spirits. Their battle raged on endlessly, their words fueling their hatred. Each displayed their unique abilities and power. The snake spirit's sword resembled two dragons, while Pigsy's rake moved with divine speed. At first, they fought in the mountains, but later they rode together on a whirlwind.

The two fought for over fifty rounds, with Pigsy gaining a slight advantage and managing to steadily suppress the snake demon. His rake was quite formidable, sometimes displaying exquisite technique and other times striking wildly, leaving the snake demon unable to catch her breath.

High in the air, Sun Wukong watched Zhu Bajie's martial arts skills and secretly admired him, saying, "This fool is slow-witted, but he really has two or three parts of his former power here, which is enough to show that he has not been lazy in the mansion all these years. If he can concentrate on his cultivation, he will definitely achieve something in the future."

Sun Wukong observed Zhu Bajie's methods and felt a sense of admiration.

But when he saw the snake demon slow down its attack and vaguely see it peeking out, he knew that it was about to use some underhanded tricks.

Sun Wukong was startled and was about to remind Zhu Bajie, but before he could speak...

Suddenly, Pigsy was about to subdue the snake demon in one fell swoop, but he was a little impatient. He put away his nine-toothed rake and gathered his strength to strike. This gathering of strength opened the snake demon's mouth wide.

Taking advantage of the situation, the snake demon spewed out a mouthful of black smoke, which hit Pigsy, causing him unbearable pain, making it difficult for him to open his eyes, and causing him severe pain throughout his body, as if he had been poisoned.

With a flick of her twin swords, the snake demon knocked the nine-toothed rake from Pigsy's hand and kicked him to the ground. A group of lesser demons rushed over and bound Pigsy.

The snake spirit said, "Tie him up tightly and bring him into the mansion. I don't care what he is, whether he's the Heavenly Water God or the Clean Altar Messenger. But since he has ruined my gate, I will steam and boil him to eat to vent my anger."

The group of lesser demons cheered and carried Pigsy towards the mansion.

Sun Wukong watched as the snake demon captured Zhu Bajie and laughed, "It's good to teach that fool a lesson, but I don't know what kind of skill that demon is using. I can't even see through that black smoke. It's really amazing. If I'm not careful, I'm afraid I'll fall into her trap. I need to find the local deities to find out her tricks before I can defeat her."

Sun Wukong wanted to find the local deity to investigate, but he was afraid that Zhu Bajie would be harmed, so he had to hold his tongue and cast a protective spell on Zhu Bajie to ensure his safety before leaving.

Meanwhile, inside the demon's cave, the snake demon was furious and ordered her minions to immediately throw Pigsy into a steamer to be cooked and eaten.

The little demons all responded immediately, obeying his command. They went into the back hall, brought out a large steamer, boiled water, and then threw Pigsy inside.

Pigsy was in excruciating pain, and when he heard that he was to be steamed, he was terrified. However, he was too weak and aching to move, so he could only let the little demon throw him into the steamer.

Pigsy panicked and said, “Brother, you have supernatural powers. In the past, when you protected Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West, Tang Sanzang was captured by a demon. You always used your supernatural powers to protect him secretly. Now that I have been captured by a demon, you must be nearby. I beg you to come and save me quickly, for the sake of our brotherhood.”

Pigsy called out for a long time, but there was no response from his surroundings. He opened his eyes wide and looked carefully, but still saw no movement outside. He only saw boiling water under the steamer, ready to cook him.
He knew perfectly well that Sun Wukong was not nearby, and he kept wailing, wanting to break free but having no strength.

Pigsy was furious and indignant that the monkey had indeed not come to his rescue. Just as he was about to curse him, he suddenly realized that the boiling water did not cause him any pain; it was icy cold.

When Pigsy saw this, how could he not understand that although Monkey King was not present, he was protected by his own magical powers, so he was not harmed.

Pigsy was overjoyed and said, "Brother, if I had told you you had this protective magic, I wouldn't have been so alarmed."

Seeing that the boiling water wouldn't cook him, Pigsy wasn't in a hurry and fell fast asleep in the steamer.

……

Outside the cave, Sun Wukong traveled into the mountains and used magic to summon all the mountain gods and local deities.

He called for a long time, but no local earth god or mountain god came.

Sun Wukong had no choice but to go out into the mountains and summon the local earth god. He traveled twenty miles away from the mountain before finally managing to summon an earth god.

As soon as the local deity appeared, he bowed deeply to Sun Wukong and said, "Lord of Songfeng Mountain greets the Great Sage! There are demons causing trouble outside this mountain, so this old man dared not show himself. Therefore, please forgive this old man for not welcoming you from afar!"

Sun Wukong waved his hand and said, "But I am not the same as before, and I will not blame you for everything. However, you must explain to me why, when I summoned the local land gods and mountain spirits, only you came. What is the reason for this? Do you look down on me?"

The local deity trembled and panicked, saying, "We dare not, we dare not. Great Sage, please understand, it is not that we are unwilling, but most of the local deities and mountain gods around us have been killed by the monsters in the Nine Calamities Mountain, so no one has come to welcome the Great Sage."

Sun Wukong scratched his head and said, "I have already been to that Nine Calamities Mountain, but there was a demon there. He was quite skilled in martial arts, but he emitted a puff of black smoke that captured my junior brother. I don't know where he came from, so I came to ask you all. Tell me, what is the origin of that Nine Calamities Mountain? Why didn't I hear about this mountain or encounter this monster when I was protecting Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West? If I had known about this monster earlier, I would have subdued it back then, and there would be no today."

The Earth God bowed and said, “Great Sage, you may not know this, but the monster that dwells in the Nine Calamities Mountain is a snake spirit that calls itself the King of Nine Calamities. It came to settle here many years after the Great Sage’s successful journey to the West. It does all kinds of evil and specializes in eating people. It has a poisonous breath that is extremely powerful. Those who are poisoned by it will suffer from pain all over their body and weakness in their limbs. Some may even lose their lives. It is really difficult to deal with.”

Sun Wukong said, "Where does it come from? Is there any explanation? It has that poisonous breath that is not easily obtained in the human world. It must have a source, whether it is in the heavens, on the ground, or in the Northern Julu Continent."

The Earth God said, “Great Sage, I have heard that he came from heaven and was a banished god, but I do not know if it is true or not.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong understood. Since the person came from heaven, if he wanted to deal with them, he could go to heaven to find them and solve the problem. He was about to get up and leave when he suddenly thought of something and said, "Lord, come closer."

The land deity was somewhat apprehensive, but still obeyed and stepped forward, saying, "What are your orders, Great Sage?"

Sun Wukong said, "But I have heard that there are many demons and monsters on the road to the west, even more so than when I protected Tang Sanzang on his journey to the west. What is the reason for this?"

The Earth God bowed and replied, “Great Sage, this is related to Mount Ling. But I have heard that the higher the Tao is, the higher the demons are. This is a relative saying. I have heard that the Dharma of Nirvana will become the Dharma of the past, and the Dharma of Zen will become the Dharma of the present. Therefore, when the Buddha’s teachings recede, the demonic energy of West Niuhe Continent will be strong, and the westward road will naturally be overrun by demons and monsters.”

Sun Wukong said, "Is that so? I know this principle. My senior brother has taught me about the numbers of heaven and earth and the opposition of yin and yang. I know that when yin goes, yang rises and yang retreats, yin rises. This is how it is here."

The local deity said, "The Great Sage has explained everything here; he truly possesses wisdom."

Sun Wukong waved his hand and said, "You should take good care of yourself and not let the demons harm you. I will definitely handle this matter."

Upon hearing this, the local deity was greatly surprised. He had heard that the Great Sage Equaling Heaven was a lawless and tyrannical figure who had once wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace and was known for his ferocity. However, upon seeing him now, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven was quite polite.

After Sun Wukong finished speaking with the local earth deity, he rode his somersault cloud toward the Heavenly Palace without any intention of stopping.

……

In a short while, Sun Wukong approached the South Heavenly Gate, where the Four Marshals led a group of officers and soldiers to block his path through the clouds.

The four marshals were about to ask who the newcomer was when they saw that it was Sun Wukong. They immediately ordered their officers and soldiers to make way for him.

Everyone bowed and said, "We pay our respects to the Great Sage!"

Sun Wukong stopped his cloud, returned the greeting to the group, and said, "Gentlemen, I have business to attend to in Heaven. Please make way for me."

The four marshals then said, "Great Sage, you are a subject of the Heavenly Court. It is not impossible for you to enter the Heavenly Court. But we do not know what your purpose is. Do you need our assistance?"

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "No need for you brothers, there is a demon causing trouble in the mortal realm. I heard that he was once a person from the Heavenly Palace, so I came to the Heavenly Palace to ask about his origins. Only after I know his origins can I subdue him."

The four marshals laughed and said, "The Great Sage's journey to the West is long past. We have heard that the Great Sage has attained enlightenment, so how come the Great Sage is still subduing demons today?"

Sun Wukong said, “You may not know this, but the reason for subduing the demons here is that I received the order from my eldest brother. However, the day my eldest brother opens his mansion is approaching, and the road to the west is overrun with demons. Therefore, I, Sun Wukong, am here to help my eldest brother by subduing the demons so that he can open his mansion in peace.”

Upon hearing this, the four marshals bowed and said, "Since it concerns the True Man, Great Sage, please go quickly. We will not say much more to you. When you have some free time later, Great Sage, come and find us for drinks and entertainment."

Sun Wukong returned the greeting and said, "That's right, that's right. But when I have free time, I will definitely come to find my four brothers, and then I will invite the Nine Luminaries, the Twenty-Eight Constellations, and the like, to have a drink and have some fun together."

(End of this chapter)