From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

The river flows, transforming the mind into a monkey; the mind and spirit become one, and the will is harnessed to circulate throughout the heavens.

The wood mother leads the mind horse, the water nourishes the wood body and purifies its form, the eight purifications and eight precepts solidify the source and flow.

The Golden Lord, following the will of the Monkey King, forged his golden body into a Daoist form through fire, and comprehended the void to create the elixir cauldron.

The Yellow Woman establishes the central palace, balancing Yin and Yang with metal and wood. The wood roots firmly planted in the soil, strengthening the foundation; the golden radiance hidden in the soil nurtures creation. The five elements gather in body and mind; knowledge and action unite to refine the sacred embryo.

It is:

The mind, like a restless monkey, roams the heavens, refining the union of the Metal God and the Wood Goddess. When the Wood Goddess and Metal Goddess are incompatible, the Yellow Woman is summoned to harmonize their temperaments. The Five Elements are unified and used by the mind, opening the myriad apertures of the heavens. When the achievement and rank are attained, even immortality or Buddhahood is but a single thought of sincerity.

Judging from the perspective of spiritual cultivation in "Journey to the West", when Tang Sanzang arrived at the Western Paradise, he had not truly cultivated the Golden Elixir and Holy Embryo.

reason?

This is because it was Sha Wujing who led the horse and Zhu Bajie who carried the load.

As the Earth element in the Central Palace, Huang Po-Sha Wujing does not carry the burden of balancing Yin and Yang, but instead leads the horse... Huang Po leads the horse of intention, water and earth flow together, and although it will not get lost, who will harmonize Yin and Yang?

Therefore, when the Buddha bestowed titles, only the master Tang Sanzang, the eldest disciple Sun Wukong, and the third disciple Sha Wujing were granted the highest official titles, while Zhu Bajie and the White Horse were only granted the lowest official titles.

This is because the Mind Horse and the Wood Mother did not truly achieve the same unity as Wukong, the Mind Monkey and the Golden Duke; they remained separate. Therefore, in terms of cultivation, these two are "hard-working but without merit."

of course.

Given Pigsy's temperament on the journey to the West, if he were really made to lead the horse... even if Tang Sanzang cultivated for ten more lifetimes, he still wouldn't be able to reach the Western Paradise.

As for why the White Dragon Horse's cultivation in "Journey to the West" was insufficient...

It's simply because he's the biggest slacker in the team.

In the Journey to the West, Guanyin sawed off his dragon horns and removed his dragon pearl at Eagle's Sorrow Gorge, making him Tang Sanzang's mount. At the same time, she hoped that he would abandon the tangible inner alchemy path of the dragon pearl and cultivate the intangible inner elixir to obtain true immortality.

But what about the dragon horse?

Apart from transforming into human form in Baoxiang Kingdom to fight against the Kui Mulang and contributing a third of his strength, he mostly pretended to be deaf and dumb, or just ate grass, truly treating himself like a horse.

With this level of understanding, how can you expect to attain the status of Arhat, Bodhisattva, or Buddha?

Do you really think the journey to enlightenment is a workplace?

Although the primordial dragon horse and primordial Bajie under Jiang Liu's hooves are slightly different in temperament from Bajie and the dragon horse in the Journey to the West, they are not much different. Moreover, they have already traveled the journey to the West. Although that "journey" was full of scheming and conspiracy, the experience was engraved in their hearts, which made their temperaments change significantly.

Dragon Horse dared to betray Mount Ling for the sake of Monkey King...

Pigsy searches for the necessary resources to revive the Great Sage Equal to Heaven...

now.

Pigsy's mind is made up, and the dragon horse's will is at peace. As long as they keep going, without giving up or abandoning anything, they will surely achieve success and attain enlightenment, and the Buddha will sit in their hearts.

After crossing the river, Jiang Liu and the others disembarked. Sha Wujing wiped away his tears and called out, "Eldest brother, second brother, take care!"

"Take care of yourself."

Jiang Liu bid farewell, stretched out his hand, and a ray of light entered Sha Wujing's head. He said, "This is the method of cultivating the Heart Sutra that I obtained in the cycle of reincarnation. It is different from the Heart Sutra cultivated by the Buddhas of the Western Paradise. I hope you will cultivate it as soon as possible, and perhaps you will gain something from it."

Upon learning that this Heart Sutra could allow one to cultivate the Three Realms, Nine Lands, and Great Thousand Worlds within one's body, reflecting countless scenes of the primordial world, Sha Wujing was horrified. Just as he regained his senses, he saw that Jiang Liu and his group had already gone far away.

He hurriedly jumped off the boat, knelt on the riverbank, and kowtowed three times and nine times. Only after three days and three nights did he get up and return to the gourd boat. While practicing the Heart Sutra method taught by Jiang Liu, he continued his life as a ferryman, helping others and himself, and gradually entering the state of "Bodhisattva".

Let's leave that aside for now.

Meanwhile, inside the caravan that Jiang Liu was protecting, Baihua asked Jiang Liu, "You wouldn't happen to be the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, would you?"

"I am the Monkey King, but I am not him. If I were to name myself, I am now Gu Yue Yuan Jue." Jiang Liu smiled and slowly shook his head.

"Are immortals and Buddhas... really that dark?"

Na Kui Lang also rode forward, asking curiously.

"Brother Kui, you've certainly grown quite bold." Seeing his reaction, Jiang Liu chuckled and gave an example, "In terms of sheer darkness, it falls short. But to make a comparison—"

What do you think of the Song Dynasty court?

"understood."

Kui Lang suddenly realized, "The Heavenly Court is the imperial court in the heavens."

"Brother, you do have a knack for wisdom."

Jiang Liu praised, "If he does not forget his original aspirations when he becomes the ruler of the country in the future, the torch will surely be passed on forever."

"The monk was joking; it shouldn't be taken seriously."

The ruler?

If he were still in the Song Dynasty, he had only been there in his dreams. But having traveled this far, he had broadened his horizons and learned some techniques of Qi cultivation. He felt somewhat apprehensive about the position of "superior man"... He knew his own abilities; he was capable as a merchant, but as a ruler—

He must be a foolish ruler.

Let's not harm the people.

"Ha ha!"

Jiang Liu laughed and was about to tease him again when he heard Bajie mutter, "You look familiar to me. Could you be the reincarnation of Kui Mulang? And this sister-in-law also looks familiar to me. Could you be the reincarnation of Baihuaxiu?"

"Don't talk nonsense, you idiot."

Jiang Liu admonished.

"Yes, yes, you're the only one who knows how to order me around." Pigsy grunted, but his eyes were full of joy as he tightened his grip on the reins, not letting up at all.

Kui Lang and Bai Hua Ai, however, were curious: "May I ask, Master, what is the relationship between Kui Mu Lang and Bai Hua Xiu? Are they monsters you encountered on your journey to the West? I remember Kui Mu Lang is one of the Twenty-Eight Constellations, right?"

"That Kui Mulang is indeed one of the Twenty-Eight Constellations, and he and Baihua Xiu were a pair of star-crossed lovers..."

The relationship between the two stories in "Journey to the West" is not that complicated. Both characters longed to descend to the mortal world, but their paths to this world were different.

The flowers, ashamed of their beauty, descended to the mortal realm through proper channels—reincarnation, forgetting their past lives.

Kui Mulang, however, descended to the mortal realm without permission—retaining his magical powers and memories, and became a monster.

Then--

Kui Mulang forcibly abducted a princess, forced her to bear a child, and subjected her to domestic violence under the guise of male chauvinism. However, the princess persisted for many years without compromising, accepting her fate, or becoming discouraged. She found an opportunity to ask Tang Sanzang to deliver a message, hoping to escape the demon's den and be filial to her parents.

But in this primordial world, Kui Mulang and Baihuaxiu knowingly committed crimes. Baihuaxiu's body was destroyed, leaving only a fragment of her spirit to reincarnate, forgetting her past life. Kui Mulang, on the other hand, fled to the mortal realm, becoming a monster, eating people to survive, and was eventually defeated by Jiang Liu's Monkey King on their previous journey to the West—

They wiped it out!

That's right.

In this primordial world, Kui Mulang was killed outright, leaving only a trace of his spirit to be reincarnated, and he never returned to heaven.

And what about now?

Two souls in love have actually come together in this lifetime!

This is truly something to celebrate!

Jiang Liu, however, did not reveal this point to avoid causing unnecessary trouble for the two. After recounting the past of Kui Mulang and Bai Huaxiu, he teased, "I suppose it's because you two look somewhat like Kui Mulang and Bai Huaxiu that my junior brother is making fun of you."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy pursed his lips but didn't object, focusing instead on leading the horse...

Chapter 1422 Granny Huang Carries a Load to Adjust Yin and Yang

Jiang Liu and his group, who were protecting Kui Lang and Bai Hua Ai Xi Xing, had all become carefree and had taken on the appearance of cultivators after crossing the Xinghai Liusha.

We admired the flowers and scenery along the way, chatting and laughing, completely oblivious to the passage of time. The weather turned cooler, and we saw:

Maple leaves fall from the mountainside in the wind, and yellow flowers drift in the air among the trees.

The cicadas sing a mournful tune, while the wild geese fly south with tender hearts.

It is already September.

As they were walking, seeing that it was getting late, Jiang Liu turned to Kui Lang and said, "Brother Kui, it's getting late. Why don't we build a tree hut in the woods for the night and set off again tomorrow?"

Kui Lang, Bai Hua Ai, and the eight laborers were all mortals and exhausted, so they decided to set up three or five tents on the spot and cook a meal.

The brothers Hu Yuan and Hu Jue patrolled the area, driving away the mountain spirits and monsters to prevent them from causing trouble.

Bajie went to the nearby forest to dig up some wild vegetables, which he ate with dried biscuits to stave off hunger.

Fude smelled the incense and thought there might be a house in the forest, so he decided to go and explore to see if he could stay the night.

Liang Luzhen sat down beside the luggage, picked up the wine gourd, uncorked it, and took a big gulp, but only poured out a drop. He muttered, "The wine is all gone. How am I supposed to make a living now?"

"Although wine is made from the finest grains, it can also cause sorrow in people's hearts."

Jiang Liu chuckled, "After escorting Brother Kui and the others to Baoxiang Kingdom, I'll buy you a pot of good wine. However, you'll have to carry the load on the journey ahead."

"Carrying loads?"

Liang Luzhen shivered and couldn't help but say, "As the ancients said, 'A head of bronze, arms of iron, and waist of tofu,' which describes the likes of wolves and dogs. How can I carry such a load?"

Besides, with his extraordinary abilities, if he truly possessed the goods, why would he need to carry them on his shoulders?

"Because you are a wolfhound who has become a spirit, you need to strengthen your waist to become a human. Carrying a load is a kind of cultivation, which will teach you to harmonize yin and yang and control the heat."

Jiang Liu had his own plan. "Furthermore, when you drink, you only taste the flavor, without truly absorbing the essence of the grains into your own body. That doesn't count as refining essence into qi."

This is a trial specifically designed to hone your cultivation; how can you complain?

Liang Luzhen was speechless, but he knew that his senior brother was doing this so that his cultivation progress could catch up with the others. He felt both helpless and touched, and could only agree.

"Senior Brother!"

Just as Kui Lang and his group finished setting up their tents, Old Fude returned from scouting and shouted, "We don't need to set up tents anymore. There are three or five houses ahead, with white walls and mud tiles, magnificent and luxurious. It must be a wealthy family's house. We can ask to stay for the night."

"A wealthy family?"

Liang Luzhen muttered, "This deep mountain forest is only inhabited by tigers, leopards, wolves, deer, and wild boars. Who would build their home in this godforsaken place?"

"Although you have received the Heart Sutra from your senior brother, do not be too concerned. I was once the local deity of Black Wind Mountain, receiving incense offerings from people. How could I not see whether those people are good or evil?"

Old Ford argued vehemently.

"Since there are people living here, we should naturally go."

At this moment, Pigsy returned and heard what Old Fude had found out from his scouting trip. His eyes darted around, as if he had thought of something. He took a breath, threw the wild vegetables in his hand aside, and chuckled.

Hu Yuan and Hu Jue also returned from their patrol, but their qi was disturbed, and their gazes toward Bajie were full of hostility.

All because Pigsy once stole Monkey King's head with his rake and killed Tiger Vanguard—