Chapter 129: The Emperor? The Son of Heaven? A plaything!
"Mr. Sun, do you recognize me?"
"How could I not recognize you! You are the compassionate Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva who saves the suffering and the distressed on Mount Putuo in the South China Sea! The Tathagata has deceived me and has kept me in this mountain for more than 500 years. I sincerely hope that the Bodhisattva can help me and save me!"
"You have committed many sins. Saving you might cause you harm again, which would be bad."
"I have realized my mistakes. I hope you will show me the way forward. I am willing to practice cultivation."
…
Guanyin Bodhisattva stood on the clouds, looking at the monkeys under the Five Elements Mountain.
Compared with five hundred years ago, the monkeys now have completely lost their original ferocity, wildness and unruliness. They are full of flattery and fawning, just wanting to escape from under the Five Elements Mountain.
"What is so special about this Sun Wukong that the Buddha pointed out that he must be the disciple of the pilgrim?"
Guanyin was so confused in her heart, but she said: "Since you have such a heart, I will find a man to seek Buddhist scriptures when I arrive in the Tang Kingdom in the East, and teach him to save you. You can become his disciple, follow his teachings, and enter my Buddhist sect. How about that?"
The monkey was overjoyed and shouted, "I want to go! I want to go! Thank you, Bodhisattva, for your great mercy and compassion in saving us from suffering!"
Guanyin was very pleased to see the monkey was so understanding: "Since that's the case, I won't say anything more. You just wait here for the pilgrim. I'm leaving now."
After that, Guanyin took Mu Zha and flew towards the Eastern Tang Dynasty in the southern continent of Jambu Continent.
However, once out of the monkey's sight, Guanyin slowed down the speed of the cloud.
In the clouds not far away, a group of heavenly soldiers and generals had been waiting for a long time.
Leading the group was a tall, mighty, handsome man wearing silver armor. It was Li Anran!
Among the disciples chosen by Guanyin, except Zhu Bajie who was released from prison, the others, including Sha Seng, Xiao Bailong and the monkey, were all sinners imprisoned in the lower world by the Heavenly Court.
If Lingshan wants to clear them and bring them ashore, it not only needs the Jade Emperor's approval, but also has to inform Li Anran, the god of prison.
Li Anran saw Guanyin flying over and asked knowingly, "Bodhisattva, this Great Sage Equaling Heaven Sun Wukong is the last one, right?"
Guanyin nodded slightly and said thank you: "Thank you for your help, God of Prison."
"The Bodhisattva's words are too serious. This is my duty and it should be done this way."
Li Anran said a few polite words and then said goodbye and left.
After returning to Heaven, he went to the Temple of Justice and reported the matter to Yang Jian.
Yang Jian's power as the god of justice was not affected in the slightest by the incident with Yao Ji.
On the contrary, after more than a hundred years of settling down, he can be said to be second only to the immortals in the Heavenly Court and is a truly powerful official who can manage almost all affairs in the Three Realms.
"Sun Wukong, Zhu Ganglie, General Juanlian, Ao Lie..."
Yang Jian frowned slightly and chewed these four names over and over in his mouth, wondering what was so special about them and why Tathagata would choose them to be Jin Chanzi's protectors.
However, after thinking for a long time, Yang Jian could not come up with a reasonable explanation.
Among these four people, only the Monkey King has a deep background and great magical powers, so Tathagata has reason to choose him. The other three, especially the Curtain-Pulling General, are nothing special at all.
Yang Jian looked up at Li Anran and asked, "Brother Li, why do you think the Tathagata Buddha chose these four people to be the guardians of the pilgrims?"
Li Anran did not answer directly, but asked: "Second Master, are there any restrictions on this gambling fight? How is the winning or losing calculated?"
Yang Jian said: "There are four restrictions. First, the pilgrim must reach Lingshan Mountain on his own and cannot use any means such as flying in the clouds to travel."
"Secondly, both parties can make plans and make their moves, but they must not tell the details of the gambling fight to the gods or monsters who are directly involved in the gambling fight. This is to prevent someone from risking their life for their master and causing the situation to get out of control."
"Third, the guardians of the pilgrim are four people, and together with the pilgrim, they make up the number of the five elements. The upper limit of the tribulations on the journey is ninety-nine, which means a maximum of eighty-one tribulations."
"Once the pilgrim has passed the 81 trials or reached Lingshan, Lingshan is considered the winner."
"If Jin Chanzi's reincarnation has mortal thoughts and breaks his pure yang body or dies in the process, it will be considered the victory of Xuanmen."
After hearing this, Li Anran's guess in his mind became more certain. After thinking for a while, he decided to tell Yang Jian: "Second Master, I do have an idea, but I don't know if it's right."
Yang Jian's eyes lit up. He just asked casually, but he didn't expect Li Anran to have an answer. He urged, "Brother Li, don't be so modest! Speak now!"
Li Anran said: "There is no need to say much about Sun Wukong. It took him less than a thousand years to cultivate from a monkey to the realm of Taiyi Jinxian, and he also cultivated the Eight-Nine Mysterious Arts. He has unlimited potential and extraordinary strength. It is very appropriate and reasonable for Tathagata to choose him as the disciple of the pilgrim and to accept him into the Buddhist sect."
Yang Jian nodded in agreement and only corrected Li Anran: "Then Sun Wukong is more than just a Taiyi Golden Immortal. When he was making trouble in the Heavenly Palace, he should have broken through to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm in a short period of time. However, before his realm was stabilized, he was suppressed by Tathagata under the Five Elements Mountain. Tathagata's choice of him as the disciple of the pilgrim must have been a long-planned decision."
Li Anran continued, "Except for Sun Wukong, the remaining Zhu Ganglie, Ao Lie, and General Juanlian, their cultivation can only be considered average, but they all have one thing in common."
Yang Jian asked, "What?"
Li Anran said: "He has a strong background and extensive connections!"
As he spoke, Li Anran started talking about the three of them one by one.
"Zhu Ganglie is the disciple of Emperor Donghua, and Emperor Donghua himself has a high prestige. He is also the leader of the three realms of male immortals. Zhu Ganglie became the guardian of the pilgrims, and many people would give him a favor."
"Ao Lie is the third prince of the West Sea Dragon Clan. Although the Dragon Clan has declined now, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. From ancient times to the present, they must have made many good connections. With Ao Lie around, some people will show mercy and give face to the pilgrims."
"As for the Curtain-Pulling General...he is the Jade Emperor's man!"
When Yang Jian heard what Zhu Ganglie and Ao Lie were saying, he was already nodding secretly. Suddenly he was surprised to hear that the General Curtain-Pulling General was actually the Jade Emperor's man.
Because the General Curtain-Pulling was a fallen glass cup that he accidentally dropped, he was banished to the Flowing Sand River by the Jade Emperor. He suffered the pain of thousands of swords piercing his heart every day. It was good enough that he did not hate the Jade Emperor. How could he still be his man?
"Second Master, this general is no ordinary man."
Li Anran immediately told the story of how Sha Seng had eaten up Jin Chanzi's previous nine lives, strung their heads together into a skull rosary, and wore it around his neck.
"The 800-li Quicksand River is so dense that even goose feathers cannot float. Countless people pass by and circumvent it every day, but it is not a coincidence that General Juanlian eats the reincarnation of Jin Chanzi every few decades and leaves his skull behind."
Yang Jian's expression suddenly became serious.
Li Anran couldn't have lied to him, which meant that the Jade Emperor had reached some kind of agreement with Lingshan.
This means that in this dispute between Buddhism and Taoism, Heaven stands on the side of Buddhism.
It also means that many gods in heaven will show some mercy to those who seek scriptures in order not to offend the Jade Emperor!
Emperor Donghua, the ancient dragon clan, and the Jade Emperor of Heaven!
The favors of these three people almost include all the gods and immortals in the three realms!
"The Tathagata's methods are indeed powerful!"
Yang Jian took a breath of cold air, horrified.
He and Taiyi Zhenren both believed that Tathagata would choose a powerful monster or sinful immortal to serve as the guardian of the pilgrim.
I also guessed that Sun Wukong would be among them.
However, they never expected that Tathagata would actually start from the disaster!
Among the four guardians, only is the real guardian!
The other three are people with average ability but strong background and connections!
However, it is these three people with connections who can minimize the forces that hinder the journey to the West.
In this way, the probability of successfully obtaining the scriptures from the West will naturally increase greatly!
Yang Jian soon figured out the purpose of General Juanlian leaving the skull behind: "The 800-li Flowing Sand River is neither long nor short. Do they want Jin Chanzi to use his reincarnated skull to cross the Flowing Sand River?"
In this way, it can be considered that the pilgrim crossed the Quicksand River on his own and did not violate the agreement between Lingshan and Xuanmen.
Li Anran nodded and said, "That should be the case."
"Brother Li, this matter is of great importance. I need to tell Uncle Taiyi immediately. Please wait here for a moment."
The more Yang Jian thought about it, the more he felt that what Li Anran said was the truth. He could no longer sit still and stood up, wanting to ride a cloud to the Jinguan Cave on Qianyuan Mountain to tell Taiyi Zhenren about these things.
But just as he reached the door, he stopped again and his expression changed.
Li Anran was a little surprised and called out, "Second Master?"
Yang Jian came back to his senses and said, "Brother Li, don't tell anyone what you just said to me."
Li Anran was stunned and didn't quite understand what Yang Jian meant.
Yang Jian explained, "The rise of Buddhism was originally planned by the saints, but the saints did not leave a specific time, so it has been delayed until now. Even if I tell Uncle Taiyi about this, it will only postpone the time for the rise of Buddhism by 500 years."
"Five hundred years from now, this gambling fight will have to happen again. Since it is destined to be unchangeable, why should I waste my energy on it? It is better to settle this matter quickly and end it sooner, so as to save these gods and Buddhas from tormenting the creatures in the lower world again."
But in Yang Jian's heart, the creatures of the three realms are more important than the prosperity of Taoism.
Since Yang Jian said this, Li Anran naturally nodded in agreement. Then he said goodbye and left, returning to the Heavenly Prison, burying these things in his heart.
Meanwhile, in the mortal world, the journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures is still proceeding at a leisurely pace.
After leaving the Five Elements Mountain, Guanyin went to the Eastern Tang Dynasty in the Southern Continent and began to implement the plan to obtain Buddhist scriptures from the West at Lingshan.
Everything was just as recorded in Journey to the West.
Chen Guangrui encountered disaster when he took office, Tang Xuanzang avenged his father, Wei Zheng killed the Dragon King in his dream, the ghost dragon of Jinghe River disturbed the palace, Emperor Taizong visited the underworld and returned to the dead, and convened a water and land meeting after being frightened...
Li Anran saw all this, and felt deeply saddened.
Compared with the ancient times, although the human race is still the protagonist of the Heavenly Dao, the status of the Human Emperor is very different!
In ancient times, the Heavenly Court could only rule the three realms in name only, and it was difficult for the Jade Emperor to interfere in the human world, especially the affairs of the human race!
Especially during the Shang Dynasty, the fortunes of the human race reached their peak.
A group of Jiejiao disciples would rather hold official positions in the Shang Dynasty than go to heaven to become subjects of the Jade Emperor.
This is evident.
But it was at this time that the catastrophe of Conferred Gods began.
The Human Emperor became history from then on, and only the Son of Heaven remained in the world.
Actually, it was okay at that time.
The Zhou emperor is still the emperor after all. Although his status is below that of Haotian, it is above all the gods and Buddhas in the sky. When offering sacrifices, he only needs to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and he also has the power to enthrone earthly gods.
But nowadays, the Son of Heaven is just a title, and the Human Emperor is just a mortal emperor.
Emperor Taizong of Tang, although the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was haunted by the wronged spirit of the Dragon King of the Jing River and could not sleep at night.
Wei Zheng, an important minister under his command, could kill the Dragon King in his dreams and send letters to the judge of the underworld, but at this time he was powerless against a mere dragon soul, forcing Emperor Taizong to let the two brave generals Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong guard the gate.
With the help of the murderous aura in them, they were able to barely block the soul of the Jinghe Dragon King.
However, because he was corroded by the Yin energy, he became terminally ill, his soul left his body and entered the underworld.
Then, another good show began.
As the Son of Heaven, Emperor Taizong of Tang's status was higher than the Ten Kings of Hell in the underworld.
The Ten Kings of Hell were also very polite in this regard. They bowed their backs, came down the steps to greet him, and did everything in place.
But, that’s all!
They did not want to give anyone any handle, so they left everything to their subordinate Judge Cui and asked him to cooperate with Lingshan to stage a big show.
First, he extended Emperor Taizong's life by twenty years and promised to allow him to revive and return to the mortal world.
However, on his way back to the soul, he deliberately released the vengeful spirits of 72 rebel kings to scare him, and forced Taizong to visit the 18 levels of hell, which frightened Taizong so much that he trembled with fear and completely lost the bearing of an emperor.
After that, they half-forced Emperor Taizong of Tang to agree to hold a water and land ceremony immediately after the soul returned, and only then did they let him go.
This series of actions frightened Emperor Taizong of Tang, a brave warrior and emperor who had fought on the battlefield for many years, and made him full of awe for gods and Buddhas.
Lingshan achieved its goal, but the face of the human race was thrown to the ground and trampled on countless times!
After that, everything continued to move forward according to the script of Lingshan, or the gods and Buddhas .
The tenth reincarnation of Jin Chanzi stood out at the Water and Land Conference.
Guanyin Bodhisattva presented a cassock and a staff and performed a miracle in public to advertise Mahayana Buddhism. The deceived King Tang and Monk Tang made up their minds to go to Lingshan to obtain the scriptures.
Li Anran initially kept following the journey to the West, treating it as a live broadcast of Journey to the West.
But when he realized all this——
Whether it was when Tang Seng encountered danger at Liangjie Mountain, his followers were eaten by tiger spirits and wild bull spirits, and then he was rescued by the mountain guardian Liu Bochin, and then he released the monkey at Wuxing Mountain and accepted the little white dragon as his mount...
After seeing the script arranged by Lingshan, I suddenly felt bored.
After this, Li Anran no longer cared about the four people who went to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.
Three years passed in a flash.
This day.
Li Anran was practicing in the Heavenly Prison when suddenly a heavenly soldier came to report that the God of Justice Yang Jian had ordered his subordinate Grass-Headed God to send two sinful immortals who had secretly descended to the mortal world.
Li Anran went out and saw that the two sinful immortals were none other than the two Taoist children of Taishang Laojun, the King of Golden Horn and the King of Silver Horn.
