bookbashuk Chapter 104 Scorpion Woman's Fame Arrangement: 3 Monkeys
Chapter 104 Scorpion Woman's Fame Arrangement: 3 Monkeys
Chapter 104 Scorpion Woman's Fame and Arrangements for Three Monkeys
Several years ago, the Five Elements Mountain suddenly descended, truly shocking countless mortals.
The mortals' worship at Wuxing Mountain, praying for the protection of the mountain god, truly made the place lively for a while.
Thanks to the events at Wuxing Mountain, Shuangcha Ridge next door also benefited, and for a time became bustling with activity.
Just then, a small temple rose from the ground.
To people's surprise, the temple does not enshrine the Three Pure Ones of Taoism, nor Bodhisattvas or Buddhas, but rather a rather young man.
Generally speaking, deities without official status fall under the category of illicit worship.
Mortal dynasties generally banned illicit worship.
Of course, ordinary people don't think that way.
The existence of temples indicates that worship is permitted.
Therefore, when the small temple was first built, some people actually went there to pray for blessings.
The temple was small but quite exquisite, and there was only one young and beautiful lay Buddhist there.
He doesn't seem to have much skill.
Ordinary people come here simply out of boredom and leisure to offer a little prayer.
Surprisingly, this young lay Buddhist was far more complex than he appeared.
It can truly summon clouds and rain, and dispel disasters and misfortunes.
In an instant, the small temple became bustling with noise.
As time went by, the small temple flourished.
The authorities reluctantly granted official recognition to the Xu Xian statue in the temple, transforming it from a place of illicit worship into a genuine official temple.
As time passed, the ordinary people around the temple noticed a strange phenomenon.
That is, the young lay Buddhists in the temple seem to have remained unchanged.
The village children looked at the young lay Buddhist in the temple and said with smiles, "Sister is so pretty."
Grandpa stroked the baby's head and said with a smile, "When I was little, this little lay Buddhist looked just like this."
The little child was startled: "What? A monster?!"
Grandpa, annoyed, smacked the little child and corrected him, "A deity!"
The Scorpion Woman couldn't stop laughing at the sight of the grandfather and grandson.
With her four supernatural powers—praying for clear skies, casting rain, talismanic water, and medicine—from the Seventy-Two Earthly Killing Techniques, she has made this small temple a renowned monastery far and wide.
Many high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen even come here to worship and donate incense.
The small temple was constantly repaired and gradually became magnificent and prosperous.
The central statue also had many accompanying deities.
Besides Xu Xian at the very center, there are even statues of Bai Suzhen and the Third Holy Mother.
Occasionally, a knowledgeable person would look at the statue of the Third Holy Mother and display their erudition to those around them, saying, "This deity looks a bit like the Goddess of Mount Hua, doesn't she?"
Those around him scoffed and didn't believe him.
In this pleasant atmosphere, the Scorpio woman perfectly achieved her goal.
Next, we waited for Tang Sanzang.
Buzhou Mountain.
Xu Xian had already arranged for the Scorpion Woman to leave, and at the same time, he gave her the Leifeng Pagoda and four powerful supernatural abilities.
Xu Xian believed that with the Scorpion Woman's cunning, she could definitely accomplish the mission perfectly.
Therefore, he didn't think too much about the Twin Fork Ridge incident, but instead continued to plan the subsequent story.
"The Scorpion Woman of Shuangcha Ridge demonstrated the existence of Buzhou Mountain. The upcoming calamity will show the Heavenly Court and Buddhism our strength."
Xiaoqing immediately raised her hand and said, "I'll do it! I'll do it!"
Xiaoqing and Bai Suzhen became disciples of Zhulong and received treasures bestowed upon them by Zhulong.
With the addition of the imperial wine, elixirs, and delicacies from the Heavenly Court brought by Xu Xian, her strength increased by leaps and bounds.
This will definitely showcase the strength of Buzhou Mountain.
But Xu Xian shook his head and smiled as he refused Xiaoqing.
Xiaoqing pouted angrily: "Hey, don't you believe me? Let me tell you, I'm really powerful now!"
Xu Xian quickly comforted Xiaoqing, saying that he had a very important task to entrust to her, which finally calmed her down.
Xu Xian wasn't lying; of course he needed to use Xiaoqing, this powerful demon.
Neither Xiaoqing nor Bai Suzhen can appear in the early stages of the Journey to the West.
This is his trump card; he's saving it for last!
Xu Xian intends to use Xiaoqing as a pretext to eventually bring Bai Suzhen into the picture.
This made Bai Suzhen a calamity that even the gods and Buddhas of heaven could not overcome!
Through Bai Suzhen, Xu Xian was able to control the entire process of the eastward transmission of Mahayana Buddhism.
Only in this way can he continue to improve his cultivation after becoming a great supernatural being.
Xu Xian comforted Xiaoqing, then looked at the drought demon and asked, "Who do you think is suitable?"
After thinking for a while, Hanmei said, "Reporting to Master, thanks to the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir and Peaches of Immortality you brought, the Azure Dragon King, Golden Roc King, Crimson Lion King, and Black Elephant King have all reached the Transcendent Saint realm, and the other four demon kings are about to break through as well. They should all be able to stand on their own and share Master's burdens. But if we're talking about truly demonstrating their strength, I think those three monkeys are more suitable."
Xu Xian knew that the drought demon was referring to the Long-Armed Ape, the Six-Eared Macaque, and Wuzhiqi.
Wuzhiqi is the water god, and Xu Xian plans to have him take over the Tongtian River.
The Six-Eared Macaque needs to cooperate with Sun Wukong to truly transform him from an assistant in the pilgrimage team into a leader.
In the original storyline, the pilgrimage team did go through a lot of adjustment in the early stages.
Sun Wukong was unruly and rebellious, while Tang Sanzang always believed that he was the absolute guide for the eastward transmission of Mahayana Buddhism and had complete control over the entire team.
Therefore, after Tang Sanzang obtained the golden headband, he often used it to blackmail Sun Wukong.
The master and apprentice even experienced a falling out.
It wasn't until the Six-Eared Macaque's calamity that Sun Wukong completely went on strike, which finally threw the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Western Paradise into a panic.
The Buddha himself promised that after the matter was accomplished, "you too will sit on a lotus throne."
They clearly promised Sun Wukong the attainment of Buddhahood.
Sun Wukong was a practitioner of both Buddhism and Taoism, and had already attained the status of a Great Luo Golden Immortal at the Taoist level.
Combined with the Buddhist attainment of Buddhahood, the two are enough to make Sun Wukong a true master of supernatural powers.
Therefore, Sun Wukong finally settled down and devoted himself wholeheartedly to promoting the eastward transmission of Mahayana Buddhism.
Guanyin Bodhisattva personally warned Tang Sanzang, saying that he must never drive Sun Wukong away again.
It was after the ordeal with the Six-Eared Macaque that Tang Sanzang never recited the Tightening-Headband Mantra again.
Sun Wukong was, after all, Xu Xian's junior brother, and his involvement was crucial to the eastward transmission of Mahayana Buddhism.
Xu Xian did not want to interfere too much in the monkey's karma.
Therefore, he arranged for the Six-Eared Macaque to be halfway through the Journey to the West, allowing him to follow the original plot.
Now only the gibbon remains.
This divine monkey general was extremely dissatisfied with Sun Wukong and was quite impatient.
It would be most fitting to place it at the very beginning of the Journey to the West.
Therefore, Xu Xian took to the air and arrived at the mountain where the three monkeys lived.
I witnessed a fierce battle between the gibbon and the six-eared macaque.
Both monkeys are among the Four Mischievous Monkeys, each possessing their own unique supernatural abilities, and even their iron rods are of the same level.
The battle raged so fiercely that the sky darkened and the sun and moon lost their light.
If it weren't for the fact that Mount Buzhou was personally enlightened by the Bodhi Patriarch and that the Lotus Lantern was used to suppress the earth's veins...
The commotion caused by the two monkeys had probably already shattered the mountain range and attracted the attention of the Heavenly Court and Mount Ling.
Xu Xian stood in mid-air, watching the two monkeys fight, and sighed with emotion.
"As expected of the Four Mischievous Monkeys, their strength is truly terrifying."
"Needless to say, Monkey King has had so many opportunities, so it's understandable that he possesses extraordinary supernatural powers."
"The Long-Armed Ape was a Taoist who later became a Buddhist. Not only was he exceptionally talented, but he also practiced diligently, so his strength was quite formidable."
"This Six-Eared Macaque is completely self-taught, yet he possesses such terrifying skills; it's truly outrageous."
What impressed Xu Xian even more was that the three monkeys on Buzhou Mountain were often engaged in earth-shattering battles, which caused their cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds.
You should know that once you've reached their level of cultivation, it's very difficult to find a worthy opponent.
With three monkeys now competing against each other, they are indeed the best sparring partners.
The six-eared macaque and the long-armed ape fought for three days before finally determining a winner.
The gibbon won by a narrow margin of half a move.
The monkey was lying on the ground, drenched in sweat.
The Six-Eared Macaque, propping himself up with his iron rod, said with dissatisfaction, "What a pity, just a little short."
Wuzhiqi dipped his finger in saliva and gently drew a line on the ground.
Xu Xian looked around curiously and saw three monkeys drawn on the ground.
One monkey has very strong arms, another has six ears, and the third is surrounded by rippling water.
Clearly, the three monkey designs represent the gibbon, the six-eared macaque, and Wuzhiqi, respectively.
Below the image of the three monkeys are densely packed tally marks, clearly used for counting.
Xu Xian counted them briefly and found that the tally marks below the Long-Armed Ape and the Six-Eared Monkey were almost identical, while Wuzhiqi's tally marks were not many.
Xu Xian probably understood that Wuzhiqi was a water god, and all his supernatural powers could only be unleashed to their fullest potential in water.
The Six-Eared Macaque and the Long-Armed Ape are similar to Sun Wukong in that they are not good at swimming.
If they were to fight on land, Wuzhiqi would indeed be no match for the Six-Eared Macaque and the Long-Armed Ape.
However, this did not prevent him from becoming the master of the Tongtian River, replacing the old turtle as the obstacle on the journey to the West.
Xu Xian descended from the clouds and came to the three monkeys.
The Six-Eared Macaque and the Long-Armed Ape were quite proud of the patterns on the ground, as they represented their cultivation and strength.
Only Wuzhiqi seemed slightly embarrassed: "We can't write. This pattern was drawn by Xiaoqing. Doesn't it look like her?"
"Quite alike. Great Monkey King, I need you to stop the eastward transmission of Mahayana Buddhism!"
Upon hearing Xu Xian's words, the Long-Armed Ape, the Six-Eared Macaque, and Wuzhiqi all became excited.
Having spent a long time with the other two monkeys, the gibbon naturally told them about the eastward transmission of Mahayana Buddhism.
They all knew that Xu Xian didn't really want to stop this, but rather wanted to extract enormous benefits from the eastward transmission of Mahayana Buddhism.
Clearly, the time is almost here.
The Six-Eared Macaque and Wuzhiqi excitedly inquired about their mission, but Xu Xian gave them only a perfunctory answer, leaving the two monkeys scratching their heads in frustration.
Xu Xian then took the Long-Armed Ape with him and led it into the main hall of the main peak, where he began to recount the details of the eastward transmission of Mahayana Buddhism: "After Tang Sanzang left Shuangcha Ridge, all the gods and Buddhas of the heavens knew of the existence of Buzhou Mountain. Next, Tang Sanzang would take Sun Wukong as his disciple—"
Xu Xian recounted to the gibbon the events that Tang Sanzang had experienced since leaving Liangjie Mountain, including taking in Sun Wukong, the White Dragon Horse, the fire at Guanyin Temple, and the monster stealing the cassock.
The long-armed ape's eyes lit up: "In other words, once Tang Sanzang passes through the Two Realms Mountain, I will be able to compete with Sun Wukong."
"That's right!"
Xu Xian conjured the Journey to the West in his palm, pointed to one of the locations, and said, "This is the Two Realms Mountain. You shall wait there. When the time comes, do not mention the eastward transmission of Mahayana Buddhism; just say that you are competing with Sun Wukong."
The gibbon picked up the stick and headed straight for Liangjie Mountain.
Xu Xian quickly reached out and put his arm around her, saying with a smile, "No need to rush, there are still more than four hundred years to go. You can continue your cultivation here and wait quietly."
Xu Xian made arrangements for the gibbon, and also for the six-eared macaque and Wuzhiqi.
Like the gibbon, the six-eared macaque does not need to claim a mountain as its king beforehand.
Otherwise, monsters of their strength would likely have made a great name for themselves.
When Guanyin Bodhisattva starts from Mount Ling and travels the Journey to the West in reverse, she will surely witness the power of the Long-Armed Ape and the Six-Eared Macaque.
At that time, perhaps this powerful being will remove obstacles for Tang Sanzang in advance.
Or perhaps they would place the golden headbands and binding bands on the heads of the Six-Eared Macaque and the Long-Armed Ape.
This ruined Xu Xian's plan.
As for Wuzhiqi, Xu Xian arranged for him to stay in the Tongtian River.
The Tongtian River is extremely vast, and Wuzhiqi is the water god.
They could easily occupy the Water Palace and use the laws of the water to conceal their existence, cultivating only in the river.
To avoid being discovered by Guanyin Bodhisattva.
Once the journey to the West begins, we'll give the gods another surprise.
Upon hearing Xu Xian's arrangement, Wuzhiqi immediately nodded, picked up his staff, and flew out of Buzhou Mountain, heading towards the Tongtian River.
A moment later, a cloud flashed across the sky, and Wuzhiqi returned to Mount Buzhou.
Under Xu Xian's curious gaze, the monkey used its foot to erase the water monkey pattern on the mountain peak and also erased the tally mark below it.
Then it flew away from Buzhou Mountain again.
Xu Xian laughed incessantly at Wuzhiqi's actions.
Thinking to himself that this ancient water god was quite arrogant, he felt that he had lost more than he had won and was very embarrassed, so he destroyed it before leaving.
Xu Xian laughed for a while, and then arranged for the Six-Eared Macaque and the Long-Armed Ape to cultivate properly here.
They then found the bear monster.
According to the original plot, the bear monster should have been causing trouble in Black Wind Mountain outside Guanyin Temple, stealing Tang Sanzang's brocade cassock.
Xu Xian wanted to check on Xiong Heiguai's cultivation progress to see if he was still suitable to take on the important task in this crisis.
The bear monster was indeed honest and immediately knelt down in front of Xu Xian, allowing him to examine its cultivation level.
Xu Xian was astonished after a brief investigation.
This black bear monster had quietly cultivated to level 67, truly transcending the ordinary and entering sainthood, possessing extraordinary strength.
Xu Xian praised him lavishly, then took out a large, purple-grade sword: "This weapon is for you. Go back to your Black Wind Mountain."
The bear-like monster was stunned, tears streaming down its face. "Master, are you sending me away?"
Xu Xian laughed and said, "Of course not, I want to grant you perfect merit."
In the original storyline, the bear-like monster was taken away by Guanyin Bodhisattva and made the guardian deity of Mount Luojia in the South China Sea.
However, when the plot progressed to the point where the Black Bear Monster appeared, all the Buddhas of the heavens naturally knew the power of Mount Buzhou, so Guanyin Bodhisattva had no way to deal with it.
Xu Xian, on the other hand, can gain immense benefits from this!
Watching the Black Bear Monster leave Buzhou Mountain, Xu Xian looked forward to the journey to the West even more.