From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

The dog shook its head and pointed at the headless monk, saying, "He is indeed a Bodhisattva, but we are not."

“All those who cultivate themselves and are virtuous are Bodhisattvas.”

Jiang Liu smiled.

"Heh, just a monkey who likes to read. But the principles in books are all used to fool people; they can't be taken seriously." Dog Xu grinned, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"When falsehood is taken for truth, even truth becomes falsehood."

Jiang Liu chuckled.

"Very well, you have lofty aspirations, we are not as good as you... I only hope that you will always be like this and never lose this ambition."

At this point, Xu Gou sighed and said, "Speaking of camels, I recently acquired a batch from the nearby Shamen Village, which cost me some pills. I wonder what you would like to exchange for them?"

"We need twenty camels, at twenty taels per camel, what do you think?" Kui Lang had come to his senses by this time, and although he knew that the dog and the monkey did not eat people, he had become bolder and discussed the matter.

What do I need money for?

Shenhou let out a burp, and a sour smell of alcohol filled the air. "Most of the people in Huangfengling are already dead. Even if they have money, there's nowhere to buy alcohol."

The dog sat cross-legged in front of the alchemy furnace and said, "I only love alchemy and don't want money. If you can help me find some rare flowers and herbs, I can give you the camel."

"Would dragon horns be feasible?"

Jiang Liu stroked the white horse, and with its approval, took out the dragon horn.

Upon seeing the dragon horns, Xu Gou paused for a moment, then glanced at the white horse that had followed him in. His gaze flickered slightly, and he sighed, "Your Eight Heavenly Dragons are indeed very loyal to your eldest brother."

"When the mind is calmed and the will is stilled, one can cultivate one's nature and life and achieve great results. The cycle of water and fire revolves throughout the body; this is not loyalty but affection."

This poem, titled "The Small Heavenly Circuit of Water and Fire," reveals the essence of Qi cultivation and also expresses Jiang Liu's intentions. It is not that the White Dragon is loyal to Sun Wukong, but that the Eight Pure Horses have the right path in their hearts and are willing to follow him westward, to unite knowledge and action in order to attain enlightenment.

The dog took the dragon horn and said to the headless monk, "Bodhisattva, take them to the backyard to get the camel. I still need to refine elixirs. This dragon horn is extraordinary."

Thank you.

Jiang Liu clasped his hands in thanks and was about to go to the backyard with Kui Lang and the others when he heard Shen Hou say, "Brother, wait a minute, I have some new wine, would you like to try some?"

The aroma of wine wafted through the air, but Jiang Liu remained unmoved. Liang Luzhen, however, swallowed hard, his nose twitching slightly, already craving the wine.

Jiang Liu glanced at the red gourd at his waist, looked eastward, reached into the void, grabbed a green gourd, refined it with his water and fire skills, and threw it into Liang Luzhen's hand, saying, "Junior brother, here's a wine gourd for you."

"what?"

Liang Luzhen was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, "Thank you, Senior Brother."

"Get him a pot of wine."

Jiang Liu gave the instructions.

Aren't you going to drink?

Shen Hou bowed, the drunkenness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a look of confusion, wondering if this chosen one was indeed the Great Sage Sun Wukong.

"Wine is brewed from grains, which are the essence of heaven and earth, containing the heart of the brewer. If you are full of sorrow, no matter how mellow the wine is, it will still have a bitter taste. I can't stand the smell."

Jiang Liu, however, was quite frank: "I'll buy your wine when it carries a celebratory or joyous meaning."

Shenhou: "..."

Having his sorrows exposed, Shenhou had no choice but to take the gourd from Liang Luzhen and pour him a pot of wine...

Chapter 1406 Hearing Old Stories at Dingfeng Manor

After fetching the camels from the backyard and attaching the supplies, Jiang Liu and his group bid farewell to Shenhou and Xugou, found their direction, and continued westward.

Liang Luzhen obtained Jiang Liu's wine gourd, filled it with Shen Hou's wine, went outside the courtyard wall, took a big gulp, and exclaimed, "Senior Brother, the wine is wonderful, how can it contain the sorrow you speak of?"

"Your cultivation is still shallow, and you have just entered the mortal world, so naturally you cannot discern the truth."

Jiang Liu shook his head. Seeing that he was drinking heartily, he advised, "Drink less. Before you cross this desert, you won't be able to turn back to ask that monkey for more wine."

Upon hearing this, Liang Luzhen quickly put the wine cork back on, hung the green gourd on his waist, and said, "Then I'll have to drink sparingly."

"You little wolf, don't just put on an act in front of your senior brother. If you get into trouble later while drinking, I won't let you off the hook."

Old Ford chuckled and teased.

"Am I the kind of person who would make mistakes if I drank?" Liang Luzhen snorted coldly, holding a Xuanhua axe, and ran to the front of the caravan to scout ahead.

Although Granny Huang is by Liang Luzhen's side, it will probably take him quite some time to settle down.

"Ahead lies Dingfeng Manor."

The headless monk held a sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument) in one hand and pointed to the mountain village in front of him with the other, saying, "Fortunately, the Great Sage borrowed the power of Buddha to subdue the Yellow Wind Monster, thus calming the Yellow Wind."

To commemorate this, the local people built Dingfeng Village, a prosperous town with thousands of inhabitants, comparable to a capital city. They also built temples and shrines, sculpted golden statues of Buddha, and it flourished with incense offerings.

"Ugh!"

At this point, the headless monk sighed, "It's a pity that the yellow-haired beast has returned, stirring up trouble and plundering spiritual energy, turning this once lush and green land into a barren wasteland of yellow sand, devoid of any life..."

Jiang Liu did not respond.

Upon arriving at Dingfeng Manor, the headless monk vanished in a gust of sand, as if unwilling to meet the mortals of the manor in his headless form.

A wall of iron and wood, several meters high, was erected outside the village, and the gate was tightly closed.

Kui Lang straightened his clothes and, accompanied by two laborers, went to knock on the door: "Is anyone home? We are merchants passing through on our way to Baoxiang. We are passing by your village and would like to purchase some water, food, and dry rations."

Two heads peeked out from the watchtowers on either side of the gate. Seeing a caravan standing outside, they called out, "Please wait outside."

In no time.

The door opened.

An old man dressed in a gray-yellow robe stepped out. He was the village chief of Dingfeng Village. He looked Kuilang and the others over and then his gaze fell on Jiang Liu, Fude, and Luzhen. He asked with some doubt, "Are you monsters?"

"We are not monsters, but practitioners who have traveled westward."

Jiang Liu spoke, reassuring the old man, "I come from Flower Fruit Mountain, and I am a descendant of Sun Wukong, who passed through your village five hundred years ago."

The village chief stared intently, circled the river several times, looked him up and down, and exclaimed three times, "So alike! So alike! So alike!" He then said, "You look nine-nine percent like the portrait of Sun Wukong left by my ancestor! Are you truly a descendant of Sun Wukong?"

thereafter.

The village chief invited everyone to his estate to serve tea.

Tea time is over.

The village chief asked, "Young traveler, have you encountered any monsters on your journey?"

“There are many demons on the road to the West, so it’s natural to encounter them. But along the way, I have eliminated all the evil demons.” After saying this, Jiang Liu asked directly, “Old village chief, are there any monsters in your area?”

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The village chief didn't stand on ceremony and hurriedly said, "Further west, there is a village called Shamen, which was originally part of Dingfeng Manor's territory, but it was taken over by a group of rat demons, and the villagers were all eaten by those monsters!"

"Oh?"

Jiang Liu drew out his words and said with a chuckle, "Since you have been able to hold out until now, you must have something to rely on."

"We have something to rely on."

The old village chief sighed deeply, "In the past, there was a group of great shamans in the village. It is said that they were descendants of the ancient shaman clan. They merged with humans and were born with superhuman strength. They were the most powerful warriors in the village and could protect the village's peace. But... alas!"

"Village chief, please don't sigh. I hope you can explain yourself clearly."

Jiang Liu took a sip of tea and said frankly, "If we want to subdue the demon, we need to know ourselves and our enemy. It would be even better if there were any skilled people in the manor who could come and help me."

"But those great shamans are dead and have become demons, which we call Bone-Terrors. They wander around Huangfeng Ridge, and they will beat and kill anyone they encounter."

The old village chief sighed, and seeing that Jiang Liu's eyes were clear and he didn't have the airs of a sorcerer, he told the truth, "When I was young, there were still some bandits in this area. The villagers in the village were hunting and gathering herbs in the mountains. They saw that there were many rat demons in the mountains, so they went to the great shaman to discuss asking them to investigate the situation."

"But the great shamans are born with superhuman strength, wielding spears and shields with ease. Even the lesser demons in the forest dare not cause them trouble. In fact, for their own safety, these demons have to bring them delicacies from the mountains and wild animals to offer as sacrifices..."

no doubt.

The people of the village thus developed resentment towards the great shamans.

Although the high status of the shamans is not due to their strong combat power, but rather because their strength enables them to help the villagers defend against invading monsters.

The shaman defended against the mountain monsters, and the villagers provided food, clothing, and shelter. The two sides should have had a mutually beneficial relationship, or even a relationship of shared destiny.

The problem is that the great shamans are profiting from both sides.

They enjoyed the food, clothing, and worship offered by the villagers, and also received benefits from the mountain spirits...

that day.

The yellow wind reached the edge of Yellow Wind Ridge, and the monsters that originally lived in the mountains according to the way of nature bared their fangs, devouring cattle and sheep, capturing infants, and causing unrest in the village.

Urged by the villagers, the high priests had no choice but to take a shield in one hand and a gun in the other and go out to fight the restless monsters.

However, the number of monsters was vast, while there were only twenty or thirty great shamans. Even with their innate superhuman strength, they were no match for them and could only flee in defeat, running back outside the village.

"At that time, those monsters were chasing after the great shamans. In addition, they had been enjoying the delicacies offered by the monsters in the past. The villagers had long had grievances against them and even felt that they had sided with the monsters. Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, in order to protect the peace of the whole village, I decided not to let them open the door."

As he spoke, the village chief's eyes dimmed slightly, but he straightened his chest. "Master, tell me, did I do something wrong by not opening the door?"

"Village chief, do you think you did something wrong?"

Jiang Liu put down his teacup and asked in return.

"That's right!"

The village chief, however, said firmly, "I did nothing wrong! If we open the door and the great shamans come in, those monsters will also break in. In that case, it won't just be the great shamans who die, but also the whole village, young and old."

"Then that's correct."

Jiang Liu smiled faintly and didn't preach any grand principles to the village chief.

After all, he is just a village chief from a small village. Being able to make choices at critical moments already shows heroic qualities. How can we ask for more?

Upon hearing that Sun Wukong's descendants said he was right, the village chief finally felt relieved.

Jiang Liu then asked, "But without the Great Shaman, how have you managed to hold on until now?"

"Without the Great Shaman, the people of the village are suffering terribly."

Those monsters seemed to understand the art of herding, not capturing us all at once, but coming to abduct people every six months...

The village originally had nearly five thousand people, but now only nine hundred remain.

Fortunately, a swordsman came a year ago. He was very skilled and brought his wife and children with him.