From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Since becoming the Guardian Saint of the Heavenly Court and an official there, he has witnessed countless power struggles and intrigues.

The Jade Emperor's method of balancing the Supreme Lord Laozi and Buddha...

The Queen Mother secretly stole the spiritual essence of all living beings to offer as alms for the peaches of immortality...

That Tathagata differs from what is recorded in the scriptures; he too possesses the three thoughts of greed, anger, and ignorance…

He had to say it.

They're all "turbid"!

But what could he do?

I can only come to the mortal realm to catch little ghosts!

"It seems you understand everything perfectly well, but you dare not distinguish between the great purity and impurity, only daring to distinguish between the small purity and impurity in the mortal world. How pitiful! How lamentable! How pathetic!" Jiang Liu sighed.

"Do not refrain from doing good because it is small! I do not possess such great supernatural powers; I can only distinguish between the 'small purity' and the 'turbidity'!"

After saying this, Zhong Kui sighed again, "If I were like you, and gave up my life, I wouldn't even be able to keep this minor official position. At that time, I probably wouldn't even be able to distinguish between the 'pure and the impure'."

"Ah!"

Jiang Liu laughed out loud and said, "If everyone were like you, thinking that only by becoming an official could one distinguish right from wrong, it would only embolden them to oppress the people!"

in short.

Being within the Heavenly Court system and acting according to the official rules, refusing to associate with corrupt officials, may seem noble, but in reality, it's just asking for trouble.

"How to say?"

Zhong Kui was puzzled.

“Since you say that we should not refrain from doing good because it is small, then let me ask you, if you don’t serve the Heavenly Court, can’t you exorcise evil spirits and capture demons?” Jiang Liu retorted.

"...This body was bestowed upon me by the Supreme Being."

Zhong Kui remained silent for a long time before revealing the reason. He sighed helplessly, "Since I have received your kindness, I should do my best to repay it."

"Oh? If the Supreme Lord's command conflicts with your own thoughts, what should you do?" Jiang Liu asked again.

Zhong Kui was speechless.

This is because his magical power, magical treasures, magical arts, and even his two-zhang-tall body were all bestowed by the Supreme Lord.

Without the strength of this life, relying solely on his soul, he would struggle to even survive, let alone be of any use.

Looking at the river again—

He did understand somewhat why Sun Wukong chose a dead end.

Live to the death!

Once the golden headband is removed, the cycle of reincarnation begins, one life, two lives, three lives... again and again, dying and being born, being born and dying, endlessly.

power?

Perhaps for this Great Sage, it is the least valuable thing. After all, as long as his nature remains unchanged, what difficulty is there in regaining his supernatural powers and magic?

What I should do is none of your business!

After a while, Zhong Kui got annoyed and lost his temper.

"No way."

Jiang Liu smiled, handed over the gourd and the jade bottle, and said, "Take them."

Now it was Zhong Kui who was puzzled: "Why did you give it to me?"

"You came to capture the demon, isn't it precisely to retrieve these two treasures for the Supreme Lord?" Jiang Liu countered, "Why are you suspicious?"

"..."

Seeing that Jiang Liu was really going to give him these two treasures, Zhong Kui took them, used his magic to confirm that they were genuine and not some kind of creature that had transformed from a hair, and was completely relieved. He smiled at Jiang Liu and said, "Truly the benevolent and righteous Great Sage Sun!"

“You’ve mistaken me for someone else! Although I resemble that ancestor, I am not Sun Wukong, but Gu Yue Yuan Jue!”

Jiang Liu smiled and then ordered Hu Yuan and Hu Jue to bring the exquisite ghost and the clever insect to Zhong Kui, saying, "Take these two little demons away."

Zhong Kui nodded, opened the lid of the purple-gold-red gourd, and called out to the Fine-Hearted Ghost and the Clever Insect, "Where are the Fine-Hearted Ghost and the Clever Insect?"

The two little demons knew the use of this treasure and dared not answer.

Pigsy then stepped forward and kicked him.

"what!"

The clever ghost and the nimble insect cried out, and the purple-gold gourd exhaled a breath that pierced through the nine orifices of the two demons, causing them to shrink to the size of sesame seeds. With a "whoosh," they burrowed into the gourd's belly.

thereafter.

Zhong Kui quickly closed the lid and then pasted on a note that read, "By order of the Supreme Lord Laozi, please hurry and obey the law," making it impossible for them to refuse.

This purple-gold-red gourd was formed from a gourd vine at the foot of Kunlun Mountain. It is a primordial object with the meaning of "perfection". In essence, it is a combination of the alchemical cultivation information left by Jiang Liu's primordial spirit when he created the world and the gourd. It was obtained by the Supreme Being of this world, which made him understand some of the Dao of "inner alchemy". Because he became a saint with the primordial purple qi, his primordial spirit was entrusted to the Dao of Heaven, and he was able to comprehend some information of the multiverse. Thus, he summarized and created the "tangible golden elixir Dao" of this primordial world.

Nowadays, immortals, Buddhas, demons, and ghosts in the primordial world all cultivate this kind of inner core.

Although it also cultivates the Qi of the five internal organs, it is not as good as Jiang Liu's Golden Elixir and Sacred Embryo Lesser Vehicle Method. It only refines the Qi of the five internal organs and the five elements into a tangible pill, which is placed in the lower dantian, stored in the middle dantian, or offered to the upper dantian. In this way, one can strengthen Qi and blood, increase magical power, cultivate supernatural abilities, and practice magic. The level of magical power determines the realm.

It's simple and clear!

But they lack virtue!

This is completely unbelievable!

It is precisely because the Golden Elixir has form that it does not harmonize the true Yin and Yang within the body, does not match the proper male and female within the body, and does not harmonize the Kan and Li trigrams and the dragon and tiger. Although it can perform magic and use supernatural powers, in the end, it is nothing more than a side path like placing a pillar in a wall or trying to catch the moon's reflection in water.

Even if one can live as long as heaven and earth, when the primordial era ends, the immortals and Buddhas who cultivate this path will also perish along with the primordial era, unable to transcend or attain Nirvana.

"Thank you, Venerable Yuanjue!"

Having subdued the two lesser demons, Zhong Kui bowed deeply in gratitude, his attitude much more sincere than before...

Chapter 1453 Breaking the Oath Will Lead to Plague

"Don't thank me yet."

Seeing Zhong Kui's smiling face, Jiang Liu smiled mysteriously, "These two treasures will come into my hands again in the future. Do you believe me?"

Upon hearing this, Zhong Kui's heart clenched, and his mouth trembled: "Great Sage, you are so upright and honorable, are you really going to steal these two treasures back?"

"Am I that kind of person?"

Jiang Liu remained silent, but did not keep them in suspense, and said directly, "As I said before, my ancestors made a vow with the Fine Ghost and the Clever Insect, and Heaven remonstrated against it."

"..."

Zhong Kui remained silent, taking it as a joke by fate.

What good are vows?

The gods in heaven are no different from ordinary people on earth; they also strive for fame and fortune. It's just that the scenery in heaven is much more magnificent than that on earth.

"This Heaven is not the Jade Emperor, but the Heavenly Way."

Seeing his disbelief, Jiang Liu explained with a smile, "My status as a 'chosen one' wasn't determined by the Jade Emperor, but rather 'certified' by the Heavenly Dao."

Would Zhong Kui believe that?

He was merely a ghost immortal, not a cultivator of the Great Dao, but simply worked within the "Heavenly Court system," and had no belief in the ethereal existence of the Heavenly Dao.

But the Way of Heaven is not a myth, but a real and existing rule.

Within this primordial chaos, within the [ring] formed by the convergence of wave strings from the multiverse, self-awareness has emerged, giving rise to positive and negative Gaia.

When the river flowed to create the primordial world, it ignored the vows that Gaia made to all living beings, whether mortals or immortals. However, the vows related to the river flow were an exception, and the river would pay attention to them in the unseen world.

Although it was Sun Wukong who made the oath with the clever ghost and the clever insect, that Sun Wukong was actually the mind monkey within his primordial spirit.

Therefore.

It's recognized by Heaven!

The Purple-Gold Red Gourd and the Jade Pure Bottle were indeed possessed by the Supreme Being of this Primordial World, but as long as Laozi was still within this cycle of the Primordial World, the innate spiritual treasures and supreme treasures he possessed were essentially all belonging to the Heavenly Dao and were His property.

Jiang Liu's Monkey King made a vow with the Fine-Minded Ghost and the Clever Insect on his last journey to the West, which caught the attention of the Heavenly Dao.

Although it was ultimately the Monkey King who returned the five treasures to Laozi, according to the Heavenly Dao's judgment on this oath, if Jiang Liu, the Monkey King, regretted it, he would surely suffer from plague all year round.

no doubt.

The Monkey King must have been unwilling to accept this at first.

But since he was Jiang Liuxin Yuan, even if Gaia wanted to teach him to suffer the plague, it would be impossible. So, it had to settle for second best and teach Xin Yuan not to regret.

How can one not regret it?

That is, to return the two treasures, the purple-gold gourd and the mutton-fat jade bottle, to him.

in this way--

The monkey spirit did not break its vow.

Therefore.

Although these two treasures were brought back to the Tushita Palace by Laozi, they still belong to the Monkey King in the judgment of positive and negative Gaia.

Therefore, after the Journey to the West ended, the attendants in the Tushita Palace often dozed off and were lazy in their cultivation, which eventually caused these two treasures to fall to the mortal world once again.

The reason they were still picked up by the clever devil and the nimble insect was because they had survived, but they deeply regretted being tricked by the Monkey King into giving them the red gourd and jade bottle that could hold people by using the fake gourd that could hold the sky.

He felt remorse, but had not taken any action to retrieve the red gourd and jade bottle, so it was difficult to judge his actions.

If it were an ordinary person making a vow, even if they broke it later, Gaia wouldn't bother to care.

However, because it was related to Jiang Liu's Monkey King, the Heavenly Dao took it exceptionally seriously, ensuring that their lives were not in danger until the Red Gourd and Jade Bottle were returned to them.

And once they regained the purple-gold gourd and the jade bottle—

This is not!

First, they were chased by Zhong Kui, then they happened to bump into Jiang Liu and others, tripped and fell, and had their collarbones pierced. Then they both entered the purple-gold red gourd and turned into pus.

Isn't it just a plague?

Even if these two treasures are brought back to the Tushita Palace, they will not stay there for long. They will inevitably fall to the mortal world by some twist of fate and eventually return to Jiang Liu's hands.