Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

The snow fell and flew like flowers, the fluffy white accompanied by the chill was scattered between the jade buildings and the red roofs, as if it was raining pear blossoms.

The first snow in Chang'an came unexpectedly.

In Wanhua Tower, all the flying snow was cleared away by the talisman posted by Wen Jiao before it could land on the ground, and piled up outside the courtyard gate. Soon, a thick layer of snow accumulated. Huo Ling'er was delighted to see this, and turned into her original form, happily rolling in the fluffy snow pile like a warm quilt. After rolling for a long time, she realized that something was wrong.

She stuck her head out and called upstairs, "Why is no one here today?"

At this time of day, the door would be flooded with Taoist officials.

Wen Jiao leaned against the window, admiring the beauty of the first snow. Hearing this, she said, "When I was meditating last night, I saw that it was going to snow, so I sent out my Yang Spirit to inform the abbots of the various temples that the weather was cold and the roads were slippery, so they could practice on their own. Unless there was something serious, they didn't have to come. If they saw heavy snow causing harm to people, they could help them on their own. Sort out the accounts, and I'll find a way to raise funds from the donors."

Well, she is now familiar with finding fat sheep to reimburse.

"There are so many Taoist temples. It's hard for you to notify them one by one." Huo Ling'er said casually. She was startled after saying this, and then said happily, "Wen Jiao, you have made another breakthrough?"

It was impossible to notify every family one by one, and it was more likely that they were notified at the same time. Wen Jiao could only send out one soul when her yang spirit left her body before, but now...

Wen Jiao smiled and said, "The one who knows me best is Sister Huo. I have been studying this tight hoop these past few days and have gained a lot. Last night, by chance, I realized the way to achieve the perfect combination of form and spirit and the incarnation of five-five."

Although he is not as good as Wukong who can blow out ten thousand monkeys by plucking a monkey hair, it is no problem for him to create a hundred or eighty clones at the same time.

A great Taoist master in later generations once described this state: "One body is everywhere, just like a bright moon whose shadow is divided into thousands of waters; many bodies are integrated into one, like a bright mirror whose light is contained in thousands of shapes." Shadow is divided into thousands of waters, and light is contained in thousands of shapes. What a mysterious scene it is. Wen Jiao will make this her goal.

"No wonder I slept so soundly last night. When I woke up this morning, I felt that I had grown a circle bigger. It turned out that I had absorbed the spiritual energy that overflowed when you broke through in my sleep." Huo Ling'er also knew the origin of Wen Jiao's new tight hoop. She asked curiously, "That is a Buddhist thing. How did you realize the realm of Taoism from it?"

"Three thousand side doors all lead to the main road." Wen Jiao said. She was also curious for a moment, why is this tight hoop that can imprison the Monkey King so powerful? She didn't want to study it carefully, and she got a lot.

Wukong is a man of great wisdom, loyalty and wit, but this does not mean he is perfect. He is too agitated and proud, and sometimes he shows some unreasonable arrogance. The Dragon King of the East Sea had never heard of his name, but he still treated him kindly and promised to find him a magic weapon. After he got the treasure, he was not grateful at all, but even insisted on asking for his armor, which prompted the four dragon kings to jointly sue him in heaven.

Just imagine, one Wukong has caused such a commotion, what if he encounters a second Wukong? Is it possible for such a monkey to live in harmony with his second self?

The so-called tight hoop is nothing more than projecting the monkey's mind onto himself.

Wukong is trapped by himself.

When he has tempered all the badness in his character, and can sympathize with the insignificance of green plants and trees while laughing at the world, and is magnanimous and detached instead of being arrogant, he will be able to accommodate another self. By then, there is no need for the Buddha and Guanyin Bodhisattva to chant the loosening spell, and the tight hoop will fall off by itself without a trace.

What Wen Jiao borrowed was exactly this method of cultivating the mind, which is quite similar to the Taoist method of incarnation.

Huo Linger was confused by her abstruse explanation and said flatly, "I don't understand." Then she turned around and rolled in the snow again.

In her unconscious running-in with Wen Jiao, one person and one lion have reached a delicate and harmonious state of symbiosis in cultivation. Wen Jiao is responsible for being enterprising and practicing with concentration, while Huo Ling'er is responsible for being free and natural. Once Wen Jiao's cultivation is improved, the overflowing spiritual energy will take Huo Ling'er to a higher level, and Huo Ling'er's free and easy attitude can often calm Wen Jiao's anger caused by long days of practice.

Wen Jiao couldn't help but smile as she watched the fiery red crystal lion rolling happily in the snow. Suddenly, she heard a crisp sound of horse hooves coming from the official road outside the high wall behind the building, getting closer and closer to the Duke's Mansion. It sounded like it was coming towards the corner gate of Wanhua Tower. With a thought, she created an avatar and flew up to the top of the building. She saw an embroidered messenger talking to the gatekeeper: "Is Master Jingrong still in the mansion? We have received the order from the Queen to summon Master Jingrong to the palace for an audience."

Wen Jiao withdrew her clone and shook her head, saying, "It's hard for him to ride all the way here in such a cold wind."

Normally, outsiders were not allowed to ride horses wildly in the inner courtyard of the mansion. The embroidered messenger had the order of the phoenix on his body, so he ran to the Wanhua Tower unhindered, but was frightened from a distance.

The snow beside the gate was three feet above the ground, covering half of the gate, like a pond. But the pond was not filled with water, but pure white snow. A red-haired lion, about two feet long, was happily splashing in the snow pond, and every splash created a snow wave several feet high.

Even from a long distance away, a gust of snow and waves still hit the face of the embroidered messenger. The horse stood up in shock, and the embroidered messenger pulled the reins tight and calmed the horse for a long time before the jumping horse calmed down. He finally had time to wipe the snow off his face and exclaimed: "Is this the lion that Master Jingrong rides? It looks more powerful than the one in Wu Daozi's painting!"

"A-choo!" Huo Ling'er couldn't help but sneeze, tilting her huge head to look at him, "Who is talking about me?"

The embroidered-robed messenger quickly dismounted and bowed, saying, "Lion Guardian, the Queen has ordered us to summon Jingrong Zhenren. Please inform her."

Since Wen Jiao became the seal holder of the Dao Lu Division, Huo Ling'er had long been accustomed to being treated as her guardian. Upon hearing this, she nodded lazily, jumped out of the snow pool easily, raised her paws gracefully, and knocked on the door three times: "Master Jingrong, there is an envoy from the palace who wants to see you."

Well, in view of Wen Jiao's one center and three basic points, these days, the man and the lion have been paying attention to showing some magical demeanor to show their own extraordinaryness. Huo Ling'er now often appears in the world in her true form, and is very good at acting like a divine beast in front of outsiders.

A pleasant breeze blew, clearing a path through the snow that blocked the courtyard gate. Not too much, not too little, and just the right size to match the gate.

Wen Jiao's voice came, neither loud nor soft, but clear as if she was speaking softly beside her ear: "Come in."

The envoy in embroidered clothes looked into the courtyard and saw Master Jingrong sitting majestically by the window on the second floor. He had a solemn and dignified look on his face and a graceful figure, and he did not look like an ordinary person.

"He is truly worthy of being a first-class immortal." The embroidered robes messenger exclaimed.