From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Severing distracting thoughts and sending them into the cycle of reincarnation, Jiang Liu laughed, "But you won't have to worry about the monks from Little Thunder Temple coming to ask for gold and silver anymore."

That temple was originally a demon's lair. The chubby little monk inside was the Yellow-Eyebrowed Old Monster, who specialized in reversing cause and effect. He had already been killed by four other capable and extraordinary individuals who were also on their way to obtain the scriptures. Most of the demons in that temple had also been killed.

As for Huanghua Temple...

There's no need to worry too much. Anyone who dares to come asking for grains must be a gathering place for demons and evil spirits. Once we resolve this trouble and head to the Kingdom of Zhu Zi, we'll also help you rid the country of those demons and evil spirits along the way!

Chapter 1535 The Buddha's Hand Insect Demon Loves Persimmon Cakes

"These monks are truly divine beings!"

Upon hearing that the Little Thunder Temple, a thousand miles to the east, had been destroyed, and that these people were going to go to the Zhu Zi Kingdom to eradicate the Yellow Flower Temple, the old man was overjoyed.

"Don't be too happy yet. Tell us what the monster looks like so we can determine its true form and avoid making a fool of ourselves when we fight it."

Jiang Liu then began to talk about the current situation.

"Speaking of that monster, we don't recognize it either. It comes from the clouds and goes through the fog, so we can't see it clearly. How would we know what it looks like?"

The old man shook his head, having never seen the monster's true form. "But I've heard that the monster looks like a snake, an insect, and vaguely has a human hand, its posture similar to the hand of a Buddha statue in a temple."

"Needless to say, it must be a descendant of that red-scaled python."

Bajie said confidently, "Back then, there was only that one giant python in the Seven Absolutes Mountain. Although we eliminated it, the mountain range is so vast that it is inevitable that some offspring were left behind. It has cultivated into a demon over the past five hundred years and has only recently come to harm you."

"It's unlikely to be a snake."

Pingping, however, did not believe it.

Why is it that which snake in the world loves to eat dried persimmons?

Even if a snake attains a human form, it often retains its past habits, not eating grains, but only rats and insects, and mostly swallowing them raw, unlike humans who cook them.

"Why couldn't it be a snake?"

Bajie was unconvinced. "The snake demon doesn't eat vegetarian food, but does that mean he robbed the persimmons from the people of Tuoluo Village just to eat them? Maybe he wants to monopolize the business in Tuoluo Village and sell them to Zhu Zi Kingdom to provide gold and silver for his husband or wife."

This statement is not mere empty talk.

The mountain spirits have become demons, and there are four paths they can take.

The first rule is to continue living in the mountains as before, without any spiritual awareness, whether practicing spiritual cultivation or hunting, following the natural order.

This type can't really be considered a monster; it's more like a mountain spirit.

Article Two: King Cheng became the ancestor, and the Great King of the Mountain.

Many of the monsters on the journey to the West were like this, ruling over mountains and no different from bandits and robbers, only more ferocious and capable of eating people.

The third option is to be favored by immortals or Buddhas, and become an official, a mount, or a servant.

Although it is hard work, as long as you are diligent, you can still achieve a glamorous life. However, if you are even slightly negligent, you will be demoted to the mortal realm at best, and in severe cases, you will be refined into an elixir.

The last one is what Pigsy said: after barely managing to cultivate a human body, he wanted to learn to be human, or he fell in love with a human and had attachments, so he wanted to do the "Five Ghosts Transporting Goods" thing, to do business without capital, in order to obtain money and teach himself and the person he liked to live a rich and good life.

For example, the Green Snake who stole the treasury's silver in "The Legend of the White Snake".

However, taking other people's money to help one's own poverty is ultimately a crooked path and not a proper way to cultivate oneself; it should be eliminated.

Just as Pigsy and Pingping were arguing about whether the monster was a snake, a fierce wind arose outside, accompanied by lightning and thunder. Inside, the old man, terrified, hid under the table and cried out, "The monster is coming! The monster is coming!"

"Don't be afraid, I'll go out and take a look."

Jiang Liu ordered Bajie, Hu Yuan, Hu Jue, Lü Zhen, and Pingping to guard the old man. He then called Ba Jing and went out. Looking up at the sky, he saw a large hand descend from the womb, reaching into the center of Tuoluo Village and scooping up a handful of persimmons.

Because the villagers were terrified of this monster, they had to pile up persimmon cakes in the open space in advance so that the monster could take them and leave. Otherwise, if the monster went mad, the houses would be blown down.

"Senior Brother, that's not a snake, it looks more like a worm."

Although Bajing had completely attained human form, he was still a true dragon in human form and had the ability to control clouds. With a flick of his arms, he parted the dark clouds and revealed his true form as a demon.

But we see:

It is about eight or nine zhang long, with six majestic limbs. It has barbs on its back and a Buddha's hand-shaped tail.

It was a Buddha's Hand worm!

Observe the Buddha's hand at its tail, which is directly opposite the palm, with the thumb on the left, indicating that it is a left-handed Buddha's hand worm.

"How could such a monstrous insect exist in this world?"

After confirming that it was an insect demon, Ba Jing was puzzled again, "Even if this insect demon attained enlightenment in the temple and became a spirit, it shouldn't have refined its tail into a left hand in order to cultivate a human body, right?"

"Oh, so that's what it is."

Looking at this Buddha's Hand worm, Jiang Liu already knew its origin.

It is related to Huanghua Temple.

In the context of "Journey to the West," Huanghua Temple was merely the Taoist temple of the Hundred-Eyed Demon King, who was a centipede spirit who sought immortality by burning thatch and breaking cauldrons to refine external elixirs. He was taken in by the Bodhisattva Pilanpo to guard the temple.

But in this primordial wilderness—

The Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord, however, was different; he had a connection with the Queen Mother of the West since childhood...

After the Journey to the West ended, Jiang Liu, the Monkey King, resigned from his Buddhist position, and all the immortals and Buddhas who had helped him on the journey suffered calamities.

Even the Bodhisattva Pilanpo could not escape and suffered a calamity. Her arms were carried to the Yellow Flower Temple by the Taoist priest, where the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord planted two eggs of the Qin Mantis Immortal, which hatched into the left and right Buddha Hand Insects.

The so-called Qinlang Fairy is Qin Yuan, born in Kunlun. It looks like a bee and is as big as a mandarin duck. When it stings birds and beasts, they die; when it pricks trees, the trees wither. It is a kind of evil insect.

Once this insect comes into the human world, it becomes even uglier due to different environments, but the eggs it lays have a "wonderful use". Like blood sacs, if swallowed by a living being, the larvae will hatch and gnaw on its internal organs. Moreover, different insects will be bred due to the differences in the talents of different species of living beings.

Upon hearing of Qin Yuan, Ba Jing immediately recalled an interesting story he had heard when he was the Third Prince of the Dragon King in the Western Sea: "The Queen Mother of the West's elixir of immortality on Kunlun Mountain uses Qin Yuan as its main ingredient..."

Back then, I wondered why the elixir of immortality would use such a poisonous insect as a medicinal ingredient. Today, I understand. It is to allow Qin Yuan to hatch in the mortal world and become a Qin Mantis. The Qin Mantis's eggs devour the internal organs of living beings, take their place, and transform into insect demons to plunder the spiritual essence of the human world!

Immortals and Buddhas cannot live forever, which is the spiritual essence, or what you, my senior brother, referred to as the primordial energy, which will spontaneously dissipate due to our activities.

Immortals and Buddhas can only cultivate tangible golden elixir and relics within their bodies, making true immortality difficult. They can only maintain their immortality by constantly plundering the spiritual essence of all living beings.

only--"

At this point, Bajing looked at the left Buddha Hand Insect and sighed, "I never imagined that the Heavenly Court would be so cruel. Just because our eldest brother entered the cycle of reincarnation, even the Bodhisattva Pilanpo, who once helped us, perished. His arms were parasitized and eaten by the Qinlang Fairy's insect eggs, which hatched into such a ferocious creature!"

"This 'left-handed Buddha's Hand' worm cannot be considered a ferocious creature."

Jiang Liu's discerning eye blossomed like a lotus flower as he observed the insect demon, and he chuckled, "What kind of insect demon likes to eat persimmon cakes?"

"Ok?"

Ba Jing was stunned for a moment, and upon closer inspection, he saw that the large hand of the Buddha's Hand Worm had grabbed a handful of persimmons, while its six limbs had also grabbed dozens of persimmons from the center of the village and stuffed them into its mouth.

"Her coming here is also related to me."

Jiang Liu revealed the origin of the story: "When we passed Huangfeng Ridge, I blessed Hu Yuan and Hu Jue with the power of the Golden Man, which caused them to blow a gust of wind that startled the Three Realms."

This left-handed Buddha's Hand worm got lost in the wind and ended up in the Tuoluo Village area.

But it was precisely this gust of wind that disrupted its internal energy, causing it to 'recall' its past memories from the left Buddha's hand at its tail, and thus become a vegetarian.

"Could it be the Bodhisattva Pilanpo?"

Ba Jing was startled and hurriedly asked.

"It's just that I gained some memories of the Bodhisattva Vimalamitra."

Seeing that Ba Jing had misunderstood him, Jiang Liu explained more clearly, "However, this demonic insect has eaten people before, so it cannot be kept alive."

Eightfold purity, remove it, and take back the left Buddha hand of Virupa Bodhisattva.

This Bodhisattva is different from the Buddhas of Vulture Peak; her mind has attained the state of 'emptiness.' Although she still follows the path of tangible relics, I am confident that if I can retrieve her hands, I can communicate with her heart and bring her back…”

Chapter 1536 Bajie and Bajing are one.

Having received the order, Ba Jing dared not delay. He rode the clouds and mist, and thrust his sword at the left-handed worm.

As if sensing something, the insect demon dropped the persimmon cake, flicked its tail, spread its five fingers, and grew larger in the wind, transforming into a small mountain in the blink of an eye, pressing down.

However, this "Five Finger Mountain" was ultimately no match for the palm of the Buddha. Ba Jing dodged it in an instant, leaped onto its tail, and with a sweep of his sword, transformed into a long rainbow, instantly severing a pair of wing membranes near its head.

"squeak--"

With its wings broken, the Buddha's Hand worm panicked but could no longer fly. It fell from the sky and crashed heavily into a pile of persimmons in the center of the village.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ba Jing pierced the neck where the head and body were connected with his sword, and with a forceful slash, the insect demon's head rolled to the ground, spitting out a stream of green, sticky blood.

Jiang Liu was not surprised that Ba Jing dealt with the Left-handed Buddha's Hand Worm so easily.

Along the way, Bajing has also achieved success in his cultivation, refining the Golden Elixir, which is perfectly round and unified. How could a mere insect demon born from the hands of Bodhisattva Pilanpo be his opponent?

Stepping forward, Jiang Liu drew his Ruyi Jingu Bang (a magical staff), the two golden hoops merging into a nine-ringed staff. The rings circulated, guiding the innate Qi within the left Buddha's Hand worm to its tail, while he chanted the six-syllable mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum".

Wave!

The enormous left Buddha hand shimmered with golden light, continuously shrinking until it transformed into a left hand resembling white jade.

This is the left hand of the Bodhisattva Vimalamitra.

Jiang Liu picked it up, examined its texture, raised his finger, drew a resurrection talisman on his palm, and then nurtured it within his primordial spirit.

Not long after.

When the wind stopped, the villagers of Tuoluo Village came out in twos and threes to investigate. They found the corpse of the Buddha's Hand worm in the center of the village and were all shocked.

The old man surnamed Li was also present and asked Jiang Liu, "Did the sorcerer subdue this monster?"

"It's all thanks to my junior brother."

Jiang Liu spoke the truth.

"The mages possess great supernatural powers and boundless magical abilities!"

Upon hearing this, people flocked to Bajing and Jiangliu, overjoyed.

The next day.

At Jiang Liu's suggestion, the villagers moved the insect demon and the pile of persimmons outside the village, poured kerosene on them, lit a fire, and burned them to prevent the spread of plague.

However, when the villagers saw that Jiang Liu and his group were going to continue westward, they knew that they were virtuous monks like the pilgrims from five hundred years ago, and none of them were reluctant to part with them and they all saw them off.

But when they arrived at the persimmon ditch, a gust of wind blew, and a stench filled the air, instantly reminding Pigsy of his past days of digging for excrement. He covered his nose and exclaimed, "It really stinks!"

Even Bajing couldn't stand the stench and gagged, saying, "Back when I was a horse, I didn't notice it, but now that I've achieved some success in my cultivation, I can't stand it anymore."