From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

"Then don't blame me for being impolite!"

Zen Master Wuchao realized that he had returned to his prime. He took out the Eastern Emperor Bell, and with a tremor, space and time fluctuated, and the universe shook as he attacked the Jade Emperor.

"How dare you!"

Just then, the Sun Star Lord stepped forward, letting out a thunderous roar that smoothed out the folds in space. Before the stunned Zen Master Wuchao could react, he snatched the Eastern Emperor Bell, clasped his hands together, and crushed it into pieces.

"East...Eastern Emperor Bell!"

Zen Master Wuchao could not imagine that the innate treasure, the Eastern Emperor Bell, was so easily destroyed by the Sun Star Lord, turning it into a pile of scrap iron.

"Your Majesty, I failed to discipline this soldier properly, allowing him to act so presumptuously in the palace," the Sun Star Lord said, bowing his head.

The Jade Emperor was quite willing to watch "himself" put on a show, so he said, "The cultivators of the prehistoric barbarians are a case of the strong preying on the weak. Let's spare him for now and take him to his post."

"Sir, obey the order!"

Sun Star Lord dragged the still terrified Zen Master Wuchao away from Lingxiao Palace and Tongming Palace, heading towards Sun Star.

It wasn't until the Sun God left that Zen Master Wuchao came to his senses and realized that he was dressed as a soldier and was to patrol with the other soldiers.

None of these soldiers possessed the bloodline of the Golden Crow, yet each of them could withstand the scorching heat of the true sun fire, as if they possessed their own laws and could command the true sun fire.

Where have I come to?

Zen Master Wuchao was stunned on the spot, but a scripture appeared in his mind, namely the Heart Sutra.

He also knew this scripture, which was obtained by two Buddhist saints through their enlightenment of the Heavenly Way. However, although the text itself was the same, the method of practice differed. It involved establishing the Three Realms and Nine Grounds within the human body, creating a human-body Mount Sumeru, casting a human-body pagoda, practicing inner enlightenment and outer observation of the world, unifying knowledge and action, and progressing from Arhat to Bodhisattva, and then to Buddha…

What an exquisite technique this is!

The difficulty of spiritual practice lies in the fact that one must not only liberate oneself but also help the world. If one merely secludes oneself in a corner and practices asceticism, even after thousands of years of practice, it will still be difficult to attain Buddhahood.

"So, what kind of world did the Great Sage throw me into?"

Zen Master Wuchao was somewhat at a loss, yet also grateful to Jiang Liu...

···

Is he dead?

As the flames dissipated, Kui Lang was still reeling from the shock of the immortals and Buddhas persecuting the Great Sage to death, muttering to himself.

"If I remember him, he will not die."

Jiang Liu smiled slightly, patted Kui Lang on the shoulder to wake him up, and then went down the path on the west side of the mountain. Without turning his head, he waved and said, "Let's go, Brother Kui and Sister-in-law, the road ahead is long."

Kui Lang was startled and quickly called to his wife and laborers, who pulled the carriage down the mountain along the path.

This journey took place again in March and May. The group traveled on the road, enduring wind and rain, sleeping under the moon and stars. Even in the sweltering heat of summer, none of them gave up halfway.

Kui Lang, Bai Hua Ai, and the eight laborers were, after all, mortals, and their journey was slower. Therefore, Jiang Liu taught them the art of the Small Heavenly Circuit.

After three to five months of perseverance, he also gained a sense of Qi. Although he could not perform any magic, his strength was much stronger than before.

As the group was walking, they crossed a cliff and suddenly came to a desert. The ground was yellow and the grass was bitter. When the wind blew, yellow sand turned into mist, accompanied by a slight fishy smell.

"Brother, should we go back?"

Jiang Liu covered his eyes with his hand and joked, "Judging by my eyes, this sandy land is eight hundred miles long, and there are gusts of demonic wind. There are probably no fewer than a thousand lesser demons."

Upon hearing that there were hundreds or thousands of lesser demons, Kui Lang was startled, but having already come from the Song Dynasty to this territory of the Tibetan Kingdom, how could he possibly back down?

He then said, “Brother Yuanjue is quite fond of bluffing people. This place is nearly ten thousand miles away from the territory of the Great Song Dynasty. It is only eight hundred miles away. How can we retreat?”

"That's truly a noble ambition!"

Jiang Liu praised him, but he also saw through people's hearts. He knew that Kui Lang was just showing off in front of his wife. It was like a mountain climber. Before reaching the halfway point, his legs would go weak and his muscles would go numb. He would give up halfway. But once he passed the halfway point, he would feel that the way up was shorter than the way down, and he would hold his breath and want to reach the top.

"Then I will risk my life to accompany you and help you cross Huangfeng Ridge."

Jiang Liu laughed heartily, combed the white horse's mane, and asked, "Ba Jing, have you been to Huangfeng Ridge before?"

"Last time, when I accompanied Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West, we passed through Huangfeng Ridge. But back then, this place was not so desolate. The pine trees were always there and the bamboos were always growing."

Ba Jing gazed at the vast expanse of yellow sand, his eyes grave. "Senior Brother, it must be that yellow-haired weasel that has returned to this place to cause trouble again, cultivating the Samadhi Divine Wind, devouring the spiritual essence of this eight-hundred-mile-long land, not even sparing the earth's veins, which is why this place is so desolate."

"Senior brother, how powerful is that Samadhi Divine Wind?" Liang Luzhen asked curiously.

"Indeed, it is incredibly powerful!"

Ba Jing said, "Back then, our eldest brother couldn't withstand that wind and was injured in the eyes, so he was defeated... Eldest brother, on this journey, you will surely encounter that yellow-haired weasel. To deal with the Samadhi Divine Wind, you must obtain the Wind-Fixing Pearl of Lingji Bodhisattva."

Jiang Liu remained noncommittal.

If it were "Journey to the West", the Bodhisattva Lingji would not have possessed the Wind-Fixing Pearl, but rather the Wind-Fixing Pill, which he would eventually give to Sun Wukong during the Flaming Mountain ordeal. Sun Wukong would swallow it and it would become one with his internal organs, making him no longer afraid of the wind.

However, the Wind-Fixing Pearl held by Lingji in this world is a magical artifact specifically used to stabilize the wind, so naturally it cannot be swallowed by his Monkey King.

Upon realizing this, Jiang Liu said, "This Lingji Bodhisattva is just like that old ape on my Flower Fruit Mountain; he's a one-legged Bodhisattva, and now he's probably in trouble himself."

Having said that, Jiang Liu glanced at the creatures on the cart and said to Kui Lang, "I will take care of subduing demons and monsters, but the desert ahead is vast and the cart may have difficulty moving. We will need to find some camels."

"But this desert is desolate, without a single living creature in sight. Where can we find camels?"

Kui Lang was also filled with sorrow.

"Huangfengling, stretching for eight hundred li, was once a rich and prosperous land outside the Great Wall."

Just then.

The authentic Shaanxi storytelling style drifted from afar, followed by the appearance of a thin, headless monk wearing a monk's robe, adorned with beads, and carrying a sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument).

Seeing that the monk was headless but could walk like a normal person and even sing, Kui Lang exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, isn't that a monster?"

"No, that's a one-legged bodhisattva."

As Jiang Liu finished speaking, the singing paused for a moment before continuing, "One day, a rat infestation arose out of nowhere, and the place was shrouded in miasma, with no trace of human presence."

Seeing that he was still singing, Jiang Liu shouted: "Sanxian, sanxian, my resentment is hard to express. I am defeated and bullied by slaves, ashamed to face the Buddha. I am distressed and troubled, hatred arises from kindness. The wind and sand cover it, who can tell the truth from the falsehood?"

Upon hearing this, the headless monk stopped singing, transformed into a gust of sand, and drifted to Jiang Liu's side. He then reverted to his headless form, holding a sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument) in one hand and a palm raised in the other. He bowed slightly to Jiang Liu and asked, "Young benefactor, you are quite different from the other monkeys who have been here. You are eloquent and persuasive, or perhaps you are the true chosen one."

"Let's not talk about these things. Talent is just a side skill. Escorting caravans to Baoxiang is my main business now. It's just that the desert road is difficult to travel. Do you, headless bodhisattva, know where there are camels?"

Jiang Liu asked directly.

Headless Monk: "???"

Chapter 1405 The Monkey and the Dog Arrive Together

The chosen one doesn't take finding one's innate talent as his mission, but instead becomes a merchant... no, a protector for merchants?

How could he have such a dream!

The headless monk remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "I do indeed have a camel."

Having said that, he led the way.

Jiang Liu was about to follow, but Kui Lang was a little scared and said, "Master, this person has no head. If he's not a demon, he's a ghost. Do we really have to follow him?"

"The world is bright and clear, where would there be ghosts?"

Jiang Liu reassured him, "Even if he really is a ghost, he doesn't have a head, so even if he wanted to eat people, he couldn't say it."

"He can still sing even though he has no mouth," Kyu-long retorted.

That's ventriloquism.

Jiang Liu was knowledgeable and experienced, and spoke with great conviction.

Upon hearing this...

The headless monk felt helpless.

Kui Lang had no choice but to call his wife and laborers to push the cart together and follow the headless monk. Before long, they arrived at a post station built inside a cave.

Inside the post station were two people. One had a monkey's head, was dressed in hemp clothes, and was lying next to a wine vat with a flushed face, hiccuping from drinking. The other had a dog's head, was wearing a Taoist robe, and was fanning the fire in front of a furnace, as if he were refining elixirs.

"There are monsters!"

Na Kui Lang was startled and said to Jiang Liu, "Master Yuanjue, this headless monk must have conspired with these two monsters to lure us here and eat us."

"Brother, don't be afraid. Pangu created all living beings, and all living beings are brothers. We were born into this world together, and we are all just trying to live. How can we judge a book by its cover?"

Jiang Liu offered a reassuring remark, then looked at the two men, recognizing them as the Monkey and the Dog, and knowing that they were the Six Ding and Six Jia of the Three Realms of the Primordial World.

But if we really want to discuss it according to the Taoist concepts that Jiang Liu is familiar with—

The Twelve Earthly Branches are the lunar deities that govern the twelve months, corresponding to the twelve zodiac animals. They are also known as the "Twelve Lunar Generals" and are related to the solar terms and the movement of the sun.

In the context of human spiritual practice, it corresponds to the twelve primary meridians of the human body, representing one's control over the timing and intensity of practice, emphasizing internal cultivation at the spiritual level.

The Six Ding and Six Jia are guardian deities derived from the combination of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, who are in charge of using thunder to subdue ghosts and exorcise evil spirits and ward off disasters.

When applied to human spiritual practice, although it corresponds to the twelve primary meridians, it focuses on constructing corresponding talismans through the rhythms of the twelve primary meridians for external application.

However, there is no doubt that in the Taoist mythological system, the Twelve Earthly Branches and the Six Ding and Six Jia are two different systems, one in essence but two in application.

in short.

If one cultivates in human form, there is no problem in combining the Twelve Yuan Chen with the Six Ding and Six Jia, since they correspond to the twelve regular meridians of the human body. Internally, they are used to cultivate and control the timing, while externally, they are used to protect the body and subdue demons.

However, if a real Three Realms system is to be established, the Twelve Yuan Chen and the Six Ding and Six Jia must be separated, one focusing on the internal and the other on the external, in order to operate efficiently for a long time.

This is exactly what is meant by specialization.

If the two systems were merged into one, not only would the efficiency of the system's operation decrease, but the costs would also continue to increase. This is also a manifestation of the Heavenly Court's short-sighted exploitation of all living beings in the primordial world.

Thinking of this, Jiang Liu chuckled and said to Shen Hou, "I seem to have smelled your scent in Black Wind Mountain?"

"cough!"

Shen Hou glared at him, speechless, and said, "Your nose is even more sensitive than that of the dog."

This monkey was indeed brewing wine on Black Wind Mountain at the beginning, waiting for the chosen one... only because they had been banished to the mortal world by the Heavenly Court and become wandering demons. Moreover, when they were the Six Ding and Six Jia in Heaven, they had a good relationship with the Great Sage and were willing to lend him a hand.

I just never expected—

This chosen one was different from the other monkeys from Flower Fruit Mountain. He looked exactly like the Great Sage, except that he always had a smile on his face and was eloquent. He even gave himself the name "Gu Yue Yuan Jue".

But more importantly, he didn't play by the rules. He transformed into a woman and tricked the stupid black bear, easily taking away the "Looking Forward to Joy" root... Left with no other choice, this Monkey had to rush to Yellow Wind Ridge first to find the Dog and discuss the matter.

“Two bodhisattvas, we have come here with the headless bodhisattva because we want some camels to transport living creatures across this vast desert,” Jiang Liu said, revealing his purpose.

"Buddha?"