Chat group: Among all the heavens, I am the Bull Demon King!

Chapter 10 Who is Sha Wujing's master? Zhu Bajie was not reincarnated into the wrong body!
[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: Brothers, we've arrived at the Flowing Sand River, time to check in.jpg]

Niu Jun arrived above the Liusha River, looked at the vast Liusha River in front of him, and used the chat group's photo function to take a selfie and upload it to the chat group's transmigrator discussion group.

[Lu Sheng, the Ultimate Demon King: Holy crap, is this a river?]

[Lu Sheng, the Supreme Demon: Unfortunately, I'm uncultured. My phrase "I can conquer the world" seems a bit off. I initially thought the description of the Flowing Sand River in Journey to the West was an exaggeration, but it turns out it's actually quite realistic.]

[Mysterious Zhou Mingrui: I remember the original text of Journey to the West says, 'Eight hundred miles of quicksand, three thousand miles of weak water, even a goose feather cannot float, and reeds will sink to the bottom,' meaning that the quicksand river is a full eight hundred miles wide.]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: That's right, the Flowing Sand River is indeed over 800 li wide and over 13 million li long. The poem you mentioned is directly engraved on a stone tablet along the Flowing Sand River.]

Upon seeing Zhou Mingrui's post, Niu Jun descended directly from the clouds to the bank of the Liusha River, took a picture of the stone tablet inscribed with the three seal characters "Liusha River" and four lines of regular script, and posted it to the discussion group.

This stone tablet is the boundary marker of the Liusha River.

There are three seal characters on the top, which read "Liusha River". On the belly are four small lines of regular script: "Eight hundred miles of quicksand, three thousand miles of weak water. Goose feathers cannot float, reeds sink to the bottom."

[The Mysterious Zhou Mingrui: A river this wide? It's really hard to imagine how vast the Immortal Realm is in the Journey to the West world.]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: I don't know the answer to this question either, because in addition to the four continents and four seas, the Earthly Immortal Realm also has the vast and boundless Boundless Sea, which even Golden Immortals cannot cross.]

Therefore, apart from those truly powerful beings, it's likely that no one knows the true size of the Earthly Immortal Realm.

Regarding the size of the Earthly Immortal Realm.

No one can say for sure.

Even though his predecessor was a peerless demon king at the Golden Immortal realm, he still had no concrete idea of ​​the size of the Earthly Immortal Realm.

This is because the Boundless Sea beyond the Four Continents and the Four Seas is not only vast and boundless, but also has a very harsh and dangerous environment. The terrifying gales, thunder, and fire on the sea are extremely difficult for even a Golden Immortal to resist.

Therefore, apart from those powerful beings at the top of the Three Realms, almost no one can clearly say how big the Immortal Realm is.

But one thing is certain.

The vastness of the Immortal Realm is absolutely incomparable to that of my previous life on Earth.

Putting everything else aside, this river of quicksand alone could circle the Earth hundreds of times.

[Lu Sheng, the Supreme Demon King: To be honest, I've always had a question: what exactly is Sha Wujing's background, and how was he able to infiltrate the pilgrimage team?]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: Um, I don't know the answer to that question either, but one thing is certain: Sha Wujing is definitely not as simple as he seems on the surface. He must have a powerful backer. The only uncertainty is who that powerful backer is.]

[The Mysterious Zhou Mingrui: Isn't Sha Wujing supported by the Jade Emperor? (Confused.jpg)]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: It shouldn't be. I suspect it's Donghua Dijun, because Journey to the West describes Sha Wujing like this:]
All because I wander the world seeking the Dao, I roam freely in search of a master. I always carry my robes and alms bowl with me, my mind never wavering. I have traveled the land dozens of times, wandering freely over a hundred times. Thus I encountered a true man, who revealed to me the golden light of the Great Dao.

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: In the original text, the Eastern Emperor is described as follows: He taught the monks to renounce worldly ties and pointed out the Great Way as clear as lightning.]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: That's why I suspect Sha Wujing is a disciple of the Eastern Emperor. This would explain why, after becoming an immortal, Sha Wujing was directly appointed by the Jade Emperor as the Curtain-Raising General and qualified to join the Journey to the West team.]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: Especially after Sha Wujing broke the glass lamp, even the benevolent Taibai Jinxing of Heaven didn't plead for him. Instead, it was the Barefoot Immortal who pleaded for him. And the Barefoot Immortal, as a wandering immortal, was obviously only intervening because of the Eastern Emperor.]

Niu Jun then shared his guess.

He did not believe that Sha Wujing was one of the Jade Emperor's men.

If Sha Wujing were truly one of the Jade Emperor's men, he wouldn't have been banished to the mortal realm for breaking a glass lamp, and wouldn't have had to endure the punishment of being pierced through the heart by a hundred swords every seven days.

Especially the punishment of being pierced through the heart by a hundred swords every seven days.

Doesn't the Jade Emperor fear that Sha Wujing might become disloyal and alienate him?
Therefore, Niu Jun did not think that Sha Wujing was one of the Jade Emperor's men; on the contrary, he thought he was more like one of the Eastern Emperors.

[Lu Sheng, the Ultimate Demon King: Is that so?]

Lu Sheng expressed doubt about Niu Jun's statement.

However, he did not directly refute it, but continued to ask questions.

[Lu Sheng, the Ultimate Demon: If Sha Wujing's master is Emperor Donghua, then who is Zhu Bajie's master? Many people say it's Emperor Donghua.] [Zhou Mingrui, the Mysterious One: Isn't Zhu Bajie's master Laozi?]

[Lu Sheng, the Supreme Demon King: Zhu Bajie's master could not possibly be Laozi. This can be seen from his attitude towards Laozi and the fact that the Three Pure Ones' statues were thrown into the latrine in Chechi Kingdom.]

[Lu Sheng, the Supreme Demon: You should know that Taibai Jinxing only pleaded with the Jade Emperor on Zhu Bajie's behalf when he was banished to the mortal realm, yet Zhu Bajie was already extremely grateful. Upon meeting Taibai Jinxing, he immediately knelt down to express his gratitude. This shows that Zhu Bajie knows how to be grateful.]

[Lu Sheng, the Supreme Demon King: If Laozi really is Pigsy's master, he couldn't possibly be disrespectful.]

Lu Sheng's reason for concluding that Zhu Bajie's master was not Laozi is quite simple.

Because in "Journey to the West", Zhu Bajie met Laozi quite a few times, but he was never seen to be very respectful to Laozi.

Especially when he was at the Sanqing Hall in Chechi Kingdom, Zhu Bajie directly knocked down the statue of Laozi, called Laozi "Old Man", and transformed into Laozi's appearance to eat the offerings.

In the Journey to the West world, where respect for teachers and the importance of teaching are paramount, such a situation would be impossible.

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: Zhu Bajie's master should not be Emperor Donghua.]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: Although many people analyze the Nine-Turn Great Rejuvenating Elixir and the method of fierce battle to speculate that Zhu Bajie's master is the Eastern Emperor, they have overlooked Zhu Bajie's status in the Heavenly Court.]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: Zhu Bajie's status in Heaven was much higher than Sha Wujing's. Especially when Zhu Bajie became an immortal, he was greeted by celestial beings in pairs, the Jade Emperor held a banquet for all the immortals, and appointed him as the Marshal in charge of the Heavenly River and the Commander-in-Chief of the naval forces.]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: The Eastern Emperor has many disciples. If Pigsy were the Eastern Emperor's disciple, he wouldn't deserve such attention from the Jade Emperor.]

You can doubt Zhu Bajie's character, but you absolutely cannot doubt his powerful backers.

He had just ascended to immortality when he was greeted by a host of immortals. The Jade Emperor held a banquet for him and directly appointed him as Marshal Tianpeng.

One can imagine what kind of background and connections Zhu Bajie had.

The process of Zhu Bajie becoming an immortal, in particular, is the envy of many.

Like Sha Wujing, who traveled to all corners of the world in search of the Dao, enduring wind and rain, and traversed the entire land of China many times before finally becoming a disciple of a true master and obtaining the true methods of cultivation.

And what about Pigsy?
Pigsy was lazy and gluttonous from a young age and never thought about cultivating himself. However, a true immortal came to his door to persuade him to cultivate and gave him the Nine-Turn Great Rejuvenation Pill and wonderful cultivation methods.

If the Monkey King and Sandy knew about this, they would probably be incredibly envious.

Therefore, Zhu Bajie's identity is definitely not as simple as it seems, and the background of his master is beyond everyone's imagination.

[Lu Sheng, the Supreme Demon King: Indeed, the status of the Eastern Emperor is far inferior to that of the Jade Emperor. If Zhu Bajie's master were the Eastern Emperor, he wouldn't deserve such attention from the Jade Emperor.]

[Lu Sheng, the Supreme Demon King: But if Zhu Bajie's master isn't Emperor Donghua, then who is he? It can't really be Laozi, can it?]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: Not Laozi, I think Zhu Bajie's master should be Doumu Yuanjun, who governs the Golden Palace, sits in the Dipper Palace, is the head of the Zhou Tian Lie Su constellations, is the supreme ruler of the North Pole Ziwei, and commands 84,000 evil stars, all of whom obey her commands.]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: In Taoism, Doumu Yuanjun is not only known as the mother of all the stars in the Big Dipper, but also has a legend that she gave birth to nine sons, namely the Jade Emperor, Ziwei, Tanlang, Jumen, Lucun, Wenqu, Lianzhen, Wuqu, and Pojun.]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: If Zhu Bajie's master was Doumu Yuanjun, it would explain why he could become Marshal Tianpeng, the head of the Four Saints of the North Pole, immediately after becoming an immortal, and was no longer afraid of Zhenwu the Great.]

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: In Buddhism, Doumu Yuanjun is also known as Marici Bodhisattva. The most prominent symbol of Marici is related to 'pig', whether she has a pig's face, rides seven pigs, or drives a pig-drawn carriage. This is why I speculate that Zhu Bajie's master is Doumu Yuanjun.]

[Niu Jun of Journey to the West: Finally, in early Journey to the West stories, such as Yang Jingxian's Journey to the West Zaju in the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Bajie was not Marshal Tianpeng, nor did he control the Milky Way. Instead, he was the Chariot General under the command of Marici.]

"Born in the land of Hai, raised in the palace of Qian, he stole the golden bell, instantly unlocking the golden lock, and hid in the Black Wind Cave, appearing and disappearing before the White Mist Slope. He was born with a long beak and broad neck, hard hooves and a strong mane, possessing the essence of heaven and earth, and embodying the beauty of mountains and rivers, and has lived here for many years."

This description is consistent with the account of Marici sitting on a pig cart.

Therefore, it is not necessarily a mistake for Zhu Bajie to be reincarnated as a pig; it is very likely that his true form is related to "pig".

Niu Jun paused slightly at this point, then continued.

[Niu Jun from Journey to the West: In fact, there is another possibility: Zhu Bajie is not a disciple of Doumu Yuanjun, but rather her son. This is because in Taoism, Tianpeng (Zhu Bajie) is an incarnation of the star Po Jun, and Po Jun is one of Doumu's nine sons.]

(End of this chapter)