From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

To go or not to go—

It all depends on their individual choices...

···

Let's look at Little Western Paradise again.

The sun and moon sculpted and formed the body, and Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva reappeared in the world, with a dragon-shaped bun on her head, wearing a white robe, and standing on a white lotus flower. She looked at Kang Jinlong, smiled slightly, and said, "Would you be willing to be the Dragon Girl who holds the pearl for me?"

"That is exactly what I wish for!"

Kang Jinxingjun was also wise. Hearing the wonderful sound before, he knew that this Guanyin Bodhisattva was a bit of compassion in the heart of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. Moreover, since she admired Sun Wukong, how could she not want to? She hurriedly knelt down, kowtowed three times and bowed nine times, and became her disciple.

"good!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva smiled slightly and saw Jiang Liu and his group arrive. She held a lotus flower, the petals of which bloomed, and sent the ten goldfish into his body and mind.

Only then did Maitreya and Yuan Shoucheng notice the arrival of the chosen one.

When the red-bottomed macaque saw Jiang Liu's face, which was almost identical to that of its king, it realized that he was the chosen one! He was its king's reincarnation! Overjoyed, it began to dance!

Seeing this, Jiang Liu turned around and glanced at the gibbon that was following in the dark, then patted the red-bottomed macaque on the shoulder.

The latter understood immediately and also discovered the presence of the gibbon. He then joined her, intending to secretly follow Jiang Liu westward with her.

After that, Jiang Liu ignored the little Maitreya Buddha and said to Yuan Shoucheng, "Since we parted ways at Black Wind Ridge, I've seen you again, you old fortune teller."

Looking at it now—

As usual, there's been no progress.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shoucheng smiled awkwardly and said, "I only have one skill, fortune telling, which is acceptable; I can only make a living from it."

"Seeking divine guidance is not as good as making your own decisions. It is precisely because there are people like you who specialize in fortune telling that ordinary people who are already prone to overthinking become even more anxious and find it difficult to make their own judgments."

Jiang Liu showed no mercy.

This statement can be said to have insulted all fortune tellers in the world.

Yuan Shoucheng could only manage an awkward smile.

"In that case, I'll take my leave. I hope that by the time we meet for the third time, you'll have changed professions... I think fishing would be quite good."

Jiang Liu chuckled and teased, "With your abilities, sir, every single one of them must be a golden carp. You might even be able to catch a Dragon King!"

Yuan Shoucheng's mouth twitched, wanting to curse, but then he remembered the matter of the Jing River Dragon King—

In truth, it was the old dragon's own stupidity that led him to secretly alter the Jade Emperor's decree in order to win a bet. But if he had ignored the old dragon king back then, perhaps none of this would have happened.

Let's leave that aside for now.

Jiang Liu then bid farewell to Yuan Shoucheng and the others and arrived at Turtle Island.

"There is a tortoise general here; let me awaken him."

After leaving Mount Ling, Pigsy's first stop was Little Western Paradise, where he wanted to retrieve the Great Sage's innate abilities. However, he was no match for Yellow Eyebrows and was trapped inside the Golden Bell.

Fortunately, a gust of wind blew through Huangfeng Ridge at that time, causing the heavens to tremble and the golden cymbal to fall off the mountain, allowing him to escape.

Pigsy raised his rake and smashed it down on the mountain peaks of Turtle Island.

boom!

The mountain collapsed with a resounding crash, revealing a bone spur pointing straight into the sky.

thereafter.

The sea of ​​suffering stirred, and a huge black head emerged from the bottom, emitting a loud and long turtle-like cry, yet tinged with sorrow.

"Is the island we're on the incarnation of the Turtle General?"

Pingping stared in surprise at the tortoise general's head, which was comparable to a mountain, and couldn't help but say, "It's much larger than my father's original form before he devoured the Great Sage's potential!"

"Among all living creatures in the world, apart from plants, the tortoise is the most long-lived. The longer it lives, the larger its body naturally becomes."

Bajie laughed heartily, then noticed a hint of sadness in the tortoise's cry and advised, "Don't cry! Don't cry! You're so old, why are you so sentimental?"

That old man with yellow eyebrows has been eliminated, and the Little Thunderclap Temple now has a new master. Why are you so sad? Why not settle down here?"

The turtle could only whimper, but it led everyone across the sea of ​​suffering and brought them to the shore. However, before they went ashore, Jiang Liu ordered Ba Jing to capture the blue-backed dragon that was sitting and fishing near the turtle's hind legs.

The Azure-Backed Dragon is Yazi, one of the nine sons of the dragon. He is skilled with a sword, but ultimately he is no match for the profound mystery of the Eight Pure Golden Elixir and is captured by him.

Jiang Liu saw that his nature was different from the other nine sons of the dragon and that he was not bad, so he spared his life. He simply took the dragon pearl from his neck and gave it to Ba Jing, and handed him over to Guanyin as a temporary protector to help him rebuild his golden core.

The Green-Backed Dragon also possessed some wisdom. Having heard the previous "discussion on the Dao and the Dharma" and seeing the true Bodhisattva, it quickly bowed its head in worship, willing to become the mount.

After they reached the shore, they saw the snake general's skeleton and said, "The snake general is indeed dead! Alas, what a pitiful end!"

He then said to Jiang Liu, "Brother Monkey, you have great magical powers. Could you possibly bring the snake back to life?"

"Having been dead for over five hundred years, it's one thing for the soul to dissipate, as information will remain in the world. But the spirit has already reincarnated. Even if a physical body is created out of thin air, it will only be a similar flower."

Jiang Liu shook his head, then saw the tortoise general shedding tears, and comforted him, "It is only through the intertwining of the tortoise and snake that the golden elixir is obtained. I cannot bring the snake general back to life, but if you are willing, I am willing to have his withered bones create a snake egg for you to hatch, so as to continue the snake general's bloodline, how about it?"

Although the tortoise general could not speak human language, he could understand human speech and nodded.

So Jiang Liu chanted the incantation of resurrection, bringing the snake and the corpse together, and creating a snake egg, thirty-six feet and five inches tall and two feet and four inches wide...

Chapter 1533 The Root of Intent is Formless and Without Shape

Having obtained the snake's egg, the tortoise was able to perceive the life within it. Its enormous head bobbed up and down, showing great gratitude to the river.

"No need for thanks, it was nothing at all."

Jiang Liu laughed and said, "You helped us cross the sea of ​​suffering, and I created snake eggs for you. It's just mutual support."

That's all.

Jiang Liu bid farewell to Gui Jiang and continued westward.

After they left the Little Western Heaven Realm, Pigsy suddenly said, "Brother Monkey, there is a Floating Pagoda Realm in the Little Western Heaven, and there is a Floating Pagoda inside. When I came here to search for my potential, I went there. It seemed like there was a whole different world inside the pagoda. Now that I am cultivating the Great Dao with my brother, I seem to have some understanding of it. I feel like there is an opportunity in that pagoda. Why don't we go and take a look?"

"No need."

Jiang Liu shook his head. "There is indeed a secret within that tower. It is a Five Dragons Temple. There is a guy who loves to raise slender-waisted dogs who has doubts and has become withdrawn inside."

Don't worry about it.

He'll come out when he's had enough.

How could Jiang Liu possibly hide the existence of Hidden Plum Mountain?

Jiang Liu, however, was unwilling to be the one to untie Erlang Shen's knot.

If he were an ordinary person, Jiang Liu would be willing to help. But this man possesses supernatural powers and has often led a group of brothers in the mortal realm to rid the people of evil. Yet, he has become obsessed with Jiang Liu's choice to reincarnate because of Jiang Liu's Monkey King...

What's wrong?

In the past, when he was eliminating harm for the people, he saw that all the ordinary people he encountered were despondent after their failures and none of them were willing to make a comeback.

This ancient world is so terribly "dark" that it can't be ignored how hard-working, sincere, and self-reliant people have cultivated themselves over the generations.

The mighty Erlang Shen Zhenjun had to fight him, the man chosen by Heaven, before he could understand the principle of "the will endures forever".

If so—

How could he accept the offerings of incense from this world?

Therefore.

Jiang Liu told him to figure it out himself.

When you get tired of staying in those mountains, come out and walk in the world, and then cultivate yourself, you will naturally understand this principle. Why would you need someone else to enlighten you?

As for the sixth root—the desire for opinion.

Of the six senses, only the mind is unique, and it exists only once in a lifetime.

The root of intention in Erlang Tianyan was composed of everything his monkey spirit Wukong had experienced while traveling in this prehistoric world. Now that the monkey spirit has returned to his primordial spirit, why would he need that root of intention that is like a rootless duckweed?

He has his own ideas.

And that root of intention—

Let Jiro of this world experience it for himself!

Although the Journey to the West five hundred years ago was a test of obedience jointly arranged by the Heavenly Court and Mount Ling for Sun Wukong and Tang Sanzang, during this journey, his mind still saved people from suffering, saw himself and all living beings, and his soul underwent a transformation, which enabled him to understand the void and realize that he was both Wukong and Jiang Liu.

If Erlang had not only sealed his mind within his Heavenly Eye, but had instead observed the memories within his mind and personally experienced the journey to the West from the perspective of his restless mind, how could he have been confused?

After all, the root of intention is different from other root organs that manifest physical entities; it is a mass of thoughts, formless and without appearance.

If there is to be reality—

That's not the root of intention.

"He loves raising slender-waisted dogs...that's the three-eyed monster!"

Pigsy suddenly realized, and said indignantly, "He was the one who killed our eldest brother back then, and now he's hiding in the Pagoda? He deserves it!"

Jiang Liu didn't reply, he just kept walking.

Seeing this, Pigsy assumed that his elder brother and Erlang Shen were kindred spirits and said no more.

But Pingping asked about something else: "Where did those four little monsters go?"

“My Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva sent them to the land of Jambudvipa.”

Jiang Liu did not hesitate.

"Southern Jambudvipa?"

Pingping was puzzled as to why they were being sent to the Southern Continent.

"If you want to cultivate yourself, you must first be a good person."

Jiang Liu smiled and said, "Their intentions are sincere, but they are still lacking in experience. It would be good to let them experience it firsthand. After that, they will follow the example of us and embark on the journey to the west, with the help of Prince Zhang."

Along our journey, though we have been vanquishing demons and saving others, we have inevitably made mistakes. This is a good opportunity to teach them to make up for them, and incidentally, to help them achieve enlightenment as well.

Along his journey westward, he left behind a legacy. As long as they do not give up halfway, overcome all obstacles, cultivate their spiritual energy, and temper their character, what difficulty is there in attaining the Great Dao?

That Ruyi scroll of the Sea of ​​Bitterness is useless to him; let's leave it to that little Prince Zhang and the wild boar, toad, gorilla, and weasel!

Pingping was intelligent. She remembered that Jiang Liu would make a map and record every time he passed through a country, and she suddenly realized that he wanted to teach all living beings to take a journey to the West.