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

Chapter 99: The devil helps the heart to deceive the master, and the heart is unrestrained (4k)

In the Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave, the master lectured on the principles of heaven and earth for more than a month. After the lecture, the group dispersed, leaving only the two on the Yaotai.

One is Jiang Yuan, and the other is Zhen Jian.

The master said, "My boy, you have now learned all the skills."

Jiang Yuan bowed and said, "Thank you for your teaching, Master. I have just learned it, but I have not yet mastered it."

The master said, "Since this is the case, you should go down the mountain and look for your destiny."

Jiang Yuan asked, "Master, can we go to Cuiyun Mountain?"

The master nodded and said, "Go to Cuiyun Mountain. There is a banana cave in the mountain, and there is a spirit inside. This spirit is the wife of your guardian deity. If you can find the guardian deity, then forget it. If you can't find her, wait in her cave, and the guardian deity will come back."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Master, there is a saying that goes 'wait for the rabbit by the tree', that's exactly what it means."

The master pointed at the boy and said, "What you are waiting for is not a rabbit, but a cow. Go away, go away."

Jiang Yuan sang a "yes" and left. Before he left, he looked at Zhenjian and said to himself, "Brother Zhenjian, the Tao will be accomplished."

Think about it.

The Immortal went to the quiet room, took the purple robe and left the house.

In Yaotai, Zhenjian bowed before the master and felt deeply grateful to him.

The master helped Zhenjian up and asked, "Zhenjian, how many years have you been practicing with me?"

Zhen Jian said: "Master, it has been hundreds of years, but I can't count them."

The master asked, "How is your practice?"

Zhen Jianwen said, and he was filled with sorrow. He could not stop his tears and said, "Master, I have been practicing for hundreds of years. At the beginning of my practice, I did not know the true door and mistakenly used the left way for my mind. I did not cultivate my virtues and was damaged by money, sex and alcohol. Fortunately, I was blessed by my elder brother and taught by my master. I now have the opportunity to practice. I don't know how long it has been since I was blinded by a leaf. Now I finally understand and will achieve enlightenment."

The master smiled and asked, "Why did you realize that?"

Zhen Jian said: "Disciple cannot explain it."

The master asked, “Why?”

Zhenjian said: "If you can't explain it, then you can't explain it."

The master smiled, pointed to the cushion in the class, and said, "What is that?"

Shinmi answered, "The futon."

The master nodded and said, "Good. If I teach you to understand, you should leave the mountain and practice in the palace?"

Zhen Jian said: "I wish to practice in the palace, with the company of Master and Senior Brother."

The master smiled and nodded, without saying anything more, and let Zhenjian leave.

Outside the Sanxing Immortal Cave, Jiang Yuan was wearing a purple robe with the Sun and Moon pattern and a tripod tied around his waist. He looked eastward and thought to himself, "The deer has suffered for more than a decade and should know its limits. Let's bring it back before we go to Cuiyun Mountain."

Think about it.

The immortal chanted a mantra, jumped up, and used the "Qingyun Method". Auspicious clouds rose up over 240,000 miles, heading towards Guanzhou in the southern continent of Zhanbu.

After a while, the immortal traveled from Xiniuhezhou to Guanjiangkou, Guanzhou, Nanzhanbuzhou. The immortal stepped on auspicious clouds and saw that Guanjiangkou had all kinds of restaurants and singing halls, and it was bustling and prosperous. He used his luck and eyes to see the Temple of the True Lord.

Jiang Yuan also saw a white deer tied up behind the temple. Although it was not comfortable, it was fat and plump, so it must have had a good meal. He smiled secretly and said, "What a good deer! I sent it here to suffer, but I didn't expect this True Lord to treat it with such courtesy."

He landed in front of the temple and said, "I am Guangxin, the great disciple of Bodhi Patriarch, who is in the Three Stars Cave of the Slanting Moon in Lingtai Fangcun Mountain. I am here to visit and hope to see you, Master Zhenjun."

Say it.

Before long, the six Meishan brothers appeared in the temple, accompanied by hawks and dogs, with crossbows and bows drawn, looking very majestic. Later, the ghost judge and officials of all ranks also appeared. When everything was ready, Erlang Xiansheng Zhenjun held a three-pointed double-edged spear, with divine light looming and a murderous aura.

Jiang Yuan took a closer look and was amazed at the True Lord's method. It was truly amazing. Its power was not inferior to that of Wukong. He had achieved the golden elixir, was a relative of the heavenly family, and had a flawless immortal body.

The True Lord also looked at Jiang Yuan and saw that this man was wearing a purple gold crown, a sun and moon purple robe, a handsome appearance, eyes like lightning, had achieved success in the righteous path, and was in control of the whole universe. His holy fetus resided in his Niwan, and he was a Taoist immortal.

The True Lord asked, "The True Lord is the Lord of the White Deer?"

Jiang Yuan bowed and said, "That's right. I originally asked him to escort a friend back to his hometown in the Southern Continent. I didn't expect him to offend the True Lord. I hope the True Lord will forgive me."

Erlang Shen said, "I was just wondering who the master of this white deer is. Even though he is a wild spirit, I never thought he was such a wise and virtuous person. In this case, it is the white deer's unstable nature, not the fault of the real person. There is no need to ask me to forgive him."

Jiang Yuan said: "In this case, I am grateful to you, Lord Zhenjun."

Erlang Shen then ordered people to lead the white deer out, and called on the six brothers of Meishan to clear the way, put away the weapons, and all the hawks and dogs retreated, not to offend.

A ghost judge led the white deer out. When the white deer saw Jiang Yuan, it changed into a human form, knelt on the ground and said, "Master, Master! I know I am wrong!"

Jiang Yuan pointed at the white deer and said with a smile: "You, little deer, tell me, what did you do wrong?"

Bai Lu kowtowed countless times and said, "Master, I made a mistake in not cultivating my mind. I was about to succeed, but I gave into my desire for words and ended up failing."

Jiang Yuan asked: "Do you really know you are wrong?"

Bai Lu said, "I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong. Before I succeed in the future, I will not lose heart, or else a disaster will happen, leading to failure."

Jiang Yuan said: "Let's stop now. If I find out you are wrong again, I will never forgive you."

Bai Lu said: "Thank you for your forgiveness, sir. Thank you for your forgiveness!"

Say it.

The white deer revealed its true form, walked to the side of the real person, closed its ears and gathered its hooves, no longer greedy.

Jiang Yuan bowed to Erlang Shen and said, "Sorry for disturbing you, Master."

Erlang Shen returned the greeting and said, "I don't deserve it. Since you are here, why don't you follow me into the temple and have a chat."

Jiang Yuan agreed and handed the white deer to the six brothers of Meishan. They entered the temple with Erlang Shen, set a table and sat down. Fragrant tea was offered to them. After the offering, Erlang Shen took the jade whisk and returned it to Jiang Yuan. The immortal took the whisk in his hand, and the air was filled with immortal air.

Erlang Shen said: "When and where did the Immortal attain enlightenment? I didn't know he was such a wonderful person."

Jiang Yuan said: "I achieved enlightenment in Xiniu Hezhou a few years ago."

Erlang Shen said, "I live in the temple, but I don't know about such things. During the day, I only check the incense and offerings. Some are for the return of the three animals, some are for blessings, some are for praying for children, and some are for reporting illnesses. I don't know much about external affairs."

Jiang Yuan said: "The True Lord has done a great service in protecting this area."

Erlang Shen said, "I don't know why you haven't received the immortal certificate. When you became a Taoist, the Jade Emperor welcomed you to heaven in front of the immortals. Could it be that you missed it? If so, I will ask for a title for you."

Jiang Yuan said: "No. True Lord, my Taoism is shallow and I have devoted myself to cultivation, so I have never ascended to heaven."

Erlang Shen smiled and said, "The real person is a wonderful person."

Jiang Yuan smiled but said nothing.

Erlang Shen had someone pass the time fruit to him again, and said politely, "Your Majesty is very skilled, and I am very happy to see you. I have not tried my martial arts skills for many years. Now that I have met you, I would like to ask you to teach me a thing or two." Jiang Yuan said, "Since you have invited me, I dare not disobey you."

Erlang Shen said happily, "In that case, please follow me out of the temple and find a place to try it out."

Jiang Yuan readily agreed.

After the two of them finished talking, they left the Erlang Temple and walked outside the temple. Erlang Shen rode on clouds and mist and headed for the Guanjiang River. The Immortal knew that Erlang Shen wanted to try the method of flying clouds, so he chanted a spell and used the "Qingyun Method" to raise auspicious clouds and leap over Erlang Shen, leaving no trace along the way.

After a while, they came to a vicious mountain. They stopped and saw "strange rocks in pairs in front of the mountain, which were cold and invisible. Evil wind blew up and the world changed, and the dust was raised in silence." This was a vicious place with no one, so it was a good place to try.

Erlang Shen held the three-pointed, two-edged spear and said, "Master, you are very capable!"

Jiang Yuan picked up the whisk in his hand and said, "I have only a little ability to fly. Please teach me, Master."

Erlang Shen said, "Master, be careful."

Say it.

The two said no more and tried out each other's magical powers. They saw Erlang Shen raised the three-pointed, two-edged magic sword and chopped towards the Immortal. The Immortal was not anxious or impatient and had some martial arts skills. He waved his whisk to block the magic sword. The two of them fought fiercely in mid-air and half-fog.

This one is Erlang showing his divine power, that one is the real person from Bodhi Gate, both of them are trying it out for the first time, both of them come to fight for the best fun, the real person's divine sword is like a dancing phoenix, the real person's whisk is natural, the divine sword is focused on attacking and killing, the whisk is shielding and moving back and forth, the three-pointed and two-edged sword is a magical weapon, the jade-handled whisk is an extraordinary treasure, Erlang's mysterious method is even better, Jiang Yuan's three families are just like this, you attack and I defend, you come and I go, Daluo fights Taiyi.

The two fought like this for twenty rounds, and it was evenly matched, with no clear winner.

Jiang Yuan knew that the True Lord's divine spear was very sharp, so he simply used the tail of his whisk to block it and remove the divine power. No matter what moves Erlang Shen used to attack him, he could resist and remain undefeated.

This martial art was passed down by the ancestors and has its own mysteries.

Erlang Shen also knew the secret of Jiang Yuan's whisk. The whisk he held was not as good as the one in Bai Lu's hand. He turned his sharp edge, removing all the rigidity and attacking continuously, breaking the face with his skill and breaking the whisk.

There is a gap in martial arts between the two. After all, the real one is not good at fighting, while Erlang Shen has superb martial arts and can see through the attack of the纈尾. It means that he has already won the battle and will be defeated in three or four rounds.

Jiang Yuan assessed his own martial arts skills, so he stopped trying his martial arts and just stepped back. He opened his mouth and spit out Samadhi Fire, which spurted out and burned Erlang Shen. The wind and fire were so strong that Erlang Shen dared not to fight back. He just stepped back, and before he retreated, he wanted to use his supernatural powers to fight against him.

However, before the True Lord could perform his magic, Jiang Yuan spread out his sleeves to catch the wind and used the method of "the world in the sleeve" to take Erlang Shen into his sleeves. His magic continued and was really fast. No matter what magic Erlang Shen had, it was useless.

The winner and loser are clear.

……

The story goes that in the Water Curtain Cave in the Flower-Fruit Mountain, the Monkey King returned to the mountain and was talking with his monkeys, his descendants, a group of demon soldiers, and his six brothers. It was said that the Jade Emperor was not good at judging people.

The Monkey King said, "What kind of ability do I have? I can go up to the sky and into the sea, and I can do anything. The Jade Emperor summoned me to heaven. I thought he had the ability to judge people, but I didn't expect he was blind and embarrassed me to death! I am like this, but he actually asked me to raise horses. He is a low-ranking official. What kind of monkey mind and horse mind are you talking about? You are fooling me. Now I know what I know. I will leave the Imperial Horse Administration and come to the lower world."

The crowd said, "You have no eyes, no eyes! How can the king be a horseman when he has no ability?"

The Monkey King said: "That's right. We are living happily in the lower world."

The six brothers said, "Don't worry, just drink and have fun. The Jade Emperor doesn't know our brothers' abilities, but we know them ourselves."

The Monkey King said, "That's right! My fellow monkeys, hurry up and get some wine to cheer me up."

The monkeys and their descendants moved as soon as they heard the order, and none of them disobeyed.

The Monkey King was having a banquet and having fun with everyone.

Suddenly a monkey came and bowed, "My king, my king! Two one-horned ghost kings came outside the door and want to pay homage to my king."

When the Monkey King heard this, he invited him in.

After a while, the two ghost kings dressed themselves up and came in. When they met the Monkey King, they bowed and said, "I have heard that Your Majesty is recruiting talented people. We have come to pay our respects and offer you a yellow ochre robe. I hope Your Majesty will accept us."

The Monkey King was overjoyed, and put on the ochre-yellow robe. He accepted the two ghosts as his followers and appointed them as the vanguards and governors of the front. This was exactly the time when 'the demons helped the mind to deceive the righteous master, and the mind and will were no longer restrained'.

The two ghosts bowed and said, "We heard that the Jade Emperor was blind and served Your Majesty as a groom. How could Your Majesty, with all his magical powers, be like this? If you want to be a great man, you should be the 'Great Sage Equaling Heaven'."

The Monkey King was overjoyed and said, "Good, good, good! As you wish, I will become the Great Sage Equaling Heaven."

The Monkey King spread orders to all directions, calling himself the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and hung up a pole, unafraid of the Heavenly Court.

……

But let’s talk about Erlang Temple at Guanjiangkou.

Jiang Yuan and Erlang Shen were unaware of what was happening in the Flower-Fruit Mountain. The two of them tried their magic powers, and the winner was clear, and then they returned here.

Erlang Shen respected Jiang Yuan's magical powers, set up a table and talked with Jiang Yuan about magical powers.

Erlang Shen said: "The real person has great magical powers, no one I can defeat him."

Jiang Yuan said: "Master Zhenjun's martial arts are superb, and I am no match for him. If you let me fight Master Zhenjun for a few more rounds, I will definitely be defeated."

Erlang Shen said, "How can you say that, Immortal? If we had started from the beginning, and you had used your magical powers to fight me, I wouldn't have been able to last more than two or three rounds."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Master, you and I are different. If I teach you the secrets of my whisk, you can defeat me in two or three rounds. You are a good fighter, and I am good at using my magical powers. It's impossible to say that."

Erlang Shen laughed loudly upon hearing this and said, "The Immortal is indeed wonderful. I wonder where he has gone? If you have nothing to do, why don't you stay in the temple and discuss the Dao with me? Isn't that wonderful?"

Jiang Yuan said, "To be honest with you, Master, I have something important to do. I came here for this troublesome deer. I am already satisfied to try out my magical powers with you."

Erlang Shen said, "I am not satisfied now. Since you have something important to do, I will not keep you here. Please tell me where you are going. I will come to visit you when I am free someday, and then we can discuss the Dao again."

Jiang Yuan said, "My home is in the Three Stars Cave of the Slanting Moon on Fangcun Mountain in Lingtai, Xiniu Hezhou."

Erlang Shen bowed and said, "I thought this was where I would inherit my master's teachings, but I never expected that this master would inherit his legacy."

Jiang Yuan returned the gift.

Erlang Shen did not dare to keep Jiang Yuan any longer for fear of delaying his mission, so he saw her off with the six Meishan brothers and officials from the temple.

Jiang Yuan rode a white deer, bid farewell to Erlang Shen, and left Guanjiangkou for Cuiyun Mountain in Xiniu Hezhou. This trip was to recruit the guardian deity.

Erlang Shen looked at Jiang Yuan going away and led everyone back to the temple.

The six Meishan brothers asked, "What can you say about this master's abilities?"

Erlang Shen said: "This is a Taoist immortal, I am not as good as him."

The six brothers of Meishan were surprised when they heard this. They knew their own brothers’ abilities, and now they heard from their own brothers themselves that they were not as capable as them, so how could they not be surprised?

Erlang Shen said, "I haven't heard of this for a long time. I don't know what's going on in the four continents now that this immortal has achieved enlightenment."

A ghost judge flashed out of the class and said, "True Lord, there is one more thing. There was a demon monkey in Dongsheng Shenzhou. He had been enlightened for a long time and had the ability to subdue dragons and tigers. He bullied the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, stole the divine soldiers and armor, made trouble in the underworld, erased the book of life and death, and did all kinds of evil. He was taken away by the heaven to be a god."

Erlang Shen said: "What are you talking about? You are just a demon monkey, you can't compare to the real person's magical powers. Is there anyone who can be like a real person?"

The ghost judge said: "No, no."

Upon hearing this, Erlang Shen gave up and went into the temple with everyone else.

　Asking for monthly ticket
　　
　
(End of this chapter)