From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

The Golden Boy's eyes burned with fury as he stared intently at Zhong Kui.

"I didn't kill them; it was the man of destiny who did it."

Since it had already been agreed upon, Zhong Kui naturally wouldn't take on this task himself.

As far as he was concerned, the little devils were not troublesome and could be dealt with easily, but if these two were to set their sights on him... he could forget about having a peaceful life in the future.

He wasn't afraid, but he still had a girl with him.

"It's that damned monkey!"

The Silver Boy's face darkened. "How many times has he died already? He's never died a clean death!"

"Let's go and discuss this further."

The Golden Boy glanced at Zhong Kui, figuring that this dark and ugly man wouldn't dare to fool them, so he dragged the Silver Boy back to the Tushita Palace.

Just as the Crane Immortal was about to order the two to start a fire, an inspector came and said that the Jade Emperor had invited him to discuss the matter of the "Man of Heaven" with the Supreme Lord and Buddha.

So the Crane Immortal ordered his two disciples, Gold and Silver, to guard the alchemy furnace, and then left the Tushita Palace, riding a cloud to the Lingxiao Palace.

After the Crane Immortal disappeared, the two Daoist disciples, Gold and Silver, exchanged a glance, both able to see the fury in their brothers' eyes—the hatred for their mother's murder was irreconcilable!

Without saying a word, they dropped their palm-leaf fans, one took the jade bottle and the other took the red gourd, and they left the Tushita Palace one after the other and descended the South Heavenly Gate.

The gatekeepers, Lingguan and Lei Jiang, seeing that they were attendants from the Tushita Palace, dared not stop them and let them descend to the mortal realm.

Let's leave that aside for now.

Jiang Liu and his group bid farewell to Zhong Kui and Zhong Meier and continued westward. After traveling for a long time, they came to see another high mountain.

But we see:

The mountaintop rises majestically, seemingly reaching for the heavens, while the treetops appear to touch the clouds.

From the wisps of smoke, the cries of monkeys echo; from the lush greenery, the calls of cranes resound. Mountain spirits frolic with woodcutters in the howling wind; a fox, now a useful tool, sits on the cliff's edge. Strange pines, their canopies draped in verdant green, withered old trees draped with vines. A cascading spring, its chill penetrating the air; a towering peak, where a gentle breeze whispers.

Sometimes one hears the roar of large insects, and often the cries of mountain birds. Herds of deer leap and bound through thorns; groups of roe deer run and run in search of wild food. Standing on the grassy slope, one sees no travelers; but as one walks into the deep valley, one finds jackals and wolves on all sides.

This place is not where the Buddha practiced; it is merely a playground for birds and beasts.

Upon seeing these towering mountains and treacherous waters, Liang Luzhen put down his load and exclaimed in surprise, "There must be monsters in these mountains!"

Bajie was speechless and muttered, "We've been traveling all this way, and there have been monsters everywhere. Even if there were, they could only leave a bit of their spirit to be reincarnated."

Upon hearing this, Liang Luzhen suddenly understood and stopped talking, focusing solely on circulating energy throughout the body and taking on the task of harmonizing Yin and Yang.

We went up the mountain.

Those spirits did not harm people, and they did not seem to have much malevolent aura. They would flee at the sight of them, like spirits that followed the laws of nature, and there was no need to bother with them.

Therefore, the journey was peaceful, and the group enjoyed the scenery as they walked, as if they were on a vacation rather than practicing spiritual cultivation.

Hu Yuan asked, "Senior Brother, how far are we from the Western Paradise Spirit Mountain?"

Hu Jue also asked, "How many more years will it take?"

"Not far, we are already at the foot of Mount Ling."

Jiang Liu answered leisurely.

"Eldest brother, I once traveled the road to the West. Ahead lies the Kingdom of Wuji, which is still far from the Kingdom of Tianzhu where Mount Ling is located! It's at least 90,000 li away. How could it be the foot of Mount Ling?" Pigsy stared wide-eyed, suspecting that his eldest brother was trying to fool the two little tigers.

In the past, he might have agreed with a few words.

But some time ago, he cooperated with the two brothers and killed the nine-tailed old fox with a single rake. He also regained some of the excitement he felt on the last journey to the west, when he was stealing heads... no, exorcising demons. He found the tiger brothers more and more pleasing to the eye.

The Eight Pure Ones also said, "Yes, Senior Brother, I also know the way to the West. To get the Wordless Scripture from Mount Ling, we still need to pass through Chechi Kingdom, Women Kingdom, Jisa Kingdom, Zhu Zi Kingdom, Lion Camel Kingdom, Bhikkhu Kingdom, and Mie Fa Kingdom before we can reach Tianzhu Kingdom."

And that France that was destroyed, it had already changed its name to France of Qin back then.

Listening to the two men speak so earnestly, Jiang Liu laughed twice and said, "If we compare heaven and earth to a human body, the four mountains and five peaks are the spine, the rivers, lakes and seas are the meridians, and the sun, moon and stars are the acupoints."

We have now ascended Mount Sumeru, and are outside the 'Tail Gate,' so how can we not be at the foot of Mount Ling?

Upon hearing this, the five who had received the Golden Elixir and Sacred Embryo Technique from Jiang Liu all suddenly understood. However, Bajie said, "Our eldest brother once said something similar, but he compared heaven and earth to a large house."

It's not that the Monkey King is less insightful than Jiang Liu; they are both one person, how could they not understand this principle? It's just that he is the Monkey King, living in the heart, so he naturally compares heaven and earth to a house.

As they were talking, the group of practitioners had already climbed the mountain and come to see a temple.

But then I saw:

The brick walls, painted with red mud, are truly magnificent; golden nails are driven into the doors on both sides, shining brightly. Layer upon layer of pavilions and terraces stand half-hidden in the woods; towering palaces and palaces rise high into the clouds.

It is indeed a place where the forest shelters the Three Jewels, and the mountains embrace the Brahma Palace. Half of the wall is illuminated by flickering lamplight, and a line of incense smoke hangs in the misty haze.

"Imperial construction of Baolin Temple..."

Bajie walked to the temple gate, looked up at the five gilded characters on the plaque, and couldn't help but read them aloud. He suddenly realized, "Old Pig remembers now. I stayed here with Master back then. Those memories were not pleasant... My eldest brother was the best at playing tricks on people back then. He even made me go to the bottom of the well to carry his 'grandfather' out."

Upon hearing about Sun Wukong's "maternal grandfather," Hu Yuan and Hu Jue became curious, and Liang Luzhen also perked up his droopy ears.

Bajie, however, was not stingy and recounted how he had fished out the king of Wuji Kingdom from the garden well in the newly built Baolin Temple.

However, the three of them were interested in the Well Dragon King.

Liang Luzhen asked, "Senior brother, I've only ever heard of dragon kings in rivers, lakes, and seas. How come there's a dragon king in well water too? Could it be that he proclaimed himself one?"

"I have no idea who this old pig is."

Bajie looked at Bajing.

Ba Jing said, “It is not self-appointed, but it is no different from self-appointment. The Dragon Kings of rivers, lakes and seas are in charge of making clouds and rain, but because dragons are licentious, they have many sons and grandsons.”

For example, the Dragon King of the Jing River had nine sons.

The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas naturally have many offspring.

When the sons and grandsons of dragons are young and have no divine duties, the Dragon King will send them to various waters to recuperate and grow, in preparation for their use when they come of age.

However, with so many offspring, it was impossible to treat them all equally. As a result, some young dragons, even those that grew to adulthood in remote, impoverished waters, or even lived to old age, never received a call from their elders...

I believe the well dragon king within the imperial-built Baolin Temple is likely of this type.

Upon hearing this confidential information, Hu Yuan, Hu Jue, and Liang Luzhen suddenly understood.

But Pigsy chuckled and said, "Everyone loves having many children and many blessings, but little did they know they learned it from the real dragon. They just treat their own children as investment chips, which is the most heartless thing!"

Ba Jing nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"I've heard that the Peach Banquet in Heaven features dragon liver and phoenix marrow?"

Liang Luzhen suddenly remembered this matter, "It seems that there are indeed quite a few true dragons in the world."

Bajing: "???"

Are you being polite?!

Junior brother!

Chapter 1461 Transcending Body and Mind to Worship the Buddha of the Heart

Just then, a Taoist priest emerged from Baoling Temple and shouted, "Who are you? What kind of place is this? How dare you make such a racket and argue here?"

But when the Taoist saw the unusual appearances of Jiang Liu and his group, his words stopped abruptly, and his expression turned to horror at a visible speed. He cried out, "Monster! There's a monster!"

He then turned around and ran back to the temple gate, closing it behind him.

"Senior Brother, how about we use illusion magic to transform into human form when we go to populated areas in the future?" Liang Luzhen suggested.

"No."

Jiang Liu shook his head. "Cultivation is about seeking truth. If one transforms into a false form, and one's body and mind are not in harmony, then one is deceiving oneself, which is not righteous and makes it difficult to cultivate the Great Dao. You must truly cultivate to become a human being."

Upon hearing this, Liang Luzhen seemed to be deep in thought. He touched his long mouth and laughed, "Lately, my mouth has become much flatter, as if I am not far from attaining a true human form."

“As I said before, we are already at the foot of Mount Ling. If you only think like this, you won’t be able to climb up.” Jiang Liu chuckled and then ordered Ba Jing to knock on the door.

Of the six people—Jiang Liu, Ba Jing, Ba Jie, Hu Yuan, Hu Jue, and Liang Luzhen—only Ba Jing, who had been reborn as a human, was nearly identical to a human.

Boom boom boom!

The temple door opened a crack, revealing half of the Taoist's face, which was rather dull-witted—knowing full well that a group of "monsters" were standing outside, he still dared to open the door to peek!

"Are you a monster?"

It turned out that behind the Taoist priest stood a monk official, wearing a bright red kasaya. He peered through the gap at Bajing and, seeing that he was handsome and well-dressed, questioned him with some doubt.

“Monk, we are not monsters. We are just passing by and, seeing that it is getting late, we would like to ask for lodging for the night,” said Bajing.

Snapped!

The monk slapped the Taoist priest and cursed, "You lazy bum! You're clearly a pilgrim seeking lodging, not some monster! Open the door now!"

The Taoist priest dared not speak and had no choice but to obediently open the door.

But as soon as the door opened, the view opened up, and the monk official saw Jiang Liu, Bajie, Hu Yuan, Hu Jue, Liang Luzhen and others who looked like monkeys, boars, tigers and wolves in human form. His ruddy face turned pale and he exclaimed, "There really are monsters!"

The Taoist priest, not wanting to let things get any worse, grumbled, "I told you there were monsters, but you wouldn't believe me. Now look what's happened, we're all going to become their food!"

"You blockhead, how dare you talk about this? Close the door right now!" The monk official grabbed the Taoist's shoulders in fright and shouted.

"How can I close the door when you're holding my arm?"

The Taoist priests argued back and forth.

Seeing the two bantering each other like they were performing a comedy routine, Jiang Liu laughed out loud, jumped forward, blocked the door, and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid, we are not monsters, but cultivators traveling from east to west. We are passing by this place and, seeing that it is getting late, wish to ask for lodging for the night. We hope this monk will be so kind as to grant us this favor."

Instead of being attacked by monsters, the monk spoke to them, which lessened his fear somewhat. He straightened his robe and said tremblingly, "I hope you six benefactors know that this is a royal temple. We only receive members of the royal family and do not accept wandering Taoists, monks, or travelers. If you need lodging, please go to the inn three or five miles away. That's where people are accommodated."

"Hey! This imperial-built Baolin Temple is still the same as it was five hundred years ago, it has no decorum whatsoever!"

Pigsy chuckled coldly, "I, Old Pig, am still the Clean Altar Messenger Bodhisattva!"

"The Cleansing Altar Messenger?"

The monk stared at Pigsy, looked him up and down, and then shook his head, saying, "Never heard of him."

"you!"

Pigsy was furious, but he couldn't afford to argue with a mere mortal monk. He simply ordered, "I'm too lazy to waste words with you. Quickly clean out a thousand rooms for us to sleep in!"

"A thousand rooms? Are you on a military campaign?"

The monk official was dumbfounded. "This is just a royal temple, not a prince's mansion. It only has three to five hundred rooms, including the kitchen and the outhouse!"