Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

In the Wuji Kingdom, Baolin Temple was built by imperial decree.

It was late at night, and the night watch was slow. The prince of the Black Chicken Kingdom was crying to the four people who were seeking scriptures: "My mother told me that for the past three years, my father has not been affectionate with the concubines in the harem, and the relationship between husband and wife is as cold as ice. Last night, she had another dream. In the dream, my father was standing outside the palace dripping wet, crying that he was tricked by the Taoist priest to see the treasure in the well three years ago, and was pushed into the well from behind when he was not paying attention. Damn it! That guy changed into the shape of my father and enjoyed the joy of being an emperor for three years. Poor my father can only soak in the cold well water, becoming a rootless lonely ghost. Saint monk, you must do something for my father!"

Xuanzang was full of compassion, and was about to speak, when he suddenly heard a strange sound in his chest, like the sound of a sharp sword, and he paused. The crying of the prince of Wuji Kingdom was disturbed by this unexpected sound, and he immediately got a stitch in the side, and coughed several times before stopping: "Holy monk, this is..."

Xuanzang nodded to him apologetically and said, "My mother has some news. Your Highness, please allow me to talk to her first."

The prince of Wuji was originally a very filial person. Hearing this, he could only suppress his anxiety and said, "Saint monk, please do as you please."

Xuanzang immediately took out the sound transmission note: "Mother..."

As soon as his voice came out, Wen Jiao interrupted him: "Give the sound transmission talisman to Sun Dasheng and let him speak."

Xuanzang: ...

The prince of the Black Chicken Kingdom saw that he had a serious expression on his face and handed the talisman to Wukong with stiff movements. For some reason, he remembered the time when his father always compared his schoolwork with that of his study partner when he was a child.

The prince's companion and the prince had been friends since they were naked, and their relationship was harmonious. However, the companion was a child prodigy who had a photographic memory and wrote brilliant calligraphy. Compared with him, the prince looked like a fool.

Every time the little prince heard his father praising his study partner and added "look at them", he wanted to dig a hole and bury his head in it.

Other people’s children are really the most annoying species in the world.

But since three years ago, my father has never said anything like this again.

The prince of the Black Chicken Kingdom lowered his head, fearing that the sympathy on his face would be seen by the victim, but he quietly pricked up his ears and heard the exceptionally young and clear female voice asking in harmony: "Sun Dasheng, if you are free recently, can you do me a favor?"

Wukong was planning to go to heaven to ask Taishang Laojun for a resurrection pill to help the king of Wuji Kingdom come back to life, but he hadn't told Xuanzang and the others yet. Hearing this, he said, "What's the matter, Master? I'll see what the situation is and do what I can."

Wen Jiao said, "I would like to ask the Great Sage to visit the Sunlight Bodhisattva and ask me a question. At the border of Nanzhanbuzhou and Xiniuhezhou, there is a place called Wuliang Plateau and a country called Jiadi. Does the sun rise and the moon rise in this country, just like other places?"

As she spoke, her eyes drifted to the incense table in front of her. The incense ash on the table was half hot, obviously after a prayer ritual. The incense ash condensed into several lines of words, with strong strokes, and the wind spirit of dragon roaring and turtle calming. If a Taoist priest from Wudang Mountain saw it, he would definitely exclaim: "This is the authentic work of our Demon-Subduing Heavenly Venerable!"

The words read: Xihe once said, the sun rises and the moon sets every day in Jiadi, over and over again, and it has been like this since ancient times, without a single empty day.

The night-shining pearls placed on the four corners of the incense table were bright and lustrous, reflecting the incense ash into a beautiful blue-gray color. Ji Zun stood behind Wen Jiao, looking at the words on the incense ash, and then looking at Wen Jiao who was thoughtful after cutting off the sound transmission note, and couldn't help but think of what happened a few days ago.

The morning light was dim, and a few bright morning stars hung on the corners of the dawn sky, reflecting the rolling river below. Even at its narrowest point, the river was twenty feet wide. The river was surging like thunder, and it was dark as if it was an impassable natural moat. Standing on this side, you could see the broken bridge pier on the other side. It stood there alone, like a shoulder with a broken arm. Beyond the bridge pier, you could see the dark land of Jiadi.

This river may be an insurmountable chasm for ordinary people, but for Wen Jiao, it is as easy as walking on flat ground. She grabbed Ji Zun's belt, stepped on the waves, and carried her across lightly. Seeing the rapids swirling under his feet, Ji Zun felt dizzy and closed his eyes quickly, and hurriedly found a topic to distract himself: "Master, I don't understand. Master, you often praise Sun Wukong for his great magical powers, which are far beyond your reach. But Master can easily carry you across the river, why can't Sun Wukong carry Master Xuanzang across the river? I heard that whether it is Yingchoujian where the white dragon horse is, or the Liusha River where Sha Seng is, it took a lot of effort to cross it."

Wen Jiao brushed away the water that was about to splash on her face: "Xuanzang is different from you and me. Going to the West to obtain the scriptures was his own ambition, so the journey to the West is long, and he has to walk every mountain and river by himself. If Sun Wukong does it for him, it will be the Monkey King's quest for the scriptures, not Tang Monk's quest for the scriptures. At that time, who should the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures be given to on Lingshan Mountain or in front of the Great Leiyin Temple?"

Jizun suddenly realized: "This is the law of fate for each person."

Wen Jiao nodded and smiled. Both of her current disciples were intelligent, but in comparison, Wu Meiniang was resourceful, resourceful and decisive, and was superior in intelligence. Although Ji Zun was not as good as Wu Meiniang in this respect, he was also very smart in practicing and realizing the truth, and was superior in wisdom. Wu Meiniang's future achievements were beyond doubt, as she was born as a Heart Moon Fox to achieve a legendary feat. Ji Zun's potential in the immortal way was probably limitless, and his future achievements might not be lower.

The master and the disciple asked and answered each other, and in the blink of an eye they had reached the other side. Ji Zun felt her feet solid, knowing that she had stepped on the ground, and quickly opened her eyes, but she could only see a dark mass, and could not make out anything. Since she entered the master's sect, she has been practicing the Sky Eye Method every day, and has long been able to see things at night and ghosts during the day. She was not in a hurry and silently recited the formula: "Open your eyes, light the golden crystal, and see the six directions and let out light!"

After he finished speaking, the view suddenly became clear, and the trees and buildings were all clearly visible, but they seemed to be covered with a light gray mist, which was only seen at night. Ji Zun looked around and saw that the grass under his feet was weakly standing, and the trees on the roadside were yellow and thin. It was clearly the season of green trees and thick shade, but all the plants seemed to have been drained of vitality. But it made sense. Without sunlight for many years, even the most lush plants would be unable to recover.

The two walked towards the town, and saw that more and more places were barren, with only dry dead trees showing the scenery that once existed here. There were few people walking on the street, and the few pedestrians who occasionally walked were pale, with worn-out clothes covering their skinny bodies, which made them look empty. However, their pupils were shining, which made them look sick and weird.

Compared to Ji Zun, Wen Jiao sensed more. Nine out of ten houses around the room were empty. The owners inside were not only gone, but also... dead.