Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 312 Deduction: The Flowing Sand River, the Yellow Wind Monster, and the Nine Incarnations of the Journey to the West (Part 1)
"We should choose..."

On the panel, the nine incarnations, blue with hints of purple, shone brightly, dazzling the eye.

Liu Sheng stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and finally his gaze fell on the "Golden-Eyed Blood Leopard".

Ling Gongzi and Qiao She of Dongfeng both come from powerful families and have connections with the upper echelons of the White Lotus Sect, making their origins mysterious.

If one can transform it into a ghost, one can obtain a great deal of secret information.

However, since Qiao She was a cultivator at the Yellow Court Realm, his "Controlling the Chang" talent could not transform targets with higher realms into Chang ghosts. Therefore, upgrading him to the Blood Frog Incarnation was the highest priority.

A thought flashed through his mind, and suddenly everything went silent. In a daze, it was as if he had fallen into an abyss, and before his eyes were bizarre and colorful lights, as if a scroll was slowly unfolding—

In the 321st year, you slaughtered your way through Giant Tiger Ridge, yet you could not find peace. Your hatred burned fiercely, and you could not vent it. So you decided to go to White Tiger Ridge to kill your "sister-in-law's" family.

It's all because of the White Tiger Ridge lineage; they lack foresight.

As you search the remains, you discover that several of the guests are monks.

A monk attends a monster's wedding banquet?

interesting!】

In the 322nd year, you left Giant Tiger Ridge, found out the direction of White Tiger Ridge, and then headed west, slaughtering your way through.

Many creatures resisted along the way, but under your bone-chilling, chilling wind, their souls were scattered and they became vengeful ghosts.

In the 323rd year, you traveled westward, only to be stopped by a river.

There is a stone tablet on the shore with the words "Eight hundred miles of quicksand, three thousand miles of weak water, even a goose feather cannot float, and reeds will sink to the bottom".

With the wind rising from your claws, you soar into the air and gaze into the distance, seeing that the river is thousands of miles long and its narrowest point is eight hundred miles wide.

The water is surging, with waves crashing like a gathering of giants. A layer of fine sand floats on the surface, moving with the water, creating a spectacular sight.

You are in high spirits, riding the wind to cross the Flowing Sand River.

After traveling several miles, a sudden surge of monstrous waves erupted in the river, accompanied by a terrifying aura. A magical staff flew out and struck at you.

【you are dead. 】

This simulation consumes 30 Spirit Points.

……

"???"

Liu Sheng's breath hitched, pulling him out of the deduction, his mind filled with questions.

The spiritual energy consumed in the deduction increased tenfold, which is understandable, since the higher the realm of the avatar, the greater the consumption.

It's only been crossing the river, and it died. Is that reasonable?
Xue Biao was a top-tier monster with the bloodline of Qiongqi. He had just wiped out the entire Giant Tiger Ridge, but he was instantly killed before he could even see the monster in the river!

What kind of monster is in the river?
He shook his head, carefully examined the ink-wash characters on the panel several times, and a sudden thought struck him—

Liusha River?
Is it that Liusha River?

Eight hundred miles of quicksand, three thousand miles of weak water, even a goose feather cannot float, and reeds will sink to the bottom...

"call!"

Liu Sheng withdrew his gaze, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his emotions surging like a tide.

It really is that quicksand river!

The monster in the river, isn't it... Sha Wujing?

The Heavenly Curtain-Raising General who was banished to the mortal realm!
No wonder!
So, does that mean the world where Xue Biao's incarnation resides is Journey to the West?

Good guy!
"I first learned Erlang Shen's Eight-Nine Arcane Arts at the Qingyuan Cave ruins, and then the world I incarnated in appeared with the Flowing Sand River..."

Is the world where the true self resides and the world deduced by the incarnation in the same realm?

Liu Sheng's eyes flickered, his mind filled with thoughts, doubts, and a jumble of emotions.

"choke!"

The next moment, he activated his talent "Blade Heart" to sever distracting thoughts and calm his mind.

Never mind all that, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. After a few more simulations, we'll figure it out.

[In the 321st year, you slaughtered your way through Giant Tiger Ridge...]

In the 322nd year, you let go of your obsession with White Tiger Ridge and decided to head south.

[In the 323rd year, you fought your way through the land, invincible and slaughtering indiscriminately, enjoying yourself immensely.]

...

In the 325th year, you slaughtered a mountain range and rested for several days, when you were suddenly stopped by a monk.

The monk was playing the erhu, wearing a monk's robe, singing work chants, and had a scruffy beard.

He said that you killed your own brother, thus creating a karmic debt with him, and you need to do something to repay him.

You think he's mentally ill, so you stir up a cold wind and rush towards him.

On Giant Tiger Ridge, you have killed no fewer than dozens of monks. This bald monk in front of you is spouting nonsense and is quite annoying!
The monk chuckled, took out a precious pearl, stopped the yin wind, raised his staff, and smashed it into your forehead.

【you are dead. 】

……

"Wait, who is this monk? How come my Blood Frog Incarnation is powerless to fight back?"

Liu Sheng shook his head, completely baffled.

However, considering that this is the world of Journey to the West, with countless beings in the Three Realms and powerful beings, in front of immortals and Buddhas, a mere monster is no different from an ant.

Fine, if I can't beat them, I'll just hide, okay?

But in the dozens of subsequent simulations, no matter which direction he circled, dodged, hid, or even retreated back to the Yin Wind Cave...

Every five years, the monk playing the erhu would appear before him without fail.

He was to be forced to bear the consequences of his actions and do things for him, or else he would be killed with a stick, showing no compassion whatsoever of a monk.

On one occasion, Liu Sheng devised a plan to use one wolf to devour another, luring the monk towards the Flowing Sand River to incite a conflict between him and Sha Wujing.

As a result, Sha Wujing did not show up; he shrank back.

"It seems that without agreeing to this monk's request, the deduction cannot continue..."

Liu Sheng took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, and decided to temporarily submit.

[In the 321st year, you slaughtered your way through Giant Tiger Ridge...]

...

In the 325th year, you returned to Giant Tiger Ridge and waited patiently.

One day, a monk came to the mountain and said that you had killed your elder brother without permission, and that you had committed a grave sin. You must bear the consequences and do something for him.

After hesitating for a long time, you lowered your head and agreed.

The monk laughed and said that in the future a yellow-haired weasel will come from the west. You must join its ranks, serve as its vanguard, and help it succeed in order to cleanse your sins.

Because this place is arid and barren, I bestow upon you a golden bowl. You must face west, hold the bowl, and recite scriptures for one hour each day. In return, you will receive five millimeters of rain to nourish the land, accumulate blessings, and reduce your sins.

Having said this, the monk vanished like the wind, leaving no trace.

In the 326th year, you faced west every day, holding a bowl and chanting scriptures. You persisted for a year, but you could not attain peace.

The more I recite the scriptures, the more troubled I become.

The desert below the mountain, despite a year's worth of rain, showed no signs of improvement.

...

[In the 328th year, after three years of chanting scriptures, the resentment in your heart has grown stronger and stronger.]

Reciting scriptures every day is like having a thousand blades piercing your body, scraping away your bones and flesh, causing unbearable pain.

The fire of ignorance in one's heart burns ever brighter until it becomes unbearable.

One day, you abandoned your golden bowl in a dung heap and rode the wind to escape.

Before you've gone five li, suddenly a staff falls from the sky and lands on your forehead.

【you are dead. 】

……

"So, the entire area around Giant Tiger Ridge has been under constant surveillance?"

Liu Sheng looked solemn as he stared at the lines of ink-wash characters sliding down the panel, his eyes sparkling with interest.

Through this deductive text, he had roughly guessed which monster was related to Xue Biao's ascension to power.

King Yellow Wind!

This demon has an extraordinary origin; he was originally a yellow-haired weasel who attained enlightenment at the foot of Mount Ling. Because he stole lamp oil from a glass lamp, fearing the Buddha would punish him, he fled east to Yellow Wind Ridge, where he gathered demons and monsters, claiming to be an ancestor and leader. Therefore, is the monk who so readily kills him a Buddha, Bodhisattva, or Arhat from Mount Ling?
Combined with what the monk said, "Enter his camp, serve as his vanguard, and assist him in his success," doesn't that mean the Blood Frog incarnation is going to "play" that role...?

Is it Tiger Vanguard?!
"How did you become the Tiger Vanguard? The journey to the West involves such a huge amount of karma; the slightest mistake could lead to certain death, especially for someone without a powerful backer..."

Liu Sheng felt a chill run down his spine. Ignoring the energy drain, he continued to perform a series of calculations, hoping that the Blood Frog incarnation could break free from other people's "script".

He tried different methods to leave Giant Tiger Ridge, or stopped chanting scriptures, hoping that the old monk would punish him more severely and lock him up elsewhere, but all of them failed.

If anything he did went against the old monk's wishes, he would be met with a blow to the head.

There was no preaching, no admonition, only cold indifference and ruthlessness, without a trace of the compassion described in Buddhism.

From there, life will come.

Disobey or die.

There is no third way.

There's no escaping it.

After a long while, Liu Sheng accepted reality, no longer thinking about escaping Giant Tiger Ridge, but instead focusing on how to survive that "grand drama"—

[In the 321st year, you slaughtered your way through Giant Tiger Ridge...]

...

In the 325th year, an old monk came to Giant Tiger Ridge.

From this day forward, every day at sunset, you should face west, hold your alms bowl, and recite scriptures. You will receive five milliliters of rain, which will nourish the land, accumulate merit, and diminish your sins.

In the 326th year, you spent a year chanting scriptures in the mountains, but your mind was restless and the five aggregates were inflamed.

Reciting scriptures every day is like having a thousand blades piercing your body, or being cooked in hot oil; it is excruciating.

You tore your flesh with your claws and let it bleed, but you managed to endure it.

[In the 327th year, you tore your body open to bleed, held a bowl, and chanted scriptures; another year had passed.]

...

In the 357th year, you lived in seclusion on Giant Tiger Ridge for thirty years, bleeding yourself every day and chanting scriptures every night, and your mind gradually became peaceful.

Over the past thirty years, Giant Tiger Ridge has remained unchanged, except for the addition of a blood pool in the mountains, which is as hot as molten lava and filled with billowing blood mist.

The desert below the mountain, nourished by daily rain, gradually became fertile, with vegetation flourishing and the number of birds and beasts increasing daily.

...

[The 387th year, and another 30 years have passed.]

The yellow-haired weasel hasn't arrived yet, but your daily chanting of scriptures has become a habit.

As you watch the sunrise and sunset, observe the clouds drift and the flowers bloom and fade, the anger in your heart gradually subsides, you begin to understand Buddhism, and your spiritual practice progresses greatly.

On this day, a group of refugees came down from the mountain. Seeing that the land was fertile and abundant in resources, they cut down trees to build houses, piled up earth to build walls, and settled down.

In the 388th year, the number of refugees at the foot of the mountain gradually increased, and they cultivated the land every day, gradually forming a tribe.

They discovered that a light drizzle fell from the mountain at regular intervals every day, which they attributed to the protection of the mountain god.

The tribal chief was a young man who led his people up the mountain to request an audience, but you ignored him and did not show up.

So they built a mountain god temple for you at the foot of the mountain.

They burned incense and offered prayers, saying they came from the East, and to escape war, they had endured a long and arduous journey before finding this fertile land. They offered sacrifices every year, praying for favorable weather, peace, and joy.

...

[In the 437th year, fifty years later, the tribe at the foot of the mountain had multiplied for two generations, gathered refugees, and had a population of over ten thousand.]

On this day, the old chieftain led his people in a grand sacrificial ceremony, offering three kinds of sacrificial animals. He said that he had received a dream from a Bodhisattva, who instructed him to emulate the Eastern Lands, establish a new nation, and name it Gaochang, meaning "high and prosperous land with a large population." He also proposed to establish Buddhism as the state religion...

You stand by indifferently, too lazy to bother with it.

...

In the 442nd year, the first ruler of the Gaochang Kingdom passed away.

If you find it interesting, you can take it as a companion. A demon and a ghost, chatting and relieving boredom, would be quite fun.

It says that when the East was in turmoil and the people were suffering, a Bodhisattva appeared to him in a dream and told him that there were fertile fields in the Western Regions. Therefore, he left his homeland and led his people here.

Buddha?

You thought of that monk who would kill people with his staff at the drop of a hat.

What is he plotting?

...

The 550th year, more than a hundred years have passed.

The Kingdom of Gaochang, located below the mountain, enjoys favorable weather and abundant harvests year after year thanks to your daily chanting of scriptures.

Buddhism flourished in the city, with numerous pagodas and temples, and incense burning brightly, making it seem like a pure land.

On this day, a monk rode in on horseback, intending to go to the Western Paradise to obtain the true scriptures and enlighten all living beings.

The king was overjoyed and held a seven-day, seven-night Water and Land Dharma Assembly, where people worshipped the Buddha, chanted mantras, debated the Dharma, expounded scriptures, and gave alms to all sentient beings.

This young monk from the East was well-versed in Buddhism. He debated with eminent monks and virtuous masters in the country and won every debate. He was revered by the entire nation.

After the Dharma assembly, the king wished to keep the monk there permanently, but the king refused, and the monk took his leave.

Before leaving, upon learning of the past events in Gaochang, he went alone to Giant Tiger Ridge to discuss the Dharma with you.

You initially ignored it, but when you held the alms bowl and chanted scriptures, it sensed and found you.

You remained silent and indifferent.

But this monk turned out to be a chatterbox, rambling on and on without end.

He recounted his childhood in great detail, in a jumbled and incoherent manner, making him seem more like a clueless monk than a highly accomplished monk.

Seeing that Buddhist temples were filthy and the monks were corrupt, colluding with officials and bandits to poison the minds of believers, he wished to travel west to seek the true scriptures, to rectify the situation, and to enlighten all beings.

Along the way, mountain spirits and monsters ran rampant, and bandits and thieves roamed freely, making the journey fraught with danger. It was only thanks to the protection and intervention of the Bodhisattva that we were able to arrive here safely.

He was born of mortal flesh, powerless and fearful, and often considered giving up. But in order to obtain the true scriptures and rebuild Buddhism, he persevered through gritted teeth.

Seeing his innocent heart and fervent eyes, you finally spoke up to warn him that there was a giant demon in the Flowing Sand River with boundless magical power.

He frankly admitted that the journey to the west was fraught with danger, but fortunately, he was blessed by Buddha and protected by Bodhisattvas, and the journey was smooth. Although the river demon was evil, he believed that he should be subdued with Buddhist teachings.

He presented him with a faded monk's robe, which he had worn in the past, and then departed for the west.

You stand on the mountain and look out, and you see the King of Gaochang leading his people to see you off, seeing you off again and again, until you finally reach the banks of the Liusha River.

The monk offered up a Bodhi leaf, which floated across the river, but halfway across, he encountered a raging torrent.

A demon emerged from the water, with red hair and a blue face, a voice like thunder, and a fierce and malevolent aura.

He said he had been waiting for a long time, then killed the monk with a single blow, ate his flesh and drank his blood, spewed demonic flames from his palm, refined his skull into a pearl, hung it on his chest, and then went back into the water.

A highly respected monk died at the hands of a demon.

The Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats whom he deeply believed in during his lifetime all stood by indifferently and did not offer any assistance.

How lamentable and laughable.

The ghost was stunned and asked, "Why didn't you save me, Bodhisattva?"
You lowered your eyes, remaining silent.

In the 551st year, the king witnessed the tragic death of a monk from the East and his heart wavered.

He also saw that there were many monks in the country, the country's strength was declining, and the people only knew the Bodhisattvas but not the king. He wanted to carry out the work of destroying Buddhism.

After his plan failed, he was pursued and killed by the monks in front of the mountain god temple.

Later, the country was converted into a temple, and all the people were ordered to enter the Buddhist order, with men becoming monks and women becoming nuns. They were required to strictly adhere to the doctrines, not engage in production, not possess money, and not engage in illicit sexual activity.

They also opened the national treasury wide, taking whatever they needed, and held Dharma assemblies day and night, making offerings and worshipping Buddha...

In the 553rd year, the national treasury was completely depleted.

During a great famine, people prayed to Heaven but received no response, and prayed to Buddha but received no help. They then resorted to cannibalism, and the country was destroyed.

The evil spirits were furious and spoke words of indignation, saying that the Buddhist sect was sanctimonious and seemingly compassionate, but in reality they were vicious and cruel, harming the country and exterminating the clan, and their crimes were extremely heinous.

Before he could finish speaking, a beam of Buddha's light descended, like oil on fire, causing him to wail for seven days and seven nights before his soul was finally scattered.

You remained silent, simply folding the old monk's robe and hiding it in the temple.

Dismemberment and bloodletting, holding a bowl and chanting scriptures, a day passes by, mouth reciting—

Amitabha. 】

(End of this chapter)