Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 279 Reincarnation
In a dreamlike space filled with white mist, Tiger Power Immortal slowly opened his eyes.

"hiss"

The burly Tiger Power Immortal propped himself up with one hand and subconsciously touched the spot on his neck where he had been slashed by the cleaver.

Even now, he still feels a chill down his neck.

"Brother!"

"Brother!!"

Hearing two shouts from not far away, the still somewhat dazed Tiger Power Immortal subconsciously turned his head to look, and saw two figures running towards him quickly. Those two were his two junior brothers.

"You...you guys?!"

Tiger Power Immortal stood up and looked at the two people who were quickly approaching. His tiger eyes widened in shock.

The Deer Power Immortal was found to have been disemboweled, with his intestines and internal organs nowhere to be seen. The Sheep Power Immortal was completely devoid of flesh, leaving only a pile of white bones.

Upon seeing these two, Tiger Power Immortal suddenly realized something, raised his palm, and saw a thick, scarlet blood appear in his hand.

"This this."

At this moment, the other two immortals had already run up to Tiger Power Immortal. Sheep Power Immortal's skeletal mouth opened and closed, and a sobbing voice came out.

"My two senior brothers~ We were both killed by those thieving monks. One of you had your head carried off by a dog, and the other had his internal organs ripped out by an eagle. As for me, I'm just a skeleton left in a cauldron of boiling oil~"

Tiger Power and Sheep Power were also filled with sorrow upon hearing this. They had cultivated themselves for many years to become human, only to end up like this.

The three immortals looked bitter and sad, and each of them began to sob.

"Do you three brothers now realize what mistakes you have made?"

Hearing the ethereal voice coming from not far away, the three immortals quickly looked in the direction of the mist and saw a figure appearing faintly in the white mist.

"Supreme Immortal!"

"A divine being!"

Upon seeing that figure, the three immortals rushed forward as if they had found a lifeline, and hurriedly knelt down.

"Immortal! Please, Immortal, save me! Immortal, save me!"

"Ugh"

The three immortals heard the figure in the white mist sigh softly and slowly say:
“The three of you are already dead, only your souls remain. Even according to the Book of Life and Death, your lifespan has ended. How can you be saved?”

"For twenty years, we oppressed Buddhist monks, causing the deaths of most of them. Only today has this karmic consequence come to an end. This is the retribution of cause and effect."

Upon hearing this, the three immortals turned ashen-faced and completely deflated.

A moment later, Tiger Power Immortal seemed to remember something, as if grasping at a lifeline. He crawled forward a few steps, looked at the immortal before him, and earnestly said:
"Immortal, our suppression of Buddhism is also for the sake of reviving our Taoism! Immortal!"

Upon hearing this, Yangli and Luli climbed forward and nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, yes! We do all this for the sake of Taoism!"

"Yeah yeah!"

The figure within the white mist shook its head and let out a cold snort.

"Hmph! Stubborn to the end!"

As soon as these words fell, a white mist rushed towards the three immortals, enveloping them.

Just as the three of them were feeling somewhat terrified, they suddenly found themselves in a somewhat familiar mountain forest.

Suddenly, a yellow tiger, a white deer, and a white sheep rushed out of the forest and ran down the mountain in terror.

Following closely behind, leaping out from the mountains and forests were several martial monks, their bodies enveloped in Buddhist light and wielding staffs and golden bells.

"Quick! Don't let those three monsters get away! Otherwise, there will be endless trouble!"

As the group of monks ran away, the three immortals' expressions changed repeatedly, as if this scene had stirred up extremely unpleasant memories for them.
Just then, the ethereal voice came again.

"Our Taoist practice elucidates the Tao, promotes the orthodox teachings of the Supreme Lord, uses talismanic water to dispel evil influences in the world. We seize the essence of heaven and earth, and gather the brilliance of the sun and moon. We cultivate ourselves to attain the Tao and understand our true nature."

"The three of you keep saying you're doing this for the sake of Taoism and the Xuanmen sect, but this scene is probably the real reason you're doing this to destroy Buddhism."

"For the past twenty years in Chechi Kingdom, you have used this reason to convince yourselves, the king, and others. I'm afraid that you yourselves are now deeply convinced of it, which has blinded your true selves."

Upon hearing this, the three immortals' expressions changed constantly, as the scene before them stirred up memories that had long been hidden in their hearts.

Yes, that's right. They said they did it for Taoism to give their actions a reasonable explanation, and they do indeed revere Taoism.

Initially, however, the three of them only disliked all Buddhist monks because of what happened back then.
The three immortals, their faces ashen, bowed forward.

"Immortal, we...we know we were wrong."

The ethereal voice said:

"Alas, your cultivation is not easy, and your heart is firm in seeking the Dao. It's just that you've gone down the wrong path. Now that you've realized your mistake, I can give you a chance."

"Once the matter of Chechi Kingdom is settled, you can be reincarnated. If you are willing to cultivate diligently and not have any delusions in your next life, I can guide you into my orthodox Xuanmen sect."

The three immortals were stunned, looking at each other in disbelief. The series of ups and downs they had experienced today were almost too much for them to bear.

But the three of them still realized what was happening and quickly kowtowed respectfully to the figure in the white mist to express their gratitude.

"Thank you, Grandfather Immortal! Thank you, Grandfather Immortal!" The three brothers did not receive a reply from the Immortal, but in an instant, the scene around them changed again. This time, they did not reappear in the white mist, but instead appeared in a garden that they were quite familiar with.

"Is this...the garden of the Chechi King's Palace?"

Just as the three immortals were somewhat puzzled, they saw a group of guards dragging three rather large bags toward them.

"Quickly! Put those three corpses into the pit and bury them immediately!"

"Yes!"

At the command of the leading general, the guards quickly dragged the three bags to the pits and pushed them into the pits.

"bump!!"

Upon hearing this sound, Tiger Power Immortal was furious. How could he not know that inside were the corpses of his three fellow disciples? Yet their corpses were being treated like this!

They are the Grand Preceptors of Chechi Kingdom, second only to the emperor!
No, even the king has to listen to them.

"How dare you!!"

Tiger Power Immortal was about to step forward when he was pulled back by his two junior brothers, and his soul form was difficult for the guards to see.

"Senior brother!! We are already dead, let's just let this matter go, let it go!"

"Yes, brother."

Tiger Power Immortal reluctantly gave up upon hearing this.

"Humph!"

The numerous guards present also suddenly felt a strange cold wind, which made them shiver.

The general's expression changed.

"Hurry up!"

"Yes!"

The three immortals all looked rather grim as they watched the guards bury their bodies and then leave the area.

The three of them had protected the Kingdom of Chechi for twenty years, ensuring them good weather and abundant harvests, but in the end, this was the result.

But not long after this group left, another figure arrived alone at the place.

"Alas, the three imperial advisors."

The King of Chechi looked at the three mounds of earth before him, his face showing a hint of sorrow, and his eyes reddening.

"After twenty years of companionship, I never imagined that you would surpass me. Why did you have to provoke those monks?"

"They say you are monsters, but I have seen it all—twenty years of good weather and abundant harvests, twenty years of blessings and companionship."

Twenty years may be nothing more than a blink of an eye for those immortals, but for him, it was the time he went from his prime to middle age and was about to enter old age.

Perhaps he really was a foolish ruler, just as those Tang monks said, who recognized three national teachers and allowed monks in the country to be suppressed and persecuted.

But after spending so much time together, how could he not have feelings for her?
As the king spoke, he was overcome with grief and collapsed to the ground, wailing loudly. After a long while, he recovered, staggered to his feet, and left the place dejectedly.

The three immortals were deeply moved by this scene. Their resentment dissipated, and they all sighed. Their figures slowly dissipated, turning into three points of light that flew into the sky to be reincarnated.

In the Daojun Palace, the Daojun watched everything unfolding in the lotus-shaped white jade basin, calculated for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

With this reincarnation and rebirth, the three immortals should have a much smoother path ahead, and it won't be long before they can return to their former glory.

"Ghost King, among those three true spirits, there is the spiritual seal of my Daojun Palace. Follow their auras and keep an eye on them. After all, these three were reserved by my Daojun Palace, so let's not have any accidents."

"Yes, Lord Daojun."

As the slightly hoarse voice fell, a jet-black aura shot into the sky and flew towards the direction of the three reincarnated immortals.

Daojun slowly walked to the railing on the top floor of Daojun Palace, watching the ram-headed ghost king's divided soul disappear into the distance.

"The pilgrimage group has now passed Chechi Kingdom, but they are still a good six months away from Tongtian River."

"Junior brother, we'll see each other again soon."

In Majiazhuang, Shi Cui and Pang Wenzheng sat facing each other in a somewhat dilapidated house, with Pang Wenzheng flipping through the book "Records of Wronged Souls" in his hands.

"We are still too slow. Several months have passed, and we have only rescued forty people."

Pang Wen's voice was filled with dissatisfaction, while Shi Cui stood calmly to the side and slowly said:
"Don't forget, just now we used the fake bodies bestowed by the Lord to deceive the Black and White Impermanence of the Underworld, and the golden shackles and silver chains, and the divine general of the Divine Physician Dao Lord was also lured away by the fake bodies."

"Of course, if you are not satisfied, you are free to leave."

Pang Wen raised his head and looked at the door, as if he saw something through it.

"Were they all lured away? I don't think so."

Shi Cui's expression changed, and she turned to look at Pang Wen, who had a half-smile on his face. Pang Wen only gave her a wink and continued to look down at the "Records of Wronged Souls" in his hands.

On a large tree outside the door, a fragment of the Goat-Headed Demon King's soul stood on the treetop, looking down at the room below.

"Sure enough, that body filled with yin energy was a fake."

(End of this chapter)