Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 159 The Battle of Wits in Chechi Kingdom (Twenty-Nine)
However, Alu's devotion to Buddhism moved Venerable Kasyapa.

Kasyapa took the scriptures back from the old abbot and others, and then gave them to Alu.

Alu was extremely grateful and repeatedly expressed his determination to live up to the Venerable One's trust and promote the reputation of Buddhism.

This is good news for Alu.

But for the old abbot and others, it was a dramatic fall from grace.

Originally, the abbot and others thought that after decades of sincere devotion to Buddhism, they had finally overcome their hardships and gained the favor of the Buddha, receiving the true Dharma.

However, only a month has passed, and the true teachings have been withdrawn.

They learned very little about Buddhism before their path was cut off.

What they found even more unacceptable was that the true Dharma was instead bestowed upon Alu, the traitor who had betrayed Buddhism.

The abbot and others believed that Alu had deceived Venerable Kasyapa, so they gathered the other senior monks and knelt outside Kasyapa's meditation room to plead with him, asking him to see Alu's true colors and change his mind.

Kasyapa grew impatient with this, but these old monks were all genuinely devoted to Buddhism, and as the Venerable One, he couldn't directly suppress them.

Seeing that Kasyapa was in a difficult situation, Alu was very understanding and immediately ordered his disciples to lock the old monks back in the meditation room.

The other old monks are easy to talk to.

However, the three old abbots who had previously learned the true scriptures possessed some magical powers, and ordinary disciples could not control them.

When Wukong found out, he rushed over to help.

Wukong drew a circle around the meditation room with his golden cudgel, making it impossible for the three old abbots to escape the circle no matter what they did.

Thus, the temple finally settled down.

Alu carefully studied the "Treatise on the True Dharma".

In terms of talent, Alu's talent is acceptable, not too good, but still far superior to those old monks.

In addition, with the careful guidance of Ao Tu, A Lu's magical power was not low, so practicing this Buddhist scripture was twice as effective with half the effort.

Another month passed, and the Buddhist and Taoist sides competed again.

The senior Buddhist disciple battles three junior Taoist disciples.

This time, the Buddhist sect naturally emerged victorious.

Upon seeing this, the King of Chechi praised the boundless power of Buddhism before Kasyapa, saying that he would surely respect and believe in it from now on.

Kasyapa nodded in satisfaction.

But in reality, the King of Chechi Kingdom thought to himself that this so-called competition was no different from the sparring among the disciples of the Tai Xi Zhenren sect.

However, regardless of the outcome, the Taoist sect won before, and the Buddhist sect won this time, so it's a draw as both sides won one match. The bet is considered settled.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples were in a hurry to continue their journey, so they set off ahead.

Current progress: 221 days.

Kasyapa did not rush to leave, but stayed in Chechi Kingdom for another month in order to reveal his holy deeds and promote Buddhism.

In the state of Chechi, there was a Grand Tutor whose mother was old and suffered from an eye disease, causing her to lose her sight.

Upon learning of this, Kasyapa instructed Alu to visit the Grand Tutor's elderly mother and preach the scriptures.

The Grand Tutor's elderly mother was moved by the scriptures and added five large lanterns to Zhiyuan Temple, which she devoutly worshipped, burning day and night without daring to extinguish them.

Afterwards, the Grand Tutor's elderly mother regained her sight.

In the state of Chechi, there was a merchant whose eldest son died young, his second son died in the womb, and his youngest son was mentally challenged. People said that this was because the merchant had acted immorally when he started his business.

When Kasyapa learned of this, he instructed Alu to go to the merchant's house and preach the scriptures to him.

After listening to the Buddhist scriptures, the merchant had a profound awakening, vowed to repent and reform, and donated all the ill-gotten gains he had made to the temple.

Afterwards, the merchant's youngest son suddenly became enlightened, and his dementia disappeared.

In the Kingdom of Chechi, there lived an old woman who lived next to Zhiyuan Temple. Her husband had died early, and the old woman lived frugally, raising her three sons alone until they all grew up.

After her three sons grew up and earned money, they all came to support their mother. As a result, the old woman had some spare money.

Seeing this, some of the neighbors advised the old woman to believe in Taoism and buy some amulets for peace; others advised her to believe in Buddhism and buy some incense and candles to offer on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month.

The old woman didn't believe it, saying that she raised her three sons not through Taoism or Buddhism, but through hard work and frugality, so she was unwilling to worship any of them.

After Kasyapa heard about this, the old woman had a dream.

The old woman dreamed that after she died, she was reincarnated as a wild dog. Missing her grandson, she ran to her old home to visit him, but her three sons mistook her for a mad dog, beat her to death, and then stewed and ate her.

The old woman was awakened in the middle of the night, filled with anxiety and unease.

Because she lived next to Zhiyuan Temple, the old woman went there early the next morning to ask a monk from Zhiyuan Temple to interpret her dream.

The monks at Zhiyuan Temple told the old woman that good deeds bring good rewards and evil deeds bring evil consequences, and that this was because she had not cultivated good karma or accumulated merit. This dream foretells that she will be reborn as an animal in her next life after death.

The old woman was greatly alarmed.

The monk then cited the example of the wealthy merchant's son whose mental illness had completely disappeared, saying that it was only because the wealthy merchant had repented and reformed, devoutly worshipped Buddha, and donated money that he received a good reward.

After hearing this, the old woman inquired about it and found that it was indeed true, so she dared not disbelieve it.

Afterwards, she would come to the temple to burn incense and worship Buddha on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month to accumulate merit.

There are many similar holy sites.

As news of these sacred sites spread, more and more people came to burn incense and worship Buddha, and Zhiyuan Temple became increasingly prosperous.

Kasyapa, having achieved his goal, prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he asked Alu for the Buddhist scriptures back.

True scriptures should not be easily passed on. The fact that he allowed Alu to watch for so long is already an act of compassion.

Alu did not covet the Buddhist scriptures and respectfully returned them to Kasyapa.

Kasyapa wanted to leave.

Alu said, "Venerable One, please wait."

Kasyapa asked, "What is it?"

Alu said, "I have invited a painter, who is waiting outside the door. Please stay a moment longer so that the painter can come in and paint a picture for you."

Kasyapa asked, "What are you drawing?"

Alu said, “The portrait of the Venerable One should be painted and passed down so that people can make offerings to it. I wish to build a new hall in the temple and invite a famous craftsman to carve an image of the Venerable One transmitting the Dharma, so that it can receive incense offerings from believers.”

Upon hearing this, Kasyapa exclaimed with delight, "Excellent! What a sincere heart! How rare! How rare!"

Kasyapa then stopped, took the scripture in his hand, and deliberately made a gesture as if he were transmitting the Dharma.

Alu understood immediately, and hurriedly stepped forward to prostrate himself, pretending to receive the scriptures, and called the painter in to paint this scene.

After waiting for some time, a lifelike painting of "Kasyapa Transmitting the Dharma" was completed.

Kasyapa was very pleased to see this and said, "Alu, I see that you have a deep affinity with Buddhism. How far have you progressed in your study of those scriptures?"

Alu said, "Reporting to the Venerable One, apart from the cultivation method of incense and vow power, the disciples have comprehended all other magical techniques."

Kasyapa said, “Judging from this, your comprehension is excellent. You don’t need to practice the incense and vow power technique for now. First, cultivate your Buddhist Dharma. After you have made some progress in your Buddhist Dharma, you can come to Mount Ling to find me.”

Alu said, "Disciple remembers."

Kasyapa nodded, rode away on auspicious clouds, and was in a very good mood.
Na'alu was very clever, and his way of doing things pleased him greatly. If he truly had a connection with Buddhism and joined his tutelage, then in the future, if he encountered any matters that were inconvenient for Na'alu to handle, Na'alu could be asked to do them.

Kasyapa returned to Vulture Peak and delivered the Buddha's instructions.

At this time, Tang Sanzang and his disciples were still on their way and had not yet left the Chechi Kingdom area.

Behind Chechi Kingdom lies the Tongtian River, and on the opposite bank of the river is the Western Liang Women's Kingdom.

Ao Tu had already instructed his avatar to wait quietly in the Tongtian River with Tiger Vanguard and others.

Within the Taixi Flower Realm.

After seeing Sun Wukong off, Ao Tu also had his own duties to perform.

The 1,200 female immortals and 1,200 male immortals were each assigned to one of the 24 departments by Ao Tu, with twelve for men and twelve for women.

Each department has a minor official, who is not ranked and is considered an extremely low-ranking official position.

Even so, she was one in a hundred among all the male and female immortals. All the immortals vied to volunteer for the position. Mingniang also carefully prepared a speech, believing it would sway the True Lord.

Unfortunately, there was no fair competition involved.

Ao Tu directly selected twelve male and twelve female officials from the crowd based on their cultivation level and the strength of their aura.

The others could only look on with envy at the twenty-four people, reveling in their good fortune.

Afterwards, Ao Tu distributed magical implements such as celestial hoes and celestial scissors to the immortals.

The immortals each have different duties, but generally speaking, the male immortals are responsible for watering the springs, while the female immortals are responsible for pruning the flowers and plants.

After receiving their magical implements, the immortals prepared to begin their work.

Jiangzhu said, "True Lord, I haven't received the magic weapon yet."

Ao Tu said, "You don't need to. Just stay by my side and work for me."

Jiangzhu replied, "Yes."

Upon hearing this, the other female immortals all looked at Jiangzhu, wishing they could take her place.

Mingniang also felt a hint of jealousy, but she remembered that she had met Jiangzhu before, and perhaps she could use this to gain the attention of Taixi Zhenjun through her.

Ao Tu told everyone to return to their places, while he led Jiang Zhu to the center of the palace.

In the center of the palace is a fairy spring, which divides into twelve streams that flow out of the palace and spread throughout the entire flower realm.

The primary duty of those male immortals was to use the spring water from this immortal spring to irrigate the flowers and plants of the Flower Realm.

Ao Tu is the source of the Immortal Spring, the place where the Immortal Spring's power is strongest.

Beside the fairy spring, there is a small open space where several spiritual herbs and immortal herbs are planted.

These are some of the most potent medicinal plants in this world. Golden Horn deliberately left them unpicked, saving them for Ao Tu.

Ao Tu reached out and picked all the medicinal plants.

There are three spiritual herbs and four immortal herbs in total.

The term "miracle drug" refers to medicinal herbs that possess a spiritual quality.

As for elixirs, as the name suggests, they are medicines from the celestial realm.

Before it took human form, Crimson Pearl was a Crimson Pearl Immortal Herb, which in a sense was a kind of immortal medicine.

This also reveals the cruelty of the celestial realm.

Compared to elixirs, elixirs are generally more precious. However, some elixirs are old enough and have sufficient spiritual energy, making them just as precious as elixirs.

However, for Ao Tu, these were all just ordinary things.

After picking these medicinal plants, Ao Tu took out the Spirit Root Bitter Bamboo and planted it on top of them.

Although this bitter bamboo is a spiritual root from countless generations ago, a spiritual root is still a spiritual root, far superior to these medicinal herbs.

Ao Tu instructed Jiang Zhu: "Water this bamboo every day and take good care of it."

Jiangzhu replied, "Yes, True Lord."

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu leaned closer and asked, "Why don't you call me benefactor anymore?"

Jiangzhu blushed slightly and said, "Now that my benefactor has returned to this state, I dare not speak recklessly, lest I ruin your important plans."

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu transformed back into his original form and laughed:

"Don't be afraid. There are only the two of us here, and no outsiders. Besides, many people know what I look like."

When Jiangzhu heard Ao Tu say "there are no outsiders," she couldn't help but feel secretly delighted.

Ao Tu said, "Alright, come with me. You're the one who's supposed to serve tea and water, make the bed, and do all the other things."

Jiangzhu blushed and followed.

Ao Tu told Jiang Zhu about some of the things she usually does.

Jiangzhu carefully wrote it down and kept it in her heart.

At that moment, someone outside requested an audience.

Ao Tu looked up and saw that it was indeed Venus, accompanied by his younger brother, the Little Crocodile Dragon, the Star Official of the Underworld.

Ao Tu was not surprised by the arrival of Venus.

The Supreme Dao Ancestor had already instructed Golden Horn to tell him.

The reason he wanted to become an official in heaven was that he accidentally revealed the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Da Zhen (a diagram of the celestial constellations) while he was at the Blackwater River, attracting the attention of all the gods by drawing stars and moon.

Therefore, the Jade Emperor wanted to take him to heaven to serve as an official.

Ao Tu didn't know what official position the Jade Emperor had originally assigned him, but he knew that it was the Supreme Dao Ancestor who later intervened and created this Flower Realm, appointing him to manage it.

Although Ao Tu doesn't know the specifics of the game involved, based on the information he has, he believes that this flower realm was used by the Supreme Dao Ancestor to protect him.

Although this flower realm was nominally given to the Queen Mother of the West, its entry and exit depended entirely on the Taiji Talisman, and its location next to the Tushita Palace in the Heaven of Separation and Hatred was of self-evident significance.

Suppose that Ao Tu is being chased by someone and is driven to the brink of despair, he has no choice but to activate the Taiji Talisman and seek refuge in the Flower Realm. Would the other party follow the trail to Lihentian and attack the Flower Realm to hunt him down?

Ao Tu believes that such people are probably not very common.

Ao Tu activated the talisman, releasing Venus and the little alligator dragon inside.

Upon seeing Ao Tu, the little alligator dragon exclaimed joyfully, "Fifth Brother!"

Venus hurriedly covered his eyes with his sleeve and asked, "True Lord Taixi? Where is True Lord Taixi?"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Why is Venus hiding? Don't you know who I am?"

Venus replied, "I don't know! I don't know!"

Ao Tu said, "Take a look."

Venus said, "I won't look! I won't look!"

This is Li Changgeng. Ao Tu couldn't help but smile, transforming back into the appearance of Tai Xi Zhenren, and said, "Tai Bai Jin Xing, this humble Daoist has arrived."

Venus then took off his sleeve and, seeing Ao Tu, said with delight:

"True Lord Taixi, we, the stars, have nothing to do, so we've held a Star-Viewing Gathering in the Dou Niu Palace. We've come to invite you to join us."

Ao Tu said, "I am not good at astrology, and I am afraid that my going would spoil your enjoyment."

Venus said, “True Lord, do not worry. This Star Gathering is just something we stars do when we have nothing else to do. We don’t actually go to the stars, we just make friends.”

Ao Tu asked, "Just making friends?"

Venus said, "I only make friends."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "This humble Taoist enjoys making friends the most. Venus, please lead the way."

Ao Tu ordered Jiang Zhu to manage the palace, and he left the Flower Realm with Tai Bai Jin Xing and Xiao Tuo Long, arriving at the Dou Niu Palace.

Inside the Bullfighting Palace, the scene remained the same.

All the star lords pretended not to know Ao Tu.

Ao Tu also pretended not to know them.

The two sides reconnected, addressing each other as brothers and friends, chatting about interesting things from all walks of life, never mentioning the word "star" at all.

Ao Tu was also delighted.

Let's see how long they can hold back from asking.

Thus, half a day passed, and none of the stars mentioned it.

Seeing that the system reward had been issued, Ao Tu took his leave.

All the stars came to see him off.

Finally, someone couldn't help but say, "True Lord Taixi, if you encounter any trouble in the future, please don't hesitate to come to us for help!"

Others chimed in, "Yes! Just come and call us!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Definitely! Definitely!"

(End of this chapter)