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

Chapter 427 Left Arm, True Qi

Meanwhile, at the foot of Jinding Mountain, Nezha said that he knew the vital point of the Xuan Yin King and instructed the Bull Demon King to stop him and not allow the Xuan Yin King to escape.

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King was unwilling to let the Xuan Yin King escape or attack Zuo Liang and Wang Chongyang. He hardened his heart, wielded the Black Dragon Spear, and attacked without defending, blocking the Xuan Yin King's path and preventing him from advancing.

For a time, the Xuan Yin King found it difficult to gain any advantage over the Bull Demon King.

Nezha, riding on his Wind-Fire Wheels, came to help the Bull Demon King. He raised his Fire-Tipped Spear and helped the Bull Demon King to parry the Xuan Yin King.

The Bull Demon King, panting heavily, said, "Third Prince, tell me where this fellow's weakness is, otherwise his strength seems inexhaustible, and we will defeat him sooner or later."

Nezha said, "This fellow's weakness lies in his left arm. Let's cut off his left arm. If his left arm is injured, he won't be able to cause trouble anymore! Then we can deal with him!"

When the Bull Demon King heard that the Xuan Yin King's vital point was in his left arm, he was surprised but did not think much of it. He knew that now was not the right time to ask him, so he raised the Black Dragon Spear and attacked the Xuan Yin King's left arm.

As expected, the Xuan Yin King's left arm was attacked, and he kept roaring as if he was in unbearable pain.

The Bull Demon King gave him no chance to recover and continued to launch attacks on the Xuan Yin King.

Nezha also charged forward with his spear, aiming for his left arm.

Faced with the combined attack of the two, how could the Xuan Yin King protect his left arm? His left arm was broken by the two, and he kept roaring. The Xuan Yin King's aura was turbulent, and he showed signs of instability.

The three fought for more than ten rounds.

Nezha suddenly took out his sword and cut off the left arm of the Xuan Yin King with one stroke.

But then they saw that the Xuan Yin King's left arm had been severed, and he was barely breathing, with no trace of his great demonic aura left. He turned around and tried to escape.

How could the Bull Demon King let him escape? With a light swing of his Spear, he killed the Xuan Yin King on the spot. His body turned into resentment and seemed to dissipate. His severed left arm turned into a white bone and fell to the ground.

Upon seeing this, Nezha sheathed his sword and bent down to pick up the white bones.

The Bull Demon King then cleaned up all the corpses around him before approaching Nezha, facing Wang Chongyang and Zuo Liang.

Nezha said, "Just as you all said, this fellow has become a force to be reckoned with and difficult to deal with. If we hadn't found his weakness in time, we might not have been able to continue and would have had to leave temporarily. Fortunately, we have found him now and can kill him."

The Bull Demon King put down the Black Dragon Spear and asked in confusion, "Third Prince, how did you find that this fellow's vital point is on his left arm? How come I didn't see that?"

He was truly puzzled. He had been fighting with the Xuan Yin King for a long time and hadn't seen anything at all. He had only heard Nezha say that he had found the key to his life, but he didn't know how he had found it.

Nezha laughed and said, "Just now, Zheng Yuan was struck by heavenly lightning on his left arm, and the pain was unbearable. I suddenly remembered that when I returned my bones to my father and my flesh to my mother, the first thing I cut off with my sword was my left arm. If we talk about resentment, it is the foremost. With this connection, it becomes clear that the left arm is that bone, and it is also the life-threatening point of the Xuan Yin King. If his left arm is destroyed, he will surely be defeated."

Upon hearing this, the Bull Demon King finally realized what was happening, bowed, and said, "So that's how it is! I never thought of that before. The Crown Prince is truly remarkable."

Nezha shook his head and said, "Why do you say that? It's because this matter concerns me, so I know about it. If this matter concerns the Bull King, the Bull King would know, but I don't."

The Bull Demon King waved his hand and said, "It's better not to know about such things."

Upon hearing this, Nezha, Wang Chongyang, and the others burst into laughter and did not dwell on the matter further.

Nezha then looked at Zuo Liang and said, "Zheng Yuan, I came here at your summons. Now that this matter is settled, I should leave. If you have any important matters to attend to in the future, you may summon me again, and I will do my best to help you."

Zuo Liang stepped forward and bowed, saying, "We owe a great debt to the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas for our help. Without your assistance, we would not have been able to defeat the Xuan Yin King. However, now that this matter is over, we have not yet repaid your kindness with proper etiquette. How can we leave like this?"

Wang Chongyang also chimed in, saying that he shared the same sentiment.

Nezha laughed and said, "Zhengyuan, Zhengwei, you two don't know this, but I also wanted to talk with you two about the Dao. However, I really have important matters to attend to, so I must leave now. I will meet with you again in the future, and then we can talk about the Dao. Besides, several decades from now, the True Man will open his own residence, and then we will still have a chance to talk."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liang naturally stopped trying to stop him.

The Bull Demon King stepped forward and asked, "Prince, what urgent matter do you have? If it is, this old bull can help you, so that you won't be left to fend for yourself."

Nezha looked at the Bull Demon King and said, "Does the Bull King really intend to help me?"

The Bull Demon King said, "If the Third Prince truly needs my help, I will certainly lend you a hand. Tell me what it is. If I am not strong enough, I can go to the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars and ask my virtuous brother and others for help."

Nezha said, "Bull King, there's no need for him to wait. Just come with me, and that will be enough."

The Bull Demon King said, "Since the Crown Prince has spoken in this way, I shall go. But the Crown Prince has not yet said where I should go."

Nezha laughed and said, "Today I will go to the East Sea Dragon Palace, sit there and meet the East Sea Dragon King. Then I will go to the West Sea, South Sea and North Sea Dragon Palaces to pay my respects to the Dragon Kings and see if my bones look familiar. After I have paid my respects to the four Dragon Kings, I will go to find my father and show him my bones."

The Bull Demon King was at a loss for words. How could he have known that Nezha intended to do such a thing? If he had known beforehand, how could he have dared to respond in that way? Nezha's trip was clearly going to offend someone. The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas might not be able to resist and would want to fight with Nezha. Why did he have to get into such trouble for no reason?

The Bull Demon King didn't know how to explain it to Nezha.

Nezha laughed and said, "You, Ox King, don't agree to things so easily in the future. First, find out what the matter is before discussing whether to help or not! You are now the protector of the True Man. When others see you traveling outside, they will naturally think that you are here on the True Man's orders. If I really send you with me today, wouldn't the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas think that the True Man is behind me? This kind of fox borrowing the tiger's power would allow the True Man to offend the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas for no reason. Even if the True Man is not afraid, such an extra connection is not acceptable. Ox King, you should take this as a warning."

The Bull Demon King bowed deeply and said, "I have learned much."

Nezha then remained silent, riding his Wind Fire Wheels towards the East Sea.

Wang Chongyang and Zuo Liang watched him leave with mixed feelings. The Third Prince Nezha was truly a person with a clear understanding of the Dao. He knew his own actions well, so he advised the Bull King that his departure was probably just to scare him, rather than to actually fight the Four Seas Dragon Kings to the death.

The Bull Demon King sighed and said, "In recent years, I have become lax in my cultivation. Only after the Third Prince persuaded me did I realize why, which has left me with endless regrets."

Zuo Liang laughed and said, "The Ox King's cultivation is now abundant. What the Ox King said is just human nature."

Wang Chongyang also said, "Indeed, the Ox King's cultivation is now quite advanced."

The Bull Demon King said, “You two should not try to comfort me. I know my cultivation well. If I slack off in my cultivation, then I slack off. I cannot get away with it. Now that we have eliminated the Xuan Yin King, we should leave and go to Jin Ding Mountain to retrieve the Liang Zhou Cauldron. What do you think?”

Both of them responded, saying, "That is indeed the case."

The three then said no more and headed towards Jinding Mountain. As they climbed the mountain, they removed any corpses that appeared to be causing trouble along the way. By the time they reached the summit, all the remaining corpses in the mountain had already been eliminated by them.

When the Bull Demon King reached the mountaintop, he looked around and saw that the mountain was shrouded in deathly stillness. All the energy in the mountain had been destroyed by the Xuan Yin King. He could not see anything through his magic eye, so he asked, "Zhengwei, do you know where the Liangzhou Cauldron is?"

Wang Chongyang, riding a white deer, shook his head and said, "King Ox, I do not know where the Liangzhou Cauldron is. My master once told me that the Liangzhou Cauldron was in Jinding Mountain, but he never said where it was in Jinding Mountain, so I do not know."

The Bull Demon King pondered for a moment and said, "If the two of us do not know where the Liangzhou Cauldron is, we may find it difficult to locate. This mountain is not too big. If we search it all over the mountain, it will not take us a day. However, divine objects are naturally concealed and have the ability to hide. We will definitely not find it in a day, and it may take a long time. I wonder if this will delay you, sir."

Wang Chongyang asked, "Is there any way?"

The Bull Demon King shook his head and said, "How could an old bull have a solution? I have none."

Zuo Liang said, "Senior Brother, Ox King, why don't I summon all the local deities and ask them for their advice? Perhaps that can resolve this matter. What do you two think?"

The Bull Demon King and Wang Chongyang looked at each other in bewilderment. The Bull Demon King asked, "If it were just an ordinary ghost, I'm afraid there would be no way to deal with it. But Zheng Yuan, you must understand this place."

Zuo Liang said, "I have some connections with the land and mountain gods of the nine provinces of the Southern Continent. I can summon the land and mountain gods within Liang Province and ask them for their opinions."

Both the Bull Demon King and Wang Chongyang were dumbfounded upon hearing his words. They never expected that Zuo Liang would have such abilities, having connections with the land and mountain gods of the Nine Provinces, and being able to mobilize the land and mountain gods of Liang Province to help them with a single command.

Zuo Liang was renowned in the mortal world, and even more so among the immortals. Relying on the prestige of his sect, he also gained a small reputation in the underworld, making him a well-known figure in the three realms.

However, we have only now witnessed his supernatural powers, which allowed him to summon the land and mountain gods of an entire prefecture with a single word.

The Bull Demon King said, "If that's the case, we should trouble Zheng Yuan to summon the local earth gods and mountain spirits to help us find the way."

Without hesitation, Zuo Liang, upon hearing what the Bull Demon King said, immediately said that he would go down the mountain to set up an altar and summon the local earth god.

The Bull Demon King and Wang Chongyang were waiting on the mountain.

Zuo Liang then descended the mountain and left.

The Bull Demon King exclaimed in admiration, "Zheng Yuan is truly remarkable. He has mastered the Five Thunder Orthodox Technique to perfection."

Wang Chongyang said, “Junior Brother Zhengyuan is indeed formidable, but in my opinion, his strength does not lie in the Five Thunder Orthodox Method.”

The Bull Demon King, puzzled, asked, "Isn't Zheng Yuan's most formidable skill the Five Thunder Orthodox Method? What do you mean? Can Zheng Wei explain it to me clearly?"

Wang Chongyang laughed and said, "Junior Brother Zhengyuan's greatest strength is not the Five Thunder Orthodox Method, but his heart. The Ox King has never seen it. Junior Brother is compassionate. When he walks in the human world, he does so for those who suffer. He wants to save them, but he is powerless to do so. However, he will not refrain from doing anything because of his powerlessness. Instead, he will do his best to do what he can. This kind of compassionate heart, which knows that it is impossible but does it anyway, is the most rare and the most remarkable."

After pondering for a moment, the Bull Demon King nodded and said, "Zhengwei, what you say makes a lot of sense. It is I who am narrow-minded."

The two talked for a short while before the incense stick burned out, and Zuo Liang went up the mountain again.

The two men immediately stepped forward and asked the local land and mountain gods if they had any way to find the Liangzhou Cauldron.

Zuo Liang said, “Eldest brother, Niu Wang. Neither the land gods nor the mountain gods of Liangzhou can find the divine object of Liangzhou Ding. This is because such a divine object carries the energy of an entire province and has a great affinity with the ancient Yu the Great and the current Water Official Emperor. It also has a deep affinity with our master. Therefore, even they cannot find such a divine object.”

The Bull Demon King sighed and said, "If even ghosts in the underworld cannot find it, how are we supposed to search for it?"

Wang Chongyang shook his head and smiled, "Bull King, don't be anxious. I see that my junior brother is confident and calm. He must have a solution."

The Bull Demon King said, "Zhengyuan, is it really so?"

Zuo Liang smiled and said, "I can't hide it from Senior Brother, but I do have a way."

The Bull Demon King said, "Why did you keep this from me, Zheng Yuan? You didn't tell me sooner, which has caused me a lot of distress. I'm just wondering what to do."

Zuo Liang said, "It was not intentional to conceal this from you, but please forgive me, Ox King."

Wang Chongyang laughed and said, "Zhengyuan, stop fooling around with the Bull King and tell me your method."

Zuo Liang bowed to Wang Chongyang and said, "Senior Brother, although I have not learned the whereabouts of the Liangzhou Cauldron from the local earth gods and mountain gods, I have learned a method from them, a method of 'guiding qi.' This method can be used to find objects, using the qi of the Yu cauldron to find the location of the Liangzhou Cauldron. However, divine objects cannot be seen lightly, so we must ask our master to lower some of his qi so that we can see the divine object and thus find the Liangzhou Cauldron. What do you think, Senior Brother?"

Wang Chongyang nodded and said, "That is certainly possible."

The Bull Demon King asked, "How can we get there so that you, sir, can help us?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Chongyang smiled without saying a word, stepped forward, faced west, and bowed deeply, saying, "Disciple Zhengwei was instructed by Master to search for the Liang Ding, but the cauldron's whereabouts are nowhere to be found. Now that I have obtained the secret technique, I need Master's true energy as a guide. I humbly beseech you to bestow your energy to complete the ritual and find the divine cauldron."

Say it.

He bowed to the west.

Just as Wang Chongyang finished kowtowing, auspicious mist came from the west and landed beside the Yu Ding at Wang Chongyang's waist. This was the descent of the true man's energy.

Wang Chongyang kowtowed to express his deep gratitude to the Master. After rising, he said, "Now it is possible."

Zuo Liang also bowed to the west. After finishing the ceremony, he said with great emotion, "My master now possesses great magical power."

Wang Chongyang smiled and said, "I also feel that Master has achieved great magical power, but Master has not yet achieved anything in words."

The Bull Demon King said, “You two should stop talking about the master. The master’s current method is certainly acceptable. Don’t let the master think that you two are being negligent. Quickly find the Liangzhou Cauldron, and we can go back.”

Zuo Liang smiled and nodded, saying, "Bull King, please wait a moment, I will do as you say."

Say it.

Zuo Liang was the one who performed the ritual, using the power of the Yu Ding and the Qi of the True Man to find the location of the Liangzhou Ding in the mountains.

(End of this chapter)