The Netherworld, governed by the Ten Kings of Hell, is where the souls of all beings within the Three Realms and Five Paths return after death for judgnt. The imnse workload there requires the attention of ten kings.
However, the Netherworld is under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court above the vault of heaven, and the Ten Kings must obey the Jade Emperor's commands. So, within the Six Paths of the Three Realms, where should the souls of deceased Immortals and Buddhas go?
If they were also under the jurisdiction of the Ten Kings of Hell, wouldn't they all be acquaintances? Wouldn't they easily regain their lives with just a command from the Jade Emperor?
Heaven's will is as sharp and ruthless as a knife; the Heavenly Dao is utterly impartial, favoring none!
Heaven ordained the Realm of Reincarnation as a place of absolute fairness. How could it allow Immortals and Buddhas to show partiality?
Thus, within the Netherworld, there resided one who independently handled the reincarnation of deceased Immortals and Buddhas, separate from the institution of the Ten Kings of Hell.
This being was known as Ksitigarbha!
Though the Floral Mink was Mo Liqing's pet, having been registered in the Heavenly Court for many years, it was considered among the ranks of divine beings, much like Erlang God's Xiaotian Dog. Upon its death, its soul, naturally, ca before Ksitigarbha.
Paying no attention to the Floral Mink's pleas, Ksitigarbha raised his palm and directly cast it into the cycle of reincarnation.
This was Ksitigarbha's duty—overseeing the reincarnation of all deceased Immortals and Buddhas. Almost all who entered the Netherworld were well-known, yet a duty was a duty—fixed by the Heavenly Dao, how could he yield to personal sentint?
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Within the Heavenly Court, Mo Liqing stared intensely at Bodhisattva Guanyin, his expression a mix of anger and wariness.
The death of the Floral Mink naturally angered him, yet facing Bodhisattva Guanyin, he dared not lash out.
"Amitabha, Heavenly King. All of this was just an accident," Guanyin's heart was sowhat bitter. After a brief silence, she chanted a Buddhist mantra and replied.
In truth, the matter was previously settled among the Heavenly Kings. How could it be his turn to be furious?
However, this matter was related to the significant undertaking of the Journey to the West. In the future, it would be necessary to ask other deities to participate in trials. If he acted in a way that disheartened others, who else would be willing to help later?
Therefore, Guanyin forced herself to be patient.
"Bodhisattva, didn't you say there would be no accidents!" Mo Liqing took a deep breath. After a while, his emotions stabilized sowhat. Startled by his own rash action to harm Xuanzang in a mont of fury, he still questioned Guanyin despite his continuing grief.
"The Journey to the West is destined to be fraught with calamities, and under such great trials, anything unexpected can happen!" Hearing Mo Liqing's words, Bodhisattva Guanyin spoke.
Upon saying this, she paused briefly, then continued, "Had it not been for my intervention, it wouldn't just be the Floral Mink at risk. Your mind was clouded by the great trial, nearly leading to your demise!"
Once caught in a great calamity, even the clearest-minded Immortals and Buddhas can have their minds clouded and impulsively take actions that would normally be unthinkable, thus risking their very lives. That had just happened to Mo Liqing.
He dared to harm Xuanzang and nearly got killed by Sun Wukong. Moreover, even if Mo Liqing had succeeded, could the followers of Buddhism let him go?
Guanyin's words left Mo Liqing montarily speechless. Now that he had returned to the Heavenly Court and his mind was clearer, he was indeed shocked by his own actions at that ti.
Yet, the sorrow in his heart was not so easily dispelled. After a mont of silence, Mo Liqing still felt sowhat aggrieved and said, "But Bodhisattva, you clearly stated that I just needed to watch from the side and intervene verbally at a critical mont to prevent any trouble!"
"Amitabha, originally, your stepping in and the protection of the Ninth Grade Black Lotus I granted you, were enough to hold off until you could clarify the situation. But why, at the last mont, did the Floral Mink not use the Ninth Grade Black Lotus! Furthermore, as a result of this incident, my Ninth Grade Black Lotus is also…"
As she spoke, Bodhisattva Guanyin looked grievously pained. That was one of the few dharma treasures she possessed, and she had been reluctant to lend it to the Floral Mink had it not been to add an elent to the trial.
"Hmph, whether in your hands or in Xuanzang's, isn't the Black Lotus still a possession of Buddhism?" said Mo Liqing. "You just said that after the Journey to the West, the Ninth Grade Black Lotus would return to you, so you haven't really lost it! But my Floral Mink has been killed.
Can you ask Ksitigarbha to allow its reincarnation?" His dissatisfaction grew in response to Bodhisattva Guanyin's apparent sorrow.
Hearing Mo Liqing's words, Bodhisattva Guanyin realized the true purpose of his persistence.
A bit helplessly, she shook her head, "Amitabha, Ksitigarbha has governed the cycle of reincarnation for many years, and even my Buddha Tathagata cannot intervene…"
Upon saying this, she paused briefly, then after a mont's reflection added, "I possess a treasure nad the Colored Glaze Vine, which took three thousand years to cultivate in my Lotus Pond. I shall gift it to you, Heavenly King, as a token of apology."
Helplessly shaking her head, Mo Liqing's grievances needed addressing to satisfy him, so in the future, he could persuade other deities to descend to aid in overcoming trials. Therefore, Guanyin had no choice but to compensate generously with treasures.
Since she lacked the power to persuade Ksitigarbha to show rcy, she could only offer treasures as compensation to alleviate Mo Liqing's grief.
This trial, for Guanyin, had indeed cost a great deal.
...
Not to ntion within the Heavenly Court, Guanyin Bodhisattva actually pleaded with the ever-strict Mo Liqing on behalf of the Four Heavenly Kings, feeling a sense of bitterness within her heart. anwhile, in the Lower Realm, after departing from the Wet Bone Forest, the mbers of the Journey to the West team had found a spot to spend the night camping outdoors.
Jiang Liu sat cross-legged, running the Heavenly Dragon Zen Sound cultivation technique diligently.
His level had reached 28 already, and once it reached 31, he would be able to advance the Heavenly Dragon Zen Sound to the fourth level. When that ti ca, the Experience Points gained during cultivation would surely increase significantly!
The trip to the Wet Bone Forest had left Jiang Liu very satisfied for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there was the loot from this trip, including the Ninth Grade Black Lotus and the Resurrection Scroll amongst other valuable items.
Secondly, there was a sense of exhilaration from having taken revenge.
In order to force himself to accept Sha Wujing, he had used Gaoyang as part of his sche. Today, he had killed the Floral Mink, now she would have to clean up this ss.
Who was he!? The core mber of the Journey to the West Pilgrimage Team! Was he wrong to have killed a few Demon Creatures that obstructed their westward journey? No one could find fault with him!
Though the westward journey was part of a larger sche, they had never told him it was all just a setup!
"Guanyin, you're going to encounter a lot more of this!" Thinking about the many ordeals set up by the deities and Bodhisattvas in the heavens along this journey, even referring to them as Experience Babies, Jiang Liu's lips slightly curled into a smile.
Leaving aside Jiang Liu's ditation, Zhu Bajie was already lying on the ground, sound asleep and snoring heavily.
Sun Wukong was lying not far away on a large rock, his legs crossed, chewing on a twig, his eyes slightly squinted.
All along the way, Sun Wukong was in a good mood. Although the Floral Mink was just a minor character, it was nevertheless a proper immortal being from heaven. Today, he had been directly slaughtered, and not only did the immortals and Buddhas in heaven have no reason to cause trouble, but even Guanyin had compensated him with a Ninth Grade Black Lotus.
Being able to cause such a substantial unexpected loss to the celestial immortals and Buddhas made Sun Wukong very happy.
Going forth on the Journey to the West, the agreent with his master was indeed to overturn the gods and Buddhas of the heavens. As his master had said, a Floral Mink could only be counted as a little bit of interest.
However, this bit of interest had shown Sun Wukong a glimr of possibility.
If today he could kill a cultivator with the Heavenly Immortal cultivation, then what about later? Could he eliminate a few of those at the Taiyi True Immortal level!?
More importantly, in previous rebellions, he hadn't had so many strategies to employ, nor could he afford any, as actions had been taken directly, leading him to suffer many losses. This was exactly why he had suffered five hundred years under the Five Elents Mountain.
However, having journeyed this far west, Sun Wukong found that the cooperation between him and his master was quite good.
His own strength, combined with Master's planning! Seamless!
And more importantly, although Master's cultivation was low, his thods were astonishing, capable of instantly restricting soone's internal mana, as well as enhancing others' strength and defense, and even possessing miraculous healing abilities...
Sun Wukong, now, was increasingly looking forward to overturning the heavenly deities and Buddhas in the future.
The Journey to the West had, it could be said, just begun, and for the upcoming journey of a hundred thousand miles, Sun Wukong was likewise filled with anticipation.
Lying on the rock, twig in mouth and legs crossed, Sun Wukong's tail twitched excitedly behind him; were it not so late at night and quiet, he probably would have humd a tune or two.
However, unlike the joy of Sun Wukong nearby, Sha Wujing was hanging his head down, tending to the White Dragon Horse. Having followed the westward journey for half a month, Sha Wujing felt as though he had been unable to blend into the team.
"Xiaobai ah, do you think Master really dislikes ? Just because I made him fall into the water that day, has he held a grudge until now?" After feeding the White Dragon Horse so fodder, Sha Wujing spoke.
Both had initially been scorned by Jiang Liu before joining the team, and Sha Wujing sowhat felt like he and the White Dragon Horse needed to stick together for warmth.
Moreover, it seed as if they were the ones with the lowest status in the team.
"Third Brother, you need not worry, Master, he's just tough on the outside but warm on the inside!" said the White Dragon Horse softly in reassurance.
"That's just the way Master is! He was reluctant to accept at first too, but lately, I feel that Master has been quite kind to !"
The White Dragon Horse spoke, genuinely feeling that during als, Master usually rembered to save a portion for him, which touched him deeply.
"Really!?" Yet, considering his own treatnt throughout the journey, Sha Wujing felt skeptical. It didn't seem like tough on the outside but warm on the inside at all.
He had felt the cold exterior, but why couldn't he feel any warmth from within?
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