Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 45, Staying with Friends at Wuzhuang Temple (Part 8) Requesting monthly votes, extra chapter tonight.
Meanwhile, Pigsy interfered with Ao Tu's attempt to heal the tree.

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu smiled and said to Zhenyuan Daxian, "Great Immortal, your temple is quite self-sufficient."

Zhenyuan Daxian asked, "How so?"

Ao Tu said, “I see some fruits and vegetables growing in the back garden, and pigs are even raised in the front hall! Aren’t they self-sufficient? Since the ginseng fruit is gone, why not cut some pork for me as a reward?”

Zhenyuan Daxian laughed and said, "Very good, fellow Daoist, what kind of meat do you want?"

Ao Tu said, "I have heard that pork loin is the best, with seven layers in between, and it is the most delicious."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy cried out, "Master! I, Old Pig, have encountered a Taoist priest who loves to eat pork! He's going to eat me!"

Tang Sanzang was so frightened that he hurriedly pleaded for Zhu Bajie's life.

Ao Tu and Zhenyuan Daxian smiled together and entered the hall.

Zhenyuan Daxian immediately ordered Qingfeng to prepare tea and said to Aotu:
"I am deeply grateful to you, fellow Daoist, for traveling so far to tend to my precious tree. However, I have already made a bet with Sun Wukong, and I cannot break my promise. I would like to ask you to stay for a few days. Whoever saves the spiritual root, I will offer you a ginseng fruit as a token of my gratitude."

Ao Tu said, "Great Immortal, you value integrity, and I admire you greatly."

So Ao Tu stayed at Wuzhuang Temple, waiting for Sun Wukong to return with the solution.

This is exactly what Ao Tu hoped to see.

During this time, Ao Tu and Zhen Yuan Da Xian sat and talked.

It was said to be a discussion of Taoism, but in reality, it was mostly Zhenyuan Daxian preaching to Ao Tu.

Only when it comes to the Five Elements, because Ao Tu has comprehended the Five-Colored Divine Light, can he say something about it.

Ao Tu is currently practicing the Dragon Clan's inherited cultivation method.

Born at the beginning of heaven and earth, when dragons and phoenixes were born.

It belongs neither to Tao nor to Zen, but the principles of the Great Tao lead to the same destination through different paths. Under the guidance of Zhenyuan Daxian, the medicinal power of the immortal elixir and peaches that Ao Tu had consumed began to be refined within his body, and his cultivation naturally broke through to the mid-stage of the Golden Immortal realm, with even greater progress.

Ao Tu bowed and thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your kindness in imparting your knowledge, senior!"

Zhenyuan Daxian laughed and said, "Don't mention senior. If you were the son-in-law of the Old Mother of Lishan, it would be fine for you to call me senior. Now that you are Fuzhu Zhenshi Tianzun, we should treat each other as peers and call each other fellow Daoists."

Ao Tu smiled and bowed.

Zhenyuan Daxian then said, "If your divine light were accompanied by the treasures of the Five Elements, your supernatural powers would be even greater."

Ao Tu pondered, "Of the five elements, which treasure is the best?"

Zhenyuan Daxian said, "The highest grade is naturally the Twelve-Grade Creation Green Lotus, the Twelve-Grade Merit Golden Lotus, the Twelve-Grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus, the Twelve-Grade Purification White Lotus, and the Twelve-Grade Annihilation Black Lotus."

Ao Tu smiled bitterly, "Difficult! Difficult! Difficult! Are there any other Five Elements treasures?"

Zhenyuan Daxian said: "The flags above are the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag, the Eastern Azure Lotus Treasure Flag, the Southern Lidi Flame Flag, the Western Plain Cloud Flag, and the Northern Xuanyuan Water Control Flag."

Ao Tu shook his head and said, "Difficult! Difficult! Even getting one flag is difficult. Are there any other options?"

Zhenyuan Daxian pondered and said, "Those of mediocre talent, even if they can amass treasures, will never amount to anything and will find it difficult to attain the Great Dao. My spiritual root is the essence of innate Wu Earth. If you do not mind, I am willing to pluck a branch and give it to you as a token of our predestined connection."

Ao Tu was overjoyed and thanked him profusely.

Meanwhile, Wukong went to the Eastern Ocean and hurried to the Penglai Wonderland.

Wukong went straight to Penglai. Outside the White Cloud Cave, under the shade of a pine tree, three old men were playing Go: the one watching the game was the God of Longevity, and the players were the God of Fortune and the God of Prosperity.

Wukong stepped forward and said, "Brothers, I bow to you." The three stars, seeing this, brushed aside the chessboard and returned the bow, saying, "Great Sage, what brings you here?"

Wukong was initially hesitant to speak, using idle chatter to evade the issue, but later he recounted the events in detail.

Samsung was surprised to hear this:
"That Zhenyuan Daxian is the ancestor of all earth immortals, how dare you destroy his precious tree? That ginseng fruit tree is the root of an immortal tree, how can we, with our millet-sized elixirs, cure it? There is no cure! There is no cure!"

Upon hearing this, Wukong frowned deeply, his brows furrowing in deep furrows.

Fuxing said, "Great Sage, if there is no solution here, we can search elsewhere. Why are you so troubled?"

Wukong said, “Finding it is easy; even if I travel to the ends of the earth and go through the thirty-six heavens, I can still get there; it’s just that my Tang Elder is strict and narrow-minded, and he only gave me three days. If I don’t get three days, he will recite the Tightening-Headband Mantra.”

Samsung laughed.

After a moment, the God of Longevity said, “Great Sage, don’t worry. Although Zhenyuan Daxian is of a higher generation, he is still an acquaintance of ours. Firstly, we haven’t visited him in a long time; secondly, it is a favor from you, Great Sage. Now the three of us will go to see him and tell you our situation. We will ask Tang Sanzang not to recite the Tightening Spell, but wait for you to obtain it before we part ways.”

Wukong said, "Thank you! Thank you! Please, my three brothers, put in a good word for me. I'm off now."

Wukong's departure from Samsung is not mentioned.

The three stars rode on auspicious light and headed towards Wuzhuang Temple.

The people in the temple heard the cry of a crane in the sky; it turned out that the three elders had arrived.

Having gazed upon the clear breeze and bright moon, I hastily reported this to the Great Immortal Zhenyuan.

Zhenyuan Daxian came out to greet them.

The three stars greeted Zhenyuan Daxian with the respect due to a junior before they sat down to talk.

After they were seated, Lu Xing told them about Wukong's search for a solution and asked Tang Sanzang not to recite the "Tightening-Headband Mantra".

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang dared not disobey and repeatedly replied, "I dare not recite it, I dare not recite it."

Samsung has met Ao Tu again.

Zhen Yuanzi introduced him, saying, "This is the Western Heavenly Venerable Fuzhu Zhenshi, who has come to heal my precious tree. However, he was delayed because he had a bet with Sun Wukong."

When Sanxing saw that Ao Tu dared to use this Taoist title, he was even more surprised and dared not be negligent, treating him with respect.

Meanwhile, Wukong left Penglai and went to Fangzhang Immortal Mountain.

This is the sacred site of the Eastern Emperor. Wukong paid his respects to the Emperor and recounted the events that had transpired.

The Eastern Emperor said, “You monkey, you’re always causing trouble. That Zhen Yuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple, whose holy title is ‘Emperor of the World,’ is the ancestor of all earth immortals. How could you offend him? Although I have a ‘Nine-Turn Taiyi Rejuvenating Pill’ that can cure all living beings in the world, it cannot heal the spiritual root created by the heavens and earth. I have no cure! I have no cure!”

Wukong returned to Yingzhou Island and met the Nine Elders of Yingzhou. He recounted the events that had happened and asked for a cure and a remedy for the immortal tree.

When the nine elders heard that Wukong had knocked down Zhenyuan Daxian's fruit tree, they were all greatly shocked and exclaimed:

"You've really caused a lot of trouble! We're at our wits' end!"

Wukong had no choice but to bid farewell and searched all over the four continents and traveled through all the heavens, but he could not find a cure.

They turned to the Eastern Ocean, arrived at Mount Luojia, and descended from the clouds.

The Bodhisattva Guanyin was in the Purple Bamboo Grove, working together with the great gods, Moksha, and the Dragon Girl to cast a spell. The Bodhisattva was the main deity, and the others were the assistants. It was unclear what they were refining.

In the sky, the light of the sun, moon, and stars converged and condensed into a single point, vaguely transforming into a drop of divine water, but it was not complete, only less than half a drop.

(End of this chapter)