Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 132 The Battle of Wits in Chechi Kingdom (Part Two)
Now, Ao Tu explained the matter of praying for rain and asked the monk how much incense oil and gold he offered when praying for rain.

The monk, however, could not understand.

The monk said, "Master, that was a year of great famine. People were starving to death. The people were eating dirt. Who would come to worship Buddha? There was no money or gold to offer. It was already very good if they could offer some incense and candles."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Ha, look! There's neither sesame oil nor gold. You've made the Buddha come all this way for nothing, and you still talk about sincerity?"

The monk said, “How can you say that? Those wealthy countries have incense oil and gold to offer, which shows their sincere worship of Buddha; while we poor countries have no incense oil and gold to offer, does that mean we are not sincere worshippers? We put all our strength into making incense and candles, so how can you say that we are not sincere?”

Ao Tu said, "If you've exhausted all your strength, were your previous rain prayers effective?"

The monk said, "Well... it might work once every five or six times."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "It only works once every five or six times. You just happened to be lucky enough to be there."

The monk was speechless.

Ao Tu said, "Speaking of which, since your prayers for rain have never been effective, why is the king angry with you?"

The monk said, "Isn't this because..."

Ao Tu asked, "Why?"

The monk was somewhat hesitant to speak.

Ao Tu said, “It’s alright. I’m a Taoist from out of town. I have no grudge against you. I also studied Buddhism when I was young, so I’m considered half a Buddhist. Tell me what you’re saying, and I will definitely not tell anyone else.”

The monk looked at Ao Tu and saw that Ao Tu had a kind and approachable face, and seemed to be a good person, so he said:
"Well, there's really nothing wrong with saying this. In previous years, the monks and Taoists would sometimes be able to pray for rain and sometimes they wouldn't. As long as we did our best, it didn't matter if we couldn't get rain. But that year, three national teachers came. With a wave of their hands, they could summon wind and rain and immediately relieve the disaster. This made us monks seem useless, and the king was furious because of it."

Ao Tu said, "This is because you are unlucky. I also heard that your national teacher has great magical powers, so I came to pay my respects."

The monk said, "Alas, who can say otherwise? Please wait a moment, Master Dao, I will go and inform him."

Ao Tu nodded.

The monk went back to report.

Soon, two young Taoist priests in their early twenties arrived, wearing star-shaped crowns and Taoist robes. Upon seeing Ao Tu's appearance, they stepped forward and bowed.

Ao Tu returned the greeting and explained his purpose.

The two young Taoist priests said, "Please come into our humble abode to rest for a while, Master. Our three masters are currently performing a ritual in the Sanqing Hall. Once the ritual is finished, they will come to greet you personally."

Ao Tu asked, "Is this a grand or small religious ceremony?"

The two young Taoist priests said, "It is a small ritual, which will end tomorrow. It is just that the king is old and has some minor ailments, so my three masters are praying for his well-being and to ward off misfortune."

Ao Tu said, "Since that's the case, I'll respectfully comply."

The two young Taoist priests led Ao Tu to a guest room to stay.

The two young Taoist priests asked, "We haven't yet asked for your Taoist name, Master. We'll reply after our master finishes his ritual."

Ao Tu said, "My name is Tai Xi Zhenren."

Upon hearing this, the two young Taoist priests dared not be negligent.

They had previously been careful not to be disrespectful to Ao Tu because of his distinguished attire; now, seeing that Ao Tu used Tai Xi as his title, which signifies the ultimate and cannot be taken lightly, they showed him even greater respect.

The two young Taoist priests said, "Since you have come from afar, Master, please rest and cleanse yourself here. We will go and prepare the vegetarian offerings. We wonder if, besides the rules of conduct, you have any other taboos?"

Ao Tu said, "There are no other taboos."

The two young Taoist priests said, "Then please rest for a while, Master. We will go down and make preparations."

Ao Tu nodded. The two then went downstairs.

Before long, the two men brought over hot tea and fruit for Ao Tu to enjoy.

After some time, a delicious meal was prepared and served to Ao Tu.

After Ao Tu finished eating, the two cleared away the food and had a monk bring over a brazier.

Although the weather was already a bit cold at this time, it was not yet winter and not too cold, so there was generally no need to use a brazier for warmth.

The two young Taoist priests brought the brazier because Ao Tu was a guest, and they wanted to show him the utmost hospitality, so they brought the brazier to warm him up.

Ao Tu refused the brazier, claiming that he was already immune to both fire and water.

The two young Taoist priests were filled with envy upon hearing this.

Ao Tu looked at the two young Taoist priests and saw that they also possessed some magical power and strength. Therefore, he asked, "Can't you still ward off the cold and heat?"

The two young Taoist priests replied, "Reporting to the Master, we practice the art of 'summoning generals with talismans,' but we are somewhat inadequate, so we cannot yet ward off the cold and heat."

Ao Tu said, "I see. In that case, I will teach you a method to nourish your body: keep your essence and energy in your dantian, and warm your limbs so that you are not dry in summer and not cold in winter. What do you think?"

The two young Taoist priests hurriedly said:
"No! No! We have not done even the slightest service for the True Man, how dare we learn the True Man's wonderful methods for nothing? Even if we wanted to learn, we would first report to our master, and then prepare generous gifts to repay the True Man's kindness in transmitting the Dharma before we would dare to shamelessly ask for instruction."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "You are quite polite. But there's no need to go to such trouble. This is not some wonderful method, just a rudimentary technique. You will learn it yourself after you have practiced for a long time."

Having said that, Ao Tu casually pointed his finger at the dantian of the two young Taoist priests from a distance. A surge of energy drew the magical power within the two young Taoist priests into a single mass, circulating throughout the body and remaining condensed without dissipating.

The two young Taoist priests were shocked. Although Ao Tu said it was just a rudimentary technique, they dared not believe it and hurriedly knelt down to thank Ao Tu for passing on his teachings.

In fact, what Ao Tu said was not wrong. This is not a powerful method, but a very ordinary skill. As long as one's realm reaches a certain level, one can learn it without a teacher. Many heavenly soldiers can do it.

Ao Tu simply took a liking to the two young Taoist priests and casually passed the message around.

The next day, after the ritual ended, the three immortals, Tiger Power Immortal, Deer Power Immortal, and Sheep Power Immortal, came out and were told by their disciples that a Taoist master, known as the Great Western True Man, had come to visit and discuss the Tao.

The three men were delighted to hear that Ao Tu was a Taoist master, and without resting for a moment, they rushed over to see him.

Upon seeing Ao Tu, Tiger Power Immortal looked him over but couldn't discern his true strength. His respect for Ao Tu grew even stronger, and he quickly said:
"We were unaware of your arrival and have failed to greet you properly. Please forgive us! Please forgive us!"

Ao Tu returned the greeting, saying, "Grand Preceptor, you are too kind."

As Ao Tu returned the greeting, he also glanced at the three of them.

That Tiger Power Immortal was exceptionally tall and strong, with a broad forehead, thick eyebrows, and a thick beard. In terms of appearance, he bore a slight resemblance to Zhang Tianshi.

Deer Power Immortal is of medium build, with a healthy and rosy complexion.

Although the Great Immortal Yang Li was somewhat thin, he was still vigorous and energetic, showing no signs of aging.

Ao Tu could tell the three beings' true forms at a glance: Tiger Power Immortal was a yellow tiger, Deer Power Immortal was a white deer, and Sheep Power Immortal was an antelope.

The three of them had average magical power. If they didn't have any powerful supernatural abilities to suppress them, they would probably be about the same as the White Bone Demon and would most likely be no match for Tiger Vanguard.

However, to Ao Tu's surprise, the three of them possessed some meager merit.

For demons, accumulating merit is a difficult task.

Although the amount of merit accumulated by the three of them is not large, it is still quite remarkable.

(End of this chapter)