Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 374 Master
After a while, it was noon, and a series of sumptuous dishes were placed on the stone table. Daojun then carried the last dish to the two of them and sat down opposite them.

Daojun looked at Zhu Bajie, whose eyes were already gleaming and who was swallowing hard, and laughed:

"Let's eat, don't be shy. I only have some vegetarian dishes here, and I haven't added any of the five pungent vegetables. It's just as well that neither of you eat meat."

The five pungent vegetables in Buddhism are garlic, scallions, shallots, onions, and asafoetida, which are forbidden to be eaten by all Buddhists.

When Guanyin Bodhisattva converted Zhu Bajie, she had already made him give up these five pungent vegetables.

As Daojun spoke, he took the lead in picking up his chopsticks, and Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong quickly followed suit, happily eating as well.

Although Pigsy has consumed many offerings over the years, they are far inferior to the delicacies prepared by the Daoist. The dishes made from the spiritual materials grown on Golden Gourd Mountain are naturally delicious and full of spiritual energy, more than enough to be served at a celestial banquet in the Heavenly Palace.

Pigsy was engrossed in eating, while Monkey King was much more refined in comparison. Daojun looked at the two of them with a much gentler gaze.

His junior brother Wukong still cares about his second junior brother Zhu Bajie.

More than a hundred years have passed since the transmission of Buddhism to the East. Li Shimin has long since passed away, and although the Tang Dynasty has gone through many emperors, the four masters and disciples all returned to their respective places not long after the transmission of Buddhism.

Even Tang Sanzang, after living in Chang'an for decades and passing on his Buddhist teachings, went to the Western Paradise to become his own Sandalwood Merit Buddha.

The White Dragon and Sha Wujing went to Mount Ling earlier than Tang Sanzang. One is a golden-bodied Arhat, and the other is one of the Eight Heavenly Dragons. Now they are all practicing Buddhism on Mount Ling with Tang Sanzang.

Only the two people before him, one returned to Flower Fruit Mountain to live a carefree life, while the other went to the Pure Altar Messenger Temple in the mountains to cultivate alone.

This Pigsy's lustful heart remains unchanged; he falls in love with every woman he sees. Although he admires their beauty, he also has genuine feelings. It is said that when Gao Cuilan of Gao Family Village passed away a few years ago, he even transformed into human form to see her off.

There is a difference between immortals and mortals, not to mention that Pigsy entered the Buddhist order, so this couple was destined to have no future. However, Gao Cuilan later married a good husband and lived a long and healthy life, passing the age of 100, which can be considered a good outcome.

Now, Sun Wukong dragged Zhu Bajie up to visit him, partly to cater to his tastes and ask for some food, and partly out of concern that he was quite lonely cultivating alone in the deep mountains.

The deep friendship forged between the master and his disciples on their journey westward, after many trials and tribulations, truly impressed him.

Just then, a golden talisman flew rapidly toward Jindu Mountain and slowly came to a stop in front of Daojun.

The Dragon King of the West Sea? It seems his fourth prince, Ao Wang, has been settled. Is he hoping I'll take care of him?
Daojun raised his hand and beckoned to the golden talisman. Soon, a voice entered Daojun's ears.

"Daojun, I have sent my son Ao Wang to Baihe in the Zhongnan Mountains to cultivate. If you see him, please take care of him for the sake of our many years of friendship. I, Xiaolong, thank you."

Daojun raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. Back then, the children of the Jinghe Dragon King were all sent to the great rivers, but this fourth prince of the West Sea Dragon King was assigned to the White River.

This river isn't exactly small, but it's certainly not worthy of the status of the fourth prince of the West Sea Dragon King.

Could it be that they're heading towards the Zhongnan Mountain area again?
This place is related to the Supreme Dao Ancestor. Could it be that there is some secret that even he himself does not know?

Sun Wukong's ears twitched slightly, his eyes darted around, and he paused thoughtfully for a moment before ignoring the matter and continuing to eat his meal.

Although these four old dragons had helped him a lot back then, it was ultimately their family matter and had nothing to do with him. However, it seemed that the West Sea Dragon King had a rather close relationship with his senior brother, as he was even asking his senior brother for help with his own child's affairs.

His senior brother indeed had more secrets than he had imagined.

Daojun glanced at Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, who was focused on eating, and with a slight movement of his lips, he transmitted a message into the golden talisman and tossed it toward the Western Sea.

"Senior Brother Daojun, why aren't you eating?"

“Eat now, eat now, there’s plenty of rice, Marshal Tianpeng, eat as much as you like.”

"Hey, you idiot, you're calling me 'senior brother' all warm and familiar. Just eat your food."

At night, Pigsy had already run to the Golden Gourd Cave under the deep tree, while Daojun and Sun Wukong were in the pavilion looking at the stars and the bright moon in the sky.

Sun Wukong looked at the sky and suddenly said:

"Senior brother, do you think that if we go to find Master someday, he will still be willing to see us?"

Seeing that the monkey suddenly became melancholy, the Daoist shook his head slightly and said:
“Junior brother, you have now achieved enlightenment. These fourteen years of cultivation have polished your sincere heart to be as pure as gold. If you can meet your master one day, perhaps your master will be pleased.”

So many years have passed, but Sun Wukong still misses the time when he was cultivating on Lingtai Fangcun Mountain. However, ever since he was expelled from the sect by his master, he has kept this matter firmly in his heart and never told anyone about it.

Only when facing his senior brother would he unreservedly show his longing for his master and Lingtai Fangcun Mountain.

Daojun looked towards the direction of Lingtai Fangcun Mountain. That place had been abandoned for a long time since his master and senior brother left, with only the Rotten Peach Mountain on the back mountain blooming every year.

However, his master and senior brother had already left, and there was no one important to him there anymore. So for many years, he had never gone there, but instead offered incense and paid his respects day and night in his spiritual realm.

I wonder how Master and Senior Brothers Guanghui and Guangwu are doing now.
In a world within endless chaos, supported by an enormous tree that grows within the chaos.

A small boat was drifting in a dazzling starry river. Bodhi Patriarch was meditating with his eyes closed, holding a fishing rod, sitting at the bow of the boat. The fishing line on the rod fell into the starry river without making a sound.

On the other side of the small boat, two young men, one in a Taoist robe and the other in a black robe, were playing chess. They were Niu Yi's eldest and second senior brothers.

As for Guangwu, he has already ventured deep into the Milky Way and is comprehending the Great Dao of this world, preparing to cultivate the Primordial Dao Fruit.

After a while, Bodhi Patriarch slowly opened his eyes, and in his deep eyes, Sun Wukong and Daojun, who were talking and laughing in the stone pavilion on Jindu Mountain, immediately appeared.

Bodhi Patriarch smiled and looked at the two brothers with a gentle expression, nodding slightly.

"At most ten thousand years, the primordial chaos can be expected."

Upon hearing their master's voice, both Guanghui Daoist and the ferryman opposite them showed surprise. They then exchanged a glance and both looked enlightened.

It seems that Junior Brother Guangyi's path of cultivation is going quite smoothly.
(End of this chapter)