From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

The Hu brothers, Hu Yuan and Hu Jue, also accepted the towels handed to them by the villagers, covered their mouths and noses, and complained together, "The stench of this ditch is worse than that of the latrine!"

Pingping also covered her mouth and nose, saying repeatedly, "I've eaten persimmons before, they're delicious and sweet, how come they smell so awful when they rot?"

Compared to the other four, Liang Luzhen was alright, without any complaints. This was because he had taken on the burden himself, kept quiet, and kept his spirit hidden in his mouth. As his spirit circulated throughout his body, it formed its own aura, and he was already close to achieving the Golden Core.

Although Bajie and the others had already achieved the initial stage of Golden Core formation, they had become somewhat complacent, which is why they smelled the foul stench and developed a sense of discrimination, causing them to feel a little annoyed.

“Master, don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Stay in our village for a year or two. We are hardworking villagers and we will help you open up a road.”

The old man surnamed Li advised.

The other villagers echoed their sentiments, hoping they would stay so they could deal with any other monsters that might come.

"As Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva said: Bodhisattvas save people by teaching them to save themselves."

Jiang Liu laughed and said, “We appreciate your good intentions. But as you said before, the Seven Absolutes Mountain Range is 800 miles wide. If there were a road, you could cross it. But now the road is blocked. To cross mountains and ridges to open a road, without the determination of Yu the Great, how can you succeed?”

I'll wait until I get there myself.

If you are truly kind enough, just prepare some food for my two junior brothers, Pigsy and Pure One, and have them clear the way.”

The people of Tuoluo Village are all simple and honest, and everyone is willing to help. They all went home to get rice, flour, steamed buns, fruits and vegetables.

Bajie complained, "I, a pig, am destined to be 'cleaned up'."

“Bajie, don’t say such things. Even if it is ‘purifying the altar,’ it is something you have cultivated, isn’t it? If you can purify the afflictions of sentient beings in the future, wouldn’t that also be a righteous attainment?”

Upon hearing this, Pigsy felt a sudden inspiration, as if he had found the true meaning of cultivation. He puffed out his chest and laughed loudly, "After listening to your words, brother, I should drink a big cup of wine!"

In that case, Old Pig will truly act as the Cleansing Altar Messenger Bodhisattva, not only eating the offerings but also opening a new path for all sentient beings!

As soon as he finished speaking, Pigsy chanted a spell and transformed into a large black pig, growing taller and longer than the wind, reaching 800 feet in height and 1,000 feet in length. This was not his original form, but rather the manifestation of the Dharma Heaven and Earth that he controlled after the initial formation of the Golden Elixir.

Although it is not as tall as the river, only a thousand feet long, and it is in its original form after being mistakenly reborn as a pig, its form is already comparable to the Dharma bodies of Erlang and the Four Heavenly Kings in this world!

The people of Tuoluo Village arrived with rice, flour, fruits, and vegetables. Upon seeing the enormous black pig, and recalling the story of "Elder Bajie's Talk of the Rare Persimmons" that had been passed down for five hundred years, they exclaimed in surprise, "It's Master Bajie! It's that Master Bajie from back then!"

After eating the rice and flour, Pigsy shouted twice, went down into the canal, and with one snout he cleared a hundred-mile stretch of road, opening up the persimmon canal that had been blocked for a hundred years. However, there was still a lot of rotten stuff in the canal.

Having attained enlightenment, Ba Jing also ate some of the food sent by Tuoluo Village. With a long roar, he leaped into the air and transformed into a jade dragon. Thereupon:

Long body, sharp claws, scales all over, a proud spirit hidden in the Western Sea. Long whiskers, ringed eyes like the sun and moon, square head, ox ears like banana leaves. Cultivated to have jade bones and a lifespan as long as heaven, forged white scales stronger than iron cages. A dragon's roar summons clouds and rain, bringing joy to the people of Tuoluo Village.

This washing cleanses the rotten persimmon mud from the mountains, purifying the heart and calming the mind of worries.

Jiang Liu and his group traveled nearly a hundred miles, and the villagers of Tuoluo Village continued to follow them, even bringing them rice, flour, and steamed buns to eat.

"Please go, folks. We'll trouble you to see us off again; that would be our way of repaying your kindness," Jiang Liu said, turning to the people of Tuoluo Village.

The old man surnamed Li pleaded, "Master, can't you stay? What if other monsters come to our village?"

As the ancients said, "If you rely on a mountain, the mountain will collapse; if you rely on water, the water will dry up."

Jiang Liu laughed, “With this canal open, the road between east and west will be open, so why worry about monsters coming again? I will also teach you a mantra for rebirth, and by speaking from the heart, you can guard the Dharani in your hearts.”

The people of Tuoluo Village were overjoyed to receive the "Rebirth Mantra," but they did not turn back. Instead, they escorted Jiang Liu and his group for nearly two hundred miles before turning back.

This is precisely:

The camel-riding villager returned home, while Pigsy opened the mountain and crossed the canal. The eight pure minds were embraced by clouds and rain, and the river flowed as the inner demons waned.

Wash the persimmons until they're mushy and runny, then the Seven-Character Alley opens today. Water nourishes the wood, following nature's course, allowing unobstructed passage to the lotus throne.

After this cultivation, Bajie's eight purifications were integrated into one, his golden elixir was stabilized, and his holy embryo was about to be formed. He only needed to cut off the three corpses to transform into the three pure ones, eliminate the six thieves to obtain the six roots, and remove the nine insects to unite yin and yang, so that he could unite his body and mind and open up the great world of human body.

Chapter 1537 The Banner Moves, the Heart Remains Calm, Awaiting Wise Eyes

After bidding farewell to the villagers of Tuoluo Village, Jiang Liu and his group left Xishiqu and walked for an unknown amount of time. They saw grass growing tall, orioles flying, flowers falling and withering, and lush, green trees.

Spring has passed, and the sweltering heat has arrived.

As they were traveling, Bajie pointed to the city ahead and said, "Brother Monkey, we've arrived at the Kingdom of Zhu Zi."

How do you know it's the Kingdom of Zhu Zi?

Pingping asked, "The journey to the West to obtain the scriptures has been over five hundred years ago. The cities in Zhu Zi Kingdom must have changed by now. How do you recognize them?"

Hu Yuan and Hu Jue were also curious: "Yes, how can Second Senior Brother be so sure that this is the Kingdom of Zhu Zi and not some other city?"

"You followed your senior brother in your cultivation, and he taught you to read. How come you still can't read?"

Bajie pointed to a flag standing in front of the city gate, "Doesn't it say 'Zhu Zi Kingdom' in big characters on it?"

Hu Yuan retorted, "Senior brother, you're talking nonsense!"

Hu Jue sneered, "My brother and I have good eyesight, so we can see the flag. But the flag is fluttering in the wind, so how can we make out what's written on it?"

"Strange, how come only Old Pig saw it?"

Pigsy was puzzled.

Because in his eyes, although the flag was swaying in the wind, the three characters "Zhu Zi Guo" were perfectly clear. How could they not see them?

Recalling their journey to the West, when they passed through the Kingdom of Zhu Zi, only his eldest brother could see the words on the flag, which puzzled him even more. So he asked Jiang Liu, "Brother, can you see the words on that flag?"

"visible."

The river flows with a smile—because the flag moves but the heart remains unmoved.

Bajie was able to see the three large characters on the flag, which proved that he had not only achieved the Golden Elixir, but his state of mind was also gradually entering the Bodhisattva realm. Although he had not yet cultivated the Eye of Wisdom, he already had some ability to see the eye of wisdom.

“I saw it too.”

Bajing also saw the words on the flag clearly and said so.

"I think I saw it too."

Liang Luzhen then spoke up.

Seeing that they had all seen it, Hu Yuan and Hu Jue quickly changed their tune, saying, "Yes, those are the three big characters of Zhu Zi Kingdom. We can see them now too."

Pingping looked at the three of them with disdain.

"You two, stop talking nonsense."

Jiang Liu only reprimanded Hu Yuan and Hu Jue, saying, "I am the Mind Monkey, and I can see people's hearts. Bajie, Bajing, and Luzhen can see me because the flag moves but their hearts do not move."

"If your minds are not at peace, even with eyes that can see a thousand miles, you will hardly be able to see the words on the banner."

Hu Yuan suddenly realized that sincerity is required in spiritual practice, so he immediately apologized and devoted himself to cultivation.

They entered the city.

The gate towers stand tall, their battlements stacked in neat rows. Running water flows around the area, while high mountains face each other to the north and south. Six streets and three markets abound with goods, and countless households thrive. Truly, this is the capital of an emperor, the great capital of the land of plenty.

Seeing the numerous city towers and the profusion of flowers, Pingping finally believed that this was the capital of the emperor, and said, "I have seen the scenery of Chang'an in books, and it is exactly the same as this place. It must really be the Kingdom of Zhu Zi."

"This little fox has been reciting the Heart Sutra so much, she's got so many thoughts. It was one thing that you didn't believe me before, but even Monkey King said that the flag moves but the mind doesn't. Why don't you believe me?"

"Bajie mocked."

"Hearing is believing, seeing is believing, and this should be verified." Pingping chuckled, unconcerned, and looked around curiously.

The people on the street, seeing that this group of people were either handsome or strange, stopped shouting and stood still to watch. Some idlers and naughty children even came to find Jiang Liu, Bajie, Hu Yuan, Hu Jue, Liang Luzhen and others, as well as the animal-like characters, to play with. They were truly innocent.

It is evident that the people of Zhu Zi Kingdom were quite accustomed to seeing strangely shaped people.

Jiang Liu and the others ignored the group of children and continued walking. After a short while, they turned a corner and saw a wall with the words "Huitong Hall" written on it.

The Huitongguan was a place for communication and exchange among people from all over the world, and it received foreigners.

Once inside the meeting hall, the pedestrians on the street could no longer see them and dispersed.

There were two officials inside the hall, one chief and one deputy, who came forward to greet us: "Who goes there? Come this way!"

As the river flowed past, he introduced himself: "We are wandering ascetics traveling from east to west. We are passing through your country and wish to go there. We do not know what kind of permit we need to obtain?"

"No need to do anything, just leave your name and place of origin."

The official in charge took out paper and pen and recorded everything for Jiang Liu and the others. He also gave them seven documents, saying, "When you leave the city, show the documents to the guards, and they will let you pass."

Thank you.

Jiang Liu thanked them and asked the deputy director to find them a room. He then said to Ba Jing and Ping Ping, "Among the seven of us, only the two of you have human forms that are no different from those of humans. You won't attract attention when you go out."

Let us take some money to buy some cloth. We have endured wind and rain here, and our clothes are all torn and need mending before we can continue our journey.

Ba Jing and Ping Ping took the money and left the meeting place, asking passersby where the weavers were located.

The passersby, seeing that Ba Jing was handsome and Ping Ping was beautiful, immediately realized that they were not ordinary people. They pointed to a direction to the west and said, "There is a Zhu family shop at the west gate. They sell a fabric called Jiangzhen yarn, which is as lustrous as moonlight and as ethereal as piled clouds. The wealthy and powerful people in the city love it very much."

Upon hearing about the Jiangzhen yarn, Bajing seemed to be deep in thought. He thanked the passersby and then led Pingping directly to the Zhu family's shop.

The shop was small, with two men who were broad and stout, with upturned noses and wide ears, somewhat resembling Pigsy in his current human form.

Pingping twitched her nose slightly, smelling a fishy, ​​foul odor that was hard for ordinary people to detect. She said to Bajing, "Senior brother, these two are probably from the same clan as second senior brother."

Having cultivated the Golden Core, Ba Jing possessed the hidden ability of insightful eyes, enabling him to perceive auras. He could also discern the true nature of the two, saying, "They are indeed pig demons, with malevolent energy lurking above their heads. They have devoured countless people and are not benevolent beings."

Having said that, he pushed through the crowd and asked the two pig demons, "May I ask what the owner's surname is? And how much is this cloth?"

“My name is Pig Big, and his name is Pig Two. This cloth is made by the Zhu family’s weaving factory. It is sold by the bolt. A bolt is four zhang long and two chi two cun wide, and is worth a thousand taels of gold.”

One of the pig demons laughed.

"A thousand taels of gold?"

Ba Jing picked up a piece of Jiangzhen silk and stroked it carefully. It was indeed silky soft, but he sneered, "Is this fabric made of silver? Or gold?"

"Don't touch it if you're not going to buy it, you can't afford to pay for it if you break it!"

Another pig demon, named Pig Two, snatched the Jiangzhen Silk from Ba Jing's hand, its eyes slightly bloodshot.

If this weren't the capital of the Kingdom of Zhu Zi, with so many people around, he probably would have revealed his true form on the spot and bitten Ba Jing's head.

Ba Jing was not annoyed. He took out a gold brick from his sleeve and said leisurely, "I have plenty of money. As long as your fabrics are of good quality, I will naturally buy them."

Upon seeing the gold bricks, Pig's eyes lit up, and he grinned broadly: "Do I even need to mention how good our fabrics are? Look at this silky fabric, it shimmers and sparkles in the light. Wearing it will surely earn you respect!"

After saying that, he flicked the cloth open and held it up to the sunlight, and sure enough, it shone brightly.

Ba Jing nodded with feigned satisfaction and said, "It is indeed fine cloth, but is a bolt of cloth here really four zhang long?"

Upon hearing this, Pig Big's smile froze, and Pig Two was even more hostile, cursing, "Would we, as business people, shortchange you even a foot?"

Buy it if you want to.