Journey to the West: Deer Power Immortal, Starting from Becoming a Disciple of the Supreme Lord Tais

Manjushri Bodhisattva pondered for a moment, then said, "World Honored One, there have been unusual occurrences recently in the direction of Chechi Kingdom, which seem to be related to Tushita Palace. It's likely that the Supreme Dao Ancestor has also made arrangements. Will this matter affect the great plan of obtaining the scriptures?"

"I have already noticed the matter of Chechi Kingdom. The Supreme Lord is the Dao Ancestor. If he wants to set up a scheme, I cannot interfere. As long as it does not affect the overall situation of the Journey to the West, there is no need to worry about it."

After a pause, Tathagata continued, "However, the fortune in the direction of Chechi Kingdom is indeed somewhat strange. I have made several deductions but have not been able to see it clearly. It seems that there is a force obscuring the secrets of heaven."

"World Honored One."

The old monk suddenly spoke up: "When I brought this demon back from the mortal realm, I encountered three demon cultivators. The rat demon was captured by them, and the deer demon among them seems to be quite extraordinary."

"A deer demon?"

The Buddha's brow twitched slightly: "Can you discern any origin from him?"

The old monk shook his head: "I did not investigate further, but I had a feeling that the deer demon had a kind of upright and peaceful aura, unlike ordinary demons. When he saw me, he was not flustered. On the contrary, he handed over the rat demon very readily, as if he had expected me to come."

"Let's make a note of this for now. The Three Realms are vast, and there are countless talented and extraordinary people. One more or one less won't affect the overall situation. The journey to the West is the most important thing."

The Buddha turned to Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas: "Go and make the arrangements. Once the grand plan of Jin Chanzi's ten reincarnations to retrieve the scriptures officially begins, not a single hardship can be omitted along the way..."

"Receiving the Buddha's decree..."

...

Six months is neither a long nor a short time.

For cultivators, it's just a blink of an eye, but for the people within hundreds of miles of Zhongnan Mountain, their lives have undergone earth-shattering changes in the past six months.

Following Lu Qingxuan's advice, the three demons have traveled to villages within a radius of hundreds of miles over the past six months.

The number of temples dedicated to the Three Immortals has increased from one to ten.

Not only in Shicun, but also in the surrounding villages of Zhaojiayu, Wangjiapo, and many others, shrines have been built to worship the three demons.

Each of these ancestral halls is a testament to the good deeds and virtues of the three demons.

On this day, the three demons were meditating in the Taoist temple.

Over the past six months, thanks to the assistance of the incense offerings and prayers, their cultivation has made great progress. Every day, people burn incense and pray in the ten ancestral halls. The incense offerings and prayers converge into streams of invisible energy that flow from all directions into the three demons' bodies, nourishing their souls.

"Third brother, my cultivation in the past six months has been faster than in the past hundred years. This incense and prayer power is truly a wonderful thing." Tiger Power Immortal opened his eyes, exhaled a long breath of turbid air, and his face was full of emotion.

Yangli Daxian nodded, "Brother is right. In the past, we only knew about the arduous cultivation in the temple, but we did not know that there was such a cultivation method in the world. Third brother, you have shown us a clear path."

"My two elder brothers are too kind. Although the incense offerings and vows are good, their foundation lies in the hearts of the people. If we only focus on our own cultivation and do not do things for the people, the incense offerings will eventually be cut off. On the contrary, as long as we are wholeheartedly good and bring blessings to the people, the incense offerings will naturally become more and more prosperous." Lu Qingxuan smiled slightly.

Through six months of contact, he discovered that the two demons had a very deep yearning for Taoism, and that even without his guidance, they would continue to do good deeds.

This made him even more suspicious of the fate of the three demons of Chechi Kingdom, and he was sure that something else was involved behind the scenes.

"Third brother is right."

As the three demons were talking, Lu Qingxuan suddenly frowned, sensing some of the words being spoken. He immediately closed his eyes to investigate.

Tiger Power Immortal and Sheep Power Immortal exchanged a glance upon seeing this, but neither of them made a sound to disturb them.

Lu Qingxuan's divine sense followed the path of the incense and vows and quickly locked onto Stone Village.

Shicun Village, Sanxian Temple.

The incense burner emitted wisps of smoke, and on the offering table were several coarse grain cakes and a bowl of water.

At this moment, kneeling inside the ancestral hall was a man in his thirties with dark skin and rough hands, clearly a farmer who had worked the land for many years.

Perhaps because he had traveled for a long time, he looked travel-worn and exhausted.

"Three immortal masters, we beg you to save our Li Family Village!"

The man's voice was hoarse and choked with sobs as his forehead slammed heavily against the bluestone ground with a dull thud.

"Not a drop of rain has fallen since the beginning of spring this year. The crops in the fields have all withered, the wells have dried up, and we're almost out of drinking water!"

As he spoke, he kowtowed again.

"We went to pray to the local earth god, burned incense and offered fruit, but it was all for naught. We practically trampled the earth god's temple to the ground, but the heavens still wouldn't send rain!"

"I heard from the people of Shicun that the three immortals are able to grant any request, so I traveled for two days to come here. I beg the three immortals to save our Lijia Gou. If it doesn't rain soon, all the hundreds of people in the village will die of thirst."

After the man finished speaking, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

Lu Qingxuan withdrew his divine sense, his expression solemn.

"Third brother, what's wrong?" asked the Great Immortal Yangli.

Lu Qingxuan recounted the situation in Lijia Gou, and after listening, Tiger Power Immortal slammed his fist on the stone table, exclaiming, "Outrageous! What are the landowners of Lijia Gou good for?"

Tiger Power Immortal has a fiery temper and can't stand inactive deities.

In contrast, Lu Qingxuan remained very calm. He knew a little about the affairs of the Heavenly Court and knew that this was a matter that a local official could not resolve alone.

To put it nicely, the land is a local deity, but in reality, it has no power whatsoever.

As for things like rain, that's definitely not something his land can control.

But if they don't go, the reputation they've built up over the past six months will be gone, and it might even affect his previous plans.

After discussing it with the two demons, the third demon decided to go and inquire about the situation first.

...

Lijia Gou is located west of Zhongnan Mountain, more than a hundred miles away from Shicun. It is a small village hidden in the mountains, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, which is a nice place.

But now the stream that should have been flowing gently has dried up completely, revealing a cracked riverbed. The crops in the fields are withered and curled up, as if they have been burned, showing signs of severe drought.

The three demons landed on the hilltop outside the village, overlooking the entire village.

Most of the villagers were pale and thin, lying listlessly under the eaves to cool off. Several elderly people sat under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, gazing at the cloudless sky with empty eyes.

The incense burner in front of the village's land god temple was piled high with incense ash, clearly indicating that many prayers had been made, but there was no response from the temple.

Seeing this, the three demons descended on clouds, attracting the attention of the villagers as soon as they entered the village.

"monster!"

A young man cried out in alarm and instinctively flinched away.

"shut up!"

An old man walked forward shakily and carefully examined the three demons. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "You...you are immortals from Zhongnan Mountain?"

Lu Qingxuan cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, sir. I am Qingxuan, and these two are my elder brothers. We came to help Lijia Gou after hearing that it had suffered from drought."

Upon hearing this, the old man burst into tears and knelt down with a thud: "Immortal Master! The Immortal Master has finally arrived!"

Seeing this, the other people also knelt down and kowtowed, begging for mercy.