I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Chapter 59: Bodhi Tests the Method, Wukong Gains Enlightenment
Patriarch Bodhi was very happy to see Zhuang Yan coming. He immediately ordered the boy to set up the table and offer the immortal fruit. Then he sat down and said with a smile, "My friend, are you out of retreat today?"

"That's right." Zhuang Yan nodded and smiled, "I came to visit you, fellow Taoist."

Patriarch Bodhi nodded and smiled, "What have you gained from your years of retreat and practice?"

"Apart from the slight increase in my cultivation and magic power, there is no gain at all," said Zhuang Yan.

Patriarch Bodhi nodded and said, "Practice is all about chance. Sometimes, even if you retreat for a hundred years, you may not be able to achieve enlightenment."

Zhuang Yan asked, "How many years have you been practicing, fellow Taoist?"

Patriarch Bodhi shook his head and smiled, "I can't remember the exact year. I was born after the creation of the world. I learned Taoism from the Three Pure Ones, Dharma from the Ten Thousand Buddhas, and later Confucianism from Confucius. I learned farming from farmers, fishing from fishermen, hunting from hunters, and the art of war from military saints. Whenever there is a saint with a certain art, I will incarnate to learn from him."

Zhuang Yan exclaimed, "Such a love of learning is rare in the Three Realms. Does this mean that you have learned the methods of hundreds of schools and mastered the arts of hundreds of schools?"

Patriarch Bodhi said without any modesty: "Take the strong points to make up for the weak points, discard the dross and retain the essence, master the three religions, and learn from a hundred schools of thought."

Zhuang Yan praised him, and then asked, "I just saw Wukong outside the mountain gate. He said it was you, fellow Taoist, who drove him out of the mountain gate?"

Hearing this, Patriarch Bodhi dismissed the two boys beside him. Seeing that Liu Er was no longer present, he smiled at Zhuang Yan and said, "Didn't my friend ask me what my relationship was with Subhuti, one of the disciples of Tathagata Buddha?"

When Zhuang Yan heard this, he immediately perked up and looked at Patriarch Bodhi with curiosity.

Patriarch Bodhi said with a smile: "The Venerable Subhuti, who is a disciple of Tathagata, is the incarnation of me when I was learning Buddhism from Tathagata."

"Oh?!" Zhuang Yan was immediately filled with awe. That is to say, in order to learn Buddhism, Patriarch Bodhi transformed himself into an incarnation and became a Buddhist, and finally became one of the ten great disciples of Tathagata Buddha.

Zhuang Yan asked, "Is Venerable Subhuti still in the sacred Lingshan Mountain in the West Heaven, serving the Tathagata Buddha?"

Patriarch Bodhi stroked his long beard and said with a smile: "That is my body for practicing Buddhism. Since I have already obtained a high position in the Western Paradise, it is fine for me to stay there."

Zhuang Yan asked again: "Does the Taoist friend have an incarnation in the Taoist sect?"

“No.” Bodhi Patriarch smiled and said, “When I went to learn the Dao from the Three Pure Ones, I went there on my own. Later, when I learned the Dao, I bid farewell to the Three Pure Ones and came down the mountain.”

"I see." Zhuang Yan nodded.

At this time, Zhuang Yan said again: "Fellow Daoist, you told me this secret. I am grateful for your trust."

Patriarch Bodhi smiled and said, "Firstly, I value our friendship, and secondly, I want to talk to you about Wukong's affairs."

Zhuang Yan said solemnly, "I'd like to hear the details."

Patriarch Bodhi said: "I drove him down the mountain because I was afraid that he would be killed, secondly, he would have unlimited opportunities in the future, and thirdly, he and I were only a master and disciple for ten years."

Zhuang Yan frowned and said, "I understand the second and third points, but why do you worry about him being harmed by a murderer? Is it possible that he will be harmed by others while practicing in the Three Stars Cave of the Slanting Moon?"

Patriarch Bodhi smiled and said, “It is not that no one has noticed that I have established a temple here, accepted disciples and taught the Dharma.”

At this point, Patriarch Bodhi looked at Zhuang Yan and said, "Wukong has an erratic personality and is very concerned about his reputation. I taught him Taoism and supernatural powers, but he showed off everywhere. It's hard to guarantee that he won't be targeted. My friend, if a monster with great supernatural powers appeared in Lingtai Mountain but refused to obey your discipline, would you be able to tolerate him?"

Zhuang Yan nodded when he heard this, and then asked, "But if you drive him out of the mountain gate, won't he be in greater danger without your protection?"

"He will be safe only if he leaves me. I teach him the Taoism and supernatural powers, which are enough for him to travel the three realms. But if he continues to be my disciple, he will suffer disaster. Besides, he has a great opportunity, and he will be more at ease if he leaves me." said Patriarch Bodhi.

Zhuang Yan nodded slightly. Now Patriarch Bodhi had severed his relationship with Sun Wukong as master and disciple and had driven him down the mountain. In the future, he would just join the Buddhist sect and escort Monk Tang on his journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

If Sun Wukong had stayed in the Three Stars Cave, someone would have tried every means to get him down the mountain, and then it would not be so easy.

"I see." Zhuang Yan nodded.

At this time, Patriarch Bodhi said to Zhuang Yan, "My friend, your Taoism is very unique. I can't tell where you came from. I only know that you are a congenital being. But your Taoism and magical powers don't belong to any of the Three Realms?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "My Taoist magic powers are all innate, not acquired through cultivation."

"I see. I've never seen this before." When Patriarch Bodhi said this, he suddenly took out a sea spirit pearl from his sleeve and said, "Your skill of collecting magic weapons is extremely magical. I wonder if you can take this spirit pearl from my hand?"

Zhuang Yan's expression became serious. He also wanted to try out the power of these powerful people to see how strong they were.

"I'll try." Zhuang Yan said, then looked at the Sea Spirit Pearl and directly activated the 'One Thought Concentration'.

There was a flash of mysterious light in Zhuang Yan's eyes, and the spiritual pearl in Bodhi Patriarch's hand disappeared instantly, and then appeared in Zhuang Yan's hand.

Zhuang Yan looked at the Sea Spirit Pearl in his hand with some surprise. Is it so easy?
But Patriarch Bodhi was not surprised. Instead, he smiled slightly, took out another sea spirit bead and said, "Let's try again now."

Zhuang Yan was stunned for a moment, then he realized that Patriarch Bodhi must have held back.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Yan looked at the Sea Spirit Pearl in Patriarch Bodhi's hand and activated the "One Thought Concentration" again.

However, this time, a line of information appeared in Zhuang Yan's mind: "Insufficient Heavenly Power". Zhuang Yan checked it immediately, and then he found that it would take 1000 Heavenly Power to collect the Sea Spirit Pearl from Bodhi Patriarch with one thought.

Seeing Zhuang Yan's expression, Patriarch Bodhi asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhuang Yan said: "Now we need to pay a huge loss to collect the Sea Spirit Pearl in your hand."

Patriarch Bodhi's face also slightly condensed, and he said: "Just now I suppressed my power to the realm of 'Taiyi Jinxian', and now it is the power of 'Dajue Jinxian'. It seems that Daoyou is not unable to receive the magic weapon of the powerful, but it requires some price?"

Zhuang Yan nodded slightly, because his great power has not yet fully recovered. He can infinitely suppress the immortals at the level of Taiyi Jinxian and below, but if he exceeds the level of Taiyi Jinxian, he needs to pay the power of heaven. But the power of heaven is a "renewable resource" for him, and it is not a big price.

Moreover, Patriarch Bodhi can display the great power of the 'Great Awakening Golden Immortal', which shows that his level of Taoism is also that of the Great Awakening Golden Immortal.

"Daoyou's magical powers are more powerful than I imagined." said Patriarch Bodhi.

It would take some loss to subdue a magic weapon of the Great Awakening Golden Immortal. Although we don't know what the loss is, it means that the magic weapon can be subdued.

Zhuang Yan smiled faintly and said, "You are too kind, Daoist friend." At this point, Zhuang Yan suddenly had an idea and said, "How about doing me another favor, Daoist friend?"

Patriarch Bodhi said, "Please speak, my friend."

Zhuang Yan looked at his "Infinite Dodge" state and said to Patriarch Bodhi, "Please use the magical power of the Great Awakening Golden Immortal to hit me."

"Oh?" Patriarch Bodhi was a little hesitant when he heard this, and said, "My friend, it's not that I don't want to help. The power of a Great Awakening Golden Immortal is not something that an Earthly Immortal can withstand. If there is any mistake, it will be too late to regret."

Zhuang Yan felt a little uneasy when he heard this. He thought for a moment and then said, "Daoyou, you should only use the methods of confinement and arrest, and don't use methods of killing or injuring."

"Okay." Patriarch Bodhi said with a smile, "Then I will use a body-fixing technique, which also uses the great power of the Great Awakening Golden Immortal."

"Okay." Zhuang Yan nodded.

Then Patriarch Bodhi raised his hand and pointed at Zhuang Yan, and the immobilization technique was instantly activated.

Then Patriarch Bodhi saw that Zhuang Yan’s body was fixed by the immobilization technique, but Patriarch Bodhi moved his gaze to the front left with a look of surprise.

It turned out that the person who was immobilized by the immobilization spell was just a residual image, while the real Zhuang Yan's figure appeared beside the altar in the front left.

"Haha." After Zhuang Yan stood still, he saw his own afterimage and couldn't help but laugh.

It was exactly as he thought. The passive defense of these major functions of his was unlimited and did not require the consumption of Heavenly Power.

But if you actively attack those powerful monks, you will need to consume the power of heaven.

Now Zhuang Yan was completely relieved. If he encountered those powerful men in the future, even if he couldn't defeat them, he would have no problem retreating safely!
However, Zhuang Yan had no idea what effect it would have on a powerful being like the Golden Immortal, who was close to the way of heaven. It was also not convenient for him to experiment with Patriarch Bodhi.

“My friend.” Patriarch Bodhi looked at Zhuang Yan in surprise and said, “Your dodging method is far better than your retracting method. I dare not say whether you are a Daluo Jinxian, but I am sure that no one below the Dajue Jinxian can kill or trap you.”

Zhuang Yan smiled and bowed to Patriarch Bodhi, saying, "Thank you for testing the method for me."

Patriarch Bodhi waved his hand and removed the immobilization spell with a flick of his whisk. The residual image immediately dissipated. Then he pointed at the cushion and said to Zhuang Yan with a smile, "My friend, there is no need for us to be so polite. Please sit down and have some tea."

Zhuang Yan nodded, then walked forward and sat down on the cushion, and returned the Sea Spirit Pearl that he had collected earlier.

Patriarch Bodhi shook his head and smiled, "This Sea Spirit Pearl is not a precious item, so I'll give it to you, little friend, and use it to decorate your abode when you return."

"In that case, I won't be polite." Zhuang Yan smiled and put away the Sea Spirit Pearl.

Afterwards, Zhuang Yan drank and chatted with Patriarch Bodhi, and only said goodbye and left after an hour.

As soon as Zhuang Yan left the gate of the Three Stars Cave, Sun Wukong, who had fallen asleep on the big bluestone, woke up immediately. He quickly came to Zhuang Yan and asked, "Master, how is it? Has the master calmed down?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Wukong, your master is no longer angry with you, but he also told me that you and him were only destined to be master and disciple for ten years. Now that the fate has ended, it cannot be forced. You should go back to Huaguo Mountain."

After hearing Zhuang Yan's words, Sun Wukong was stunned for a long time. His mind began to flash back to the past scenes, such as jumping out of the stone, becoming the Monkey King, traveling around the four continents in search of immortals, and practicing in the Three Stars Cave.
These scenes flashed before Sun Wukong's eyes one after another, and finally he returned to the Flower-Fruit Mountain in his memory.

A gust of gentle breeze blew and suddenly woke Sun Wukong up. He came to his senses and looked towards the vast and majestic Lingtai Mountains, and then towards the fairy-like and secluded Xieyue Sanxing Cave.

Finally, his gaze returned to Zhuang Yan. The next moment, Sun Wukong laughed, as if he had realized something, and said, "Master, can I stay at Danchi Ridge for a few days?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "You can stay as long as you want. Let's go."

After saying this, Zhuang Yan rode on a cloud of light and prepared to take Sun Wukong back to Danchi Ridge.

But Sun Wukong smiled and said disdainfully: "Hey, Lord, you are too slow, watch me."

After saying that, Sun Wukong took Zhuang Yan with him and somersaulted. The two of them landed on the ground in the blink of an eye. Zhuang Yan soon found that he and Sun Wukong had landed on Danchi Ridge, in front of the gate of Lingtai Divine Palace.

(End of this chapter)