If Jiang Liu were alone, going to the Western Paradise would require careful planning, but with the Third Holy Mother by his side, the most immediate feeling is that things are much easier.
Although she has powerful backing! Her brother is the God of War of the Three Realms, her uncle is the Lord of Heaven, and although her own strength is only at the initial stage of Heavenly Immortal, she possesses the innate treasure "Lotus Lantern". If she goes all out, she can easily defeat Yang Jian.
In the snow-covered palace amidst the sea of clouds at Mount Hua, Jiang Liu knocked on the palace gate, and a woman in green slowly walked out. She was Lingzhi, the maidservant beside the Third Holy Mother.
"Master, my Third Holy Mother has been waiting for you for a long time, and she almost went to Zhongnan Mountain to find you herself. You've finally arrived..."
It was still the same small pavilion in the lotus pond, shrouded in white gauze. A woman could be vaguely seen sitting inside, and the sound of her plucking the strings of a zither drifted out from within, clearly indicating that she was bored out of her mind.
"Holy Mother, look who's here! The great poet you've been longing for has arrived!"
"Lingzhi, watch out or I'll tear your mouth apart..." Then, glaring at Jiang Liu, she said angrily, "Are you ready to go? If you don't come soon, my interest will be completely gone!"
"This is my fault, this is just a small token of my apology..."
As he spoke, Jiang Liu handed over an exquisite gift box.
The Holy Mother of the Three Kingdoms was slightly taken aback and said, "A gift for me?"
"Yes! I hope you like it," Jiang Liu said sincerely.
“Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious. Last time you used a poem and terrible handwriting to attract my attention, only to make me your shield. Now the Jing River Dragon King is dead and gone, the Four Rivers Dragon Kings have all fallen, and you've reached the Heavenly Immortal realm. Who have you offended this time?” The Third Holy Mother squinted at Jiang Liu for a moment and said, “Are you troubled by the Nine Provinces Cauldron?”
Jiang Liu gave a wry smile, not bothering to hide his purpose, and said, "It is related, but not to my cauldron, but to the remains of the other Nine Provinces Cauldrons. Someone told me about the remains of the Nine Provinces Cauldrons. The Iron Cudgel in the hands of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, the Mighty Bull Demon King, is one; the Crescent Shovel in the hands of the Nine-Headed Insect is another; the Demon Master Kunpeng has one; and the Asura Clan has one... I want to obtain them and see if I can integrate them into my small bronze cauldron."
"So that's what you wanted..."
The Third Holy Mother frowned slightly, remaining noncommittal. Then she opened the gift box in her hand, saw what was inside, and couldn't help but smile: "Bodhi seeds? I'm not a Bodhisattva... Hmm, Bodhi seeds grown from spiritual roots!"
As is widely known, the Bodhi Tree, one of the Ten Innate Spiritual Roots, had long been refined by the Sage Zhunti into the Seven Treasures Tree, becoming an innate spiritual treasure, living up to the wonders of spiritual roots.
Spiritual roots, such as the Heavenly Peaches of Immortality and Zhen Yuanzi's Ginseng Fruit Tree, can all bear spiritual fruits. Both peaches of immortality and ginseng fruits can increase lifespan and have endless wonderful uses.
"This Bodhi seed, could it be..." The Third Holy Mother wanted to say that it was the fruit of the innate spiritual root Bodhi tree, but she felt that it was not, because it did not have the charm of an innate spiritual root. At most, it could be considered an acquired spiritual root.
Jiang Liu naturally knew that the Bodhi tree he obtained from the "Battle Through the Heavens" world was far inferior to the innate spiritual root, like heaven and earth. However, it was not without use. Even though he himself had already comprehended the Heavenly Immortal Dao Fruit, it was still very useful for him to seek enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
This Bodhi seed was the first Bodhi seed to grow after the ancient Bodhi tree took root in the small world within its body, absorbed chaotic energy, and contemplated Buddhist scriptures.
Its ingenious uses are extraordinary, and it has the effect of enlightening the mind and revealing one's true nature.
Jiang Liu, naturally, made up an excuse about the origin of the Bodhi seed, saying, "I obtained this Bodhi seed by chance. As for whether it came from the Bodhi tree, I don't know. However, its effects are effective even for celestial beings. Wearing it constantly can enlighten the mind. There is a Buddhist saying: 'Bodhi has no tree, the bright mirror is not a stand; originally there is nothing, where can dust alight?' The Third Holy Mother's mind is clear and transparent, so naturally she has no need for this thing; it's just a small trinket..."
This bodhi seed, as big as a walnut, has no shimmering light, no brilliance, no lingering glow, and its color is dull and ordinary. The saying "a divine object is defiled" perfectly describes the current state of this bodhi seed.
"If this is a trinket, then there are no treasures in the world!" The Third Holy Mother played with it for a while, her slender, cloud-like hands holding the Bodhi seed. You could see the natural patterns on it connected, forming a compassionate Buddha!
The Buddha image is naturally formed, with patterns that appear to be meticulously carved on it.
The somber Buddhist image, simple and natural, exudes a subtle Zen-like charm.
A ray of light shone down from between the eyebrows of the Holy Mother of the Three Realms, sacred and vast. With the light, a wisp of divine thought rushed into the Bodhi seed. A mysterious power stirred the Bodhi seed, constantly transforming and evolving, eventually transforming it into a great Buddha, becoming boundless divine light.
"It's the power of the Lotus Lantern!"
Just as Jiang Liu was about to carefully comprehend it, the light faded, and the Third Holy Mother said, "If the Buddhist sect sees this Bodhi seed, they will pay any price to obtain it. I sensed a life force within it. If carefully nurtured, it could become a supreme treasure of Buddhism and even establish a Buddhist kingdom!"
Then, with her beautiful eyes looking at Jiang Liu, she said, "Are you really going to give me this Bodhi seed? It's a treasure with boundless potential. I think you should take it back!"
"You flatter me, Third Holy Mother. Do you expect me to take back what I've given away?" With the Bodhi Tree itself, Jiang Liu had no interest in this tiny Bodhi seed.
"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony!" The Third Holy Mother put away the Bodhi seeds and said, "Wait here for a few days, I'll be right back! Lingzhi, treat our guest well..."
Having said that, he didn't say anything more and rode the wind away.
"Where did the Third Holy Mother go?" Jiang Liu asked Lingzhi as the Third Holy Mother disappeared into the clouds in the blink of an eye.
"How should I know!"
A few days passed in the blink of an eye. The Third Holy Mother returned to Mount Hua and immediately threw a piece of blue iron to Jiang Liu.
"It is impolite not to reciprocate! You gave me a Bodhi seed, and I will give you a piece of this fragment of the Nine Provinces Cauldron."
Jiang Liu held the blue fragment in his hand, feeling as if a ball of fire was burning in his palm.
This feeling was exactly the same as when I first came into contact with the Nine Cauldrons—a tremor that came from the very soul.
“This… is a fragment of the Jingzhou Cauldron!” Instantly, Jiang Liu discerned the information in this fragment: the remains of the Jingzhou Cauldron from the ancient Nine Provinces.
"Where did you get it?"
The Third Holy Mother's eyes also gleamed as she said, "It seems that the Nine Provinces Cauldron is truly destined for you. My brother has had this fragment for over a thousand years, but he has been unable to refine it. He doesn't lack weapons, so he gave up the idea of making it into a weapon. I didn't expect it to be waiting for you... So I won't waste my breath and will go to Guanjiang Estuary for you."
In the eyes of the Holy Mother of the Three Realms, the piece of blue-green iron melted little by little in Jiang Liu's hands, and a small, rusty bronze cauldron appeared at the same time.
The cyan liquid seeped into the bronze cauldron little by little, and an illusion of an ancient map appeared, gradually disappearing into the cauldron. It was a map of Jingzhou, one of the nine ancient provinces!
Vast, profound, and boundless, it gradually settles down, becoming simple yet grand and natural, without any trace of special aura emanating from it.
A cauldron, two handles, three legs; the Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things, all things carry yin and embrace yang, and achieve harmony through the interaction of these energies…
The bronze cauldron was originally a treasure of merit with twenty-four layers of restrictions. After absorbing the humanistic will of the "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" world, it condensed one layer of restrictions. Now, after merging with the remains of the Jingzhou Cauldron, it has actually condensed another layer of restrictions, reaching a total of twenty-six layers of restrictions.
There's no need for refining; the cauldron fuses itself together.
"Thank you so much, Holy Mother! I will never forget this kindness!" Jiang Liu expressed his heartfelt gratitude. The Bodhi seed meant nothing to him, but this remnant of the Jingzhou Cauldron was the only one of its kind in the world.
"I didn't expect to merge into your cauldron so quickly. Let's go then! I'm also half human, so I'll accompany you this time to meet the Bull Demon King and the Nine-Headed Insect. But don't count on me for the Demon Master Kunpeng and the Asura Clan... I can't afford to offend them!"
"Oh, by the way, Lingzhi, you stay here..."
Lingzhi was about to follow when she heard the Third Holy Mother's words and immediately stopped in her tracks, exclaiming in surprise, "Holy Mother, you..."
Before she could finish speaking, the Third Holy Mother and Jiang Liu had already ridden away on the clouds, disappearing into the clouds in the blink of an eye. With Lingzhi's cultivation level, how could she keep up? She could only sigh and have a strange expression.
Chapter 440 Deceiving People for Ginseng Fruit
Wuzhi Mountain has collapsed into a mountain of rubble. However, Jiang Liu had taken a glimpse of it from afar before, which could be considered as fulfilling his childhood wish. It was just a pity that he didn't get to touch the monkey's head that day. Now, if he wanted to touch it, there was no hope at all.
After the White Dragon transformed into a white horse, Snake Coil Mountain and Eagle Sorrow Stream were occupied by a snake demon and became the lair of demons.
Gao Laozhuang also calmed down, and the sunset glow sprinkled on the river outside the village like broken gold, reflecting gold in the shimmering water.
In the distance, the grains swayed and rustled like waves.
The sounds of chickens and dogs fill the air, and the mountain village bathed in the evening glow is filled with peace and tranquility, like a secluded paradise.
An elderly man, sitting on a small stool with his back against the wall, tells a story to a group of children. He squints his eyes, looks into the distance, and speaks in a slow, deliberate tone. If you listen carefully, you'll hear a story that happened not long ago.
Flying across the Flowing Sand River, they saw Wujing remove the skull hanging from his neck, tie it into a nine-palace knot with a rope, and place the Bodhisattva gourd in the center. Tang Sanzang boarded the Dharma boat and sat on it, as steady as a light boat. With Bajie supporting him on the left and Wujing holding him up on the right, Sun Wukong led the dragon horse behind, half in the clouds and half in the mist, and with Muzha protecting them from above, they floated steadily across the Flowing Sand River, crossing the Weak River in calm waters and gentle breezes.
As you travel westward, you will naturally encounter the trials set up by the Old Mother of Lishan, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Manjushri Bodhisattva.
The Holy Mother of the Three Kingdoms parted the clouds to take a look, and then continued on her way.
“Three… Yang Chan, I heard that the Wuzhuang Temple, the Daoist temple of Zhen Yuanzi, the ancestor of earth immortals, is located nearby. Last time I investigated it carefully, but I found nothing!”
Yang Chan smiled and said, "If Zhenyuan Daxian was determined to hide his grand formation, we naturally wouldn't be able to find it. By the way, what do you want with Zhenyuan Daxian?"
"I've heard that the ginseng fruit, if you smell it, you'll live to be 360 years old; if you eat one, you'll live to be 47,000 years old. Yang Chan, have you ever eaten it?"
"That's a rare spiritual root created at the dawn of time, harvested only once every ten thousand years, yielding only thirty fruits. How could I possibly have the chance to eat them! During the Peach Banquet, I only caught a glimpse of them from afar. Even among the peaches, I've only ever eaten the middle batch, which only adds a thousand years to one's lifespan. Moreover, the first time you eat them, they have such miraculous effects; the more you eat, the less effective they become. The second peach only has the effect of nine hundred years..."
According to mortals, the Peach Garden has 3,600 peach trees. The first 1,200 trees have tiny flowers and fruits that ripen once every 3,000 years; those who eat them will become immortals. The middle 1,200 trees ripen once every 6,000 years; those who eat them will ascend to heaven and live forever. The last 1,200 trees have purple veins and fine pits; they ripen once every 9,000 years; those who eat them will live as long as heaven and earth, and be the same age as the sun and moon.
In reality, the effect is nowhere near that strong; it's just something made up by ordinary people and shouldn't be taken seriously.
"Do you dare to trick someone into giving you a ginseng fruit?" Jiang Liu whispered as he leaned closer.
"Hmm, tricking people out of ginseng fruit? What do you mean?"
"I'm asking you if you dare. If you do, come with me!"
"We can't even get into Wuzhuang Temple, so what are you going to use to deceive us?"
"Then we'll see how lucky we are..." Jiang Liu said mysteriously.
"Did you figure something out? Zhenyuan Daxian is a quasi-saint. He can deduce that they would covet our ginseng fruit with just a few calculations. He can crush us with a single finger... Moreover, he has many disciples, including many Golden Immortals."
"If we enter Wuzhuang Temple and trick you into giving us ginseng fruit, will you eat it?"
"Eat, why won't you eat!"
"Okay, come with me!"
"Why do I feel like you're trying to drag me down with you?"
Just as Jiang Liu and the Third Holy Mother were heading towards Wuzhuang Temple, Zhenyuan Daxian had already received a letter from Yuanshi Tianzun and was lecturing on the Hunyuan Dao Fruit at the Mi Luo Palace in Shangqing Heaven. The number of wandering immortals under Daxian's tutelage was countless; he currently had forty-eight disciples, all of whom were fully enlightened. On that day, he led forty-six celestial beings to listen to the lecture, leaving behind two extremely young ones to guard the place: one named Qingfeng, and the other Mingyue.
Zhen Yuanzi felt a sense of unease, but after calculating with his fingers, he found nothing. He could only calm his mind and focus on preaching.
Jiang Liu searched the area carefully and, sure enough, finally found the Wuzhuang Temple.
He instantly transformed his physical body. Having cultivated the body of a human immortal, transforming into a monk's appearance was extremely easy for him. Moreover, this wasn't a transformation technique; even those with great supernatural powers couldn't detect any flaws using their divine eyes. Although he was still some distance from the realm of ever-changing transformations, slightly altering his appearance was incredibly effortless.
Yang Chan followed Jiang Liu's instructions and did not approach, but waited at the foot of the mountain.
Ascending the mountain path, one sees a stele to the left of the mountain gate, bearing ten large characters that read "Longevity Mountain, Blessed Land; Wuzhuang Temple, Grotto Heaven".
Upon reaching the second gate, two young boys hurriedly emerged. Each was handsome and refined, with short hair tied in a topknot. Their Taoist robes were naturally shrouded in mist, and their feathered garments fluttered in the wind. Their sashes were tightly bound with dragon-head knots, and their straw sandals were lightly wrapped with silkworm-shaped tassels. Their extraordinary bearing set them apart from ordinary people; they were none other than the two celestial boys, Qingfeng and Mingyue.
"Hey, where did you come from, Master?"
"Amitabha! This humble monk comes from the Great Tang Dynasty in the East. I saw this Taoist temple and came to take a look!" Jiang Liuyan, in the guise of an emperor, dressed up as a monk without any awkwardness. Moreover, he had cultivated before, and now that he was wholeheartedly pretending to be a monk, he also subtly imitated the demeanor of the Buddha in the scriptures, giving him a unique Buddhist charm.
"Oh, so you're a master from the East... Where are the elder's disciples...?"
Both Qingfeng and Mingyue looked outside but saw no one. They weren't suspicious, mainly because Jiang Liu's disguise was so convincing; his Buddhist aura was truly compelling.
"My disciples are all at the foot of the mountain. I only came up the mountain out of curiosity. I apologize for disturbing you. It's getting late, and I should go down the mountain..."
With that, Jiang Liu chanted a Buddhist prayer and turned to descend the mountain.
One step, two steps... Jiang Liu thought to himself, "Why didn't they tell me to stop? Qingfeng and Mingyue are focused on cultivation. Although they have lived for countless years, they should still be children at heart! Zhen Yuanzi is not in the temple. He only instructed me to entertain Tang Sanzang from the Tang Dynasty. He doesn't even recognize Sun Wukong. Am I supposed to pretend I don't want to?"
"Master, please wait..."
Jiang Liu secretly let out a breath.
Mingyue and Qingfeng exchanged a glance and said, "Master, please wait a moment. Now that we're at Wuzhuang Temple, let's go inside for a seat and have some water before we continue..."
The two boys were secretly pleased: their master was worried about the monk's disciples causing trouble, but now that they were going up the mountain, it saved them the trouble.
Leading Jiang Liu inside, Qingfeng smiled and said, "To be honest, Elder, our master is not in the temple. However, he did instruct us before he left to fetch two fruits for you as soon as you arrive. Please wait a moment while we go and get them."