From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Jiang Liu didn't want to listen to his nonsense, so he ordered Bajie Bajing to drag Jing Zhonglong back to the capital of Jisaiguo with them.

When they returned to the city in triumph, the people flocked to watch, creating a lively and bustling scene.

Upon hearing that Jiang Liu had returned, the king hurriedly led his officials and ministers out of the palace to greet him, laughing loudly, "Master, your supernatural powers are great! You have even captured a dragon!"

"It was not my doing, but Bajie and Bajing who went down into the Jade Wave Pool, captured the evil dragon there, and presented it to Your Majesty as a witness."

Jiang Liu smiled faintly, then took out the shattered Buddhist relic and handed it to the king.

Upon seeing the Buddha's relics shattered, the king was greatly alarmed. After hearing Jiang Liu recount his battle with the Nine-Headed Insect and how he accidentally broke the relics, the king turned pale.

However, he dared not blame Jiang Liu, and sighed softly, "Master, why don't you stay and become my imperial advisor!"

"What are you saying, Your Majesty? Which of us cultivators desires power above ten thousand others? If we value power, we are not cultivators."

Jiang Liu chuckled and said, "Besides, Your Majesty only lost the physical relic, not the Dharma relic, so why are you so panicked?"

The king asked in confusion, "What are relics of the physical body? What are relics of the Dharma body?"

“The relics of the living body are the things left behind by the Buddha after his death. It is likely that the Buddha’s treasure in Jisa Kingdom was left behind by a monk who attained the Buddha’s state after his death.”

The river's flow reveals the fundamental truth—

"It is evident that even the Buddha died, and how long can the substances formed from his remains last?"

"But the Dharma body relics are different; they are truly immortal. As long as the torch is passed down and civilization continues, these relics will be preserved in Jisa Kingdom for thousands of years!"

Little Demon Has Ambition

Chapter 1520 The Little Monster in Langlang Mountain (Part 1)

"May I ask what the Dharma Body Relics look like?"

The king seemed to understand but not quite, and asked.

"This relic has no physical form; it resides in nature and in civilization. If Your Majesty respects virtuous monks and eliminates those without virtue; respects capable Taoist priests and eliminates those who practice magic; and also cultivates talent, selects the virtuous and capable, listens to the advice of the people, and loves the people like your own children."

Jiang Liu replied without hesitation, “At that time, the Dharma body relics will arise on their own. Why would you need to search for them? If you don’t search for them, you may never find them.”

These wise words are something any ruler would surely heed, but King Jisai is so foolish that he would never truly listen.

Therefore.

Jiang Liu didn't try to persuade him further, and pointed at Jing Zhonglong, saying, "Your Majesty, although this dragon is on friendly terms with the Nine-Headed Insect, he hasn't committed any major crimes. Why not spare his life and let him go and watch over the pagoda?"

How could the king dare to disagree?

Having escaped with his life, Jing Zhonglong hurriedly thanked Jiang Liu—Jing Zhonglong was the only one of the Nine Sons of Jinghe who was relatively honest among the group they had met along the way, hence the reason for sparing his life.

He may escape the death penalty, but he cannot escape punishment.

Jiang Liu removed the dragon pearl from Jing Zhonglong's neck and threw it into Ba Jing's hands. He then made Jing Zhonglong hold a horizontal bone in his mouth, rendering him unable to speak. He then taught him the method of refining qi and cultivating truth, saying, "You should honestly cultivate on the tower, but do not cultivate that tangible pearl anymore, otherwise there will be disaster!"

Jing Zhonglong dared not refute, nodded vigorously, and perched on the pagoda inside Fulong Temple.

Then.

Jiang Liu resigned.

The king was greatly alarmed and hurriedly tried to persuade them to stay, but Jiang Liu and the others were determined to leave.

There was nothing we could do.

The king, along with his civil and military officials, saw them off.

The people of the city also saw them off, and the monks of Fulong Temple also spontaneously accompanied them.

Twenty miles later, the king stopped; fifty miles later, the people of the city stopped; a hundred miles later, the monks of Fulong Temple, whether senior monks or junior novices, still refused to go back, wanting to travel west with Jiang Liu and the others to cultivate together.

Seeing their persistence, Jiang Liu laughed and said, "You can cultivate at home, so why follow us? We're heading west, and we don't know how many demons we'll encounter. We can barely protect ourselves, let alone take you with us."

The abbot led the monks in bowing and said, "Masters, we are willing to follow you to cultivate. Although we do not have much skill, if we encounter demons, we will not let you hold us back. We will give our lives to help you subdue demons!"

"Life is still precious."

Jiang Liu taught these monks a mantra called the All Tathagata Heart Secret Whole Body Relic Treasure Chest Seal Dharani Mantra, and also gave them a copy of the Jisa Talisman Seal Diagram. He laughed and said, "That king is muddleheaded and has lost his relics. The four countries surrounding Jisa will surely be at war in the future."

However, the Dharma body relics must be forged in a civilization forged in blood and fire.

If you monks remain secluded and do not go out, even if you have the Dharma I transmit, it will be difficult for you to reach the other shore.

But if you enter the world and cultivate good deeds, one day you will be able to universally save all sentient beings and attain Buddhahood or become patriarchs.

The academy master suddenly realized what was happening and bowed again to thank Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu helped him up and said with a smile, "By the way, regarding the temple name, Fulong Temple doesn't sound good. Let's change it back to Jinguang Temple."

Gold is a fluid substance, yet it is also enduring.

Although gold and silver cause much strife and killing in the world, without them, the world would be like a stagnant pool.

Light, though flickering, is also dazzling.

Sunlight, moonlight, starlight, and the light of the soul—wait for you to ignite a single lamp in your heart, its radiance eternal, illuminating the entire world.

"I will obey the Buddha's decree!"

Upon hearing this, the abbot was momentarily dazed. When he looked at Jiang Liu again, he seemed to see a Dharma image about twelve feet tall, with a radiant body and a dazzling light behind his head, illuminating the entire world in a golden-red hue... He must be the supreme ruler of the world!

When the abbot came to his senses, Jiang Liu and the other six had already disappeared. He then heard the monks behind him saying things like, "We are not destined to be saved!" and "The monk who went west did not save us!" He scolded them, "Stop shouting nonsense! How could the monk not save us? He has already taught us how to save ourselves!"

The monks and novices were delighted to hear the abbot explain the reason, and only then did they return to the Kingdom of Jisa...

···

Now, there is a mountain in the country of Jisa, called Langlang Mountain. In the mountain is a cave called the Great King's Cave. In the cave, a pig demon, because he scrubbed the pot too hard, erased the writing inside the Great King's ancestral pot. With no other choice, he could only drag a little toad demon and flee into the territory of Jisa, intending to steal some food.

However, the two little demons heard about the deeds of Jiang Liu and his group in the city and became interested. They inquired around and learned about the story of "Journey to the West" that had been sung for five hundred years from a storyteller.

The toad demon said, "I remember five hundred years ago, Your Majesty wanted to capture Tang Sanzang and eat him in order to achieve immortality. However, when you went to ambush him at Bibo Pool, you saw that Sun Wukong was incredibly powerful. He killed the Dragon King of Ten Thousand Saints and cut off one of the Nine-Headed Insect's heads, so you gave up."

"Let's go on a pilgrimage to the West!"

The pig demon, however, had a wild idea and said to the toad.

"Are you crazy?"

The toad demon was questioning his existence. "That was five hundred years ago. Tang Sanzang and his disciples obtained the true scriptures long ago and were granted Buddhahood by the Buddha Tathagata. They are immortal. How could we possibly impersonate them?"

"Why can't I pretend?"

The pig demon said, "Didn't the people of Jisa Kingdom say that a monkey and a pig came to help them exorcise demons before?"

They were probably imitating the Tang Monk and his disciples from 500 years ago, going on a pilgrimage to obtain Buddhist scriptures. However, they probably hadn't heard the stories told by storytellers, so they found a total of seven people, plus a woman.

But if we find two more people, plus a horse, and quicken our pace to get ahead of them and see the Buddha beforehand, perhaps the Buddha, seeing our sincerity, will also be willing to let us become Buddhas!

Upon hearing this, the toad demon was also tempted. However, after staying in the Great King's Cave for over five hundred years without becoming a leader, and now having offended the Great King, staying in the mountains would only make him a wild demon. Even if he stole things from people, he would have to supply the other leaders in the Great King's Cave, which was not worth it at all.

"Alright! Let's go on this journey to the West!"

The toad demon steeled itself and decided to venture out and explore.

Only half a day.

The pig and the toad found two accomplices: a weasel that pretended to be a ghost to trick villagers into offering incense, and a taciturn red-faced gorilla that spent its days hiding in a cave eating peaches. They also chopped a thousand catties of firewood and "traded" it with an old white horse that seemed to understand human nature from a farmer. They then spurred their horses and took a shortcut, crossing the Thorn Ridge through an underground passage, and rode ahead of Jiang Liu and the others.

only--

When a thought arises in a person's heart, the whole world knows it.

Especially since the thoughts of these four little demons were related to the "journey to the West," even without using his divine eye, Jiang Liu sensed it and couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Seeing him smile, Pingping asked curiously, "Brother Yuanjue, what are you laughing at?"

"I'm relieved."

Jiang Liu said, "A group of little demons who have never eaten a human in the past five hundred years also want to take a trip on the Journey to the West."

"Isn't that just wishful thinking?"

Bajie looked left and right, but didn't see any demons. "If they really go to the Western Paradise, let alone see the Buddha, the Vajra guards at the gate will beat them to death."

Ba Jing shook his head and said, "If they are just minor demons, why would they need Vajra? They might not even make it to the Western Paradise."

"That's not necessarily true."

Jiang Liu, however, revealed a meaningful look, "Bajie, once we cross the Thorn Ridge, we'll reach Little Western Paradise, right?"

"Exactly."

Pigsy's eyes gleamed with hostility. "That Yellow-Eyebrowed fellow actually locked me up in the Golden Bell! He's a bastard! This time, I'll definitely get my revenge..."

Chapter 1521 The Little Monster in Langlang Mountain (Part Two)

"Ouch!"

The pig demon, the toad demon, the weasel demon, the gorilla demon, and a white horse with human-like intelligence, galloped 800 li through the underground tunnel, all panting heavily.

This is because they are just minor demons. Even though they have cultivated for five hundred years, they have no special skills and have not yet refined their demon cores. They have only obtained strange-looking human bodies. How can their strength compare to Jiang Liu and the others?

The toad demon plopped down on the ground, panting, and exclaimed, "I'm exhausted!"

"It was worth it! We've left another group of unorthodox pilgrims behind Thorn Ridge; they're going to travel by land—"

"hey-hey!"

The pig demon chuckled twice and said in a sinister tone, "The Thorn Ridge, which stretches for eight hundred miles, has been sparsely populated for five hundred years and is now covered with thorns and iron trees. It would take them at least ten days or half a month, and at most half a year or a year, to cross it. That would be enough time for us to leave them behind."

"Gurgle~"

at this time.

The weasel's stomach growled at an inopportune moment.

"Gurgle!"

X3

Suddenly, the stomachs of the wild boar, the toad, and the orangutan also began to rumble.

"We're going to beg for alms."