The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 197 - 192: The Scripture Says to Redeem People

Chapter 197: Chapter 192: The Scripture Says to Redeem People

It is said that the Great Emperor True Martial sent a strand of his Primordial Spirit to incarnate. Upon reaching his shrine, the Taoist Boy saw it and hastily called for the Sect Leader.

Zhang Junshi, seeing the Patriarch had sent his Primordial Spirit to the mortal world, knew there must be a decree and hurriedly prostrated himself in front of the great hall, saying, "Please enlighten me, Patriarch!"

The deity statue of Great Emperor True Martial opened its mouth and said, "I have divined a man who is fated to be under my command as the Demon-removing Marshal! However, this person has been beheaded, hence his resentful energy is exceedingly heavy, transforming into a Ghost Hero similar to Xiang Yu of old. Black and White Impermanence along with the gods of the Underworld dare not approach him, and now he is in Jade Spring Mountain in Jingzhou. You must lead him to my True Martial Great Hall, and I shall let him join the Immortal Ranks!"

Zhang Junshi asked, "What virtues and abilities does this person possess that the Patriarch values him so highly?"

Great Emperor True Martial replied, "This person inherently carries a great destiny, having been given the title Marquis of Hanshou Pavilion, and he acts with loyalty and righteousness, his honor is as vast as the heavens. It is destined that in future generations, he will be celebrated and receive the worship of the common people. If he enters my sect, he will naturally enhance the destiny of our Wudang lineage."

Zhang Junshi, not paying much attention to mortal affairs, only knew about the last incident when the Netherworld Blood Sea intervened to compete for destiny, leading to a battle between the sects of Buddhism and Daoism. In the end, Tathagata struck the Ming River with a palm, and the matter was suppressed. Now, both the Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch and Rulai are still preaching! All to prevent a large-scale conflict between the paths of Buddhism and Daoism from erupting again.

Zhang Junshi said, "Then I will now make a trip to Jade Spring Mountain in Jingzhou to bring this Guan Yu to meet the Patriarch."

Great Emperor True Martial said, "Go!"

With such a figure as the Great Emperor True Martial, how could he easily intervene himself? Thus, the matter naturally fell to Zhang Junshi.

Zhang Junshi, having received the command of Great Emperor True Martial, promptly set off for Jade Spring Mountain in Jingzhou.

Upon emerging from his meditative retreat, Enlightenment Dao heard about the killing of Guan Yu and was startled. Upon further inquiry, he learned that Liu Bei and Zhang Fei had also met their fates! It seemed the destinies of these Left and Right Assistants and the emperor truly complemented each other—when one suffered, all suffered! This made him sigh, as it appeared that history was unfolding similarly to past lives. Though slightly altered, it still followed the predicted path.

While passing through Jingzhou, Enlightenment Dao suddenly heard the wailing of a ferocious ghost from Jade Spring Mountain, crying, "Return my head, return my head!"

Enlightenment Dao thought, "I wonder which demon is causing trouble here? It would be good to subdue it and protect the Way."

If these ghosts weren’t harming the people, Enlightenment Dao wouldn’t have intervened, but with the ghost’s cries, the nearby residents were keeping their doors closed, afraid to venture out, which was quite troublesome. Such malevolence had to be eradicated! Enlightenment Dao, having traveled extensively to banish demons in his past life, naturally had some righteousness in his heart.

As Enlightenment Dao ascended Jade Spring Mountain, he immediately felt the chilling and oppressive yin energy of the mountain, no wonder demons liked to lurk here! Looking up, he indeed saw a headless demon riding a fiery red horse, galloping across the sky and shouting, "Return my head!"

Enlightenment Dao was startled and thought, "It’s actually a Ghost Hero! Great in life, and still a hero in death! In previous years, when Xiang Yu was defeated and took his own life, he became a Ghost Hero, rallying his one hundred thousand Western Chu Army Souls to cause chaos in the Underworld, and if not for the intervention of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, he might not have been subdued! This fiend’s mana is already at the level of a Daluo Golden Immortal of the First Heaven. No wonder Daoist priests and monks from around Jingzhou dare not come here to exorcise this demon." His thoughts shifted, and he muttered, "Since Guan Yu was beheaded, who else in this world could become a Ghost Hero? It must indeed be Guan Yu who has become this headless evil spirit!"

The headless evil spirit, seeing Enlightenment Dao, then said, "You there, Daoist, have you seen this marshal’s head?"

Enlightenment Dao smiled and replied, "Is the comer the Marquis of Hanshou Pavilion, Guan Yu Yun Chang?"

The headless evil spirit replied, "You actually know my name, it seems you are a wise one! Have you seen my head?"

Enlightenment Dao nodded and responded, "Not yet! But may I ask why Lord Marquis is causing such disturbances, troubling the civilians here?"

Guan Yu angrily said, "I am without my head, searching for it, how is that troubling anyone? You Daoist, do not understand, quickly leave, lest you anger this marshal."

Enlightenment Dao thought to himself, "It seems Guan Yu is one of the thirty-six Heavenly Marshals under Great Emperor True Martial, called the Demon-removing Marshal! I should lead him to Great Emperor True Martial’s sect; it would also build a good connection with the Great Emperor. If I ever need a favor in the future, I’ll have a way to ask!"

The Great Emperor of Heavenly Court is not someone everyone can curry favor with; after all, holding such high authority, having his favor naturally brings great convenience.

Enlightenment Dao said, "Yun Chang, I have an elder whose mana penetrates the heavens, who might be able to find your head. Follow me, and you can surely retrieve it."

Guan Yu asked, "What elder is this?"

Enlightenment Dao replied, "This elder is none other than the Great Emperor of Heavenly Court, known as the North Pole True Martial Demon Dispeller, whose mana is so great it penetrates the heavens and the earth!"

Guan Yu exclaimed, "So it is Great Emperor True Martial! If he intervenes, he will definitely be able to find my head. I will follow you!"

Just as Enlightenment Dao was about to take Guan Yu away, suddenly a monk came riding on a cloud. The radiant Buddha light coming off him made Guan Yu feel very comfortable.

"Dammit, another bald monk has come to mess up my plans. Really makes my teeth itch!" Enlightenment Dao cursed inwardly, seeing that wherever he went, these Buddhists always seemed to interfere, which annoyed him greatly.

Guan Yu shouted, "Who goes there!"

The arriving figure was none other than the Wisdom Bodhisattva, summoned by the command of the Tathagata. His arrival was indeed timely, and the fateful luck of Enlightenment Dao could not have been worse!

"This humble monk is here under the command of the Tathagata from Western Heaven, specifically to guide General Guan to Western Heaven to achieve Buddhahood," declared the Wisdom Bodhisattva with hands clasped.

Upon seeing Enlightenment Dao, his heart skipped a beat, knowing that the Daoist sect had arrived first. Fortunately, Guan Yu had not yet departed, leaving room for mediation.

Guan Yu then said, "So, it’s a high monk from the West!"

The Buddha light emanating from the Wisdom Bodhisattva made him feel very comfortable, so his expression towards the Wisdom Bodhisattva turned much more amiable. He knew of Buddhism from the West, where the Rulai’s powers were limitless, benefiting all sentient beings. In recent years, it had mainly spread in the North, especially around Luoyang, where many high-ranking officials and royal relatives were devout followers.

The Wisdom Bodhisattva said, "The Buddha cherishes General Guan’s unparalleled loyalty and heroic valor, and has specially sent me to guide General Guan to the West, where you can become a Buddha and an ancestor! You will be named Virudhaka Bodhisattva."

Enlightenment Dao couldn’t help but curse, "Nonsense! Buddhism from Western Heaven is a barbarian sect. Our Daoist sect is the genuine orthodox school of the Eastern Land! Guan Yun Chang is a marquis of the Han Dynasty, how could he join your barbarian West?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu felt it made some sense. Buddhism did, after all, originate from the West, and the people of the Eastern Land looked down upon those barbarian lands. Although many in the royal family deeply believed in Buddhism, Taoism was still considered the orthodox native tradition. Guan Yu’s heart was somewhat inclined towards Taoism.

"I wonder if either of you can find my head? Whoever finds it, I’ll decide which way to go based on that!" Guan Yu declared.

His head had been severed, leaving him headless in death, naturally filling him with deep resentment. Moreover, he wished to retrieve his own head, as not everyone could endure being decapitated! His request was reasonable.

"Come with me to Heavenly Court, and surely a master there will help you find your head!" Enlightenment Dao urged.

"General Guan, follow me to Western Heaven, and the Buddha, with his great divine power, will help you retrieve your head," the Wisdom Bodhisattva said.

Enlightenment Dao, irritated, retorted, "You meddling bald donkey! I was here first to guide Guan Yun Chang, and you come to sabotage my efforts! How ungrateful can you be!"

However, the Wisdom Bodhisattva replied, "The Buddha guides those with affinities. General Guan has an affinity with our Buddha, and it is my duty to guide him to Western Heaven. You, evildoer, what business do you have here, trying to stir up trouble?"

Enraged, Enlightenment Dao exclaimed, "Very well, let the two of us search for Guan Yu’s head and see who can find it first!"

The Wisdom Bodhisattva thought to himself, "Virudhaka Bodhisattva should be arriving soon. I will follow this fellow to search Guan Yu’s head, and once Virudhaka Bodhisattva finds an opening, he will naturally be able to take Guan Yu away!"

Enlightenment Dao only knew that Eastern Wu had severed Guan Yu’s head and sent it to Cao Cao, but unexpectedly, Cao Cao was frightened by the sight of Guan Yu’s head into a serious illness, hanging by a thread. Perhaps it was due to Guan Yu’s formidable fate, even in death, his head had disrupted Cao Cao’s robust fortune, shifting it to his son, Cao Pi. An emperor, having lost his fortune, ought to die, especially since Cao Cao had executed Hua Tuo, the healer invited to cure him, indicating his time was near.

Enlightenment Dao and the Wisdom Bodhisattva each rode clouds towards Luoyang.

The two traveled separately. Midway, Enlightenment Dao descended straight down, grabbed a handful of earth, and using Earth Escape, returned to Jade Spring Mountain.

"This foolish bald donkey actually went to look for Guan Yu’s head. Guan Yu, now a ghost hero, what need has he for a head? Soon he could just regenerate it with his cultivated mana. I shall take the ’Sutra for Crossing Sentient Beings’ from my master and guide Guan Yu to heaven, handing him over to the Great Emperor True Martial. Even if the bald donkey comes back, he wouldn’t dare to trouble the Great Emperor True Martial! Hmph, even the Rulai wouldn’t dare cause trouble in Heavenly Court!" Enlightenment Dao thought smugly to himself, having aligned himself with Great Emperor True Martial by guiding Guan Yu to him. This could help him if he needed favors in the future.

Uttara Kuru Kingdom is rife with demons and ghosts. The Great Emperor True Martial, suppressing the demons of Uttara Kuru Kingdom with his formidable mana, is simply terrifying. Having the support of Great Emperor True Martial, his future endeavors would indeed be much more effective.

The Wisdom Bodhisattva, ultimately more honest than the clever Enlightenment Dao, did not expect that Enlightenment Dao would return directly using Earth Escape to Jade Spring Mountain, intending to use the ’Sutra for Crossing Sentient Beings’ to guide Guan Yu to ascend with him.

His mana was much more potent than that of Guan Yu, the ghost hero. Although the minimal level of a ghost hero’s mana was that of a Daluo Golden Immortal of the First Heaven, a Primordial Spirit was inherently yin. To become an immortal or a Buddha, one needed to practice cultivation methods, or be guided by someone reciting sutras, to transform the Primordial Spirit into pure yang and achieve the Dao of Immortals or Buddhahood.

When Enlightenment Dao returned to Jade Spring Mountain, he saw Guan Yu wandering around the mountain top. Although Guan Yu possessed great mana, he could not utilize it. Being decapitated, unable to see anything, unlike Xing Tian who, after being beheaded, had eyes form on his chest, continuing to fight for days and nights.

Enlightenment Dao made a spell, raised a handful of clear water in his hand, washed his body, silently recited a Calming Incantation, and lit three sticks of incense to pay respect to the Celestial Venerable of Upper Pure Heaven, and started reciting the scripture.

The scripture said:

Yuan Shi’s mysterious cave, the original Chapter of Lingbao. The superior exquisite leader, circumventing sentient beings ten times. A hundred demons hidden in rhyme, separation and union occur naturally. The mixed cave’s red scriptures, no true supreme. Yuan Shi’s ancestral calamity, giving birth to Various Heavens. Opening the three scenes, that is the heavenly root. Above there is no ancestor, only the Dao embodies. Five zhang opens wide, universally cultivating spiritual beings. No scripture lacks radiance, no scripture lacks clarity. No scripture is unestablished, no scripture is incomplete. No scripture fails to cross over, no scripture does not give life. This is the great Brahma. The heaven within heavens. Excessive simplicity of Ruo Xiaotai, the upper Jing of Mount Tai. The utmost extreme, Great Luo Yujing...

After a stretch of scripture was recited, Guan Yu’s sanity cleared slightly. Enlightenment Dao was about to continue reciting when suddenly, a massive Demon-Subduing Pestle struck down from above!

The protector of Buddhism, Virudhaka Bodhisattva had arrived.

Unsure of the fortune or misfortune that awaits, please tune in for the next part of the story. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)