Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 278 Night Visit to the Daoist Temple

"Senior brother! Those monks have gone too far! If we don't avenge this, how can we, as fellow disciples, stand in Chechi Kingdom? How can we face that immortal in the future!"

Inside the Sanqing Temple, the three immortals looked at the main hall, which had been in complete disarray by the three monks, and felt a surge of resentment in their hearts, while the bitter taste and smell of urine still lingered in their mouths!

The three of them had just come to pay homage to the Three Pure Ones, but they never expected that as soon as they entered the house, they would find that many of the offerings had been eaten.

They originally thought that the Three Pure Ones had truly descended, and that the one who transmitted the scriptures a few days ago was indeed the Dao Ancestor transmitting the scriptures, just as they had guessed!
The purpose of cultivating Taoism is to achieve longevity, but they do not follow the true teachings of Taoism. They possess only the skills of exorcising spirits and using water magic, but they lack the pills to prolong life and preserve health.

They thought they had won the favor of the Three Pure Ones, who not only passed on their personal scriptures but also bestowed upon them elixirs of longevity. Overjoyed, they were surprised to find that they had been tricked. The feeling of falling from heaven to earth made the three of them furious!
"That's right! Senior brother! This matter cannot be left like this. So what if those three have some skill? This Chechi Kingdom is our home ground!"

Tiger Power Immortal looked at his two junior brothers, whose faces were also flushed with anger, and his tiger eyes flashed with a cold light. He then smashed the rinsing cup in his hand!

"Snapped--"

"My two brothers are right! If we don't avenge this, we will have no face to see that immortal, let alone be the national advisor of Chechi Kingdom!"

"When that group goes to court tomorrow to change the official documents, they will definitely pay the price!!!"

Late at night, in the room where Tang Sanzang and his party were resting.

After a busy day, Tang Sanzang, Sha Wujing, and Zhu Bajie were all fast asleep, with Zhu Bajie's snoring being particularly loud. Meanwhile, Sun Wukong rested his head on his arm, looking at the ceiling, his mind preoccupied with what had just happened at the Sanqing Temple.

He seemed to hear Tiger Power Immortal's voice again.

"Thank you for your mercy, Grandfather! You have imparted the scriptures to us and given us elixirs and immortal waters. We thank you, Grandfather Sanqing."

Transmitting scriptures
Sun Wukong's bright eyes darted around, as if he had thought of something. He slowly closed his eyes, but his spirit left his body and headed straight for another Taoist temple in the capital.

That direction led to the Daojun Temple, which was second only to the Sanqing Temple in the capital.

Soon, Sun Wukong arrived at the magnificent Daojun Temple. Looking around, he saw the temple keeper fast asleep in the building. The Daojun Temple was no different from the one he had seen during the day when he and his master came here together.

Speaking of which, his master was grateful because his mother and mother-in-law were both rescued by Daojun and his disciples. Along the way, he would visit temples and pagodas, but he would also come in to pay his respects at the temple of the divine healer Daojun.

Sun Wukong's spirit passed through the gate and arrived at the main hall of the Daojun Temple. He saw the benevolent yet dignified Divine Physician Daojun sitting on the throne at the head of the hall, and several tall and imposing guardian deities standing on either side.

At this moment, fine incense sticks were still burning in the incense burner on the altar in front of the Daoist, and the fragrance permeated the hall.

Sun Wukong stepped forward, looked at the incense box beside the incense table, took out a stick of incense, blew on it to light it, and placed it on the incense burner to bow.

After all, this divine healer was different from the other spirits. He helped him a lot and even cured his eyes, making his fiery eyes even brighter and allowing him to see the monsters more clearly. He was also no longer as afraid of smoke as before, which made him feel grateful.

"Great Sage, is there something you need from me?"

Just as Sun Wukong finished bowing, he heard a familiar, deep voice coming from behind him.

Sun Wukong quickly turned around and saw the Divine Physician Daoist Lord, dressed in a purple Taoist robe, holding a green bamboo staff, and with a tiger-shaped bell hanging from his waist, looking at him with a smile.

"Hehe~ Daoist Lord, I, Old Sun, greet you~"

Sun Wukong bowed to the Divine Physician Daoist, who returned the bow and smiled:

"Sun Wukong must have something important to do here so late at night."

Sun Wukong stepped forward, scratched his hand, and looked at the Daoist Master, saying:
"Daojun, do you know the background of these three national teachers of Chechi Kingdom, and whether they are related to any deity in heaven?"

Daojun smiled and looked at the statue in front of him, saying:

"These three once cultivated Taoism in Zhongnan Mountain, but they only learned the Five Thunder Technique for praying for rain, which is considered orthodox Taoism. The rest are all unorthodox. To be honest, they didn't even have a master. How can they be considered to have any background?"

“That’s strange~” Sun Wukong’s eyes rolled, and after thinking for a moment, he looked at Daojun again. “Today, I went to the Sanqing Temple with my two junior brothers and played a trick on those three monsters. But I unexpectedly heard that someone had been passing on scriptures to them a few days ago.”

"It is estimated that those three did not know who transmitted the scriptures to them, and seeing the Three Pure Ones appear, they mistakenly believed that it was the Three Pure Ones who transmitted the scriptures to them."

"But the one who transmits the scriptures."

Daojun turned to look at Sun Wukong, who was deep in thought, and smiled:
"I do know this person."

"Oh?"

Sun Wukong quickly turned his head and saw that Daojun pointed at himself with his finger and winked at him.

"Hmm? Could it be that the one transmitting the scriptures is the Dao Lord?"

Daojun smiled but remained silent.

"Oh dear~ Daojun, not that I'm criticizing you, but have you gone mad from refining medicine? Those three national teachers are demons, why are you passing on scriptures to them~" Sun Wukong waved his hand, looking at him with an expression that said, "Look at you."

"Daojun, those three national teachers are all demons in disguise. They have been persecuting Buddhism in Chechi Kingdom and have persecuted countless Buddhists over the years."

"You didn't see the terrible scene. After finishing their work, the young monks were taken back and locked up. They were all skin and bones. It was extremely difficult for them to even drink a sip of cold water, let alone eat a steamed bun."

"Why would you preach scriptures to a monster like that?"

Daojun smiled and shook his head, then looked at Sun Wukong and said:

"Great Sage, don't worry. Although those three did wrong, they also saved the entire country of Chechi back then."

"If they hadn't defeated the drought demon, Chechi Kingdom would have long since become a dead kingdom. In recent years, they have also protected Chechi Kingdom with favorable weather and abundant harvests, so they can't be considered hopeless."

"As for those monks..."

In the West, if Buddhist practitioners have good virtue and sufficient merit after death, their souls will naturally return to the Western Paradise. However, if they lack merit and virtue, their souls will naturally return to the underworld, at most giving them a good next life.

Daojun shook his head and looked in the direction of the Chechi Kingdom's royal palace.

"Great Sage, when your group goes to court tomorrow to exchange official documents, these three will surely jump out and make things difficult for you. If you have the means to defeat them and save the monks of this kingdom, it will be a great deed for your group."

"As for this matter, although I transmitted the scriptures to them, this is also karmic retribution. Even if they die, I will not interfere."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong gave up and bowed, saying:
"Alright, alright, thank you very much."

Daojun nodded, his figure turning into a wisp of green smoke and disappearing before Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong's primordial spirit also returned to his physical body, and he finally went to sleep, waiting to go to the palace with his master the next day to exchange official documents.

In mid-air, the Divine Physician Daojun had not gone far, but was smiling as he looked in the direction of Sun Wukong and the others.

“My junior brother is still as cunning as he was back then. He only needed the words ‘transmission of scriptures’ to find him.”

Just then, Daojun turned his head and looked to the side, where he saw a beam of auspicious light descend, revealing a figure sitting on a lotus throne, Guanyin Bodhisattva.

However, standing beside the Bodhisattva was a small figure with a tight headband around his neck, who was none other than Red Boy, who had already knelt before the Bodhisattva as Sudhana's attendant.

"Master Dao."

"Buddha."

The two exchanged greetings, while the boy with good fortune looked at the deity before him with some curiosity, feeling a strange sense of unease in his heart.
Strange. He'd never seen this deity before, but somehow he just felt this person was somewhat annoying.
Daojun and Guanyin Bodhisattva knew what was going on, but neither of them paid any attention to the child.

"Daojun, after Tang Sanzang and his party have passed through Chechi Kingdom, they will be in the territory of Tongtian River. We will have to trouble you with the rest of the journey."

Daojun nodded and looked down at Chechi Kingdom.

"Please rest assured, Bodhisattva."

Seeing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva nodded with a smile, and then disappeared into the auspicious light again with Sudhana.

Early the next morning.

In the palace of Chechi Kingdom, with the arrival of Tang Sanzang and his party, the three national teachers who had been eyeing the country with covetous eyes indeed launched an attack!

Upon hearing that his royal advisor was going to have a contest with the monk opposite him, the king had no choice but to ask the royal advisor and the young monk to have a contest of magic. Whoever could summon rain would be the winner.

Tiger Power Immortal, full of confidence, set up his formation and used the Five Thunder Technique to pray for rain, summoning Wind Goddess, Thunder God, Cloud-Pushing Boy, Mist-Spreading Gentleman, and a group of others. However, when Sun Wukong saw these people arrive, he left his body with his primordial spirit and called them to stop.

Tiger Power Immortal used the Five Thunder Technique but failed to summon rain, leaving him frustrated. However, he never expected that Sun Wukong would simply say "Wind, rain, come!" and point his iron rod at the sky, causing a fierce wind to rise, dark clouds to gather, and a torrential downpour to fall.

Finally, the Four Dragon Kings—Wind Goddess, Thunder God, Cloud Boy, and Mist Child—gave the Great Sage great respect by appearing in the clouds. When the King of Chechi Kingdom and his many ministers saw them, they were filled with awe and dared not underestimate him in the slightest.

This only made the three imperial advisors even more unhappy. They declared that this round didn't count and wanted to compete against them again, but they were defeated several times.

The last three, enraged, challenged the pilgrims to a contest of beheading, disembowelment, and boiling oil, respectively, clearly intending to kill them.

But these three practitioners of unorthodox methods had no idea who these people were, let alone that one of them was the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who had wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago.

In the end, one of the three advisors lost his head, another lost his internal organs, and the last was burned to death in a cauldron of boiling oil. They all revealed their true forms: tiger, deer, and sheep.

But what no one saw was that as soon as these three died, a faint radiance protected their souls and spirits, and they vanished instantly.

(End of this chapter)