Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 38, Reward Settlement

Meanwhile, Guanyin Bodhisattva was chasing after Ao Tu.

She received the Buddha's decree to subdue Ao Tu, and therefore pursued him relentlessly.

At that time, Wukong and Li Tianwang stood on the clouds.

They didn't leave after the fight.

Wukong and Ao Tu respected each other, so they didn't go down to attack together with the others.

Seeing Ao Tu's powerful abilities, Li Tianwang feared that the pagoda would be taken away, so he did not dare to go down.

Seeing that the battle had subsided, Wukong descended to the manor, preparing to rescue his master and fellow disciples.

However, upon entering, they discovered that Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and Nezha had all been invited out by the woman and were sitting in the hall, drinking tea together.

Wukong asked, "Which Bodhisattva helped that demon dragon to play tricks on me, Old Sun?"

Before the Old Mother of Lishan could speak, Pigsy interrupted, "Brother, this is that dragon's mother-in-law!"

Wukong already knew it was a scheme by the Bodhisattva, so he scolded, "Fool, stop talking nonsense!"

The Old Mother of Lishan smiled and said, "Marshal Tianpeng is right. Great Sage, my daughter and son-in-law are fighting. They are fighting fiercely, and I am too old to get involved. Could you please go and persuade them to stop hurting their relationship?"

With that, he revealed his true form and left.

Only then did Wukong realize that it was the Old Mother of Lishan in person, and he quickly bowed and paid his respects.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples also bowed.

Only Nezha holds a grudge, puffing out his cheeks in anger.

After seeing that Tang Sanzang and the others were safe, Wukong followed the old woman's instructions, rode a cloud, and went to find Ao Tu and Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Ao Tu fled four thousand miles in golden light, but his magical power gradually weakened, and he was about to be caught up by Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Tiger Vanguard said, "Your Majesty, please put me down. It is time for me to serve Your Majesty to the death."

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu did not hesitate.

They immediately prepared to put down Tiger Vanguard.

Once he attains the Great Luo Realm, he can bring Tiger Vanguard back.

Just as he was about to put Tiger Vanguard down, he suddenly remembered that there was still a three-thousand-year-old peach he hadn't eaten.

That was a reward he received at Huangfeng Ridge. Because the effects of the three-thousand-year-old peach were not very strong, he had not eaten it.

Although the effects of the three-thousand-year-old peaches are not strong, they are still spiritual objects of heaven and earth, and they are enough to restore some of one's magical power.

Ao Tu quickly took out a peach, swallowed it in one gulp, and his magical power was instantly restored to a great extent.

Not long after Ao Tu swallowed the peach, Guanyin Bodhisattva caught up and said:

"You wicked creature, considering your supernatural powers, if you are willing to convert to Buddhism, I will inform the Buddha and perhaps you can be pardoned from your sins and granted the Western Paradise!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "I don't like eating people, and I'm not good at internal strife, so how could I possibly sit on the throne of the Western Paradise?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva angrily said, "You wicked beast, how dare you slander my religion again?"

She held the jade bottle upside down in the air, pouring out the divine water of the three lights:

The first is the divine water of sunlight, which consumes blood, essence, bones, and flesh;
Secondly, the Moonlight Divine Water corrodes the primordial spirit and soul;

Thirdly, the starlight and divine water can dissolve the true spirit's consciousness.

The three streams pour down, and even your indestructible body is instantly reduced to pus and blood.

If the three waters are combined into one, it becomes the Three Lights Divine Water, which can bring the dead back to life, spread throughout the three realms, eliminate all suffering, and save from all calamities.

When Ao Tu saw the divine water pouring down, he revealed a five-colored divine light, which flashed and then absorbed the divine water.

Guanyin Bodhisattva exclaimed in surprise, "You actually possess magical powers!"

So they hurriedly retreated.

Ao Tu flashed his five-colored divine light again, and captured Guanyin Bodhisattva as well.

Finally, it was over. Ao Tu sat on the ground, panting heavily.

Ao Tu looked into the divine light and saw that the Four Heavenly Kings, the Nine Luminaries, the generals of the Thunder Department, and the 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals had all been suppressed by the Five Elements Qi, their spirits were disordered, and they were unconscious.

Sixteen of the eighteen Arhats were already unconscious, with only the two Arhats, Subduing Dragon and Tiger, still struggling to stay afloat.

As for Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas, as well as Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva who had just been taken in, because their spiritual realm and magical power were far superior to Ao Tu's, they were all unharmed. Their bodies were protected by Buddhist light and were not disturbed by the five elements.

There was nothing that could be done; these Bodhisattvas were far more advanced than Ao Tu.

Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva are collectively known as the Four Great Bodhisattvas of Buddhism. They have all reached the level of Buddhahood, but each has their own great vows, which is why they have not yet become Buddhas.

Ao Tu's ability to collect them into his divine power despite their higher levels already demonstrates the extraordinary power of the Five-Colored Divine Light.

However, trapping these people within the supernatural power consumed too much of his magical energy, and Ao Tu's newly recovered magical energy quickly became unsustainable. This was not the supernatural power's fault; it was simply that his cultivation as a Golden Immortal was too low, which tarnished the power's reputation.

If he possessed the cultivation of a Great Luo Immortal, with a single display of divine light, capturing Tathagata would be no problem.

At this moment, Wukong flew over on a cloud and saw Ao Tu lying on the ground. He asked, "Where is the Bodhisattva?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Monkey, you're lucky. I'm doing you a big favor."

Wukong asked, "What favor?"

Ao Tu stood up, flew into the air, and with a flash of divine light, threw all the Bodhisattvas, Arhats, divine generals, and heavenly kings to the ground. Then he turned around and rode away in golden light.

Guanyin Bodhisattva and the others felt dizzy and disoriented. When they recovered, Ao Tu was nowhere to be seen, only Sun Wukong was standing beside them.

Guanyin Bodhisattva asked, "Wukong, where did that wicked beast escape to?"

Wukong said, "When he saw me coming on a cloud, he turned into a golden light and escaped."

Manjushri Bodhisattva said, "It must be that the demon dragon's magic power was insufficient and it could not support its supernatural powers. When it saw the Great Sage coming, it released us."

Upon hearing this, the others quickly thanked Wukong.

Ao Tu fled to a river and hid there to rest. He ordered Tiger Vanguard to catch some wild game for him to eat.

After a day, the system notification sounded.

[Ding, reward settlement in progress, total interception time: 36 days.]

[Ding! Reward received: Buddhist Dharma - Rebirth Mantra.]

[Ding! Reward spell: Turn the Earth into Steel.]

[Ding! You have received a Purple-Veined Peach as a reward.]

[Ding! Reward: Level 3 Golden Lotus Spiritual Root.]

[Ding! Six extra days will automatically be transferred to the next side quest; the next side quest is: Staying with Friends at Wuzhuang Temple.]

Although he didn't use any tricks this time, Sun Wukong went to the Heavenly Court twice to ask for reinforcements and also went to Mount Ling, which took a lot of time. Therefore, the final time for blocking him was still thirty-six days.

The rewards were distributed, and the Buddhist mantra for rebirth in the Pure Land and the magical technique of turning the earth into steel were integrated.

Although Ao Tu disliked Buddhism, magic itself is neither good nor bad. With this Buddhist teaching, he could be considered a high monk in the future.

The purple-veined flat peach, also known as the nine-thousand-year-old flat peach, with its purple veins and yellow pit, is the most precious.

Even for someone at the Golden Immortal level like Ao Tu, consuming this product can significantly improve their cultivation.

In the past, Ao Tu would have eaten the peaches to increase his cultivation.

However, having learned from this experience, he decided to save the peaches for later. After all, eating them now wouldn't allow him to immediately break through to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, so he would save them for when he encountered an emergency.

The final reward is a third-grade golden lotus with a spiritual root.

This is a treasure derived from the Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus of Merit, a supreme treasure in Buddhism. It is an innate defensive spiritual treasure. Standing on the lotus platform, one is immune to all magic. Even in Buddhism, only Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of very high status can possess it.

Now that Ao Tu has obtained it, he will look even more like a virtuous monk when he stands on the golden lotus platform.

At this moment, Tiger Vanguard returned, dragging a fat deer, with a woman on his shoulder.

Ao Tu asked, "Why did you bring someone back?"

Tiger Vanguard put the woman down and reported:
“Your Majesty, when I went hunting in the mountains, I encountered this woman. When she saw me, she screamed and fainted from fright. I was afraid that she might suffer some misfortune in the mountains and be considered Your Majesty’s karmic burden, so I brought her back.”

Ao Tu said, "Sprinkle some water to wake her up."

Tiger Vanguard scooped up some water and sprinkled it on the woman, but she did not wake up.

Seeing this, Ao Tu blew a breath of dragon energy over her, and the woman finally woke up.

When the woman awoke and saw Ao Tu and Tiger Vanguard, she exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, monsters!"

Ao Tu said, "Don't be afraid, I am the dragon god of this river, and these are my subordinates."

Seeing Ao Tusheng's handsome appearance, with golden dragon horns on his head, resembling a deity, the woman felt relieved and knelt down, saying:

"This humble woman pays her respects to the Dragon God."

Ao Tu saw that the woman was beautiful and did not seem to come from an ordinary family.

Her willow-leaf eyebrows were like deep green ink, her almond eyes sparkled like silver stars. Her moon-like face was beautiful, her natural character pure. Her body was like a swallow hiding in a willow, her voice like a nightingale singing in the woods. The crabapple blossoms were half-open, shrouded in the morning sun, and the peonies were just beginning to bloom, basking in the spring sunshine.

Ao Tu asked, "Where are you from?"

The woman said, "I am from Baihu Ridge, and my home is located due west of Baihu Ridge."

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu thought to himself, "White Tiger Ridge, this is the territory of the White Bone Demon!"

(End of this chapter)