Chapter 96: Rewards Settlement
Yet Nezha is truly ferocious by nature.
Outside Lingxiao Palace, he raised the Demon Slaying Sword and thrust it into his own chest, the blade piercing through his body, immediately causing severe injury.
Pulling out the Demon Slaying Sword, Nezha entered Lingxiao Palace and accused before the Jade Emperor.
Seeing this, the Jade Emperor asked who had injured him.
Nezha said: “It was the Eight Heavenly Dragons under Manjushri Bodhisattva, four Asuras who injured me.”
Those four Asuras looked shocked and hurriedly knelt down, saying:
“Your Majesty, this is absolutely not true. We all followed the Bodhisattva’s orders to devise a plan to eliminate that Demon Dragon. How dare we harm the Great God of the Three Altars?”
Nezha pointed at that Thousand-Eyed Asura, saying: “It was him, using that blood-colored long sword to injure me. That Demon Dragon was already severely wounded, but he deliberately let the Demon Dragon go and instead severely injured me!”
That Thousand-Eyed Asura, terrified, kowtowed and said:
“Your Majesty, this is absolutely not true! This precious sword is a treasure of my family Old Ancestor, borrowed personally by the Bodhisattva from Old Ancestor. How could I arbitrarily wield it to harm the Great God of the Three Altars?”
The Jade Emperor said: “Outrageous! Colluding with the Demon Dragon and harming the Great God of the Three Altars—such a crime is unforgivable. Send this evil demon to the Immortal Slaying Platform to extinguish his primal spirit. The other three shall each receive two thousand divine lashes and be demoted to the Netherworld.”
The divine official said: “As decreed!”
Seeing this, the four hurriedly begged for mercy and cried injustice, saying: “Unjust! Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva, save us! We did everything according to your orders!”
Manjushri Bodhisattva coldly watched these idiots, her expression indifferent, saying nothing.
That blood-colored long sword had a spirit; it flew out from the Thousand-Eyed Asura and automatically returned to its master.
Manjushri Bodhisattva rode her green lion, took the green-furred lion from Wuji Kingdom, left the Heavenly Court, and descended to the Mortal Realm.
The other immortals also took their leave.
Wukong and Nezha exited Lingxiao Palace. Seeing no one around, Wukong patted Nezha and laughed: “Nezha, you are truly wicked.”
Nezha clutched his chest and grunted.
Wukong exclaimed in surprise: “You are really injured!”
Nezha’s face pale, said: “If it weren’t a real injury, how could I display it in Lingxiao Palace. Monkey, tell that bastard Demon Dragon that I no longer owe him. Next time we meet, I will definitely chop off his dragon head!”
Wukong said: “Alright, I’ll send you back to rest soon. Don’t worry, I will definitely tell him that you were severely injured for his sake.”
Nezha angrily said: “Monkey, you!”
In the Mortal Realm, Manjushri Bodhisattva rode her green lion and descended upon Wuji Kingdom.
Divine rainbows filled the sky, lotus platform thrones, Buddhist sounds chanting, saving all living beings.
All the common people of Wuji Kingdom, from top to bottom, came out to kowtow and worship, shouting that the Bodhisattva had manifested.
Manjushri Bodhisattva explained from the beginning the reason for bringing the green lion to the Mortal Realm, announcing it to the common people.
After hearing this, the King of Wuji Kingdom dared not harbor any resentment in his heart and could only lower his head in kneeling worship.
Manjushri Bodhisattva also explained to the masses that the Buddha transformed by Ao Tu was demonic evil, ordering the common people not to worship it.
The King of Wuji Kingdom also hurriedly agreed, stating that the common people were not permitted to worship.
Manjushri Bodhisattva chanted sutras again, manifesting boundless magic power, saving all living beings, dissolving afflictions. After one night, monks and Taoist priests returned to their original positions, and all the common people in the city forgot past events.
Only the King of Wuji Kingdom, the Queen, and the Crown Prince, because they had consumed the Queen Mother’s pastries and fruits, still remembered the past.
Seeing this, Manjushri Bodhisattva said: “It is fated thus.”
She paid it no further mind.
Manjushri Bodhisattva cast a spell again, naming that ninety-nine-story Buddhist pagoda the Great Prajna Buddhist Pagoda. All the stone-carved Buddha statues inside were inscribed with the appearances of the Buddhas and Arhats from Western Spirit Mountain, for the world’s people to behold.
She took out a sarira bead and placed it at the pagoda’s top. All those illuminated by the sarira bead’s light could dissolve disasters, thereby repaying Wuji Kingdom’s karma.
Manjushri Bodhisattva sat before the pagoda again, lecturing on sutras for thirty-three days, taking in three thousand believers.
Grateful for Manjushri’s Dharma grace, the King of Wuji Kingdom issued an imperial decree outside the Great Prajna Buddhist Pagoda to build the Great Prajna Buddhist Temple, enshrining golden statues of the various Buddhas to house Manjushri Bodhisattva’s three thousand believers.
With matters here settled, Tang Sanzang and his disciples packed their travel pass and left Wuji Kingdom’s borders.
Wuji Kingdom’s territory was neither large nor small, about a thousand li in radius.
The four master and disciples traveled by starlight and moonlight westward. That day, they arrived at a town.
Ba Jie said: “Great, Master. There’s a town ahead; let’s quickly go in and borrow lodging from a household. These past few days sleeping in the wilderness, this pig’s back has caught a chill.”
Wukong laughed: “Idiot, in the past we always camped in the open, and you never complained like this. Now after staying a few days in that imperial palace, you’re complaining instead.”
Sha Seng said: “Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, it’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality!”
Ba Jie said: “Go away, mind your own business!”
Tang Sanzang smiled: “Ba Jie, once we retrieve the true sutras and return to Great Tang, we won’t have to camp in the open anymore.”
Ba Jie said: “When will that be!”
The four master and disciples entered the town. Tang Sanzang went to knock on doors to borrow lodging from households.
He saw a household with several tiled rooms, fairly well-off. Tang Sanzang knocked on the door.
The household opened the door; it was an old man.
Tang Sanzang said: “Benefactor, this poor monk is…”
“Bang!” The door was slammed shut.
The old man said: “My family does not offer food to monks.”
Tang Sanzang called: “Old benefactor, this poor monk and disciples are all good people, just seeking to borrow lodging for one night.”
The old man said: “Go borrow elsewhere; my family is not convenient.”
Helpless, Tang Sanzang went to another household.
“Benefactor, this poor monk comes from…”
“Bang!” The door slammed shut again.
No matter what Tang Sanzang said, no one paid attention.
Tang Sanzang visited four or five households in a row, but none were willing to take them in. Finally, he met a hot-tempered old man who directly cursed:
“Baldy, get lost! You haven’t had enough of the grand temples in the city, coming here to borrow lodging? Get lost! Get lost!”
Helpless, Tang Sanzang sought the local official, showed the travel pass, and borrowed lodging at the official residence for a day.
Tang Sanzang couldn’t help asking the local official:
“Sir, this poor monk comes from the east. Upon entering Wuji Kingdom, all encountered were kind households offering food to monks. Why here do they so despise monks?”
That official said: “Holy Monk, you do not know. Some time ago, the king decreed the construction of the Great Prajna Buddhist Temple, conscripting over twenty thousand able-bodied men from these four western cities for corvée labor.
Think about it: spring plowing is imminent; doesn’t this delay farming? Thus, local common people are somewhat averse to monks—this is human nature. I hope the Holy Monk does not take offense.”
Tang Sanzang understood the reason and was momentarily speechless, lowering his head with a sigh: “Amitabha.”
After returning, Tang Sanzang told Wukong and the others about the matter.
Wukong listened; though he had a thousand skills, he felt powerless.
Ba Jie said: “Master, before leaving Wuji Kingdom, let’s cover our heads and faces first.”
Tang Sanzang said: “Why cover our heads and faces?”
Ba Jie said: “Master, think: corvée labor is no good task; it could lead to family ruin. We monks walking here—aren’t we ready-made enemies for the people?
It’s just like thieves not daring to show their faces on the street. This pig’s words may be crude, but they are real truth. I say we cover our heads and faces and quietly pass through Wuji Kingdom!”
Hearing this, Tang Sanzang’s face showed sorrow, silently chanting Amitabha.
Wukong hurriedly said: “Master, don’t listen to this idiot’s nonsense. We haven’t done anything guilty, no need to live in fear.”
Tang Sanzang shook his head and sighed: “Still, as Ba Jie says: change out of the kassaya, cover heads and faces, to avoid stirring hatred among the common people. Let’s not take the main road this journey; detour via small paths!”
Wukong sighed: “Old Sun has never felt so aggrieved.”
The next day, Tang Sanzang and his disciples changed into plain clothes, covered their heads and faces, truly like thieves, slipped into the mountain forest, stuck to remote mountain paths, dared not walk the main roads, and after over a month, finally exited Wuji Kingdom’s borders.
At that time, a thousand li from Wuji Kingdom, under a mountain stream pool, Ao Tu was hiding inside.
White Bone Spirit and Tiger Vanguard attended him at the side.
Ao Tu’s face was deathly pale, without a trace of blood.
A large hole gaped in his chest.
That sword wound had shattered his dragon heart, severely injuring him.
Afterward, though he consumed golden elixir and immortal peaches, it only stabilized the injury. But at the wound was a strand of killing sword dao law that could not be removed no matter what.
That blood-colored precious sword was too powerful, absolutely a top-tier innate spiritual treasure; one strike had severely wounded him.
Ao Tu could now only lurk and recuperate; the chest wound could only rely on time to slowly grind away the killing sword dao law within before healing.
Roughly estimated, if relying entirely on time, it would take at least thirty thousand years to resolve.
Ao Tu could not wait thirty thousand years, so daily he endured immense pain, using the five-colored divine light to brush away his regenerating heart, letting the wound heal anew day after day, thereby reducing the killing sword dao law within.
The pain of brushing the heart: Ao Tu performed it a thousand times daily.
Even great demons like Tiger Vanguard and White Bone Spirit, watching this daily, could not bear to look straight.
Yet Ao Tu endured purely through willpower, without a sound.
After forty-nine days thus, he had ground away ninety-nine percent of that law, recovering mobility.
The remaining strand of law was quite stubborn; completely grinding it away would still take no short time, but overall it no longer affected Ao Tu’s actions.
Again, with a flash of five-colored divine light, the dragon heart was brushed away. Ao Tu stood up; in the large hole in his chest, a new heart slowly grew, beating more powerfully than before.
Ao Tu’s face was pale and weak, but Tiger Vanguard and White Bone Spirit were utterly respectful, not daring the slightest impertinence.
At this moment, the System’s voice sounded.
【Rewards being settled: total interception of four hundred ninety days.】
【Obtained reward: Jiao Li.】
【Obtained reward: Bodhi Seed.】
【Obtained reward: Acquired Spiritual Treasure – Kassaya.】
【Obtained reward: Spiritual Root – Third-grade Black Lotus.】
【Obtained reward: Supernatural Power – One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones.】
【Obtained reward: Ancestral Witch Essence Blood.】
【Obtained reward: Innate Spiritual Treasure – Soul Scattering Gourd.】
【Excess days of one hundred twenty-five automatically carry over to next side quest; next side quest: Great Battle with Red Boy.】
Ao Tu revealed a smile; a drop of blood appeared in his hand.
Unlike the previous Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood, this drop of essence blood displayed twelve colors, containing extremely dense and pure power.
Just taking it out let one feel it was a supreme treasure.
White Bone Spirit, illuminated by the essence blood’s light, screamed and retreated several steps.
Tiger Vanguard also felt discomfort.
This was suppression from the incomparably pure divine strength within that essence blood.
The bloodline in Ao Tu’s body slightly stirred.
Ao Tu could actually sense that the bloodline in his body had some compatibility with this drop of essence blood.
He had Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood; why would he have compatibility with this drop of Ancestral Witch Essence Blood.
Ao Tu did not know.
He placed this drop of Ancestral Witch Essence Blood into his mouth and refined it.
