Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Wen Jiao decided to bring her disciples to perform the Sanyuan Chaoke ritual for Empress Changsun to cure diseases and prolong her life. With her current cultivation, she could at least pray for Empress Changsun to live ten more days or half a month, which was also her best effort.

Sanyuan refers to the three gods of heaven, earth and water. The heavenly god bestows blessings, the earthly god forgives sins, and the water god relieves disasters. The Sanyuan Dharma Assembly is one of the more grand Dharma assemblies in Taoism.

This grand ceremony was enough to open Jizun's eyes. It was the first time in her life that she participated in such a dazzling ritual. Although she appeared to be very serious, she actually repeated the process ten times in her mind before each step to ensure that there would be no mistakes.

Compared to her, Wu Meiniang was much more at ease. Her expression and behavior were naturally solemn and graceful, without any stiffness or rigidity.

The descent of the true immortals in the Luotian Grand Ceremony, the sharpening of Haxiang Mimeng's mind, and the pain of the long wind on the plateau have endowed her with a unique calm and magnificent aura. It is like a sharp carving knife that scrapes away the rough stone, revealing an indestructible and dazzling night-shining gem.

Such a demeanor is truly extraordinary. Even in the harem full of beauties, she is as gorgeous as a blooming peony. No one would doubt that as Wen Jiao's eldest disciple, Wu Meiniang would be the only candidate to take her place after the former ascended to heaven.

Who could have imagined that a few years ago she was a young and inexperienced talent locked up in the deep palace, neither successful nor favored?

"The one who handed incense to Master Jingrong was the former Concubine Wu. Humph, everyone says that she has a living immortal as her master, and she will definitely become an immortal in the future. How many people know that before she became a nun, she accompanied me in the imperial court?" A young concubine pointed in the direction of Wu Meiniang with the handle of her fan, then quickly put it down and said sourly to the palace maid beside her.

The maid took a look and couldn't help but gasp. She lowered her voice and said, "Didn't they say that Concubine Wu had not been favored by the emperor for many years, so she retired from the palace to pray for the country? Such a beautiful woman is not favored? My goodness, our emperor has too high standards!"

The young concubine pursed her lips and said with a smug look, "The palace is not short of beauties. Who told her to be so tactless and inarticulate that she offended your majesty? I'll teach you a lesson. No matter how beautiful a woman is, what good is it? If she doesn't have the ability to be considerate and gentle, she will always suffer a great loss from her husband. Wu Cairen relied on her looks and didn't know how to be a wife. She made the wrong effort and left the palace in disgrace."

"The master is smart." The maid admired him very much.

Upon hearing this, the young prince who was observing the ceremony on the side glanced at Wu Meiniang curiously.

The light is as bright as the sun.

His eyes immediately looked away as if burned.

After the ritual was over, Wen Jiao led her two disciples and the Taoist priests out of the palace, but heard someone shouting, "Master Jingrong, please stay!" It turned out to be a handsome young eunuch with a white face and no beard, running over breathlessly, "My prince said that you have worked hard today, please go to the side hall to rest before leaving."

Wen Jiao frowned slightly, then smiled and said, "I have something important to attend to, so I need to leave for Wuliang Plateau immediately. I appreciate your kindness, Prince Jin. From now on, my eldest disciple Mingcheng will be in charge of the affairs here. Mingcheng, you can take everyone to rest for a while. Zhicheng, follow me."

Wu Meiniang immediately smiled and said, "Please lead the way, eunuch."

When the young eunuch heard Wen Jiao reveal the identity of his master, his face suddenly changed slightly. Wen Jiao had already been spread as a first-class immortal figure in this dynasty, and when he heard that she wanted to leave, the young eunuch really didn't have the courage to keep her, so he had to follow Wu Meiniang's words and led the way aggrievedly.

The side hall was indeed very secluded, and snacks, tea and fruits had been laid out inside. The Taoists were tired after working for most of the day, so they ate and drank as soon as they saw each other, feeling quite relaxed. The eunuch disappeared for a while, and when he reappeared, he winked at Wu Meiniang. Wu Meiniang thought about it, and followed him quietly out the back door.

The waters of Daming Palace are deep, which she had experienced since she entered the palace as a young girl. Who was the noble person behind this little eunuch, and at this critical moment when the queen's throne was about to be vacant, what did she ask of the Taoist Master, or rather, her master Jingrong Zhenren?

About ten candidates suddenly emerged in Wu Meiniang's mind, but she was not sure which one it was, so she watched the situation with vague excitement.

Madam Yin was leaning against an agate jade pillow.

The jade pillow was not entirely a pillow, because it looked more like a vivid civet cat, with snow-white and silver-grey lines interlaced throughout, and it was extremely lustrous. The most peculiar thing was the pair of wide-open cat eyes, with watery pupils, which turned out to be a pair of extremely rare golden water-filled agate.

This agate civet cat was a rare item that Wen Jiao picked from the Hall National Treasure House, and she gave it to her mother to enjoy as soon as she returned home. Madam Yin loved its delicate and cool feeling, so she simply used it as a bamboo lady to cool off.

Madam Yin was upset and stroked the agate civet cat's head from time to time. After a while, she finally couldn't help but speak: "You have only been back for a few days, why are you in such a hurry to leave? The kitchen has developed a lot of new dishes these days, and mother hasn't had time to ask them to cook them all for you."

Wen Jiao sat opposite her and answered obediently, "It's my fault. Not only can I not serve you often, but I have made you worry. But I have an important matter to leave Beijing this time. This matter involves a lot of things. I am afraid that it cannot be resolved unless I go there in person."

Hearing her speak so seriously, Mrs. Yin became interested: "What is so urgent?"

Wen Jiao said: "A blind man made a wish in front of the golden statue of the child."

A new temple of the God of Subduing Demons was built in the capital of the Kingdom of Hol. The construction of this temple was strongly supported by the new king of the Kingdom of Hol, so it was built magnificently and beautifully, like an agate crystal palace. The statue of the God of Subduing Demons enshrined in the temple is majestic, and the statue of the Goddess of Subduing Demons enshrined in the east side hall is said to be made according to the draft drawn by Princess Jizun Yixi herself. She has a beautiful face and green clothes, which makes people feel impressed when they see her.

As a foreign deity, the people of Hor were not familiar with the Heavenly Lord of Subduing Demons. However, the story of the Heavenly Lady of Subduing Demons and King Gesar who worked together to eliminate all the demons of Hor in one night was well known to everyone in the country. Therefore, since the temple was built, it has been very popular, with many pilgrims coming and going, and I wonder how many wishes they made in front of the golden statue of Wen Jiao.

Wen Jiao's incarnations inevitably became busy. They classified these wishes into different categories, responded to the good ones, helped the weak ones, punished the evil ones, and ignored the ones who had nothing to do and came to refresh the screen.

One of the wishes caught Wen Jiao's attention. The small wish was like a soap bubble, with despair flowing inside like an eternal night. She popped the wish open, and saw a ragged blind man offering a wrinkled Hada at the feet of her statue, then kneeling down and kowtowed repeatedly, his inner voice condensed into a few bloody lines:

There are beautiful countries and lands all over the world.

The corpse of the evil queen has destroyed our sun and moon.

The emperor was absurd and had no interest in state affairs.

The people are waiting in despair, but there is no light.